Finally, when the voices died down and Gilander confirmed that he'd noted down each man's wager, Owain raised his sword. The blade whistled through the air, sinking into the elk's flesh with a meaty -THWACK!- as it bit deep, nearly to the bone on his first overhand strike.
But Owain wasn't done. He flowed smoothly from one cut to the next, using the force of pulling the blade free from the first cut to add strength to the second. The lowest bet from the gathered lords and knights had been seven swings. Owain only allowed himself four to expose the spine and after that, a final, fifth swing to sever it.
Fallen Claw glittered in the fading afternoon light as Owain swung it in a powerful, overhand blow, aimed precisely at the gap between two vertebrae. Then, with a faint -CHUNK- sound, the head came free.
