Inn-stinct

Tatsoo's quick thinking threw off Harvals initial attack strategy. One he was prepared to counter, but this was a bit easier to counter attack. Maddox ran in and decided to punish his recklessness for not counting on Tatsoo's interference by running up and feigning an over-the-shoulder diagonal swing and striking him pommel first into the face. With Tatsoo right behind him and not having a weapon he's completely adjusted to, he rather not be completely reckless with it.

"I hope you didn't forget it's two-on-one right now. I would tell you that it could cost you your life, but I'm sure you know that already."

" Aye. That I know laddie." Harval said as the pommel went straight for his face. The dwarf moved his head sideways so as not to get the hit directly to the face and grabbed out with his free hand, aiming to grab Maddox's wrist to the weapon hand as the pommel hit his temple. With the turn he made the axe swung out towards Tatsoo this time at a horizontal ark while using the momentum of the hit and his turn to hopefully, if he were able to grab Maddox's wrist, throw the human right at the young woman.

It was exactly what he had been hoping for and if he had implemented the maneuver well enough both his opponents would be on the ground and possibly easier targets.

This seemed way too easy to be true making Tatsoo wonder if they had missed something or if Nygozy had misjudged their opponent's skill level. Maddox made a perfect attack with the pommel of his weapon but as it hit and she was coming in for an attack the axe came swinging straight for her making her duck and roll out of the way but the side of the weapon turned her controlled roll into uncontrolled.

Tatsoo corrected her fall and was about to get right back up when she noticed what the dwarf had actually planned and realized there was no time to get out of the mens' way.

As he saw Harval counter, Maddox knew this man lead them into a trap. He allowed Harval to grab his wrist, Maddox put his left foot forward. He planned to his this momentum and the sword's length to spin around and possibly strike Harval in the face. Falling was inevitable, but at least he can get two hits on him while he hasn't hit them once. As Harval threw Maddox his left foot served as a pivot point for him to turn. He swung wildly behind him as he spun before landing backwards. He thought he may have made a hit, but he couldn't tell.

It seems his tactic managed to prevent him landing on Tatsoo, but only by a small margin. He landed right next to her. "I'll give you credit for that one. But we still got more hits on you than vice versa."

This human was a lot more spry than Harval had originally given him credit for. That was good. He did not want it easy and he needed the pain, as any reaver did in order to gain more power to use.

He let the second hit get him to gain more from the fight and the closeness gave him a chance try to cop a feel of Maddox's tush as he tripped past. Whatever reaction he got would tell him what the man preferred and gave him a quick thrill. The extra movement put him off balance, forcing him to totter away from the two and turn his head to look over his shoulder but it was worth it, "That be what I was aiming for, lad." He grinned.

Maddox ignored Harval's little act just then. If it was his intention was to provoke, he won't let him have the pleasure of getting a reaction out of him. Harval's comment was a bit more surprising then his little antic. He wanted to get hit? Great. That is definitely not a good thing. Either he is a masochist, which isn't exactly normal, or getting hurt makes him focus more. Both meant that this would be a hard fight. They would have to knock him out or have Nygozy end it.

"Tatsoo, be careful about this one. It's only going to get harder the longer we fight."

Tatsoo got to her knees and crouched, ready to attack but turned her head slightly to make sure that Maddox was ok, "Aye. Ah thin' he's more than wha' e looks. Ah .. did he just cup yer cheek?" She smirked, "Not that it ain't no nice cheek but wa'nt tha' too cheeky?" The young woman grinned, amused at her own pun because it was the first she had made in this language and she hoped it was amusing.

Maddox held back the urge to rub his forehead in aggravation. Of all the things she says correctly, it was a pun at his expense. "Not now, Tatsoo. He's just trying to distract us."

He felt an urge to try to run through him with his wooden greatsword. Killing is probably frowned upon, hence the wooden weapons instead of their own. But at least he has the range of his sword to keep what just happened from happening again. He jumped upwards towards Harval, bringing his sword down above his head. An easy move to dodge, but hopefully Tatsoo can maneuver herself in a flanking position to take advantage of it. If he doesn't, Tatsoo could still flank him if needed.

A grin spread across his face as he heard the strange girl make the joke and the reaction Maadox gave her. That cleared up which side of the fence he was on, probably, but this was no time to be checking out possibilities in those manners. This was time to fight and make these two back down or win against them.

The sword came down at his head and it would be easy to dodge but instead he moved slightly to the side and followed the action by running directly towards Maadox, head down.

Maddox saw the raging dwarf heading head first at him. He initially mused at how amusing it would be to abruptly stop him and keep him at arms length trying to run into him, but remembered that this guy was still armed with an axe. He decided to let the man continue his foolish charge and braced himself for impact. Did he realize he was running straight into his armor? Into dragonbone armor?

Instead of hitting head on, at the last moment Harval twisted, lifting an arm up to try to knock Maddox over and go past. Either way he'd swirl around once past the other man then get ready for a knock out if he could. That would make it better for him. Remove the fighter then scare the little lady who had yet to attack with more than a little whip lashing.

Harval's tactic had mixed results. While it surprised him enough that he just took the hit, Maddox didn't fall over. With all the fist fights in bars he got himself into, he was able to take a hit like that without falling to the ground. He did have some trouble staying up, but he was okay. "Nice try, I get hit by something like that almost every other bar fight. Granted, they are much taller, drunker, and don't have enough speed behind it, but I'm used to that. Must say, that was the best attempt so far."

As long as Harval has mobility on his side, Maddox won't be able to knock him into unconsciousness. But as long as he can hold up to most have what Harval was dealing, he won't be knocked out. The only variables in this fight are Tatsoo and his stamina. He won't be able to defeat Harval without her help, but if he runs out of stamina, Harval will get the edge and leave Tatsoo to fight him. He can feel that he was getting exhausted. At this rate, Harval will knock him down unless Tatsoo moves in to weaken him.

There was little that Tatsoo could do when the men "locked horns" except for rolling out of the way and working on a position in which to use best to her advantage.

Now was just that time as both men were somewhat off balance. She moved with a speed which was no less riveting than a deer in flight. Her hand moved back and the bag she had taken flew from her hand and right under Harval's foot on the side which he was off balance on, making the next reaction from the dwarf easily discerned.

Harval fell and hard then Tatsoo yelled, "Pin him Maadox!"

Tatsoo had done it. She tipped the balance in their favor. Harval went down hard. Now to finish this. And the best way for the moment would be to cut off his air supply. Maddox jumped on top of Harval and put the side of the wooden sword hard on Harval's throat. He would keep the pressure applied until he saw Harval lose consciousness. "No hard feelings. Just call this pay back for what you did earlier."

"Sodding hell!" Of all the freaking things to look out for Harval had not expected the little lass to use that silly bag to actually trip him. Now that he knew what her trick was he would watch out for it in the future but for now he was having some problems. With the lad now on top of him ... he smiled at that but then the sword was cutting off his air supply and he bucked, trying to throw the man off of him.

Tatsoo went up to the two men and smiled down at Harval but then the dwarf started bucking to get Maddox off of him and the sword, even though wooden, began cutting up his neck. She leaned down, put her hand in her pouch and dropped a small item into the dwarf's mouth then held his jaw closed until he gulped and fell asleep.

"Ah thin' tha he woulda even kept goin." She noted, "Ye alright, Maddox?"

It's a good thing Tatsoo interfered when she did. Maddox was prepared to rest his forearm on the blade and punch him repeatedly until he blacked out. Whatever it was, it was a good thing Tatsoo had it. He got back to his feet and looked at Tatsoo. "Yeah, I think he would have. I have no doubt about that. That man was driven, all right."

Tatsoo shook her head, "Yeh, he be a stu..burn one. Dat sleep candy ah make is handy."

She knelt beside Maddox and tilted her head to look up at him, "Are ye alright? Ye seem a bit frust ... an ... like somethin' bothers ya."

"It's...nothing. It's just Harval was as perverted as he was stubborn. You saw what he did earlier, and when I landed on him to try to cause him to pass out, I swear I saw him smiling at it before I began applying pressure with my sword." Maddox replied. Harval was definitely a character all right. Seemingly masochistic, stubborn, and had a perversion which showed an affinity towards men. He....is going to be hard to work with if they all pass.

[color=#1034a6]"I think we're done here. Hopefully that was enough to prove ourselves." Maddox commented, trying to change the subject.

"More just interested in men and hitting on you." Nygozy said as she suddenly showed up on the opposite side of Maddox.

She had been in the shadows in the arena watching with a careful eye at what they were doing and was quite impressed with how the two worked together even though they hardly knew each other, "That was more than enough to cement your approval. Both of you, well, all three, are initiates; however, I have to inform you, before you completely decide on this action, that there are drawbacks to being a Grey Warden but you will not be able to find out the exacts until after your joining. The main concern before the joining is that this ritual can kill you. Please consider this when you answer me."

Nygozy gave them both a moment to get settled and consider the implications, "Do you still wish to be a Grey Warden, knowing in advance that the joining ritual that makes you one is capable of killing you, that you will be part of an order which here in Fereldan is almost like a family, and that being a Grey Warden has other effects both ill and good?"

"I've risked my life against a lot of things in my years. Am I willing to risk it all in a single ritual that would mean joining the Gray Wardens if I survived?" Maddox questioned himself aloud. He had to think about it. His brother did have a son. It's not like the family line is at risk of ending if he died. "Well, my brother always said I wasn't too bright. Count me in, Commander."

There were risks and that was more than ok for Tatsoo. Maddox seemed rather proud of the idea of being accepted but his comment that he wasn't too bright made her laugh, "Ah thin' ye put yerself lower than ye are, Maddox."

With a gulp as Tatsoo was unsure as to whether she could speak their language properly enough to sound better but she was going to try really hard even if it came out a bit slowly, "Mah tribe was killed and scattered bah darkspawn before dey went to Ostagaw. Ah have been alone too long, ah need a tribe, ah need a meaning to mah life an ta risk ta get all dat, ah will. If da wardens are like a family all da better. That is like a tribe. Ah family dat is friends an blood, who cares and takes care for each otha an ... an ... oh tha be all ah ken think of in dese words but I agree. I wish ta be a Grey Wawden."

Ok so it wasn't perfect but she did try even if some words did not come out perfect or reverted to difficult pronounciation. She would just have to practice more.

"You don't know my brother. Whereas I spent my life becoming a warrior, he's spent his learning to administrate Cercium." Maddox reassured. He wasn't putting himself down at all. He knew he wasn't as smart as his brother.

This was the first time he had heard about Tatsoo's situation, that he can recall at least. He knew she was alone, belonged to a tribe, and was looking for a new one, but he didn't realize how she lost her tribe. At least if they survive, they'll have the company of the Wardens and those accompany them.

Both were willing recruits who were ready to take the risk in becoming Grey Wardens, as Harval as well, even though he was unconscious at the moment. It was not hard to see why any of these three were willing to join. There seemed to be more and more people willing to take this chance. It was probably due to the darkspawn, now that people knew that darkspawn attacks were not just stories to frighten little children. In the years to come it would be much more difficult to find those willing to risk so much as many would have much to lose. At this point there were a lot of people who already lost everything and needed to put life into perspective or who understood what it meant to be responsible.

"Very well. You have been allocated rooms within the Grey Warden's ward. Since you two have shown a friendship and willingness to work together you have been given a suite with two bedrooms and a single lounge adjoining the two. There will be recruit training through the royal trainers if you wish to start early and we will be leaving to the new Fereldan Grey Warden Keep within the week. Any questions?"

Maddox was quite happy to be accepted as an initiate. It was a bit weird that she assigned for them to share a suite, but it's infinitely better than being forced to share a room with Harval. Nygozy mentioned that leaving within the week. They were just very lucky to meet Marcus, otherwise they would have missed this opportunity. Although, the location of this new Keep intrigues him. "Where is this new Keep you speak of?