Journey from Highever to the North Road

( continued from (Part 1) https://dragonageafter.forumotion.com/t279p30-a-long-voyage-endsanother-begins#4401 )

Kaine took Kon into a full gallop, leave the town of Highever behind. He slowed his stallion to a slow trot as they came to a rise in the path. As he got to the top of the rise, he reined in Kon, turned about, and looked down below at his trailing companions. Selene on her white mare, Sloane on hers, with Sobaka trotting beside her. Lamont took up the rear, the mules trained together, being led by him on his horse.

Kaine could only grin, as their mission was finally on its way. Only three weeks until they hit the high road, and he was looking forward to the journey being on dry land this time, he truly hated boats. Something that bobbed up and down, and swayed side to side like that, was just not right; unless it was a beautiful woman, they by all means.

He patted Kon on the neck, waiting for his mismatched band of companions to catch up.

As Sloane watched Kaine take off she knew she had done right in choosing the spirited stallion for her commanding officer. The two would make a great team. Sloane mounted Loshad and headed down the road after Kaine's dust trail. She put the grey mare through her paces going down the road, first walking, then trotting, then a quick gallop. Loshad was a well trained horse and responded quickly and without complaint.

Sloane kept their pace reasonable through town, but when they reached the outskirts she kicked Loshad into a full gallop, loving the feeling of the wind in her hair, the freedom of movement. She reigned Loshad in as they approached Kaine. He looked much happier than she had seen him since they left Kirkwall. "Good to back on the road eh ser? We've got enough fresh supplies to make good time for the next few days before we have to start hunting. Trail should be good this close to town too. Do you want point or rear guard ser?""

Kaine grined at Sloane, "Do you really think I will let you have all the fun getting in the first attack?" As he jabbed his thumb backwards, giving her the signal to get to the back of the line.

"I hope to make good time today, so we can at least find a good camp spot for the night. It will be slow going as we have to keep pace with the mules."


Horus cawed from above, letting Kaine know that she was on the look out for anything suspicious. She circled around them, then took off at high speed to scout ahead.

As Sloane passed her by on the way to the back of the line, she asked, "So, have you ever snuggled up close with Kaine, you know, on cold nights?" She winked at Sloane, and gave her a sly smile, and a knowing look.

Sloane had known the answer to the question before she even asked it, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway. "I guess I'll just have to hope any attacks come from behind then boss," she said with a laugh as she turned her horse and headed back down the trail.

"So, have you ever snuggled up close with Kaine, you know, on cold nights?"

"Does he look like the snuggling type to you?" Sloane replied as she passed the other woman. "The boss is all yours if you want him, but if you're looking for a good snuggle you know where to find me." She winked back and then kicked Loshad into a fast trot, waving to Lamont on her way past.

Sloane and Sobaka took up the rear guard position on their little caravan and settled in for a long day of travel.

As Sloane passed her by she also noticed that the symbols of Andraste were removed, and in replace of them was a symbol of two dragons facing each other, with their tails intertwined. Even the tattoo had changed to the same symbol.

Selene looked back at Sloane and smirked, thinking she might just have to take her up on that offer.

She looked ahead of her, not just at Kaine who rode his black stallion, with white feet, with skill, but also to what may lie ahead of them.

She thrived for adventure, in seeking out the unknown. She wished to travel places she had never been before. She even wanted to explore the deep roads, to see what wonderful artifacts can be found there. She sighed a little, hoping that this trek will be far more exciting than just riding their horses the entire way there.

Kaine looked back as Sloane passed Selene by, and shook his head at her bold comment to the red haired beauty.

They road on for most of the day, stopping at midday to break for lunch, and rest the horses for a bit, as the trek upwards into the mountains was not an easy one.

After filling their bellies and breaking camp, the rode on. Sloane taking up rear guard, with Lamont in front of her, and Selene behind Kaine.

Horus flew overhead, all the look out for any danger that may lie ahead.

As darkness started to creep up on them, as the sun fell low into the sky Lamont shouted, "Ser, there is a clearing not to far up ahead, maybe another mile or so, it will make a perfect camp for the night." Kaine looked back, and nodded in reply.

As they grew closer to the supposed camp site, Horus circled above them, and just ahead, about where the camp site was supposed to be, and gave out a loud shriek.

He came diving down towards Kaine, and pulled back in time to slow down, and gracefully land on her shoulder.

Kaine threw up his arm, his hand in a fist; the signal to stop.

"Horus says there are men up ahead in the camp site. We should dismount and check it out. Lamont stay here with the mules and horses. Sloane and Selene you are with me." Kaine commanded.

With that Kaine dismounted from Kon, strapped on his sword, that was sheathed to the side of the black horse at the ready. He crouched down, and slowly made his way up the trail.

At Kaine's command Sloane handed her reigns to Lamont and grabbed her weapons. She took her sword and shield, but also grabbed her bow and arrows just incase.

"Sobaka, stay here and stand guard over the animals. Give the signal if something goes wrong down here." Her order was met with a quiet bark and a wag of his stumpy little tail.

Sloane knew she was far quieter than Kaine in her leather armor so when they got closer to the camp area she began clambering up the rocks on the side of the path. Part way up she carefully laid down her sword and shield and continued up with just her bow and quiver of arrows. As she reached the top she slowed until she was barely moving, and carefully peaked over the top between some bushes to see what was going on in the clearing below.

As Sloane peeked over the top, she was greeted by a roaring fire, and six men laughing and eating around it.

Two more men could be seen, one guarding the path into the clearing, and one guarding the path on the other side leading out.

All men wore leather armor reinforced by metal rings. A man with a jagged scar on his face, and black hair pulled back into a top knot had a heater shield and wicked looking hand axe sitting next to him, ready to be grabbed at a moments noticed.

A thin man with wild red hair had two swords strapped to his back. One large brute of a man carried a Maul on his back.

The rest seemed to have short swords and small round wooden shields.

Sloane took a moment to memorize as many details as she could before she slowly and carefully backed down the rocks. She stopped and picked up her sword and shield and then went to Kaine to make her report. Using hand signals she told him how many there were and their positions as well as their weapons. Report made she waited for orders on how to proceed.

Kaine received Sloane's signal, and respond that he and received it and to wait here for the signal. He stood up, cracked his neck, and walked idly up the trail.

"Ho there! Might I trouble you for a place by your warm fire?" Kaine shouted to the guard.

"Who goes there?" the guard asked

"I be Soran. I am need of a good meal with some good company."

The guard signaled to the people around the fire. The man with the shield and axe wiped his mouth, picked up the shield and weapon, and trotted over to the guard.

"Whats going on here?" the man demanded, his eyes narrowed at the sight of Kaine.

Kaine leaned against the wall of the canyon trail, and greeted the new comer with a smile, "As I have said to this kind man here, I be Soran."

"Soran eh? Well if you want to warm yourself by the fire, and have a meal with us, by all means, join us."

Kaine grinned, "Thank you kind sir." and did a mock bow. As he was about to pass the shielded man, the man blocked him with his axe by pressing it against his chest. Kaine raised one eye brow as he looked at the man.

"What be this mate?" Kaine asked.

"If you want to join as with a good meal, and the warmth of the fire, it will cost you, MATE" The man stated.

"What it goin to cost me?" Kaine continued in the worse ever seaman accent.

"Everything." the man sneered.

With that Kaine caught the shielded man off guard by grabbing his axe out of his hand, and cleaving it into the surprised mans neck. The man gurgled, trying to yell out, and fell dead to the ground. The guard looked at him with a dumb founded look on his face.

Without hesitation, Kaine extended the claws of his gauntlet and swiped at the mans throat before he could cry out, shredding his vocal cords and spraying blood all over the canyon wall and Kaine. Kaine licked his lips, loving the taste of a fresh kill.

Kaine backed up, and signaled to Sloane for an attack before drawing his two handed sword, grinning evilly.

Sloane had spent enough time with Kaine to expect this to end in a fight. She had already retaken her rocky perch by the time he killed the two men.

At Kaine's signal she took aim and sent two arrows flying through the air and into the guard on the far side of the camp before he could even think to grab his weapon. The first arrow's tip broke off on the metal rings of the man's armor, but the second arrow found it's mark in his unarmoured neck.

Three down without a scream, dang we're good Sloane though to herself as she dissapeared from her perch and began making her way around the edge. She has seen a great place further down the wall to come out of the rocks and flank the enemy that was focused on Kaine.

As one of their companions dropped dead with an arrow through his throat, the brute, and skinny red head looked up, and around, while drawing their weapons.

Kaine charged in, roaring, all that could be hurt was the echo of his roar through the canyon.

The four men left around the fire, turned and looked at Kaine, his two handed sword raised above his head, and a look of rage upon his face.

Before any of the men could react, Kaine let his blade fly. The massive blade sailed through the air, blade over hilt. With in a span of a mere second, it plunged blade first into one of the men standing up by the fire, sending him flying backwards, to make a sickening thud against the canyon wall.

Kaine skidded to a stop, and grinned, beckoning the brute, and red hair dualist forward.

The brute whistled, and the last guard came trotting into the camp, and looked in horror at his friend against the wall, with a huge blade sticking out of his chest.

The brute snarled, and drew his Maul, while the dualist grinned mischievously as his dual blades were drawn.

Kaine beckoned with his hands again, looking back and forth between the two men, flicking his gauntlet claws out so they were ready for an attack. Kaine hoped this gave Sloane enough time to get another arrow off in time.

The dualist was the first to charge in, Kaine backing up just enough into the narrow canyon trail so that the brute could not follow.

Hearing Kaine roar Sloane slowed her run around the side of the clearing and carefully made her way back to the top of the rocks. She could see the two most dangerous looking men approaching a seemingly unarmed Kaine at the trail entrance.

Sloane took careful aim at the brute with the maul and sent an arrow flying his way. The arrow hit him in the shoulder joint of his weapon arm as she planned. The metal rings stopped the arrow from penetrating, but it was enough force on a weak area to make him drop his weapon. Sadly the man wasn't stupid enough to look for the source of the arrow, but one of the men by the fire was and he got an arrow through the eye for his trouble.

Then Sloane was up and on the move again. She ducked back down behind the cover of the rocks and continued her sprint for the gap in the rocks. She had a giant grin on her face and was laughing to herself. Ahhh, now this was fun! Took many weeks on the boat with nothing to fight had made her eager for a challange to her body and wits.

Selene heard Kaine's roar, and with extreme agility, she grabbed her staff, and dismounted her horse at a run.

She saw Kaine blocking the pathway before her, seemingly engrossed in combat with someone wielding dual blades.

She run full tilt at Kaine, and just as she was about to be on him, she jumped up, braced one side of the canyon wall with her foot and pushed off. Her other foot landing on the other side, and she pushed off again. Two more times she did this, as she shoulder rolled to the ground, to spring back up to her feet.

The brute was reaching for his maul that Sloane had made him drop with a stunning arrow to the shoulder.

She grinned at the man, and let loose a bolt of pure spirit energy. The purple bolt of energy sparkled and crackled as it flew through the air, smacking the brute full in the chest. The force of the blow knocked the man back a few steps, just out of reach of his massive hammer.

At about this time, the guard on the far side of the camp, coming from the other entrance broke out of his shock of the battle, screamed and charged at Selene.

Kaine felt the presence of someone over head, but at no time to look, as dual blades came whirling at him.

With his dragon claws extended, he parried each attack as it came. Sparks filled the air as metal clashed against metal like bone. The thin red haired duelist frowned as he could not seem to get an attack in.

Kaine knew this was going nowhere, as he was on the defense, and couldn't seem to get a good strike in.

Kaine ground his teeth together, as he saw an opening finally, and went in for an undercut, that would have gutting the man.

The duelist only smiled, as he deflected the claw attack with one sword, and struck Kaine in the face with the pommel of this other sword.

Kaine stumbled back, the taste of blood in his mouth. Rage filled his senses and everything seemed to slow down for a moment. He saw the duelist come in for another attack, both blades above his head, about to strike Kaine down, both blades aimed at his shoulders.

With great strength and speed Kaine ducked low, and brought his arms back, and with an open palm attack, smashed both of his hands into the stomach of the thin man.

The man let out a gasp, as all the air was pushed from his lungs. He went reeling backwards, dropping his blades, flailing his arms as he stumbled to the ground, gasping for air.

Kaine leaped into the air, claws extended, and came down on the mans throat, piercing all the way through.

With the rage still a hold of him, he began to tear at the man, ripping gashing wounds in him over and over again as the claws ripped away leather, and flesh alike. blood sprayed everywhere.

Soon there was nothing left of the mans torso, as it looked like it had been torn to shreds by a wild animal. The rage left the beast of a man, his head drooping, and his hands bracing him. His whole body heaved as his breathing became heavy, as if he was gasping for air.

The rush of adrenaline had left him weak and trembling, he stumbled to his feet, bracing himself against the wall of the canyon, looking into the camp site, seeing Selene facing off with the brute, and the other guard charging at her with his blade over his head.

Kaine's vision blurred, and he stumbled again, collapsing to the ground, conscious but unable to move.

As Kaine and Selene fought Sloane had made her way through the gap in the rocks and into the clearing. With a quick assessment of the battlefield she decided the guard charging Selene from behind was the bigger threat. Sloane was still in the shadow of the rocks and hadn't been spotted yet.

Sloane dropped her bow and grabbed shield and sword off her back. She let out a fierce cry and ran at the man from the side. He partly turned toward her but was off balance and she used her shield as a battering ram to knock him to the ground. She went to go for the killing blow to his throat but he managed to get his sword up in time to block her thrust. Before he could get up Sloane stomped down on the man's chest, knocking the wind from him. With the grip on his sword loosened she managed to kick his blade away and drive her sword through the poor man's throat.

Selene heard Sloane cry, and then the gurgle of a dieing man.

The brute had slightly recovered, jumped into a roll, grabbing his maul as he rolled back to his feet.

Selene grinned at the brute, making a kiss at him taunting him. She brought her hands out, curling her fingers into claws and brought them together to form a cage.

The brute stopped in his path and began screaming as an invisible wall started to crush him from all sides. He tried to push against it, but to no prevail. As the walls closed in, he again dropped his maul.

"Finish him off!! It won't hold him forever!" she yelled to no one in particular as she slowly backed away, just hoping someone get the hint to take the guy out.

Sloane was just looking up from her kill as she heard Selene yell. She pulled her sword from the dead man's throat and charged the big brute of a man. Immobalized as he was the brute didn't stand a chance against Sloanes flurry of blows from sword and shield. She let out a wicked laugh and quickly felled the big man. He was now defenseless but she didn't kill him right away.

Sloane stood on the man's throat and yelled over to the prone form of Kaine. "Hey boss, you wanna question this guy or should I just chop his disgusting head off now?"

Kaine shook his head, clearing it from the daze, and slowly got to his feet.

He marched over to the brute, and snarled "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The brute looked from Sloane, to the blood splattered Kain, blood dripping from his clawed gauntlets.

His eyes narrowed, and he grinned a mouth full of blackened teeth, "I ain't tellin you nuffin." And spat in Sloane's face.

Kaine turned away from the brute, "Kill him." was all he said as he walked away.

Sloane couldn't believe the guy had spat on her. How disgusting. Slowly she wiped her face and grinned when Kaine said to kill him. "With pleasure ser!" was her reply as she crushed her foot down harder on the man's throat and then drove her sword down through the man's face. There was a satisfying crunch and blood gushed everywhere. Not the cleanest way to kill a man, but it made her feel better.

She pulled her sword from the dead man's face and wiped it clean on his clothes before putting it away. "Well at least we don't have to build a fire!" Sloane joked as she headed over to retrieve her dropped bow.

Sloane issued a series of odd barks to let Sobaka know to bring Lamont and the mounts closer, but not too close. The smell of blood would unsettle the horses and mules and it would be hard for Lamont to deal with all the mounts on his own.

"What do you want done with these bodies boss?"

Kaine scratched his chin, "Ya know, I've never really thought about where to put dead bodies after I kill'em."

"I guess we could just dumped them over the cliff back down the path. Wish I could hear them go crunch when they land." Kaine shrugged, "But they will make nice meals for some scavengers."

"I guess you've got the brute then?" Kaine winked at Sloane as he Laughed and begun to drag two bodies towards the way they came.

"Just kidding!" He winked again, more than a little cheerful after such a nice slaughter. He dropped the legs of the two bandits he was dragging, and swaggered over to the brute.

He sized up the guy for a moment, scratching his head as to wonder how he was going to get this man from here, to way over there.

He bend down at the knees, put his arms under the brute's arm, and heaved.

The brute didn't even budge, "Son of a slimy dead toad!! This guy ways a ton!" As the brute should, when he was alive, he stood at least a head and a half taller than Kaine did.

Kaine looked over at his sword still imbedded in the dead bandits chest and a devilish grin came upon his face.

He walked over to his sword, put a foot on the dead man and with a loud sucking sound, and cracking of bones, his sword came free.

He walked back over to the brute, and began hacking at the man, chopping him into smaller pieces. Once a piece was sliced off, he threw it into a pile.

Soon he had severed all the arms and legs, leaving them in a pile next to the torso and head of the very dead brute.

Kaine thrust his sword into the guys neck, and began prying the sword back and forth. It took several minutes, but suddenly a satisfying snapping of bone echoed through the enclosed camp.

With an evil look on his face, which by this time, dripped with even more blood than before, he held up the brute his hair, and shook it, showing it to Sloane.

"Where is a pike when ya need one, eh Sloane?" He winked at her again, as he tossed the severed head into the pile of arms and legs, then went back to working on what was left of the torso.

"Ya know, I've never really thought about where to put dead bodies after I kill'em."

"I often don't bother either boss, but this is the best campsite for miles and I don't really enjoy sleeping with corpses. They tend to smell and don't know how to hold a conversation." Sloane chuckled at her morbid joke and began moving bodies.

Sloane moved two of the bodies and tossed them over the cliff as she watched Kaine chopping up the body out of the corner of her eye. She had just come back for a third body when Kaine severed the brute's head. For some reason Kaine's joke was much funnier than it should have been and she almost fell to the ground laughing before she got ahold of herself.

"I think we both went far too long without fighting boss. I think a good kill has made us a bit giddy. Or maybe it's the fresh mountain air. Or the company." She winked at him and laughed again and then headed off to the next body. As always a good fight had her wound up for a good tumble and Selene's earlier remark about snuggling with Kaine was stuck in her head. On the ship he had been so cranky the thought had never really crossed her mind. But now that he was back on dry land this boss of hers was kind of fun.

Sloane began whistling to herself as she picked up the leg of the third dead man and dragged him over to the cliffe edge and kicked him over the edge.

Kaine slowed a bit as Sloane kept on walking by. There was something about a woman all drenched in blood, digging through body parts that seemed to get him all riled up.

He looked over at Selene, just leaning against the canyon wall looking at the two warriors work. He frowned, took up a dismembered hand, and threw it at Selene.

It smacked her in the chest, dripping blood all over her nicely pressed outfit.

"HEY!! Why in the hell did you do that?!?!" she looked at Kaine in horror, blood dripping now her blouse, and streaking across her armor.

"There are no freeloaders, you want to come, you do the work. No Reaper lets another do the work by themselves. And if you want to be one, you've got to prove your worth." he laughed at her, just for the sake of how pissed off she was.

The bodies were soon disposed up, making it clear for the horses and mules to enter the site.

The animals were tethered, and given grains to eat, and Lamont went about taking off the tackle, and brushing the horses down for the nite. A fresh pond of water that trickled through the rock, seemed to supply the camp with much needed water.

Kaine sat down in front of the roaring flames, leaned over, and took a sniff of the still cooking stew. He shrugged his shoulders, grabbed a bowl and good size chunk of bread, and began eating it as if he hadn't eaten in days.

He only slowed long enough to watch Sloane and she walked about the camp site, noticing how well formed a woman she was. And after such a battle, she would definitely be fun to go for a tumble with.

Selene looked over at him, "Why are you looking at her when you could be looking at me?" she asked in an enticingly suggestive voice.

Kaine turned to her and replied, "No offense, but for one, you are a mage, secondly, you are a mage, and thirdly......"

"Don't tell me...I'm a mage right?" she folded her arms and pouted. Kaine shrugged, and went back to eating, and taking quick looks at Sloane between mouthfuls.

Sloane chuckled to herself when Kaine threw the arm at Selene covering her in blood. It wasn't a very nice thing to do, but he certainly had a point. They had done most of the killing work and now they were doing the clean up alone as well?

Sloane helped Lamont bring the animals into the clearing as the smell of blood lingered and they were a bit skittery. As soon as Lamont had them fully under control she set about making stew for dinner, whistling to herself again as she worked. She was still too amped up from the battle to sit and eat, so she set about other camp chores, trying to burn off some energy.

Noticing Kaine's eyes on her, and Selene's pouting disapproval, Sloane sauntered over to the fire. "Lamont says there is a good bathing pool a little ways down the trail if anyone is interested in a dip after dinner." She gave Kaine a suggestive look as she got herself a bowl of stew and some bread and settled down on a rock to eat. "He says it'll be cold, but might be good to not sleep covered in blood. And there are always plenty of ways to get warm afterward."

After finishing her dinner and cleaing out her bowl Sloane grabbed a towel and a fresh set of clothes from her pack. "Anyone coming?" She called as she tossed her towel over her shoulder, grabbed the soap and headed down the trail. Sobaka instantly jumped up and ran ahead of her, scouting the way.