The Fall

It was a stormy night, with rain pounding hard against the ground.

"Fuck....fuck....it hurts...just a bit more Ostef, just a bit more..."

The warrior spoke as he continued to crawl forward, pushing off with his right hand, his left one limp on his side. As he kept moving he left a thick trail of blood behind him, as the liquid poured out of the a large hole in the middle of his chest plate.

"The Wardens...must be nearby...I can sense them...yes...soon....I almost made it....can't give up yet...."

Pushing forward yet again, with the last remains of his strength he lifted his head, perhaps it was a hallucination brought about by the exhaustion, but through the thick of the rain he could see a welcoming light of a bone fire rising in the distance.

"Maker's balls....move damn it! MOVE!"

He yelled at himself, his exhausted muscles refusing to propel him another inch. He clenched his teeth and managed to push yet again. Suddenly his eyes dimmed, his body shutting down from strain and blood loss.

"Not like this...was so close...can't go yet..."

He muttered under his breath, as his head hit the ground. He continued to lay there, unconscious and breathing faintly, as rain drops kept hammering against his shattered armor.

Khael was out scouting when he thought he heard a noise in the bush off to his left. He drew his shortsword and slowly advanced iin the direction of the noise.

The dwarf wasn't sure what he expected to find but he certainly didn't expect to nfind a bloody corpse. As he kneltdown to inspect it he realized the corpse was still breathing. Furthermore herrecognized the bloodied human as a fellow warden. "Shit!" He swore under his breath.

There was no way he could carry the injured man so he ran as fast as he could in the direction of camp. "I need a healer over here now!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he reached the edge ofcamp.

"I need a healer over here now!"

Calliara's head turned in that direction, her hands stopping from her task, preparing one of the tents.

Khael. A healer.

The Wolf looked around and pointed at the nearest one. ''Go get Jezarine. Now. And while you're at it, tell Macha to come here as well''

Then, she rushed to Khael's side and helped him to take Ostef close to the firepit. Ostef. Alone

With a tenderness that was well known by the people in camp but she always tried to hide, she brushed back soe hair from Ostef's forehead and wrapped him with the nearest blanket, keeping him safe from the raindrops below one of the half prepared tents.

''Ostef. Ostef! Can you hear me? What happened? Where are Drake and Rakot?''

Please, Please, Please. Creators, PLEASE

For a brief moment Ostef's eyes opened, he coughed and lifted his hand to wipe the blood coming out of the corners of his mouth.

''Ostef. Ostef! Can you hear me? What happened? Where are Drake and Rakot?''

He tried to lift his head up, but couldn't master the strength, he spoke faintly.

"The Wolf? Must tell you what happened...Drake...don't know...lots of blood....but did not see him fall. Rakot....dead....no....worse than that....must tell you....must warn you....damn the Maker it hurts...I must..."

His eyes dimmed again as his consciousness faded into the darkness. For a few moments he stopped breathing, but then picked up once again.

''...Drake...don't know...lots of blood...''

Creators, please, NO. Calliara felt as if she was going to pass out. Just for a moment. She had to be strong, she had to hide her feelings, she had to be stoic and strong and cold and...

''...but did not see him fall. Rakot....dead....no....worse than that...''

The Wolf closed her eyes for a brief moment, holding Ostef to her chest as tenderly as a mother or a sister, stroking his hair. Sacred Mythal, goddess of my choice, please don't make me loose someone again. Not again. I won't be able to survive to this one more time. Protect Drake and Rakot until I can find them''

''...must tell you....must warn you....damn the Maker it hurts...I must..."

''You must rest'' Calliara whispered soothingly, trying to make him comfortable. When Ostef stopped breathing the Wolf almost yelped, and was about to try a cardiopulmonary resuscitation when the young man started breathing again. Calliara sighed and looked at Khael, her blue and now scarred tattoos glowing lightly in the dark, as icy as her icy eyes.

''Cub, please, go and look for Macha if she is not coming already, I sent... I don't know, I sent someone to look for Jez and her. I need you to see if Nygozy is back in camp already as well''

There had been little chance to gather up any supplies but Jezarine always kept her healing supplies with her as much as possible because if there was an emergency she could take it with her right away without messing around.

This helped when the page came running over to her, yelling something about a hurt human, a warden and rambled incoherently. Now Jezarine was known to ramble and speak quickly but it was never incoherent where she did not know what she was saying. This poor youth was fumbling over his words and saying them backwards. She took pity on him and put a hand on his head then smiled before rushing off with her pack of supplies.

Jezarine skidded around a corner of tents and rushed to the others, noticing that it was Ostef. She stopped quickly and put a hand on his shoulder and one on his forehead then closed her eyes. Without speaking to anyone she started to search for the wounds, figuring out where each was and how bad they were before grabbing a vial and putting it to his lips.

"Drink this, Ostef. It will stop the pain while I heal you." It was a simple order without her normal banter because she was in a hurry. She had to hurry to deal with the worst of this before it took over him.

Khael recognozed the look on Calliara's face as that of someone trying to stay strong for others. He had often worn that face himself. He knew there was little he could do to comfort her, so instead he focused on carrying out her orders. "Yes Wolf" he replied as he stood.

Jezarine arrived just as he rose so that was one person off his list. He went back into camp to look for Macha and Nygozy, questioning everyone he met.

Ostef opened his eyes again, and accepted the vial from Jezarine. His hand shaking he brought it up to his lips and gulped the contents. As the liquid spread through his body he could feel as the pain numbed down.

"Thanks...much better. This can't wait, I don't know if I'll make it through the night, I must tell you all what happened. It all started then we finally tracked down the ones that attacked Nygozy...."

"Thanks...much better. This can't wait, I don't know if I'll make it through the night''

''Don't you dare to even think about dying or I'll kick you until you're up and breathing again'' Calliara snarled, still holding him in her arms and not even realizing it, but protecting the wounded warrior as the mother wolf she always acted.

''It all started then we finally tracked down the ones that attacked Nygozy...."

''Where? How far? How many? What happened?'' The Wolf asked, trying to keep her voice still and stoic, trying to hide that her heart was beating painfully inside her chest

FOUR DAYS EARLIER

"Well, this is it..."

Rakot said, stepping out from the shadow of the forest into a clearing, a large cave opened up before him. Ostef stepped out close behind him.

"Maker's balls, we're going underground? Why can't evil wizard assassins live in a nice place for once? Some place warm, not dark, and with lots of ale and wenches."

Rakot grinned.

"So inconsiderate of them...anyways, stop your whining Ostef, or atleast save it until after we're done with the fight ahead of us."

"I would, but in my experience I am usually either unconscious, or bleeding heavily or both after the fight is over, not a good time for whining. Thus this is the only time I have, deal with it."

"Lets just get to work, we've been tracking these bastards for almost a week now, and they're still in way too good a health."

"Alright, I am ready."

"Good. Drake, are you ready?"

Drake stood on Rakot's other side, looking into the cavern. When he heard his name his head turned and he gave the two men a slight grin, "I am always ready, Rakot, or did you think I was a lazy pansy ass?" He had been almost surprised at the short amount of time it had taken in order to find the wizard but considered the fact that they may have set a trap, "You are the trap master from what I have seen, Rakot. Time to put that brain cell to use."

The Terrible Two had yammered at each other all the way there and for the most part were rather amusing but Drake showed little to no reaction to their banter. There had been some quiet time, usually one or the other went for a run into the bushes and then it was a race to see which one could outdo the other in being uncultured more. Sometimes Drake could almost see them as squat dwarves dousing each other with snarls and testosterone filled words in the middle of trying to find the right passage to wherever they were going.

Wait, that was him and Garoll he was thinking of. Either way you thought of it the two were an interesting pair to be teamed up with.

"You are the trap master from what I have seen, Rakot. Time to put that brain cell to use."

"Gladly, though it doesn't take a master to tell that this is most certainly a trap. Otherwise how would be able to track them down so quickly? They wanted us to come here, they lead us here in fact. They left behind all the clues we would ever need to come after them. But the mere fact that we know that its a trap, doesn't mean that we have a choice of not triggering it. Whatever is inside this cave, it is our only way to get to the ones we're after. I am hoping for an ambush, that way they're already here, and we don't need to continue our search. Anyways...let's go."

Rakot stepped into the darkness of the cave, Ostef lit a torch and followed behind him.

Drake chuckled under his breath, "Of course the whole thing is a trap but I'd rather avoid the smaller ones which are there to inhibit our abilities to deal with the big one."

If he had been alone he would have just flown in as a small creature, found where the lair was and blown it up but this was a team mission which needed a team investment and neither of these men knew what he really could do. At least he believed they had not seen him as a dragon going after the Tevinter mage who had wanted Jezarine.

But something felt ... wrong.

The trio walked into the cave, the ceiling, the walls, and the ground were all covered in darkness. Ostef lit his torch, its light illuminating the path before them. The cave was wide with a high ceiling and a small stream running through the middle, an opening of a narrow tunnel opposite the cave entrance lead further into the mountain. Rakot took a few steps forward, sniffing the air. He spoke in a loud whisper.

"Everyone keep your voices down, sound travels far carried by the echo. Something...isn't right."

"The creepy dark cave is giving you a strange vibe...who would have thought?"

Ostef replied in a similar volume.

"Its not that, I've been underground before, this place feels different...it is just odd somehow. Well, not like we have a choice, we have to keep going forward."

Rakot lit his own torch and moved towards the tunnel entrance, he stuck his head into it for a second, and then jerked it out.

"Well, didn't take long for the trap to spring...Darkspawn, lots and lots of darkspawn, coming right up. By the strength of their scent I'd say they'll be here in around a minute. And naturally..."

Rakot picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it at the cave entrance. The rock hit an invisible wall and bounced back into the cave.

"...we're stuck here. Ready your weapons, lads! The fun part is about to begin!"

Rakot tossed the torch to the ground and grabbed his weapon with both hands. A magical flame enveloped the blade, lighting the space infront of him. Ostef followed suit, tossing his torch aside and grabbing his shield and sword. They could hear them now, loud grunts and roars coming up from the tunnel. The two warriors stood still as stone, waiting for their enemy to show itself.

Drake kept an even expression as the Trouble Twins kept being raucous with their banter. It was amusing and for such hard assed men it was nice to see them being able to joke around so easily with one another. Maybe it was a good thing that Nygozy made sure to keep them together and to send them with Drake for getting them settled in. Drake's missions were definitely much more to their qualifications and interests than any other they could take.

Suddenly the fighter stopped behind the two, sniffing the air and suddenly snarling as he smelled the Darkspawn a moment before Rakot felt them. He had assumed that this was a trap well before but when Rakot proved it by throwing the stone it was definitely outlined for them.

"Sneaky bastards." He growled under his breath, his two swords out as the other two got their weapons ready, "Well then. You pussies stay here for a moment."

Drake walked to the tunnel entrance and pointed his one sword at the ground. Cold generated through the weapon and threw ice onto the ground creating a huge skating rink in front of the Darkspawn. He then watched the horde waiting for them to hit the ice and fall before using Arcarla to spread a line of electrical death at the ones still standing. They would get past the ice, that wasn't a tactic to stop them, only to slow them down and kill a bunch with Arcarla to even out the odds a bit.

As the first line of the darkspawn fell to ice and electricution, the second one advanced behind them, a group of heavily armored Harlocks, their iron boots sinking deep into the ice, and keeping them from slipping.

"Amateur hour is over, time to spill some blood!"

Rakot threw a glance at Ostef and nodded, Ostef returned the gesture. The two warriors fought together long enough that they no longer needed to guide their combat formations with orders, both understood what was appropriate for the situation.

"KILL!!!"

"KILL!!!"

They screamed in unison as Ostef charged forward bashing his shield against the face of the first darkspawn, moving his shied to the side and driving his sword into the neck of another enemy. He then raised his shield and continued charging, clearing the way forward as Rakot followed close behind him, sinking his blade into the vermin brought down by Ostef's shield. They easily broke through the line, and the gap they created was quickly closed off by even more darkspawn pouring out from deep within the caverns.

Ostef stopped, Rakot turned around placing his back against his comrade's.

"Yeah, this is the part of this tactic that I am a bit on clear on. It went well at the start...but now we seem to be surrounded."

Hearing Ostef's words, Rakot grinned.

"Well thats the plan, they're all around us, so now they can't run away! RAAAGH!!!"

Rakot swung the Ataash, cutting a Hurlock top to buttom. The weapon's blade wrapped in flame, fed by the berserker's rage. Another swing, and two more darkspawn fell to the ground one missing a head, another on fire and in two halves along the torso. Rakot kept up the attack, striking the enemy right and left, his back protected by Ostef who was attacking as well. Ostef's shield blocked a swing aimed at his head, then with a steady hand the young Warden plunged his blade into the cracks in the attacker's armor.

The battle continued, as more and more darkspawn came out of the darkness, an ogre roared from somewhere behind them. The air became saturated with flying limbs, blood and guts, as the Trouble Twins fought on.

Drake grinned as the Trouble Twins went into their flurry of fighting expertise working together like no other could ever do. These two were a great combination and Drake felt that it was some form of luck that they were able to acquire such a good team for the wardens. It was a shame though that it had come at a price, putting the fear into Jezarine and creating a great amount of animosity from the other wardens towards them for their kidnapping of said healer.

It did not take long for the two to tear through a line of the darkspawn and then become encircled by the horde but even then they were a force to be reckoned with, tearing through the monsters with a passion for the fight that could only be accomplished by training and skill.

The grin widened as the changeling left the darkness to come out where the darkspawn could sense him and he went about his own game of tearing down the opposition. He snarled as he drew his blades across the enemie's throats, middriffs and other body parts, tearing apart all there was in his path. He would seem to disappear for a moment then reappear behind a larger darkspawn to attack the side or back then swirl on another enemy or disappear again so that a darkspawn which was aiming at him would completely wreck havoc upon another member of it's own kind.

He worked his way to the Trouble Twins, somehow ending up at their sides between them and where the ogre was coming from, still slashing away, "You two get de little buggers. I have me some fun comin' our way."

It almost sounded like a dwarf but before one could consider it that much he was on the move, shredding the opposition just before jumping onto the chest of the closest ogre. Arcarla slashed at the throat then the sword of cold went directly into an eye and the shifter jumped off the body to roll into more of the horde, roaring his triumph in an animalistic sound that was almost like a lion's. Then he was at it again, stripping away the darkspawn with blood covering his entire being.

- Present -

''Ssshhh'' Calliara purred sweetly, brushing away some hair from Ostef's forehead. Even while Jezarine was healing the young man, and Khael was guarding the tent to avoid unnecessary questions, the Wolf had kept the warrior's head on her lap, as lovingly as a mother or a bigger sister.

''Take your time. Don't waste your breath. Stay calm, breath in, and when you're ready, continue. Don't force yourself''