Off to Denerim - Garoll's Group

Drake walked calmly towards where the Darkspawn had begun to emerge from the bushes. He could hear Calliara and Robert speaking but didn't pay much attention to it, instead focusing his attention towards the small horde which was sure to convene upon him at any moment. Neither sounded like they were in danger so he did not mind taking little notice of the words spoken. Only the tone and inflection went through his mind.

He casually stopped as two Genlocks appeared from the bushes then three more emerged only to be ambushed by Garoll. A smirk came upon his face as the two surged forward towards him and he parried their blows, moving swiftly around them and striking at them to gain their attention as the Ogre appeared.

The fighter noticed the huge Ogre leaning forward, getting ready to charge like a bull so he manuevered the two Genlocks into positioned, feigned an attack then ran off as the Ogre rushed at him.

Drake rolled out of the way, getting up onto his feet a short distance away and smirked at the two Genlock who'd been run over. The Ogre was now going mad, whapping his chest with his fists so Drake flopped to the ground, spread eagle, as it hit the ground sending shockwaves across the road and making anything standing close enough to fall or be stunned.

Having been flat on the ground, Drake was slightly stunned from the attack but not as badly as if he'd been standing and was closer.

Or standing in a tree branch. Calliara cursed her luck when the tree she happily chose moved and moved until the branch was almost broken. Even then she continued shooting her arrows, trying to not fall, but finally that was impossible.

She fell to the ground, gracefully even with that and landed crouching like an animal. The Ogre looked at her and the Dalish grinned coldly.

''Fuck my luck''

The Ogre roared and Calli answered with an arrow to its throat that cut the sound, but it wasn't serious enough to stop the enormous darkspawn. She took a look at the others; Garoll and Drake were fighting the remaining darkspawn helped by Robert with his bow. Mythal wasn't her goddess for nothing, so she quickly decided and shot another arrow to the Ogre.

''You, fucking ugly thing, come after me if you can''

The Ogre tried to roar again and madly went after her, who was running into the trees to keep him away from the others

The more it seems Garoll talks, the more questions are raised. What did he mean by 'take you back to the Stone!'? Perhaps he should accept dwarves are different in both culture and beliefs and leave it at that. He drew his bow and took aim at some of the approaching Genlocks. He took a deep inhale following a short exhale as he steadied the bow. He fired his shot right into a Genlocks shoulder. All concern was expelled as he quickly reloaded and continued to work on taking down the current Genlock. Soon that was no longer a concern as the Ogre in the group caught his attention.

The Ogre was closing in at Calliara's position. Robert only managed a few arrows into the Ogre's chest before noticing Calliara was out of her perch. Calliara decided to lure the ogre into the woods, at the very least delaying the inevitable conflict. Robert redirected his focus back on the providing cover fire for Garoll and Drake. Robert considered heading back to the ground, where he can focus more on the actual hitting strength of the arrows instead of losing balance. He put the thought aside he managed to pick off a Genlock running in to take advantage of Drake's diverted attention.

Garoll quickly dispatched the three Darkspawn that thought they had him ambushed like so, First he charged forward, behind his shield he bull rushed the Darkspawn Hurlock in front of him, as he did so he stabbed his longsword to his right side, impaling the Genlock that was making an overhead slash downward towards the aged Dwarf. The third Darkspawn managed to slice a bit of Garoll's ear from his left. He grunted as warm blood dripped down the side of his head from the wound but he retaliated by swinging his shield about, right into the head of the offending Genlock.

He then saw that Calliara was in distress from the Ogre and he grinned, leaping to her aid, standing between her, the disoriented Drake, and the Ogre. "Hello ya ugly beastie." He sneered and then charged up at the giant Darkspawn. As a Legionnaire he was quite used to fighting these things and knew some of their weaknesses. Still, he didn't expect to come out of this tangle unscathed.

As he collided with the Ogre, he took a powerful fist into the Shield, staggering him back a few paces, leaving a dirt trail in the ground as his feet dragged. He snarled and then renewed his attack, slashing one of the tendons behind the Ogre's leg to knock it off balance as it howled in pain. It retaliated by throwing its arm into Garoll's direction, sending the Dwarf crashing into a tree nearby as he left the ground. He slumped down, unconscious.

The Ogre was larger than most which made it difficult to fight it as one would the smaller variety and Drake wondered for just a moment about the size of these Darkspawn as all seemed larger than he was used to.

The thought passed as the man got up into a sprinter position and then ran directly at the Ogre as it moved into the bushes. It seemed that since it threw Garoll it figured on chasing the figure it could see as opposed to the one now out of sight. Maybe it thought Calliara was going for reinforcements or just liked a good chase. They would never know.

"Keep shooting the ones here and covering Garoll, Robert!" Drake yelled as he whipped past.

The Ogre was faster than he was, moving as a fair pace for one that large. They were soon out of sight of the others and the Ogre was reaching down to grab Calliara. It flicked out at the woman trying to trip then grab her.

That's when Drake had enough.

He changed into a hawk, flew quickly until he was a few feet behind the Ogre then changed into a large feline, digging in all his claws and teeth. He tore at the Darkspawn, chomping down upon it's neck and twisting with all the fury of one fearing the loss of a loved one.

When the Ogre tried to grab her, the Dalish easily avoided its hand. It was just too big. Larger than others. Calliara tried to think about it while running and sometimes turning to fire another arrow, or two arrows that always found spot. Even the genlocks looked bigger than usual. What the hell, usual. When did she start to think that darkspawn were normal sized?

Suddenly her path was cut by a rocky cliff which climbed up the mountain, and she cursed again under her breath.

''Fuck my luck...''

With determination she turned again, waiting for the Ogre, seeing it trying to reach her...

And she saw a hawk that suddenly changed into a feline that fell on the Ogre. The Dalish blinked, but she understood it was Drake, she saw the Ogre trying to grab the feline and a sudden rage made her explode, in a way she haven't felt in the months before that moment (and for that she was grateful).

She ran again, directly to the Ogre, and literally climbed up on him with the agility of a squirrell and a dangerous glow in her now cold eyes. The large darkspawn tried to grab them both at a time but both of them were too quick for it. While the feline continued his toring on his flesh, the Dalish reached the Ogre's head and was welcomed with a thunderous roar (and was showered with darkspawn saliva. Charming)

Calliara drew her two curved swords, the swords that once belonged to her father, and sank deeply one of them through one of the Ogre's eyes while the other found its place across the palate to the brain. Ogre blood covered her as well while the large darkspawn began to fall, still barely alive but his brain death to all effects

Things just kept getting worse by the second. Garoll, experienced Darkspawn killer, was knocked out cold by the Ogre(OOC:Worf effect, anyone?), which was giving chase to Calliara, while Drake left them to help Calli. This meant little old Redcliffe militia man Robert had to protect Garoll by himself. Garoll, unfortunately, wasn't thrown by his tree, which meant Robert needed to either dispatch the remaining darkspawn quickly or relocate to a position to defend him.

"Looks like I'm coming down."

Robert jumped down from his perch and ran in front of Garoll. He unsheathed his sword and dagger and stabbed them on the ground next to him. He knelt down, nocked his next arrow and began his attack on the nearest Genlock. This genlock was going down easy, two shots square in the chest did nothing to phase it. He nocked his next arrow and shot him straight in the ankle, sending him down in pain. He slipped the bow onto his shoulder and grabbed his swords. He ran up to the Genlock and cut at it with his dar'misu, followed by an even deeper cut by his longsword. He moved around it and sheathed his Dar'misu, right in the back of the Genlocks head.

A second Genlock went to move in on the only foe they had not previously seen, namely Robert. The militiamen took his bow and swung it at the ground,(imagine like a golfclub), picking up dirt which went flying into the genlocks eyes. He grabbed his Dar'misu and walked right behind the blinded Genlock before stabbing it right in the back.

He then looked around and saw that there were no more darkspawn, except for the ogre which was preoccupied at the moment. Garoll was still out cold, meaning no one saw him slay this two with his bare hands and some unconventional methods. "If only Garoll was awake, maybe that would have shown him not to underestimate me. But of course, when I end up saving the day, sorta, no one is around to see it. It's just a first, but I hope it doesn't become a running trend."

Robert walked over to the dwarf and looked at him a bit trying to see what he could use to wake him up. He heard the stereotype that dwarves like to drink, and as it seemed before, Garoll fit that stereotype, even after 'death'. Perhaps that can be the key. Robert grabbed a flask he had filled with a West Hill brandy that he had snuck from the tavern he used to work at prior to trying to find Nygozy. He popped the top of it off and placed it under the dwarfs nose(like smelling salts).

Garoll had only been unconscious for a couple minutes but to him it seemed like he was drifting for hours. Suddenly the sweet scent of ale entered his nostrils and the Dwarf sat bolt upright and snatched the flask from the boy, downing it. "Aye! That hit th' spot." He then hopped up to his feet and picked up his sword and shield, looking around for the Ogre. "Round two ya bastard! Where are ya!" he shouted out, only to frown when he saw that Calliara had taken down the beast. There were only two Genlocks left and they started retreating. Garoll chased after them, as fast as his short legs could take him, and managed to kill one, by slicing it in half as it retreated, but the other got away. He sighed and fell back on the ground, staring up at the tree boughs. "By the Stone, my sodding head is sodding hurting." He grumbled to himself. He had lost a piece of his ear, and was knocked out for a while, it left him dazed and since he missed out on getting his payback on the Ogre, he was miserable. Still, chin up, can't have the troops seeing you weak. He thought to himself and stood up again, walking back to the others. "Well, that's got 'em... Everyone alrigh'?" He asked as he role called.

Once the Ogre fell the Shifter changed back to his human form and rushed to Calliara's side, looking her over to make sure she had not been hurt. His head snapped around as Garoll spoke but he wasn't sure of what the Dwarf had said at first, the blood lust seeping out of him slowly.

"We are fine over here." He called back, glad for trees being between them as he was not wanting Robert to know of his being a Shifter. Only three people knew of his abilities and he did not want to spread it around. Even Sinjan did not know and they had traveled with Nygozy for quite a long while.

"How about you Robert? Did Garoll bet any of them for a drink?"

He put an arm around Calliara's waist, "Why did you bait the Ogre, love? You did well chopping it down. For a moment I thought it was a tree." Drake smiled to show her he was not angry about her running to get the Darkspawn's attention and that he was only curious of why she had chosen that strategy.

The Ogre fell like a mountain, but luckily this time Calliara had time to jump and roll until she stood again, feeling a bit dizzy but with no more harm than some bruises which was good.

She felt more than saw Drake rushing to her side, checking if she was ok, and that made her feel good as well, and she even managed to smile lightly below all the mud, blood and ogre saliva that was on her right then.

''I am alrig...'' She began, but she suddenly stopped and jumped to a side when she felt as if she was to throw up right there and right then. And unfortunately that was what she did. As every time she was critically close to darkspawn, due to her special feeling for them.

When she was done with her shameful spectacle, the Dalish stood again and sighed, trying to bury it with mud, and then grabbed her waterskin to drink a bit and then spit. And right after that she emptied the waterskin on herself, trying to wash away the blood, mud and saliva.

"Why did you bait the Ogre, love?''

Calliara lifted an eyebrow, looking at the Changeling. ''Because it saw me, Robert was busy and so were Garoll and you. It was logical. It saw me and went after me, so I kept it away from you''

''You did well chopping it down. For a moment I thought it was a tree."

The Dalish grinned, but with no amusement. ''We were trained to fight them in the Deep Roads. The theory is the same. Avoid its hands, avoid being trampled, cut tendons in the back of its knees to make it fall, reach its brain though its eyes, cut his spine...'' She sighed, trying to wipe some water drops that were falling down her face.

After a moment, surprisingly, she laughed and added shyly, but completely honest. ''I'd gladly kiss you right now, but I'm afraid that I stink like Ogre's blood again... I supposse we should go back and continue''

Robert was surprised by how effective that idea was. Robert just stood there and picked up the flask after Garoll had emptied it's contents in one gulp. Robert wished he at least took a sip of it before Garoll downed the whole thing. He never had the chance to drink it yet and he only has to hope that there is a tavern on the way that he can refill the flask with something.

"I'm fine over here. Unfortunately, there was no bet that I was aware of. I was trying to get Garoll back on his feet, which..." Robert looked aside and saw something pink with red oozing out. He looked back at Garoll and noticed something was off of him. "Ugh, Garoll, I think..I found part of your....ear."

Robert held back the contents of his stomach and backed away from the piece of ear. He took out his weapons and preceded to wipe them off on some of the Genlocks clothes. He also went around trying to salvage some of his arrows for later use. "How long until we continue on our way?"

Seeing everyone was alright, Garoll nodded. He wrapped a poultice around his head to stem the bleeding of what was left of his ear, creating a lopsided headband of sorts. He tied it tightly and let out a breath. "Ah, well th' boy were kind enoug' ter provide me with a drink. Got me conscious again." He nodded proudly, in the Deep Roads he was infamous for his quick recoveries when drinking. Enough so that the Darkspawn tried to destroy the booze supplies just to keep him and others like him down. They had failed every time, as Garoll had guards constantly watching over the food and drinks so the troop wouldn't starve to death.

He watched Calliara empty the contents of her stomach. Anyone ignorant in the ways of the warrior would think it could be chalked up to a weak constitution, but Garoll saw in her eyes she was no stranger to gore, so this must have been something else. The old dwarf was then disturbed in his thoughts by Robert, who showed him the piece of meat that may have been the part of his ear that was missing. "Meh, leave it ter th' wolves, boy. It ain't of any use ter me now. Sodding Darkspawn." He grumbled and then hoisted his shield back over his shoulder, preparing to head back to the horse he despised riding (his groin was hurting something awful from the lack of experience riding). "C'mon, ya sodding nug humpers. We're losin' whatchamacallit....daylight."

''We were trained to fight them in the Deep Roads. The theory is the same. Avoid its hands, avoid being trampled, cut tendons in the back of its knees to make it fall, reach its brain though its eyes, cut his spine...''

The relieving of her intestinal contents did not affect Drake as he only looked away to give her privacy as some people tended to feel ashamed of the act of vomiting. He had no clue why but that was the way things were. He looked back when he heard her getting up and gave her an understanding look.

''I'd gladly kiss you right now, but I'm afraid that I stink like Ogre's blood again... I supposse we should go back and continue''.

"I had been hoping you would take no offense to me not offering." He smiled tenderly, "You are probably right."

"Ah, well th' boy were kind enoug' ter provide me with a drink. Got me conscious again."

"That was kind of you, Robert but I am sure you have none left. I have an extra skin of wine if you wish to use it until we get to the Circle Tower."

"I'm fine over here. Unfortunately, there was no bet that I was aware of. I was trying to get Garoll back on his feet, which ... Ugh, Garoll, I think..I found part of your....ear."

Drake glanced at the ear without expression then turned his head to look at Garoll.

"Meh, leave it ter th' wolves, boy. It ain't of any use ter me now. Sodding Darkspawn."

Drake snorted, "Are you trying to poison the wildlife up here? By the Stone if a wolf ate that it would be like dunking a baby in a barrel of ale."

"How long until we continue on our way?"

"C'mon, ya sodding nug humpers. We're losin' whatchamacallit....daylight."

The fighter got onto the horse and put out his hand to help Calliara up as well. He smiled contentedly then changed his expression, "We should be at the Tower within a couple of hours so keep your armor on."

Fenrir barked excitedly trying to pop out the bag, but he just managed to have his head out and panted happily. Life was exciting and Mommy was there, what could go wrong?

Calliara got onto the horse with Drake's help, but behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist while resting her body against his back. ''I hope you won't mind'' She purred tiredly, rubbing her cheek against the back of his neck.

''We should hurry, or else they'll have all the fun!''

"Thanks, but no thanks. I have some other stuff, but that just happened to have been the most expensive stuff I had. I'm sure I'll be able to get some more later," Robert replied as he wiped the darkspawn blood off the retrieved arrow heads. He slipped the arrows back into his quiver and climbed back on his horse.

''We should hurry, or else they'll have all the fun!''

"Sorry for making you wait. We can go now."

[OOC: Drake, your turn. Garoll told me he wasn't going to post and I'm tired of waiting ]

Drake nodded at Robert to show him he heard him say he would be fine then turned to Garoll, "It should not be long now." He stated and then became quiet, relaxing against Calliara's back and holding her waist as they rode. He closed his eyes leaving it to her to steer and get them to where they had to go.

After some few hours and a couple of pit stops they did finally get to their location at Lake Calenhad. He noticed tents and Nygozy speaking with people by the water. In fact, she was talking to a large Qunari which made him wonder as he knew it was not the Sten who had helped dispatch the Arch Demon.

His eyes grew narrow as he considered the person until he finally jumped off the horse, squeezed Calliara's hand and started in that direction, "Time to be honour guard." He stated to the others as he moved like a hunter, "Robert, if you would like to speak with the Hero of Fereldan then I believe now would be the time."

He wondered if Calliara would get the hint that he was not happy with seeing a Qunari near their leader. He knew that Garoll would immediately notice his change in attitude as he moved towards the two who were coming in their direction.

Calliara nodded silently as she saw Drake rushing to Nygozy's side. The Dalish even wondered if he realized that she made the gesture, but said nothing. He already told her that he had his loyalty to the dwarf, and that loyalty came first to anything else. So she just had to deal with it. At least she liked the new Commander. And at least she was not the explosive jealousy type.

She smiled to Robert and Garoll and took the horses with the rest, to clean them and feed them, and she placed Fenrir on the ground. The little puppy ran excitedly to find Torture.

Once she was done with the horses, Calliara remained apart from the others. She was waiting for something to happen, and it wasn't going to be pretty. So she waited, alone and pretty far from camp, looking at the water and the darkening sky after cleaning herself from the blood

The ride to the Lake was hell for Garoll. His inexperience at riding making him very irritable and grouchy. His loins hurt something awful from the terrible bouncing of the saddle as well. When they looked to see that everyone was present, along with some new faces, Garoll tried to cheer himself up by going immediately for the liquor. Sufficiently boozed up enough to forget his crushed gonads, he saw Drake staring at the giant by the lake next to the Warden-Commander. "So that's a Qunari, eh...? Wuzzah matter with ya, Rainard? Afraid of a giant? Bah! We've curb stomped bigger." He barked a laugh and clapped a hand onto the human's shoulder.

Robert felt a bit relieved that the fighting had ended for now. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. He was a bit surprised at the number of tents. Did Nygozy really have a big entourage of people with her? What also surprised him was seeing her talking to a Qunari.

"Robert, if you would like to speak with the Hero of Fereldan then I believe now would be the time."

Robert was a bit intimidated by the Qunari's presence. He didn't really want to say that, so instead, "I think I'll wait until she's done talking. I would be rude to intrude on the conversation.

"So that's a Qunari, eh...? Wuzzah matter with ya, Rainard? Afraid of a giant? Bah! We've curb stomped bigger."

He glanced back at Garoll and sniggered, "It is more frightening than what we have ever dealt with ya spoilt bronco nimskull." Drake shrugged, "This isn't fighting with our types of skills. This ... is ... diplomacy. That man is no major fighter which means they will be fighting with words. I'll be there for backup and to look imposing."

Drake thought of that realizing the others might find the thought of him, who was smaller than the Qunari, to not look so imposing but once he put on his deadpan face it was hard to tell how long it would be until he did do something and know it would be an action without emotion, just a swift move with no regrets or constraints, like a viper.

"I think I'll wait until she's done talking. I would be rude to intrude on the conversation.

The changeling nodded, "I understand. Do not worry, I shall make sure that Nygozy knows of you and comes to see you herself." He looked towards Calliara with true feeling, "I have a tent for us in my pack if you would be so kind as to pitch it for us."

With one reassuring smile he turned, his face becoming impassive suddenly and strode towards the very large man and self assured small woman.

"I have a tent for us in my pack if you would be so kind as to pitch it for us."

Calliara smiled tiredly and nodded, pulling the horses reigns to take them apart so she could clean and feed them. Before going, she called Drake quietly.

''If you see Bowen, tell him where I am and that it's starting. He'll understand''

With one last tiny smile she left with the horses and to prepare the tent in the most silent and hidden corner she could find. Silence at last...


Fenrir trotted happily here and there, and finally found his way following Drake's steps