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Post by Mikey on Apr 6, 2011 14:22:45 GMT -5
Xanthira
The small coach that was serving to take Xanthira and the Grey Warden who had recruiter her jolted against the ground on the rocky trail. The Warden, a Dwarf with a bushy brown beard, was thrown from his seat and landed on the ground in a heap of chain mail and hair.
“Sodding trails…” He muttered, picking himself up and wobbling in the moving cart. “Blasted surface roads… Feels like they let a Bronto till the damned roads up here.” He continued muttering. Taking his seat again next to Xan, he grabbed onto the edges with his arms to avoid falling out again. It was the third time the short man had fallen off his seat.
He took a look at his recruit, the Elf who was almost as small as he was. He didn’t know they made em this small on the surface. She was one of them malifi-things the priests were always talking about. He didn’t see the danger, personally. Maybe it was just him. He’d never thought much of magic. And he certainly wasn’t afraid of it. How could anyone be afraid of her?
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Aeral
The thudding fall of horse hooves was all that any of the men could hear, the mounts cutting through an empty field to save time on their way from Denerim to Ostagar. They had been riding for a day now, through the night with the only rest period for the horses. Everyone else had to make due with the short feeding break.
The dense forests of the Wilds were visible in the distance, beyond them the thick rock structures of the fortress that was Ostagar. The Warden who had recruited Aeral, a large human with an even larger hammer slung over his back, held up a hand and motioned them to go faster. Once they made it to the edges of the Wilds, they would have to go on foot to the fortress.
A matter of minutes later, they entered the forest and all of them came to a standstill.
“Dismount.” He said in a soft voice. He seemed on edge, and everyone but Aeral knew why.
“Darkspawn near…” He said quietly. “Move quickly men, leave the horses.” He said, walking briskly into the forest. He didn’t seem like he was looking around at all.
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Ellenaia
The small boat cut the water like a knife, moving smoothly through it with no help from a manual source. Naia had a feeling that the elf who sat across from her, his staff glowing with a slight yellow light at the top, had something to do with that.
They had used the road until Redcliff, then took a boat from there and down the river. By the time their boat trip was over, they would only have half a days walk to get to the fortress. Less, with the mage’s tricks.
Finally hitting land, they climbed up the ditch and took a look around. They could see the white stone walls of the fortress from here, and suddenly Naia felt herself becoming lighter. No, not lighter, but she felt as if the air and forces around her didn’t effect has as much anymore. When she looked to the mage, she saw him shoot off into the distance in a run, faster than she had ever watched anyone go before. When she started to run after him, she saw that she was moving just as fast. It would be a matter of hours that they reached Ostagar.
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Arkaym
Zombie Hunter
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Posts: 107
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Post by Arkaym on Apr 7, 2011 11:32:01 GMT -5
Aeral rode the horse he had been lent expertly. He'd always had a bit of a way with animals, specifically horses and warhounds. This man with the hammer, the one who had recruited him... Aeral didn't like him one bit. That hammer was the source of his hatred. Where's the grace, the elegance, the skill, in using a hammer? A brute's weapon, for sure. Once they reached, he was told to dismount. Aeral obeyed the command but felt a pang of guilt at leaving the horses behind like that. Poor creatures... They deserve better.
He paced behind the rest of the men silently. The throwing daggers at Aeral's belt were like that of eastern assassins, simple blades with small finger-sized holes in the handles. When the word darkspawn was spoken, Aeral unnoticably moved one hand a few inches to his belt and hooked two of his fingers into two daggers. A simple precaution, allowing him to quickly eliminate a couple of enemies should the group be attacked.
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Post by Reaper on Apr 7, 2011 15:35:44 GMT -5
Xanthira sat patiently in the coach though like the dwarf not enjoying the ride as much. Most of the roads where she came from were tended to by others and kept clean. She felt a pain of guilt for leaving her home, but when she thought about what every thought of her in the end it just made leaving feel a bit better. She opened her eyes as the dwarf mumbled under his breath. Looking down at him she gave him a gentle smile
"It seems that we both come from two worlds that are not accustom to these conditions," she spoke lightly. She turned to look outside of the coach and sighed a bit. The scene was like her home. She sighed a bit before looking down at the floor of the coach. "I must thank you for . . . well in short . . . rescuing me. If it wasn't for you I have no idea what would have happened." She looked around before looking back out the window. "In truth I'm a bit worried. I've never been past the woods of my home. All I know is the stories of the human world. So this is new to me," she said lightly. She looked at the dwarf.
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Post by Escachick357 on Apr 7, 2011 17:09:54 GMT -5
The ride through the water, when the boat started moving extremely quickly, was actually pretty fun. It was an inappropriate time to admit that, so she kept her mouth shut and enjoyed the ride while being completely focused on her surroundings. The elf was probably not even intending to make the ride more enjoyable.
Then she got onto the land, where her feet got used to the ground once again and stood next to the elf. For a short moment, things were silent and she felt the urge to open her mouth and start talking. Words never got the chance to leave her mouth before the elf started running at a high speed, but she wasn't offended by this.
Instead, something told her body to start running and she felt no reason but to comply. She was surprised by the results. She was quick when it came to fighting and she had always been somewhat fast when it came to running, but she had never been exceedingly fast, not like she and the elf were doing at this moment. It felt great, yet strange at the same time. Despite her weapons and the tunic she wore, her body felt lighter than it was and her bangs kept hitting the front of her face with each few steps she took and would only continue until both she and the elf had a chance to stop.
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Post by Mikey on Apr 8, 2011 17:50:16 GMT -5
Xanthira The dwarf looked at her from the coach as he reached into a bag at his side, pulling out a wad of paper. He unfolded it and pulled out a chunk of the dark leaves, putting them into his mouth and soon spitting a brown loogy over the side of the coach. “I know what you mean.” He said, looking around the ‘human’ lands. “I been up here for a few years now, and this is the only thing I’ve found worth a damn.” He said, motioning to the wad of leaves. He offered her some and looked toward the highway they were coming to. It would take them to Lothering soon enough, and then they could make it on foot to Ostagar in a few hours. ------------------------- Aeral The small group of men made it into the forest without issue, but that was soon to be disrupted. Almost at the same time, the group of men all drew weapons. Sections of the ground started to collapse and form holes, of which several Darkspawn started to flow from. They looked like men, in a way. The same shape and size, that was the only similarity. They were armed with wicked weapons, some with two swords and some with a sword and shield. The first on his feet from the hole attacked immediately in a rage, charging at the leader of the men. A better warrior than most, the Warden armed with a hammer immediately swept the creature’s legs from under him. Bones cracked as the thing’s legs were broken, and another crushing sound was heard when the Warden brought the hammer down on the Hurlock’s chest. Ellenaia ------------------------- Naia came zooming past the mage as she continued her run. He waved his staff at her and she suddenly felt herself slow down to an average speed again. He yelled for her to come back quickly, but the last word he spoke was drowned out with a banshee-like scream. Appearing just in front of her from thin air was another Darkspawn, a Shriek. She had no time to react, it’s clawed gauntlet was already raised above its head to deliver a quick killing blow, but it soon stood immobile. It collapsed to its knees and let out a sound that sounded like a choke, before it seemed to fold upon itself. Being crushed into a ball half as large as it had been, it soon fell to the ground in a heap of broken bones, blood, and metal. Naia looked back to see the mage release the hold from the creature, opening his fist and letting his staff rest on the ground. Several more of the screams were heard, and more of the Shrieks appeared out of thin air, in a circle around them.
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Arkaym
Zombie Hunter
I'm awesome.
Posts: 107
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Post by Arkaym on Apr 9, 2011 16:09:16 GMT -5
Aeral froze on the spot when darkspawn began pouring from the ground. He watched the brutish hammer wielder take out a darkspawn with ease, which told Aeral one thing... These creatures would prove to be no challenge. He turned to see a group of four darkspawn charging towards him. Aeral flicked his hand up, sending the two daggers into two different darkspawn. The daggers landed in the darkspawn's necks, causing blood to spout out like a water fountain. His hand then whipped down to his sword, which he pulled out just in time to deflect a heavy blow from a darkspawn wielding a pair of axes. With another deft flick of his hand, the sword ran the axe-wielder through, causing half his guts to spill out and the foe to collapse. The final darkspawn went to slash downwards at Aeral with his sword. Aeral only had time to bring his own sword up in defense, causing a deadlock between the two fighters. As each pressed hard with their own blades, Aeral remembered his final weapon. His clawed glove. He brought that second hand up towards the spawn's face, scratching out an eye and ripping his nose apart. The enemy howled in pain and stumbled backwards, allowing Aeral to run it through with his main weapon. He spun around, looking for any other darkspawn that might charge him.
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Post by Reaper on Apr 9, 2011 19:53:54 GMT -5
Xanthira laughed slightly as she waved her hand. "No thank you. That smells like the mint herbs I have back home. Never cared much for them. Besides using them for healing they were used a lot in the tea. Both gave off a sickly smell. Though the herb itself has a wonderful smell." She looked back out the window as they passed a field of flowers. Her eyes drifted toward the many different flowers that laid in the field. She let out another sigh and then sat back in the seat. She looked ahead for a moment as she adjusted herself. Resting her hand on her legs she then closed her eyes and drifted back off into her own world. A world she created to get away from the harsh one she lived it. One she use to dream of at night until she learned how to day dream or meditate as others prefered to call it.
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Post by Escachick357 on Apr 12, 2011 4:45:18 GMT -5
Ellenaia stopped as soon as she started to slow down and watched in amazement at how quickly this Darkspawn went down. If only all of them would be like that. Her thoughts ran through her head as she kept her ears open for any other sounds made by other nearby Darkspawns. Sure enough, it happened.
First came the shrieks of the shrieks, then they suddenly came out of nowhere, circling around Naia and the mage. Knowing that it was best for the mage not to waste his magic on all of them and to prove herself again that she was worthy of fighting, it was Naia took the opportunity to take out her swords. "I'll take care of 'em!" she announced to the mage.
With each sword gripped tightly in her hands, Naia ran to the closest of the shrieks when it came closer to the ground, the one standing right in front of her. She gave it no time to react to her speed before it went down with one slash. She continued to run at each of the monsters that came closer to the ground, slashing away, taking down each and every one of them until she got to the last one. The entire time she was fighting, her smile stayed stuck on her face and refused to get off. This final one seemed to remember her steps and sliced downwards towards where Naia was assumed to be going. Naia half expected this.
Fighting the group of Darkspawn reminded her of when she was ambushed by the group of idiot men that assumed her for the enemy before she was found by the Grey Warden. They all thought they knew where she would fight back, but proved them wrong by moving at the very last second and slicing off a limb when she moved. This move was done on the final shriek. It didn't kill it at first but with a quick slice through the left shoulder to the right hip, the enemy went down.
With the small group gone, Naia took this time to take a breather, her swords still out and ready to attack anything that might come out to attack her. Her stormy eyes looked around for any sudden movements, and her ears open for any sounds that might come from another one of the darkspawn.
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Post by Mikey on Apr 14, 2011 3:52:56 GMT -5
(Post arriving at the fortress.)
Xanthira
As she slipped into her dream world, the dwarf settled into his seat and began to doze off as she did. Ostagar wasn’t far off, and he wasn’t worried about darkspawn. If they were near, he would know. Rest would be good. There was much to do when they got to the fortress. And she may not make it much longer…
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Aeral
The group of Wardens, plus one, dispatched the monsters with little to no problems. The only problem being the blood that covered the men who had been up close to the darkspawn. Aeral included.
“Double time, this was a scouting party.” The leader said. He was saying what everyone already knew, only for Aeral’s benefit. “Ostagar is just beyond those hills.” He said. Less than a mile away, it looked.
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Ellenaia
Ellenaia stood with her weapons drawn, ready for another fight, when she saw the elven Warden ease his staff back and start walking.
“Come. We must reach the fortress before nightfall.” He said. He made no indication that they were in the clear, or if they were going to be ambushed again, but he was the Grey Warden. If he said it was time to keep moving, he must have known what he was talking about.
After another run in the inhuman speed, they could see the wooden barricades that served as the walls for the small parts of the fortress rear that was unprotected. Pieces of the wall had fallen, it looked like, given the huge chunks of white stone covered in moss on the ground.
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Post by Reaper on Apr 15, 2011 22:08:03 GMT -5
Xanthira opened her eyes as the road seemed to settle down. She looked out the carage window seeing the large wall approching them. The fortress was only a mater of minutes away. Gripping the edge of the carage she stuck her head out the window trying to get a better look. She had never seen such a large man made object before, and it looked just as amazing as that of her own home land. The road was no longer durt, but rather made of solid stone.
"This is amazing," she said with a laugh. "It is almost like home." She turned back to the dwarf that sat beside her. "What do we do now?" she asked lightly. "I would not mind looking around. Seeing an actual human homeland. I wonder if they live just like us?" She laughed again as she looked back out the window.
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Arkaym
Zombie Hunter
I'm awesome.
Posts: 107
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Post by Arkaym on Apr 21, 2011 8:36:37 GMT -5
Aeral stood casually once the battle was over and wiped his sword clean with his clawed gauntlet, leaving his gauntlet sparkling red. The leader of the group told everybody to move quicker, and Aeral obeyed silently. The fortress grew ever closer. He looked around suspiciously, cautious about any more darkspawn, but as the tall walls of Ostagar grew nearer, the chances of another darkspawn attack seemed much less likely. Aeral finally sheathed his sword as the group finally entered the fortress. A few questions ran through his mind, mainly questions about any other grey warden recruits that might be here too... He hoped that they weren't too... Talkative.
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Post by Escachick357 on Apr 25, 2011 1:37:09 GMT -5
Ellenaia felt her feet start to move on their own once again. Once again, it felt good and she didn't seem to be wasting extra energy by running. Not that wasting a little bit of energy was a problem; she had more than enough energy to run all the way to her destination without any help and still have enough to fight and take on a long conversation with another equally talkative person.
Finally, she saw it, a broken down wall in the distance. She finally made it there in the time needed, but she decided to put a little bit of fun into the travelling. She gathered up enough energy and quickly sprinted through one of the openings, where there were already some people there. Naia quickly discovered a problem. With her sprinting combined with the extra speed from the mage, she found herself unable to fully stop herself.
Naia was unable to prevent herself from running into a taller human with gold and red armor. Though she was able to cut her speed down slightly, she still fell onto her behind. "Sorry." she smiled as she stood up by herself, happy that she was now finished running, "I'm usually really good with speed, so I thought that I could control myself with the extra speed that I was given, but I guess I was wrong and we both seem to be okay. You are okay, aren't you? Because I really don't want to be responsible to injuring an ally of mine."
She stopped talking and waited for a response from the man she ran into.
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Post by Mikey on Apr 25, 2011 2:30:29 GMT -5
Xanthira
“This aint no homeland, girl.” The dwarf said, standing up and hopping down from the cart. He looked around, holding up his hand and waving someone over. “This here is just a broken down fort. What passes for a human fort, anyway.” He said. As he finished speaking, an elf in cheap clothing with dirt covering him came near.
“Take her to Duncan.” He said, and gave her a pat on the shoulder.
“Good luck, kid.” He said, walking away from her as the other elf gestured her to follow. They made their way across the fort, coming to a small tent where an older human wearing silver armor stood. He had both a sword and a dagger sheathed on his back, had his long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and wore a small gold earring in one ear.
“Welcome, Xanthira.” He said, a small smile on his face as he held out a hand.
Aeral/Ellenaia
The men who had showed Aeral the way simply stopped and stared at the small girl who had come speeding through the camp and ran straight into their recruit. Several of them rolled their eyes and walked away, while the leader of the small band stayed and looked around while she finished saying what she said. He waved his hand as the mage who had escorted her came over, at normal speed.
“This your recruit?” The human asked. The elf simply nodded. “Take em to Duncan’s tent, Dorik should be back with his by now.” He said. The elf simply nodded again and walked over to the pair.
“This way.” He said quietly, motioning for them to follow.
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Arkaym
Zombie Hunter
I'm awesome.
Posts: 107
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Post by Arkaym on Apr 27, 2011 10:48:11 GMT -5
Aeral felt something thud into him out of nowhere. He stumbled backwards a few steps but managed to keep his footing. As this strange girl began talking, he looked at her in contempt. When she finally finished speaking, he replied briskly. ''I'm fine. Let's go.'' With that very short answer over, he turned to follow the new leader. If this girl continued to talk as much as before... Only just remembering that he would be spending some time with this girl, he spoke again. ''My name is Aeral.'' Ever suspicious of strangers, even odd unthreatening ones, he kept one hand near his throwing knives.
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Post by Reaper on Apr 27, 2011 18:49:25 GMT -5
Xanthira hesitated for a moment on taking his hand. Knowing well enough that it was the human's jesture of friendship. She looked from his face to his hand and then back again. Now that she stood here she wondered if it was the right decession to come here, but when she thought back she really had no choice. Slowly she reached up taking his hand. His grip more strong then his gentle smile let on. She smiled lightly as she shook his hand. "I thank you greatly for having me here. I hope I am not impossing to much by being here."
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