Kadan

Kadan, Part 2

Under the cover of darkness, darkspawn flooded the camp. The stench of death and decay stuck in their noses, turning their stomachs. Sten had emerged from his tent with a roar, Asala clenched in a meaty fist, the moonlight bathing his bare chest. His wild eyes streaked across the camp, growing ever more frenzied when he didn't spot Louisa. Thane was launching attack after attack on the swarm of darkspawn. 

A shiver traveled down Sten's back.

Where was Louisa?

"About time you showed up!" Alistair quipped as he fell alongside the Qunari. "Only missed the best nitty gritty bits, my friend."

Sten, who didn't trust his voice to convey any type of emotion, grunted his response. Alistair gave off his own war cry before charging into a congregation of darkspawn. Thane followed suit shortly, the man and beast back to back, sword and teeth ripping through putrid flesh. Across the campsite, Leliana and Zevran battled against their own plethora. Morrigan and Wynn brandished their staffs, screaming obscenities at their enemies.

Louisa still went unaccounted for.

Darkspawn continued to pour into the mouth of the camp. They were surrounded. Bodain and Sandal dove beneath a covered wagon. An Ogre barked out a laugh that had the hair raising on the back of Sten's neck. As he plunged his sword into the chest of an unfortunate enemy, his gaze swiveled toward the sound. So did, it appeared, everybody else in the camp, darkspawn included.

Louisa dropped from the low hanging branches of a near tree, her eyes wild, hair plastered to her face by the dark droplets of darkspawn blood. Her bowstrings stretched taught, arrow notched, staring down the massive creature without a lick of emotion on her face. Alistair shouted for her to move, but all she offered him was a quick shake of her head before her lips pulled into a feral grin and she released the arrow. With an earth-shattering cry, the Ogre lunged.

Sten glanced at Alistair and saw the haunted mask that sat perched upon his fleshy face. His stomach knotted. Between Louise and himself there were too many darkspawn to make his way to her. An army of darkspawn sat between the Warden and any of her companions. Even Thane seemed to realize the implication, his whines growing louder and louder as he tried to charge a path through the humanoid creatures before him.

The darkspawn refused to allow them to advance forward. Every time their swords and daggers nipped into flesh, the sharp Mabari's teeth tearing through darkspawn after darkspawn, it seemed like more took their place. As more and more darkspawn flocked to them, Sten lost sight of the Warden. A deep growl tore from his throat as he began slashing into everything with a low snarl.

"Alistair! Go!" Sten screamed, having noticed a small window where someone not his size could squeeze through.

Alistair followed the direction Sten had indicated. A relieved smile pulled upon his lips as he darted through the darkspawn. Knowing that someone would be there for her, Sten's grin turned feral itself as he descended upon the army.

The ogre snatched the Warden along the waist, bringing her up to meet his deranged gaze. Her teeth gnash together as she is tossed around, the ogre's clamp on her waist agonizing. Behind her she can hear Alistair's shout of despair. In front of her, the ogre grinned, lips pulling back to reveal teeth yellowed by age and abuse, breath smelling of death.

She wants to look behind her. The desire to twist her body to grasp a last glance at her friends almost overpowering. She doesn't turn, however. Instead she smirked and quickly drew her bow. An arrow notched in mere seconds before the bow string I released once again. The grip around her waist tightened, squeezing all air from her lungs, just as the arrow escapes her grasp.