On Wings They Fly
Thomas was altogether fed up with the mud and the rain and the birds eating his damned crops. It was the same every year: he'd toil away in the fields, working his everything to the bone. Only to have those blasted vermin swoop in and feast upon his efforts.
Scarecrows didn't work, shouting at them might make them flutter about a bit, and he even resorted to lobbing his pitchfork at them once. The blighted birds had merely glided over to another part of the field, resuming their dinner. They were mocking him, Thomas was certain of it. He was also sure that it was the same ones who came back year after year, having settled into a nice little routine, and his seeds.
Bloody vermin. Thomas brooded one afternoon as he stooped over by the window gazing out over the fields. Like the birds he had picked up a routine whenever the crops were at their most vulnerable. Standing vigil, he was ready to leap out the front door at the first sign of feathers.
"Sit down and have yer' tea Thomas!" His long suffering wife Martha chastised him as she set the said tea upon the table. The irate farmer replied with merely a grunt, not moving from his post. The farmer's wife shook her head with a sigh, as she often did. Then launched into a long running rant that said she should never have married a farmer, as she often did.
"I swear, you're obsessed with 'em birds. You'll not shift 'em by staring at the blighted things! As my ma always used to say, Maker rest her soul …" And so she continued as Thomas endeavoured to block out the chatter from across the room, as he often did. His eyes were scanning the landscape, back and forth and back again. He knew they were out there, he could practically feel them as they prepared to settle into another afternoon banquet.
A dark shape from the corner of his eye, he swung his head around, there they were. Nearly a dozen of the buggers; flying in from the west. A determined snarl wound around his lips, he'd get them this time. There'd be no more free meals on this farm!
Grabbing his pitchfork, the farmer wrenched the door open and charged into the fray, leaving the angry shouts from the wife behind. Yelling some incoherent animal noises he'd picked up from farmer Hobs the field over, he shook his pitchfork angrily at the incoming birds. They took little notice. Swooping over his head and around his pitchfork, the feathered fiend's landed to settle between the farmer and his house.
Anger rising in heaps, Thomas charged again at the birds, swinging wildly as he went. Before he even got within twenty feet, the birds abruptly stopped their meal, all gazing up at the farmer. Then, as one, they took off and fled over his house and were beyond the hill in a flash.
Thomas staggered to a halt with mouth agape as he watched his foes vanish out of sight. He'd done it! He'd actually done it! Whooping triumphantly, the farmer swaggered back to his house and his angry wife, job well done indeed. Martha was yelling at him again from the door of their cottage, but he didn't care, he'd won! Looking up at his irate wife, he noticed something odd. Her expression wasn't angry, she looked more … scared. That's when he heard her.
"Run Thomas! They're behind you!" He stopped in his tracks, suddenly confused. A faint cry pulled his head around to look behind him. Across the field, a mass of writhing darkness was charging up to his family home. Blood turned to ice; the horde was looming ever closer. This wasn't possible, they were only in the stories!
"Darkspawn." He breathed; his senses soon followed his realisation. There was no time to run, they were too close. Thomas pelted for the farmhouse, shepherding Martha inside and bolting the door behind him. They hastily made to bolster their amateur defence, stacking chairs, a table and whatever else they had at the door and windows. Their supper smashed to the ground in their haste.
"Oh Thomas …" Martha quaked in a terrified whisper. The monsters were fast approaching. Thomas stared out of the window at their impending doom, face white as a sheet. Then a new sound, a brilliant cry of anger and fury cut across the yells of the darkspawn. More shapes caught Thomas' eye in the sky behind the beasts. For a bizarre second he thought that they were those damned birds again, here to gloat at his end. But no bird was that big, and birds certainly couldn't carry people on their backs.
xxx
A cold, sharp and utterly glorious wind rushed past Aedan as he led the way through the expanse of the sky. A great patchwork of greens, browns and blues was spread out before them. Hills, valleys and rivers were eaten up as the battle ready company thundered over Ferelden. Chasing the horizon never grew tiresome flying miles above earth and water. A sharp screech agreed with this sentiment as the grey Wardens barrelled towards their adversary. Truly this was living.
Light grey feathers steadily heaved beneath him as Aedan leant to pat Fencer, earning him a contented growl from the Griffon. Casting his glance behind him, he saw his other riders in close pursuit: Nathaniel, Velanna and Oghren, each with their own Griffon companions. The Commander urged Fencer to slow the pace a little with a murmur, the Griffon complied somewhat reluctantly. He too wanted to charge straight into the fight. But like his Warden companion, Fencer knew that it would be smarter to wait for his fellows. The other Wardens pulled alongside Aedan, still flying far and fast over the land.
"Commander?" The question came from Nathaniel, not quite shouted yet still carrying its way across the wind. Aedan looked over to his second in command, who had bow already clutched in hand with the reigns.
"You and Velanna strike first, cause as much damage as you can, then give us cover from the air." The order born from years of training and trials. The Commander looked over at Velanna, who nodded at the instruction. Easy smirk on lips and green eyes already on fire. Human, elf and Griffons swept ahead of the hunting party, eager to get into the fight.
The other Griffon and his dwarf pulled alongside Fencer. Truly it should have been a comical sight. Large by Griffon standards, Amgetoll literally towered over Oghren, striking to mind the image of a new born babe riding a stallion. The heavy armour, battle axe and bloodthirsty grin of the dwarf made him look anything but comical however.
"When do we get in on the fight Commander?" The berserker called over, Aedan could have sworn he could smell the stench of ale despite the wind rushing across them at gale force. "We can't let those two have all the fun!"
A smirk found its way onto the Commander's lips as he answered, "As soon as we get there." With that, Fencer cried to the heavens, streaking like a giant, feathered arrow further towards his prey; the exuberant whooping of Oghren not far behind.
The brown and dark grey silhouettes of Arla and Nightwhisper, Velanna's and Nathaniel's Griffons rolled in the sky before the warriors. Then he saw it, over the next ridge was a horde of darkspawn; the group they had been pursuing that day. All manner of darkspawn known to Thedas was spread out before him. There was easily a hundred at least in the horde. Aedan heard Fencer snarl at the sight, the old enemy would be a welcome fight indeed. The pack of monsters below was surging towards a group of buildings on some farmland. They needed to act fast.
Tearing his attention from the black mass, Aedan looked up to see Velanna sat up straight on the back of Arla, casting her arms and staff in a wide circular motion. Moss green energy surrounded her movements, then a boulder, solid, real and heavy materialised from thin air. Larger than three full Griffons, the Dalish mage hurled the boulder forward like a missile with a sweep of her staff. The sickening sound of stone on bone cut out the screams from the beasts on the ground. The giant rock bounced on the bodies of darkspawn till it came to a rest amid the horde.
A sizeable swath had been cut through the centre, but many more remained to be dealt with. The horde lost interest in the helpless farm hold on the ground. Facing the sky they screamed their fury at the brutal intrusion into their rampage. Arla replied with her own screech, nearly overwhelming the hollering from below.
Nathaniel and Nightwhisper were next. The ranger allowed the Griffon to fly low across the centre of the horde. The dappled Griffon swiped and snapped at his prey, taking as many as he could mid-flight. All the while Nathaniel sent arrow after arrow into the mass. Darkspawn opportunists chanced their arrows and rocks at the pair to little avail. Nightwhisper hurtled from side to side as the obstacles came in, not a single one touching him. As they reached the far side of the darkspawn, Nathaniel unleashed a mighty arrow behind them. As long as a sword, the barb cut through a half dozen beasts at least, standing the last two in place as a grisly totem as it thudded into the ground.
Nightwhisper suddenly gained altitude, swooping back into the heights of the sky, barrel rolling as he went. The incensed darkspawn howled after him, vainly sending more missiles into the air. Outraged that they hadn't even landed a single strike on either Warden or Griffon, the beasts never saw the other two Wardens coming.
Longsword drawn as they descended, Aedan grasped his saddle with his left hand as he prepared to strike. Fencer roared far too late to give the darkspawn even a sporting chance. With a yell of his own, Aedan flung his arm forward. Physical resistance did nothing; a head or two lopped off at his attack. Fencer climbed again before he could crash into an Ogre, who took a vicious swipe at the feathered warrior in vain. A genlock caught in beak, Fencer severed it in halves that fell back to the ground. A shout from behind drew both human and Griffon's attention.
Oghren and Amgetoll raced towards the darkspawn lines. Before they collided, the great black Griffon swerved to the side and flew around the core of the horde, only Oghren wasn't with him. The dwarf leapt off the Griffon at the last moment, hurtling to his foe like a bearded comet, jeering all the way. The force of the landing staggered all beasts the berserker came in contact with, leaving a small crater in a sea of standing darkspawn. Amgetoll soon followed his dwarven rider, landing with an earthy boom into a swath of darkspawn, swatting and biting at all who were near.
Fencer rode up alongside Nightwhisper, Nathaniel still gazing in awe and surprise at the dwarf below. "Is he mad?" He called over to the Commander as he released another arrow.
"Yes," came the reply, "thank the Maker he's on our side!" Nathaniel chuckled at that and sped away to get a better vantage point. Aedan glanced around, Velanna and Arla were keeping the Ogres busy with lightning and fire and talons. The giant monstrosities were screaming in pain and frustration, nothing they could do would fell a single Warden. Not if the Wardens kept their wits about them, but where was the fun in that?
The Commander leant low near Fencer's ears, "Alright, let's make quick work of this." The Griffon growled low in approval, eager to get his fair share of the fight. Without word or countdown, Warden and Griffon swung into a fall, careering towards the ground from on high. An Ogre was almost directly beneath them; too busy trying to fend off Arla to notice anything else. Fifty feet, the beast looked up as Velanna pulled Arla away.
Fencer pulled up just in time, spreading his wings out instantly and delivering one huge beat. Aedan's stomach lurched violently. The sheer force of air from Fencer's wing beat forced the Ogre to its knee stunned. Many of the smaller darkspawn were sent flying by the sheer force of gale Fencer wielded. Aedan took his opportunity with the Ogre stunned; leaping off his companions back, he cried to the Maker as he lashed at the monstrous Ogre mid-flight. The beast roared at the pain in its face, sword easily cut through cheek and bone.
Landing to the ground in a roll, Aedan swung around to face his oversized foe. He needn't have bothered. Fencer swooped upon the Ogre in a flash, taking advantage of the giant's injury by clawing at the beast's neck and face. The feathered warrior never let up for a moment, only when the Ogre lay still and bloodied did Fencer avert his attention to Aedan. The Griffon cocked his head to the side and purred as if to ask: are you ok?
"I'm fine," Aedan started as he swiftly beheaded a hurlock that looked to creep up on him from behind, "let's go, to the others!" He pointed in the direction of Oghren and Amgetoll, still fighting side by side in the thickest mass of the horde. The dwarf and his companion were seemingly drawing all attention to themselves. Fencer's ears perked up, there was more fighting to be had.
At once they set off to their friends and allies, cutting and clawing their way as they went. The deft whooshing of Arla and Nightwhisper overhead heralded well needed aid. The occasional arrow and lightning bolt imbedded itself into darkspawn as man and Griffon continued their march.
Aedan could catch the odd glimpse of Oghren through the seething mass of darkspawn. Amgetoll an ever present beacon; the giant Griffon rising on his hind legs to stomp on a group of irksome shrieks. He contacted the earth with a resounding roar that shook Aedan's bones. Fencer replied with an enthusiastic call of his own.
Bursting through the line of darkspawn, Aedan and Fencer arrived at their comrade's sides. Oghren cut large swathes into the enemy with each stroke of his axe, ichor grisly smothered his armour. The dwarf acknowledged Aedan with a nod and a rowdy laugh, not stopping in his assault for a second. The human took position at Oghren's back, allowing the shorter Warden to focus all efforts ahead. To his left, Fencer and Amgetoll took a more dynamic approach: constantly shifting from side to side, back and forth and above and below each other.
The spectacle almost distracted the Commander from his own fighting. The two Griffons were well used to each other and how the other fought, perhaps more so than their riders. Years of toil had trained their natural bloodlust for darkspawn into a clinical precision of combat. Each move, each parry, each strike was precise and deadly. They even batted foes they couldn't kill in one blow into the other's path, to a quick and bloody death.
The Wardens themselves weren't too bad either. Oghren and Aedan mirrored their feathered companions in attack. There was a flash of steel, a gush of ichor, a parry, then another swing or stab. It was simple really, clinical and bloody. Despite the ache in his shoulders from all the exertions, Aedan could feel the tide turning swiftly against the darkspawn. As if it was ever in their favour to begin with. The beasts' numbers were thinning rapidly.
A sudden roar caught Warden, Griffon and darkspawn attention. A mighty Ogre stood not far from them, snarling with rage and spittle in abundance. The monster lowered his head, and charged, horns homing in on their prey. Smaller darkspawn were trampled if they tarried too long in its way.
"Move!" came the unnecessary shout from Oghren, and human and dwarf dived in opposite directions. The Ogre dissected their last position not a moment after, stumbling to a halt not twenty paces away. Aedan picked himself up, Arla swung overhead, Velanna launching a streak of flames at the giant as they passed. The heat swathed over the human as orange pain seared the beast. The force from the flames was so strong that the very air was ripped from Aedan's lungs.
The Ogre staggered and hollered under the elf's attack. Aedan likewise stunned, losing track of the battle in his sudden light-headedness. The stench of ichor and burning flesh was overwhelming. For a few sickening moments, it was all he could do not to collapse in the mud.
A screaming hurlock whipped the Commander back into action, drawing his attention away from the Ogre. He swung around and deathly gutted his attacker in a single movement, pulling his sword clean free to ready for the next onslaught. More and more they came, each as determined and bloodthirsty as the last. He'd lost sight of Oghren, and the Griffons, though he could hear the flapping of wings and the odd Griffon call somewhere behind him. A rare break in the attack allowed him to catch his breath.
Another heavy snarl clutched Aedan's attention, causing him to spin around again. The mighty Ogre towered over him. Blue skin, thick scars and deep wounds blackened from Velanna's fire spell. Two of Nathaniel's arrows stuck out from above the collar bone. A soft whish of air, a third joined them. The Ogre didn't even flinch.
With a speed that ridiculed its size, the Ogre brought its meaty fist above its head and slammed down. Aedan had just enough time to jump back out of the way. A shockwave rode through him as the Ogre growled at the small crater it had made.
A quick swipe with its other hand, Aedan rolled out of the way. Caught off balance, the Warden stumbled into a genlock; lucky that he had his sword raised to strike as he clumsily sliced through the monster's neck. His eyes swung around, the Ogre was fast upon him. Aedan ran, he barely managed to parry blows from the front and the sides as the giant beast chased him close behind with a roar.
He heard a shout from above. Whatever it was, it was lost to the winds. An earth shattering boom tore at Aedan's vision as the Ogre swatted at him again, hitting the ground at the Warden's heel. The vibration caused him to stumble; he clattered to the earth winded. Sword sent flying out of sight, silently thankful there wasn't a darkspawn there in front of him.
Aedan spun to face his pursuer. The Ogre had stopped before it reached him, its attention to the looming object at its side. Aedan's eyes widened as the beast grappled with Velanna's boulder, nearly as big as the giant was itself. The Ogre grunted as it lifted the stone with a strength Aedan wouldn't have believed were he not watching it now.
The Warden scrambled back as the Ogre treaded forward. He tried to get up, but he was still winded, and his armour worked against him. Mud and still warm corpses slid beneath him as Aedan struggled with all his might to free himself from his heavy breastplate. Sweat and blood denied access to the buckles.
A final roar stopped all his efforts, the Ogre almost directly on top of him. Boulder hefted atop its shoulder. With a grunt of effort, the giant's muscles strained to lift the stone even higher, ready to smash Aedan into oblivion.
A sudden screech of animal fury reached Aedan's ears, strong and defiant. It's the most beautiful sound in all Thedas. A plethora of grey feathers swooped upon the boulder. Fencer materialised out of nowhere to slam onto the boulder with all four claws. The force of the Griffon's attack reverberated through the Ogre, its stance faltering. Despite the shuddering, Fencer still stood atop the stone. He shrieks at the Ogre with unbridled rage.
The giant darkspawn stops its slow march towards the bloodied and beaten form of Aedan, the weight of boulder and Griffon tempting its arms to give way. Aedan gathered himself enough to stand, transfixed by the bizarre totem before him. By sheer will alone, the Ogre stood up to its full height, growling savagely with the effort.
Fencer took to the air again with a strong beat of his powerful wings; the rush of air clattered into Aedan, almost sending him to the ground again. Arms raised to protect his face, the Warden Commander staggered back. All his vision taken by the contest between Ogre and Griffon that fought before him.
The grey Griffon took a few more beats of wing, still positioned directly above the boulder. The Ogre recovered from the attack long enough to get a bearing on Aedan, the beast reaffirmed its target and took one step towards the human Warden.
Before the other leg was even raised, Fencer came crashing down. The Griffon slammed with all his strength into the boulder. Talons dug into the stone with a sickening screech. This time the Ogre's arms gave out. The darkspawn's final shriek was lost in a cacophony of squelching meat and bone. A cloud of dirt and ichor erupted from the impact. The boulder crushed the Ogre where it stood.
Aedan was left gaping at the sight; the echoes of battle being won were around him. Fencer dismounted the boulder, apparently satisfied with his work. He trotted up to Aedan with what seemed a happy smile on his beak, dirtied with ichor. He made sure to step firmly on all the darkspawn corpses in his way.
Aedan merely shook his head in disbelief, a smile crawling onto his face. "Where did you learn to do that?" he asked the Griffon incredulously, he was replied with a proud call. Chuckling as he patted his friend and saviour, Aedan looked out over the battlefield.
There were still some stragglers, though they were being rounded up and slaughtered by Velanna and Nathaniel. The crackle of lightning and thuds of arrows and corpses were the only remaining signs of battle. Oghren and Amgetoll stood alone in the centre of the dead horde, a literal mountain of darkspawn at their feet. The dwarf stopped cleaning his axe to give Aedan a hearty cheer, fist raised to the reddening sky. Aedan responded with his own fist raised, unabashed smile plastered to his face with all the grime of battle.
They'd done it. Another fight, another victory. Walking towards the lone farmstead with Fencer by his side, Aedan breathed a deep gulp of air. It was clouded with sweat and blood and dirt, but right there and then there was nothing sweeter.
xxx
Thomas stood petrified in his lifelong home, clinging to his wife as though they'd both be sucked into the fade at any moment. His mouth made a number of disbelieving motions, but no sound came from him. To say he was shocked wasn't even the half of it. He couldn't believe what he just seen. Looking down at Martha, he saw that she felt much the same way. Her eyes were wide as saucers, staring off at the spectacle outside.
A sudden beastly roar shook them both, Thomas' eyes darting back to the window. Two of the strange beasts had landed in the darkspawn strewn field, tearing up the soil further as they cantered towards the other figures on his farm. A harsh, hearty laugh bellowed out of the bloodied dwarf, the largest of the beasts at his side. Gradually pulling himself from his stupor, Thomas set to pulling down his makeshift barricade.
"Are you mad?" Martha screeched in a terrified squeak, her face shocked, "You're going out there?" Thomas barely stopped in his dismantling.
"They just saved us Martha." he muttered quickly, not at all eager to raise his voice. Honestly he wasn't at all sure what he was doing. He'd just witnessed these strangers kill a score of darkspawn, barely breaking a sweat between them. He wasn't keen on shaking hands or anything, but they had just saved them.
At the cost of my farm … Thomas realised as he stepped out of the front door, the battlefield enveloping his view.
It was staggering; nearly the entire field was covered in bodies and blood. There were all kinds of monsters that Thomas had only heard of in tall tales down the inn. There was even a massive boulder stuck in the back of a giant darkspawn. He'd seen one of them make that out of thin air! Magic, he'd never seen anything like it.
What struck Thomas most of all, was the dirt. His farm, his fields, his way of life. All were torn up in great gouges where claw and magic had attacked them. He was stock still for Maker knows how long, gaping out over the battlefield.
"Hello friend." a warm, deep voice called to Thomas' ears. The farmer swung his head around in surprise. One of his saviours was striding towards him, a human, tall, and clad in heavy armour, stained in still wet dark blood. Maker there was so much blood; there were even splotches on his face and short brown hair. Yet despite the gore, there was a relaxed smile on the man's face. The oddest thing though was the great grey beast that stood behind him; over him would be accurate. The feathered creature loomed over the humans and fixed Thomas with a large amber eye.
Thomas merely stood dumbfounded again, completely at a loss for what to say. Just when he thought he might have motioned his mouth to speak, the other strangers walked up to them. A grizzled looking dwarf, with gore strapped to his armour. His cheery expression only made him all the scarier. Another human with dark hair and serious expression, a longbow hoisted over his shoulder casually. And an elf, a slim, pretty young woman with a scowl that nearly pushed Thomas into the dirt. Each one had the same blue and grey patterns on their stained armour, and each one had another feathered beast with them. The first stranger greeted the others with a nod; even the grey winged beast seemed to murmur a greeting.
"Are you hurt?" The first asked the farmer, genuine concern masking his face. The non-humans didn't seem interested in the conversation. Two of the feathered beasts were even exploring the remains of his field. One idly scrapped what looked like darkspawn remains from its talons onto the giant boulder.
Thomas choked a little before answering, "my … my farm!" Was all he could manage, gesturing bleakly at the ruined land before them. The humans, elf and dwarf all looked over the battlefield for a moment.
"Ah, yes right … sorry about that." The heavily armoured human offered with a weak smile.
"Sorry?" Thomas spluttered, "Sorry? That's my livelihood that is!" He cried, gesturing wildly with his limbs. "You've ruined my crops!" The farmer oddly thought back to the birds. Maker, the birds were bad enough, now it was darkspawn too?
At that, the elf woman strode right up to him, fireball already forming in hand. "We just saved your little farm from obliteration, human!" She cried indignant, Thomas backed away stunned. "You would rather we left you to the darkspawn?" She stopped not two feet from the farmer, fire in hand only rivalled by the fire in her eyes.
Before Thomas could stutter his apologies, the tall human rushed forward and pulled the elf back by the arm.
"Easy there, Velanna!" The human berated her, "He's just had a shock." The elf, Velanna, huffed a little then folded her arms and walked away to one of the large feathered beasts. She ignored the dwarf as he seemed to chuckle at her anger.
"Err, sorry about that," the tall human said again by way of apology, an awkward smile on his chapped lips, "she's a little … highly strung." The dwarf laughed a loud boisterous laugh.
"Ha! That's not even the half of it!" The dwarf barked, swiping at the blood clotting in his beard to little affect. The elf turned only to toss a deeper scowl at the blood soaked dwarf. She moved over to the light grey beast and petted it as if it were an overgrown cat.
"I … you," Thomas could barely think of anything to say to these strange folk, "Wha- What will we do now?" He quietly moaned to no one in particular, gazing out over his ruined livelihood.
The first human, the leader Thomas thought, followed his gaze and realisation dawned on his face.
"Ah …" he said in understanding, reaching behind his back, "I'm afraid it won't bring back your crops, but please take this as compensation." He pulled out a small purse from his belt. Thomas eyed the bag wearily.
"Please," the strange man continued, "I hope this is enough." His smile seemed genuine, though Thomas remained cautious. He had just seen these people kill a hundred or so darkspawn.
Taking the purse gingerly, Thomas loosened the strings. What he saw was probably the most startling thing he'd seen all day. Sovereigns. More gold coin than he'd ever seen before in his lifetime.
"I- I- I, couldn't possibly …" Thomas managed to stutter out. The leader human raised his hands in protest.
"No, please, it was our actions that caused the destruction of your farmstead." Thomas was found speechless yet again, what a tale for the tavern this would be! Two of the winged beasts were chasing each other around the giant boulder, oblivious to the mound of corpses underneath them.
"Who … who are you people?" He gingerly asked the leader. His companions had wandered off to be with their feathered steeds.
"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners." The leader straightened up and bowed respectfully. "I am Warden-Commander of Ferelden, Aedan Cousland, and these are my fellow Wardens, Nathaniel," he indicated the bowman with a serious expression. He nodded with a small smile. "Oghren," The Warden-Commander pointed at the dwarf, who chuckled and belched in reply. "and Velanna." He indicated the elven woman by one of the beasts, she didn't acknowledge them.
Thomas could only stare dumbfounded at them all. Wardens? Grey Wardens? He'd heard the tales, everyone had. To see them up close though … Maker.
When he got over his surprise, Thomas quickly bowed low. "Thank you, Warden serah! Thank you for saving me and my wife." The Warden-Commander gently lifted him from his bow.
"Think nothing of it friend," He replied with a good natured smile, "it's only our duty after all." Thomas could only nod at that. "Well, we must be off." The Warden-Commander announced motioning to the other Wardens. "I apologise again for the damage good sir. We'll send men to help clean up the mess. May the Maker be with you." The Warden gave another short bow.
They all turned to leave; one by one they mounted their strange beasts. Thomas could hardly believe that anyone could ride such ferocious looking creatures. He watched, again dumbfounded as they took off together, The wind forcing Thomas back a step. The winged beasts unleashed a savage, primal call together.
Martha scurried up to him from the farmhouse; both of them watched on as the strangers took their leave. The creature with the dwarf on its back flew low over the boulder, grabbing it with all four claws. With a mighty heave, the beast lifted the stone and carried off to the side of the field, away from the cropland. It fell with a shuddering thud onto some rocks to the side of the farm and the beast took off after its fellows. The dwarf waved back at them and a hearty cackle carried its way over to them on the wind.
Neither Thomas nor Martha moved for a while after that, even when the strangers had left their sight over the horizon. They were so flabbergasted by what had happened. What a tale for the lads at the tavern this would be!
xxx
The cool evening air ran over the party as they leisurely flew back to Vigils Keep. The sun was setting into a vibrant orange glow, which illuminated the land and cast wonderful, broad shadows over the ridges and valleys of Ferelden. There were only a few clouds in the air around them, every so often a Griffon would dive into one, cooling beast and rider in a film of condensation.
Aedan looked over the scene fondly as his fellow Wardens rolled through the air on their Griffons. Though tired and dirty and aching, all of them looked exhilarated and just pleased to be alive. Oghren and Amgetoll performed a few looping spins in the air, dwarf and Griffon whooping heartily. Even Velanna's signature scowl gave way to a small smile.
Nathaniel pulled Nightwhisper alongside Aedan and Fencer. "That was the fourth war band we've come across this month." Aedan resisted the urge to chuckle. Nathaniel was typically serious despite their victory, it made him an excellent lieutenant, but the stoic archer could do to relax a bit more thought Aedan. "I fear the darkspawn are growing more daring. We should keep up our vigilance." It was a concern that had been voiced before, and Aedan shared this worry somewhat.
"Nathaniel, we're out patrolling the land every chance we get." Aedan called over to his companion, looking to reassure him. "I agree the darkspawn are still a threat, it's not been three years since the Blight's end. But we are keeping them under control."
"For the time being," Nathaniel added ominously, at which Aedan chuckled.
"Nate, relax, as I said it's not long since last Blight, their numbers will die down soon enough." Aedan looked to reassure his comrade. Nathaniel seemed to not to take note. "But if you have a plan to stop all darkspawn from ever reaching the surface, I'd welcome it."
"But what will happen till then? Till they go back to the Deep Roads I mean."
"We keep killing them of course," Fencer screeched in approval, "we kill them before they can kill anyone." Aedan patted Fencer on the flank for the backup.
"We can't be in all of Ferelden at once though," Nathaniel cautioned, "there are only so many of us." Aedan turned in saddle to fully face his concerned friend.
"We do what we can, the best that we can do it," Aedan motioned to the rapidly vanishing horizon behind them, "like today, we saved those people, and we'll do it again, as many times as necessary."
This time Nathaniel cracked a small smile, "Is that what you did when you fought the Archdemon? 'Just one more step' kind of thing?"
"Yes," Aedan replied with a smirk, "So you know that it works." Nathaniel laughed a little, finally relenting from his doom and gloom persona.
"Hey, Commander!" The call from in front drew the human's attention to the boisterous dwarf, Amgetoll slowed to fall in on the other side of Fencer. "Race back to the Keep, loser buys the rest a beer!"
"Is alcohol all you ever think about dwarf?" Came the sharp question from Velanna as Arla pulled alongside Nightwhisper.
The dwarf belched before replying, not at all drunk evidently. "Not all the time." Oghren remarked and giggled like a Chantry initiate. Velanna just scoffed at the dwarf's allusion. "You're just scared 'o getting beat, old Amgetoll could wipe the floor with your preened duster any day." The dwarf continued with a smirk.
Arla screeched angrily at the insult, Amgetoll seemed to chuckle a little, if Griffons were capable of chuckling that is. "Sorry kid it's the truth." Oghren smirked at the besmirched Griffon. She glowered back at him with one shining black eye.
Velanna merely stroked Arla's back and whispered a few words in her ear to calm her. The elf smirked at the dwarf. "We'll take you up on that wager dwarf," She announced to the group, "but when we win, you will have to remain sober for an entire week." Oghren's incensed spluttering nearly sent him flying out of the saddle. Aedan and Nathaniel exchanged glances, both uneasy and amused at were this was leading.
"A week! Don't be daft woman!" He growled in dismay. "Some things aren't worth betting on!"
"I thought you were so confident of you own victory." The elf remarked, unconvincingly innocent.
Oghren chewed over the offer for a moment and then he turned to the two humans. "You're in this as well!" He jabbed a stout finger at them. "The loser out of all of us has to …" he could barely say the words, "stay sober."
Aedan looked back over to Nathaniel, who didn't seem too worried about a sentence of temporary teetotalism. The archer shrugged then nodded in agreement. Then he looked at Velanna, He wasn't even sure if the elf ever drank. The gleam in her eyes told him that she was more than up for this. He leaned low over Fencer and asked his question. An eager rumble came in reply.
"Ok, we're in." The Warden-Commander of Ferelden declared. Griffons were riled up, ready to prove themselves.
"Right then!" Oghren shouted, eager to get underway. "And … go!" With that Amgetoll took off like an arrow in the sky, leaving the elf and humans gliding way behind.
"Oh no you don't." Velanna muttered, chuckling a little as Arla beat her wings eagerly to catch up. With one look at Nathaniel, Aedan urged Fencer on to follow suit. The archer sighed before Nightwhisper took off as well.
The first to reach the Keep was Nathaniel and Nightwhisper, easily the most agile of the Griffons when he spread his wings fully. Velanna and Arla and Aedan and Fencer were close behind, the elf just beating the human by a hairs length. And Oghren? He and Amgetoll came up last, quite a ways behind the others. Oghren didn't stop sulking till the weeks end.