Meeting the Family

He had been on his way for less than three minutes when he heard the screams. They sounded eerie and unnatural and Arik picked up speed. As he came closer to the source, the distinct clash of metal against metal added to the ambient noise and he saw movement among a group of trees. It seemed the Commander had been right and his sister was in trouble indeed.

There was not much light but it was still enough to make out two insect-like silhouettes attacking a woman. She held herself respectably – there already were two corpses on the ground – but judging from her movements she was getting tired quickly. Arik rushed forward without thinking, knocking his shield into the face of one of the creatures as soon as he was close enough. The thing shrieked in pain and focused its attention on him instead of the woman. Arik threw another punch with the shield to force the Darkspawn further back and followed the move up with a quick blow of his one-hander before it could regain its footing.

A groan sounded to his right and Arik risked a quick glance around, just in time to see the second beast come his way. The Commander's sister was on the ground, holding her shoulder.

He turned his attention back on the first creature. His sword had left a deep gash in its front and served to slow it down. With a shout he rushed forward, dropping the shield. With both hands on the hilt, he aimed at the ugly head and split the skull with a forceful downward strike.

"Watch out!"

The warning almost came too late. Arik ducked the attack of the remaining Shriek just in time to prevent a decapitation. He felt the blade swishing over his head instead, cutting a few strands of hair in the process. From the corner of his eyes he saw that the woman was back on her feet and coming to his aid.

"Stay down!" she yelled at him and at the same moment leaped from the ground. Arik felt the air rushing from his lungs when her foot connected with his bowed back, using him as a stepping stone to hurl herself high in the air. The sickening crunch of bones met his ears when she swooped down on the beast and her dual swords made contact with its chest. A last agonizing cry filled the air and then there was silence.

He allowed himself to fall to his knees and take a few deep breaths before turning his head to where the Commander's sister sat slumped over the dead Darkspawn's body. Her breath came in short gasps and her right hand cradled her left arm against her chest. When she felt his eyes on her she looked back at him. After a moment of just watching him, she forced a weak smile.

"Thanks for the support. You saved my life," she said, sounding tired. Arik had to suppress a chuckle with her use of the exact same words her brother had said to him only a few minutes earlier. It sounded nicer coming from her, though.

"Don't mention it," he replied. "I'm Arik, by the way."

She slowly rose from the corpse beneath and made a face when her right leg almost gave out on her. He frowned at that, letting his eyes wander over her in an attempt to check for injuries which was difficult in the poor light. All Arik could see was that she favored her left leg as she limped over to where he still knelt on the ground and that she still cradled her arm.

Before he could comment on it, though, she stuck out a blood-spattered hand at him.

"Aislyn," she introduced herself.

Careful not to cause her any more pain, Arik shook the offered hand.

"I know. The Commander sent me after you. But there were supposed to be two of you."

It obviously took her a moment to process the information but then her eyes widened and her posture became stiff when the meaning of his words sunk in. Arik could tell that she had been so engrossed in the fight that she totally forgot about her companion. He remembered the first fight he had been in and that one of his comrades almost died because he had not been aware of his surroundings anymore. Blood rush seasoned warrior used to call that state. High on adrenaline, less receptive for pain, indifferent to anything but your opponent and excited by the kill; the bloodier the better.

Oh yes, Arik indeed did remember how that felt. But he also knew that coming down from that high was brutal. The moment reality hit again he had felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under him. Disorientation and nausea had brought him to his knees and an all encompassing terror had taken hold of his thoughts. He had sat there on the battlefield, retching and whimpering until someone finally had mercy on him. Arik recalled a calm voice and words of comfort as he was brought to the healers to let them tend to a series of injuries he did not notice until then he had.

He forcefully shook the memory off and rose to his feet. It seemed he would have to be the comforter this time for Aislyn suddenly looked very green around the nose and lightly waved on her feet. Panic and guilt flickered in her eyes. The rush began to wear off and shock settled in instead.

"I… I don't know where she is," she admitted, her voice sounding like a frightened little girl's. Arik slung an arm around her waist and helped her to a nearby tree stump, afraid she would collapse at any moment. When he sat her down, he knelt in front of her, forcing her to look at him.

"It's alright, Aislyn, I'm sure she's okay," he calmly said with more assurance in his voice than he felt. "You stay here. I go looking for your friend. What's her name?"

Aislyn's eyes darted from his face and frantically searched the surroundings while her upper body rocked back and forth.

"Focus, soldier," he bellowed and shook her shoulders. The harsh treatment elicited a hiss of pain but it had the intended effect. Aislyn's attention snapped back to him and her back straightened visibly as she fought for control over her fear and confusion.

"What's her name, Aislyn?" Arik repeated his question and was glad when her voice sounded steadier again when she answered. "Adele. Her name's Adele."

He nodded and stood, scanning the area himself now.

"I'll try in direction of the road first but I think I won't be long, anyway. She can't be too far gone. You stay put and rest your leg."

It occurred to him, while he walked through the trees, that ordering the Commander's sibling around was rather brash considering that he was just a simple soldier with no power of command whatsoever. It made him feel uneasy and way out of line but she didn't seem to mind and as far as he was concerned it was the right thing to do. His orders were clear, weren't they? Find her. Keep her safe. In taking charge of the situation he was doing just that. Arik shook his head to get rid of the discomforting thought. There were more important things to do and if there were to be consequences to his actions, well, he would have to handle them later on, then.

Concentrating on the task at hand again, he moved on, eyes on the mud-covered ground. It was impossible to detect any kind of tracks. The fight had tore up the wet earth and dried leaves beyond recognition and the darkness did not aid him in his efforts, either. He wished he had taken his time to bring a torch along.

Somewhere to his left, he heard a branch snapping. Arik froze and strained his ears for any more sounds. For a moment, all stayed quiet and then… a moan.

"Adele?" he inquired in a half-whisper, not willing to draw too much attention if there were still Darkspawn around. The moan came again along with a rustling of leaves.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

The voice sounded pained but demanding and clearly female. He took a few more steps in direction of said voice and caught a shadow of movement in front of him.

"I'm Arik, soldier of the guard. I'm here on the Commander's order."

"Are they dead? How's my Aislyn?"

He strained his eyes and made out a slender figure perched against a tree and holding her chest. Dual blades, similar to Aislyn's, shimmered in the poor light.

"All taken care of and Aislyn is alright," he assured her, "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Broken rib," Adele answered through gritted teeth. "They got me good there. Seems I'm really getting too old for this."

"Can you walk? I don't think there are more Darkspawn around but we need to stick together, regardless."

The woman huffed and stood from the ground, slowly but steadily, ignoring the helping hand Arik stretched out for her.

"I may not be able to fight anymore but the day I will not be able to carry my own weight has yet to come, young man," she informed him brusquely and with a definite air of pride, slapping at the hand that still hovered close to support her if necessary. Arik covered the laugh that bubbled up inside of him with a cough and stepped back.

"Knowing Adele, she will walk to her funeral on her own two feet," Aislyn's voice suddenly came out of the darkness and made him jump. So much for his worries of giving inept orders.

"And knowing you, you will still try to tell me that I am in no condition to do so, little one," Adele shot back. The comment could have sounded offending but Arik caught the affectionate undertone in it and instantly knew that the relationship between these two was a closer one than between servant and master.

"It's good to see you're still around, Adele," Aislyn said softly and briefly squeezed the other woman's hand. Arik felt somewhat out of place in that moment.

Adele must have noticed because she straightened a little more and gestured at the road.

"We need to get going. Is there some place safe for us to stay, young man? I'm afraid we will be of no use at the moment, as much as I hate to admit that."

Aislyn was about to protest but a look from the older woman silenced her effectively. Arik began to wonder who the servant around here was. Adele's attitude was definitely not that of a menial.

More that of a general.

"The grounds around the Vigil seem to be clear. You should be safe in one of the barracks," he said. "I will join the Commander as soon as you're taken care of. He was about to enter the Keep when I left. There may still be Darkspawn inside for all we know."

Adele nodded and nudged him in the ribs when he made no attempt to lead the way.

"Go on, soldier, we don't have all night to practice small-talk."

He suppressed the urge to salute and started walking in direction of the road instead, shaking his head in amazement. This had certainly not been what he expected when he volunteered for the service at Vigil's Keep.