This chapter, has been in my mind for a long while now, this and the next few chapters that youre about to face.

You get this a day early ( I would upload it Friday, but I'm kinda busy that night ). Anyway, here's capter 11 for your enjoyment - surprise attacks.

IF WE EVER MEET AGAIN

0:11


"So what if you catch me, where would we land?
In somebody's life forsaking his hands.
Sing to me hope as she's thrown on the sand.
All of your works
are rated again."

-

Clare was no longer sure herself how long the group had been travelling for precisely. She felt that it had to be a number of days now at least, a number of days which involved constantly following the direction in which their senses were leading them, waiting cautiously as the sense of darkspawn grew constantly stronger. She wasn't sure how far they had to go yet, weather they'd run into the darkspawn with the next turning they made, or how much longer they'd have to continue walking. Instead, she only knew one thing: the more time they spent in the wilds, the more anxious she got. And she knew she wasn't the only one.

Quite often, as they travelled deeper into the unknown mass before them, the younger recruits she'd brought with her would often look over their shoulders, obviously fearing that they would have been followed for whatever reason. She couldn't count the number of times she'd had to order them to focus before they fell into a ditch below them, due to the fact they were too engrossed in looking around them for any signs of activity or indication they were being followed. Zevran however had reassured them slightly, telling the new recruits that if they we're being followed, he would know about it before they would. The recruits had been weary at hearing such things, and it took some persuasion to get them to agree somewhat – at least to the extent that they would calm their nerves even slightly. Clare knew Zevran spoke the truth; he after all used to be an assassin once upon a time. He was trained in stealth, and knew the tricks of the trade when it came to sneaking about undetected. It was for that reason that Clare felt glad that he was along, as she knew he wouldn't hesitate to inform them if something were to attempt to sneak up on them.

They continued to walk through the wilds, trying to avoid the hazards of falling branches from the giant sized trees that leaned and fanned out above them and from the vines that hung from above. Quite often, they had to cut their way through the vines, as they were so tangled they would block the path before them. That was what Clare found herself doing now, hacking her way through the mess that blocked the direction they wanted to proceed through. From the corner of her eye Clare noticed one of the younger wardens looking around anxiously again. She decided to ignore it for now, linking it down to paranoia setting them once again.

"I have a bad feeling suddenly."

Clare continued not to reply to the comment, instead focusing on finishing off cutting through the vines. She noticed some of the other members of the group turn to the young recruit though, confusion set on their faces.

"What is it? Do you think someones following us?" Came Teresa's concerned voice.

"I'm not sure, I – just have a feeling ... a bad feeling."

The vines had finally been cut after what felt like an hour's effort. Happy with her achievement, Clare turned around to face the rest of the group, cleaning her blade from the remains of what lingered on it.

"A bad feeling? Dimitri, that doesn't really tell us much. What do you have a bad feeling about? What's worrying you?"

The young warden – who's gaze was currently to the ground below him – lifted his head to scan the group, his eyes finally lying on Clare. Clare noticed that the expression he held was one of fear, and suddenly knew this wasn't like before when they were merely paranoid at the prospect they could have be followed.

"I- I'm sorry Warden Clare but – I don't know how to explain it. I, just have this feeling – that something bad is going to happen. Something like –"

He paused, shaking his head as if to rid a terrifying ordeal that was living in his mind. Clare frowned, and exchanged glances with Zevran, Teresa & Alistair. She didn't want to admit it, but witnessing the nervous wreck that the man had turned into was starting to unnerve herself, and she knew it was having the same response on the others of the group. She stepped forward slightly, extending her hand to place the warden's shoulder in a reassuring way.

"Whatever it is you think is going to happen, we'll be prepared. We've come this far, we're not prepared to give up now. Be strong, and be ready for anything. No matter how unexpected it may be."

Her words seemed to have little effect on him, as he continued to shiver nervously under her grasp. So this is what the wilds were beginning to do to the poor man? She'd heard stories, stories of how the wilds had been known to drive people to paranoia, or even to the extremity of madness. Clare couldn't help but pray that that very experience was not happening to her comrade. She would never wish such a fate on anyone. But they hadn't sensed anything of danger approaching, and surely if something bad were to happen soon, they would have sensed it by now. Wouldn't they?

Clare removed her hand, and Teresa walked over to stand next to him, putting her arms around him to try and reassure the man herself. The group began to walk forward through the path Clare had cleared, a feeling of unease polluting the atmosphere around them. Teresa's arms remained wrapped around the man as the continued to walk forward slowly, and Clare's mind was thinking quickly. Of course, they were in the wilds, and the place could play various tricks on a person. But she was more concerned on who it was the tricks were being played on. Was it her Grey Warden friend Dimitri who was a bundle of nerves right now, or was it instead the other way around? Could it be, that perhaps – the wilds we're blinding them, leading them into a dangerous position blindly? Could that even be possible? She wasn't sure she knew the answer to that.

As if right on cue, Clare stopped dead in her tracks, the group behind her following suit. She turned around sharply, looking around her, and then turning her gaze to the group, coming face to face with the same shocked expression she was wearing herself. She turned to Teresa and Alistair, hoping that they would tell her the opposite of what she thought had just happened.

"Did you two just-"

"Yes. I felt it too."

"As did I." Teresa replied to the two of them as she pulled away from the other warden to ready her weapon.

"But how? How could this only happen now?" Clare asked.

"I'm not sure – but I think we should perhaps save the questions for later." Alistair replied, getting his own sword ready for the oncoming nightmare.

Clare turned to look round her again, frantically looking around for the direction of what she had just sensed. It couldn't have happened, could it? Was it even possible? Up till now, they had only sensed the darkspawn faintly, almost as if it was a guarantee they were nesting deeper in the wilds. And Clare believed that, she honestly felt – no knew, - knew in her instincts that they had to travel deeper. But just then – they'd sensed something much closer. And she knew she wasn't mad because the others sensed it too.

What in makers name was going on?

She frowned deeper then, sweat building up on her brow in anticipation as she clutched to her sword tighter. Was this what Dimitri had sensed only moments before? Because if it was, she could definitely understand what he was so worked up about.

Suddenly, she sensed it again, the same terrifying feeling that she'd felt previously, only it was much clearer than before. She turned her heard sharply in the direction it has coming from, her long hair flying in the wind as she turned. Yes, something was coming, something on a very large scale. She heard Zevran take his swords out in preparation behind her also. He must have sensed the tension everyone else was feeling.

As the sensation became clearer, Clare's eyes opened wide. She knew what was coming to face them, and she wasn't sure she liked the idea of facing such a foe. The feeling she had sensed belonged to only one thing.

An ogre.

Clare turned to face the group as she'd worked out what was walking towards them. The faces of the others told her they knew what they were in for too. She glanced quickly at Dimitri, and decided he was still good for battle, despite his previous moment. They had to be prepared to work together to fight this monstrous thing. After all, like Alistair had said, questions could be asked later.

"Everyone! Prepare for battle!" She ordered as the ground began to vibrate with the terror of the ogre's footsteps. The group quickly prepared for battle, Clare quickly deciding that switching to her bow and arrow might be useful as the ogre approached. Teresa and one of the other wardens seemed to agree with this action, and decided to aid Clare by using their own arrows also. Zevran, Alistair and the remaining two wardens prepared themselves, ready to ambush the ogre as soon as it came into full view.

After what felt like an age of standing in battle stance just waiting, the group soon saw the ogre approach them, his ugly yet menacing face coming into view once it had walked past a looming tree. Clare, noting there was still some distance between them and the ogre - decided to use this strength to her advantage, and she ordered the group to quickly fire their arrows, aiming directly at it. Knowing little effect would probably be done against the creature, she hoped that at least some damage would be made before the ogre came close enough for the rest of them to fly into combat. After all, if they could weaken the monster before it was upon them, there was less chance of a major causality. Still, Clare couldn't help but think she was wishing too much.

The ogre soon came nearer to them, the arrows that we're hastily being shot at it doing little to no effect as expected. The remainder of the group ran headlong into battle, swords and daggers at the ready. Clare bit her lip slightly. Damn! She thought. This isn't going well! Without a moment to spare, she hastily discarded her bow and arrow, and instead pulled her trusty family sword out. Clare would be damned if the ogre we're to injure any of her group, not to mention the fact that the bloody King was in jeopardy right now. Of course, Alistair would run headfirst into battle, it was in his nature as a grey warden – as a warrior, just as it was hers. But maker, if anything happened to him –

Clare put her thoughts on hold then, not exactly wanting to break from her concentration due to a certain idiot. She ran headlong after them, jumping in the air to hopefully get a better shot at the ogre's head. In figures, they outnumbered the beast – but in strength? The battle was tough. The ogre merely needed to swat at them like flies, and they would end up on a heap on the ground, which is – exactly what the creature had done to Zevran and Dimitri. All it took was for the ogre to slam its fist on top of them and then they would be –

But Clare wasn't going to let that happen, and as soon as she landed after successfully managing to slash at one of the many horns that were on the creatures head, she landed in front of the two and used her sword to shield the oncoming fist.

"Get up!" She shouted at the two on the ground, trying to hold on before she lost her grip.

Zevran didn't need telling twice, and he quickly shot up – pulling the other recruit with him. The warden was wounded, suffering from a broken leg from where he had hit a nearby boulder when he was thrown to the side. Clare watched as Zevran pulled him away, Teresa rushing back into battle carrying her own sword.

All of a sudden, Clare felt a tightness enclose around her, and suddenly realised she was being pulled into the air. Oh, this isn't good she thought to herself. Instead of struggling however, she waited until the ogre pulled her face to face with itself. For a brief moment it simply looked at her, as if deciding what it should do next. Clare didn't hesitate, and used the short amount of time she had to throw her sword into the ogre's eye. The shot was a success, and the ogre screamed in pain. Clare smirked to herself then, proud of her shot – but the victory didn't last long however. For in the ogre's rage he had decided to throw her away into the air as if she we're nothing by trash.

She wasn't sure which direction she had been thrown into, but Clare had decided that quite probably, she was in a much worse situation then what she was in thirty seconds ago. She soon felt the velocity as she neared the ground, and decided to use it to her advantage and tried to land somewhat gracefully. The plan somewhat worked yet didn't at the same time, as she managed to still land in a heap on the ground, and also still managed to injure herself slightly, but she silently thanked the maker that her landing hadn't taken a worse direction like it could have. She knew all too well from experience that she could have been in much more trouble from such a situation. Even if having your face smashed in the ground didn't look like a good thing to any normal person.

Clare pulled her head up from the ground, and noticed then just how far she had been thrown through the air. Not moving, she looked around her – wondering if she'd remembered to retract her blade from the ogre's eyes before her journey through the air. Seeing that there was no sign of it around her, she guessed she didn't. She turned to where the ogre was, somewhere in the distance – and noticed the battle was beginning to come to an end. Although the ogre was enraged and in fact dangerous, she figured that now it was half blinded – it was proving to be quite a strong weakness for the creature, as the group had nearly brought it to the ground with little trouble. At that assumption, she pulled herself into a sitting position, clasping at her chest slightly as her ribs ached in pain. She pulled her hand away and noticed there was no blood lingering on her fingers – which was always a good sign. Still, that still didn't manage to excuse the shooting pain she was currently feeling.

"Ouch," Clare said to herself. She mentally told herself that she needed to be more careful with her crazy plans. No more 'flips of doom' that could render her winded, or suffering from a lack in the number of ribs she should have.

She suddenly heard footsteps running to her, and Clare looked up briefly. She saw Alistair running toward her, carrying her backpack with him. He stopped when he came face to face with her, and Clare swore she saw him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank the maker you're alive – and conscious." He said, and Clare sensed his relief through the way he spoke as well. He turned his gaze to look at her, concern laced in his eyes slightly still. "Are you alright?"

Clare smiled slightly, secretly feeling rather touched at his concern. Not that she'd openly admit it though. She nodded, and tried to pull herself up. Failing, she put her hand out, a sign to show she needed Alistair's help to get up off the ground. He understood, and hastily went to help pull her up.

"I'm fine," She replied as he pulled her off the ground. Clare tried to balance herself when she was on her feet again. She quickly let go of his hand, and brushed herself down. "Just a few cuts and bruises, nothing out of the ordinary for me."

Alistair's face lost the concern it held, and he smiled briefly, obviously happy she wasn't seriously injured. He handed her the backpack, and sighed yet again.

"You're always injuring yourself in some way; maker knows how much trouble you get up to."

Clare merely made an 'hmph!' sound, and snatched the bag off him, searching through it for something to ease the discomfort in her chest. Finding what she wanted, she plonked the bag on the ground and drunk the small potion that she took out, not wasting any time as she wanted it to take effect as quickly as possible. When she was finished, she put the empty vial back in her backpack, ignoring Alistair as he watched her.

"Isn't that what my job entitles anyway? Facing constant peril and finding some miraculous way out of it?" She glared up at him, knowing all too well that he knew she was referring to the archdemon. Noticing him shift on his feet awkwardly at that question, Clare quickly decided to change the subject. "What of the others? Are they all okay?"

Alistair scratched the back of his head then, looking up above him.

"Well, the majority of the group is fine – only the odd cuts and bruises, like yourself. Dimitri didn't look too good though. I'm not sure, I kind of ... ran before the ogre had fallen. Only because I was worried about you - I mean we all we're of course, but I was the only one not tackling the ogre at that point in time." Alistair sighed, and Clare knew that sigh as a classic 'Alistair why can't you shut up before you say something more stupid than usual' sign. Alistair ran his hand through his hair then, and continued to speak. "I think Dimitri was mumbling something about sensing a smaller group of darkspawn threat nearby. If anyone else heard, they probably went to find them."

Clare frowned then, and turned to look up at Alistair in confussion.

"Went to find – wouldn't it have been better for them to wait for the group to reform first?"

"Well, it was a small group – only two or three stragglers. They should be back soon."

"Hmm," Clare crossed her arms then. There was something about what was happening she didn't like. She couldn't sense any other darkspawn threat, but then she remembered – she hadn't even sensed the ogre till it was right in front of them. Everything was back to normal to her, and she only had the sensation that the darkspawn nest they were looking for was a little while away yet. For them to sense stragglers close by and to run off after them, it did not put her at ease. She was suddenly ready to quote Dimitri's feelings from earlier in that moment. She herself had a bad feeling about what was happening. A very bad feeling.

Sighing, she picked up the backpack and pulled it over her shoulder. As much as she didn't like what was happening, it would be good to return to Dimitri and see how he was fairing.

"Well, until we reunite with them – I suggest we return to where the ogre lies. I'm not sure what you think, but I want my family's sword back."

Clare heard Alistair laugh slightly then, and she raised an eyebrow. Not that he could see anyway, her back was turned on him as she was preparing to walk on.

"Well err- why did you use the Cousland family sword to stab the ogre in the eye exactly?"

She sighed. Alistair would ask such a stupid question wouldn't he? Still, they'd reunite with the others soon. She could put up with his stupid comments – for now.

I wonder what Clare & Alistair will find when they return ~

Chapter 12 should be up sometime soon. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did - why not leave a review? It'll prompt me to update faster ; and it'll prevent you from getting mabari slobbered :)