faderift | Darkspawn in the Mountains

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Darkspawn in the Mountains

WHO: Inessa Serra, Kain Ventfort (and Garahel)
WHAT: Darkspawn are harassing travelers in the Vinmark Mountains. It's time to hunt them down.
WHEN: Cloudreach, 9:44
WHERE: Outside Kirkwall, in the mountain paths connecting Kirkwall to the inland Marches.
NOTES: Here

The news given was grim. A pack of shrieks had destroyed almost an entire caravan in the Vinmark Mountains, leaving a few survivors to quickly succumb to the taint. The Fifth Blight may be over, the archdemon dead, but that's little comfort to those ambushed by those tainted forces that still live. Whatever route to the surface they have found, the local darkspawn are taking full advantage.

Shrieks aren't the only threats, either. As any Grey Warden knows, where one type of darkspawn gathers, others are never far behind. The closer the assembled group travels to the initial site of the massacre, the easier it is to sense the darkspawn...and be sensed by them, in turn. However, the Grey Wardens have trained all their recruits concerning the habits and battle tactics of their ancient enemies. Hopefully this knowledge will be enough, as they descend deeper into the caves.

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Fortunately, it didn't take long for Inessa and Garahel to come along. Kain is glad to see them arriving. Reckless as he can be sometimes, even he realizes that this isn't a battle to be fought alone. After what he'd seen of that caravan... he's ready to take some much-deserved vengeance out on these darkspawn.

"This way… Though I guess you'd already know that as well." Undoubtedly her Warden senses are also kicking in, the closer they get to the darkspawn. Kain wastes no time, urging his dracolisk along at a run, until they're at a spot that's good to safely leave the mounts. Their search ends… at the mouth of a cave.

"It's always caves," Kain grumbles as he dismounts and draws his sword, moving onward into the darkspawn's favorite domain. The moment they step inside, they'll also have a good sense that even more darkspawn lurk within, deep underground. They're definitely on the trail of those shrieks, but can they navigate through these dark, winding tunnels?

"I do, yes." Dismounting shortly after Kain, Inessa removes her staff from its holster on her back and narrows her eyes at the mouth of the cave. "I could energize rocks to cover it up, but that will mean little if they're finding another way out. We might as well have a look."

As they enter, Inessa resists the urge to summon a wisp for light. It would be an easy fix...until that attracted attention from the darkspawn below. And though they're being sought, it's better for the Wardens to do it on their own terms. They're already courting an ambush, as it is.

Garahel moves around them both to take point, grunting quietly when he's found more stable footing or the like. He knows he doesn't need to alert them to darkspawn, so he'll just focus on what they might miss, instead.

"We might as well. Perhaps there's an area further in where we can block their path, though... that's not a bad idea." After all, the darkspawn are known to show up in unstoppable numbers. This could be more than they can handle. He puts that idea aside for now, keeping it in the back of his mind just in case.

It's definitely helpful to have their mabari navigator along, in these dark, twisting tunnels. Kain grimaces occasionally, never one to enjoy being in confined, dark spaces. But it's a Warden's burden, and one he'll carry. "A shame that the Joining doesn't enhance our sight in the darkness," he murmurs, keeping his voice especially low so it doesn't carry. He can definitely feel the darkspawn's presence not too far ahead, and he's readying himself... soon enough, he starts hearing the sound of them moving about, too.

"We'll manage." Confined spaces matter to Inessa less than the lack of light, but a careful pace, some well-placed deep mushrooms and paying attention to her other senses help mitigate some of that issue. There's a soft huff of agreement as she keeps pace, tense as the darkspawns' presence edge into her consciousness. Garahel growls quiet, more tense and alert as they continue.

When Inessa speaks, she doesn't dare manage more than a whisper. "The path is sloping deeper to the right. Let's see where that leads." With darkspawn, deeper always leads to something. Hopefully that 'something' isn't more than they can handle, but they have a duty.

"Good idea." Kain is willing to go along with that, especially as he can very strongly sense the darkspawn's presence as being further along, concentrated much more deeply than he'd initially surmised. No matter. They'll get to them when they get to them.

There's seemingly no end to the darkened tunnel. Though there's something else odd, which Kain only starts to pick up. He's so busy concentrating on the darkspawn and keeping alert to that, that he almost misses it. But in the darkness, hearing does tend to be a bit sharper. "Do you hear that? It's almost like…" He can't place it, so he moves on a bit more, thinking it over. "Running water? Could we be near an underground water source?"

"An underground river, yes...." Garahel offers a soft grunt of agreement, glancing back to them. "Let's have a look, then. Carefully." She gestures for the mabari to continue taking point, following the sound of his padded feet and the faint glow from the deep mushrooms. She's certainly grateful for the abundance where it's needed.

She remains silent while they continue, until the water is at last sighted. Running water would be a relief, but with darkspawn about she doesn't dare lower her guard. In fact, she pauses and frowns, paying attention to what the taint within her senses. Nothing, yet. But she knows better than to relax, and continues along until finding the sign she was looking for.

"There, up ahead. That looks dwarven."

Kain is likewise careful and cautious, taking his time as they creep along. It's for the better that way. Though as they get down here, the presence of darkspawn is even more undeniable. It's thick and heavy, almost overpowering. "The sensation of darkspawn's presence here is like a stench…" he murmurs, as quiet as he can manage. But that's the best way to put it, it feels like an odor that clings to everything, foul and all over everything… it's almost hard to get a true sense for where they might actually be lurking.

About to add his thoughts about that dwarven comment, Kain is interrupted by a sudden incoming attack.

"Inessa! Behind you!"

His sword drawn, Kain is already charging for the abomination making its way toward her. But of course, there are plenty more darkspawn where that came from, and others coming through a side tunnel near where Kain is, as well. They're about to be surrounded.

Immediately whirling around, Inessa reflexively casts Barrier over the three to give them some protection before Garahel charges the nearest one. Of course she can sense that it's not just the one, and narrows her eyes at that side-tunnel. Thinking quickly, she then casts Pull of the Abyss to draw them toward a central point, making them easier targets and harming them in the process.

Perfect. Kain is very grateful for that particular spell, which brings the darkspawn within striking distance. The shrieks are there… or he'll just assume they're the shrieks that had started all of this mess in the first place. He readies himself, his Ring of Pain in full effect, as he's ready to take whatever blows may come. But aside from that, he's also ready to try what he can of some new moves he's been working on. Unfortunately, jumping is never the best idea in a cave, there's no real room for it, but he's all for his strengthened whirlwind.

So he swirls around, his sword a dangerous arc moving through the air, cutting at whatever gets in his path. It starts off like any other two-handed whirlwind attack, but then… the strength and force of his motions stir up the wind, a small cyclone bursting forth from his attack, striking the nearest shriek heavily.

"It worked!" Kain hasn't used this move in real combat yet- just practicing, and even then, it's not been perfect. At least, not until now.

Mid-combat isn't exactly the most opportune time to pause and admire, but Inessa perks up and smiles nonetheless at seeing Kain's efforts pay off. She knows that has been a work in progress for a while, and what better time to use it than right now?

"Excellent!"

She follows that up with Veilstrike, aiming the spell to avoid her allies while smashing down the gathered darkspawn. Then Garahel follows up with a charge, overwhelming the nearest shriek with a leap and his powerful jaws.

Inessa then takes advantage of her cleansing rune's potency and fires with her staff, though even with that added strength a shriek manages to close in, slashing at her viciously. The barrier holds -for now- but she's knocked back, almost dropping her staff.

It's pretty exciting to Kain, who's all for trying more new moves... but maybe that will just have to wait for the moment. With so many Darkspawn to battle, he's got to just go with whatever happens to work best in the moment.

"Inessa!" He shouts her name instinctively, but can't quite get there in time, as he's pretty well surrounded himself. At least she's got Garahel over there, right? For now, he slashes with his sword at the hideous creatures in front of him, getting a good hit which the darkspawn is quick to counter with in return. The blow it aims at Kain hits him and he grunts, but he feels that usual extra bit of energy that means he's getting stronger... and it shows, as he jabs his sword right through the offending darkspawn's face.

Another shriek screams, using its stunning Terrorize ability. But that reminds Kain, at least another of his new powers might be worth trying out here... once he regains his senses, of course.

Blasting the shriek back and letting Garahel overwhelm it, Inessa quickly takes action to thin the herd a bit. It's time for Firestorm; gathering energy, she slams her staff into the ground and summons flaming meteors to rain fire on their enemies for the next few moments. Her hearing is overwhelmed the sounds of the flaming boulders striking their targets, but hopefully the payoff is worth it.

The heat from the flames is intense, though it doesn't bother Kain as badly as it once might have. He can only feel a sense of pride in that, knowing that the added bit of fire resistance has fallen into place thanks to all of this recent training. He hadn't specifically planned on this happening, but it's been among the pleasant side effects of what he's accomplished.

Since he's not too bothered by this heat, Kain stays his ground, as the effects of that last attack finally wear off. And it's high time, too, as one of those darkspawn shrieks with an unearthly sound, getting a hit on Kain in the process. But Kain simply opens his mouth and roars. It's a sound that mimics that of dragons, a sound which is completely foreign down here... the unexpected sound of a creature of the sky. It startles some of the darkspawn, stunning them so that they freeze in place. Between those boulders decimating a lot of them, and now some of them being stunned, they've suddenly managed to seriously turn the odds back in their favor...

Kain starts cutting down the ones who are stunned, sword whirling through their ranks.

It's fortunate that Inessa and Garahel have both caught him training before, or the roar might have startled them into not taking action. As it is, the elven woman smirks as she takes advantage of the stunned targets, setting ice mines underneath a few to trigger suddenly and encase them in ice. Garahel promptly charges and knocks down one of the stunned targets, and a neck-snap is heard a moment later.

Kain is enjoying this, cutting down darkspawn one by one, slicing through all their most vulnerable spots with ease. Blood splatters as his sword severs heads and limbs, and the stunned creatures collapse to the ground.

This really does level the playing field, but many darkspawn starting to regain their senses are furious. There are a few cowards who slink back off into the safety of the tunnels the instant they can move. But those who remain are the enraged ones.

The first shriek to regain its senses leaps at Kain immediately with its Frenzy attack, striking repeatedly at him. Kain cries out, losing his footing for a moment, collapsing heavily onto the cave floor. He keeps his sword up, between him and his opponent, but the damage has been done anyway at this point. He grimaces, sword holding back what might surely be a killing blow from the pissed off shriek.

As much as Kain's Reaver abilities sustain him, Inessa worries that he may be reaching his limit. Blood loss might give him mightier swings and such, but he still needs some in order to stay on this side of the Veil. She'll send a Stonefist spell at the shriek, then some healing energy at Kain while hoping her own mana wouldn't tap out before the end of this fight.

"Grenades! Let's use them!" They made several, of varying types, and throwing them costs nothing but Inquisition supplies already requisitioned. It might be time to start conserving their energy, but at least that doesn't mean losing their ability to affect multiple targets at once.

At least Inessa knows when Kain really does need the healing, not overdoing it the way a lot of them seem to do. It's all a very tricky balancing act, one he's gotten quite used to. So what she does is just enough to keep him going, but not to dampen the effects of his power. He gives a decisive stab upward, finishing off that shriek.

"Good plan! If we can block off their escape from this cave for good... all the better!" A plan is definitely starting to come into mind here. Collapsing the cave enough to block the darkspawn would certainly be a longer-term solution here. Especially when there's just so many of them, and he has no doubt, more than the ones they're already seeing. Taking one of those grenades out now, Kain finds a good spot to hurl it at, backing off, trying to move further back the way they'd come from. An explosion follows on impact, along with the dying screams of those foul creatures.

"Then that's what we'll do!" Antivan fire grenades were on hand anyway, since fire is not an element she's chosen to hone. If it can serve even more use than killing multiple darkspawn at once, she naturally won't hesitate. Using Fade Step to position herself properly, she calls for Garahel to reach her side. Only when he reaches her side safely does she throw her grenade at the same time as Kain throws his own. The resulting blast is deafening and sends her stumbling against the wall of the cave right behind her.

The plan is emerging on the fly, but that seems to be just fine, really. They hadn't known the extent of what was lurking in here, after all... and if his senses are right, there are plenty of darkspawn out here beyond what they're facing. The attacks won't end until they do something about it.

He hurls that grenade and braces himself for the explosion, which rocks the whole area violently. He ends up backed against the wall as well, to keep from falling over. There's rocks and debris still falling for a bit after, but then it clears up somewhat. He can sense that many of the darkspawn were killed, their presence lightening up a bit. Good.

"I think... that may have done it..."

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Darkspawn in the Mountains

Tracking and fighting darkspawn

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