What Can One Grey Warden Do?

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WHO: Hercules, Jamie, Kain, Rachette, Alistair, Kaidan, Bethany, Dorian, Anders, and Nathaniel.
WHAT: The ambush and capture of Lord Livius Erimond
WHEN: Drakonis 4
WHERE: The Western Approach
NOTES: Info on this post. Feel free to start your own mingle threads for the journey there and back. Warning for violence.

It doesn't really rain here. The skies are blue and the sun is glaring, the sands shifting only when a merciful breeze blazes through, which isn't often. It's hardest on Team D, which has no shade or shelter. The other two teams are tucked away in the shadows, impossible to see as Erimond's party enters the gorge.

They had seen the demons from afar, Nathaniel peering through a spyglass. There are eight of them, each bound to a mage, and Nathaniel has chosen to continue with the plan, though he has urged everyone not to try to fight, only to push through with the plan as-is and get out. They are all very much outnumbered, but all they need to do is take one man.

So stay hydrated and move quickly, team. Anything can happen in the next few minutes.

[OOC: I will tag into each team thread as the action reaches each team. Feel free to mingle on team threads before then and react to the action in other threads. Also, please start your own threads for travel mingling, if you want that sort of thing. This will keep everything organized for everyone's AC purposes.]

Comments

[sistertohermen]

"Damn!" They can't stay. They can't even dawdle with Kain, but they're not leaving two behind; this is why they have a healer with them, damn it. Isn't the second team supposed to be keeping them all busy? The heat is intense even from a short distance, and she hops back a few steps closer to the retreating group.

"Get him moving, we don't have time! We all need to get out!" Which includes the group attacking from the other end of the canyon, doing so to give them time to escape, so that they can also escape. Maybe...maybe they can do something for Herc. This team's time here is done, running into overtime. "I've got it!" She's got their backs. Even if she has to do something stupid like stand in front of a blast, but she's hoping it won't come to that.

[dragoon_pride]

Kain curses under his breath at the thought of not staying to finish this demon off. But he definitely doesn’t have much choice but let Jamie help him toward Anders. A leg wound like this isn’t so easy to just push along with, much as he’s struggling to try. By now, he’s bled out quite a bit, the red staining his leg, but at least the healing should alleviate things to some extent. He looks grateful about that at least. It should buy him some more time on his feet… Maybe? Right?! God, he hopes it’s not as bad as it feels, though there’s a definite possibility that shrapnel could have gotten embedded in there… Ugh… He’s got to keep moving no matter what else may happen.

The other team definitely have to be getting in on the fight by now… which’ll mean more cover to aid them. Good.

Still clutching his weapon, he keeps glancing back as they're going, wanting to do something more than flee. Stupid fighting instincts. He glances over to Jamie. “Perhaps.. if we… take one chance and all strike at once…”

[wontforgetyou]

The thought of trying to get together for one last strike is incredibly tempting, but that's an awful lot of blood on Kain's leg - and Rachette is absolutely right. They have to keep going, keep moving and hope for the best with Herc. Maybe the others'll be able to do something to help there. For Jamie, the best thing he can do is to get Kain the help he needs before he bleeds out, and even though his glance flicks back to Herc, he shakes his head.

"Look, we can't risk losing two people. We've been ordered to go, we go. Det-"

He breaks off before he can finish, grimacing at how naturally that false name comes to his lips. He and Anders are going to have to talk at some point, but now isn't the time for it. And then fire comes from one of the mages, reminding him that they really can't be standing around here. He redoubles his efforts to get Kain over to the mage's side, knowing that if nothing else, the sooner he can get Kain to Anders, the better, and lifts his head to call out to the mage.

"Coming your way!"

I like that I had this written up about three hours ago and forgot to post the damn comment :'|

[twelvelabours]

They're off, then. Good. Herc isn't exactly excited about the idea of getting potentially fried to death - nasty way to go - but he's even less keen on seeing his team go down. It adds a relentlessness to his attacks on the demon, easier after Anders patched him up, hacking at the thing as much as he can, trying to bring it down so he can focus his energy on those mages. He kicks the demon in the knee, batters it with the twisted metal of his shield, and hopes to the Maker and Andraste and whatever other beings might be out there (he can't afford to be picky, just now) that it goes down, stays down.

Even if he's not entirely sure about it, he's got some mages to deal with. Watching to make sure the others get out free will take too much of his attention, so Herc is holding his shield high to avoid any with the shield's resistance, and ploughing in to draw their focus.

It happens!

[justice_is_blond]

Jamie gets an apologetic look at the grimace, but then Anders is more focused on Kain. There's blood loss, a piece of something still in Kain, and enough damage that if it's left too long there might be a lasting problem even with the blood loss stopped.

"I'll heal as we move him. But once we've got him on to a horse, you're going to need to make sure he stays on and gets to the rendezvous point." He can hear combat still going on, and it's not just Herc. Erimond has closed on Nate and Alistair and Anders is needed there too, and he has no idea how Bethany's group is doing.

Focusing internally, he casts, seeking to forestall anything lethal and stabilize. It's all they can afford, time-wise, for now. He can hear Rachette moving along behind them, giving them cover, and that's one concern gone as they approach the horses. By the time they've got Kain up and on, the bleeding's stopped. For now.

"Be careful, don't jostle it, I need to back up Nate and Alistair." It's hastily said because he's already looking for the two, trying to find... There. Nate and Erimond are entangled and Alistair is swinging, and Anders nods to this group.

"I'll see you at the rendezvous point." And then he's running, because he isn't done yet.

Just me and Herc from here on

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The demon is a fierce one, and Herc's attacks may stagger it, but it presses on. Its next swipe connects with Herc, though only the ends of its long fingers, dealing no damage but setting off his balance. Its long tail lashes out to wrap around Herc's ankle and yank him to the ground.

[twelvelabours]

Damn it.

Herc's halfway to taking another step back to correct his balance when the demon's tail strikes. He's doing better than before, but he's still not up to his normal form and his body is protesting the lingering injuries. Landing at an awkward angle, shield caught between himself and the ground, Herc's arm takes a beating and sand meets his eyes and his mouth. Without looking he swings his sword to try and catch the demon's tail, flame still enveloping the blade.

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The angle isn't ideal, but the blade hits, nearly severing the tail. The demon screams in Herc's face and grabs him with both hands, lifting him two feet from the ground before slamming him back down. The whiplash causes near-immediate unconsciousness.

He's not out for long. When he wakes, his hands and feet are bound. A Warden mage kneels before him, eyes glowing strangely. He removes his healing hands from Herc, then tilts his head, as if curious about what he is seeing. Behind him, a few mages watch, their numbers dwindled from what it was.

"Where are you in pain?" the healer asks in a monotone voice.

[twelvelabours]

All in all, he'd say that potentially dying would have been an easier out that being trapped like this. Herc eyes the mage warily. Warden against Warden wasn't how it was meant to be, and on another day, in another battle, the guy patching him up might've been a friend.

As it is, Herc considers a long moment before responding.

"Everywhere," he replies, and it's mostly true. Eating sand wasn't fun, being slammed into it by a bloody great demon wasn't high on his list, either. Still, some pain and tension is potentially more worrying. "Neck's not great." A little shift, testing, and he winces. "Right collarbone and arm aren't much better." He's not looked, but breathing and shrugging made his shoulder yell a mighty protest.

And speaking of arms, he's guessing his sword and shield are gone, left back in the Approach or requisitioned to these bastards. His head is foggy, but he manages a rough, "Where are we?"

[pinprick]

The mage doesn't answer, only reaches out to deliver healing magic to Herc's neck. After a thoughtful moment, he gives a nod to himself and stands.

"He can travel without dying."

Three other mages approach and begin to load Herc onto a horse, completely heedless of his pain. Something shifts horribly with the pain in his collarbone, and the movement will be agonizing.