Drunken Conquistador

A Dragon's Roar: Beyond the Blood, Beyond the Blight

@Genkai

Kingdom of Ferelden. Somewhere in the south.

Julien nodded absently as Wystellia explained the intricacies of the Sun. It wasn't like he didn't care, as a general rule Julien often found these little tidbits of information interesting, but he was more worried about sharpening the stick so that they could work on catching dinner than listening to technicalities. As useful as they may prove in the future. And in any case it was not like he would actually absorb the information in any useful way now. Yes, let her worry about that. Julien was too busy wetting his boots to bother with that.

Well, of course. Heading in a general direction would take them somewhere alright. Julien thought to himself. It's just that following a random path blindly could take them right into the Darkspawn Horde just as it could take them straight to Denerim. "We need to start going more right...right?" Julien repeated with an amused tone. "By the way you were speaking I figured you would use your years of academic studies to pinpoint our exact location in relation to King Cailan's third cousin through his second aunt." He joked as Wystellia handed him the stick. In no time he had already handed the sharpened stick back to the elf.

Once the two of them were in the river, Julien finally realized that maybe this method of fishing wasn't the best. To be honest the templar that taught him wasn't that good either. And the two of them ended up going to sleep with their bellies empty. But he was digressing and losing focus. Shaking his head slightly he strained his eyes to look for fishes. Ignoring her when she talked about giving up and suppressing a small chuckle when she missed.

"You will never catch anything if you don't get your feet wet." Julien warned as he narrowly missed a fish with his spear. Thrusting again and again as he tried to catch the fish before it swam out of reach. Almost falling on the river on the process. "A little water won't kill you. Unless there's some facts about elves that I'm unaware." He teased as he gave her a quick glance.

The question about family kinda caught him by surprise and Julien almost speared his own foot. It's not like he wasn't expecting this conversation. They were travelling together after all. But he figured the 'let's know each other better' talk would come later. Preferably when they weren't busy with anything else. Still, there was no reason to reply:

"I got family back home in the Marches. Mother, two older brothers, five nephews and six nieces." He said casually as he trained his eyes on an incoming fish. "It has been a while since I've seen them however." He added as he readied himself to spear the fish. "Decided to make my own path and got out of home as soon as I could to be-" Julien paused as he thrusted his spear at the fish. "Caught one!" He announced triumphantly as he raised his improvised weapon out of the river, a still twitching fish impaled on the top. "It looks like we won't go to bed completely starved today." He added with a grin as he unstuck the fish from the spear and laid it on the river bank.

"Anyway, where was I?" Julien asked as he returned to the river. Because he was damn sure that he could catch at least one more fish to complement their dinner. "Ah yes, I spent most of my adult life as a wandering duelist before joining the Wardens. Never had many chances to stop by and visit them. What about you? Had anyone before going to the Circle?"

Star Wars: Disintegration [adv. - NRP]

<Snipped quote by Drunken Conquistador>

Thanks! Hope to see you around ;)

@Sini

I just need to decide where to park my Imperial Warlord now XD. By the way just to be clear, are we using the Legends or Disney canon?

A Dragon's Roar: Beyond the Blood, Beyond the Blight

@Genkai

Kingdom of Ferelden. Somewhere in the south.

"I'm sure that a accomplished healer like you wouldn't find much trouble dealing with just a little bit of poison." Julien teased as he wiped his blade clean with a rag. Not that it was of much use now however, the rag itself was pretty frayed and dirty itself. Plus Julien had also lost the oils and unguents he commonly used to maintain his weapons. He stopped his work momentarily, cursing silently at the loss of such expensive material.

At least he had gotten Wystellia to agree to fish. Which wouldn't be that easy now that he stopped to think about it. Well, maybe he could fashion an improvised spear out of some sticks like that templar had showed him back near Starkhaven?

Without any further ado he followed Wystellia silently. Eyes carefully surveying his surroundings for any more looming threats. Now that the thrill and excitement of victory had worn out, Julien was once again filled with that mix of hopelessness and resignation that he was sure would soon become a familiar companion during the remainder of his -probably- short life. He shook the thoughts away, there was no way back now. He would just have to do his best and hope to accomplish something. The duelist snorted loudly at that last thought, chances were they would end up dead once the horde caught up with them.

The rest of the walk was silent. Julien followed the elf up the dusty path and into the hills, his throat reacting instinctively once the sounds of running water became audible . The river she indicated would be a good spot as any. Julien wasn't banking on them succeeding while trekking up further into the wilds blindly with a empty stomach. He may had resigned himself to their eventual demise but he still had enough fight left in him to prefer a quick death in battle rather than starving to death in an unknown land.

"Chances are that river probably has some fish." Julien replied as he walked down the hill towards the river. "We just need a few sturdy sticks or branches to fashion spears with and we ought to be able to catch at least a couple fishes." Of course, a couple fishes would not be able to sate a Grey Warden's increased appetite but that part was left unsaid. "Once we're done." He continued as he bent down to grab and study a promising piece of wood. "We ought to use the sun and stars to locate ourselves." The stick was rotten and he had to throw it away. "I mean, Ostagar is in the south and we need to head north. A-HA!" Julien found an acceptable tree branch. Cutting it down with his longsword he quickly sharpened one end and with a silent prayer to the Maker he finally went to the river.

Star Wars: Disintegration [adv. - NRP]

This is pretty interesting. I just need to finish reading the OP

A Dragon's Roar: Beyond the Blood, Beyond the Blight

Kingdom of Ferelden. Somewhere in the south

As they walked away from the woodsmen camp, Julien couldn't help but wonder if their saviors would manage to escape before the Blight got to them. He supposed that if they got out now the woodsmen would have a chance. But if they waited too long they would die. No, scratch that, they would probably die anyway. Whether they fled now or waited. Julien himself was starting to doubt he and Wystellia would get very far considering how close the horde should be and their deplorable supply situation. To make matters worse, the duelist had no idea where the closest settlement was. And even if he knew the two of them probably didn't had enough coin to buy enough supplies for two Wardens. Why in the Maker's name did they had to eat so much anyway?

Wystellia's idea of hunting their own food did little to improve Julien's mood. For one Julien was never the most proficient hunter. The few times he had to hunt for his own dinner usually ended with him going to sleep hungry. And that was when had had access to either a bow. It would probably be much harder to hunt with a longsword. And forcing Wystellia to use her magic to kill a deer seemed like overkill. Plus he also doubted that she was a good hunter herself, considering that she probably grew in the Ferelden Circle of Mages.

The idea of fishing however, was much more attractive to Julien. And he wasted no time in making his opinion clear:

"I think it would be easier if we just went fishing. A fish may not be as filling as a deer or bear but it's much safer, easier and faster." The mere thought of going fishing brought back a rush of happy memories from his childhood. The many fishing trips his father took Julien and his brother would always have a special place in his heart. And the taste of the spiced up fish prepared by the servants would always serve to make his stomach grumble.

Unfortunately the spiders interrupted what was sure to be a reasonable and calm discussion.

Not wasting any time Julien drew his longsword with his right hand while the left instinctively reached for the empty sheath that housed his now lost shortsword. As if their situation wasn't already hard enough when he had two weapons, now he had to adapt his fighting style to using just one weapon. Not to mention that shortsword had been a prize from winning a melee at Kirkwall. It would be impossible to replace it.

Thankfully Wystellia's magic was enough to give them the edge. It was then Julien realized just how relieved he was that his companion also had some offensive spells despite being a healer. Maybe they would get a little farther than he thought in this case?

Jumping into the fray the Warden easily dispatched two of the smaller spiders. Feeling suddenly reinvigorated as Wystellia's spells took hold of him. Turning quickly to face the remaining spider, and largest one of the group, Julien managed to land a blow and sever one of the monster's legs as it was too busy getting magic spells to the face.

Deftly dodging a clumsy strike from the spider, Julien took his chance and tried to impale the spider's head with his sword. Unfortunately the monster managed to bring two of its legs to block, wounding them severely in the process, while using a third to stab the duelist. Barely managing to avoid being skewered by the spider, the duelist advanced again. This time managing to sever one of the wounded legs and avoid the beast's attempts to bite him by quickly sidestepping to the left. Which gave him a better position to bring down his sword on the spider's head, finishing the monster once and for all. As the monster fell dead to the ground he turned to Wystellia:

"So, do you think these things are edible?" Julien grinned at his own joke. The thrill of victory making him forget the hopelessness of the situation for a few moments.

A Dragon's Roar: Beyond the Blood, Beyond the Blight

Sorry for the delay, these last couple of days have been hectic for me. I'm working on the reply now.

A Dragon's Roar: Beyond the Blood, Beyond the Blight

@Genkai

Kingdom of Ferelden. Woodsmen outpost

Julien couldn't help but wonder on Wystellia's words about not being alone in this fight. A part of him wanted to believe these words, cling desperately to the idea that other Wardens had managed to escape the massacre, that there were other forces in Ferelden that could be marshaled to face the Blight. But another more rational, or maybe simply more pessimistic, made it hard for him to actually believe this notion. It was so much easier to believe that they were doomed. Because they were, weren't they? The whole Ferelden would be consumed by the Blight and two Wardens would make no difference. Except maybe kill a few more of the accursed Spawn. Not that it would make much difference in the end. If he were to be honest with himself, Julien felt as if he was already dead. His body was mostly healed and fit for travel, but for what? What could two Wardens do at this point that an army couldn't achieve? Maybe it would be better to go to Ostagar after all, at least he would die with some dignity left in that case.

The duelist immediately chastised himself, shaking his head to clear his mind of such thoughts. Hadn't he had just talked about the duty of the Grey Wardens to Wystellia? Were those just empty words? It was clear that both of them were shaken, to say the least, by recent events. They also lacked a plan, supplies and probably the mental capacity to even start working on fighting this Blight. By the Maker, it was already doubtful that the two of them would be able to contact the other Wardens before it was too late. Specially if Loghain had indeed decided to betray them, though why he would do that Julien couldn't even start to fanthom.

Turning his back to the window and leaning on it with a heavy sigh of defeat. But what else could he do? He had joined the Wardens on his own will, he had said the words, drank the blood and survived. He was a Grey Warden and he had a mission. He may not have actually expected to have to fight a Blight in his lifetime but it was part of the job nevertheless. It was his duty and his legacy. Long ago he had decided to make his own path in the world. And what better legacy than helping to stop a Blight? Even if the chances of actually achieving something were quite low he still had to try. And if he died in the attempt, which probably would happen, Julien would at least be able to stand before the Maker with pride and say that he had did his best and died doing his duty. The duelist chuckled lightly at the thought

His little pep talk finished, the now properly motivated Warden went to the other side of the room to check his gear. The woodsmen had stored it in a simple chest laid by the bed. Everything was there, or rather most of it anyways. His shortsword was missing but he probably lost it when his arm was almost chopped off. His armor had seen better days; the brigandine was dented ripped in some places while the chain mail was missing some links, it could probably be fixed easily by a good blacksmith. If he had the money to pay for it, which Julien hadn't. He had left most of his money at the camp. And to boot his helmet was missing too, but in this case he clearly remembered losing it at the start of the fight. Though at least his boots and longsword were in good condition.

Julien decided against putting his armor, what would be the point of doing that now? Preferring to remain in tunic and pants. Before following Wystellia's lead and seeking to offer his help to the locals. He spent the rest of the day helping the woodsmen carrying and cutting logs. Sometime after nightfall he returned to the cot they had graciously offered him and slept soundly despite everything. Remembering his father's words that a hard day of work were the best way to calm one's thoughts.

The next day he woke up shortly after sunrise, and after praying, went about the business of dressing up. Julien started by putting the chain mail over the tunic and then the brigandine over it. It was not the most protective set but Julien's fighting style valued agility over sheer staying power. Something, he had to admit, wasn't as useful in large pitched battles as it was in tourneys, duels and small skirmishes. Not that he could change now, he had spent most of his life fighting like that and he was damn good at it. Still, it wouldn't hurt to look for ways to increase the protection in his legs next time he had the chance.

It was then that he heard the knock on the door. Deftly strapping his belt and pack on before sheathing his longsword he moved towards the door, not bothering to call out as he was so close to it.

"Alright my friend." He grinned to Wystellia as he opened the door. "Ferelden won't save itself!" Sure, he believed that their mission was almost surely doomed. But that was no reason to not put up a brave face at least for Wystellia's benefit. They would need all the moral reinforcement they could get.