It was raining. Why whenever Aurin had to go from point A to point B in the kingdom it had to rain? He was told to go scout out a possible presence of Apostates new Highever though, so he went. Not much stock was put in the rumors though, so he was sent alone. This suited the young Templar just fine. He might have even enjoyed the time in town by himself. If it wasn’t for one little thing…
…he decided to take a short cut.
He was halfway down the small path in the forest that the rain started to fall. He had lost track of the few landmarks he knew of in the mist. He never liked to admit that he was lost, but he knew that he was. A sigh escaped him as the Templar drew a canteen out of the battered traveling pack that he wore. He took a long drink before leaving the top off so he could catch some of the rainwater. No sense in wasting it. He finally decided to travel down the trail he could hardly make out in front of him, and with that decision made set off at a good pace.
He had hardly gone ten minutes before the ringing sound of combat reached his ears. He frowned at the sound, but his feet didn’t stop. He didn’t know if it was darkspawn, bandits, or something else. However if someone was in trouble he should at least lend a hand if he could. The trees thinned as Aurin approached the battlefield, and the first he saw was an archer. It seemed the archer was unworried about the combat, as he simply leaned against the tree instead of sighting down the longbow that sat against the same tree.
The Templar winced as he stepped on a branch that shattered with a crack that was loud in the blanket like quiet that the rain caused. The archer spun with his sword leaping free, but he paused when he spied the Templar. Dressed in serviceable plate and chain armor, Aurin didn’t look much like a shining example of his order. The only real symbol he wore was a black wolf’s head embossed on the shoulder plate. The claymore on his back was similar, well cared for but nothing special about it. With his canteen out and the surprised look on his face he knew he didn’t seem like that big of a threat.
“Sorry about that friend,” Aurin’s voice was pitched low and quiet as he continued to advance. “Didn’t mean to startle ya. How is the fight going?”
“…I don’t recognize ya,” the archer sounded suspicious but finally shrugged. “You one of Tarvak’s boys? The hell happened to ya? Get lost in the rain?”
“Something like that,” Aurin replied with a wry smile as he stepped still closer to the other man. “Anything left to kill so I can at least pretend to earn my keep?”
“See fer’ yer’self,” the man jerked his head in the direction of the battlefield. “Only thin’ left is that girlie down there with the knives.”, he smiled a vicious smile. “She’s gonna be fun when we bring her down. Boss wants to take her alive. Gonna have some fun with her, then I bet we can make a pretty pile of gold when we sell her.”
Sell her? Aurin quirked one eyebrow at the man’s words before coming to a quick decision. He paused his steps next to the man as he looked down onto the battlefield. He saw the dark haired rogue in question as she was backed up by her knot of opponents. He could see the other men battling in the mist as indistinct figures, but he was close enough to note the woman as she was backed up into that wall.
That wall was named Thak.
He was broad and tall, and smelled about as fragrant as a barn that needed cleaning. The only time this man took baths was when it rained. He was taller than most men Aurin had seen in his travels, and his ill fitting armor was pieced together from what looked like a half dozen different suits. He carried no weapons in his bear-like paws, and he didn’t feel he needed them. That much was obvious.