Ser Nerys Ronain, Knight of Redcliffe (ronain) wrote in thedas,
Her blade was sharp, and her aim was true -- the genlock's head came off cleanly, practically going flying as the body continued its forward momentum toward her. Nerys managed to pull away and step back from the falling corpse before it could trip her up, turning quickly enough that the edge of the sword managed to catch the blade of the axe that had been swinging down at her from the towering hurlock just behind her; she was no petite woman, but the creature was a good head taller, its height increased by the crest of the dark wrought metal helm on its head. She could only see the darkness of its eyes glittering back at her, though she'd seen their gruesome faces before, in the last battle on the nearby farmstead. Nerys was determined to be as victorious now as she had been then.
The knight tried to block the blow, pushing as hard as her body would let her, but she was met with far too much resistance to overcome on her own. To her fortune, she didn't need to call for help, as Cafall came barreling toward the locked pair, lunging for the alpha's legs. His teeth wouldn't penetrate the armor, but his body weight would knock it off its feet and free Nerys to strike. The Mabari's attack was successful, large paws hitting the hulrock in just enough time that Nerys was able to pull away without having the rest of the axe's bit come down on her. He pinned the beast to the ground, snarling and snapping, careful not to meet flesh with his teeth, but still trying to inflict damage. At the very least, he would be able to weaken the armor, if not latch on and be able to rend a limb without breaking skin and spilling poisonous blood.
From somewhere behind her, she could hear the rest of the darkspawn being engaged by another fighter -- it didn't seem to be the elf, as there was still a steady rain of arrows coming from the direction she'd left him in. But she couldn't afford to turn and check. Whomever else was in the fray was keeping the rest of the group preoccupied and off her back while she tried to deal with the apparent overseer. The struggle between hound and darkspawn was far briefer than she liked -- even though he was a weighty ball of muscle and fury, Cafall was pried off and shoved aside, sent tumbling a short distance with a yelp. He scrambled back to his feet, unharmed, but cast aside. Infuriated by the display, Nerys lifted her blade again and resumed combat, aiming for the weakest spots between the breastplate and pauldrons.