<strong>Bor Hannon<br/>Woodland Clearing<br/>Somewhere North of Ostagar</strong><br/><br/>Bor pulled his sword out of the Darkspawn, flicking his wrist as he did so and sending minute flecks of black blood flying through the chill air.  The hurlock screamed, dropping its shield and grasping at the wound, and Bor sent it stumbling backwards with a solid kick to the solar plexus.  The beast fell on its back with a satisfying thump, and lay still.<br/><br/>It's three companions rounded on Bor, redoubling their efforts.  He lifted his shield, and was rewarded with two arm-numbing thumps.  The third sword dipped low, nicking the bottom of the circular shield and went skittering towards Bor's legs.  The Warden leaped backwards, but his limbs moved sluggishly in the heat of combat.  The point of the sword ripped through the leather padding above his knee, and he felt the skin part beneath the tip.  There was no pain, not yet.  Not until the beasts were dead.<br/><br/>His shield lashed out, knocking back two strikes before they could build up any momentum.  Surprise painted their skeletal faces.  In combat, always do what the enemy did not expect.<br/><br/>In the brief reprieve, Bor spotted Mathius run out of the woods.  The man ran with a limp, but his swords were out.  Any surprise Bor may have felt was squelched.  Like the wound in his leg, that would simply have to wait.<br/><br/>Knowing that help was near, the Warden took a step back, bracing himself on the frozen ground as he held his shield up, sword resting on top, point towards the Darkspawn.  It was a purely defensive posture, meant to deflect incoming attacks while providing the threat of an immediate counterattack.  Of course, a sword lunge from this posture was extremely difficult to pull off, and left the counterattacker more exposed than his opponent, but the Darkspawn didn't know that.  They saw the sword point, poised like a viper, and hesitated.<br/><br/>One turned to face Mathius, perhaps hearing the man's heavy footfalls, and was eviscerated for its trouble.  One of the two remaining Hurlocks rounded on Mathius, deftly deflecting the man's attacks with its shield and lashing out with the sword.  Bor had been worried about that Hurlock, as it was obviously the best of the pack.<br/><br/>He turned to face the remaining Hurlock, only to see Eluv'yan of all people mounted on its back, dagger wedged between its breastplate and neckguard.  The Hurlock dropped its shield and sword, reaching up to grab the woman with its bare hands, perhaps to try and throw her over its head.  Of course, reaching up like that exposed the weakly armored leather below its armpits...