Dragon Age: Inquisition: Behind the Scenes

Duel to the Death (Almost)

To anyone who didn't know them, it looked like Iron Bull was out for blood.

They had been sparring for three minutes already, when the Qunari had upped his aggression, reflecting the Champion's blows as he took each step confidently, never giving her any room to breathe. A small crowd had gathered once the match got more intense, and only continued to grow as word spread around Skyhold. In no time at all, everyone was watching from some vantage point.

Liyata struggled to cope with his assault. There wasn't enough room to sidestep to start the cycle over again, and Bull's arms were too large to allow any other evasive tactics. She had fought Qunari before, but this one was unusually smart and resourceful, relatively. She had to fight for every swing, and she was still on the defensive. That needed to change.

She twirled the training weapon in her hand, reevaluating its weight in her hand as the Qunari mercenary went for a powerful overhead swing. The Champion had just enough room to jump to the side as his swing missed her left shoulder by inches. She went for his legs, the best option she could think of to bring him down. As long as he was standing, he would keep swinging. And maybe even after.

Her swing went through air. The Qunari wasn't anywhere close to that spot anymore. When did he get so agile? She jumped as Bull went for her legs in retaliation, and, sensing a drop in speed, clocked his chin with the brunt end of the weapon.

The sound of his teeth hitting one other echoed through the courtyard, and as he staggered from the blow, Liyata didn't give him time to get angry. She charged forward, doing a short hop as she twisted her body in a circle, trying to keep the forward momentum against him strong. The weapon struck just below his left ear, causing him to spin slightly, but when her feet hit the ground, his fist gave her face a warm greeting.

Those were a lot of stars. She vaguely felt her weapon drop from her grip as she crumpled to the ground, all positive energy completely gone. Slowly, she gathered enough strength to rise to her feet, albeit wobbly. Her ears were ringing, but she could hear Bull laughing at her.

"You've got spirit!" he exclaimed. "I thought you'd be tougher, though. Surely one Qunari isn't so tough a target for someone like you, huh?" He grinned. "Or is the Iron Bull really that amazing?"

She wasn't sure when she had found her weapon, or when the stars in her vision disappeared. Her memory only started working again when she was already in the air, staff raised high. The weapon crashed into his shoulder, causing him to grunt in surprise. Pole-vaulting off him, she did a flip in the air, striking his back before she landed back on the ground. Anticipating him to turn around quickly, she dug her uppercut swing through the ground, spraying his face with dirt as he attempted to regain his bearings.

She had no control over her assault at this point, running entirely on instinct and memories she had through abandoned. She clocked Bull in the chin again, making him stagger a little farther than last time. Seeing his body bending backwards, she pushed into the ground with her feet and her staff, sending her crashing onto his head and upper chest. The impact was just enough to send him crashing into the ground, sending a resounding thud through the crowd. With a war cry, she punched the weapon into his chest. While the weapon didn't actually puncture anything, the handle detached from its default position, sliding down the shaft as it mimicked the movement of a real stab. Iron Bull flinched in surprise. The duel was over.

She remained still, frozen in place atop Bull's chest, breathing hard. The adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, preventing her from noticing how sore she was going to be in an hour or two. Carefully, she stepped off the Qunari, casually tossing her weapon to the ground. A few second after, Bull rose to his feet, looking considerably less exhausted than Liyata.

"Wow... When did you human women start getting so tough?" he joked.

"Aw... Is your manly man pride wounded?" was her reply, adding kissy faces for effect. "Do you need Mommy to tell you how special you are?"

There was snickering in the crowd, particularly from the Chargers who had been watching, which was obviously all of them.

"If it were my pride that was injured, I'd never show my face around here again," he shot back. "As it is, I could use another drink. You in?"

She cocked her hips.

"You think I'd miss that?"

He shook his head, grinning.

"Somehow, I think you'll actually survive the first mug."

Vida wasn't sure what she was expecting when she returned from Val Royeaux, but the news about her and Bull sparring like gladiators wasn't it. By the time she got back to Skyhold later that night, Bull was lying unconscious in a 10-foot-deep hole he had dug in the middle of the courtyard, and Liyata was dangling her legs over the edge of one of the watchtowers, singing an old chant from Kirkwall at the top of her lungs while swinging around a large mug of alcohol, leaning very roughly into the poor Inquisition soldier she had dragged up with her.

Josephine was going to lose it when she got back.