Joseph IX


They travelled for hours in the moonlit forest amongst the nocturnal sounds of insects and owls, before emerging into a gentle valley with a river running through it. Joseph found a shallow place to ford the river and led his group through the currents. He was fortunate enough to be mounted on one of their three parasuars, but most of his companions were travelling on foot. There were a few grumbles and murmurs as the scouts waded through the icy water, but everyone made it across safely. Joseph glanced up at the sky. Storm clouds were gathering above and Joseph could see lightning flashing the distance: a bad omen. The skies suggested that a storm was coming. We need to find shelter or we'll be soaked. We've travelled far enough for tonight, it's about time we found a place to camp.

Joseph led his group up the gentle valley slope and they eventually emerged into a huge expanse of grasslands. Vast swaths of pale silver grass gleamed in the night, swaying like an eerie sea. The grasslands stretched on for as far as the eye could see. There was only the occasional tree that broke up the monotone plains, not enough cover for the whole party. Joseph hastened his pace, hoping to reach another forest before the rains reached their position. It was at that moment that one of the gallimimus outriders returned.

"There's a ruined village up ahead!" the man shouted over the rumble of thunder.

"Take us to it," Joseph ordered.

The storm clouds caught up to them after a few minutes, and they were relentlessly pelted by rain droplets. Joseph was relieved when he caught sight of the ruins ahead. Many of the houses had broken roofs that would do little to keep out the rain, but there was a stone tower in the center that would provide good cover. No lights were coming from the tower, which was always a good sign. Joseph flicked his reins and they cantered toward the broken village. The door to the stone tower gave away easily after one of his rangers kicked it. The rest of the party quickly ducked inside. The archway was large enough for the gallimimus to fit through, but not the iguanodon and parasaurs, so they had to leave the beasts hitched outside. A few old stone walls provided shelter against the worst of the elements, but otherwise the poor creatures were going to be pelted by rain relentlessly. Fortunately the parasaurs and iguanodon were no strangers to surviving in the wilderness, so they would be fine. Joseph ordered his rangers to remove their saddlebags and bring them inside, lest the contents get soaked.

It was dark inside the tower, but moonlight shone in through a few old windows. Joseph considered starting a fire so everyone could dry themselves off, but decided against it in the end. They were all cold and damp but they would just have to make do. Fortunately their sleeping furs were relatively dry, so they were able to warm themselves up. The night was almost over anyway, so Joseph let his survivors rest and relax. They had been relentlessly plunging farther into uncharted territory for nearly three weeks. Everyone looked weary and disheveled from the long journey, but they soldiered on against all odds nonetheless. Joseph admired their unabating resolve, glad that his team was still forging onward even after such a long and challenging mission. Fortunately they hadn't lost anybody yet, although a few rangers had gotten injured from wildlife. It was nothing serious, but it had slowed their journey significantly and Joseph had gotten nowhere near where he wanted. We came for answers yet there's still so much we don't know. He glanced around at the miserable forms of his comrades, huddled against each other in the darkness. Is it time for us to leave? It always feels like we've overstayed our welcome in enemy lands, that we've been far too lucky. It's only a matter of time before something goes amiss so perhaps we should leave and be glad for what we've uncovered.

Joseph sighed and decided to go explore to get his mind off the mission. The tower was larger on the inside than it first appeared. There was a spiral staircase leading up to a second floor, so Joseph went to investigate after drying himself off. The stone steps were cracked and chipped in places, but mostly sturdy. Somehow the second floor was darker than the first. The windows have been boarded up, he realized. Joseph's eyes were still adjusting to the darkness when he heard the unmistakable shriek of a dilophosaurus preparing to spit.

"Not a step closer," a voice growled from the shadows.

Joseph froze. His first instinct had been to flee down the stairs, but it was a fool's gambit to make any sudden movements with a dilophosaurus so close. Any sharp gestures would end in Joseph getting paralyzed and poisoned. He slowly raised his arms above his head to show he wasn't a threat. By now he could see the room. Old furniture dominated the perimeter of the circular tower, interspersed with newer items like a cot and animal bones. A dilophosaurus with a bright red frill was poised to attack a few feet away, its jaws outstretched in an ugly snarl. In the corner of the room, a scrawny old man crouched with a spear in his hands, his eyes wild and crazed. His weapon trembled when he addressed Joseph. "You shout for help and I'll silence you forever. Your friends might do me in, but I'll take you down with me."

Joseph nodded slowly, trying not to show his fear. I thought the tower would be completely abandoned. At least it isn't a fully armed patrol. Even still, this man is unpredictable and dangerous. I need to be careful. From the corner of his eye, Joseph noticed the dilo circling around to cut off his escape route. "I mean you no harm."

The disheveled man scowled. "Save your bloody lies. I know you're here to drag me back to your prison and force me to work until my back breaks."

Joseph's head was turning. He thinks I'm with the Protectors of Man. He enunciated his next words slowly, trying to convince his captor that he was speaking truthfully. "I'm not your enemy. I can promise that if I were discovered in this tower, I'd get shackled in chains and marched away right alongside you."

The man raised an eyebrow but didn't make any move. He scrutinized Joseph for a moment then lowered his weapon a fraction. "I suppose you're telling the truth. You're a runaway like me?" His gaze hardened. "No, you can't be. You have far too many friends down there."

"I'm not with the Protectors of Man," Joseph said. "My men and I are just taking cover from the rain."

The scrawny man was about to say something, but Joseph would never know what. At that moment, Vanessa came up the staircase carrying a tray of food. "Lord Joseph, you should ea—"

The dilophosaurus snapped its head toward her and launched a glob of spit with an ear-piercing shriek. Joseph didn't have time to warn his lieutenant, but fortunately her reflexes were fast enough. Vanessa instinctively flipped the wood tray over and shielded herself from the worst of the acid, not a moment left to spare. With the dilophosaurus distracted for a split second, Joseph launched himself at the stranger and grabbed hold of his spear. The two men wrestled for the weapon but Joseph was much larger and stronger. He easily overpowered his foe and tossed the weapon to the far corner of the room.

Joseph glanced over at Vanessa. The dilophosaurus acid had melted away some of her wood tray and a few droplets had splashed her leather vest, but she was otherwise unharmed. The ranger was shielding herself from the dilophosaurus's snapping jaws and sharp teeth with the remnants of the board. Joseph turned his attention back to the old man, only for a flashing blade to nearly take his eye out.

He leapt back in the nick of time, but his assailant pounced after him. Joseph didn't have time to draw his own dagger, only to dodge another strike that would have caught him in the neck. The crazed man brought his knife down in another wild arc and Joseph skirted away, trying to put as much distance between himself and his foe as possible. His hind foot snagged a ledge and Joseph would have gone down hard, if not for the staircase railing. He slammed into the metal pole hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs. Joseph did not have any time to be relieved, for the wild man was charging at him again and he had no more space to retreat. He braced his arms out in front of himself, hoping to catch the dagger or at least protect his face. Fortunately he didn't have to.

The sound of the scuffle had been loud enough to hear over the relentless drumming of the rain, and more help was pouring out from the staircase. A ranger tackled the old man and they went down together. A woman kicked the knife from his hand and pinned his wrists to the floor. Someone else hurled a net onto the dilophosaurus, and a pair of spearmen prodded it back into the corner.

The moment he realized the fight was lost, the crazed man stopped resisting and instead resorted to pleading for mercy. "Stop! Stop! I yield!" He screeched. "Kill me if you wish but don't take me back! I can't go back!"

Joseph took a moment to catch his breath, then went to offer Vanessa a hand. The Head Ranger was a little worse for wear, but luckily none of her scratches would be fatal. Joseph waved a medic over to treat Vanessa's wounds, despite her insistence that it was unnecessary.

"What should we do with the captive, Lord Joseph?"

The old man was still wailing on the floor about how he couldn't go back. He made eye contact with Joseph and seemed to brighten up. "Mercy please! Make it quick, my knife is over there. My dilo too, I don't want her to suffer."

Joseph frowned at the sight. "I will do no such thing. As I told you earlier, we're here to get out of the rain. Not hunt you down."

He didn't look convinced. Joseph sighed and nodded to the guards. "Unhand him, but keep a careful eye on him."

The rangers reluctantly released the man and backed away, drawing their weapons. Joseph glanced at the dilophosaurus. "His pet can go free as well. Just make sure to muzzle her."

With his dilophosaurus safely curled at his side again, the old man seemed a bit more relaxed. However, he kept tensing up whenever someone paced near him. Joseph didn't want the blood of an innocent man on his hands, so he sent most of his survivors back downstairs to get sleep and hopefully deescalate the situation. The rain was still pounding outside, even as the first few cracks of dawn were beginning to peek through the clouds. Joseph and his party would be stuck inside the tower for the rest of the day. He figured he might as well try to make amends with the prisoner.

"Do you want any food?" Joseph tested.

The captive scowled but his nervous fidgeting betrayed his thoughts. "Some food for myself and Ol' Red would be welcome."

Joseph returned with some dried jerky, a hunk of bread, an apple, and some water. He allowed the captive to unmuzzle his dilophosaurus so they could both eat, but only after ensuring all the guards were armed with wood and leather shields. The old man wolfed down his food like he would never get the chance to eat again. His red-frilled dilophosaurus was a little more cautious, taking small nips of the jerky as if it might be poisoned.

Joseph laughed at the sight. "Go on, there's nothing wrong with the meat."

The lizard hissed at him and returned to prodding at its meal, albeit more cautiously than before. Joseph shook his head and smiled. "She reminds me of my own dilophosaurus. Smart creatures."

The old man looked up from his meal. "Where's your pet now?"

"Long dead, I'm afraid."

"Sorry for your loss." The old man wiped his mouth and scratched his dilophosaurus's head. "I used to have more of 'em, but they were gone when I returned to the village. I don't know if they're just lost or dead."

"You lived here before?" Joseph was curious now. He thought this man had just been a squatter taking advantage of the abandoned village.

"Aye." The old man thumped his chest proudly. "I was the stablemaster."

"What happened?"

The old man's look of pride quickly melted away. "Them Protectors of Man are what happened."

"They burned your village to the ground." Joseph had always wondered whether all the ruins they passed were recent tragedies or ancient civilizations lost to time. Now he knew. "Why would the Protectors do that? We've passed plenty of healthy villages on our way here, and they all seemed content."

"Bloody sheep, the lot of them. They've forgotten what it means to be survivors. All of them turn a blind eye to the Protectors, so long as they stay safe. Not us. We always remembered the time when we were free and happy." The old man's voice rose and he started waving his hands about, as if trying to recapture a grand dream that kept slipping away. "We rose up against our oppressors. Not once, but thrice! We even inspired many of our neighbours to join our cause."

That explains some of the other ruins we crossed, Joseph mused. "I'm guessing they didn't take too well to your defiance."

"Not at all. They sent their armies to crush our resistance, but we fought them every inch of the way. They might have razed our homes and shackled our people, but we made them pay for their victory in blood! They rounded us up and sent us to their prison camps. The conditions were brutal and unbearable, but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing."

Whatever else he thought of the man, Joseph had to admire his patriotic fervour. "How did you escape?"

The man squinted his eyes suspiciously but by now, he seemed to have accepted that Joseph and his party were not affiliated with the Protectors. "Let's just say I had some help. We bided our time for about a year, learning the flaws of their castle. After we escaped, we went our separate ways. I returned here, but there was nothing left except Ol' Red scrounging about the ruins."

Joseph nodded thoughtfully. "You mentioned a time when you were free. How long ago was this?"

The old man scratched his head. "Eight, maybe nine years ago. We had our own lord back then, who took care of all our needs. He lived in this tower right here. We governed ourselves and didn't grovel to anyone."

He found himself admiring this old man more and more. He's been through a lot and there are many things I can learn from him. Joseph considered revealing his own group's identity. They shared many things in common and it would certainly open the man up to more questions. But if he gets caught by the Protectors, our cover will be ruined. . . Joseph mused on it for a few moments. He looked around the dark tower, at all the bits and pieces of ancient history strewn about. He noticed how fatigued his guards were; although they were doing their best to stay alert, they could not help but lean on their spears or against furniture. His warriors had been through a lot to get this far, and they were still far from the knowledge they sought. Joseph glanced back at the old man. He has the answers we need. Maybe if we ask the right questions, we won't need to go any further into enemy territory. If we find what we need from him, we can finally call our mission complete and return home.

Joseph sighed and hoped he wasn't making the wrong choice. "You wondered who we were. Well, we're a tribe not unlike your own. We have our own lords and we rule ourselves. . . but recently we've had some difficulties. I'm not absolutely certain about anything yet, but I have reason to suspect that the Protectors have been spying on us. Preparing to invade our land."

The old man scowled. "That sounds like them. They preach peace and unity, but the only real way to unite people is by conquest. I'd be wary if I were you."

Joseph nodded. "I suspected as much. What was it like the first time you encountered them?"

"We heard rumors of them prodding around our land, but by the time we responded it was already too late. They killed our lord, took his castle, and taxed us relentlessly for the next eight years until we had enough."

That's not good. Open Hearth needs to prepare for war, and the other castles would do well to fortify themselves as well. Joseph clasped his hands together and took a seat, preparing himself for the long day ahead. "My people are headstrong like yours. We will fight the Protectors if they take our land, but we need all the help we can get. I would be grateful if you would tell me everything you know of this tribe."

The old man nodded. "Aye, I could do that. What do you need to know?"

"Well for a start, how many are there?" Joseph asked.

"A thousand. Ten thousand," the old man shrugged and smiled a toothy grin. "Too many for a band of twenty to fight alone."

"True," Joseph conceded. "But we do not stand alone."


Author's Note: Remember to go vote in the poll! Our next poll will be favorite side character, but I'd like to wait a few chapters and introduce some more. Anyway, the current poll about favorite animal companions will only be a up for a little while longer, so be sure to vote!

Loremaster Endercreeper, We get to see some interactions with the mountain people next chapter :) They are sorta stubborn though so I don't think they're becoming anyone's vassals soon lol. An alliance is definitely on the table though.

DinoNerd89, Definitely! She's proven her capabilities as a leader, but she's also got a long way to go.

Death Korps Boi, Haha I've never played Far Cry Primal but it's definitely on my bucket list. Mammals are awesome creatures though! As for the different continents that our characters hail from. . . yeah I didn't think that far ahead when writing the story a few years ago so unfortunately we're stuck with what we currently have :( But we will explore different types of tribes that make use of different aspects of the Island!

jamesduen, I'm glad I was able to surprise you! Alysanne's story arc will definitely be a bit unexpected. In terms of the Mountian Hermit, I don't plan on using any characters from the official ARK lore so she's completely original!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my work, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to comment, ask questions, or criticize my story, review is always welcome! If you liked what you saw, make sure to check out the other ARK stories on this site! Have a great day!

- DaRumpyBurr