6
Drink or die
It was dark by the time we got back to Ostergar, I was nearly dropping on my feet I don't know how I managed to get to Duncan's fire.
"So you returned from the wilds, were you successful?" Duncan asked.
"Yes," I told him.
"Good, you are earlier than I anticipated, it is tradition to perform the Joining at midnight so you may spend the intervening hours however you wish."
"I know what I'm going to do, sleep," I said.
I headed off to my tent Ebony by my side, only she curled up by the fire and went to sleep.
"Hey!" Alistair called to me. "Let me have your armour I can clean it for you."
"Thanks," I pulled the breastplate over my head and tugged off my gloves and boots, all the men had their backs turned other than Alistair, whose ears went red. I went into my tent and flopped down on the bed roll, I fell asleep instantly.
"Rise and shine," a voice sounded, faint and far away. "Hello?" No not in my head, outside my tent.
"Alistair?" I murmured, sleepily.
"That's me," his voice muffled through my tent flaps. "I've got your armour."
"Hmm? Oh thanks," I woke up properly and pulled open my tent, my armour shone bronze. "Wow, shiny."
"Yep, it's about ten-to midnight so you might want to get ready."
"Ok, I'll do it now." I went back inside my tent tugging my breastplate over my head tying the laces, and pulling on my boots and gloves.
"Ready," I said. "Let's go."
We wandered to where I first met Alistair, Daveth and Jory were bickering,
"…The Grey Wardens do what they must right?" Daveth was saying.
"Including sacrificing us?" Jory said.
"You are not helping," I told him; he nearly screamed in surprise, Ebony smirked.
"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight," Daveth said.
"Will both just shut up? I'm just as scared as you are," I was getting seriously annoyed.
"At last we come to the Joining," Duncan said, walking over to a small table. "The Grey Wardens were founded during the first Blight, when humanity stood on the verge of annihilation. So it was that the first Grey Wardens drank of darkspawn blood, and mastered their taint."
"We're going to drink the blood of those… those creatures?" Jory looked terrified and for once I couldn't blame him.
"As the first Grey Wardens did before us, as we did before you. This is the source of our power, and our victory." Duncan said, kindly but firmly.
"Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint, we can sense it in the darkspawn and use it to slay the Archdemon," Alistair told us.
"Those who survive? That doesn't sound good," I said.
"Not all who drink the blood survive, and those who do are forever changed, this is why the Joining is a secret. It is the price we pay," as if Duncan could have told us anything to make it more terrifying. "We speak only a few words prior to the Joining, but these words have been said since the first, Alistair if you would."
"Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you," Should you perish? What was I saying about more terrifying?
"Daveth, step forward," Duncan said.
The thief stepped approached and Duncan handed him the cup. Daveth slurped it down in one go, he looked over his shoulder and grinned at us. Then that grin faded, his stomach heaved, his windpipe closed, his eyes bulged as he struggled to breath. He finally fell, limp onto the cobbles. I stared at him, his body, no not 'his body' him. He was messing around, teasing us, I expected him to jump up any minuet. But no I had seen a dead body before, he was limp, greying, dead. I didn't come back to my senses until I heard the piercing, acrid ring of metal on metal. I looked up, Jory was duelling with Duncan, I just saw in time to see Duncan stab his dagger into Jory's side, he too fell face down on the ground.
"But the Joining is not yet complete," Duncan's voice echoed around my head as he turned to me. "You were called upon to submit yourself to the taint, for the greater good." I took the cup.
What are you thinking? I thought to myself. Daveth died for drinking this, Jory died for not drinking this, I must be mad. But I drank it anyway. It didn't taste like blood, it tasted, harsh, foul, like rotten cabbage water only thicker. I swallowed it, it burnt the back of my throat.
"From this moment forth, you are a Grey Warden." Duncan said, I think.
I felt cold, some strange sound had filled my head, my throat tightened, I couldn't breath. The world began to spin, then it went dark, I wasn't asleep, I just couldn't see. My eyes had rolled into my head, no they can't have I would have had to do that, have to think to do that. I was sleepy, but I had to… to fight, to see.
Something roared, the sky glowed green. The thing roared again, it didn't sound like a roar. It sounded like wheezing, something gasping for breath whilst something trapped in its throat fought back against the air coming down its windpipe, then everything faded. It became grainy, the thing roared yet again, but faint now.
"She's coming round," a relived voice sounded in my ear.
"Alistair?" I moaned, Duncan's dark face came into view.
"It is finished, welcome," he looked at me with concern, Alistair helped me up. "How do you feel?" Duncan asked me.
"Sick, dizzy and I think someone's trying to jimmy my head open with a crowbar," I replied.
Duncan smiled he turned to Alistair. "Alistair, take Brodie back to her tent, then go to see Wynne, see if she can make something for that headache."
"Sure," Alistair said, he picked held my hand like I was made of spun sugar. "Come on."
Hey come on, I'll look after you. Ebony said.
We wandered back to my tent I collapsed onto my bedroll.
"I'll wait outside," Alistair said.
"Sure," I replied, I yanked my armour off, and pulled on my cotton top and trousers from home. "I'm ready." I called.
Alistair came into my tent. "Your head bad?" he asked. "I'll go get something from Wynne."
"Sure ok," I covered my eyes with my arm, hoping it would dull the pain slightly. After what seemed like an eternity Alistair returned with a potion.
"Here you go, Wynne said to drink it in one," he handed me a potion in a blue vial.
"Since drinking something that I didn't know what it was got me into this mess I'm not going to make the same mistake again." I sniffed it, before taking a sip. It was warm and thick, and tasted like vanilla and lemons, and something else, strawberry perhaps. "Not bad," I said, draining the rest in one. The pain dulled almost instantly,
"How do you feel?" Alistair asked me.
"Now that headaches gone I might be able to sleep the rest off," I said to him.
"Sure that might be an idea, see you tomorrow, oh there's one more thing but-."
"Later, tomorrow." I felt like I was drunk, I had been drunk once before as a bet on my nineteenth. My parents were out at party with one of dad's old friends so I got off lightly.
"Alright fair enough." Alistair left me to sleep off my headache.
I closed my eyes and was asleep instantly.
A\N - This was the chapter I was really looking forward to, I wanted to show how it must feel to take that Joining. It must take a lot if you see one person die from drinking it, one person get killed for not drinking it and then drinking it knowing full well that you're more than likely to get killed for it. I never liked Jory as a character, he is so whiney I'm sorry to anyone who actually like that guy but he's just a pain to me. The next chapter will be covering the Tower of Ishal, right up until the final battle of that section.