Disclaimer: All Dragon Age:Origins characters, scenarios, locations, and dialog belongs to EA and/Bioware and are in no way mine.
Author's Note: This one took me a while, mostly because it got deleted halfway through the first writing, though I feel it's a bit short for the time it took me to write it. This chapter sort of delves into the way that Joseph felt about his life as a noble and the suspicions from previous chapters. I also felt that Alistair did not react as strongly as I think he should have to the situation of Redcliffe, all things considered. He is a passionate young man to say the least, and he did live there for the first ten years of his life, stable boy or no. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D
The next couple days were uneventful, for the most part. Joseph had decided to go to Redcliffe first and seek out Arl Eamon. Being a noble himself, he knew the importance of information and how powerful knowledge over your enemy could be. If Eamon would indeed be on their side as Alistair claimed, it would be an incredible foothold in their private war against Loghain's attempts to capture them. Not to mention a safe place to which they could return and plot their next course of action in relative peace. Following his announcement of his plan Alistair's mood had taken a freakish turn towards the better. He was so bubbly the first day it nearly made Joseph sick and he contemplated thrusting his fist at the back of his friend's head. He did, however, resist the temptation as to practice discipline even though he knew doing it might well have put him in Morrigan's good graces as well. Though a talk with Alistair shortly after they made camp for the night lessened his bright attitude, though his smile did not get smaller.
Further attempts to talk to Morrigan not only ended mostly in frustration but more acidic responses from her. Joseph was considering giving up for the most part and seriously started to wonder what was wrong with his brain. For all accounts, he could not see what he saw in the woman. She was mean, insensitive, and seemed to enjoy nothing more than to insult everyone else in a not-so-subtle fashion. Her arguments with Alistair had started to take a turn for the worse and had even gotten out of hand when she managed to cause the Templar to loose his temper. Joseph had to hold Alistair's wrist to keep him from drawing his blade on one occasion and had barley managed to do so, surprised that how strong he was when angered. For the rest of that day Alistair refused to speak period until he and Joseph broke from the camp at night to train.
Joseph found he quite enjoyed studying the Templar arts and found the time spent meditating quite relaxing. He and Alistair could go hours without being interrupted under the night sky, except for one case where they heard Leliana giggling from the bushes not far from them, watching a pair of shirtless men sit still for an hour or so. Joseph smirked and puffed out his chest before closing his eyes and continuing. Alistair blushed and crossed his arms over his nipples. Though retribution was not far for the two wardens and came swiftly the next day. Leliana had suggested that everyone of the same gender go bathing at the same time because it would be safer. To his surprise, Morrigan and Sten both quickly agreed this was a good idea and the men made their way to the river that was nearby. Alistair had insisted on wasting a dry-cloth to get into the water without much of himself being seen, but in the end had to ask Joseph for his own to dry off with, which Joe would not give him until he dropped his wet dry-cloth and stand blatantly exposed before he handed it over. "Next time, just suck it up and leave your cloth on the bank." He told him. Alistair only glared daggers and blushed in silence.
Though when it was Leliana's and Morrigan's turn, Joseph got an idea. After the two had left for the river with Dog, he reached over and pulled Alistair aside while he was packing up his tent. "What? What!" exclaimed the Templar, who frowned when he saw the smile that shone back at him.
"Want to go peek on the women?" Joseph asked, jerking a thumb back in the direction of the river.
Alistair's mouth dropped and he acted appalled, but his face had turned bright red almost instantly. "WHAT! That is not...we shouldn't...you're a bad man!"
"Oh c'moooon! We'll be careful, they'll never know." said Joe with a smirk, already ideas were popping up in his head.
The Templar shook his head vigorously and bent back over his pack "No! No I will not partake. And you shouldn't either!"
Joseph merely shrugged with a "Suit yourself." It did not take him long to find them and, as he expected, they were at least ten feet apart, if not more and facing opposite directions. His eyes only lingered on Leliana for half a second, who seemed to be singing softly, he couldn't hear her. Sure she was beautiful in her own way, but for whatever reason he could hardly pay her any mind. His gaze quickly moved to Morrigan. She was waist deep in the water, facing away from him and yelling at the dog while pointing at Leliana. He assumed Dog liked Morrigan as much as he did and had insisted on splashing around her. Even from behind, he was enthralled by her beauty and found he could not stop staring until he was brought out of his trance by a rustle a few feet away from him. He caught a glimpse of Morrigan turning to look into the forest before he turned himself and headed quietly into the brush, towards the sound with his hand on his blade. To his surprise, and at the same time not at all to it, he found Alistair sprawled on his back in his normal clothing, still as a stone and staring up at his fellow warden in terror. "I just...I...!" he started in whispers but Joseph quickly moved down and covered Alistair's mouth with a hand and held up a finger to his mouth with the other. Joseph turned and found a vantage point in the trees where he could see Morrigan still looking into the forest, though in a different direction than they were. He took a moment to memorize this image before picking Alistair up by the arm and leading him out of the brush towards camp.
"You little pervert." Joseph teased as soon as they got back, patting his friend on the back.
This accusation caused Alistair to sputter and blush lividly "I was...but you...I went looking for you!" Joseph only laughed and gave him a 'Suuuure you were' look. "I don't see why we have to take baths anyway..." said the Templar, who had resorted to crossing his arms and making a pouty face.
"Because, dear Alistair," started Joseph,"As long as I'm leading us, we make an effort to keep up personal hygiene. Not only will it lesson the chance that one of us will fall ill and spread it to the rest of us, but it is a lot easier on the nose." He could only chuckle as he watched the blonde warden search for words to argue back with, only to come up empty handed and stomp back to his tent with a sigh. As he watched him go, Joseph couldn't help but wonder why his father, if it was his father, which at this point he was almost certain Alistair's father was Bryce, would find anything interesting in a scullery maid, in Redcliffe, no less. But the more he thought about it the more he realized he had never seen his parents share much of an intimate moment. Not so much as a hug or kiss that wasn't just for public air, not until that night in the larder when he left the two to their fate. Could it be possible Bryce had a fling with some maid? By the similarities between himself and Alistair, Joseph was starting to believe it was true.
He dropped out of his train of thought with the return of the women. Joseph all but stared as Morrigan strode by, busying herself with her wet locks of dark brown hair, her violet eye shadow strangely still in place. He idly wondered if her skin had been dyed that color. A tap on his shoulder almost made him jump, apparently unaware that anyone but he and Morrigan existed at the time. Leliana giggled at him, holding up a strip of leather that he recognized. "I found this on the river bank, is it your's?" Her Orlisian accent making her 'i's sound elongated.
"Oh, ah, yes. Thank you, Leliana." Joseph took the belt from her, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You are quite welcome." Leliana gave a small bow and left the warden to watch her skip away to her tent, collecting her things to the tune of a joyful song. He tilted his head a little, staring at her despite himself. He supposed she wasn't bad, fairly easy on the eyes and a voice much softer than most, like honey. He shook the thoughts from his mind quickly. It was bad enough he was constantly thinking about an apostate, he didn't need impure thoughts about a chantry sister as well.
It took them three more days before Redcliffe was in site over the hills. It didn't help that they took a wrong turn and had been traveling in the opposite direction for half a day thanks to a map read wrong. Alistair was the one that finally spoke up, announcing that he was under the impression that they wanted to go to Redcliffe first. After a quick argument between the wardens over who was correct, Joseph checked the map again. Having realized his blunder, Alistair was finally given a chance to poke fun at the Cousland. However, the closer they got to Redcliffe, the quieter the Templar became, far less likely to think out loud as he stared at the landscape. While most of their traveling party probably reveled in this, it made Joseph worry about him just a little bit more. When they walked just passed the Inn that sat at the top of the cliffs before entering the small town, Alistair let out a loud groan and called for the company to halt for a time. "Can we, talk?" he asked in a low whisper, leaning in and hoping only Joseph was listening.
"Now?" Joe was confused, what did he want to talk about -now-, of all times. They were in camp not a few hours ago, he couldn't bother then?
"Yes, now. I have something to tell you, I probably should have told you sooner..." His voice was nervous, which caused the brunettes' worry to increase, but offered a reassuring smile.
"Yea, alright, what's on your mind?"
"You remember how I told you that Arl Eamon raised me right? That my mother was a serving girl at the castle and he took me in?"
Joseph's insides did a back flip as he nodded slowly. 'The timing is hardly appropriate, but...' he thought. All this time wondering and here he was about to get a confirmation, or something akin to it.
Alistair took a deep breath before he continuing "The reason he did that was because...Well, because my father was King Maric. Which would make Cailan my, half-brother, I suppose." The blonde hung his head slightly as if ashamed, while the man standing in front of him stared wide-eyed. All thoughts of his father being unfaithful went out the window, to his relief, but a whole new scenario presented itself. Alistair was a prince! Not only that, but because of the death of his brother, currently the rightful King. Though it still brought up the question of why they looked so alike, but he put that aside as a freak of nature for now.
"So, you're not only a bastard..." Joseph started, a smirk creeping up on him "...but a -royal- bastard."
He was glad to see Alistair's expression brighten considerably, and even a laugh "Ha! I guess I am at that. I should use that line more often." The blonde rubbed the back of his neck as he seemed to slip back into a somber demeanor. "I would have told you, but it never really meant anything to me. I was inconvenient, a possible threat to Cailan's rule and so they kept me secret..."
'Secret indeed, as a weapon...' Joseph resisted the urge to frown. Living as he did in Castle Cousland, he was well aware how nobles worked. It was likely Eamon kept Alistair close to use him as a gateway to the throne or a back-up plan if Cailan never produced an heir. He never really knew much about the Arl of Redcliffe, they had only met on a few occasions, from what he could tell he was a decent enough sort. But he also remembered how many people put on airs and that some were fanatically better at it than others. He'd have to be careful here in Redcliffe.
Alistair's voice seemed to get louder, as if he was getting more comfortable talking about it. "I never told anyone before. Everyone who knew either resented me for it or they coddled me. Even Duncan kept me out of the fighting because of it. I didn't want you to know as long as possible..." He hung his head again "I'm sorry."
Joseph sighed despite himself, his frown finally finding itself made real on his face. He knew just how Alistair felt, strangely enough. Back when he was much younger he would sneak away from the castle and play with the local commoner children. At first it went well, all fun and games, until someone recognized him. He would either be shunned, or they would let him win. The way people treated him just because of his last name and blood made him resent his title. He had tried to find any way possible to get out of noble duties and look even less so, much to his mother's frustration and, at times, his father's amusement. He would show up to important dinner meetings covered in mud or in commoner's clothing and, once, none at all, proclaiming Dog had run off with his things. And now he stood face to face with someone in a similar situation who felt everything he once had, if not more than Joseph himself. He smiled then and nodded once more "I understand."
Alistair looked up in shock, though a smile quickly broke on his face in relief "Oh good! I'm glad," a sigh "It's not like I got special treatment for it anyhow. At any rate, that's it. That's what I had to tell you. I thought you should know about it."
The speed in which Alistair said that last bit of information caused Joseph to chuckle. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in mock skepticism. "Are you sure? Not hiding anything else are we?"
"Besides an unholy love of fine cheeses and a minor obsession with my hair, no. That's it, just the Prince thing." chuckled Alistair.
"So I should be calling you Prince Alistair, from now on?" Joseph goaded
"NO! No. The last thing I want is for you to treat me differently, or the people around us for that matter. I have no illusions about my status. It was made very clear that I am a commoner and now a Grey Warden. In no way am I in line for the throne," said Alistair," And that's fine by me. No, if there's a heir to be found it's Arl Eamon himself. He's not of royal blood, but he is Cailan's uncle and, more importantly, very popular with the people. Anyway," for a second time he paused, a smile on his face that eased Joseph's worries "So there you have it, now can we move on? And I'll just pretend you think I'm some nobody who was too lucky to die with the rest of the Grey Wardens."
Joe frowned at this, staring at the blonde sympathetically "That's not really what you think, is it?"
"Well, no." The Templar smiled a little wider "What I really think is that I was lucky enough to survive with you." He turned on heel, heading down the slope that lead to the rest of Redcliffe, leaving his raven haired friend to stand there looking bewildered. Though he recovered quickly, shaking his ebon coated head and chuckling before following Alistair and motioning for the rest to do the same. Not long after that, however, they were happened upon by a rather distressed looking villager carrying weapons. Joseph thought this was odd, but before he could question him, the man spoke up.
"Thank the Maker! Have you come to help us?" He seemed eager, the emotion of hope painted all over his face. It looked like he hadn't slept in days, dark bags under his eyes which themselves were bloodshot.
Joseph raised an eyebrow, something wasn't right. "What do you mean? Is there a problem?"
"So you...don't know?" the man asked, the vision of hope he wore soon drained from his face "Has no one out there heard?"
"What are you talking about? Heard what?" asked the warden
"We're under attack. Monsters come out of the castle every night and attack us till dawn. Everyone's been fighting, and dying." the man replied, his head hanging low. "We've no army to defend us, and no arl or king to send help. So many are dead, and those left are terrified they're next."
Alistair moved forward suddenly and focused a worried gaze on the villager "What to do you mean, 'No Arl'? Where is Arl Eamon?"
"No one has heard from the castle in days, he could be dead for all we know..." Said the man, looking a bit frightened of Alistair at the moment, it didn't help his image when the Templar continued with a stern look.
"It would seem everyone decides that the Blight is the best time to start killing each other. How marvelous!" Came a quip from Morrigan behind them. She sounded just a little too amused at the situation, but Alistair ignored her.
"Hold on, what's this evil that's attacking you?"
"I-I don't rightly know, I'm sorry...Nobody does." said the man timidly.
Joseph sighed and attempted to get the blonde's attention "Alistair, calm down..."
"I should take you to Bann Teagan. He's all that's holding us together. He'll want to see you." The man interrupted, apparently hopeful that would get the angry Templar to cool down.
Alistair did seem to calm a bit, but looked every just as eager as before "Bann Teagan? Arl Eamon's brother? He's here?"
The villager nodded quickly and started walking backwards as he explained "Yes! It's not far, I'll take you there." That said, the man turned around and started walking briskly down the slopes leading to the rest of the town. They followed briskly, Alistair at their head with a look of determination. In town Joseph could see that the man had not been lying. The people of Redcliffe looked solemn and haggard, piling the dead near the docks or tending to the wounded. The man lead them past all this, towards and into the Chantry. Inside there were the worst of the wounded and the people who couldn't fight; children praying in a circle instead of playing outside, wives mourning lost husbands, and at the very end of the hall stood a man in fine clothing. Joseph assumed this man to be Bann Teagan, as he had never met the man before that he knew of, but compared to the rest of the people in the building, he could easily be spotted as nobility.
"Ah, Tomas...was it?" Asked Teagan as they came to a halt before him. "And who are these people with you? They obviously not simple travelers."
"No my lord. They just arrived," Tomas looked back at the bunch nervously," I thought you would want to see them."
Teagan nodded in approval and dismissed Tomas with a smile before turning to the group. "Greetings, friends. My name is Teagan, Bann of Rainsfere, and brother to the arl."
"I remember you, Bann Teagan." Said Alistair, smiling slightly,"Though the last time we met I was a lot younger...and covered in mud."
"Covered in mud?" At first it looked like the blonde had confused Teagan, but Joseph could almost see the light bulb over his head light up. "Alistair? It is you, isn't it? You're alive! This is wonderful news!"
The Templar chuckled "Still alive, yes. Though not for long if Loghain has anything to say about it."
"Indeed, Loghain would have us all believe all Grey Wardens died with along with my nephew, amongst other things." said Teagan with a look of distaste on his visage.
"You don't believe Loghain's lies?" Joseph asked, skeptical at first. Though anything bad he might have thought of Teagan at fist was wiped away with the acid glare the noble wore when he answered.
"What, that he pooled his men in order to save them? That Cailan risked everything in the name of glory? Hardly." He scoffed "Loghain calls the Grey Wardens traitors, murderers of the King. I don't believe it. It is an act of a desperate man," he paused to look at Joseph, raising an eyebrow "So, are you a Grey Warden too? Is it possible we met? You seem very familiar."
Joseph blinked, surprised at being addressed. "Oh, um. You may have known my father, Teyrn Cousland." He was slightly confused, because he was sure he had never met Bann Teagan. Or, at least he thought he hadn't. Apparently he had, for Teagan's expression lit up immediately.
"Ah! Yes, that's it exactly. Joseph, yes? A pleasure meeting you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances." Teagan gave an apologetic nod and addressed the group as a whole "You are here to see my brother? Unfortunately, that might be a problem. Eamon is gravely ill." Joseph could almost hear Alistair's eyes widen with worry. "No one has heard from the castle in days, no guards patrol the walls and no one has responded to my shouts. The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil...things...surged from the castle. We drove them off, but many perished in the battle."
"Evil...things?" Joseph asked curiously.
Teagan took a deep breath and nodded "Some call them the walking dead. Decomposing corpses returning to life with a hunger for human flesh...They hit again the next night. Each night they return, and with greater numbers. With Cailan gone and Loghain starting a war for the throne, no one responds to my urgent calls for help. Alistair...," he turned to the Templar once more with a pleading face,"I hate to ask you, but I desperately need the aid of you and your friends."
"It isn't just up to me..." said Alistair, giving Joseph a pleading look. The latter didn't think twice before nodding and looking back at Teagan.
"Of course we'll help."
The Bann of Rainsfere's face brightened again as he sighed with relief "Thank you! Thank you, this... means more to me than you can guess. You there!" At his command another one of the villagers trodded up and looked at Teagan expectantly. "Go to Murdock and tell him of our new hands." The villager nodded and promptly left the chantry. "Now then, there is much to do before night falls. I put two men in charge of the defense outside. Murdock, the village mayor, is outside the Chantry. Ser Perth, one of Eamon's knights, is up the hill next to the windmill, watching the castle. You should discuss with them the preparations for the coming battle."
"We're on our way." Joseph and Alistair both bowed to Teagan and turned, only to find Sten standing directly behind the brunette and staring down at him with a scowl.
"This is foolish, we don't have time to be saving villages." It was the first full sentence he had spoken since they freed him from his cage. Joseph had to take a moment to register what he heard before he could retaliate.
"Sten, if there's a chance to save the Arl, we have to try. We won't make much headway without him." He said, crossing his arms and trying to look as intimidating as possible.
Much to his surprise, Sten nodded "Mm, perhaps," was all he said and stepped aside to let Joseph pass. The group soon found that the village needed more tending to than Bann Teagan let on. The Blacksmith was apparently throwing a hissy fit and was holding himself up in his smithy, the knights of Redcliffe were low on moral and the townsfolk who offered to fight were left without proper weapons or armor. Joseph suggested they all split up and do what they could before night came. He sent Leliana to give the knights some sort of blessing from the chantry to boost their spirits and asked Sten to deal with the blacksmith. He even managed to convince Morrigan to make some poultices for the injured. He and Alistair had spent most of the day teaching the townsfolk how to fight and helping them build more barricades around the chantry. Joseph always did enjoy manual labor, it helped him to forget the day's events and what was expected of him. There was just him, and his work, it made things simple. It also helped him keep his physique up, which he was always proud of. He figured it was the one defining quality he had from being a noble, he looked good and he knew it.
Both Joseph and Alistair had removed their armor and shirts as they worked, the heat from the labor adding to the sun baring down on them. For the cold, gloomy country that Ferelden was, Redcliffe itself seemed to be abnormally bright and sunny. The maiden carrying the water for those who were working stopped by him and asked if he cared for a drink. Joseph smirked and took the ladle, pouring the water over his head and shaking his hair. He got a sort of satisfaction out of it seeing the girl blush slightly as he put the ladle back and hurry off towards the others. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Morrigan was watching him, or if not watching, at least looking in his general direction. He flexed as subtlety as he could manage as he went back to work.
After several hours of building the fortifications Joseph and the other's found their way back to Murdock. Apparently Sten had been successful in his persuasions as the villagers were now wearing armor and carrying various weapons. Joseph and Alistair had also redonned their armor and awaited orders from the Mayor. It was his wish that the wardens and his companions head up to Ser Perth and the other knights near the Windmill to head off the undead horde that would spill from the castle in a few hours. Joseph nodded in understanding and turned his company around to head back up the hills, much to Morrigan's chagrin. On the way, up Alistair clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "You ready to save the day?"
Joseph grinned back and shook his head "The day is over. This is the night we venture into."
The blonde chuckled and shook his head "Always with the technicalities. Just answer the question."
Joseph looked ahead, watching Morrigan walk in front of him. His grin melted into a soft smile as he watched the sway in her hips "Yea, Alistair. I'm ready to protect this place, and all the people in it."