Dragon Age Origins: I Am Cousland

Chapter 7: The Arl of Redcliffe. Part 1

Chapter 7: The Arl of Redcliffe

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 "What was that?" Alistair stopped in his steps and narrowed his eyes. 

"What was what?" I asked grabbing my bow off my back. Alistair opened his mouth to reply but suddenly a dog sprinted down the path up ahead with a group of darkspawn behind it. The dog ran and stood behind me growling at the creatures, Morrigan scoffed at the dog. I grabbed at arrow and quickly loosed it into one of the darkspawn, Alistair sprinted up quickly decapitating another darkspawn; the battle lasted only a few minutes.

"You look familiar." I said smiling down at the dog who was wagging his stump of a tail.

"Isn't that the dog that what at Ostagar?" Alistair said walking over to me, I nodded and bent down to the dog's level.

"How did you find me?" I asked while rubbing the dogs' head, the dog barked and wagged his tail some more.

"He's imprinted on you." Alistair said, I looked up at him arching my eyebrows.

"Imprinted?" I asked.

"He likes you," Alistair laughed and bent down to pet the dog, "Well he's gotta have a name right?" Alistair said, smiling at me.

"What's wrong with Dog." Morrigan butted in earning a glare from me, she rolled her eyes.

"Umm.. I think I'll name him Assan." I said, the dog barked at me and rolled over urging me to rub his stomach. "You like that name boy?" I asked, he barked again.

"What does that mean?" Alistair asked arching his eyebrows at me as we stood up.

"Arrow in Dalish." I smiled at Alistair as we continued walking.

"How much farther?" Leliana whined, I scoffed and glanced over at Morrigan.

"We are close." Morrigan said shortly walking ahead of us. I looked over at Alistair who was talking to the dog, I giggled quietly.        

"What?" Alistair laughed, "He understands what I'm saying!" Alistair said laughing still.

"Really? I think you've imprinted on my dog, Alistair." I said giggling. Alistair smiled at the corner of his mouth and scoffed.

"There." Morrigan said shortly pointing to a castle on a mountain that overlooked a run down town.

"That's Redcliffe?" I said arching my eyebrows at Alistair whose eyes widened at the sight.

"I don't remember it looking like this, something's happened." Alistair said, worry filling his voice. I smiled reassuringly at Alistair.

"I thought I saw travelers coming down the road but I didn't believe it." A man said walking across the bridge that went over a waterfall. "Have you come to help us?" The man asked.

"What's going on?" I asked the man, arching my eyebrows, Alistair was listening intently to what the man was saying.

"You don't know! Has nobody out there heard?" The man asked his eyes widened.

"I've heard Arl Eamon is sick, but that's all I know." I said shortly.

"He could be dead for all we know! We haven't heard from the castle in days." The man said, "We're under attack, monsters come out of the castle every night and attack us until dawn. Everyone's been fighting... And dying! We have no army to defend us, no Arl and no King to send us help!" The man said, his voice getting more and more frantic. "So many are dead, and those that are left are terrified that they're next-"