"Shit. This is worse than I thought." Izzy swallowed hard. "A lot worse."

Adamant Fortress was big. Really big. As in gargantuan. And it wasn't a ruin, at least not in the sense that it was crumbling to pieces. It was a full-blown, defensible keep, and it was teeming with Venatori and possessed Wardens. There was no way they'd be able to sneak past them to scout it out, not if they wanted to come back to tell the tale. Besides, they didn't really have to. What they'd seen so far was more than sufficient to confirm their worst fears.

"Yup." Next to her, Alistair nodded gravely. "Come on. Let's get back to camp."

They returned to their hiding spot in silence, partly to avoid detection, but also because neither of them really felt like talking. It was too depressing, all of it. Izzy still couldn't fathom how the Wardens could have been so completely taken in by a fraud like Erimond. And Alistair's mind seemed to be far away, lost in memories he couldn't, or wouldn't, share with her.

It was only when they had settled down at their fire, after sharing a bowl of mystery stew and a mug of steaming hot tea, that he finally spoke again. "We're going to need help to handle this. There's no way we'll be able to deal with Erimond without an army." He sighed deeply, running his large hand through his hair and mussing it up completely in the process. The tousled hair made him look younger than his years, despite the deep worried creases across his forehead, and when he met her gaze, his face lit up in a crooked smile. "I guess we're lucky that you got into the Inquisitor's good graces."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Izzy pretended to glare at him, but her heart wasn't in it, and when she poked him in the ribs, he hardly seemed to feel it.

"Hugh Trevelyan worships the ground you walk on, Iz. Don't act as if you haven't noticed, when it's perfectly obvious you care for him, too." Alistair's smile was full of genuine warmth. "It's okay. No need to be embarrassed. I'm happy for you, you know. And so is Beth."

"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?" Izzy shook her head. "I'm not embarrassed. Why would I be?" She turned away to unpack her bedroll, which gave her a good excuse to avoid his gaze. "But you're wrong, you know. Hugh may like me, but he is not the type to worship anyone. He's far too sober and reasonable for that. And as for me…" She took another deep sip from her mug. "I don't know, Alistair. Hugh's a nice guy, and he's really good with his tongue, but-"

"Ugh." Alistair made a face, and sure enough, his ears had already taken on a tell-tale reddish hue again. "Too much information. I really didn't need to hear about his talents in that particular area."

"Why, Alistair? What do you mean?" Grinning widely, Izzy elbowed him in the ribs, hard enough to make him flinch this time. "I was only referring to his eloquence. What did you think?"

"Yeah, right." Alistair actually smiled at that, but he quickly grew serious again. "He's a good man, Iz. By far the best you've been with so far. Though that's not

saying much." He raised a pointed eyebrow at her.

"Aw, come on." She raised her chin belligerently. "They weren't all bad."

"Yeah. Keep telling yourself that." Alistair's tone was bone dry.

"It's true!" Izzy protested half-heartedly. He did have a point, but she certainly wasn't going to admit it. "I have excellent taste in men. Just because I saved the best one for my little sister-"

"Enough. Flattery will get you nowhere." Alistair shushed her with a quick gesture, but she could see he was secretly pleased. "So… What now? We head back to, what's it called, Griffon Wing Keep?"

"Exactly." Izzy nodded. "I bet Beth has missed you terribly." She blew an exaggerated kiss at him. "How in Thedas did you manage without her anyway? You must be awfully tense." Her voice was fairly dripping with mock sympathy.

"Oh, shut up." Alistair didn't look offended, but neither did he laugh. "What about him, Iz? Is he coming with us?" He pointed at the tent behind them with his thumb.

"Yes." Izzy nodded emphatically. "I want him close by, just in case."

"But…" Alistair shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, well. I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't I always?" Cheerfully, Izzy shrugged off his concerns. "Don't worry. I'm reasonably sure my plan will work." She grinned at his pained expression. "Come on. Leave it all to me, Al. It will all turn out fine."

Alistair didn't seem convinced. Shaking his head, he gave her a worried look. "Right. I… I don't really want to know more, do I?"

"No," she agreed blithely, reaching for her pillow and settling down deeper into her bedroll. "You probably don't."

"Inquisitor?" Cullen's deep voice tore Hugh out of his thoughts. "Do you approve of our plans so far?"

Hugh forced himself to meet the Commander's expectant gaze. What in Thedas was he supposed to say? He didn't know the first thing about siege warfare, and he hadn't felt so out of his depth since Haven. No, probably since joining the Inquisition. At Haven, things had been clear-cut enough: his life for the welfare of many others. This, however… Next to Cullen, Cassandra gave him an encouraging smile, and he took a deep breath.

"Yes, Commander Cullen. Excellent work as usual. Go ahead." He was glad to hear that his voice sounded firm and decisive, despite his misgivings.

Adamant was surrounded by Inquisition troops, fully equipped with everything they needed to take the fortress: sappers, trebuchets, rams and lots and lots of eager soldiers, willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause. And quite a few of them will do exactly that. As always, the thought left a bitter taste in Hugh's mouth. He was fine with doing his duty. He'd never done anything else in all his adult life. But sending others to their deaths, deciding who would go in first… it seemed too big a burden for any one person, and he wondered how Cullen did it.

Fortunately, Cullen and Cassandra completely ignored his maudlin mood. They were both completely focussed on their tasks, too caught up in the minutiae of their attack to waste much thought on anything else. Which is probably just as well… Hugh risked a glance over to where Izzy and her entourage had set up camp. Alistair and Bethany could be seen talking to Varric and Bull, their faces earnest and determined. But Izzy herself was holed up in her tent with that mysterious stranger she'd brought with her.

She'd introduced him as Risto. "A wanderer, from up North. He's a learned man, Hugh, and he knows all there is to know about the Fade. That should come in handy at Adamant."

Hugh wasn't sure what to think about Risto. So far, he'd only caught a few glimpses of the man's face below the hood he wore. Judging from his skin tone and his dark hair and eyes, he appeared to be Rivaini. A seer, then? Hugh had heard about them, but it was hard to separate rumour from fact. Either way, the stranger kept mostly to himself and didn't talk much. When Hugh had asked about the intricately carved amulet he wore around his neck, he'd muttered something about a family heirloom, but refused to elaborate.

"Ah, Boss." Bull had noticed him looking and was beckoning for him to join them. "How are things? Anything we can do?"

"Not right now, I'm afraid." Hugh shook his head. "The Commander has everything under control."

"He certainly does." Bull nodded approvingly. "It's nice to see a properly planned siege. I don't think they'll be able to hold out much longer."

"You think?" Hugh sighed deeply. "Who knows what we'll find in there? I just hope we can handle whatever lies ahead."

"And why wouldn't we?" Varric chuckled in smug satisfaction. "We have the Inquisitor, the Champion of Kirkwall, and one of the greatest heroes of the last Blight fighting on our side. Even I can't imagine how we could possibly fail."

"Don't jinx it, Varric, damn you." Bull gravely shook his horned head. "You of all people should know better."

"Sorry." Varric sounded completely unrepentant. "But really, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Inquisitor?" Cullen approached them, a grave look on his face. "Time to give the order."

"Right." Hugh straightened to his full height. "Let's do this."

Things went well enough at first. When Cullen asked him to assemble a small group of fighters to enter the fortress ahead of the main Inquisition force and take out the worst of the resistance on the battlements, Hugh readily agreed. Izzy was enthusiastic to join him, as were her sister and Alistair. With them at his side, as well as his most trusted companions, Hugh felt ready to take on pretty much everything – even demons and Venatori and Wardens at the same time.

They ran into a small group of Wardens early on, and thanks to Alistair's timely intervention, managed to persuade them to take their side, but the bulk of them proved too far gone to reason with, leaving them no choice but to kill them. By the time they finally reached the fortress's inner courtyard, Hugh felt sick from all the butchery.

And there she was: Warden-Commander Clarel, leader of the Orlesian Wardens. There was no need for introductions. Hugh had rarely seen a more imposing figure, and she was a mage, too! For some reasons, none of the Wardens had mentioned that fact, but Hugh could feel her aura all across the courtyard. It was teeming with power and determination – and it was also quite unmistakably corrupted. Or was it the magister standing next to her that exuded such a foul miasma of blood magic and demonic ichor? Hugh couldn't really say, but the mere sight of Erimond's smug face made him want to throw up.

Sure enough, the two of them were busy setting up yet another ritual, yet another step that would bring Corypheus closer to his goals. Yet another nightmarish demon set loose upon the world. Clarel was hanging on Erimond's lips, drinking in the poison he was dripping into her ears, barely conscious of her surroundings.

"Commander Clarel, I beg you." Alistair sounded desperate. "Listen to me."

But it was no use. Clarel hesitated for barely a heartbeat before giving the command. Hugh felt the opening of the rift deep in his bones, a brutal tear in the Veil that already was frayed and broken, here in this cursed place. Next to him, Izzy groaned in frustration, echoing his feelings. Damn it. Clarel's leaving us no choice.

"We can't let this happen." Raising his staff high, Hugh felt his lips set in a grim line. "Attack!"

Great. Izzy stared at her surroundings without bothering to hide her revulsion. Floating rocks, people walking upside down, muted colours, weird lighting. The Fade. There was no doubt about it. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse…

When Commander Clarel had finally realized her mistake, it had been too late. The rift had already been opened, and Erimond had set his master's pet dragon on them. Izzy shuddered at the memory. A full-grown dragon was bad enough, but a blighted one? It was the stuff of nightmares. Even now, she had no idea if the beast was really gone, no idea who among their companions had survived their desperate fight. Clarel was dead, she was pretty sure of that, and she thought she'd seen Cassandra alive and well, just before Hugh had… done whatever it was he'd done, and they'd been sucked here.

Hugh himself was still looking confused and disoriented and she couldn't blame him. The Fade didn't exactly follow normal rules of topography at the best of times, and the section around them was a particularly confusing one. Whichever demon or spirit had come up with it, it had clearly only had the most rudimentary grasp of gravity.

Quickly she glanced around, taking store of who had come with them. Behind Hugh, Bull raised his huge, horned head, looking dazed but undaunted. Varric was here, too, giving her a crooked smile, and Alistair, with a familiar hooded figure hovering right next to him. No sign of Beth or Dorian, and yes, it seemed as if they'd left Cassandra behind, too. Which was a mixed blessing – the Seeker would have been invaluable in a fight, but Izzy had reasons of her own to be grateful for her absence.

"Blight it, where are we?" Hugh sounded tense. "It looks like the Fade, but-"

"It is the Fade. I'm sure of it." Izzy glanced at Risto, and yes, he was nodding almost imperceptibly, his face hidden behind the folds of his hood. "But… This is not how I remember the Fade from my dreams. It's… worse. It feels wrong, somehow, too raw, too intense. As if someone had stripped away all the masks and left behind only the bare bones." Instinctively she reached out for Hugh, trying to take his hand, but he was too far away. "I don't know how you did it, Hugh, but my guess is that we've travelled physically into the Fade."

Hugh nodded, and she had to admire his composure. "That's what I feared. I… the Anchor must have opened a rift as we fell. I'm sorry."

"Why would you be sorry?" Varric shrugged. "From what I recall it was either this or going down into the abyss. So far, I have to say I vastly prefer this. At least we're alive." He looked around and sighed. "I may change my mind yet, I grant you."

"True." Bull sounded disgusted. "Boss? Can we get out of here as soon as possible? I'll fight whatever you give me, but this..." He kicked a loose rock, snorting with disgust when it started to float away.

"The rift the demons originally came through should be nearby. At least if this place has any relation to the real world at all." Alistair turned to face Hugh. "Inquisitor. Didn't you walk out of the Fade at Haven? Maybe your experiences can help us escape."

But Hugh shook his head, giving Izzy a pleading look. "I'm sorry, Alistair. I still can't remember a thing about it. I wish I could be more helpful, but-" He broke off.

"Doesn't matter. We'll come up with something." Varric sounded blithely unconcerned. "Look! There's something that looks like a rift over there. How about we head toward it and see what happens?" He chuckled. "I can't wait to hear what people are going to say about this story. I can just imagine the reviews. Too unrealistic. Messere Tethras has finally lost his mind. No one is going to believe it."

Izzy had kept quiet through most of the discussion. From what she knew of the Fade, it would make little difference which way they went. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing, though. Someone is playing games with us. And whoever it was, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to like them.

"Hawke." Varric gave her a little shove. "Remember our last excursion to the Fade?" He nodded at Risto. "Now, I wonder if-"

"How could I forget, Varric?" Izzy quickly interrupted him before he could say too much. "Not exactly a pleasant memory, mind you. Honestly, I'd expected better of you." She kept her tone as light-hearted as she could, but looking back, it still hurt how easily her companions had given in to the demon's temptations back then.

"Yeah, well." Varric shrugged. "Water under the bridge. We survived, and we'll do so again. Just you wait." He turned away, shouldering Bianca. "Now, are you coming or not?"

Hugh had a headache. It had started as a dull, insistent throbbing between his temples, after the first of his memories had come back, or rather been reawakened by the spirit claiming to be Divine Justinia. He had long since given up on determining whether the spirit had been speaking the truth. Some part of him would have gladly lived without the knowledge she had bestowed on him, even as the more rational side of him admitted that it was useful.

Now he finally knew what had happened at the Temple. Now he knew why he was carrying the Anchor. Not because of divine providence, just by accident. If he hadn't happened to walk into that room… But he couldn't really make sense of things right now, not with the pain in his head swelling further with each revelation, not with the taunting voice of the Nightmare demon still in his ears. Besides, he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand this place. Nothing here was predictable, nothing made sense. He wasn't even sure the rock he was sitting on would remain solid.

"Hugh?" Izzy's voice was like a soothing balm to his frayed nerves. "How are you doing?"

Kneeling before him, she took his face between her hands to make him look at her. Her palms were cool and soft, and when he met her gaze, it gave him something to focus on, something besides the white-hot lances of pain burning through his skull.

"Hugh," she repeated. "Have some water. It will help."

Gratefully he accepted the flask she offered him. The water inside was cold and crystal clear, and yes, it helped a little. Shaking himself, he attempted a smile. "Thank you."

"It's fine." Izzy smiled back. "We're doing good so far, don't you think? I wonder what that Nightmare guy looks like. Probably something spider-ish. He seems fond of spiders, judging from his minions." She grimaced.

"So you see them as spiders, too? Bull said something about oversized maggots." Hugh made a face. "I'd have preferred maggots, to be honest."

"Me, too. Which might be why we see spiders," Izzy pointed out. "It's probably one of those 'your worst fear' kind of things. I've always hated spiders."

"As have I." Hugh felt an unexpected warmth blossom in his stomach. It was nice to have something in common, even if it wasn't exactly a pleasant thing. "Ah, well. I guess we'll just have to deal."

"Hugh." Izzy leaned in even closer, her lips lightly brushing his. "I don't care. I'd fight a million spiders with you at my side."

And then she was kissing him, really kissing him, and for a moment, all his worries and concerns disappeared. All he could think about was how good she felt in his arms, how sweet she tasted, how he never wanted the kiss to end.

"I love you so much." The words left his lips before he had time to think, and when he realized what he'd said, he almost wished he could take them back. Surely, this was neither the time nor the place for romantic overtures, not with demons and fearlings lurking behind each corner. Surely, it would have been better to wait until they were back in the safety of Griffon Wing Keep and he could make love to her properly. This wasn't how he'd imagined this moment between them.

Izzy didn't reply at first, and for a moment, he wasn't even sure she'd heard him. But when he met her gaze, her eyes were shining with love and happiness. "Likewise."

It was a mere whisper, before she turned away again to face the others, and it was delivered in her usual flippant tone, but Hugh didn't care. She loved him, too.

The pain in his head was all but forgotten.

When they finally set sight on the Nightmare, Hugh was torn between panic and laughter, because Izzy's prediction turned out to be spot-on. It was a massive, deformed, spider-like creature with hairy legs and pincers and Maker, so many eyes! It took all his control not to scream at the sight. Next to him, Izzy shuddered all over.

"Are you all right, love?" It made it a little easier, knowing that she felt the same as he did, that he was not alone in his fear and disgust.

"Yeah." Izzy made a small, retching noise in the back of her throat. "You know, I keep thinking things can't get worse, and then-"

"Merciful Andraste!" Alistair had come up behind them, and he had turned just as pale as Izzy. "What is that thing?"

"Everyone's worst nightmare." For the first time, since they'd entered the Fade, the man called Risto spoke up. He'd been so quiet that Hugh had almost forgotten about him.

Alistair threw him a quick, irritated look. "Yes, that sums it up nicely, thank you. Actually, scratch that question. I don't care what it is. How do we get by?"

Hugh nodded in agreement. They were so close to the rift that the anchor was pulsing like mad, so close that they were only a few steps from freedom. But the Nightmare blocked their way, fat and immovable, exuding an almost tangible aura of evil.

"There is no way past it." Risto spoke again, in a resigned, hopeless tone that made Hugh's stomach clench. "Someone will have to fight it."

"You mean-" Hugh felt queasy. Would it come down to this, then? Sacrificing one of them for the greater good, while the rest of them escaped? Normally, he wouldn't have hesitated to volunteer, but the mere thought of facing this horror alone-

"Go. I'll cover you." Izzy was pale as a sheet, but she held her head up high. Even as everything inside him screamed no, Hugh couldn't help thinking that she had never been more beautiful. But no, he couldn't allow this. Frantically, he wracked his brain on how to stop her, knowing full well that everything he said would just make her cling more obstinately to her plan.

"No, Izzy." It was Alistair who spoke up. "The Wardens caused this mess. A Warden must fix it. It makes sense, don't you see?"

But predictably, Izzy wouldn't be swayed. "That's bullshit, Al. The Wardens have paid enough for their mistakes. And besides, they need you to rebuild the Order. Beth needs you. Ferelden needs you. Leave this to me. I can handle it."

"The void you can." Alistair shook his head, his lips set in a grim line. "Whoever fights this thing is not getting out of here alive, and I'm not sending you to your death, Iz. And neither is the Inquisitor, right, Hugh?"

"Leave Hugh out of this." Izzy glared at Alistair, not even sparing a glance at Hugh. "This is my decision to make. Corypheus is my responsibility."

Above them, the Nightmare loomed, so far above their little squabbles, so utterly certain that it had them at its mercy. Hugh closed his eyes, trying to collect his thoughts. Izzy and Alistair were facing each other with identical stubborn expressions. Would they even listen if he told them what to do?

There must be another way.

Apologies to you guys for the delay in posting this - RL hasn't been particularly kind to me lately... But I do hope you enjoy it. As always, giant hugs and thanks to my wonderful and patient beta suilven.