For her part, Essa was a remarkable actress and through hamming up her status as the daughter of a dead god managed to get the entire party sentenced to Spellhold. Varric even joined in on the charade begging the Pirate King Desharik to confine his poor insane companion, if only to keep from laughing. Even Nalia's interjection where she pointed out he was insane for talking to his crossbow did not break the ruse. Once on the island they had conducted a thorough shakedown of all the possible information to be had of the asylum. To the surprise of no one Saemon Havarian turned traitor and almost handed the party over to Bodhi's vampires. It was just as Jaheira predicted; Bodhi was here, and Irenicus was close. Varric began to smell a rat when his good buddy Yoshimo suddenly became quiet and withdrawn. Through some magical means the group was teleported into cells in what was quickly confirmed to be Spellhold. Here they were, at long last. Varric pondered how long had it been since that fateful day he pledged service to Essa. A month? Two months? He'd lost count. A dwarf named Lonk the Sane (haha, I get it) was their warden and rightfully so. The people who belonged here were completely cuckoo banana crackers. There was a little girl who could shapeshift, a woman who saw the demons from the other planes at all times, a gnome bent on world domination, it was a world class loony bin. But the fecal matter now hit the whirling blades.
Yoshimo betrayed them.
They found Imoen in a cell alone, grappling with some dark madness. The other inmates feared her as she was known to become violent. Essa balled her hands into fists so tight if she had coals in them the would have become diamonds. Varric's heart leapt into his throat as he saw the mage behind her.
"Irenicus, I presume." Varric said thickly as he slowly reached for Bianca. The coordinators had allowed them to keep their 'toys'; even an army couldn't escape the magic wards of Spellhold.
Essa on the other hand did not turn around. "How long did it take you to gnaw through the leather straps?"
Irenicus' eyes were that cold, unfeeling blue described often in stories where the villain rejoices in his victory and shows no mercy. He stared down at Essa as she turned to face him, her black eyes blazing. He was unarmed, did not appear to have any magic about him that would serve as protection. He just stood there, arms at his sides.
"Hiding your fury with a jest. How typical. But I am not an inmate, no...I am the new coordinator and you have arrived just in time."
Essa sneered openly now. Varric glanced at the others. Sir Keldorn put plenty of space between Irenicus and Imoen. Jaheira was scowling as always but this time it was justified. Nalia swallowed hard and drew her sword. They had been told of Irenicus. He was a complete monster in every sense of the word. There was no rhyme or reason to what he'd done and he was not the kind to deliver an exposition on his motive either. Yoshimo on the other hand made no effort to prepare himself for what would obviously be a dangerous battle.
"What have you done to Imoen!?" Essa demanded, her voice cracking across the room like a whip.
Irenicus barely blinked at the outburst."I am quite through with Imoen. Now I must focus on you. It is fortunate for me you arrived when you did. Yoshimo, is everything in readiness?"
They all turned towards the thief who lowered his head in shame. "Everything is as you require...master."
Essa shook her head. "No. No, this isn't happening. You have no one amongst my number. They are all loyal..."
"I'm sorry Essa." Yoshimo stammered. "There are circumstances you are not aware of."
"When did this walking freak show buy you?" Varric spat. "Do all your friends have price tags?"
"Yoshimo, how could you?" Nalia said.
Jaheira pushed Nalia aside, glowering."This shall not be the last time you hear the word, but allow me to be the first to spit it at you; TRAITOR!"
Sir Keldorn shook his head sadly. "To betray your men...this is unforgivable."
"I did not know what a fiend he was, truly!" Yoshimo tried but Essa cut him off.
"We will discuss this later." Her voice was low, dangerous. She turned her attention back to Irenicus. "I will leave this place with Imoen and there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop me."
Irenicus still made no move."On the contrary...thanks to Yoshimo's clever thinking you will not have a chance to escape me again. There will be no heroics, only sleep."
No sooner had the last word left his mouth the last thing Varric saw was Yoshimo's guilty expression.
Now they were split into cells, Varric with Keldorn and Jaheira and Nalia in the next. Yoshimo, the clever bastard, had slipped a spell component into their food aboard the ship allowing Irenicus to knock them all out cold with a single word. Ohh, to get his hands around that bastard's neck...and Yoshimo tried to make Varric look like a traitor! Still, he couldn't get that look on his face off his mind. Yoshimo looked horrified. And not scared for his own skin. Varric paced like a caged lion as much as the small cell would allow, even for someone of his stature. Keldorn sat on one of the cots, helm beside him, eyes closed in what was probably silent prayer. Twice now Varric had heard Jaheira telling Nalia to 'quit that blasted blubbering'. He gripped the bars and twisted them, as though he could pull them apart.
"Damn it! How do we get out of here?"
"Only through the use of the key or some magical means, I expect." Sir Keldorn sighed for the hundredth time.
"What did he mean he was 'done with' Imoen, you think?"
"I do not know, Varric."
"Why didn't we just attack? Why did we stand there and let him blather and then trap us like this?"
"I pondered the same thing. But we are alive and there is still a slim chance we may escape."
"Maybe. I hope...hey!"
Suddenly Keldorn shimmered out of sight through some magical means. Shortly Varric found himself disappear too, and when his vision returned the others were standing looking dazed in a vast stone chamber. High above them on an observation platform a woman with black hair and ashen skin sat swinging one leg idly. Bodhi. That bloodsucking bitch. Varric could feel the collective leaping of hearts as they saw both Essa and Imoen were present, looking unharmed for the time being.
"Why don't you just destroy us like a good little girl, Bodhi? Or are you afraid we'll soundly thrash you again?" Essa cracked her knuckles. Varric wouldn't lie, he'd leap at the chance to put down the vampire permanently.
"Such arrogance!" Bodhi said in that sugary sweet yet evil tone of hers. "And perhaps deserved. You are a powerful being, even as helpless as you are. Irenicus can be so dour when he wishes, but fortunately for you my interest in your abilities has made me decide to give you a chance...to escape. You see the maze stretched out before you?" She paused, watching the mortals below glance about then continued. "Originally it was built to test the magical abilities of the people incapacitated here. But now it is mine. So...run my gauntlet and see if you can make a difference for your fate. Do not dawdle however...I do enjoy hunting the Shadow Thieves in these grounds. The hunt begins."
In a flash, Bodhi morphed into a bat and was gone, again.
"Are you alright? You came all this way to get me and we were almost..." Imoen started. Essa said nothing but threw her arms around her sister.
"I was too late..." Essa stammered. Imoen returned the embrace and both women sank to the floor.
"What happened? What did Irenicus do to you?! To me?!" Essa cried, although it was obvious she knew.
"He showed me what I am...I'm a Bhaalspawn. He showed me and then he took it away. He said it was my divine soul? Oh Essa...I was so scared..."
Varric cleared his throat. "I'd hate to break up this poignant moment..." He said in a voice that indicated he truly did "but we have got to get out of here."
To their surprise Jaheira pulled Imoen into a hug, however brief, and painful-looking, and the druid couldn't even form a good tongue-lashing so much was her relief even if it spawned from anger. They made quick introductions to ther latest party additions, wishing in vain it could be under different circumstances, then outfitted Imoen with a bag of gear Essa had so thoughtfully been lugging around for weeks. Very optimistic of her.
They navigated the Spellhold maze quickly and quietly. Varric pressed Essa with questions; what was done to her, where was Yoshimo, did she really think Bodhi would let them go. She didn't get emotional,didn't get teary or even angry. Essa simply told Varric that her divine soul had been ripped out of her body for some sinister purpose and that she would die unless she had it back, as would Imoen. Irenicus and Bodhi were both 'cursed' and now with the essence of Bhaal their fates had been swapped. Now they faced these trials, unknowing of what horrors lay within, how large, how long it would even take to escape. Hours? Days? With only trail rations and what little water they carried this was going to be even more unpleasant than the great outdoors. At least outside they had a chance at killing a deer or rabbit. Well it was less of a maze and more like a series of rooms filled with traps and/or puzzles. Varric had never seen the team behave like this. They were all composed and brief with one another. No more games, no more jokes. They were racing time itself. If someone strayed behind, others would encourage the straggler. They were operating on pure instinct now. Varric's own trap-finding skills were put to the test. Imoen had been through enough to have to worry about them. She did solve a series of riddles rather masterfully helping them obtain a gem that fucntioned as a key. Finally they came upon a large promising room with a statue of a hornless minotaur in the middle.
"Here mousey mousey... the hunt ends here and now!" came Bodhi's voice. She rose from her usual crouched fighting stance to a casual pose, her hands on her thighs.
"I knew you wouldn't let us escape..." Varric growled in a voice nobody heard.
"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't bear to see you leave!" She lunged at Essa, fangs gleaming in the torchlight as more of her vampires rushed the others.
Essa let out a cry of rage which became a howl of...something...bestial...before her friends, Bodhi's and her coven's very eyes Essa's mortal dwarven body blackened and twisted into some towering shape, her fingers elongating into claws and her face morphing into a hideous visage, maw lined with massive fangs. Some giant, gaunt black...thing...Varric could not describe it. It was like no monster or demon he had ever seen before. This was something out of a nightmare. The beast roared again and diced one of the vampires as quick as thinking as the party cried out or cursed, scattering, their composure and tactics all forgotten. It raised its bloody claw triumphantly as the rest of the vampire's innards spilled into the white tiled floor. It caught up another of the bloodsuckers and crushed it against the wall, leaving a crimson smear. Bodhi watched with both fascination and horror, but managed to evade them yet again to go inform Irenicus of this interesting development. With the vampires gone the beast rounded on the party, who all ended up dodging the claws in turn. Keldorn was knocked down and Varric rolled out of the way, trying to get back up in time to put a bolt in the monster's neck when the beast raised its claw for what was meant to be a decaptating strike until Nalia landed a glancing blow on its neck with an arrow fired with trembling hands. It turned and rushed her with its dagger like teeth and was almost upon her when...
It was suddenly a young dwarf woman again. Nalia froze. Essa froze too, hand almost touching Nalia's throat, arms coated in blood up to the elbow and more of the substance on her face. You could hear a pin drop. Essa panted as she slowly looked at her hands and the expression of abject terror on her companion's face.
"What...what happened?"
"The Slayer..." Imoen said in awe, her voice sounding far away. She stepped down from the minotaur statue's platform. "You turned into the Slayer."
"That wasn't me! It was like I left my body and was forced to watch. Did I hurt anyone?" Essa reached to Sir Keldorn as Varric helped the paladin stand. Varric saw Essa's expression turn from fear to hurt, and he saw why. Keldorn was giving her a look of utter disgust. The paladin staggered over to the eviscerated vampire fledglings and drove a stake through their hearts. Even in pieces they could still regenerate, though it would take time.
Everyone was quiet. Essa slipped off to wash off the blood in some old stagnant pool that decorated the room. The others started to leave but Essa just sat on the floor cross legged, hands in her lap staring at the floor. Varric passed her saying, "Come on, let's get out of here."
She didn't budge or even act like she heard him. Giving an exasperated sigh he shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up, we're leaving." Still nothing. He batted one of her braids like a cat. "Essa, snap out of it. Are you going to sit there all in some sort of coma brooding over being a monster?"
Her eyes shifted towards him but she remained still as a statue. "I am not brooding. I have no more tears, never saved any for myself. What would that accomplish?"
"Nothing, this is true. But if you got off your ass, you can come kick Irenicus'." He offered her a hand up. Essa looked at his hand, then his face.
"Scared of me?" She asked. "Afraid I'll turn on you?"
"If you come to tear out my heart I'll just shove Yoshimo into your path."
She gripped his hand and he pulled her to her feet. "I truly had no control over the Slayer. I just got so angry then it was as if I was pushed aside. "
"Something to do with your lack of a soul I take it."
"Without doubt. "
They left the bloody scene and rejoined the others. They could faintly hear the hum of Irenicus' machines, the fiendish devices used to force Imoen's and Essa's godly essences from their bodies. Quietly they made their way to the next floor,the machines hum becoming louder. Then the familiar sound of someone magically teleporting into the hall nearly made them all jump out of their skin. It was Saemon Havarian.
"Ah, my friends! It warms my heart to see you all remain in good health." The rogue said cheerfully.
"Traitors everywhere I turn! Stand aside! " Essa roared and left a good crack in the wall with her mace as emphasis.
Havarian spread his hands. "Your anger is justified, however, misdirected. The blade offered to me for my service was woefully inadequate. I find it would be more beneficial to aid you."
"Aid me? " Essa laughed one single hollow note. "Speak quickly and make your words count. Your life is in the balance."
"I've seen no weakness in Irenicus. To defeat him would take an army. And there is one to be had. Upstairs. The mages confined here would direct their anger towards him." Havarian slipped away as Essa pondered his advice.
"Much as I am loathe to believe him, he could be right." Jaheira said.

Varric tried to fight off the vertigo as once again they were magically teleported, this time by the mad gnome Tiax.
"Irenicus!" Essa spat the name at the top of her voice, mace and shield at the ready, magically protected, buffed and ready to spill some mage blood. "I will have my soul, and your head!"
The mage turned around and stared at the dwarf godchild, her five companions and the mages under his 'care'. "You yet live! And you've freed all my test subjects! How wonderfully mad of you. "
"I thought they might like to dish out some retribution." Essa took a fighting stance, then shifted her weight back and forth from one leg to the other repeatedly.
"As over-eager as ever, but your boasting is wasted. You are no longer a threat. Your fate is sealed. I have the souls from both you and Imoen and they have healed myself and Bodhi. You will die in our place, or worse. Bodhi tells me you have exhibited a...transformation. Perhaps with your will slowly fading it is Bhaal rising to take you over. What a sight that must have been..."
One of the inmates spoke up, the old coordinator Wanev. "You used this place and perverted it! I will take back what is mine!"
"You tortured people long before I came here, I merely had more cause to do so." Irenicus countered, then shook his head in disgust. "Bah! I converse with madmen when I should be at my revenge! Die all of you! I have restored myself and will work my revenge without your interference!"
A great pillar of flame struck Irenicus at Essa's direction, called forth from her god and thus marked the start of the battle. Irenicus struck down the asylum inmates as though they were little more than flies, and his magic kept the party on their toes. Essa did land a heavy blow on the mage's chest and continued to pummel him rather blindly until some invisible force violently knocked her away sending her sliding on the floor on her back almost into one of the liquid-filled tanks lining the room.
Irenicus finally halted."Damn you all, why do I fight amongst you here when my plans may be laid anywhere!? Here! Fight amongst the assassins and murderers I would sacrifice but know that you are dying on the inside even now! I leave you to this place! I hope it is your tomb!"
Essa got back up on her feet and charged the mage again but he was gone. "Damn it!"
"Here you are, Essa. I come to you so that I may have peace in death." Yoshimo entered the room, katana draw, expression bleak. Essa gasped. "Yoshimo...I...you know I can't-"
"Funny how YOU'RE the real traitor." Varric interrupted, and aimed Bianca at the thief's heart. "Any last words?"
"Varric...I do wish we could have been friends. I was compelled by a geas...do you know what a geas is? It hurts, and then you die!"
"I really don't give a rat's ass what a geas is or what compelled you."
"That night you saw me exchanging coin with the cloaked figure...that was Mithiriel. Her master promised me a geas removal scroll if I turned you over to her master."
"You're only digging yourself deeper. But it all makes sense now. Then you finger me as the traitor to cover your tracks and get rid of me for being onto you. I do believe I saw this all coming. And you can blather all you want about honor and redemption and such but you can take your honor, and your apology and shove it up your ass."
Bianca sang as she let loose a bolt that struck true, right in Yoshimo's heart.
Jaheira made the rounds tending wounds while Nalia scavenged for unbroken arrows and Imoen scavenged for...anything of value. Sir Keldorn sat slumped against the wall looking at over all the mangled bodies of rebel mages and thieves. "I'm getting too old for this."
Essa on the other hand knelt over Yoshimo's body, arranging him in a funeral posture.
"What are you doing? This lack of soul cause you to play with dead guys now?" Varric said as he finished off his healing potion and tossed the empty bottle, leaving it to shatter next to Imoen.
"A geas is a binding spell. It is a curse, a contract of sorts. If you disobey the caster your life is not only forfeit your soul is in torment for all eternity." Essa removed the bolt from Yoshimo's chest and closed his eyes reverently, folding her hands in prayer.
"Gruesome. But that doesn't quite answer my question."
"I am going to attempt to remove the geas from his soul, so he may rest in peace."
Varric just stared at her. "Are you for real? The guy hands you over to your tormentor, tries to frame me for your near murder and you want to save him? I say let him rot, for all eternity." And when he said 'for all eternity' it was in a mocking voice.
"I was taught forgiveness..." Essa said firmly but Varric turned on his heel and walked away with a dismissive gesture.
"Do you forgive Sarevok?" Jaheira asked.
Essa turned around to look at the druid. "No. And I hope you'll forgive me when I tell you to shut your gob, you loudmouthed, self-righteous, tree-hugging bitch."