Chapter 11

They packed up camp the following morning, eating rations of fruit that they had picked previously. They left the camp behind them, walking for a few hours. The wardens were chatting amongst themselves when Ava realised they hadn't encountered any wolves. Strange, Ava thought, but pushed it to the back of her mind. It wasn't long before they found themselves in a clearing with several paths leading away.

Ava spotted several cocoon like pods scattered around the ground. They were wiggling as though something was trying to escape their shell. Ava was about to warn them not to touch the pods, but she was too late. Anders placed his hand on one of the pods, a child like curiousness on his face, when it burst open. Anders found himself covered in some slimy substance. A grub like creature escaped from the open pod. As if on cue, the other pods burst open covering Anders in more sticky goo, allowing more grubs to enter the clearing. The group brandished their weapons. Ava had never seen anything before that even remotely looked like the creatures.

She found that the creatures were not as difficult to beat as she first thought, their flesh was soft and her daggers sunk into them easily. Oghren's axe managed to slice right through the grubs, slicing through two at the same time. Anders sent out bolts of lightning from his finger tips, the grubs exploding, entrails pouring onto the floor. Nathaniel remained in the distance, his arrows striking deep into the grubs.

The battle was over quickly. She knelt down next to one of the grubs, examining it closely, touching the dead grubs with a gauntlet covered hand. It was obvious that the creatures had not fully developed yet. But what were they supposed to grow into, she thought.

'Ewwww.' Anders said grimacing, his hands touching his robes. When he brought his hands away, the gooey substance stuck to his fingers, leaving strings of glob in their wake.

Oghren looked at the mage and burst out laughing, tears of joy running down his face. When he had composed himself he said 'Didn't yer mother ever tell you not to touch things if ya don't know where it's been.'

Anders took his eyes off his ruined robes and narrowed them at the dwarf. 'I will remind myself not to touch you then.' he growled, narrowing his eyes at the dwarf.

Ava was struggling to keep her laughter in before allowing it to escape in full force. She was laughing so hard, she had to bend at the middle, resting her hands on her knees. She heard a deep rumbling noise from Nathaniel and realised that he was actually laughing.

'I'm sorry Anders.' Ava managed to hiccup out between giggles.

'You could at least act like you're sorry.' he said 'But you look so pretty when you laugh, you should do it more often.' he said before joining in the laughter.

Everyone's laughter slowly died down, apart from the odd chuckle. Ava found an old cloth in her bag and poured some water onto it, handing it to Anders. He wiped of as much of the goo as possible, but he still looked an absolute mess, his normally neat and tidy hair plastered against his head.

They moved on, taking one of the roads out of the clearing to lead to another open space. Their joy was short lived. Ava gasped as she saw a body on the floor, lying on his side, eyes wide open. There was no mistaking who this man was. He had the grey warden insignia emblazoned on his breast plate. Ava already knew that the man's fate did not look good before they ventured into the Blackmarsh, but seeing that the man was actually dead was disheartening. She moved her hand to shut Kristoff's eyes.

As she was looking at Kristoff, she noticed her companions moving for their weapons from the corner of her eyes. She looked up from Kristoff's body to see that they were surrounded by darkspawn. There were also some of the grub creatures with them. At least one of her questions had been answered, the grubs they had encountered were undeveloped darkspawn. There were too many darkspawn for them all to fight and survive. A hurlock approached the front of the group.

He told Ava that he was sent here by someone called 'the mother' and that he had lured Kristoff there so that Ava would follow.

Ava did not have time to ask questions before he raised his arm, a green light emitting from his palm. The light blasted from his hand, covering the group. Ava felt herself being lifted involuntarily from the ground, and was unable to move. She had felt this unnatural feeling before, and cursed, she was going to the fade.

They spent what felt like hours navigating their way through the fade, although it was hard to tell how long they were there, as time did not move in the same way as the mortal world.

They encountered several demons along the way, mostly shades and desire demons.

'You need to be careful Anders.' Ava said 'You don't want to become possessed or enthralled by one of the demons.'

'You're right, but I can think of worse ways to die that in the arms of some sexy desire demon, she could literally make my dreams come true.' he replied, earnestly, before his eyes glazed over, losing himself in some fantasy that Ava did not want to even think of.

An exasperated sigh slipped past Ava's lips, she felt as if they were never going to find their way out. She ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

They managed to find their way to a small village and Ava had the strange sense that the place was familiar. They approached a small, but rowdy mob of people shouting through a gate at some target beyond her sight.. Ava could see a man stood at the front of the crowd, but was confused as she could see right through him. She drew a dagger from its place on her back. If her time in the fade taught her anything it was to be wary of everything she came across, especially things she could not make sense of.

The group slowly made their way to the crowd, before watching as the man at the front of the group turned to face her. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, never taking her eyes from her potential target.

The see-through man pointed a finger in accusation at Ava. 'And who are you? Another minion of the baroness?' he said before his expression softened to one of pity 'Or more helpless souls trapped here.' sweeping his hand across the crowd.

Ava's eyes scanned the crowd, looking into the faces of the people there. She could see the hint of hope glimmering in their eyes. She placed her dagger back to where she got it from, she knew she was in no danger, the people before her were in the same situation as the wardens were. And the see-through man was their saviour.

'We are trapped here against our will.' Ava said, bowing her head once to the man.

'I am a spirit of justice. I have watched this village for some time, and I seethe at the wrong doings here. I seek to aid the people.'

Ava listened as the villagers told her of the baroness and how she ruled over them in the mortal world, using their children to fuel her blood magic. When the villagers stood up against her, she dragged them with her to the fade, trapping them there, continuing her rule over them.

'Will you stand with us, your aid will be much needed.' the spirit pleaded.

Ava contemplated the situation. The wardens had nothing to lose from helping the villagers, but a lot to gain.

As if reading her mind Nathaniel spoke. 'This spirit knows the fade, if we help him he may be able to help us.'

Ava glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her face remaining expressionless. 'I agree.' was all she said, annoyed that she had no choice but to agree with the man as it was the sensible thing to do. 'We will help you spirit.'

'Now we have the numbers to challenge the baroness.' the spirit said, 'We are going to storm the gate, are you ready?' he asked looking directly into Ava's eyes.

She nodded, readying her already battle weary body, the metal of her daggers clinking together as she drew them.

The spirit turned to the crowd, rallying them together for the final stand. 'For too long have her crimes gone unpunished, now is the time to reclaim your freedom.' he bellowed, throwing his arm in the air, his sword in hand. The spirit turned to the gate and forcefully kicked out his foot, sending the doors of the gate swinging before marching through, followed by the wardens and the crowd.

Ava could see a woman standing on a balcony accompanied by demons. The spirit and villagers argued back and forth with the woman, who Ava surmised to be the baroness.

Ava immediately became alert when the baroness pointed at the wardens. 'Who are these? More fools to do your bidding?' she sneered at the spirit.

'We are no longer alone in our fight against you. Your reign of terror ends now.' the spirit shouted in response.

The baroness smiled in what would have looked like a sweet smile, had it not been for the malicious intent hidden behind her eyes. 'Neither am I.'

Ava's eyes widened in shock as the figure moved from behind the baroness and she found herself looking at the hurlock who had brought her here in the first place. 'You!' she fumed, pointing at the cause of her current state.

'My victory over you and your new companions are all that stand between me and the mortal world, then I can pay 'the mother' back for her betrayal.' the hurlock grunted.

Ava's anger descended over her like a red mist. 'I don't care about this 'mother', you are going to pay for sending us here, you will not be leaving this place alive.' she threatened, forgetting all else around her, her whole attention on the darkspawn. If they were to stay in the fade, at least she would get her revenge.

'Enough!' the spirit shouted, snapping Ava back momentarily from her anger. 'The battle begins.'

The battle was long and tiresome. They would have finished off the talking darkspawn sooner, had it not been for the baroness summoning shades to aid him in battle. Ava, finally knocked the darkspawn down onto his back, and sat astride the creature. Holding her dagger in both hands, she thrust down hard, pushing her daggers through his neck. Ava stood up, throwing the darkspawn a conceited look, before walking to stand at the sides of her companions. Anders gave her a curious look as she approached him, but she only shrugged in reply.

'No you fool! Why haven't you killed them?' the baroness shrieked in pure anger.

'They are too strong. You must sunder the veil to send me back before it is too late.' the darkspawn gurgled out, holding a hand up to the baroness, pleading for sympathy.

The baroness frowned, her mouth set in a thin line ignoring his pleas. 'Oh I will sunder the veil alright, but using your life to do so.' she mocked before raising her arms and covering the wardens in a bright white light.

Ava felt drops of water trailing down her face. She opened her eyes to see that it was raining. She sat up leaning on her elbow, cradling her aching head in her spare hand, she was disorientated. Ava noticed her companions beginning to stir. But her heart felt as though it had stopped when she saw Kristoff get up, resting on his hands and knees. She instinctively drew her weapons, feeling as though they were still in danger.

'Where...where am I?' a deep voice asked.

Ava frowned in confusion, she recognised the voice. 'Spirit?' she asked, disbelieving.

The spirit's hands touch Kristoff's face tentatively. 'This is the world of the mortals. And this is a body of flesh, I am trapped within.'

'How did you get here spirit?' Nathaniel asked.

'The witch sundered the veil. In her haste, she must have sent us all back.' he said, his hands gesturing wildly. 'She is here, can you not feel the evil in the area.' he growled out. 'She was a mortal once, but now she is a demon of pride, she assumed that role a long time ago. In the fade, she is one thing, but out here she is something else entirely, she is extremely dangerous in your world.' he warned.

'What do you propose?' Ava asked quietly, she knew demons of pride were powerful, remembering meeting Uldred in the circle tower, and they could possibly be in considerable danger.

'We need to find her and kill her. She is most likely in her mansion.' the spirit said firmly, leaving no room for debate.

Ava remembered passing a mansion in the ruined village, they had been unable to pass through the metal gate, but had never though anything of it at the time. 'That is where we shall go then.' she said, seeing no other options.

Due to the tears in the veil, they encountered many demons as they backtracked through the marsh. Justice managed to adjust to Kristoff's body and fought well, using a sword and shield. They soon found themselves at the large metal gates guarding the mansion. Nathaniel and the spirit stood on either side of the gate and each pushed a side of the gate, their muscles straining against the weight. The gate eventually gave and opened with a huge clang, it obviously hadn't been used for some time.

They baroness was standing in the mansion's courtyard, awaiting their arrival as if she knew they would come. She noticed their approach.

'The mortal world is very dull.' she said, almost as though she was bored. 'No matter, it will soon liven up when the mortals within it bow before me.' she cackled manically.

'I will never allow that to happen demon.' the spirit said forcefully, drawing his sword from its scabbard as he approached.

'We defeated you once demon, it shall be no trouble doing it again!' Ava said, mocking the demon.

'Ha, we shall see!' she shouted before her eyes turned green. She held a hand to her throat, as if she was choking and fell to her hands and knees. Ava backed up slightly at the sight. The woman's shape changed, the pride demon showing its true form. Ava swore at the size of the demon, it was easily the size of three ogres.

She noticed Nathaniel and Anders had moved out of range from the demon, Nathaniel already loading his bow with arrows and Anders fingers tingling with magic. Ava charged the demon armed with her daggers, lunging, attempting to break through the demon's skin. The spirit was swinging out with his long sword, using his shield as a battering ram, trying to tire the beast out. Oghren was wielding his axe, taking chunks of flesh from the creatures shins. The demon didn't seem to be tiring at all whereas the wardens did. The demon tapped into the baroness' powers, blasting them all with magic. Nathaniel remained relentless with his onslaught of arrows, aiming them for its face and eyes. Anders flitted between healing and offensive magic. Oghren changed his tactics and taunted the demon, drawing its attention away from the rest of the group, but was soon surrounded by a telekinetic prison cast by the demon. Ava saw the chance.

She moved into the shadows, away from the demon's line of sight. She moved round the back of the creature and sneaked closer. She found a weak spot in the thick skin on the back of its ankle. Maybe if she got her daggers in deep enough, it would disable the creature, making it fall. It was worth a shot. She tightened the grip on her daggers, not wanting to lose them and drew them over her head, gaining momentum before swinging down with all her strength. The daggers fought their way past thick skin, slicing into muscles and tendons. The demon howled in pain. Ava struggled to free her daggers, wiggling them to loosen them from the thick skin. She repeated the motion on the creatures other ankle, causing the creature to fall to its knees, unable to stand, the muscles in its ankles damaged.

The creature finally spotted Ava and swung out with a huge hand. Ava barely managed to roll out of the way, leaping up to her feet. Oghren was finally free of his prison and swung his huge axe at the neck of the demon, finding sensitive flesh. The beast fell to the floor, still attempting to cast spells at the wardens. The spirit held his long sword in both hands and drove the blade deep into the demon's skull. Ava felt a sob escape her throat, grief hot in her chest. Images of Alistair's last moment flashed into her mind. She closed her eyes, shutting out the images. When she had composed herself, she saw the demon lay dead.

Ava sat on the floor, resting her elbows on her knees, her head dipped, waiting for her breathing to slow. The rest of the wardens dropped to the floor beside Ava, passing a water skin amongst themselves, leaving the spirit on his feet, looking at the body of the Baroness.

'And so it is done. For what it's worth, thank you. I have fulfilled my promise and may the victims of the demon rest in peace.' the spirit said, bowing his head in respect to the lost souls.

'What do you plan to so now?' Ava asked, looking up at him, but remained on the floor.

'I am not sure mortal. I am unable to return to the fade. I am trapped in the body of this...grey warden?' patting the body of Kristoff again, trying to become used to the feel of a body of flesh. 'I am able to sense the poor man's memories. They are difficult to make out, but he was slain by darkspawn, one called the first. The one we encountered in the fade' the spirit said, his face contorting in confusion at the feelings he was experiencing caused by Kristoff's memories.

'The darkspawn are who the grey wardens seek to slay.' Ava said, trying to clarify some of the spirit's confusion.

'That is what you were pursuing before you were tricked into the fade. It makes sense to me now.' as though the pieces of a puzzle were in place. 'I am at a loss of what to do. I know nothing from this world and have only a few memories to draw on. I do not wish to die.' he said, morosely.

Ava felt nothing but pity for the spirit. She would not leave the spirit without help, and she was in need of help herself. Even though the real Kristoff had passed on, she would still be able to use his physical form for aid.

'Why do you not join us, you are inhabiting the body of a grey warden and I could use your help.'

'Do you mean continue his mission? As a grey warden? It was darkspawn that killed him and yet they still live. To avenge his death...yes, that would be justice for him.' he said, nodding his head, agreeing with Ava. 'I will join you mortal.'

'Should I call you Kristoff?' Ava asked.

'No, that is not my name. I have no name, only virtues. But if you need a name, Justice will suffice, for that is what I am.'

'Welcome Justice.' Ava said simply, offering him a small smile. They made their way out of the Blackmarsh, finally leaving the dreadful place behind. Ava wasn't religious, but she was silently praying to the maker that they never had to return to that place again.