Chapter 25
"Justice"
A crowd had gathered at the gates of the manor, an assortment of weapons, ranging from swords to farming implements, clattered against the wrought black iron. So intent and focused on their anger the villagers failed to notice the party walking towards them. As they approached, Aedan kept an eye for any sudden movement. It was clear to the Wardens that the villagers were baying for blood and would not take kindly to heavily armed strangers in their midst. Something was stirring these villagers into a fervour, and right now, that unknown element was far more dangerous than the Wardens. Probably not much of a match against us, but rage can make people unpredictable, and this is not a battle I want to get involved in.
Ahead, a lone figure stood before the gates, the leader of the crowd, clad head to toe in luminescent armour, his sword raised in a challenge towards the manor. The figure spoke, a voice filled with authority and righteousness. "Your mansion will not protect you, fiend!" The sword cut through an arc, punctuating the point. "Come out and face your crimes!"
As Aedan and the others drew closer, the crowd fell silent one by one, as the villagers became aware of the newcomers. Several stepped aside as the Wardens walked by, while others tightened their grips upon the makeshift weapons, fearful of new devilry. All they needed was one excuse and they would soon find the blood they wished spilled.
The leader was the last to notice the approaching men, slowly turning around, studying the Wardens before speaking. The blade the leader carried was relaxed in his hand, ready for battle if needs be. The warrior raised the sword, aiming it towards Aedan's throat. "Who comes now? More minions of the Baroness?" The warrior peered into Aedan's eyes, as if searching for a reason to attack and for an instant the Warden Commander felt as though he was being judged, every action he had done was dragged into the light. The blade tightened in luminous hands for a moment before it was slid back into its sheathe, the warrior apparently satisfied. "No…You seem to be more helpless souls that woman has tormented."
"We are no victims. We are Grey Wardens, lured here into the Fade by our enemies." Aedan stepped forward, the air silent as the villagers watched him, still unsure of whether he was a demon or a new tormenter. He walked towards the leader of the band, studying him in turn as Aedan had been. The warrior was surrounded by a halo of light. The Warden paused, realising that what stood before him was no man, but a spirit, a natural denizen of the Fade. A powerful enemy indeed should it choose so.
The spirit circled the Warden, thinking to itself before replying. "I do not know what a Grey Warden is, but it is clear to see that you are capable fighters." As the spirit walked in front of Aedan, it stopped, placing a hand upon its chin, muttering to itself. "Perhaps it is a sign."
"Who are you?" The question was curt, ill-tempered, echoing in the finely crafted helm. Aedan was losing patience, spirit or no.
Without looking at Aedan, the spirit replied, calm and aloof. "I am a Spirit of Justice. Long have I seethed at the injustices perpetrated here against these people." The spirit spread its arms wide, as if shielding the villages from more torment. "And now, I seek to end it!"
"Please, help us."
A villager had broken ranks, positioning herself between the Warden and the spirit of Justice. In life she had been a young woman, beautiful in a way, and though entrapment in the Fade did not age her, her eyes had told a different story, of a weary soul, desperately seeking release.
"We have been trapped here for so long." Her voice was brittle, as if the faint glimmer of hope had begun to break her. As if failure would completely destroy her.
A man approached now, resting his hand upon the woman's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We once lived in the mortal realm, and the Baroness ruled over us." His eyes told the same story, that this was the last chance the village had for freedom, that should the spirit fail it would end them. The man continued, the woman's hand squeezing his for support, matching rings glinting in the magical light. "She was cruel, the Baroness, beyond all imagining. She would take our loved ones, our mothers, our daughters…" Tears welled up in the woman's eyes, a pain shared the man. "…Our sons, and we would never see them again, we never knew what she had done with them….." The man's voice trailed away, contemplating what could have occurred to the missing, the thoughts forcing the man to shut his eyes, to seal away the pain.
The woman spoke again, her voice cracking. "After she had stolen another child, we had had enough and attacked her manor. We do not know what happened after that, all we know now is that we are trapped her, still under her power." She turned from the Warden, pushing herself into her husband's arms, grief overwhelming them.
"These people have suffered long enough." The spirit strode past the desperate couple. His tone was insistent, yet firm. "You seem capable, I ask you, help me free these people from the tyranny of the Baroness."
Anders had crept forward, whispering in Aedan's ear, Oghren and Nathaniel edging closer to hear the mage's opinion. "Commander, I feel for these people, truly. But we need to find the First, the longer we remain trapped here, the more difficult it will be to return us to our..."
Aedan cut him off before the mage could finish. "We're helping them."
"Why?" The sheer surprise on Anders' face brought a small smile to Aedan's lips, hidden beneath the heavy, dwarven helm.
"Two reasons. Firstly, if we cannot find the First, this spirit may know of some way to return us to our bodies."
"And the second reason, Commander?" It was Nathaniel, voicing the question on Oghren and Anders' minds.
Aedan shrugged, before he made his way to the waiting Spirit of Justice. "It'll be fun."
"Uh huh…" Anders brought his hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, more worried than annoyed by the Commander's actions. "Just so you know, this "fun" looks a little bit like "stupid" from over here."
"Anders, your objection is duly noted, and ignored." Aedan brought himself to a halt by the Spirit, never taking his eyes off the manor before them. "Spirit, we will help you, in return, will you help us back to our mortal bodies?"
The spirit nodded solemnly. "I am uncertain if I will be of any use, but I shall try." The spirit turned back towards the villagers, his voice booming with self-assured righteousness. "Good people, with these warriors by our side, we now have to strength to overthrow the Baroness. You will have your freedom!"
Aedan stood back as the Spirit of Justice strode to the gates, summoning strength as it drew closer and lashed out at the gates. In a flash of light, the gate exploded, shards of black iron scarring the walls of the manor, allowing it, Aedan and the other Wardens to storm the manor's courtyard, the villagers following at a safe distance.
The doors of the manor creaked open, as two figures slithered from the darkness, demons hissing and cursing the intruders as a third figure approached, a woman. Dressed in the finest Orlesian silks and fur, the woman had a stately, arrogant manner surrounding her. A cruel malevolence stared at the Wardens from cold eyes. Dark, brown hair had been knotted and tied into a twist. Her face had the severity of a grim statue, as if it had been carved from granite, eternal and unchanging.
The Baroness had arrived.
Immediately the spirit had its sword drawn, the blade pointed towards the Baroness, the anger the spirit felt was palpable and infectious, leaving a bitter taste in Aedan's mouth. "Foul sorceress! You will release these poor folk and submit yourself to justice!"
"Justice? Where was the justice when these barbarians attacked and burned down my home!" Save for the memories he had of his discussions with Leliana, the Orlesian accent from the Baroness was exactly as Aedan had come to expect, haughty, condescending and arrogant. This woman has slaughtered how many people and has the audacity to claim to be the victim? I'm impressed the bitch could say that with a straight face.
"These, people, as you claim them to be, were sworn to serve me. I asked little of them and still they betrayed me. Whatever happened to them was of their own doing." The Baroness' arm swept through the air, the villagers instinctively flinching in fear.
Only one stood her ground. The woman who had implored Aedan to aid them. Hot tears streaked her cheeks as she stood defiant against the Baroness. The villager choked back the tears as she spoke, the words unintelligible at first, before Aedan realised the villager had accused the Baroness of murdering their children for her own selfish needs.
The Baroness dismissed the claims with a wave of her hand, unmoved by the accusations lain before her. "As I said, you serve me, you and your families are mine to do with as I wish. Leave now and I promise my retribution will not be too severe."
"Never fiend! Your crimes must be answered for now!" The spirit prepared to assault the Baroness, only to be held back by Aedan as the Commander nodded towards several shadows emerging from the darkness behind the Baroness.
"You have found allies spirit," The Baroness sneered at the Wardens as the First and the last of its followers stood beside the woman. "But, then, so have I."
The First spat at Aedan, pointing at him for the Baroness' sake. "Be finishing the Warden now, before it can…"
The sentence was never finished as a dagger embedded itself into the First's shoulder, Aedan's outstretched arm reaching for the sheathed blades on his back. "Damn. Still alive."
The First wrenched the dagger free, roaring as a spurt of black blood stained the wall of the manor.
"You should have picked a better ally, milady." The tone was sarcastic, disrespectful, showing the same contempt for the Baroness as the woman had shown Aedan and the others. His stride was slow and purposeful, the blades drawn and hanging loose by his side. Anders and Nathaniel had taken a defensive stance as the Spirit of Justice and Oghren followed Aedan. Two of the Hurlocks charged the approaching Wardens, the first decapitated in a swift movement from Aedan's sword, the second pinned to a pillar by the Spirit as Oghren slammed his axe into the fiend's chest.
"Darkspawn are notoriously bad allies. Truth be told, the only thing they can be relied upon is to die quite horribly." A third Hurlock attacked, its throat sliced open as Oghren stunned one of the Baroness' demonic bodyguards, executing it with a swift fall of the heavy axe. "As you have just seen. Surrender and your death will be swift. Don't…and, well…let's just say it'll be painful."
By now the First had recovered and gripped the Baroness' robes, staining the silk with bloody hand prints. "Be sending us back now! As you promised!"
The Baroness sneered again, and pushed the Darkspawn Disciple away from her, her anger rising, both towards the Grey Wardens and the Darkspawn before her. "Oh, I will send you back, but you will provide the power to do so, beast."
As the implications of what the Baroness dawned upon the First, the Disciple showed what must have passed for fear and tried to run, only for ethereal hands to grip its body. Wisps of light were drawn from the First's body, the life fading from its eyes before its body went limp and fell to the ground.
Try as he might, Aedan was unable to move, an unseen force holding him in place. A wave of white light washed over the Warden and with it unconsciousness. As the darkness swallowed him, one thought crossed Aedan's mind before he blacked out. Definitely not the first in his class!
Drops of rain tapped the helm of his armour, the continuous patter stirring Aedan from his slumber. Around him lay the bodies of the First and the other Darkspawn, all dead, with no visible wounds. Anders, Nathaniel and Oghren were right where the First had left them when it had trapped them in the Fade. Apparently they were alright, the Dwarf's snoring confirming Aedan's suspicions.
They were free from the Fade.
Nathaniel was the first to awaken, unsure whether it was a dream or if they were out of the nightmare. The archer's shoulders slumped in relief as he heard Oghren, certain that only the mortal realm would have that particular horror.
Soon, Anders and Oghren had woken up, searching the Darkspawn remains for useful items, the Dwarf particularly taken with the double handed sword the First carried. None contested Oghren's claim to the blade.
As the others prepared to destroy the Darkspawn remains, Aedan stared at the note intently. Even after all this time, trapped by the First, he had kept a hold of the proposal. The letter had been written in a simple manner, the words lovingly chosen as though a great deal of thought had gone into the process. At first he had wished to destroy the letter, and with it end a fool's errand. And yet as his hand enclosed the faded paper, something in his mind stopped him. Whatever it was had appeared in a flash, a memory or a final daydream. For the briefest moment he saw red lips in a smile. And just as quickly as flash appeared, it was gone.
Staring at the proposal, Aedan carefully folded the note and placed it in his armour.
Putting that foolishness out of his mind, Aedan turned his attention to Kristoff, the fallen Grey Warden. Nathaniel and Oghren were debating whether to leave the remains in the Blackmarsh or to take them back to the Vigil for a proper service.
"Don't you be expecting me to do any of the sodding lifting, lad." Oghren brought the mead skin to his lips, downing the contents in one go. "I say we return him to the Stone. It's where Grey Wardens usually end up right?"
"Oghren, he deserves a proper funeral pyre. He is one of ours, we can't just leave him here to be picked at by wild animals."
"Are you deaf you thunderhumper? I said return him to the Stone, we cover him with some stones."
Aedan was about to voice his opinion when Kristoff's body moved, dead eyes flickering open. The body jolted up, fearful of the surroundings, clawing at the muddy ground beneath it. A voice spoke out, instantly recognisable as the Spirit of Justice's. "A body of flesh? This cannot be!"
"The spirit?" Aedan reached down, pulling the body up. "How is this possible?"
"The Baroness… She did it!" Kristoff's body seemed to calm down as the spirit exerted a measure of control. "When she sent you back… I…must have been drawn to this body. You must help me!"
Nathaniel was the first to answer. "How spirit? How can we send you back?"
The spirit snapped at Nathaniel. "Not me, the Baroness! When she activated that spell, it allowed her to cross the Veil. She is here in the mortal realm!"
Aedan looked around, searching for Anders and beckoning the mage to the discussion. "And your point is?"
"The Baroness is a far greater threat than you could realise."
Oghren snorted as he uncorked another mead flask. "Hmph, what else is new? And I suppose you want us to kill her too?"