We fought through another floor of the tower, saving three Tranquil mages before finally reaching the fourth floor, where we had foolishly stumbled into a demon's trap.
We came to the main chamber where we saw an abomination standing over a young mage. Was that Niall? It turned to us and spoke in a slow, boring, flat voice as if its voice were playing on a slowed mixer track.
"Well," it said, "more weary travelers?" It began to walk toward us.
"Not one step further, demon!" Alistair shouted. I put a hand on my dagger at my right hip, ready.
"Why must you fight?" It asked. "Are you not tired?" I began to feel weary, my limbs felt heavier, like I could collapse at any moment.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Resist," Wynne said, "you must resist."
"C.J.," Ashley said, "fight it." I looked down at Shabon who was trying not to fall over.
"You all seem weary," the demon said slowly, not helping that I was half asleep, "you deserve a rest."
I woke up in my bed at home. Home? What? I looked around, there was no one there. I was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. I threw the covers off of me and looked around again. Nothing too out of the ordinary, I guess. I got out of bed and walked to the door.
I walked out of my bedroom to see my house that I lived in before I-.
"C.J.!" My brother said as I walked into the living room.
"Danny?" I asked confused completely.
"You look surprised," he said, "come on, let's go see the rest of the family."
Something was wrong. Why was he there? Where was Cayne and Morrigan and Alistair? Where was Ashley?
"You coming?" Danny said. His eyes were the same as if he had never left me. I couldn't say no.
"Yeah," I said. I followed him outside to our back porch were the rest of my family was. The smell of cooked meats permeated the air with their spices and marinades, the sun shone brightly as the people talked happily amongst each other. Aunts and uncles that I had forgotten ever since I had walk-.
"Come on, C.J." Danny beckoned me, his green eyes flashing as he got a drink. His black hair was disheveled and his stubble even the same as before. Still, something was wrong. I took a drink as well and looked around.
There was uncle Fred with his wife, aunt Regina talking with uncle Samuel and his son Thomas who was going to college at Stanford in a few weeks. Uncle David and Aunt Karen trying to keep track of their two kids, Emily and Ryan. Everything was so happy and at peace. Why did it feel so wrong?
I followed Danny to the table where a few of our cousins sat along with his girlfriend Rachel. She was pretty, brown hair and kind brown eyes dressed in a tank top and shorts. I listened to them talk merrily, still wondering what seemed off about this place.
My eyes wandered to my arm where I saw them. The markings! They were still there! So it wasn't a dream.
"So C.J.," Rachel said taking my gaze from my arm, "what have you been up to?" I was about to answer when I heard him.
"C.J.?" I turned around to see the elf staring at me with a dog at his side and the rest of our group, minus Ashley, behind him.
"Who the hell are you?" Danny asked standing up.
"It's ok, Danny," I said standing up, "they're my friends."
"You know, then?" Cayne asked. I nodded sadly, I felt tears in my eyes.
"C.J., what is this guy talking about?" I turned to Danny, feeling tears run down my face.
"I have to go with them," I said, "I'm sorry. The world needs me."
"But we need you here!" Danny shouted. "C.J. don't go, please!"
"I have to, Danny." I said.
"Please," he begged, his eyes pleading for me to stay resulting in more tears coming from mine, "I need you."
"You don't need me, Danny," I said, "you're not even here."
"Of course I am." He said kneeling down to look at me eye to eye. "I'm always here."
"Danny," I said, looking at him in the eyes, "you died last year in a motorcycle accident." He looked offended more than anything. "You were killed by a drunk driver at 11:46 PM after storming out of the house when mom and dad kicked you out." The tears wouldn't stop, but I kept my voice even. "Your last words to me were, "If there is a light at the end of this dark place we're in, sprint for it." And I did, I did what you asked me to do."
Danny stood up and looked at Cayne and our party.
"I'm sorry." I said as the dreamscape faded into a floating island that looked contorted and jagged.I wiped the tears from my face as I stared at the empty space that Danny had stood in, noticing that I was now in my armor. I felt Shabon come over to me and nudge my leg in an attempt to comfort me.
"Are you alright?" Leliana said in her Orlesian accent that dripped with concern.
"I'm fine," I said composing myself, "we should press on." I met Leliana's gaze and turned to Cayne.
"Let's keep going." He said. "We need to find Ashley before we face the Sloth Demon." We walked a ways on the jagged plain.
"Is that how we got here?" I asked. "The Sloth Demon?"
"Yes," Wynne said, "it's very powerful with many followers that Cayne had already killed."
"Wonderful," I said sarcastically. I walked beside Leliana in our group.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened?" She asked.
"I'm sure," I said, lying through my teeth. "I'll be fine." I could tell that she didn't believe me.
"After this is over," she said, "we can talk at the camp if you wish." I smiled.
"I'd like that," I said. We continued until we came upon a door. It looked like a normal door that you would find back home. I swallowed. "This must be Ashely's dream."
"What could be in there?" Alistair asked.
"Could be any number of things," I said, "it looks like a door to her old house." I stepped forward and grabbed the doorknob, turning it.
We walked into a warm home, nicely decorated with crosses and family pictures of better days. I knew what this was though.
"Ash!" I called. I heard the breaking of glass from upstairs and I ran to the staircase. "Ashley!" I shouted when a burst of fire came from one of the rooms, almost incinerating me.
"C.J.!" She called. I raced even faster up the steps, taking two at a time. I stopped at where the door used to be to see Ashley shooting lightning from her fingertips at a demon.
"I'm here!" I said racing at the demon, holding up my daggers about to strike when the demon looked at me and moved it's hand toward me, sending me flying backward. "Shit!" I swore as I hit the wall and landed on the stairs. I got back up and ran back up the stairs with Cayne and Alistair in tow this time.
I watched Ashley conjure flames in her hands and release it at the demon just as Cayne brought his daggers down into the creature's back. The demon collapsed and it was gone.
"Are you okay, Ash?" I asked rushing to her.
"Yeah," as her house faded and we were on a different floating island than before. I looked around to see the Sloth Demon.
"Go time," I said. We walked forward to the demon.
"I see you all have broken out of my trap. Well done, I suppose." It said.
"You're spell could not hold us, demon." Wynne said. "We stand against you together."
"Then you will all die together." The demon said as it changed it's form into that of an ogre.
I drew my daggers as the ogre roared. Alistair rushed at it as Cayne charged off. I looked at my dog and ran after them with Shabon at my heels.
Sloth charged at us as bolts of magic slammed into it. I rolled between its legs and sliced at its feet and ankles as I saw Alistair stab at the ogre's calf as Shabon tore at its ankles.
Sloth roared as Cayne jumped up and sunk his blades into the demon's chest. I stepped back, letting the demon fall to the ground with a thud. As Cayne withdrew his blades from its body, the ogre began to glow.
"Cayne, get off it!" Alistair shouted, however it was in vain. The light exploded, sending Cayne backward and sprawled on the ground. From the light, emerged a demon of fire and lava. I braced to roll away from the fire spell it was conjuring, when a bolt of ice shot past my head to hit the demon in the chest.
I stepped back as Sloth began to glow again and change into the form of an abomination like those in the Circle Tower. Alistair rushed toward Sloth and slashed at it, only to be deflected and parried. Cayne and I ran at Sloth as magic rushed by our heads to hit Sloth in the chest and head. I threw one dagger that implanted itself in its head.
Sloth roared and glowed again, transforming into another demon, flinging my dagger away and far out of my reach.
"Shit," I mumbled to myself as I dodged a ray of fire. However, the path I rolled into was the same path that an arrow that Leliana shot took. The arrow embedded itself into my left shoulder, inches from my spine. I stumbled and fell to my knees, watching as Sloth took advantage of my injury and began to advance on me. I quickly stood up and readied myself, despite my injury. I dodged Sloth's taloned hand and sunk my dagger into its abdomen.
Sloth glowed again and transformed into its form that it had spoken to us in.
"You will not escape this place." He said as he grabbed my face. I felt the cool sensation of ice magic being conjured. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to run, I was completely fucked. I closed my eyes, waiting for the blast of ice. The blast never came. I opened my eyes to see a blade sticking out of Sloth's chest. The hand on my face went limp as Sloth fell to the ground. I looked over to see Alistair drawing his blade from Sloth and sheathing it.
"Thanks, dude," I said through the pain in my shoulder.
"Not a problem…dude," he replied. I smiled at his awkward tone when he said "dude".
"C.J.!" I heard Ashley shout as I turned to her to see her running toward me with Leliana just behind her. "C.J., are you okay?"
"I'm fine Ash," I said. Leliana walked behind me.
"I'm so, so sorry, C.J.," she said sincerely, "do you want me to pull it out?"
"Leliana," I said, "it's my fault, it's fine. Yes, please pull it out." I braced myself as I felt a tinge of pain as Leliana gripped the shaft of the arrow and tore it from my flesh. "Agh!" I cried. "Fucking hell!"
"Ashley, can you heal her?" Leliana asked.
"I used up a lot of energy in the battle," she said, "but I can try."
"No," I said, "just leave it, we'll be getting out of here soon and we can take care of it then if it's needed." In truth, I just wanted a break from people touching me.
"C.J.," Cayne said walking over to me, carrying my dagger that was thrown by Sloth.
"Thanks," I said taking the blade.
"You did it!" A surprised voice said from behind Cayne. The man that spoke was dressed in yellow and green mage robes with shoulder length brown hair and eyes to match. He looked familiar. I wracked my brain to figure out where I had seen him when it dawned on me. "I did not think you would manage such a feat."
"What now?" Cayne asked.
"You will wake in the tower." He hesitated. "When you do, take the Litany of Adralla from my body. It's the only way to stop Uldred. I am too weak to return."
"Are you sure, Niall?" He asked.
"Yes," he said, "I wish you all good luck. And please, stop Uldred."