Disclaimer: Bioware owns all, except what I most humbly create. While, at times, I will take verbatim from the game, I mostly use the events of the Dragon Age games, expansions and universe as a loose structure around which to construct my re-imagined tale. If you are looking for a strict canon piece, I have no desire to offend, and so I warn you upfront!
When reading this tale, I hope you can easily imagine it being told by the very best of storytellers in Varric (from DA:2). In my version of events, Varric meets "The Hero" (my Elissa Cousland) in Kirkwall during the time period of DA:2. I mention this only so that readers can understand his connection along the way, and so I don't have to mention and rehash it again and again as I make my way through the tale.
A/N: Sorry for the unusual delay in updates (for me anyway)! As I noted I am traveling for the holidays and as such my time for writing/editing/posting is a bit more sporadic than it would normally be. It will continue to be a bit more spread out until I return home again in December. Fear not, I have not nor do I have any intention of abandoning my stories and will update as often as I can :-)
I know I gave you guys a bit of a cliffhanger with the last chapter, and I wrestled with this one a bit ultimately dividing it into this one (which will finish off the Blackmarsh) and another which is still in progress. Here's hoping it was worth the wait!
Muse Music: Stripped by Shiny Toy Guns (originally recorded by Depeche Mode).
Thanks to my readers, followers and reviewers! Love hearing from you guys! Special thanks to my Lady Beta artemiskat who was extra patient with my neurotic muse on this one:-)
Happy reading!
-Frayed One
Chapter Eleven: Theory of a Deadman
When Elissa and Anders emerged from the dead end, they both looked shaken and it was obvious that Elissa had been crying. Nathaniel attempted to stop her and ask what had happened, but was cut off by Anders before he could reach her.
"Let it go for now." Anders insisted, steadily holding the archer's eyes and making it clear it was not a request but a directive.
"Get out of my way, mage." Nathaniel growled, trying to step around him only to be cut off again when Anders shifted his weight to move back into his path.
"No. I'm not going to step aside and let you muck things up more than you already have. You did enough damage for the day with that little game you ran back in the forest." Anders hissed, glaring at him and refusing to move.
"Game? It wasn't a game." Nathaniel retorted, glaring back at him.
"Do you ever actually think with that thick head of yours, or are you content to go barreling through life like a bronto in a kitchen, smashing anything in your way in order to get at what you want?" Anders asked, rubbing at his face in frustration. "Do you know anything about The Fade at all? About what we are when we're here in this form?"
"Speak clearly and quickly. You already know I have very little patience for your rants." Nathaniel hissed, leaning in to menace him further.
"You should have waited a little longer to attempt to sate your decade of self-imposed celibacy, Nathaniel." Anders continued, shaking his head. "You should have waited for her to decide to come to you, instead of forcing this on her like you have."
"Forcing? I didn't force myself on her!" Nathaniel growled, shoving him hard against the soft dirt wall at his back. "I would never do that to Elissa! I would never do that to anyone!"
"I can see that I'm not explaining this clearly. Ugh… this is why non-mages should never be allowed to wander about in The Fade." Anders sighed, pushing the angry archer away and trying to continue. "What I'm saying is you should never have lain with her, not like this, not here on this plane."
"What? Why not?" Nathaniel asked, suddenly very confused and more than a little worried at the look on the other man's normally relaxed features. "Is it even real if we have sex here? Has it even actually happened?"
"Do you know what a soul is? Do you have a grasp on that concept?" Anders asked, wrinkling his brow.
"I'm not stupid, Anders. Get to the point." Nathaniel groused, narrowing his eyes.
"What you did, tumbling about on the ground in the imaginary forest, has merged yours with hers. They're all mixed in together now, linked… permanently." Anders explained, looking for more words as the archer seemed even more confused than he had been before.
"What are you saying?" Nathaniel asked, trying to understand – not certain he wanted to.
"I'm saying you've got what you wanted, in a twisted kind of way. Though it may not be what you bargained for." Anders said, watching the realization sink into the other man. "She's not happy about it. You've backed her into a corner, and from what I know about Elissa at this stage – that's never going to be a good thing."
Nathaniel stepped away then, trying to process his thoughts – to reach some kind of level area where he could attempt to make sense of what the mage had told him.
Elissa was going to be more furious than ever now, and when he thought about it – he realized she had every right to be. He should have fought harder to make her see that it was him and not a demon that came to her, and he knew that now. Regardless of how happy a part of him was to have joined himself to her in such a way, he also knew enough about their fragile relationship to understand that this could only make reconciliation more difficult to achieve.
She was a woman who didn't like having her options taken away. She didn't like being forced in any direction, regardless of whether she reached where she was ultimately supposed to be in the end. She tended to get frustrated and push back even more violently when pressured in such a way. Nathaniel had seen that time and time again in their youth, and saw hints of it even now in their adulthood. He could not have stacked the deck against him more strongly if he'd tried.
If he'd wanted to send her running right back into Alistair's arms, even if it was only to reclaim the freedom that he'd taken from her, then he was absolutely certain he'd done it.
Elissa trudged forward, up out of the crypt and into the graveyard within the walls of The Fade's version of the marsh village. She was happy that everyone in her traveling party seemed to have lapsed into silence. Whether it was from shock, drunkenness, fear of her mood or the simple desire not to speak to her at all – she didn't care. So long as her indiscretions in The Fade were never spoken of again, she'd be happy.
"Halt! Who enters the Blackmarsh?" a guardsman said, darting forward with sword in hand as the group emerged into the town square.
"We are Grey Wardens, trapped here with some sort of magic bomb." Elissa replied, searching for the words to offer some sort of explanation and hoping that would suffice.
"Trapped? Then you're no better than we are. Locked in this endless nightmare." the guardsman sighed, shaking his head. "We've been here so long, at her mercy. I've almost forgotten what it was like before."
"Her mercy? Do you mean The Mother?" Elissa asked, hoping that somehow - for once - it actually would turn out to be that simple.
"No. The Baroness? She hides away in her manor while we waste away outside." The guardsman explained, gesturing to the large crowd gathered in front of the manor's main gates. "There is a Spirit at the gates now. He claims he's come to free us. Perhaps you can help him and free yourselves in the process."
"It's the best shot we've got." Elissa shrugged, looking at the masses and picking out the spectral form of the one she guessed to be the Spirit to which the guardsman referred.
"The mansion will not protect you fiend! Come out and face your crime!" the Spirit cried, raising his fists as his voice boomed out over the anxious sea of faces behind him. He turned as Elissa and her companions worked their way to his side, inspecting their faces with his glowing eyes. "And who comes now? More minions of The Baroness or more helpless souls she has tormented?"
"I'm not exactly a helpless soul, but neither am I a friend of this Baroness." Elissa answered, trying to peer through the front gate and get a look at the manor inside.
"I am Justice. I have watched this place for a very long time and seethed at the wrongs visited on these poor folk." the Spirit explained, turning with her to eye the mansion. "Now I seek to aid them."
"We have to help these people. They're trapped here in this grey horrible world just like us." Sigrun said, grimacing as she looked across the sea of people and their age old torment. The perky dwarf had not been the same since whatever she had experienced upon their entry to the dream realm, and it was clear that this new dilemma was only wearing further on her already fragile resolve.
"I hate to say it, but if this Baroness trapped these people here – then she's probably our best option to get back out." Anders offered, shrugging his shoulders when the Spirit glared at him with its beady little eyes. "What? It's simple logic! It's not as if I'm supporting whatever she did to get them here."
"Tell me, stranger. Will you help us in this righteous task?" Justice asked, ignoring the mage in favor of the woman who seemed to be in charge. "The Baroness and her minions are powerful, but your group looks to be an able sort. Your aid would be most welcome."
"I need to find a way out of The Fade." Elissa explained, turning back from the gate to look at him. "Whether it's with the Baroness or through her, I don't particularly care at this point. So… if you can get us out, then by all means, let's storm the castle."
"Out of…" Justice said, confused for a moment before he realized that they were simply another group of mortals trapped within. "Ah, I see. You come from the realm of mortals, as these fine people once did. Was it the Baroness who brought you here as well?"
"No, my current nemesis is apparently calling herself The Mother… though, for all I know they could be one in the same." Elissa replied with a shrug.
"Then the injustice of your own situation underscores why these people must be avenged!" Justice insisted, stepping closer to her. "I do not know how to cross The Veil back into your world, and I will not lie and tell you otherwise. However, if you help us now, I promise you that I will help you search for the answers you require."
"Good enough for me." Elissa replied, pulling free her blades. "Just point us at whatever needs the killing."
"With your help, we have the strength we need to challenge the Baroness directly." Justice answered with a smile she could hear in his words.
"So, we're going to ice this foul cake by going to poke about at an evil sorceress?" Anders whispered, easing up beside her. "I don't think it's a very good idea to antagonize angry witches."
"Aw. I've antagonized plenty and I'm still here. Besides, can this really get worse?" Elissa smirked, watching him shake his head that she'd actually said those words.
"Why did you say that? Did you have to say that?" Anders sighed, pulling loose his staff as the rest of the masses started to arm themselves. "You may as well have said, hello in there angry witch person! Could you curse me with a second head or boils, perhaps a tail?"
"A tail might not be so bad. Is it prehensile? Could it swing a sword?" Elissa smirked, winking at him and trying to calm his nerves.
"You're a very disturbed individual. I hope you know that." Anders replied, unable to stop himself from laughing.
"There you go flirting again! Well hands off, my pretty mage! I've no more soul bits to share today." Elissa sighed, laughing at her misery as it was the only thing she could do.
"You keep your soul bits to yourself, Lady. I like mine just as it is, unburdened." Anders retorted, laughing back at her.
They powered forward through the gate after that. The mass of assembled bodies more than enough to crash through the supports once the Wardens added their heft to the bulk. The entire cavalcade came to a roaring angry mass just beneath the balcony where the Baroness and several Ash Wraiths stood waiting.
"My, my. All that shouting outside and now you've decided to come barging in without a proper invitation." The Baroness snipped, the lilt of her Orlesian accent dripping venom from every syllable.
"Foul sorceress! You will release these good folk and submit yourself to justice!" The Spirit bellowed, drawing an annoyed eye roll from Anders whom Elissa elbowed quickly in the side to keep him from adding to their troubles.
"Justice? Is that what you're calling this?" the Baroness sneered, folding her arms over her chest. "What then of their punishment? What shall you give them for burning my home to the ground and me in it!"
"You were stealing our children! Using their blood to power your foul spells and retain your youth!" one of the villagers cried out, inciting even more anger in the mob around them.
"Aaaand the Fade Spirit moves ahead of the insane blood mage! Who could have called it?" Elissa whispered to Anders, gladly taking the swat he gave her in response and sharing a subtle smile.
"It was my due! You lived on my land! Your blood was mine as your lives are now!" The Baroness bellowed, leaning forward to ensure her voice carried across the angry shouts of the crowd.
"Their blood was never yours! And their lives are yours no longer!" Nathaniel yelled, turning a stunned Elissa from her discussion with Anders to see how infuriated the entitled woman had made him. "Being a noble does not mean that you destroy the lives of those you're meant to protect!"
"Well something got stuck in his craw…" Anders quipped, watching the look in Elissa's eyes flicker slowly between awe and respect as she saw a side of the him she'd never seen before, a side that his father had probably worked very hard to destroy.
"What's this? These pathetic fools have managed to recruit more sympathizers?" The Baroness hissed, leaning down over the balcony and taking in Nathaniel with an appreciative eye. "Pretty… but hardly a concern."
"We are no longer alone!" the Spirit bellowed, bolstered by Nathaniel's passionate declaration. "Your reign ends here, Baroness!"
"Bravo, Spirit! Truly you've outdone yourself this time." The Baroness replied, mocking him with her applause as she motioned to the shadows where something stood awaiting her instructions. "But, as it happens, I am no longer alone either."
"My path across The Veil lies in victory over you, Warden-Commander." The First hissed, his milky stare seeking out and finding Elissa in the crowd, "Then, The Mother will pay for her treachery."
"Ah, so this is your Warden-Commander?" The Baroness questioned, inspecting Nathaniel even more closely after missing the look that her new companion tossed through the crowd. "I had no idea he'd be so… appetizing. I might just have to keep him for myself, if there's anything left once we're done here."
Nathaniel started to respond, fighting down both the urge to shoot an arrow right into her arrogant forehead along with an equally strong wave of revulsion at her obvious flirtation. The woman represented everything that was wrong with nobility, and everything that had consumed his own father. In this woman he saw a means to an end. A way to finally put his father to rest, and to end the control the man still seemed to wield in his life once and for all.
Before he could speak, he saw a blur of movement from the corner of his eye, and suddenly Elissa was standing in front of him. He could see the waves of fury radiating off of her, the tension in her body and the rapid pace of her breathing as she fought to contain her temper.
"You'll do no such thing, vile creature!" Elissa hissed, eyes narrowed to the point that Nathaniel could no longer discern their color.
"And who would you be to challenge me thus? Some admirer? I've no doubt a man such as that would have many." The Baroness replied, her grin stretching impossibly wide across her face and sending chills radiating out across Nathaniel's skin.
"I would be the Warden-Commander. The man you threaten is under my command and thus family to me. You will not touch him or any other under my care, and if your… pet… has allowed you to believe me such a pushover – then perhaps you should have chosen your allies more carefully." Elissa continued, pacing furiously as she glared up at The Baroness.
"I should have chosen you?" The Baroness snorted, toying with her jeweled necklace and looking down at her with disdain and passing a pointed gaze in Nathaniel's direction. "The touch of your soldier lingers on you even now. Call him what you will, but you are fooling no one."
"We must be ending this, now!" The First insisted, interrupting any further exchange between The Baroness and an infuriated Elissa, "The Warden-Commander, she is more dangerous than you know."
"Oh?" The Baroness responded, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "Fine then, slay them creature and you shall have the reward you requested." She mumbled, moving back to the doors to stay out of harm's way while sending her wraiths down into the fray. "Save the pretty one if at all possible… I have plans for him later…"
Nathaniel had seen Elissa fight many times before, but never like this. This time he could feel her fury coursing through him like fire in his veins. It seemed to intensify his own attacks – his fingers moving on his bow faster than he'd ever have thought possible. When Elissa sliced through the onslaught of demons on the way to where The Spirit stood facing off against The First, Nathaniel could feel his own heart rate increasing to pace with her own, though he stood relatively still next to Anders. He wasn't sure if it would continue outside of The Fade, but he knew that this new connection between them had everything to do with what had happened between them in the dreamscape of their lost childhood refuge.
As he watched, she decimated the forces that The Baroness had sent against them, working her way with Oghren and Sigrun up to where The Spirit stood with The First. When Elissa finally made it to where the creature stood, The Spirit had already managed to wear it down substantially, and with her added blades they quickly had it on its knees.
"The Warden-Commander and her forces are too much! Your demons are inferior!" The First hissed, glaring with its milky white eyes up to where The Baroness stood apart from the chaos. "You must be sending me back through The Veil. Now! Before it is too late!"
"Useless creature! Why haven't you defeated them?" The Baroness yelled, striding forward – both furious and frightened by the superior skill of the intruders. "You are a fool, but I will hold my word! I will sunder The Veil and I will send them all away from this place. But you… I will use your worthless life to provide the power!"
"No, no!" The First cried, pushing to its feet and attempting to scramble away from the point of Elissa's blade and out of the range of The Baroness' spell.
For a moment, Elissa thought he might make it as she watched him breach the gates of the Manor grounds and round the corner into the village beyond. A few moments later she saw its body go rigid as tendrils of green mist wrapped their way around its limbs dragging the creature back wailing through the gates. It hung there for a moment, suspended in the air as the life siphoned out of it to power the witch's spell.
She was chanting up on the balcony now and Elissa could feel reality beginning to shift around her as her soul was directed back out of The Fade and into her body where it lay curled somewhere in the muck of the Blackmarsh.
Nathaniel awoke much as he lost consciousness, tense and ready to fight. His hands went instinctively to his bow, but he found himself unable to reach it as he lay pinned to the muddy ground of the Blackmarsh. When he reached down to free himself, he found Elissa's dead weight pressing into his side and remembered having run to try and shield her from the blast just before they had all been sucked into The Fade.
She was still unconscious, though Nathaniel could hear and make out the motion of the others recovering around him. He shifted his weight, rolling them over so that he could brush the dirt and curls of loose hair that had fallen into Elissa's face aside and try to check her for any signs of distress. As he touched her cheek, she started to stir – eyes fluttering open slowly as she muttered something about filthy blood mages and struggled to sit upright.
"Give yourself a second to adjust before you try and stand." Nathaniel encouraged, applying light pressure to her abdomen with his free arm in an attempt to keep her still.
"Mmm… Nathaniel?" Elissa questioned, eyes finally focusing in enough to make out his face – to focus in on his eyes and see all that lay within them.
Seeing that brought back the memory of what had happened in The Fade, and suddenly the warmth of his body against hers, the muscles of his arms wrapped around her, the way his thumb stroked a gentle pattern against the side of her armor covered stomach was just too much to bear. She shoved him back violently, digging her feet and hands into the soft earth and shuffling back away from him – cringing against a nearby rock and trying to even the frantic pace of her breathing.
Beside her Oghren lurched forward and spilled the contents of his stomach onto the damp earth. She wondered if it was his flask that had brought it on until Sigrun followed behind him, making it obvious that traversing The Fade was difficult for the dwarves who did not even enter there in their dreams.
"Are they alright?" Elissa asked, pulling herself up onto her knees and focusing her energy on Anders and not Nathaniel who stared at her with his angry wounded eyes.
"Seems to be simple nausea, so far as I can tell." Anders replied, standing up from his inspection of Oghren before moving to check in on Sigrun. "It should pass in time."
Elissa started to respond, pulling herself up to her feet and trying to gather her focus and her belongings while resolutely avoiding Nathaniel's steely gaze. It was then that she thought she saw Kristoff's corpse twitch slightly.
"Did the dead guy just move?" Sigrun asked, burping again as she tried to stand in spite of the lingering after effects of her trip into The Fade.
"Surely not!" Anders whispered, edging back from the body and behind Elissa and Nathaniel who had moved forward to inspect it just in case.
As Elissa reached her fingers out toward the fallen Warden's shoulder, the body shuddered violently, a bright blue light pouring out of what appeared to be cracks in the flesh itself. She flinched back, falling momentarily into the curve of Nathaniel's body, though she drew away again as soon as she caught his eyes.
"Want I should bash its brains in?" Oghren asked, starting to pull loose his battle-axe.
"Not yet… I've seen light like that before…" Elissa replied, remembering Wynne's Fade spirit and how the elder mage would glow whenever it made its presence known. "Spirit of Justice? Am I correct when I assume that's you in our fallen comrade's body?"
"The witch… she sundered The Veil in her haste. It sucked all of us through. It has… trapped me in this body." The Spirit answered, moving its new body popping and creaking from the effects of rigor mortis, to a lurching stand. "And she… she has returned to this realm as well… Can you not sense it? She is nearby."
"My ability to track by feeling is limited to those bearing the taint I'm afraid." Elissa replied, turning her eyes over to a horrified looking Anders. "What about you? Can you detect anything?"
"There's something here, and it's powerful. I'd wager crazy old blood mage would fit that bill." Anders replied, trying to get a sense of which direction they might find her in.
"Well, we've defeated her pets already, and likely would have ended her miserable existence had she not shot us all back out into the muck." Elissa said, shouldering her pack and moving off down the hill in the direction of the Manor. "I'm fairly certain taking her out here on our own turf won't be a problem."
"You should not be so quick to assume victory." The Spirit insisted, staggering up to her side and forcing himself to be acknowledged. "The Baroness, she is no longer a mortal as you are. She has… evolved."
"Evolved? What do you mean, evolved?" Anders hissed, glaring at the animated corpse through suspicious eyes. "If you mean she's a demon, I'm pretty sure we've all figured that one out. And to be here she'll have to have possessed a body, much like you did."
"I am no demon! I have taken possession of nothing!" The Spirit retaliated, furious at the accusations leveled in his direction. "I do not know how or why I ended up in this body, but I assure you that it was not by choice."
"Boys!" Elissa yelled, rounding back on them and bringing the entire party to a standstill. "I've a raging headache, among other things, from our little Fade nap, we've a demon of some sort waiting about somewhere in the ruins of the old village below, and there are also these lovely bits to be dealt with." she continued, gesturing to what appeared to be a great gaping hole in the air from which streaming tendrils of Fade energy rippled into the real world. "Let's try to keep the arguing to a minimum until we've managed to survive, or whatever it is that reanimated corpses do, shall we?"
"This isn't good, Elissa." Anders muttered, lingering close enough to one of the tears to feel the waves of energy seeping out of it. "We've got to get these tears closed otherwise they're just going to keep pumping demons and Maker only knows what else out into the world."
"Well, obviously I agree. Does anyone other than me have experience sealing these rifts in The Veil?" Elissa asked, inspecting the group and hoping at least Anders or perhaps The Fade Spirit would know something, but no one replied. "Alright then. I had to assist in closing some similar distortions in the basement of the Circle Tower following Uldred's revolt. The key here is you, Anders." Elissa explained, pulling free her swords and shaking out her shoulders to loosen the muscles. "You have to channel as much energy into the thing as you can manage. Pick your most powerful spell and just dump it in until it seals itself shut. Don't worry about anything else, simply focus on that and that only." Certain that Anders now understood his task, she turned to Oghren, "Oghren, you and Nathaniel will be responsible for keeping anything that gets past myself, The Spirit and Sigrun from interfering with Anders."
"What do you mean anything? What's going to come out of there?" Nathaniel asked, tugging free his bow and preparing an arrow as he rounded to Anders' side, watching Oghren take his spot in front of them.
"Honestly… I've no idea." Elissa replied, still hesitant to meet his eyes though she kept her tone as neutral as possible when speaking to him. "In the tower it was minor Shades and the occasional Rage Demon. Here, it could be anything. This marsh is so damaged, any manner of beastie could come out of there."
"I can alter our weapons for a time to repel entities from The Fade. It should help us to fight back anything emerging from the rifts, and might even help to seal them if we are able to get within range." The Spirit offered, and Elissa nodded her approval, watching as her weapons took on a faint blue glow.
"Alright, Anders. Whenever you're ready." Elissa said, bouncing lightly from heel to heel just outside the first rift they'd encountered.
Behind her, Anders took in a deep breath and expelled a massive torrent of lightning straight into the tear. The enraged howls of demons began to echo out from inside it the longer he cast.
"Get ready!" Elissa cried out, hearing the sound peak as whatever lingered inside drew closer.
A moment later three mid level Shades emerged, setting immediately upon The Spirit and the two rogues standing just outside. They looked so much like the generic Shades she had always encountered, Elissa made the mistake of treating them as though they were no true threat to her. It was a mistake she paid for quickly when two of the three converged on her and pressed her off to the side while The Spirit and Sigrun dealt with the third.
She started to feel concerned when she realized that even the blows she was landing were doing little damage to the Shades incorporeal bodies, even with The Spirit's added magics. Realizing that their heads and beady eyes were most likely to be their weak points, she tried to shift her attacks but had a hard time landing anything as she was spending most of her time defending against the swipes of the one she was not focused upon.
Out of nowhere she heard the whistle of air as something zipped right past her ear and into what she supposed was the eye socket of the Shade to her right. It dissipated into a puff of energy soon after, the arrow that had killed it clattering to the ground with a hollow tap. She flicked her eyes over to Nathaniel for a moment, equal parts impressed with that shot and annoyed that he'd chosen to ignore her directive yet again, before turning back to finish off what was now the last remaining entity.
As the final Shade fell under the collective efforts of herself, The Spirit and Sigrun, the rift finally sealed itself shut with an audible hiss. Elissa saw Anders stumbling as he let the spell die, and rushed forward to steady him against her shoulder just before he hit the ground.
"Easy." Elissa said, reaching into her pack and handing him a lyrium potion.
"Tell me there aren't many more of those things." Anders whispered, his whole body trembling as he sucked down the entire contents of the bottle in one swallow.
"I can sense perhaps four others." The Spirit explained, his dead eyes staring out over the expanse of the marsh and seeing what the living could not. "I shall lead us past them on approach to The Baroness."
Elissa nodded, wrapping Anders arm around her shoulders and helping him to move forward through the marsh.
By the time they reached the ruins of the old village, Anders was completely drained and half addled from the lyrium potions he'd ingested to seal the remaining rifts. The Spirit had pointed out The Baroness' waif like silhouette pacing around in the mist just ahead of them, and so Elissa plopped Anders down on what had once been a flower-box and moved over to speak with Nathaniel.
"You are to stay here and guard Anders." Elissa explained, staring ahead as she dumped her pack and anything unnecessary onto the ground at her side.
"What? Absolutely not." Nathaniel snipped, lowering his voice to a whisper when she glared at him after tilting her head slightly to indicate she did not want Anders to overhear. "I heard the ghoul explaining how bad this was likely to be, and if it's worse than those Shades that came pouring out of the rifts, then you're going to need me."
"If what The Spirit says is true, then she's very likely been inhabited by a Pride Demon or become one, or whatever it is that happened to her. Either way, I've faced and killed several of the things already. Getting through their skin is like chipping through granite. Your arrows will do nothing to harm her." Elissa continued, annoyed that she was having to put this much effort to giving a simple order. Anyone else would simply do as they'd been told. "There is one weak point, and that's the eyes. On a Pride Demon that's a miniscule target, even for you."
"Those Shades didn't have large eyes and I popped one of them out right over your shoulder without touching a hair on your head." Nathaniel hissed, challenging her doubt in his skill level. "I don't see why hitting this would be any more difficult."
"Why couldn't you have decided to stand up for yourself and stop taking orders years ago when it was actually beneficial to either of us?" Elissa sighed, covering her face with her hands and blowing a huge breath out in frustration, yanking them down only to glare at the obstinate man in front of her. "Why must the only orders you ever decide to question be the ones that I give you?"
"That's not fair…" Nathaniel began, his temper rising as she brought up the topic of his father and their past once again.
"I don't have time to argue semantics with you right now, Nathaniel." Elissa hissed, stepping forward and glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "Anders is drained and addled and completely vulnerable in that state. I will not leave him here defenseless, and you are the only one of us who can defend him and still attack from range if you see an opportunity. If you see a shot, take it… otherwise shut up, stay put, and do as you are instructed!"
"Yes, Commander." Nathaniel replied, barely able to control the full boil of his rage as she stormed away from him and gathered the others to make their approach on The Baroness.
"Am I right to assume that horrible woman is most likely a Pride Demon by now?" Elissa asked, subtly tracing her blades through an open wound on her right arm and releasing the toxic properties of her blood onto the steel.
"That would be most likely." The Spirit responded, following her eyes over to the still pacing woman in the ruins ahead.
"I suppose it would have been too much to expect this to be easy." Elissa sighed, turning to her remaining trio to issue instructions. "Spirit, as the body you currently inhabit is familiar with the tactics of a sword and board warrior, I trust that you can manage keeping most of her attention focused on you."
"I have accessed many of the memories of this vessel, and it would appear that I have many techniques with which to enrage and defend." The Spirit replied, pulling loose the griffon emblazoned shield from his back.
"Excellent. Anything you can manage as far as Fade repelling magics would also be appreciated, but don't spread yourself too thin. I am counting on you to keep her attention as much as possible while the rest of us wear her down." Elissa replied, turning to Oghren who sipped heavily from his hip flask before offering her a pull. "Oggie, my love, this is where we finally put those brute skills of yours to the test. This thing's skin will be just as hard if not harder than the ones we have faced in the past. Hack through anything you can reach, but do not call on your Reaper or Berserker abilities unless absolutely necessary. Anders is out of commission this fight and none of us will be able to heal you if you bleed yourself dry to fuel your rage."
"Aye Commander. I'll kneecap the bitch to the best of my abilities. Well, to the best of my abilities that don't involve me passing out from blood loss." Oghren smirked, catching the flask she tossed back and anchoring it at his hip once again.
"Sigrun, you and I will work on disabling as many joints as possible. Treat her like a golem, imagine there are weak points in the body and exploit them as best you can. If we can disable an arm or leg in any way, it will greatly help our cause." Elissa explained, watching the tiny woman nod with a smile. "Whichever one of us sees the opportunity should make an attempt to climb up and have a go at the eyes. If you see that window, call out to Oghren and he'll give you the leverage you need."
"Never a dull moment with you, Commander." Sigrun smiled, whipping out her own blades and twirling them fondly in her hands. "Wait 'til I tell Kardol you had me scaling a Pride Demon to pop out its eyes!"
"I think that's worth at least two pints at Tapsters." Elissa laughed, taking in one last breath before moving the company forward.
The Baroness paced restlessly in the broken landscape of what had once been a thriving village seated deep in the Blackmarsh. She seemed almost perplexed by how much time had passed since she'd dumped herself and everyone around her into The Fade, and for a moment Elissa almost felt sorry for the woman as she watched sadness and loss flicker across her face.
"It seems that all things wither in time." the woman mumbled, reaching out her fingers to trace the decaying remnants of a nearby house. "How sad to return only to find there is nothing left to reclaim."
"You tore the very world asunder when you left, and then again when you returned." The Spirit chastised, emerging first from the shadows of the nearby ruins. "To expect that the land itself would not suffer is foolish."
"Ah, it seems I was not the only one to be drawn here." The Baroness responded, turning to address The Spirit and watching through narrowed eyes as Elissa and the dwarves emerged behind him. "How very... tiresome."
"I agree." Elissa retorted, twirling her swords lazily in her hands. "I've had a rather long day already myself, and was hoping to be done with your horrible swamp. Yet, here I am cleaning up your mess and dealing with you… again."
"You. I had hoped you'd have been ripped apart by the transition." The Baroness sneered, sniffing and looking down her nose at Elissa.
"We Fereldens are a hearty sort." Elissa replied with a low chuckle. "I can't believe that Orlais isn't sharing that information readily at this point, as many times as we've forced you to acknowledge it."
"That creature may have been useless, but it was right. You are a fantastically arrogant little thing, aren't you?" The Baroness laughed, strolling closer to Elissa with a menacing grin on her face. "Tell me, where is your pretty friend? Did he make it through The Void unscathed?"
"Sadly he couldn't make it, other urgent matters required his attention." Elissa tsked, shaking her head. "He sends his regards though, and a gift. Come a little closer and tilt back your head and I shall give it to you right now if you like. Just a little prick and it will all be over."
"I'm going to enjoy shutting that smart mouth of yours while he watches from wherever you've hidden him." The Baroness cackled, her eyes searching the shadows for a sign of movement. "You and I both know he's here, and nearby I'd wager. He seemed disinclined to let you stray too far from his side."
"I think I'm rather done with the witty banter portion of this encounter, if you don't mind." Elissa yawned, beginning to advance on the woman. "So go ahead and call upon your demon or cut yourself and chant or whatever it is that you lunatic blood mages do so we can get on with it."
"Silly child. I do not congress with demons, I control them, just as I shall control you and everyone you care for – starting with that handsome lover of yours tucked away in the shadows." The Baroness cackled as her skin started to break open allowing swaths of green light to shimmer out into the night air. "Soon, I will be The Queen that this world deserves, and I shall give you the honor of being my first subject."
Elissa backed away as The Baroness pushed through the main force of her transformation, listening to the shrieks and screams as her body twisted and tore and grew boundlessly into a creature unlike anything she had ever seen. Though she resembled a Pride Demon, it became clear to all of them quickly that she was far more powerful than anything their previous experiences had allowed them.
Oghren and Sigrun worked at her lower limbs as best they could while avoiding the occasional swipes from her long clawed arms while The Spirit taunted and prodded to keep her focus.
"It's like trying to saw through stone with water!" Oghren bellowed, panting hard from exertion. "No matter how much I chip away I can't get any closer to the gooey chocolate center!'
"I know. I've got to get to the head, Oghren. It's our only chance." Elissa yelled, watching the stout man nod and crouch to the ground so that she could launch herself up onto the thing's back.
The very skin of the creature was like razors, cutting into Elissa's armor and the flesh beneath it as though it was nothing more than damp paper. She screamed and moaned but grappled herself to the top, trying to get a read on the eyes as the mountainous thing bumbled about beneath her.
"Damn it!" Elissa hissed, unable to make out a target as the creature flailed its head around angrily.
She looked up but could not make Nathaniel out in the shadows to call in a shot, if he even had one to make.
Nathaniel. Can you hear me? Shoot now. If you've any hope of a shot, then take it! Elissa pushed out with her mind, hoping that somehow this horrible mistake they had made in The Fade would come to some good back in reality.
Seconds ticked by, and she started to panic, feeling the blood dripping down her hands from the climb, barely able to grip her swords anymore. Then, just as she'd given in, she had her answer.
Lean back now! Nathaniel's voice echoed in her mind and she obeyed without thinking, arching herself back into the air and locking her legs hard against the creature's body though it shredded through her armor and into the flesh beneath it. She heard one pop then another echo through the night air, followed by the horrific screams of The Baroness and the creature all tangled together. When she leaned back up, she saw the points of Nathaniel's arrows where they'd come through the creature's eye sockets and out the back of her skull just enough to have penetrated her abdomen as well had she remained in her previous position.
The creature was enraged now, flailing madly at Elissa and trying to shake her off. She tossed her swords to the ground, reaching around to rub her hands across the open holes of the creature's eyes, dripping the toxic blood down deep into the wounds where it would damage and decay. This seemed to infuriate the thing even more, and as Elissa pulled loose her dagger from her thigh, it made contact with her calves with long clawed fingers, shredding armor and flesh and making purchase against bone.
Elissa screamed out in anguish as she drove her dagger again and again against the top of the carapace of the creature's head, working with the aid of her acidic blood to eat through and give her access to the soft brain matter inside. Eventually she felt the hard shell give way, and mustered all of the energy she had left to slam the blade home, twisting it several times until the screams stopped and the massive body lumbered forward and dropped to the ground.
As it dropped, it slung Elissa loose, and she flopped to the ground in a rapidly growing pool of her own blood. She could see the others rushing in to aid her, and forced herself to stifle her own screams long enough to warn them back.
"D-don't touch me…" Elissa hissed, drawing back from all who reached out for her and holding Nathaniel's eyes briefly when she saw him dash forward with Anders at his side. "The blood, it's toxic… I'm too weak to stop the effects now. I can't… I can't…"
"Do something mage!" Nathaniel growled, shoving the man forward so hard he stumbled and nearly landed with his hands in the pool of blood at Elissa's side.
"I-I can't… my mana pool is completely drained. There's nothing left." Anders replied, meeting Elissa's eyes long enough for her to see his distress and him to see her pain.
"Then drink another lyrium potion and replenish yourself! Here! I've got three!" Nathaniel insisted, tossing them to the ground beside him.
"Nathaniel, can't you see he's had too many already?" Sigrun said, speaking softly as she moved to his side and laid a comforting hand on his arm. "Any more will likely just knock him out if it doesn't kill him."
"Maker, Elissa… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Anders sobbed, his voice breaking as he realized she was going to bleed out right here in front of them and there was nothing any of them could do about it.
She groaned, pulling a vial from the front of her armor and tossing it out on the ground at Nathaniel's feet. He reached to pick it up, careful to avoid her blood as he inspected the contents.
"It's the Quiet Death." Sigrun said, answering the question for him and reaching for the vial. "Here, give it to me. I'll do it."
"No. No one will do it!" Nathaniel replied, yanking the vial away from Sigrun's fingers. "You're not going to die, Elissa. We will find a way to…"
"We have one healer, and he's out of commission. Bandages aren't going to do any good and there is no where you can travel in time to bring back aid. I am dying, Nathaniel… and you are letting me suffer." Elissa muttered, falling back against the ground as another wave of pain shot through her tortured limbs. "Give it to Sigrun if you cannot find it in yourself to grant me this mercy."
She watched him shake his head again, and fell back against the ground with a sob, pressing her eyes closed and allowing the tears to fall as she braced herself to deal with the painful death ahead.
"If you love her, give me the vial." Sigrun plead, tugging at his arm until he capitulated – letting the muscles in his hand go slack to release the poison inside.
"Oghren…" Elissa moaned, opening her eyes when she heard Sigrun dropping to the ground beside her head. "There are letters in my desk back at The Keep for the First Warden, Fergus and Alistair. Make sure they are delivered… make sure…"
"You don't have to say any more, Commander. I'll see it done or die trying." Oghren assured her, nodding his head.
Elissa took in a long shuddering breath, broken by a pained moan as she met Nathaniel's eyes one more time before he forced himself to look away.
"Do it." Elissa said, looking to Sigrun who nodded and dipped in with her sharp little blade.
"Wait!" The Spirit called, striding forward and stopping her strike – pulling all eyes back in his direction. "Stand mage and prepare to cast your strongest mending magics."
"I've already told you I have nothing left!" Anders yelled, wiping at his nose as he stood in anger. "That hasn't changed in the last thirty seconds!'
"I will use my life force to supply the spell. It is not justice for your Commander to die this way. I will not see this done if I can prevent it." The Spirit said, tugging a reluctant Anders to his side and pressing his decaying palm against his chest. "Cast now!"
Anders sighed, but did as he was told, focusing all of his energy on the largest heal in his arsenal. At first nothing happened, and he sobbed again, fighting the urge to collapse to the ground as a massive burst of pure energy surged out of the dead Warden's body and into his own – surrounding them both with a bright blue glow. Seconds later the warmth of his healing spell was pouring over Elissa, mending flesh and bone together and sealing off the bleeding vessels. He could see the look on her face change from one of suffering to one of wonder as the spell tapered off, leaving her fully able to sit up and stand without pain.
"What did you do?" Anders asked, watching the decaying body step back from him in awe.
"I offered a bit of myself to save another." The Spirit replied, watching as the others moved closer to their rejuvenated leader. "I just needed a medium to channel the spell. I have no healing magics of my own."
"If you knew you could do that all along, then why make us go through the torture of thinking we would lose her!" Nathaniel growled, and Elissa could see he'd been crying though he'd wiped away all evidence before facing her again.
"I should not interfere in the affairs of the mortal world. If it was her time to die, then that is as it should be." The Spirit replied with a shrug and a blank stare.
"But you changed your mind?" Elissa asked, moving forward slowly to a basin of rainwater and washing the remaining blood from her body.
"Yes." The Spirit replied.
"May I ask why?" Elissa questioned, retrieving her blades and wiping them clean before sheathing them in the appropriate spots.
"You willingly sacrificed yourself to bring The Baroness down, and you did not have to. I have searched the memories of this body extensively. Your order is meant to protect from blights and darkspawn, and that woman was neither." The Spirit explained, holding her eyes steadily. "I also found within this man's memories a record of many other occasions when your company has done the same in other places. It seemed unjust to lose such a stalwart defender of what is good in this world, when I could easily prevent it."
"The darkspawn are what Grey Wardens are built to fight, but I have found it difficult to remain so singularly focused when there are so many other things running unchecked into the world." Elissa responded, tilting her head to the side curiously as she lost herself in the memory of another time. "One of my former companions used to chastise me constantly for wasting our time plucking kittens from trees…"
"I do not understand your metaphor. It seems yet another in a long list of things that I do not understand about this world. I know nothing about this place save the few memories of this Grey Warden which I can draw upon." The Spirit replied, passing his eyes over the landscape around him for the first time. "I do not wish to die, but neither do I know where to go from here."
"Join us." Elissa said, listening to the scattered responses of her other companions and ignoring them. "The body you inhabit belonged to one of my men. I will gladly add your skill to our group until such time as I can speak to some of my friends and discover a way to return you to The Fade where you belong."
"It was darkspawn who murdered this man, most ignobly, and those who commanded it yet live. To avenge his death… to fight with you against the injustice in this world… that would be a purpose." The Spirit responded, its glowing eyes fixed to Elissa's once again. "Very well, I will join you, Commander."
"Should I call you Kristoff then?" Elissa asked, trying to gather the group and move them out of the marsh again.
"That is not my name. I have no name, only a virtue to which I aspire. If I am to need a name, then call me Justice." The Spirit responded, and Elissa laughed a little remembering that Wynne's Fade companion had referred to itself in much the same way, though it had chosen Faith as its tenet.
"Justice it is." Elissa replied with a smile, starting to move back out of the rear gates and toward the part of the marsh where their horses were waiting.
"Um… Commander… are you sure you're feeling alright?" Sigrun asked, and Elissa took in a deep breath as she turned around preparing herself to defend her reasoning in recruiting a walking corpse into their company.
"Yes, Sigrun. Whatever Justice and Anders did patched me right up. I'm simply anxious to get back to The Keep and have a proper bath and a good night's sleep." Elissa replied, tucking several loose strands of hair behind her ears and trying to be as patient as possible.
"Oh, yes, me too… it's just that your blood… well…" Sigrun continued, shifting slightly in the face of Elissa's rising temper as though she wasn't quite sure what to say. "It's eating into the ground."
"It seems to have, urm…" Anders added with a half retch, pressing his hand to his mouth. "…melted off most of The Baroness' face as well."
"Ah… that. Yes, I… I mixed a toxin into my wounds when I realized I was unlikely to survive our battle in the hopes that it would do what I could not." Elissa muttered, clearing her throat and praying they bought the explanation for the time being. "It can be rather intense in large quantities, and I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job of thinning it in my panic."
Everyone seemed to accept her explanation at face value, save Oghren who already knew what she had done during The Blight and the changes it continued to bring forth in her even now. She paced off to the front of the group, moving as quickly as possible through the remaining paths to where she and Nathaniel had anchored the horses.
"Even if I couldn't read it in your mannerisms, what we did in The Fade has made it impossible for you to lie to me now, Elissa." Nathaniel said, falling into pace at her side. "Whatever you unleashed back there had nothing to do with any poison making I've ever seen."
"Perhaps I've seen some things you have not." Elissa replied, refusing to meet his eyes as she pushed her legs even harder, attempting to outpace him and end the conversation.
"Stop lying!" Nathaniel hissed, his long legs easily keeping him at her side as he reached out to snag her arm and bring her to a standstill "I can make out enough of your thoughts to know that's exactly what's going on."
"Stay out of my head!" Elissa yelled, snatching her arm away from him and making mental note to work on shielding her thoughts in the future.
"It seemed perfectly alright for you to come charging into mine when you wanted something earlier?" Nathaniel replied, laughing harshly beside her.
"That was different. I wasn't spying on your personal thoughts." Elissa retorted, snorting at him.
"You wouldn't have to. You know everything there is to know. I hold nothing back from you." Nathaniel replied, and she could see that he meant it.
"Well perhaps you should. And either way, I don't want you in my head… I don't want you in my anything…" Elissa muttered, rubbing at the bridge of her nose and kicking a clod of dirt out of the path in front of her.
"It's a little late for that, I'm afraid." Nathaniel responded, watching as she stalked ahead of him and allowing it. "We're going to have to talk about this sometime, Elissa. You know it as well as I do."