Chapter 34 – Many Happy Returns
They were back.
Alyx took a quick inventory of her body and breathed a sigh of relief as she established she had returned to real world whole and unharmed. She had never felt so grateful to be in her own skin again…well, except for that last incident in the fade…and the time before that now that she thought about it. Apparently that whole thing about only mages being able to consciously traverse the fade didn't apply to her.
Her companions slowly began to wake around her, groaning and yawning as they regained consciousness. She glanced over to see Anders still curled into a ball on his side, looking peaceful and innocent as soft snores escaped his lips. Alyx's smile widened.
"Wake up," she called softly as she shook his arm.
Anders' brows drew together as he mumbled something that sounded a lot like "give me another bloody ten minutes," before he began snoring again. Alyx tried again, only to have her hand swatted away.
"Wake up you imbecile!" Nate growled as he kicked Anders in the leg.
The mage shot straight up, his head turning in wild circles as he searched for the reason for his rude awakening. When his gaze landed on Nathaniel he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Oh, it's you," he grumbled.
"Thank you ever so much for joining us, sleeping beauty. You're welcome by the way…unless you wanted us to leave you napping on the damp, hard ground, in which case I would be happy to oblige," Nate replied lightly.
Alyx rolled her eyes, but she secretly smiled. Anders and Nate's bickering had lost some of its edge over the past few days. She didn't know what had transpired between them, but it seemed that they were able to work past their differences. She didn't know how long it would last, but for the present she could be grateful for the return of their light-hearted banter.
"Uh, Commander…" Sigrun called. "We may have a problem."
"What? What are you talking about?" Alyx asked as she turned to face the dwarf.
"Kristoff…"she said, pointing over Alyx's shoulder, her eyes going wide in shock.
Alyx turned just in time to see Kristoff's corpse fumble to its feet. She drew her weapon, but fell back in surprise when it began to speak.
"No, this cannot be happening!" the corpse rasped, a look of utter disgust passing over its sunken face. "A mortal body…and in the mortal world. It cannot be!"
"The spirit of Justice?" Alyx gasped as she sheathed her weapon. "How did you get here?"
"The witch sundered the veil in her haste. All of us were drawn through," the spirit growled.
"All of us…you mean she is here as well?" Anders asked.
Justice nodded.
"Can you not feel it? The Baroness is nearby."
"How is this possible? Isn't she dead, just as all the others were?" Alyx asked.
"You misunderstand. The Baroness, she is not a mortal as you are, or as were the villagers she kept trapped. There was such a mortal once but now…there is a demon of pride."
"Wouldn't she have to possess a body? Like…you seemed to have done?" Alyx asked, faltering over her last words. She didn't want to offend this…well, whatever he was, after all.
"I do not know why I am in this body. It was not my choice, I assure you," the spirit of Justice snapped. "The veil is sundered, and the tears must be closed lest they continue to spill demons out into this world."
"Great…and how do you suggest we do that?" Anders asked.
"I can alter your weapons for a time, allowing them to drive back the Fade's magic…but if we are to deal with the Baroness, we must move swiftly," he said as he struck a fist into the palm of his hand to punctuate his words.
"Right, let's get going then," Alyx said with a gesture of her head.
Closing the tears ended up being a great deal more difficult than Alyx had anticipated. Not only did they have to fight back the magic that created each portal, but the spirits that had already begun to take advantage of the free pass into the mortal realm. By the time they'd closed the last tear, they were all exhausted.
"Come. We must still face the Baroness," Justice called as he pressed on towards the village.
"Give us a moment to catch our breath, spirit," Alyx said as she sat heavily on a moss-covered log.
"I…do not understand," Justice answered as he turned to shoot her a confused look. "What do you mean by catching your breath? And once caught, what does one do with it? From what I understand, holding on to ones breath is detrimental to a mortal body."
"I meant that we need to rest," Alyx replied.
"Oh…I still do not understand," Justice said.
Alyx sighed.
"There are several basic elements a living, mortal body needs in order to function," Anders supplied. "Food, water and rest are amongst these essentials…then of course if you ask any red-blooded man another basic need would be se—"
Alyx cleared her throat and shook her head at Anders.
"Right, never mind," he said with a sheepish smile and a blush.
"You cannot face the Baroness alone, and we cannot possibly hope to stop her until we've regained our strength. Does that make sense?" Alyx asked him.
"I believe it is beginning to," Justice said carefully. "But make haste regaining your strength. I can sense the Baroness nearby, and she will not stay here for long."
"Fine. Are we ready?" Alyx snapped.
The others nodded, though she could see that they were not as rested as she would like them to be. A tick of annoyance flared up in her chest. By the time they found the Baroness standing outside the gates of her ruined estate, Alyx was in a temper.
"So this is the world of the mortals?" the woman said without turning around to look at them. "How very dull it seems, so immutable and unchanging."
"Then perhaps you should never have left the fade, demon," Alyx spat.
The baroness turned and eyed Alyx arrogantly.
"I had no idea I could enter the mortal world this way. Had I known—ah, but I am here now, yes? And it seems that I was not the only one to be drawn here. How tiresome," she continued as she glared at Justice.
"We will have an end to this, witch," Justice said as he raised his sword.
The Baroness let out a long, evil laugh that made Alyx's teeth grind together painfully. She had just about enough of this evil bitch.
"You cannot stop me, none of you can! Soon I will be the queen this world deserves, and you—"
Without a word Alyx drew her blades and lopped off the Baronesses head. It rolled across the ground to stop at Justice's feet, her lifeless body dropping a second later with a soft thud.
"It's always the same. I'm going to take over the world…yada, yada, yada…you will rue the day you ever thought to cross me, blah, blah, blah. Just once I wish they would spare me the details!" Alyx spat as she wiped her blades clean and placed them back in their holsters.
"That was awesome!" Sigrun crowed.
"And so it is done. I must admit I did not think that it would be so easy to dispose of her," Justice said, perplexed.
"Perhaps it wouldn't have been had I given her a chance to show her true colors, but really, why should I?" Alyx replied.
"I…cannot answer that mortal," Justice said.
"It was a rhetorical question, spirit," Anders replied.
"I do not understand," Justice said after a moment to consider the mage's words.
"It's alright, Justice. No one expects you to," Alyx said with a sigh. "What I'd like to know is what you plan to do now that the Baroness has been defeated."
"I…am at a loss," Justice replied. "I know nothing of this world and have only a few memories of this Kristoff's to draw from. Perhaps you could advise me?"
"You know nothing of this world? Nothing at all?" Alyx asked in surprise.
"The demons seek out the dreamers, those mortals that come to the fade, and they draw sustenance from their memories. My kind has no such compulsion. We feel sorry for you mortals, trapped as you are in this dismal place. But now I am trapped as well…alas."
"Hey, most of us 'mortals' happen to like this world," Anders snapped. "Don't knock it 'till you know it."
"Have I offended?" Justice asked, looking to Alyx for help.
"Don't pay any attention to him," she said in exasperation. "Just…are you sure there is no way for you to return to the fade?"
"None that I know of," Justice said forlornly. "Please, mortal…I do not wish to die. You are of this world, surely you can give me some purpose, some goal until I am able to find a way back through the veil."
"Hmmm," Alyx began, eyeing him thoughtfully. "The body you inhabit was a man named Kristoff. He was a grey warden, as are we. If you wish you could join us."
"You mean continue this mortal's mission?" Justice asked, his head tilting to the side in thought. "Grey Wardens fight the darkspawn do they not? And it was a darkspawn who murdered this mortal most ignobly…and the ones that commanded it yet live. To avenge his death…yes, that would be a purpose. Very well. I will join your cause, if you will allow it."
"Are you sure that it wise, Commander? I mean, he's a walking, talking corpse, for Maker's sake!" Anders hissed in her ear.
"Sparkles here has a point," Oghren said. "And I didn't want te say anything, but he is smellin' kinda ripe," he added in a stage whisper.
"Oh, that's just brilliant coming from you, my smelly little friend," Anders replied sarcastically.
"He has nowhere else to go, and we could hardly do worse than to have the spirit of Justice on our side," Nate added, causing both Anders and Oghren to glare at him.
"I agree," she whispered back.
"Is there something wrong?" Justice asked, wringing his hands in a very human-like fashion.
"Not at all. You are welcome to join us…umm, what should we call you exactly?"
"I have no name, only a virtue to which I aspire. If I am to need a name, then use that. I am Justice."
"Very well, Justice. Welcome to the Order of the Grey."