Chapter 24

The party moved through the rooms, fighting their way through more rotting corpses while checking for survivors. They eventually found the blacksmith's daughter Valena in a small storage room. After calming the girl down, they sent her back to her father via the path they'd cleared.

"Just how bad do we look?" Emma asked.
"Why? Do you want to get yourself spruced up for the next set of corpses?"
She threw a glare at Zevran. "No, but Valena was freaking out. Did she think we were the undead?"
"Well, we're dirty and caked in blood and... various other things, so, it's not that much of a stretch of the imagination," Wynne piped up.
Emma looked down the length of her body, noticing patches of dried blood and torn cloth. "I see what you mean, but really, we're nothing like those walking bags of bones," she muttered.

At last, they stepped out of the castle and into the courtyard where a large number of enemies awaited them. "The Knights are at the gate as Teagan promised. Cover me while I let them in."
Emma cast a shield around Aedan, and they all moved forward to draw the focus of the undead. The massive chains clanked as they lifted the heavy metal gate. As soon as they were able to, the Knights, led by Ser Perth, charged into the fray. A useful addition to the fight considering a Revenant had appeared. After a long and difficult battle, all the enemies were dead and they entered the castle.

Wynne rubbed her temples. "There's a nasty air around this place, I do believe we're dealing with a demon."
"Well, It will make a nice change from dealing with dried-up corpses," Zevran joked, but no one laughed. The unknown kept them quiet, their thoughts filled with what they would face inside. With the formidable presence of the Knights at their backs, Aedan pulled open the large wooden doors, and they walked into a nightmare.

Inside the dining hall, they found Teagan acting the role of the court jester, while Connor watched with a malicious gaze and Isolde stood at the side, her eyes filled with tears and her face drawn with worry. There were muttered curses from the Knights and her companions, but Emma was distracted by a strange purple haze that surrounded the boy. She leaned over to Wynne. "Can you see that?"
"I'm seeing quite a bit, could you be more specific?" Wynne replied with something of a snap.
Emma noticed that the mage looked a bit strained and wondered if it had something to do with Wynne's unique condition or the presence of the demon. It was difficult to know, as Wynne hadn't yet broached the subject of her spirit, and Emma could hardly just come out and ask the question.

"There's a dark purple mist around the boy."
That got Wynne's attention and she stared intently at Connor while he was talking to Aedan. Finally, she shook her head. "I can't see anything like that. I take it this is the first time you've seen something like this?"
Emma gave a slight nod. "Though to be fair, this is also the first possessed person I've seen."
Wynne's grim smile suggested her thoughts were indeed on her unique condition.

They'd been so wrapped up in their conversation that they failed to notice the growing tension in the room. Suddenly, the hall filled with shouts of anger and the guards attacked! Damn it, what a time to be distracted. One bewitched guard rushed towards them, his shield catching Wynne squarely on the chin and she went down hard.
"Son of a bitch!" Emma froze him and surrounded him with a crushing prison spell, effectively putting him out of the fight. She could see Aedan, Alistair, and Zevran were trying to hold back from injuring anyone too severely, especially as Bann Teagan was also fighting against them.
Aedan shouted instructions. "Knock out Teagan, but don't hold back with the others, these guys are not playing around."

Emma took a moment to pull Wynne away from the combat and safely tucked her away behind a thick wooden table before rejoining the fight. As the last man fell, they all took a moment to get their breath and check the wounded. Isolde came over when she saw Teagan move and helped him to his feet. "Teagan! Teagan, are you all right?"

Emma twitched; was it her imagination or had Isolde's voice reached new levels of shrillness? She sat with Wynne who was slowly coming around, sporting a large bruise on the side of her jaw. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have distracted you."
Wynne shook her head and winced. "Nothing a bit of healing won't fix. Besides, I should have been paying attention too." A glimmer of white light flowed through Wynne's fingers into the skin around her jaw and the swelling reduced.

"You're going to have to teach me that," Emma said, realising she had no idea how to do healing magic.
Wynne gave her a small smile. "I can teach you the basics."
She took Emma's proffered hand and stood up, then leaned on the table to steady herself. "Perhaps you should sit down since you're still a bit shaken."
Wynne didn't argue and lowered herself into a high-back wooden chair.

Emma rejoined the conversation just as Teagan left to get Jowan. "How's Wynne?" Aedan asked.
"She's going to be all right, just a bit bruised."
"Good. So what was it that had you and Wynne so distracted?"
Seeing Aedan's censorious look, Emma felt her face burn with shame. "I saw something strange, there was a-"
Teagan returned at that moment, pulling Jowan with him in a rough manner. Their conversation was put on hold while they discussed the various methods available to deal with the demon inside of Connor.

Eventually, it was decided that the Circle could provide the necessary lyrium for a mage to enter the Fade and kill the demon. They managed to make good time getting to the tower, and they soon returned with First Enchanter Irving and several mages. "Who will you send into the Fade?" Irving asked.
"I'll go," Emma answered, wanting to atone for screwing up earlier.
Aedan looked at her. "Is that wise? I know you're tired. It wouldn't take long to get Morrigan here."
Emma put on her best smile. "There's no time to waste, I can do this."
"Is this your first time entering the Fade?" Irving gave her a kind smile when she croaked a nervous yes. He took her hand and led her over to a small bowl on the table. "Put your hand in the bowl, child. You'll feel some tingling and a cool sensation, then you'll be in the Fade." He gave her some tips and then stepped back.
Emma reached out, watching the glow from the blue liquid reflect off her outstretched fingers. She took a deep breath and plunged her hand in. A surge of power shot through her veins and she gasped as her body temperature plummeted.

The Fade shimmered into existence around her and she had to blink a few times to clear her vision. Well, that was a rush - like bungee jumping off the Golden Gate bridge. Emma could hear Arl Eamon and Connor shouting helplessly as multiple ghostly figures walked back and forth. Giving herself a mental shake, she focused on the task at hand and soon found the Arl. After calming him down and gaining his trust, she walked through a shimmering purple portal to find Connor.

The conversation with the first Connor was short; Emma wanted this over with as soon as possible. She wasn't feeling entirely comfortable having to fight on her own when she was used to having the others as backup. She eliminated the projection of the Desire Demon and moved through another portal for the next round. This time she had to contend with a Rage Demon too. It surged up from the ground and swiped at her. Burning fingers pierced her clothes and melted the skin on her upper arm. She screamed in agony and fought back the feeling of nausea caused by the stench of burning flesh.

In a flash, she summoned Winters Grasp and froze the Rage Demon, then swung her staff with all her might and shattered its form. Her arm throbbed painfully with each beat of her heart as she moved towards the next portal. Once more she faced the same enemies, but she'd learnt her lesson the first time around and managed to take the demons down without incurring any further injuries.

As she approached the final portal, her head was aching in sync with her mangled arm, and she desperately wanted to leave the Fade and return to her friends. But first, she would need to face the Desire Demon.