The Elder's mind settled with joyous news that the physical form of her daughter has at last finally been found, with the witch no longer inhabiting her beloved child, Deedo smiled. With the others assuring her that once she had tied her loose ends, it would be soon that they can all watch as the youngest of them awakens.
Deedo stepped from her study elated still, certain she will tackle all pending tasks on her list with minimal difficulty. The clamor of a small band of armed Dwarfs greeted the Beguiler with Varel, trying his damndest to stop them.

"The Commander is away at the moment, if you will please…" Varel addressed the men before him.

Deedo came with a smile of greeting before she asked. "Is something the matter?"

Varel visibly confused as he turned to face the Commander. "I thought you were away? Err… These men have come with urgency…"

With a raise of his hand, the Dwarf leader spoke, a stern look on his face, mingled with worry. "There is a trail that our scouts found just the other night. They have suspected this is where the hoard had come through to your city." The leader announced.

"That would be impossible. I have my scouts' reports."

"I am unaware if you know there are many places the Deep Roads lead, not all have collapsed or fell to Darkspawn."

Deedo nodded. "I am well aware, though what is the hurry today?" her brows knitted.

"Time is crucial, for another day wasted is another The Mother spewing evils. The scouts have found her lair…"

Varel raised his hand to a polite interrupt. "My Lady, if the trail is still fresh, then time is indeed not on your side. There would be no time to amass an army." Varel stated.

Time, it's a matter of time. While the Elder can be in multiple places at once, her people cannot. The thoughts rampant in her mind.

Thoughts vanished when the Dwarf spoke once more. "We've seen the way you handle yourself. You and your company are an army all their own." He could see the Warden Commander slowly piecing it together.

Her Aqua eyes dart as she mentally tallies how many potions for a small band of her companions. This is one of the frayed ends that needs securing immediately. "Varel, please inform Velanna, Oghren, and Sigrun to prepare for departure." With Varel's agreement he was off, turning to face the children of stone. "Master Dwarf… Where?"

Month 9 - Kingsway, Dragonbone Wastes, Southern Ferelden.

Deedo had been in the Deep Roads before, had had time to learn all she could when she was at the castle and during all of her study, nothing could prepare her to head back to where she once stood ages ago. Far to the south, further than the Witch's hut Deedo once visited, well past the city that her adopted son sits, in the Brecilian Forest, with high mountains as vast as her own Rathe Mountains on Norrath, with this place a place where they say dragons go to die. Though not dragons they sought. There, in that harsh and wild land, a dragon at the end of her days would lie down and allow the bitter cold to take her.

Deedo and her companions traversed the depths of the Deep Roads trail that the Dwarven scouts cleared and secured just a night ago. The smell of earth, wet earth, air stagnant, mingled with a brief filter of fresh crisp air that cut through. Haste was of the utmost importance, The Mother their target.

When Deedo had her visages out collecting the precious cargo that needed succor, then she saw. She witnessed what her daughter had written, described in uncomfortable descriptive details, the Broodmothers. Malformed women, bloated and stretched, tainted by the Darkspawn, ravaged, had been taken to be the birth givers for the hoard. So said Olett, shadows of what they once looked like. Oghren confirmed what her daughter had written. His wife took their entire house, giving way for the women to become the tainted grotesque in her mad quest.

The High Elf carried on, pushing herself off the stonework on the massive cavern they breezed through. Spells coupled with potions to be light of foot, see through the dark, a spell to shield them from eyes, the many lingering eyes that still inhabit below the surface.

They would be gone for days, fewer, as they sped through the wood and ruins mere hours that would cover the distance to the site which could have been weeks at a normal pace without the spells and potions at hand, much too long would they would have been to cut the Mother down. A day without rest to reach the Wastes, another that the ruins are now in sight.

"We go above ground here." The dwarf leader called.

Light breached the darkness as they approached. Torchlight from the scouts lit the way up. The air was cool; a blanket of clouds covered the sky and thick with rain. Deedo and the others, still under the cover of invisibility, stood on the surface, seeing the bones of the dead litter the land. Curious, the high elf to see such a grave.

The smell all too familiar reached the elder's nostrils. "Darkspawn, we need to hurry." She followed behind with the troop as they navigated the maze of skeletal dragons and crumbled ruins.

Vigil's Keep

The Arlessa Commander insists everyone must adhere to their duties, regardless of her presence. As per standard with the influx of new recruits, Varel was busy with that, until Nathaniel stepped in to oversee. Justice had wandered from the Keep, seemingly deep in thought, idly away from everyone he had been since the Keep's attack.

With everyone busy about the Keep, it left just Anders to busy himself. He went to gather plants that were nearby for potions that needed restock, along with several other mages. The River behind the Keep was where Anders and the others headed to gather the useful plants.
The sunshine and sweet wind blew that caught Anders' attention. With an odd settling in his stomach, he chucked it off at the minimal breakfast he had eaten earlier. Though, after all the recent events, he decided he needed a slight break.

"We are heading back. Anders?"

"Alright love, I'll catch up." With a stretch and yawn, Anders waved them off. He looked around, tempting that he could just run and be free. Free to do whatever… but he sat under a tree first, listening to the sounds of the forest. This time no looming threat of templars hunting him to drag him back to the Circle. Anders closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, sighed. The sun shafts filter through the trees, birds high in the branches twittering in the trees, squirrels giving chase around on the forest floor. A smirk found its place, and he took in his surroundings. Another deep breath took in the sweet smell of the flowers in bloom. He dosed with gratitude for the Commander to spare him by not going with Rylock, grateful beyond measure.

A time later, Anders stirred. The sound of a snapping twig alerted him to someone's approach. His heavy-lidded eyes cracked open to see a pair of dark leather boots. A spiced floral scent wafted to him, knowing who was near him.

"What brings you way out here?" Anders asked, sitting up on a long stretch.

The spirit inhabited body did not answer, merely looking from what Anders could tell, at the picturesque view before them both. Justice turned. He had visited the quiet of the forest, the memories he held of the man he settled in, forced into, seeing the world through the man's eyes. Vastly differ from what his previous worldview saw.

"I have been thinking of Aura, the mortal woman who was wife to Kristoff." He finally spoke.

Anders turned his head. "Is that so?" resting his elbows on his drawn-up knees. "What made you think of her? How is that possible? You're a spirit, right?" The mage questioned.

Justice turned again, looking out at something or nothing. "Correct. Though she is indeed in the mind of Kristoff." Justice took a few steps. His thoughts were far away.

Anders, hearing the walking corpse leave, hurried to catch up. "Ho, I wanted to ask you something." trotting back to grab the plants he nearly forgot. "Hey, uh… I wanted to know, after that, back in the Fade, or any time really. What's the jab with seeking out mages? Cause that Baroness, she was a mage, yeah?"

Justice walked on. "You speak of demons. The Baroness colluded with demons."

"Right. Aren't demons simply spirits with unique and sparkling personalities?"

"I am no have perverted them." Justice grunted.

Anders nodded in agreement. "But what do they want from mages?"

Justice quickened his pace. "Perhaps they wish the same as I: silence."

Anders stopped for a moment, contemplative before running on after the spirit inhabitant. "That hardly answers my question." Anders scratched the back of his head in thought. "Is there a possibility that you could become a demon?"

Justice paused, turning to the mage by his side. "I said no such thing."

"You said that demons were spirits perverted by their desires." Anders pointed out.

"I have no such desires."

"You must have some desires… Aura, for example."

Justice walked on in haste. "I have none! Desist your questions!"

Anders chuckled with a shake of his head. "I apologize, Justice. I didn't mean to suggest you would become a demon."

Justice slowed for the mage to catch up and walk beside him once more. "I should certainly hope not."

"I just wondered what relation there is between spirits and demons. Demons are a worry to any mage." Anders walked thoughtfully.

Justice walked in silence for a while, his brows knitted. "I do not know what makes demons as they are. Such evil angers me, but I do not understand it."

Anders' eyebrows rose. Even a spirit of the fade knew nothing to answer his question. "Well, I hope you never come to understand."

Justice nodded. "I as well, mage. More than you could possibly know."

They walked towards the Keep with a comfortable silence fallen between them. Several carts full of people greeted them when they came to Vigil's gates.

Whispers greeted when the mage and warrior stepped through. Anders walked around Justice to his other side and a chill crept once more, settling in the man's stomach. Justice, confused by the action, sensed a repulsion coming off in waves from his mage companion.

"I sense that you struggle against your oppressors, mage."

"Only to avoid my oppression. That's not quite the same thing, is it?" Anders ducked inside the room, where he dropped off his portion of herbs. Some of those coming in where some he knew, and wished to keep a vast distance.

Justice, now the curious one, continued with the questioning. "Why do you not strike a blow against your oppressors? Ensure they can do this to no one else?"

"Because it sounds difficult?"

"Apathy is a weakness."

"So is death. I'm just saying. If I were to make a move, it would mean a swift meeting to the Maker. Not someone I'm willing to meet before my time." Anders took the long route back to the dining hall.
"I despise Templars. Not one fond memory about them." Anders sighed. "They kicked me awake. It was worse when they drained my mana. For a power I never wanted, I sure didn't like feeling powerless." Anders snorted, thinking of all the foul things done to him because he wanted to go home. Shaking his head free from the thought. It was two of his tormentors that would now sit among them, or if Anders' luck holds, they would be the ones to meet the Maker.

What he was hearing and feeling coming from the mage genuinely confused Justice. "I believe you have a responsibility to your fellow mages, then." With someone with such an aversion to his oppressors, it was only right that Anders follow the righteous path.

Anders came to a complete stop, turning to Justice and looking at him queerly. "That bit of self-righteousness directed at me?"

With a nod, Justice looked back at Anders with an unbroken gaze. "You have seen oppression and are now free. You must act to free those who remain oppressed." It was only right. It is what Justice lives for.

Anders turned and continued to his previous destination. With a shake of his blond head. "Or I could mind my business, in case the Chantry comes knocking. Which it seems they have." He muttered under his breath.

"But this is not right. You have an obligation."

Anders threw out his arms wide, sporting his magnetic grin. "Yes, well... welcome to the world, spirit." He bit sarcastically.

Justice stood there unmoved, confused, looking toward where the mage went. Following the path that Anders took, he came to the dining hall, greeted by several upon his entry. Spying Anders in the corner came to him, seeing he had a small orange tabby.

"I see that your feline companion remains with you."

Anders knelt, petting the cat as he fed him some scraps. "He seems happy enough. Isn't that right, Ser Pounce-a-lot?" Anders smiled as he stroked the cat's back. Answered with purrs as the kitty happily nibbled.

Justice quirked an eyebrow. "To enslave another creature does not seem just." He looked down at the man and his feline partner.

Anders stood nose to nose with the spirit. Agitated Justice would insinuate that Ser Pounce was a captive. "He's not a slave! Not the same thing in the slightest! He's a friend. And he's also a cat." Anders crossed his arms to make his point.

Justice looked down at the cat again, who was now rubbing against his boot. "A cat that lacks freedom." Looking back at Anders pointedly.

Anders' eyes narrowed with a disapproving grunt as he knelt down to pick the tabby up cuddling him. "Just ignore him, Ser Pounce-a-lot. They don't have pets in the Fade apparently." muttering as he held the cat to his chin.

"It still is the same as your kind. Take what I said as you will." Justice turned to leave the hall, and Anders with his thoughts.

Dragonbone Wastes.

Several scouting Darkspawn, childer, half insect creatures that clicked, sending Deedo to backpedal several times in disgust when coming face to face with the vile creatures. The Dwarfs guide her and the others further into the ruins, under the cover of invisibility.
Passing some large piles of rubble and fell pillars, they all halted their movements. Before them, a dragon curled. The rise and fall of its breast shown it still lived. Deedo looked at it, whispering a spell as she became visible. Much to the others' protest, the High Elf stood, eyes glowing as she probed the dragon's mind.

"What are you doing?" Harsh whispers behind her.

"Protect my body."

The dragon unfurled, raising its head, a roar that had the others covering their ears. Deedo, now in possession of the beast, tore into the abominable creatures that claimed these ruins. The Beguiler quickly severed the link between their minds and hurried further into the ruins.

"That was something Commander." Oghren stated.

Deedo snorted with a smirk. "Come, let us be done with this."