The Blackmarsh was absolutely miserable, as marshes tended to be. It was rainy when they arrived, wet and vile. Kitranna could feel darkspawn nearby, like a presence at the back of her head. The others could feel them too.
“My father used to tell me stories about the Blackmarsh when I was young,” Nathaniel said quietly as they walked through the muck. “He said evil magic killed everyone here. This was just before the rebellion, so it was a great mystery.”
“Hm,” Kitranna said.
“Would that be your father who liked torturing people?” Anders asked.
Nathaniel sighed heavily and didn't answer him.
“I've heard a little bit about it,” Kitranna said. “Remember, Anders? There's stories about monsters and things here. And the Veil is...wrong.”
“That's true,” Anders agreed. “Feels thin enough that corpses might start getting up again.”
“That can happen?” Nathaniel asked, alarmed.
“Oh, yes.”
“I used to dream of coming here and setting things right,” Nathaniel mused. “Little boy dreams.”
“You're here now, aren't you?” Anders said.
“So I am.”
“Though whether we fix anything or not remains to be seen, so, there's that.”
They continued on, until they found several darkspawn corpses, all slashed with a blade.
“Dead,” Oghren kicked the darkspawn corpse closest to him. “It'd be that Kristoff's doing, I s'pose.”
“That answers that,” Anders said. “At least we're on the right track.”
“Could be,” Kitranna said. “But it's not certain.” she peered down at the corpse. “C'mon, let's keep going.”
There were werewolves in the swamp, Blighted and sick, that attacked them on sight.
“Don't tell me there's a werewolf curse on this place too!” Kitranna exclaimed after the dispatched an attacking wolf. She kicked the wolf's corpse. “I don't want to have to deal with that on top of everything else.”
“You've encountered werewolves before?” Nathaniel asked.
Kitranna nodded. “Yeah—in the Brecelian, during the Blight. It was a pain in the ass to fix.”
“It might not be a curse,” Anders pointed out as they continued along. “There might be a tear in the Veil somewhere—it could be changing everything nearby.”
Kitranna nodded. “...I suppose that's possible...” she mused. “The longer and worse the damage to the Veil, the weirder everything gets around it, right?”
“And the Blackmarsh has been haunted for years,” Nathaniel said. “If that is truly caused by damage to the Veil...”
“We're lucky the place isn't already overrun by spirits,” Anders said.
They did come across a place where the Veil was split open, the air itself leaking magic. It made everyone feel slightly sick and dizzy, except for Oghren.
“That would be where the werewolves are coming from,” Anders said, looking green.
“Is there something you can do to fix it?” Kitranna asked. “You're the spirit healer here.”
“Not my area of expertise,” Anders said. “Probably best to just leave it alone for now.”
Kitranna grimaced. “No wonder they abandoned this place.”
They found Kristoff's body near the edge of the marsh. He was identifiable by the Warden plate he wore, and the pool of blood under him made it clear that he hadn't died very long ago.
“Great,” Kitranna said, putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at him. “Perfect. Now everyone from Vigil's Keep is dead, and the Orlesians are going to be even more pissed. Wonderful.”
“Commander...” Nathaniel said. “Tell me I am not the only one sensing darkspawn...”
“You're not,” Kitranna said. “They're definitely here.”
“Yes,” came a guttural and creaking voice, and they turned to see a contingent of darkspawn approach them. “Yes, we are here, and that is your Gray Warden.”
The darkspawn was roughly the height of a human, with a flat, pale face and long teeth. He approached Kitranna, peering at her with enormous, gleaming black eyes. “The Mother told it to me that if he was lured to this place, and slain, then you would come here in time.”
“A trap,” Anders shook his head with a sigh. “Wonderful. What a lovely afternoon this is turning out to be.”
“And the Mother, she was right,” the darkspawn said, grinning. “She is always right.”
“Who's the Mother?” Kitranna asked. “Never heard of that one before.”
“The Mother, she is no prophet, but she is clever, that she is.”
“That's not an answer.”
“I am not here to give you answers. Here before you is the First, and I am bringing to you a message.”
“And why exactly does this Mother think I want to hear anything a darkspawn has to say?”
“You are not having a choice. The Mother, she is not permitting you to further his plan, whether you are knowing or not. So she is sending a gift.”
The darkspawn held out his hand, and before anyone could do anything, the Veil shattered around them, and everything vanished.
When everything came together again, the sky was bright, and a vague greenish shade. The darkspawn was still there.
“No...” it croaked, confused. “We have come to the Fade as well? It cannot be this!”
“Oh, what a surprise, a spell to tear open the Veil backfired,” Kitranna growled. “Everyone alright?” she asked her companions.
“Very confused, but fine,” Anders said.
“Good.” Kitranna turned on the darkspawn. “So...you want to give me an explanation before I get out my sword?”
“The Mother...she has deceived me! I am betrayed!”
“Yeah, I don't care.” Kitranna yanked her sword off her back, and it thrummed with magic. “An explanation, thanks.”
“I am finding my own path back to the world,” the First said with a dismissive wave. “I am leaving you to the Children.”
“Wait!” Kitranna snapped, but the First paid no attention, and the aforementioned Children advanced upon them. The Children were massive, revolting maggot-like animals with the faces of babies. They burst when struck and made horrible screeching noises as they attacked, their mouths filled with needle-sharp teeth. By the time they dispatched the Children, the First was long gone.
Kitranna propped her hands on her hips. “Great,” she sighed. “This is just perfect.”
Anders came up next to her, leaning heavily on his staff and panting hard. Oghren and Nathaniel weren't out of breath, but both of them were pale and looked somewhat alarmed.
“We need to get out of here,” Anders said.
“Don't need to tell me twice,” Kitranna growled. “If we stay here too long, our bodies will die.” she cracked her knuckles.
“Personally, I'd like to know who this 'Mother' is, and why she worked so hard to entrap us,” Nathaniel said. “What is her quarrel with us?”
“Since when does a darkspawn need a reason?” Kitranna waved a hand, and the group began walking.
“I want to know where a darkspawn learned a spell like that,” Anders said. “They're not demons—I've never heard of any of them sending people into the Fade.”
“Neither have I,” Kitranna said. “Even the emissaries don't do anything like that. They stick to pretty basic elemental magic, strictly offensive.” she shuddered. “Ugh—I can feel demons everywhere here. Anders?”
Anders nodded. “There's definitely a lot of nasty things about,” he agreed. “But that was already the case. It's nothing new.”
“So, how are we gonna get out of here?” Oghren demanded. “Any ideas?”
“Wander around until I can find something I can punch and escape,” Kitranna said. “I don't know what spell the First used, so I can't work backwards.”
“We could try and find a helpful spirit,” Anders suggested.
“You see many of those around here?”
“There's bound to be one or two, especially because the Veil is so thin. Maybe there's a Curiosity spirit or something.”
“Well, then it's your job to keep an eye out.”
The sky over the marsh was light, almost a green shade, and the Black City hovered far in the distance overhead. The marsh was rife with demons, all of varying strengths, most hostile and none attempting to engage in a dialogue of any kind—behavior most unusual for demons.
In the center of the marsh was the dream of an enormous building that in the physical world was mere ruins.
“Figure that's important,” Anders said, looking at it.
“No, really? Who could have guessed.” Kitranna said.
The back gate to the mansion wasn't open, and something nasty waited inside regardless, so they went around to one side. Around the side was a small graveyard, where a woman fussed with one of the headstones.
She noticed them and turned, peering at them. “You...you're not a spirit like everyone else. How did you get here?”
“Accident,” Kitranna said.
“What manner of accident brings you here?”
“I wouldn't call it an accident,” Nathaniel interjected.
“Alright, but what else do I say?” Kitranna demanded. “'A talking darkspawn waylaid us on an errand I already hate to do?'”
“You were forced to come here?” the woman asked. “That's very strange.”
Kitranna looked at the woman, her eyes narrowed. “How's that?”
“This is where my grandfather's ashes are buried,” the woman explained. “I come to visit him often.”
“This is the Fade,” Anders said, his brow furrowed. “Nothing's buried here. Well—I suppose the dream of something could be buried.”
Kitranna felt something at the back of her head—something wasn't right about the woman.
“Yeah, I'm not buying it,” Kitranna said. “Unless you have some actual answers for us, I think we should just get going.”
The woman stared at them as they went around the corner, but she didn’t follow.
They came to the echo of the ruins of the town that was in the Marsh in the physical world. It was crowded with people, but none of them saw Kitranna and her group walk among them. When pressed, the people said strange things that had nothing to do with what was happening around them, as if they were all caught in their own dreams.
The mansion that was a rotted husk in the physical world was intact here, and it only grew clearer the closer they got. It was huge and very grand, a great deal of magic caught inside it.
They came to the front gate of the mansion. A crowd gathered at the gate, shapes of people with misty edges, some more solid than others. At the head of the crowd was a spirit who glowed brilliantly, clad in shining armor.
The spirit spotted them. “And who comes now?” he demanded. “More minions of the Baroness, or more helpless souls she has tormented?”
“Neither,” Kitranna said. “We're here because of a darkspawn. You know anything about that?”
“I could not say what a darkspawn is,” the spirit said. “But it is clear you are a stranger here. Perhaps it is a sign...”
“A sign of what?” Anders asked.
“I could not say yet. I am Justice. I have watched this place and seen the wrongs visited upon these poor folk, and now I seek to aid them.”
One of the people, a woman with red hair whose edges were blurred, stepped forward. “Once we lived in the real world,” she explained. “The Baroness ruled over us. She took our children and used their blood for dark and evil magic.”
“We burned down her mansion,” said another man. “But she cast one final spell that left all our spirits trapped here, and we've been here ever since.”
“Nathaniel, do you know about any Baroness who ruled here?” Kitranna asked.
Nathaniel frowned and shook his head. “I know of no such a person, but the marsh has been abandoned for some time, and I do not make a habit of studying it.”
Kitranna brushed her thumb across the hilt of her sword. “Right,” she said. “I don't like the sounds of any of that.”
“Will you help us in this righteous task?” Justice asked, his voice eager. “Your aid would be most appreciated.”
“Anything that gets us out of this pit faster,” Kitranna growled. “And its sounds like this Baroness woman might be able to help with that.”
“My intention is to storm the gate,” Justice explained.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Oghren said, he and Kitranna exchanging a look.
“It sure does,” Kitranna agreed. “Come on, then, bash it down. Or do you want me to do it for you?”
Justice did so, slamming into the gate with enormous force and bashing it in. Inside the courtyard, one could sense a large multitude of demons, and the Veil warping and twisting and thin.
The Baroness came out onto a balcony overhead, flanked by the twisted shapes of a pair of Despair demons. She had the shape of a tall human woman with long black hair, wearing an ornate red gown. Her gown and face both shifted slightly as one watched, their shapes changing just a bit.
“My, my,” she said with a disapproving shake of her head. “All that shouting, and now you just decide to barge in? Without even a proper invitation?”
“Proud sorceress!” Justice called. “You will release this poor people and submit yourself to justice!”
“Justice?” the woman sneered. “Is that what you're calling it? What about their punishment, for burning my home to the ground and me within it?”
“Because you were--” one of the civilians began, before Kitranna cut him off.
“Alright, I've had enough of this,” she said. She pointed at the Baroness. “If you're dead, you're not the Baroness, just a spirit who looks like her. So please get a hold of yourself and stop whatever it is that's mucking up the Veil around here.”
“Probably a spell that backfired,” Anders said thoughtfully. “Could be she damaged the Veil somehow and called these spirits here—then something exploded, everyone died, and now we have all these spirits who think they're people here.”
“That can happen?” Nathaniel asked.
“It's a lot more likely than her managing to drag all of the townsfolk's actual spirits here, while she was dead.”
“Everything here is like—a dream,” Kitranna said. “A trick.” she came to a sudden, horrible realization. “The longer we spend here, the weaker our bodies get,” she said. “This is just—a trap. A distraction.” she narrowed her eyes. “We shouldn't be here. There must be another way to get out.”
“And how exactly would we do that?” Nathaniel asked.
“I don't know,” Kitranna snapped, and then another figure stepped out beside the Baroness. The First, looking the same as ever, had joined her.
“Oh, and what are you doing here?” Kitranna demanded.
“My path lies in victory over you and your allies,” the First explained. “Then the Mother will pay for her treachery!”
“That's not how this works,” Kitranna snarled. “Maybe you mucked up your Mother's spell and got here by accident, if you know this little about how the Fade works!”
The First scowled. “You are knowing nothing,” he said. He turned to the Baroness. “We must be ending this now—the Gray Warden is more dangerous than you know!”
“A lot more dangerous,” Kitranna hissed, raising her sword.
“As you wish,” the Baroness said, her tone dull as if this entire charade bored her. “Deal with them and then you may have your request granted.”
“Enough!” Justice raised a mace that had not been there before. “The battle is joined!” Justice vanished from their sides to appear next to the Baroness, and they began fighting in earnest.
Kitranna went for the first while her allies helped the spirits of the townspeople fight back against the Baroness' demons.
The First bore a two-handed sword, and was tireless but very slow and clumsy, as if he were not quite used to coordinating his body. Kitranna dealt with him quickly, keeping him trapped in ice, and then assisted her friends in finishing off the rest of the demons.
When many of the demons had vanished, defeated, the Baroness let out a shout of rage.
“You fool!” she cried out to the First. “Why haven't you defeated them?”
“They are too much,” the First croaked, breathing heavily. “You must be sending me back through the Veil now, before it is too late!”
The Baroness sneered. “Oh, I will send them all back,” she said. “Out of my business! But your life shall be providing the power!”
“No!” the first exclaimed, but the Baroness raised her arms, and blood poured from the First's many wounds. The Veil rippled and the Fade warped, and then--
Kitranna opened her eyes. She was on the ground, a root digging into her shoulder. She pushed herself onto her elbows, and found her companions were all sitting up as well, groaning and grumbling.
“Everyone alright?” she asked.
“Fine, fine,” Anders grumbled, getting to his feet and dusting off his robes. “Just how I wanted to spend my evening.”
“I am well,” Nathaniel said. He looked over Kitranna's shoulder, his eyes wide. “Warden-Commander...”
Kitranna turned around. The body of Kristoff was slowly standing up as well, stumbling on its armor-clad legs.
“Oh, wonderful,” Kitranna grumbled, and got out her weapon, but stopped when the corpse spoke.
“Where am I?” it croaked, confused. It turned, and she saw its eyes were wide and milky white. “What is happening?” its gaze alighted on Kitranna and her companions. “No...this is the world of mortals.”
“Is it supposed to be somewhere else?” Kitranna asked.
“I am beyond the Veil...” Kristoff's body said, and it began to touch its face in horror. “A mortal body of flesh—I am trapped within!”
Kitranna peered at him closely, and it was Anders who recognized him first.
“Justice!” he said. “That's Justice—how'd you get in there?”
“The Baroness sundered the Veil in her haste!” Justice exclaimed. “All of us were drawn through—you are lucky that it is I who inhabits this body, and not a demon!” he shook his head. “She has returned to this realm as well—can you not feel it?”
Kitranna wrinkled her nose. “Something definitely damaged the Veil,” she agreed.
“Damaged?” Anders said. “More like blew a hole in the damn thing—I'm getting a headache just standing here.”
“Definitely feels weird,” Oghren pointed out. “And that's...pretty bad, right?”
“Considering that you're a dwarf, yes, it's pretty bad,” Anders said.
Kitranna pinched the bridge of her nose. “Great,” she said. “So now we have some kind of demon on the loose.”
“A demon of pride,” Justice explained. “She assumed that role long ago to feed on the mortals whose memory she trapped.”
“And the First gave her the way to the physical world,” Kitranna said.
“Exactly so...though I am uncertain how,” Justice screwed up his face in frustration.
“Yeah, I was wondering about that too,” Kitranna said. “It wasn't like he was there physically. How'd she use blood magic to do anything?” she chewed her lip. “Though blood magic would explain the damage...”
Anders sighed. “Blood magic and the Veil...always a nasty combination.”
“Isn't blood magic a bad thing in general?” Nathaniel asked.
“Yes, usually, but it can also be rather...explosive...when used against the Veil.”
“This is not the time for this discussion,” Justice snapped. “We must repair the damage to the Veil and deal with the Baroness, quickly!”
Kitranna waved a hand. “Yeah, of course, I know,” she said. “Come on, then,” she urged her companions. “Let's get going.”
The sky overhead was pale gray with the approaching dawn, but it held no greenish shade. Around them the world was much more solid, even if the damage to the Veil made everything feel strange and uncomfortable.
Justice moved clumsily, not used to being in a body. He frequently tripped and stumbled, and besides that, Kristoff's body reeked of decay.
“Are you sure you're in a fit state to fight?” Anders asked him.
“I am fine,” Justice growled.
“I'm a little worried some piece of you is going to fall off, that's all.”
“I am perfectly well.”
“Because, I'm a healer and all, but my skills are a little but useless after death.”
“And here I was thinkin' you didn't have any useful skills at all, 'cept a smart mouth,” Oghren jibed.
Anders rolled his eyes. “I don't think anyone asked you for your opinion,” he retorted.
“Since when does anyone need t' ask?”
They found the Baroness wandering the ruins of the mansion, in the place where the Veil was weakest. The Baroness looked different in the physical world—it seemed she, like Justice, had found a dead body to inhabit. Her skin was rotted through, her eyes were milky white, and she was utterly emaciated, but she seemed not to care.
“So this is the world of mortals...how very dull it seems.” the Baroness walked forward, not being the slightest bit dampened by the falling rain. “So immutable and unchanging.” she tilted her head up as she surveyed them. “Yet I am here—I have crossed the Veil! The spirits will watch in envy as the mortals of this world bow down before me!”
“That will not happen,” Justice promised.
“So it seems I am not the only one to be drawn here,” as they watched, the Baroness' body grew more solid, the flesh rejuvenating, the skin becoming clear again--but it was only an illusion. Whenever she moved, the picture of health shifted, revealing the corpse underneath. “How very tiresome.”
Kitranna stepped forward. “You could go back to the Fade now and spare us all a lot of trouble,” she said. “One chance.”
The Baroness tilted her head up. “You think you can command me? One girl with old blood, challenge me?”
“I've fought bigger,” Kitranna smirked, and held up her sword.
The Baroness raised her arms, and her shape shifted, her eyes multiplying and her form growing. Horns sprouted from her head, and lightning crackled about her body.
They fought, and the Baroness fell.
“And so, it is done,” Justice said, looking down at the body of the Baroness, before it burst into sparks and was gone. “For what it is worth, thank you. I have fulfilled my vow. May the victims of that woman's madness rest in peace.”
“What are you going to do now?” Kitranna asked. “I see you're still here.”
Justice began to pace. “It seems I cannot return to the Fade,” he said. “I am trapped here, in the body of this...Gray Warden?”
“We could just kill your body,” Kitranna offered, ignoring Anders' glare. “I'm sure you'd go back to the Fade then.”
“This body is already dead,” Justice said. “Attempting to damage it further would do little good. I am no demon, driven mad by flesh or wood—I am firmly affixed here. I do not wish to die.”
“Hm,” Kitranna put a hand on her hip. “That's an issue.”
“There are...memories, the echoes of memories in this man's head,” Justice said, tapping the side of his skull. “He was...a Gray Warden? Slain by the darkspawn?”
“That sounds about right, yeah.”
“The one called the First...and that was your pursuit, that resulted in you entering the Fade, yes, I understand now.”
“That's great,” Kitranna said, rubbing her forehead. “Well, we have to get a move on soon—what do you want to do?”
“I—do not know,” Justice said. “I know nothing of this world. You seem to be a creature of reasonable character, and you are of this world. Can you advise me?”
“Try to go back to the Fade,” Kitranna said immediately.
“Hang on a minute, Surana,” Anders said. Both Justice and Kitranna looked at him.
“What?” Kitranna asked.
“Couldn't he come with us?”
“Why?”
“Why not? And anyway, if you wanted to go back to the Fade somehow, a spirit healer's the best chance you'd have of figuring that out,” he told Justice.
“Continue this man's work of being a Gray Warden?” Justice asked. “It...was a darkspawn who killed this man, most ignobly. An the ones who do it yet live.”
“Sure, why not?” Kitranna threw up her hands. “I don't know, maybe if you join up we'll have another half-decent swordsman with us. Maker only knows you're probably an improvement on the last tenant in that body.” she shook her head. “Come on,” Kitranna said. “I've had enough of this swamp.”