One of the odd islands looks as if it were once part of a castle or mansion that had been torn apart: a grand hall, with a far wall with cut-glass windows, majestic columns, hanging pots of flowers and a long table, all open to the air without a roof. Upon the table is set a feast, and at one end sits a female Eeee, her fur covered in runes, sipping from a goblet.
Alptraum finds himself seated at the goddess's left hand, just around the corner of the table. Zakaro seems to study him over the rim of her goblet for a moment, before noting, "I expected you to be uglier."
Alptraum's right brow arches up a bit at that particular comment. Now, his gypsy nature would compel him to say 'Huh, I expected you to be prettier', but thankfully self-preservation kicks in. So, instead he says, "Interesting greeting. Why, may I ask, did you expect me to be uglier?" he actually asks. It's best to not rile a Goddess until you know the escape route, after all.
"Because Gorphat got to you, of course," Zakaro notes, before stuffing something squirmy and dripping with gravy into her maw. "You've got a thing with Her, don't you? You were thinking of visiting Her again, before seeing Me! I'm curious to know why I am the last one you are visiting?" She seems a bit grouchy, but that could just be her normal mood.
"Besides that I had no idea how to find you, have you not heard the phrase 'saving the best for last'?" Alptraum asks as he leans back slightly in his seat. For some reason he's not exactly hungry. "And as for a thing, her High Priestess is under my care, so it's my duty to check in," he claims.
"Oh, yes, that one," Zakaro notes, twirling a greasy bone between her fingers. "Hard to keep tabs on her, since you blew up my priestess. That was very impressive, by the way. What other tricks can you do with that dagger?"
"Ah, but your priestess would have tried to do the same to me, no?" Alptraum counters and raises his finger for emphasis. "Now, for the dagger, well ... many things; from shaping to releasing, to capturing others; even great deities. I should also point out it is only usable by me, though."
Zakaro stops eating, and rests her chin in the cradle of her fingers. Then she smiles at Alptraum. "How about you show me?" she asks. "It only takes a kiss."
Alptraum's brow arches again. "Show you what, exactly?" he asks. "And my upbringing taught me never to quite trust a smile. Especially one that comes with the phrase 'only takes'..."
The goddess pouts. "Oh, I see how it is," she claims, crossing her arms over her chest. "You'll roll around with Miss Squishy, but not even a kiss for Auntie Zakky. All I want is to have a peek at some of your memories. Is that so frightening?"
Now it's Alptraum's turn to grin. "Of course it is. You're the Goddess of Power. A very dangerous woman, that," he claims. "Maybe I'm not sure I could resist your power, hmmm?"
"You shouldn't worry about that, since you aren't supposed to resist," Zakaro claims.. and then slides across the top of the table, knocking over various trays, bowls, jugs and pots, until she's practically nose-to-nose with Alptraum. "After all, you need my favor, don't you?"
Alptraum places his finger lightly on Zakaro's nose. "Just as you need mine, else the Great Demon would consume you all," he counters, still grinning. "Promise to not consume me, and I promise I won't try to consume you..."
"That sounds like it might be interesting though," Zakaro claims. "I won't eat you, if that's your concern," she promises.
"You never know. I know a powerful woman that likes eating other people. Well, if you can call a giant blob a woman," Alptraum notes.
"I'll know all about her then, soon enough," the goddess says.. and puckers up. She's got some sauce stuck to the edge of her mouth.
Alptraum rolls his eyes ... and grabs a napkin. This he uses to dab off that sauce. "I really wish I had a breath mint right now. I just know she needs one," he thinks, grimaces ... then puckers up and kisses this rather disturbing Goddess.
Zakaro's breath is only temporarily noxious, as the world spins around for Alptraum. His life doesn't flash before his eyes, but spins around him like a tornado, with select memories coming to the fore: finding the dagger, transferring spirits, killing Vorgulremik, killing Dack, various moments with Melusine.. and memories of dreams, as well. Some of the memories aren't even his, but ones he 'shared' from Vorgulremik, like eating the elf priestess, and the dream of flying to Gallis as a Steel Dragon. All of bizarre marking rituals for Snowcora as well. When it finally stops, the bat is left feeling incredibly dizzy, and even his hair seems windswept.
Alptraum ever-so-inteeligently says, "Bluh." He even reaches up to try and claw-comb his hair back into place. "That was a bit much," he complains. "I don't see why you needed to know all of that."
"Mmmmm," Zakaro notes, as is she just ate something yummy. "Because those had to do with power, of course. And oh my.. do my dear sisters even realize what you can do?" Her grin becomes a bit more ominous. "And you can do something for Me worthy of My favor now, too."
"What I can do and what I will do are different things," Alptraum says a bit pointedly. His own eyes narrow a bit as he asks, "And just what is it you want in exchange for your favor?"
"I just want what's mine," Zakaro says, resting her hands on Alptraum's shoulders. "You see, a few of my Yodh fled when the shrine was attacked. And of those, a small number decided to renounce Me.. but not the power I had granted them. They have each tried to gather followings, or insinuate themselves amongst people of influence by using the gifts I gave them. But if they are not serving Me, then I want my gifts back. And you can do that for me."
Alptraum's brow arches slightly again. "And how do you expect me to remove your gifts from them?" he asks as his eyes flick to the hands on his shoulders. "And for that matter, how will I find them?"
"You need only devour them, spirit and all, and then return those spirits to Me," Zakaro coos, caressing Alptraum's cheek now. "You serve Rephath, and this is justice for their betrayal. And you serve Sunala, so meting out death is also allowed. Ephasto will guide you, but I will also give you something else to aid you."
"So you want me to kill them," Alptruam says a bit dryly. "I take that act very seriously. What, exactly, have they been doing since they renounced you? How have they used your gifts?"
"Oh, you know," Zakaro says, waving a hand and rolling onto her back. Her front is smeared with various sauces from her slide across the table. "Extortion, curses, claiming to be deities.."
"Ah, so I won't feel too bad about doing it, then," Alptraum says, sounding slightly relieved at least. "Have any of them, pray tell, joined the General?"
"They are not the joining sort," Zakaro claims, and uses her foot to grab a piece of fruit and bring it to her mouth. "But they are not above aiding where it serves their own purposes."
Alptraum shakes his head a bit at the grotesque display of eating. "Well, if they're aiding the General, then it's yet another reason to find them. Now, you mentioned you had something you could give me to help find them?" he asks as he rubs the back of his own neck. "Besides your Eeepish servant."
"Oh yessss," Zakaro says, contorting to sit up on the table edge now, so that she's taller than Alptraum. "A gift for the Wraith, to.. make things easier.." she claims.
"Er," Alptraum sputters, "I'm not sure that's a good idea." Now that he's looking up at a food-covered Zakaro, he's feeling a bit nauseous!
The goddess leans forward, and asks, "Are you refusing a gift from Me?" It's amazing just how much menace a Kindly One can put into one comment, especially when all of the various runes on her body glow red at the same time.
"Did I say I refused?" Alptraum says, trying to not sound like he wants to wet his pants. "I just said it may not be a good idea. The Wraith is a bit ... grouchy."
"I will make him more productively grouchy then," Zakaro claims. "You do want to enjoy this task, don't you?"
"One should not find pleasure in duty," Alptraum claims and holds up a finger. "But ... how does the wraith get this gift?"
The goddess grins, and says, "Why, I will simply draw it upon him. Or out of him, as the case may be."
"And I suppose I need to bring the wraith out for you, then?" Alptraum asks.
"I could to do it myself," Zakaro notes confidently. "But it would be better if you did it."
"I will, if you inspire me properly," Alptraum counters; not quite willing to just act like a pawn after all.
"And what is 'proper' inspiration then?" Zakaro asks, suddenly suspicious.
"I'm curious to see how ... seductive you can be," Alptraum answers, now smiling deviously himself.
Zakaro seems actually taken aback by this. Then she just grabs Alptraum's head and pulls it into her somewhat sticky cleavage. "There!" she cackles.
Okay, this gets Alptraum laughing too once he manages to dislodge his face from gooey breasts. "Right, well, give me a minute," he says, "And don't do that again." So, Alptraum settles back in his seat and concentrates on bringing the wraith forward. It doesn't exactly hurt when skin starts splitting and wings tear apart when the shifting begins; but it cannot be described as fun either. Chitin and shifting ooze replace skin; a disturning spine juts from his left arm above emaciated claws ... and bright eyes face to milky-white dead ones as the wraith becomes the 'dominate' form...
"Oooo!" Zakaro says, clapping her hands like a child. "Now, let's improve it!" she crows, and dips her finger in some sort of green sauce (or else soup.. it's hard to say) and starts marking the chitin of the Wraith's brow.
"Are you claiming I am not perfect?" the wraith hisses between rather disturbing-looking jaws. At least with a chitin brow, it's not like it moves around much to mess up the marking.
"Of course you're not perfect.. yet," Zakaro replies. "At least, not for the task I've given you. But this will be better!" And as she marks the chitin, the Wraith begins to change. Chitin splits and folds into scales, and limbs and wings begin to distort. It's not a pleasant sensation - but it is familiar. It feels just like when Melusine changes things. The Wraith's neck lengthens, his jaw extends outward, and horns begin to sprout across his skull. A long, armored tail extends back from his spine, and the talons of his hands and feet become even more pronounced. Other areas become more Eeee-like, until the end result is a demonic looking combination of Eeee and Steel Dragon. "Hahaha!" Zakaro crows. "Now the Sabaoth can have his own demon too!"
The sounds that comes from the distorting jaw as the shifting begins is ... disturbing to say the least. A rumbling growl, intermixed with cracking bone sounds extremely unpleasant, to say the least. Weight shifts, limbs grow, and the strange creation has to lean forward; slightly hunched, perhaps, to counter the weight of the heavy tail that trails along behind him now. "A demon, eh?" it now says in a gravelly voice, "Do you have a name for this demon." Its thick claws flex and click against each other. Those hands are not for any sort of delicate work anymore.
"Hmmm," Zakaro ponders, caressing the creature's scaly cheek. "Vorgtraum?" she suggests with a giggle. "It is a more appropriate form for eating priestesses with. That one memory showed how much you could enjoy it, after all. You can do whatever else you want with them too. I'm not sure how your appetites will sort themselves out in this body.
"Or I could eat you," the demon claims as it places its large frontal claws on Zakaro's shoulders. When a dragon smiles, it's probably time to be afraid.
"I do enjoy eating," Zakaro notes, tapping her lips with a finger, and then licking off the rest of the green goo that was clinging to it. "But first, you must bring me back what was taken from me."
"And what of the maiden?" the demon asks right before he licks Zakaro from waist to neck ... going right between her cleavage.
"The maiden?" Zakaro asks, clearly distracted. "Oh, her. Don't worry, I'll have something for her! Hehehe!"
"I have to worry; she is often abused," the demon notes and licks Zakaro again. This time lower, with a spiny maw and rough tongue. It isn't gentle about it either. Not is its grin kind when that head bobs up to look Zakaro in the eyes. "When do I hunt?"
"No time like the present, I say!" the Kindly One cackles. She snaps her fingers, and the most ridiculous looking demon of all answers the summons. Ephasto is part Eeee.. and part Eep. He has enormous bugged-out eyeballs on a small head atop a spindly neck, with a body from which hangs a corpulent gut. It's feathers are black, and wings shrunken looking. The limbs are emaciated, save for the sharp-looking talons.
"Can I devour him too?" the deomon asks of Zakaro after its head swings towards and eyes Ephasto and how .... 'plump' it is.
"Sure, why not?" Zakaro says. "He even cooks his meat for you when he explodes. It's best if you marinate him first by rolling him in sauces.."
The demon=dragon laughs in a table-rattling sort of way. "After I find the others, perhaps," it concludes as it rises from the table and lumbers towards Ephasto. "Find," he orders it.
And in the next instant, Vorgtraum is outside, atop the ruined Temple of Inala, with the oddly pathetic demon hovering like bumblebee before him. "Eep!" it gurgles, and turns to fly off towards Babel.
Of course the dragon-demon's wings are much larger, and stronger. But then it also has to lift a much heavier frame. Its wings flap hard and it soon follows after Ephasto; taking to the air like a scaled Nightmare. With the way its lips curl back, the humor in that thought is not lost on him. "Kaira will not approve. I wonder if she knows?" the creature thinks.
There's no reply on that front, but soon the pair of monsters are weaving between the ancient towers, and steadily descending down into the bowels of the Undercity. Whenever Vorgtraum gets close to a tower, he can feel a tingle, and maybe glimpse a silvery trace of magic in the stones. Soon the light of the Procession is completely gone, leaving the world in blackness lit by the eldritch outlines of the buildings' support magic.
"Huh, I never thought they actually used magic to hold the buildings up," Vorgtraum thinks as he can now see the support. It doesn't matter, though; his goal is to follow his strange and disturbing guide. This is easy to do, he just focuses on its smell and the fact it would be crunchy to eat...
Soon, Ephasto perches on an ancient gargoyle near a break in the wall of a tower. Voices can be heard from inside, as well. "You call this tribute?" a harsh female voice screeches, followed by the clatter of something being knocked to the ground. "I will curse you unto the fifth generation, after which your bloodline will whither away to nothing!"
Vorgtraum lands near Ephasto. "Will you now?" the demon-dragon roars, shaking the loose debris around its mangled form. Also not one to really be delicate, the demon looks for a way to simply smash into the part of the tower that voice came from.
There's silence after the roar, as the people inside the ruined structure look up. Bats dressed in rags, mostly. And standing next to a broken plate and several insects trying to make their escape is a Yodhzakaro. She looks like Heckat did.. which is to say naked, covered in runes and mad-eyed and maned. "See the demon I have summoned!" the Yodh says, recovering quicker than the others. "It will devour your children because of your poor offering!"
"No, their children are quite safe from me," the demon-dragon claims as it jumps off and lands near the Yodhzakaro below. "I have come for you. Your Mistress is not ... pleased. These poor souls have been giving; but it is you who have not."
The Yodh backs up, claiming, "Zakaro is dead!" She then begins to gesture and babble at Vorgtraum. It looks ridiculous, but he can see the little tracings of silver left in the air with each gesture. She's actually trying to cast a spell on him!
Vorgtraum's tail whips around and tries to knock the Yodh off her feet. "Wrong, again. Zakaro sent me," he hisses, then bares some very sharp-looking teeth!