The Shadowdrake hovers over Babel-that-was. The Royal Palace and surrounding towers stand as if the Boomer never happened, taller than anything but the Tower of Babel itself, and lit up like beacons. There is no wind, no sound.. nothing to distract from the view. Even the crew are like phantoms, briefly appearing to perform some duty, but only with enough definition to show presence before fading back away, like clockwork ghosts.

Captain Soldano bar Drelickus is the only solid person on deck. He looks out over the city, focused on a particular tower perhaps. Behind him, the Fnerf navigator, Temis, fades in and out sporadically - and occasionally is replaced by an Eeee or some other creature. But the Captain takes no notice.

"Do you miss things the way they were?" comes the voice of another Eeee in this strange place. "Or more the people that were taken from you when it all fell? If you had the chance to change things, or bring back which was, what would you pick?"

Soldano doesn't turn around, just looks over the city. "I don't know," he admits. "I try not to think about it.. but then, here I am, staring it in the face. And from here.. it's no different than before. I was not a favored son. I was never going to rise in the family ranks. It's why I was.. out here. Away, when it happened. If it'd been better, closer to my family, then.. I'd be with them now in death. But I'd be with them. In that circumstance, it would not have been so tragic. But now.. I've lost something that I could never have anyway. I can never prove myself. The outcast, but.. now I'm the only one left. I don't know if I should mourn them or mourn myself."

"We're not all that different, you and I. My fate was decided before I was born. Some lusted after my body in hopes of being immortal, others after the supposed abilities I would hold. I grew up an outcast in a foreign land and told lies most of my life ... until people started trying to kill me. Until I was forced to watch and feel the anger of everyone who died in the pointless war," the other voice says as it draws closer to Soldano, and soon comes from right beside him, "I think something we can both agree on is life isn't fair. Bad things usually happen to good people, and it's always the innocent that seem to suffer. So, that brings the question we both have to answer; where do we go from here?"

"I have a course that I have to follow, at least.. at least for show," Soldano says. "I can guess who you are. If you wanted, could you make me just not wake up again? I wanted to.. be a Babelite. Find a way to fit into the city again. The only way was, in hindsight, the wrong way. I don't even know what sort of damage I'll be causing. Do you?"

"I could, but I won't. It is easy to take a life, it is incredibly difficult to create one," Alptraum says, now standing beside Soldano and as solid-looking as he. "I've watched you for a while and even with your chosen ... profession you impressed me as a good man. It would be a disservice to the world to take you from it." The second part of the question's answer comes with a pause. "And yes, I know the damage those in your care could cause. Are you sure you want to know?"

"I had better know," Soldano says. "I don't want to be able to plead ignorance. No excuses to avoid responsibility. I need to know what they can do, and whether or not you can actually stop them."

"When what is within them breaks free, anyone close to them may be driven insane. You walked in the mists and saw the shadows there. Imagine that through a kaleidoscope of colors and if seen through a rippling chamber of water. Imagine being able to taste the color yellow or the sounds of a scream. That is what they are like. They destroy the mind of those near, and make them .. vessels. They'll do anything, including eating others. You saw her guards," Alptraum explains.

Soldano leans forward, gripping the rail tightly in his hands. "You'd think the General would see fit to tell that to the person setting them off," he says. "Unless she just assumed I would use underlings. But this.. helps. Thank you. I can put them where they won't do any damage. Do you have any recommendations?"

"So you can watch me and learn how to kill me?" Alptraum asks as he now looks out over the city. "I'm pretty sure I know how she intended for you to do that already. As for where, places with few to no people. Burned out areas of the undercity. I could arrange for safe locations for them if you wish."

"That might be best," Soldano says. "The General only seems interested in you, not in any actual damage these things can do. And since you're expected to destroy them, we might as well arrange that at the same time. How much do you know about this operation?"

"Everything, really. Including the threat you are under and the death threat of your first mate's lover should you fail to complete your task," Alptraum admits. "And I guess I should be flattered the General has such interest in me; I'm just a fool on a fool's errand."

"You have her worried then, so who is the bigger fool?" Soldano asks, grinning a bit. "It was the Yodhsunala, wasn't it? That's how you know about me.. she reported to the Temple, of course. As for the threat part.. I'm certain the General has no intention of 'curing' me if I succeed. And if she could assassinate any random person, including one that Orca himself can't keep track of, then she'd already rule the city."

"My guess is she intends to kill me by knowing that I would try to cure you," Alptraum explains and rolls his shoulders, "And yes, the Yodhsunala ... and others. I have a lot of contacts and friends; and none of them I have to coherce with death threats of being devoured from within. Oh, and before you get any ideas of killing yourself first, I should remind you it is technically my role to shepherd the souls of the dead. So all you end up doing is having to deal with me again."

"What is the end-game for us then?" Soldano asks, finally turning to look at his guest. "Can you fake your own death, somehow? Is that even possible, given who you are?"

It's Alptraum's turn to grin. "Lad, I was raised by gypsies. If I didn't know how to act and put on a show, I would be a disgrace to them," he quips. He ends up rolling his jaw in thought, then smirks. "And I may be able to use this to bring her out of hiding. If she thought I was dying, she might actually come to gloat ... more more likely, claim the weapon I stole from her master."

"You stole something from Diphath?" Soldano asks. "I also thought you'd look older. What did you take from her? Her sanity?"

"A weapon thousands of years old. Without it, her power is quite diminished," Alptraum explains rather vaguely. "And older? Really? How old did you expect me to be?"

"I'm not sure," Soldano admits. "Just.. ageless? You look like someone I'd see in one of the goth clubs on Rephidim."

Alptraum laughs. "I'm no different than most you might meet in a bar," he admits and laughs, "I could be scarier if you want ... but I don't see the need for that." He pauses there and rubs his forehead as he knows he has to get back to more serious matters. "And you should know, I don't know if i can save you from what is within you. I don't know anything about it; I would need to examine it, and you, up close."

"Well.. we have six opportunities for that," Soldano says. "If you can't... well, maybe I'll accomplish something in death to make up for disappointing my family. Assuming I don't go mad first, of course. For all I know, it'll be exposure to the General's creatures that triggers the thing inside me to take over or eat me."

"I would rather you did not die. You mean a lot to some people; including a certain feline you've spent a lot of time with," Alptraum notes.

"She could do better," Soldano says. "What would be involved? Can you just cut this thing out of me? I don't know where it is."

"It's not the matter of doing better; she likes you. That's what matters," Alptraum explains with a bit of finality. "And as for how to treat it, I have to figure out what it does. I don't know if it can be cut out, or if, well, a more interesting host is presented to it. Like me."

"I suppose it's just down to.. observation," Soldano says. "It must follow a progression, induce symptoms of some kind. Change something."

"I would rather it didn't change anything. Or nothing I couldn't fix," Alptraum says, then frowns. "Actually, I need to see you sooner. I need to examine you unchanged so I know how to undo anything it might do to you."

"I have limited amount of time, and I don't know if I'm being watched," Soldano admits. "How would we meet? I'm in the Abbas tower.. which frankly is a circus right now. If the monsters popped in here right now, nobody would know the difference."

"Oh, I could arrange for a monster to visit you. That's easy," Alptraum chuckles. "The one I had tracking you through the mists, for example. Or others. I could probably get someone to you. Unless it is easier for you to go somewhere."

"I can go anywhere within the tower, but I can't leave without one of the.. bombs," Soldano says. "I can't bring myself to call them women. Maybe I should set one off in the tower."

"No, don't. There are innocents in the Tower," Alptraum says and raises his right hand. "So I need to find a good first place, then examine you there after dealing with the creature. The bodies, the women, have no souls or minds left; they're just husks to keep what is inside them alive."

"Thank goodness for that," Soldano says, and shudders. "I thought.. that maybe they were just being held prisoner in their own bodies. Where should I bring the first one?"

"The closest place to you is a cavern deep beneath the tower where the other one was destroyed. I could find that place again easy enough. Another location is an old training sight for the Yodhgorphat; a place of disease. No one lives near it," Alptraum offers. "You decide which."

"Oh.. so, one in the basement, where it will be easy to get to.." Soldano says, "orrrr.. one near a place of disease. Probably horrible disease. I at least want to make sure my condition is hopeless before risking that.. unless getting a normal disease somehow knocks out the abnormal one.. hmmm. But.. ah.. down below to start, I think. The first one is just to lure you out anyway, right?"

"Yes, and one in the basement could be argued as trying to restart the coven there," Alptraum says and nods. "So it would also be a reasonable place I would check."

"Restart the coven?" Soldano asks. "You mean.. there is are Yodhdiphath here?"

"Were. They were ... dealt with. The elder male and his two sisters were the leaders," Alptraum explains. "You probably noticed they've been absent."

"They were it then?" Soldano asks. "Where do I find this pit, exactly? Just.. keep going down? Would anyone else know about it?"

"Down. Far down. Some of the slaves there knew of it and were tempted by it. I do not know if any remain that know; I freed those I could. Go to where the slaves were kept, then look for a passage down," Alptraum explains as best he can.

"I hope I remember all of this when I wake up," Soldano says. Then he nods. "I'll find the route, then bring the.. host.. down. Tomorrow night? I don't know what I have to do to make it.. birth or whatever. I assume it will when its brought someplace suitable?"

"I'm not sure either. You may be right on that. I hope whatever is inside you protects you from its effects ... or you don't want to be anywhere near it once it starts," Alptraum admits as he rubs the back of his neck. "And you'll remember this when you wake up. that's the problem with this place, it's hard to forget anything that happens here. Drinking doesn't help much either."

"I expect I'll drink to forget it all afterwards," Soldano says. "Especially the physical examination. That's not likely to be pleasant, is it?"

"Actually ... I understand it to be quite nice," Alptraum says with a grin. "Not that I enjoy examining another guy; just saying."

"Well.. that doesn't worry me. Not at all," Soldano says, then grins. "I suppose for safety I need to take the host down by myself. Can't risk Orca going crazier."

"No. He's crazy enough for hanging out with that other rat," Alptraum agrees, grinning right back. "But yes, just you, me, and monster mommy makes twelve and a half. I'm not kidding, either, the world will look quite different once it pops."

"I'll try to keep back from it as soon as it's.. uh.. planted," Soldano promises.

"Good. Anything you want to ask of me?" Alptraum asks and spreads his arms. "Not many get this opportunity."

"Is the Sea of Souls as horrifying as it sounds, or is that just a ploy to keep everyone from committing suicide?" Soldano asks.

"Well, I can put it this way. I don't want a vacation home there," Alptraum answers. "I was terrified the first time I went there."

"Secondly then.. can you really summon up the dead?" Soldano asks, an uncertain expression on his face.

"Echoes, a reflection of the person," Alptraum says. "You wish to speak to your family?"

"Depends on how things turn out," Soldano says. "If I'm going to die, it's only fair that I give them warning first, after all."

"Your decision. You may or may not hear things you want to hear," Alptraum admits as he goes to look at the city again. "Anything else?"

"I suppose.. what are your goals?" Soldano asks. "The Guardians say they want to restore Babel to it's former glory. The General just seems to want to conquer it or create some sort of hell."

"Hard question to answer. Simply, I want to make the city better. To make people happier; not just those with power, everyone. To help the wounds heal and move things forward," Alptraum explains, then shrugs. "I once told a Yodhsunala that if one person does something good for someone, they may repeat it, then another. And maybe, just maybe in time one person could change the world through a simple act of kindness." He snorts and adds, "She laughed in my face."

"Well, there are also big acts of kindness too," Soldano says, and looks back to the dream city. "Maybe your Babel is one I can fit back into."

"Big acts of kindness don't normally come from a simple gypsy," Alptraum says, "And that's what I always see myself as. I know what others call me and what I can do. But ... I just don't think of myself as special."

"Well, just use your gypsy wiles to fake something big then," Soldano suggests. "It could be just as effective. Now I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow night, assuming I didn't really just dream all of this."

"How could you do that?" Soldano asks. "It's.. it's still a dream, even if a lucid one. I can't take anything out of it but the memory.. right?"

"I could probably think of something, but given your condition it would be a bad idea," Alptraum claims. "You'll just have to have ... faith." That last bit ... has the echo of a voice Soldano heard in the forest after they had left the mists.

Crystal Cavern
Midway between Rephidim city and Underside, this is one of the largest underground chambers on the island. Unlike many others, this one is lit not by rainbow crystal, but by genuine Sifran crystal, which culminates in a central stalagtite formation that gives the impression of a giant, flat-floored ballroom lit by a grand chandelier. Directly under the stalagtite crystal is a slightly raised round platform with a flat top.

Nicora probably wasn't expecting to end up here after leaving the dream version of the Shadowdrake.. but then these things aren't always predictable. The naked, bleached and furless bat finds herself on something soft.. namely Hortense's pet Lapi buck. She's been expected it seems. The crew is all here, and a new restraint frame is being erected. What's more.. Gorphat's latest 'blessing' is also making itself felt. And combined with her previous one, that could make for some mixed sensations.

"This is a mistake!" Nicora blurts out as she sits upright. "I shouldn't be here! I have things to do! So ... I'll just find my way out." And with that the Eeee tries to get up and quickly head for the exit.

Bunnies grab her shoulders and feet, and lift her up off the ground to keep her from escaping. "Mordecai doesn't like being stood up," Hortense purrs from behind, and there's a light slap of her leather flog against Nicora's rump. "Neither do I."

"I wasn't standing anyone up! This has to be a mistake!" Nicora squeak sand squirms from the sudden swat.

"We don't make mistakes," Hortense claims, and the bat is carried back towards the new frame. This one looks like crossed table frames without their tops. It looks like the outline of a cross.

"Gods, I want someone in me right now. Someone large," Nicora finds herself thinking as one of Gorphat's blessings pushes itself forward, and then so does a twinge, telling her she's going to hurt if she engages in anything! It's a feeling of frustration that's hard to describe. She distracts herself by seeing the table and her eyes go wide. "Are you creating these things just for me?" she ends up asking Hortense, "Like I'm a play toy?"

Nicora is flipped over, so that she's face down.. and /stretched. Leather straps are used to bind her shins and ankles and wrists and forearms to the ends of the center table, keeping her stretched enough to feel the strain. "Of course we do!" Hortense says. "I like to experiment." And then the bat's wings are stretched out as well, and clipped to the warms of the cross..

"Where is that vartan...?" Nicora's mind wanders for a moment before the stretching snaps her mind back into the now. "Uhm, is this required payment for the promise I gave you last time?" she asks.

"Oh no, this is just a favor to Mordecai!" Hortense claims. "You'll have to make payment in person of course." And the crazy Khatta rubs the handle of her flog between Nicora's legs just then. "You certainly smell eager though.."

And Nicora's body responds to that; the room almost reeks of an 'in heat' Eeee, for lack of a better word. "It's ... just a condition. It makes me smell like that," Nicora claims, then bites her lip to stifle the sound she wanted to make from that touch.

"Oh? A condition?" Hortense teases, and strokes her flog up along Nicora's back now. "Are you suffering then?"

"Gorphat is sure making me suffer," Nicora thinks. All she can admit to Hortense is, "A little maybe."

"And quit thinking of Rhians and Vartans, you pervert," Nicora chides herself as her mind wanders, again.

"Hmmm, that should be my task though," Hortense complains. "Still.. Mordecai wants you.. happy.." She nods to the buck, who takes the Eeee from behind, and then the does climb underneath to help 'support' Nicora.. although this involves tongues for some reason.

Nicora gives away her condition pretty quickly with the sounds she makes when the buck takes her. How can something feel so good and still somehow hurt at the same time. It's a maddening confusion of sensation; and her squeaks, cries, and whimpers are equally confused. "What have I been made into?" the Eeee thinks.

After a few minutes of 'warm up', Nicora's head is lifted up by a furless white hand on her chin, and Mordecai smiles to her from the side of the cross. "Hello," he says, and gives her a kiss.

Nicora accepts and returns the kiss; and the affection in it scares even Nicora. Why does she like this guy so much? "Hello," she says once it ends; her voice soft and almost ... timid.

The Artist sets his tools and supply trays out of Nicora's sight, and then enters the frame (and steps around wiggling rabbits) to get to her left side, behind her wings. The alcohol comes out, and Nicora feels it wipe between her wings - and along them to some extent - before covering her shoulders and neck as well.

"Do you have to do this?" Nicora asks timidly, "Everyone will think I am owned." The sruges of desire that ripple through her remind her that she is to a degree. She's been made a slave to physical pleasures, that's for certain. Why else would she allow it when she knows it will only bring pain in the end?

"An Artist does not truly own his creations," Mordecai says, and the first needle pricks begin. "He is owned by them. They command him, drive him, demand of him their existence."

"Ow," Nicora winces when she feels the needle strike. "But I am not your creation," Nicora claims to Mordecai. She then strains her head and tries to spot Hortense.

The cat is leaning over one corner of the frame, looking at Nicora and... licking the handle of her flog.

"We create something together," Mordecai says. "We are both slaves in that sense. You are my Canvas, I am your Artist."

"Mistress?" Nicora actually asks of the cat; then a shudder rolls through her when a surge ripples through her again.

"Oooo, I like the sound of that," Hortense says, and smiles to Nicora. "Yes, my pretty marshmallow bat?"

"May I have a vartan or rhian again sometime?" Nicora finds herself asking. The Eeee ends up thinking to herself a question of "WHY DID YOU ASK THAT?"

"Well, that depends on if you earn it," Hortense says. "And what you have to offer them. Are you offering the Aeonian mare? Something else?"

"Myself?" Nicora actually offers, eyes clenching shut as she winces from the needle. "Whatever they want; I just ... this body wants..." She whimpers.

"Hush you," Hortense says. "Do better!" She smiles to Nicora, and says, "I'll see what I can do to you. I mean, for you. Well.. to you, let's be honest.."

"You please me a lot," Nicora says quickly, not wanting the buck to leave. "I can make sure you are pleased too. Remember after the bath?" Hortense's comments make her ears wilt. This won't end well. So she's almost thankful when a wave of desire, pleasure, then pain rolls through her!

The does beneath put in extra effort as well, doing everything short of tickling (since that could have bad results on the tightly tensioned bat), while Mordecai continues to work, spreading things out so that he isn't focusing in one place too long. There's something at the back of Nicora's neck, over and along her shoulders, and even across the backs of her wings and down her spine.. and outward along her ribs even! This is something big.

And the buck must be doing something right because the sounds Nicora makes are, well, quite indicative of someone quite enjoying herself; and with the way she bears down on him, well ... he should be enjoying it too! "How can it hurt so much and still feel good? What did you do to me, Mother?" Nicora finds herself thinking. She almost doesn't notice the burning of her neck, back, and wings; not enough to guess what it could even be.

"She's very.. uh.. eager," the buck notes to Mordecai. "I'll take over in a bit, just hang in their," the albino bat notes, not pausing in his work on Nicora's neck.

"You better release your fountain before you go, buck," Nicora actually whines. Wow, she must really be feeling desire.

"I most certainly will," the Lapi promises, while Mordecai keeps working. Now he jumps from the back of the neck to between the wings, working a bit there next while the skin of Nicora's neck recovers a bit.

"Ow, ow, ow," Nicora mutters and it is actually hard to tell if it is from the buck or the needle! And the smell of aroused Eeee at this point fills the room; she's putting out some serious pheromones.

Hortense can't just sit aside. The soft leather straps of her flog are used to caress along Nicora's right wing now, tracing out the struts. There is a pause, when the buck releases and has to withdraw so Mordecai can take over. The smell is.. odd, and the buck retreats clean himself off.

A surge of pain follows the buck's release, along with Nicora crying out in a haze of it all! When Mordecai replaces the buck, it hurts. Boy does it hurt. And yet she actually whimpers to the other Eeee, "Thank you. I need you in me."

Mordecai finds his rhythm, and starts to work on Nicora's lower back next. He seems to focus on the small of her back and lower spine. Hortense continues to tease Nicora's wings and the Lapi does make sure Nicora doesn't dip down to strain her limbs - and also nuzzle and lick and rub and suck to make sure her front is properly stimulated.

Nicora's lower midsection burns, hurts, and feels good. That's maddening. All she can manage to do is whimper, plead, whine, and at times, beg. With each tick of the needle a little more of her flesh is claimed by Mordecai for the most reviled of all Eeee Goddesses, Gorphat.

Things go on for some time, with three more swap-outs between Mordecai and the buck. Nicora's back and neck burn, along with the other aches and pains in her limbs now. Mordecai puts the finishing touches on her lower back.. and then focuses more on lovemaking at that point.

Nicora isn't even aware of her own scent at this point; she's just lost in her cries and the disturbing mix of sensations her body gives her. Gorphat was cruel indeed to make her both lust for this, and to make it hurt when that lust is sated. She also now wishes she could see her back, but ... it's all just a blur of burn; an extensive burn at that.

Hortense is on the move, along with the buck. They've got mirrors! So soon Nicora has the change to lift her head and see what they want to show her.

Nicora cries out as another wave of pain and pleasure hits her. Her head lifts as she cries, then soon she finds herself looking into a mirror at herself.

First she sees.. Mordecai, still between her legs and smiling for the mirror. The buck then positions the second one, moving it so as to pan up and down Nicora's back. What she sees is.. a horrib. It's wings extend out onto Nicora's own, and its pinches are biting into the flesh of over her shoulders, while the other legs and grip around her ribs. The creature's mandibles are sunk into the back of her neck, and the blood.. well, it could be real or artistic. The great tail stretches down Nicora's spine, and the stinger is embedded into her tailbone. It's a horrific black and green and red.

Nicora's eyes go wide! That brings back some unpleasant memories; when she was actually stung, paralized, and hung up like a slab of meat in the horrib lair. And now it is etched into her skin as a constant reminder, and an echo of why her stomach also bears the marks it does. Nicora; the horrib brood-host for Gorphat. Sterile to all children save those monsters.

"So, do we hang you upside down now?" Hortense asks, wiggling the mirror. Mordecai finishes, looking exhausted. Of course.. this only satisfies Nicora briefly, due to the curse.

"That is up to you, Mistress," Nicora whispers, sounding tired as well. Mordecai's finish elicits more pain and another rush from her, as well as a cry ... but that curse in unrelenting and soon she finds herself 'needing' more, again ... even with the pain she is in. "Will I ever feel satisfied? Full?" she thinks to herself.

"You look worn," Hortense says, sounding sympathetic. "Tilt her up," she commands her minions, and the frame is lifted and tilted until Nicora is facing the ground. This puts more pressure on her ankles.. but Eeee normally hang from them, so it isn't like they're delicate. Then comes the final alcohol bath!

"I need more. I need someone in me," Nicora hisses rather pathetically when the burn of alcohol hits her hard. And yet her stupid body is insistent. Then she finally notices the other smell; musky, sickly, reminiscent of the lair ... and all she can think is, "God, is that me?"