It isn't easy for Nicora to sleep. With her ears blocked, she mostly hears her own heartbeat and blood flow - and other bodily noises. And there are plenty of those! When she finally does doze off.. someone kicks her out of the bed!
Or rather, Nicora stays put on the bed, sleeping, while Alptraum finds himself on the floor next to the bed, with a boot-print on his side. "Sleep is for the weak!" a burly figure declares, one booted foot up on Nicora as she leans forward. Blakat is dressed in tan trousers that bulge out at the sides, a scaled leather belt, leather vest and a wide-brimmed leather hat. She's also got a coiled whip at her side, which is either made of several skedat tails or one very long one. "Ready to get going?" she asks, smiling maniacally. It doesn't help that her long red hair is braided into twin pigtails. The various creatures inhabiting the room ignore her completely.
Alptraum looks confused as he gets up slowly. "What in the world are you doing?! Go where?" he demands, "Why did you kick me? How did you manage getting me out of that? And I need clothes! I'm not going out naked, thank you very much!"
"Clothes? Fine, fine.." Blakat says, and reaches into a trouser pocket and pulls out.. a shimmery gold Zolk loincloth. She bobs it up and down as it dangles from her fingers. "And for the rest.. you're dreaming of course. You played with Barada! Now you get to play with me! It'll be fun! Or terrifying! Or both if you're lucky!"
"And I have to wear this," Alptraum says as he tries to snatch the cloth, "While you get to wear all that? What is this? Harem adventures?"
Blakat eventually lets Alptraum take the cloth from her. "Harem adventures? Why would there be any clothing involved for that? This is much better!" The Goddess of Madness pulls a piece of parchment from a vest pocket, and unfolds it carefully.. before holding it out for Alptraum to see... that it is completely blank, except for some old stains. "A treasure map! I stole it from Barada!"
Alptraum sighs as he puts on the loincloth. "You do realize that parchment is blank, yes?" he points out the obvious. "And if this is a treasure hunt I should probably have more than this skimpy thing." Still, in spite of it all he looks amused. Blakat can be fun, usually. "And I'm surprised you didn't take me like that," he adds, gesturing to the horrible-looking green Eeee on the rough bed.
"Ewwww," Blakat goes, looking at Nicora.. and then checking that nothing is stuck to her boot where she rested it upon the Yodhgorphat. "That'd be like hanging out with Gorphat," she notes. "What else do you think you should have to wear?"
"And what is wrong hanging out with Gorphat?" Alptraum has to ask. "As for clothing, it depends on where we are going. I suppose you can make me some later," he adds, then actually presses up against the loony Goddess.
"Make you some?" Blakat asks, and takes the opportunity to grope Alptraum's rear. "No no no.. you have to take them," she reminds. "From me or someone else. Think you can take my clothes?" she asks in a challenging tone.
"Of course I could take your clothing," says the former pickpocket ... who happens to be going for her whip while she is distracted. He even waggles his brow, adding, "If I'm in the right mood."
The goddess raises one eyebrow, then the other.. then, somehow, a third one. "Are you flirting?" Blakat asks.
Alptraum smiles. "Now, would I do that?" he asks, then swats her on the butt.
Blakat has a fairly hard butt. But she does seem surprised by the swat. "Oh... so you want to fight then? Know how to wrestle?" she asks.
Alptraum laughs and actually kisses Blakat on the cheek. "Lets get going," he suggests and steps back. With the whip were he successful at obtaining it.
"Hey, I have a whip just like that," Blakat says, reaching for spot where it was. "Oooo, tricky! But that doesn't count, because you didn't demand it from me, you know. Sneaky is cheating!"
"Ah, but I took it," Alptraum says as he loops it over his shoulder, grinning. "Or are you now admitting that you can't match me without being overt?"
"It's the principle," Blakat grumbles. "Now come along," she says, pointing at a blank space on the map. "We need to find the Chamber of Lost Hearts first. It's around here someplace."
Alptraum drapes his arm back around Blakat's waist. "You're cute when you're huffy," he notes, actually looking at the blank map and trying to figure out if she is pointing at anything at all.
It looks like some bug juice got on it. Maybe the parchment is less a map than it is an old napkin. "We go down! Into the bowels of Gorphat's Temple!" Blakat declares then throws her head back and cackles madly!
"Er, are you sure you don't want Nicora for this? The Temple likes her," Alptraum points out, shrugs, then pats Blakat's side! Okay, down into the bowels they go! At least he gets to see and hear it this time.
"But I want to see the deathtraps!" Blakat says, as they start on their grand quest.. down the hallway. Then the goddess turns down a side passage that Alptraum doesn't remember, so it may or may not exist. There's a sound of running water ahead.
"You're making all this up," Alptraum accuses, "And you must like me to go to this much trouble. And ... hm, I do not remember water."
The stone passage opens into a larger, wetter one, where water is flowing down a twisty, smooth and disturbingly organic looking tunnel. It seems to be pouring out of the walls themselves. "Aha, the River Colon!" Blakat declares. "You go first," she then tells Alptraum.
"Why do I have to go first?" Alptraum demands, eying the nutso Goddess.
"So I can have something soft to land on at the end, and because I bet you'll scream," Blakat says with a toothy grin. "I like it when my playmates scream. It means they're really alive!"
Alptraum grabs Blakat's vest and steals a kiss from the Goddess! "See you at the bottom," he says, winks, and jumps into the horrible looking tunnel!
The stone is slippery, and the angle steep enough to get some good acceleration going. Soon Alptraum is being swept feet-first through the water at a good clip, making every sudden drop and cascade and 'hold your breath for this part' submersion something to react to immediately. But other than that, it's pretty fun.. until the traps kick in. Shooting down particular straight section somehow causes suspended boulders (hopefully stone ones) to drop from the ceiling.
"Aaaaaah!" Alptraum helpfully screams as he approaches the 'danger zone', so to speak! He uses wings, hand, and foot claws to try and control his speed to avoid being where a boulder will be when it falls. "Why did I agree to this, again?" he thinks.
Blakat is cackling with laughter behind-and-above somewhere, as the boulders hit the water or bounce off of the curved walls, causing some to 'roll' along the sides of the walls and pass Alptraum.. only to 'jump up' when they hit the water and threaten to bonk him on the head if he doesn't duck in time. For some reason, the boulders make funny noises when then strike anything. All of them are rude funny noises though, the sort Nicora might generate just from moving.
Alptraum laughs in spite of himself. Oh how Hexen would love this 'ride'! Even the rude noises are amusing; he's used to producing those constantly now in Nicora's form, after all. "This is ridiculous!" Alptraum calls back to the crazy Goddess.
The tunnel opens up into a wide bowl of a chamber at an angle, causing a whirlpool in the center that sucks everything toward it, even the occasional floating boulder (because some of them float for whatever reason). Eeee are also not immune to this cyclonic current, and the walls are too smooth to get any kind of grip.
"Argh!" goes Alptraum again! Once he finds he cannot grip anything he wraps himself in his wings to make himself slicker.
This may or may not have been a good idea, since Blakat runs into him.. and then hops up and surfs the bat into the eye of the Maelstrom. "Woooo! I rule!" she cheers, just before they both get sucked down into a spinning column of air and water. Instead of drowning though, they are spit out upwards into a new chamber, made of glowing pink stone and full of giant ceramic jars.
Alptraum snaps his wings open once he is airborne and uses it to control his landing. Alas, he no longer has his skimpy loincloth, but it didn't do much anyway. "What place is this?" he has to ask as he looks around the pink room, then warily at the jars. It is always dangerous to touch a jar in Gorphat's domain.
The jars have open tops, and filled with.. bones? Or rather, bones cut into the shapes of tiny hearts, with symbols further carved into them.
"This is really strange," Alptraum admits as he lifts out a few to examine them closer.
"Ahaha!" Blakat crows, not even appearing to be wet. "The Chamber of Lost Hearts!" she declares, and promptly kicks over a four-foot-tall jar to spill out the multicolored contents.
"You do know that is desecration, yes?" Alptraum points out. "What is the point of this chamber?"
"This is where all the lamentations of the 'heart-sick' accumulate, of course," Blakat says, grabbing a tiny heart and showing it to Alptraum. The inscription reads 'Sexy Beast' on it.
That causes Alptraum to blink a few times. "Heart sick? Those in love?" he asks as he looks closer at that particular carving.
The inscriptions are all short and silly. "U R My Luv Bug" "Be My Inala" "Hug Me" "Bite Me" "Bite Me HARDER" and so forth.
"This is ... why exactly did you want to find this place?" Alptraum asks of Blakat as he looks back up.
"Because now we get to fight the Guardians of Lost Hearts!" Blakat notes, tossing some of the hard bone-meal hearts into her mouth and crunching loudly.
Alptraum rubs his forehead. "Oh, of course we do," he says, sighing. He checks to see if he at least has his shadow abilities and 'weapons' here.
His right arm is pointy and hard, and he should be able to use a skedat-like shadow-sword at least, or the long-range 'spikes' that can be used to suck creatures dry.
There's a jingling of bells heard from one of the side corridors of the chamber. Then from another, and another, getting closer.
"Bells?" Alptraum asks out loud, "Why bells?" He shakes his right arm a bit, trying to shape it into a shadow sword, just in case.
"Those the Bells of.. uh.. Bewilderment?" Blakat guesses with a shrug. Something is tossed out of one of the corridors, landing with a squeak on the floor. It's a small stuffed toy - a chibix in this case - wearing a pink collar with a bell attached. More toys begin to bounce out of the doorways: rabbits, kittens, birds.. and horribs? They're beginning to pile up, with the flood increasing.
"Great, death by stuffed toys," Alptraum mutters and tries to stab one! "Maybe we should be going to the next place?"
Blakat is laughing and diving into the growing pile of toys. She happily starts tearing them apart, showing fluff everywhere! "No! Gotta kill 'em! Tear em up! Use your teeth! Your toes! Your fingers! Your nose!"
Alptraum stands there looking ... confused. "I just ... wha?" he thinks. He thinks about this some more. Then even more. Nope, still doesn't make any sense. He shrugs, retracts his shadow weapon, then just dives in and ... does what Blakat does! He tears them apart by hand.
The toys sometime squeak, but don't show any signs of animation, nor is it clear what or whom is tossing them into the room! But there's at least a visceral thrill to the slaughter, even if it doesn't make any sense..
"Maybe Blakat is trying to convert me into one her daughters?" Alptraum wonders. He'll have to check for red fur after this! But right now ... yes, this is kind of fun. Except for snorting in fluff, that causes sneezing.
As the area fills with fluffy entrails, Blakat gets more and more excited - until she rips her pants off and jumps on Alptraum, pushing him back down into the pile of plush debris. "Be Mine!" she quotes, as she starts to grind against Alptraum.
Alptraum counters this with a growl of "Sexy Beast!" He then actually bites her neck and shoulder ... and spears her elsewhere too! Well, this is different!
It is.. different. Blakat is feral and unpredictable and very wild in her lovemaking, which makes it all the more intense. There's no time for technique or subtly or teasing, as Blakat only has one speed setting, which is 'hold on tight or risk serious injury'.
If anything, it's like a battle.. making this the oddest (or best) martial art possible.
Alptraum now knows that Eeee are quite capable of doing what is called rutting. He also has to admit, that it is rather exciting! And she's muscular everywhere, including there. So, he's growling all along the way, trying to take pleasure from her as much as give it to her! He is also bitey, but, well, vampire.
Blakat prefers to use her claws over her teeth, and always leads and takes a dominant position. There is the risk of things being crushed, or bent.. but Blakat is 'gentle' with Alptraum in that respect. Yodhblakat may very well be trained to use this as a form of torture or punishment though. It's clear that things aren't going to end until the goddess is satisfied. "Hit me!" she growls insistently. "Slap me! Fight me!"
And So Alptraum does fight back! He hits her across her jaw, claws her chest, bites. He even kicks and thrashes, trying to take the dominant position with the Goddess. All the while he is growling, lips drawn and fangs shining.
This is what puts Blakat over the edge (although she doesn't go so far as to let Alptraum dominate). She howls to announce it, and gives Alptraum a rib-straining bear-hug as well. All about them, fluff drifts down like snow.
Alptraum ends up collapsing under the Goddess and panting like mad ... and in the process making his own little storm of fluff. "Wow," it all he can think.
Still wearing her boots and hat, Blakat pulls out the map again - despite her vest being gone - and consults it. "Let's see.. hmmm... ah... yessssss... no? Maybe. Broccoli and waffles, can't go that way, not without the proper sauces.. aha! We can take a shortcut through the Way of All Flesh!" she announces.
"The way of all flesh is death," Alptraum points out as he gets up ... and takes time to actually check himself for damage. Or worse ...color changes.
He hasn't become a Barblakat.. yet, anyway. His hair is still white, and fur still black. "The flesh lasts after death," Blakat points out. "Souls belong to Sunala, but Gorphat has claim to the flesh," she notes, and hops to her feet, none the worse for wear from their romp.
"This one is fifty three cards short of a fifty four card deck," Alptraum says, groans, and stretches a bit. "So, you want to go through a morgue?"
Blakat cackles again. "Nothing so orderly! Come along, sidekick! It's time to go see the Yodhgorphat," she says, making a grand sweeping gesture of her and pointing towards a tunnel.. then changing her mind and pointing to an entirely different one.
"Isn't the only Yodhgorphat sleeping upstairs?" Alptraum asks as he shakes his head, then heads down the indicated tunnel. "This is demented," he thinks .. but he's actually enjoying it. It beats being slimy.
"No, the Yodhgorphat," Blakat repeats. "Just as there are barsunala and the Barsunala, there are yodhgorphat and the Yodhgorphat. The First Daughter of Gorphat."
Alptraum ooohs. "Well, that will be interesting," he has to admit.
The tunnel twists and turns and branches out in multiple directions at one junction, each marked by a sign reading 'Nowhere', 'Somewhere', 'Underwear' and 'Beware' respectively. Blakat leads on through the 'Beware' tunnel. It starts to get very warm and.. odorous. Alptraum may be wishing for Nicora's dulled sense of smell due to permanent head congestion.
Alptraum covers his nose. "Ugh, what a horrible smell," he complains. "Nicora doesn't smell this bad, does she?" Egad if she does, then Sil has a constitution of iron! "And why is it so warm? It is like a swamp..."
"Oh, it's just Gorphat's Hell, the Way of All Flesh," Blakat says, taking in a deep breath as if smelling a patch of blooming flowers. "One of my favorites!" she admits. They soon reach the source of the foulness: a huge cavern, piled to the ceiling with corpses. And not just any corpses, but those dead by horrible disease. Bodies that are bloated, deformed or covered in tumors and ulcers. "Annoy Gorphat, and you end up here," Blakat notes cheerfully. "Or fail her. Probably a lot of would-be Yodh that didn't make the cut on the Path of Affliction." The fermenting bodies sometimes squirm a bit, as if still possessed of some bit of life. Deeper in the maze created by the mounds comes the sound of.. munching. And slurping. And cracking.
Alptraum pauses. And heaves. Repeatedly. It's good he hasn't had any meals down here or he would have added to the pile. "So, I could have ended up here had I failed the Path? Lovely," he says, sounding extremely sick. He tries to only breathe through his mouth, then asks, "What is that sound? Do I really want to know?"
"Magog, the first Yodhgorphat!" Blakat says cheerfully, then grabs Alptraum's hand to drag him along as she skips along the sticky path. The place is a charnel labyrinth, but Blakat seems to know where she's going, since the horrible sounds get louder and louder.
"Ew, Gods. Ack. That was a spleen. Ew, I stepped on an eye," Alptraum babbles as he is drug along. He's trying to watch where he walks, but Blakat makes that rather hard to do. "And I pledged to this Goddess?" he thinsk, still quite sick. He also wishes he were deaf right now.
They turn a corner and see Magog. Like all Babelite demons, she is a combination of Eeee and some sort of animal. Her pale skin is tight over an Eeee face, the ears narrowing into two wispy antennae. Behind this face, however, is the bloated, boneless form of a giant maggot. There are nubs where arms and legs would be, and the creature moves about atop its eight breasts, leaving a trail of green slime. The pale skin is nearly translucent, showing green veins, and at the rear it is clearly female and Eeee again.. but this is another source of flowing goo. She's also eight feet tall and twenty feet long, and eyeless. The jaws pull out from the pile of corpses and drips gore as the blobby face turns to face the intruders. "Who disturbs Magog's meal?" it gurgles, sounding a bit too much like Nicora for comfort.
"Hey Maggie, it's me, Aunt Blackie!" Blakat says cheerfully.
"Oh my God. Nicora has some of that. And that and ... is she turning Nicora into this? Is this what I will become? I already ooze, I have those breasts, I'm growing larvae," Alptraum thinks in horror. The Eeee even starts shuffling his feet slowly backwards, hoping to get away from this horror!
Blakat's grip is like iron, however. "I brought the Barsunala with me," she tell the horrific creature. "We're going after the treasure of Black Bugwyne the Demon Pirate King! We need to pass through."
The giant nostrils flare, and Magog's feelers brush over Blakat and Alptraum. "You smell of my Mother. Are you my new stepfather?" Magog gurgles.
"Ah, er, I know your Mother's current favorite Yodhgorphat," Alptraum claims nervously, feeling extremely ill. "You remind me a lot of her."
"I am beautiful, as are my Daughters," Magog gurgles proudly. There's more motion as a half dozen similar creatures pop up out of the corpses or hump their way along paths. They look just like Magog, only more Eeee-sized. "Behold my beloved Yodhmagog."
"Who knows, you might meet the current High Priestess," Alptraum says weakly. "She's almost as oozy as you are, and is currently using her body to incubate a new horrib queen." He also eyes the other daughters ... and cringes! "Okay, this is just awful. why did I agree to come, again?"
While the maggot-women cluster around Alptraum and caress him with their feelers (and nuzzle-snuffle at his legs), Magog notes, "To pass, you must give me a gift."
Alptraum shivers at the touch of the disturbing maggot-Eeee. "What kind of gift? I have nothing with me," he admits.
"Ooooo... I can't give gifts you know," Blakat says, then slaps Alptraum on the back. "My friend can though! He's really generous!"
One of the Yodhmagog heaves itself up enough to reach Alptraum's crotch.. and gurgles happily as it clamps down and starts to suckle on him.
Alptraum squeaks! HE tries to push the creature off him! "Ack, hey, no!" he complains loudly!
"My Daughters like you," Magog says. "They have never met a man. Pleasure them as a man can, and I will let you pass."
Alptraum looks ill. "All of them? Er ... are they infected? Won't that make me infected?" he asks weakly.
"It's allll a dreeeam," Blakat whispers into Alptraum's ear. "We're but spirits, in a spirit realm.. and such like. Though you'll probably have some stanky boy bits, but I know a place along the way to wash up! Besides, I'll really enjoy watching! Unless of course you'd like a little help from me?"
Alptraum eyes Blakat warily ... then quits pushing the maggot-Eeee away from his crotch and closes his eyes. He tries to think of anything else, and the sensations, to try and get his body actually aroused. "It's no worse than being Nicora" he thinks to himself. "But doesn't your Mother deny you pleasures from sex?" he asks of Magog. "Her current High Priestess can rarely enjoy it."
"My mother's edicts affect only me, not my Daughters," Magog claims. "I would deny them nothing."
Blakat is still leaning against Alptraum's back, whispering into his ear, "There is courage in madness, you know. No fear, no morals, no disgust.. just action. It is a gift I grant my Yodh. I could grant it to you for this too. You will enjoy these creatures then. Just like you enjoyed me not long ago."
"Ah, so you cannot find pleasures in sex?" Alptraum asks, feeling Magog and Nicora are more and more alike than he might want. And ... Blakat's offering is tempting right now. Very tempting. Incredibly tempting. And in spite that it is likely a very bad idea, he says, "Please." to Blakat.
Alptraum's head is turned by the goddess, and his lips pressed against her breast. "Drink the milk of madness," she says. "It is strength, and freedom.. you need only take it from me, as my blessing."
"And it is temporary?" Alptraum asks as he looks up at Blakat.
"Of course," the Goddess notes. "Otherwise the Yodhblakat would not seek it out again and again."
Alptraum, still feeling bad about this, latches his lips and teeth on the red Goddess. He inhales through his nose ... then starts nursing on the Goddess in earnest.
It is like drinking potent wine. It causes Alptraum's head to spin, and then the rest of him to spin soon after. He feels warm.. on fire even, but not in any distressful way. Powerful! The most important thing in the room, if not the world! And everything around him.. changes. Piles of bodies become piles of multicolored satin pillows and cushions. The Yodhmagog too appear different to him. Their furless faces soften, their feelers burst into flowing strands of hair, and their ooze becomes like sensuous oil. The bodies are no longer shapeless, but take on the familiar form of.. Snow? Granted, there are still no arms or legs, and the multiple breasts look more appropriate somehow. The also have rounded rears, and delicious looking necks, and laughter falls from their lips like drops of liquid music..
Alptraum's lips draw back and he titters in a disturbing sort of laugh. "Mine, mine, mine!" he cackles as he dives into the mass of undulating women. His movements are frantic, but soon he feels his lower parts sink into, well, one of them! And that's not all, the crazed Eeee buries his face into the bottom of another, finding the more feminine parts of it with a ravenous desire. And ... still more. Arms and legs stretch out to feel, fondle, and invade and and all of those he can reach. The amount of goo, slime, and Gods know what else do not matter right now; it is fun ... and worse, a challenge!
Time passes at an odd pace. Alptraum takes on each of the women, his stamina apparently boundless.. and then does it again. The Yodhmagog quiver and undulate and squirt 'milk' on him. The haze of madness makes it all just fine. Nothing is bizarre or wrong so long as it's fun! Even the part were he uses several of the women as a mattress while another writhes atop him. But eventually, the smell begins to seem less sweet.. downright sour. There's a damp stickiness to his fur. And the wonderful limberness of his partner becomes more.. boneless flopping. With his final release, the madness fades, letting horrible, sober sanity wash over him like a cold wave.
Annnd .. Alptraum rolls to his side and starts retching. The stench is permeating. It clings to every hair, every pore ... even to his tongue! Ohh gods, it's like the worst possible hangover wakeup ever. "Bad idea, bad, bad, bad. I cannot believe I did that. I cannot believe Nicora is becoming ... these!" He even curls up into a fetal ball and whimpers.
The Yodhmagog think the vomit is a sign of pleasure or something, since they vie with one another to roll around in the puddle! "I am so proud of you, Alptraum," Blakat says. "Are you ready to continue? Need a moment to rest?"
Alptraum pushes himself to his feet so he can check himself for damage, infections, or worse! Godsm what if this form is now wormy? Ugh!
Alptraum says, "Does it look high def?"
Alptraum says, "Bright?"
The bat's fur is completely matted down with green slime. There isn't any spot that's dry, even the inside of his ears feel sticky. And some of it got up inside places too. His tongue feels like it was turned into a caterpillar. A squished one, since it feels fuzzy AND slimy all at once.
Alptraum gags and just stands there, shivering. "Okay, yes, lets get out of here. I feel sick," he complains, then leans on Blakat, probably to get her slimy too.
The Goddess runs a finger along Alptraum's cheek, and then licks it. "Could use less salt," she decides, and then drags the bat along as she passes Magog. "Visit again," the giant abomination tells Alptraum.
"I'll .... consider it," Alptraum offers vaguely so at to not offend!
Blakat whistles a random tune as she half-carries Alptraum the rest of the way through the cavern, and asks, "Ever had a slugshake? There are these giant slugs on Mount Blakat.. really juicy ones. You get a bunch and mash them up.. mmmmm.. it's a treat. Oh, did you want to clean up?"
"Yes, I kind of want to clean up. I feel like a slug," Alptraum as to admit, feeling ill from the smell that still clings to him. "I feel like ... Yodhgorphat Scourge. Ugh."
"Hey, she still gets plenty of action though, doesn't she?" Blakat asks. "What with all the demons and such. I didn't know Greve had it in him." A few more twists and turns, and they arrive in another cavern. This one is aglow with multi-colored moss, and rather steamy from the many hot springs (some of them boiling hot) both of the watery type and also filled with bubbling mud. "So.. hot mud right?" Blakat asks.
"Yes, but she rarely gets any pleasure from it. Gorphat has limited that ability significantly. It usually just hurts," Alptraum explains as he tries to find a mud bath that isn't boiling and would be safe. It is better than being slime covered.
"That one looks good," Blakat notes, and shoves Alptraum into the mud-spring. Luckily it isn't too hot. "Sit still so the mud-eels can clean you off. You've got bits of rotten flesh all over your back.."
"I didn't need to know that!" Alptraum blurts out as he sicks up to his back in hot mud. It actually doesn't feel that bad. But given things he has felt ... that doesn't take much!
Then the little ripples appear, along with the occasional glimpse of a scaly, serpentine form. Soon Alptraum can feel the eels.. pecking at him. They never bite his skin, but there are a lot of them and they are thorough, going after anything slime-covered - including his sensitive parts. And if doesn't clench, they may follow the trail all the way up into him!
Alptraum sits there, his poor ears dancing about like mad. And boy, the expressions he makes are ... Eeeee have a lot of facial muscles! The poor Eeee's eyes then go wide and he squeaks, "Hello!" Something just disappeared up inside him because he was trying to relax.
"So, am I as much fun to be with as Inala or Barada?" Blakat coos into Alptraum's ear. She places a hand on top of his head as well, as if prepared to dunk him if she doesn't like the answer.
"Actually, you are fun to be with," Alptraum has to admit as ... well, something squirms around inside him. Why does it have to feel both horrible and good at the same time.
"Of course I'm fun," Blakat says. "I'm the only Sister with any sense of humor you know. The others are soooo serious or all wrapped up in themselves. They don't know what it's like to go out among the regular folks. And beat them up. I pity them, really.."
Alptraum actually laughs at that, and it is an honest laugh. "Even with all the horrors and memories I really don't want ... thank you for bringing me along," he tells Blakat. "And I'm not saying that just because your claws are holding my head."
"Ah, I know you mean it," Blakat says.. and then dunks Alptraum anyway. Maybe it's so the eels can clean his ears (which they do). She does pull him back up after a minute though. "You're fun too, Alptraum! And crazy! REALLY CRAZY! Nicora is insane, but not crazy. It's crazy if you enjoy it, you see."
Alptraum gives Blakat a kiss ... full of mud! Two can play at this game! Mwahhaha!
"See, you were supposed to try and pull me into the mud," Blakat notes. "But you did something crazy instead! You should be my Barblakat. It'd be way more fun than turning into a slug for Gorphat, or being a whore for Inala, or.. well.. killing people for Sunala is pretty neat, I imagine. They'd be all afraid and 'don't take me Barsunala' and stuff. Nobody ever shows fear like that to me or mine.. because we'd beat the crap out of them if they did. We respect people who try to stand up to us."
Alptraum spits out some mud. "I grew up a gypsy. We did crazy stuff all the time, from lacing people's laundry with kyootecumber juice, to pickpocketing an entire town," the Eeee notes, grinning. "The harder to do, the better, back then."
"So, did you all worship me then?" Blakat asks, before jumping up and cannon-balling into the mud! She's still got her boots and hat on too.
"Hah! We didn't worship anyone. Utterly free," Alptraum claims as he flicks little balls of mud at the red Goddess.
Blakat summons up mud-golems (albeit only a few inches high) which rush across the surface and suicide-splash themselves into Alptraum. "Clearly you weren't mad enough to worship me then," she says with some disappointment. "I'm an unappreciated, despite being so inspirational!"
Alptraum roars (playfully) and squishes the golems! "Actually, I'm learning to, right now," he admits, "I wish I had spent more time with you before now. Given everything that has happened and will happen this is ... well parts are like being back home. Just wandering from place to place and getting into trouble. I never realized how much I missed it."
"And the madness?" Blakat asks, moving forward until she's right in Alptraum's lap (which may have trapped a few eels in the process). "You've seen Diphath's madness. Mine is so much better! It is what you can inspire, using your Dagger Eyes." She taps Alptraum on the nose, and he can see the dagger tattoos light up slightly around his eyes - even though technically they belong on Snowcora.
This causes Alptraum to pause. "It is more ... you completely remove inhibition. It is like being incredibly drunk. So .. you just follow a whim to where it leads," he notes. "And yes, yours is better than hers. Hers is depravity. Yours is more wild abandon." He also cannot help himself and traces around his own eyes.
There's a little tingle, a slight wavering of perceptions as the daggers are traced. More a memory of the madness. "I can inspire an army to battle, to fight with ferocity and fearlessness," Blakat says. "To be unpredictable in combat. Under my influence, they will fight on through wounds and not spare a thought for Sunala. To indulge in the flesh in ways that Inala could not fulfill. That is my power. And like the others, you must learn to wield it. At least you know what it feels like now. A gift from me. The only gift I give."
"For as long as I live to wield it. I expect that when the General falls, so will I. We will destroy each other," Alptraum notes as he settles back in the disturbing back, then squirms. That stupid Eel is still where it shouldn't be.
"Oh, it might look that way, I suppose.." Blakat says. "But it revolves on what part you let die. I've been killed many times. But here I am, despite it all. Even the attempts to truly destroy me by killing my Yodh. Sunala does not always have the final say."
Alptraum shrugs. "We'll see. Should we get going?" he asks.
"Ah, eager to face the demon pirate ghosts?" Blakat asks. "Me too!" She leaps up out of the mud pool and shakes it off. It even crawls out of her boots for her. Then she waits for Alptraum.
Alptraum crawls his way out of the pool and tries to shake the mud off! Then he has to try and figure out how to get the Eel out of him; If it behaves, anyway!
"You got a dangler," Blakat says, and grabs the exposed part the eel and yanks it out. This makes Alptraum's wings spread out involuntarily! "Got your ripcord!" the goddess laughs, and tosses the eel back into the mud.
Alptraum's brows twitch too ... and boy can he clench his teeth! "I change my opinion of you," he mutters. Louder, he asks, "Which way?"
"Follow the smell of sulfur," Blakat says, then starts to mold the mud on Alptraum into.. armor? Of course it's still got his fur tangled into it.. but it's hardening now. "There, much sexier!" Blakat declares. There's a breeze in the seat, since the goddess decided to leave that part exposed.
Alptraum siiiiighs, and laughs. So, he sniffs at the air as he walks about, trying to find the right way to go. He's also found his happy place and completely forgotten about the ordeal with the Gorphat creations!
The stink comes from another tunnel. They can't still be under Mount Gorphat after this, surely. This tunnel at least looks properly haunted, with random cool breezes wafting through dangling cobwebby thingies. And there are probably spiders too.
"I hate spiders," Alptraum mutters as he heads down the passage that seems suitably grim and stinky. This might actually be under Mount Sunala, or perhaps Mount Dronnel. Speaking of Dronnel, he should visit that some day. "Come along Crimson Stain," he remarks to Blakat.
"The only reason I'm following is so I can do this," Blakat notes, and then pinches Alptraum. There is noise up ahead.. it sounds like.. carousing?
Alptraum wingswats Blakat for that! "I hear debauchery," he says next. So, he crouches down and sneaks forward to see what awaits.
Around the bend, the tunnel opens into.. a surprisingly well lit cavern. There are buildings.. practically a small town. They're all rather colorfully painted too. There are Eeees and Fnerfs and Naga dressed as pirates standing around, swinging mugs and tankards.. dunking someone in a well.. and having sword-fights. Except they don't seem to move much from where they stand, as if one leg is fixed to the ground. There's also the hiss of steam being released.. and the routines just keep repeating.
Alptraum holds up a finger. "Wait, wait, this is some sort of amusement park," he says, "I've seen these before. In Chronotopia. These are not real pirates at all," he says, disappointed.
"Are you sure?" Blakat says. "Maybe they're just in a rut?"
Alptraum laughs. "Pretty sure!" And so he goes to prove it. He flies himself over to the nearest one. "Your mother was a swamp slut that smelled of rutting with a rhugrat," he insults the pirate. "You pox cursed poof!"
The Eeee pirate's waxy flesh falls away to reveal a skull. "I'll show you a poxy poof ye jumped up gypsy cur!" it screams, and takes a swing at Alptraum with its empty mug.
"Holy crap!" Alptraum squeaks, ducks, and tries to plant a foot claw in its crotch!
Things crunch and crumble from the blow, causing the pirate to snap in two! This doesn't keep it from trying to kick Alptraum with it's boney legs and trying to drag its torso closer to continue its attack.
Alptraum leaps into the air, only to land on top of the skeleton and jump up and down repeatedly. "Die die die!" he insists. Then has to wonder why he's afraid of ghosts. He's the Barsunala. This IS his domain.
"Hey! That guy owed me money!" Declares the Fnerf that was pouring a never-ending flow of wine from a barrel into a drunk's mouth. He throws down the barrel and starts towards Alptraum, shedding fur and skin with each step.
Alptraum turns ... and smiles. "Oh, now that was a mistake," he says as his eyes narrow. He reaches inward, searching the Barunsala to draw it forth.
The clay armor crumbles away, replaced by the chitin armor of the Wraith. And a pat on the butt by Blakat. "Oh yeah, now we're talking! Time for some fun!"
Alptraum has /claws/ in this form. Very nasty ones. "/Time to find your eternal rest/," the wraith rasps ... and /attacks in a flurry of fury against the undead!
Bit's of bone go flying as Alptraum's claws gouge through skull. The other pirates are coming now, becoming skeletal monsters. Blakat laughs and punches her opponents.. until she gets hold of a leg bone and starts using that instead.
Alptraum launches itself forward on tattered shadowy wings. Claws spread and jaws gnashing. Bite! Thrash! Chomp! Crunch! It's a bit like watching a titanian farmer thresh their field. And ... just as rare.
There is a lot of crunching, swearing and dismembering before the pirates stop advancing. It doesn't keep them from continuing to hurl insults and curses from disembodied (and often jawless) skulls.
"The heads would make amusing party favors," Alptraum rasps over to Blakat. He also picks up one of the skulls ... then drop kicks it across the chamber.
Blakat has a created a necklace of cursing craniums. "I so want something like this for my Temple," she says.
"Your Daughter would just put them all in a pile and sit on them," Alptraum notes as he lets himself shift back to more ... well, somewhat normal.
"What's wrong with that?" Blakat asks. "Oh look, a boat!" she then says, pointing to a lone rowboat tied to a post. There's no water of course, just a path of gravel that might have been a riverbed.
"Just that your Daughter likes to talk out of her butt," Alptraum quipss He heads to the boat to examine it ... then try to see where it once went.
The gravel continues to the wall of the chamber, and into another tunnel. Blakat sits in the boat and folds her hands into her lap.
Alptraum shrugs, climbs into the boat and tries to row it. The trip is insane ... so why not? It's still better than maggot humping.
The boat bobs on the nonexistent river and follows the current into the tunnel. There are many sites along the way, carved into either side of the tunnel, showing automaton-zombies acting out various pirate activities (although the 'raping the prisoners' one being acted out by zombies is the most memorable). Finally a new chamber opens up, and the boat beaches. There's a huge airship wreck taking up most of the chamber. The envelope and gas bags are gone, replaced by painted depictions on the ceiling.
"Okay, was it me or was the two zombies dong fighting back there really funny?" Alptraum has to ask. Of course his attention is diverted again when he sees the airship. Now that is impressive! "Wow," he says as he heads towards the wreck now.
"That's it, the .. uh.. Something Something of Somewhere," Blakat coos. "The Dread Pirate Demon King Black Bugwyne's pirate ship!"
"Dread? I bet he's a foot tall and talks with a squeaky voice," Alptraum counters.
Blakat flies up to the deck of the ship, and waves for Alptraum to follow.
Alptraum does so. Simple and quick flight, child's play! He lands on the deck, toeclaws clicking.
The deck is, of course, covered in skeletons what all appear to have stabbed one another. The door to the cabin is hanging partially open.
Alptraum grabs one of the weapons and heads for the open door. "Watch my butt," he tells Blakat.
"I was already doing that," Blakat says. She takes two swords of course. With the hat and boots, she looks slightly piratical.. aside from being naked otherwise. "Kick that door in!"
Alptraum does so! He has two swords too! Just one is in his hand, though ... for a change.
The door flies off its rotten hinges and bangs against the wall. Instead of a room, there's a staircase leading downward.
"Stairs. Always with the stairs!" Alptraum complains. So, down he goes into the bowels of the ship.
"I'll have a slide installed for next time," Blakat promises. The stairs spiral downwards, until the end at another door. Above it is inscribed: Abandon all Hope, Ye Who Enter Hair.
"Hair, eh? Pity Nicora wasn't here, she would have nothing to worry about," Alptraum quips. He lifts his right foot and tries to kick this door down too!
This time, the door swings open suddenly just before Alptraum's foot makes contact, causing him to overbalance!
Alptraum gracefully sets his foot back down! "See, I'm so impressive even the doors are scared of me," he tells Blakat.
Blakat gooses him from behind, and says, "Such a gentleman to open a door for a lady! Hahahaha!" The room beyond.. is glittering. With gold. There are piles of gold coins, gold bars, gold.. pearls? There's a long table, and at the far end is the skeleton of a pirate captain. The once ornate coat is rags, as is the hat. The only thing truly preserved is a magnificent beard. It's brown with golden highlights, curls and braids, with gems woven into it. It looks recently oiled even.
Alptraum ooos. "Impressive! But, don't touch that beard. I suspect it could be quite dangerous," he quips as he slinks into the room. "One might even say if you touch it you could have helll toupee."
"Hah!" Blakat laughs. "I know the Dread Demon Pirate King when I see it," she says, pointing a sword at the beard. "And that is the demon Bugwyne, the Devil's Beard. Want to fight it, or just grab the treasure?"
"Can it actually fight? Or does it just look greasy?" Alptraum actually asks.
"And I thought you liked to take things and do battle. If we just took the treasure, would that be enough for you?" he adds.
"He's no challenge for me," Blakat notes, looking for a box or sack. "Demons won't fight a Goddess. Plus it's a boring fight, since it just sticks to your face and tries to make you its new host. You think some of the Sabaoth Seven are dim? This thing is a demonic beard. I'd look silly in a beard!"
Alptraum just laughs at that. "Oh, I could think of uses for it, but nevermind, treasure it is," he agrees and looks for something to carry treasure in as well since he's still basically completely naked! "Demonic beard. Whoever heard of a demonic beard?" he mutters to himself ... sin Sylvanian.
Blakat finds.. a pair of old trousers. She ties off the legs and.. "Ta-da! What once held some guy's sack is now a sack for sacking of stolen goodies!"
Alptraum nods approvingly. "Works for me," he agrees as he starts tossing treasure in the pants! "Those responsible for guarding your sack, have been sacked," he quips doing so.
The gold is.. surprisingly light. Lighter than even wooden shekels should be. It doesn't even 'klink' properly (and Alptraum has experience with fake gold).
"Ah, these is something off about the treasure," Alptraum says and stops. "It doesn't feel right." And so he starts looking a bit closer.
"What? Oh right, vampire.." Blakat says, and pops a coin into her mouth. "Mmmm.. Aelfin Honeychocolate. Vintage! I was all out and needed a refill," the Goddess claims.
"Wait, wait, wait. We went through all that, and the horrors of Gorphat's hell ... for candy? Candy?!?" Alptraum says, jaw agape. "Oh that's it! That just does it! C'mere ... you're going to be wearing that beard!" And it's about then he proceeds to chase Blakat around the table! Both ... well, cackling like mad. If you cannot laugh at yourself, who can?