The garishly lit body parts suspended in fluid-filled tubes would occasionally twitch, or else the odd tendrils that grew where a joint would normally be would wiggle. The headless torso even moves as if it were breathing. Some of the tubes were empty, and there was even some spilled fluid on the floor near them, which Alptraum had managed to avoid stepping in at least. Some of the smaller containers had individual organs as well, including a pumping heart connected to nothing.

"Well, this is gross, and would fit right into Sylvania," Alptraum grumbles, ears flat. He moves to the container with a head in it, and peers at it. "What, is she wanting to build a new body that lives and stuff her soul in it?" he asks the disembodied head. "And I wonder how many Eeee just kept torsos around for humping. It also bothers me that I even thought of that."

This makes Alptraum blink. "Is anyone in there?" he asks it. He also has to wonder about his life choices if this doesn't even bother him all that much anymore.

It does seem the sort of thing Azrael and his Promethians would find interesting. But it isn't clear if these parts were individually created or else harvested and modified. There is a sudden sound from outside in the corridor, but not directly outside of the door.

It sounds like something rolling back and forth, further along the arc of the corridor.

Alptraum peers around the door, then tries to move a little further down the hallway. Granted, he's still in Scourge form, so looks rather creepy himself.

One of the other doors is open. There's no light coming from the room beyond, but there's some liquid on the floor outside.

There's enough light coming in through the window wall to see that there are more of the tube-shaped aquariums in the room. One of them has fallen and spilled out, and probably made the rolling sound. There's fluid all over the floor.

"Great, something escaped," Scourge grumbles. It slowly slips into that room while remaining low and sort of flat. What is in the other tubes might be the same thing that escaped, and it's always good to know what's with you in the dark.

Most of the light is now coming from Scourge's own glow. The floating parts in this lab don't look the same as in the previous one. They have Eeee proportions for the most part, but are armored in chitin or bone. And more agitated.

"Weapons, yaaay," Scourge mutters and licks over its lips. He starts a slow search of the room. It's sort of snuffling, but not since it has no nose. Poking about, basically.

This one has the same scorched spot where things were burned, but also has a few scraps of unburnt paper. At least, the top of one page can be mostly read as, "Organic Alloplasty Lab 7, Project X." That's about all that's legible though.

Scourge tries to look through what he can of the paper to see if any of it makes any sense. He also checks the fallen tube fot labels on what was in it.

The tube is more fruitful, since it does have a label. Or rather, a series of labels. They're mostly dates using the Babelite dating system that fell out of fashion with the adoption of the Rephidim standard dating system. There are lots of symbols that probably belong to some sort of record system, but the most faded of the labels, with the oldest data, has a very telling word on it: Dronnel 7.

"Bloody 'ell, these are Dronnel's parts? Gah. They still had some?!" Scourge blurts. Looking ill and annoyed, the fugus-thing searches the room even more, looking for the part that was in the tube. It had to have come out recently.

There's a noise from behind one of the other tubes, just before it begins to fall over.

Scourge moves quickly and tries to brace the tail up using its bulk and tenta-tail.

This stops the tube from falling over, but does cause the contents to press against the side before drifting back towards the center. A cluster of very diseased looking organs. If they really had been replacing parts of him like the vision in Inala's Temple suggested, then the replaced parts had to go somewhere.

Scourge holds the tank there for a bit, then backs off slowly to see if it remains up. "Who is back there," the fungus-beast growls.

There's a sound of movement again, and another tube begins to tip, a much larger one this time.

Scourge goes to try and stabilize that one! "Stop it!" it barks as it goes to try and stabilize it.

While wrestling it back into place, a smaller tube gets knocked off and spills across the floor with a clunk, and a skittering sound.

It doesn't get far before being caught, and Scourge now has.. a wiggling hand. The flesh feels like jelly.

"Gross!" Scourge blurts out, then puts it in its mouth. Why? Who knows; but at least he has no throat for it to go anywhere in there.

It stops twitching after a few moments, but then another tube is being tipped over from the rack. So the tipper is still behind them somewhere.

With the hand still it its mouth, he hurries over to that side! He also tries a tactic, and spits that hand bit back heind the tubes to flush out the thing pushing on them!

There's a pause, and then a sound like bones being crunched. Then things are quiet again.

The odd form is flexible, but there isn't a lot of room back there, even for a relatively flat head. It does catch the movement though, of something crawling upwards between the wall and tubes. And soon after, another attempt at tipping one off its shelf.

Scourge tries to stop that one from falling, and shives it hard back against the wall to trap the tipper!

There's a sound like a squeal and a whistle, but also not like those things. As in it doesn't sound like a throat is involved making them. The pushed in tube keeps rattling, so whatever is there probably is pinned for the moment.

Scourge tries to hold it there using its tail, while its weird body bends around and tries to get a look at this thing. Not that it wants to save Dronnel's parts, it wants to know what is destroying them.

It takes some doing, since the tube in play isn't at the edge of the collection but nearer the middle. But with the thing held in place it's easier to make out. It's an arm. It's either very unhealthy or has undergone some nasty mutation.

Scourge hates this, but it uses it's tenta-tongue to try and grab that arm while it's pinned so it can pull it out.

It tastes terrible. Whatever that fluid is the parts are suspended in, it tastes nasty. But at least the skin of the rogue limb doesn't come off when the tongue gets a grip on it.

Scourge then lets go of the tube it was pressing and tries to draw the arm out. Sadly, this isn't the grossest thing it's ever had in it's mouth/tongue. Gorphat herself is worse. Nicora is worse.

It struggles once it has the room to wiggle. It doesn't bend like an arm should, if had just one elbow. But Scourge is bigger, and drags it from behind the shelves.

Scourge pulls it to the center of the room, then sort of sits on it before he releases his tongue. "What is your problem?" it asks the arm ... after wiping its tongue off on the floor.

The thing has uneven fingers, with the tip of the middle one having split into two halves. The 'shoulder' is a mass of writhing flesh and palm has suckers on it. Bulbous cysts cover the outside, and one of the bursts to reveal an insect-like faceted eye under the puss. The suckers undulate, and one has tiny hard teeth that grind together to make the squealing sound.

Scourge keeps sitting on it. The dragon-thing ponders; it could stick it back in the tube if he had something heavy to put on the top. Or it could burn it somehow. Then it remembers something and just breathes on it, trying to spore it and see if it can take over the limb.

The spores burrow into the various non-standard openings. It takes a moment before Scourge starts to receive anything form the arm, and when it does it is a serious of disjointed sensations. There's no brain to coordinate the thing. Each part just acts. Which does't clear up why exactly the coordinated action it does manifest involves tipping over jars.

Scourge wonders if it's trying to reassemble itself. Disturbing in its own right, if so. It looks around for any other arm parts that might go with it.

There are various parts in the tubes, and all of them look to in a similar state of mutation. Whether that was the reason they were replaced or just a side-effect of being under glass for thousands of years is anyone's guess though. Something woke up the arm, but the rest of the pieces seems quiescent, including a blob that may have one been Dronnel's genitalia.

Scourge grabs the arm with its tail and then ambles over to that tube and tries to open it. If it's successfully, it's going to throw the arm in with the genitalia. Why? To see what happens. Plus, it'll probably be amusing.

The tube is big enough to fit the arm into, and the lid is just screws off. There's no sign of the lid for the arm's tube, but it must be in the room somewhere. At least Scourge can smell the fluid or weird flesh.

Scourge stuffs the arm into the tube, then screws its top back on. The it's stepping back to watch the 'show', to see what it does. Idly, it looks about for the arm tube lid too, but most of its attention is on the tube.

The arm thrashes around a bit (it definitely has more joints than an arm normally should) and then begins to settle down. The fluid itself must arrest metabolism or have some other effect that preserves the tissues. So what knocked over the arm tube in the first place?

Scourge awws, it was hoping it might do something perverse with the other bits. Maybe the explosion knocked it over? Scourge also briefly ponders if it could stick the bits on itself, but decides that's a bit too wrong. So, it's back to looking around the disturbing room for more clues now that things aren't trying to fall over?

The lid is eventually found in a corner, before the spore-communion wears off (confirming that the flesh just 'goes to sleep' inside the fluid). But there is also another mostly burnt scrap of paper that is quite a ways from the main burn pile, near where the lid is found, which has more information on it. ".. orruption progress .. nnot be stopped. Replacement of affected.. temporary solution only. Suspect alien influence on cells.. of Mists?"

"Mists? Did Dronnel go into the forbidden zone? Was this his flesh being warped? That's just ... ugh. Is something of him still alive somewhere in there? That's just .... ick," Scourge comments, as its ear-things flop down and he makes a bleh face. "Am I going to have to go in there?"

"And number 7? Was this the seventh body?" Scourge asks the room, though not really expecting any sort of answer. It would like to burn this room, but isn't sure if anything left in here would even burn.

At least the limbs aren't restless now. But the explosion may have jared other things in the labs that weren't secured very well.

Scourge checks the remainder of the room for anything flammable before it will move on and check the other labs for stuff. Then it needs to go back to the lab it had the key for and figure out what to do with the stuff in there.

The only flammable stuff appears to be the scraps of paper (or paper-like material). If the liquid was flammable then the entire lab would have likely exploded before.

Scourge makes sure the remaining jars are secured and lids tight, then it leaves this little room of horrors to go further down the hall and check the last rooms.

These rooms aren't sealed, nor sport the fancy lock that the main one did. But the first one has what looks like a supply tank for the odd fluid, various empty tube containers and a surgery table. With restraints. The surgical tools are spilled across the floor, except for the ones suspended from the ceiling. As before, a few of these appear to have been made of living flesh.

"Yeah, I wouldn't like to have been on any of these tables either," Scourge admits to the room. It's glad it has no stomach, or it might get sick. It's a bit of a search and scour of the remaining rooms, and then it's back to the room with the fancy lock. At least it knows where to look for the labels now, on the lids!

The room hasn't changed (that Scourge can see). It's clearer now that these tubes and jars are secured by straps to avoid them falling over.

Scourge has to try to go up on its hind legs and use tail as counter balance to try and get a look at the tube tops and labels.

The easiest one is the head jar, since there's a decent gap between the lid and the next shelf. "Vash. 18 lot 1," it reads. The General's real name, according to Alptraum's sources, is 'Vashra'.

"Why do they have extra heads? Was the General a made person, or a real one? Or a repeated one over time?" Scourge wonders as it drops back down and keeps looking to see what other parts, and how many there actually are. Also, if there's a way to kill all the parts, some sort of dead switch?

It looks like there are enough to assemble a completely new General, with lots of spare organs. As with the other jars though, these aren't connected to anything. The fluid inside seems to be the key to keeping them viable. But they also have very odd features where they're supposed to link up: those strange tendrils. How the head is supposed to be used is a mystery, unless it also relates to the 'immortality' method of the Sabaoth, which managed to transfer something from one body to the next.

Scourge frowns, and then looks for drain valves on the tubes to see if it can just drain them out and let the body parts die. Or use this as a bargaining 'chip' to see if the General would surrender if she had a body to reclaim. A new body would undue Amena's hold on her, after all.

The tubes don't have drains that Scourge can find (which means that anyone would need to remove the pieces directly in order to use them). But given the size of some of them, were the Royal Mages really expected to carry them out?

Scourge bets they planned to carry something in and assemble the general in the other room. That would be far simpler to manage. For how, Scourge decides to leave them be. They might be useful later to parley with the general over. Only it has the key now, after all. Unless there were others, but ... few can get into here, after all. So, it shouldn't be a huge risk. Or at least that's its reasoning.

After sealing and locking the door, Scourge hears something else. A sort of grinding sound. It's loud enough to echo through the corridor.

Scourge's weird ears perk up! It tries to go in the direction of the sound, with the key back safely back in its mouth. It seems to often have weird things in its mouth

Past the labs it had already checked is another junction room, with a ladder going up and down. The sound repeats, and seems to be from the next level above.

Up Scourge goes, which means he has to squeeze sort of tube-shaped to go up the ladder. But, he does and comes out on the next floor, making a lewd sort of popping sound.

This floor has lighting of a sort. It doesn't seem too different from what the tunnels behind the Temple of Gorphat use, but are contained is clear fixtures on the ceiling and walls. The ladder goes up further, but the grinding sound echoes again down the current corridor.

And so Scourge sort of slithers down the corridor in search of the sound source.

Like the level below, there are laboratories along the arch, but some of these have doors that are smashed open from the inside. The source of the sound is glimpsed around the curve. It's the end of a very large tube, the base nearly four feet across. It makes a grinding sound as it gets dragged further around the curve of the corridor.

"Oh joy, a monster," Scourge mutters to himself. He continues on after it, trying to see what the heck is dragging that tube. Not a good idea, really, but a monster itself, it wants to see others, or something.

Overtaking it is easy enough. The tube is.. crowded.. by whatever is in it. The lid end is open with a lot of orange, leathery flesh exposed. Several tentacle like appendages that end in wide spades are lashing out to drag it along.

Scourge tries to sneak closer so it can grab onto the tube and see if it can pull it off. Why? Who knows, it's Scourge, he's not all there.

Getting a grip on the tube takes some effort due to its side, but Scourge manages to anchor it a bit. This causes more of the creature to pull out as it keeps trying to drag itself. There are big black eyes that appear beyond the rim of the tube as it keeps emerging. They appear to be on the limbs themselves.

Scourge keeps hanging on! "Be born, my brethren!" Scourge blurts out, then immediately has to wonder why in Dagh's name he said that out loud.

It takes some time, and Scourge still gets dragged along at points. The thing seems to expand as it emerges. If anything it looks like a form of Creeper. Just.. very big and with far more limbs. It tapers back once free, with single large foot at the rear end. There are eyes scattered seemingly at random across the orange skin.

Well, it hasn't attacked yet, so Scourge clambers over the tube once it's out so he can get closer to check and suss this thing out! Or ride it. A monster riding a monster!

Once it's completely outside and inflated, it starts to flash colors that moves across its body. The skin even changes textures.

This fascinates Scourge. It's almost sexy! Granted grotesque is attractive to Gorphat, so one of her creatures would probably like it. Scourge tries to get close enough to touch it. Maybe even Ken it.

The eyes are featureless black orbs bloom into bulbs that extend further from the flesh and become spotted by multiple glowing pupils. The seems to spin around as if floating free in a fluid. But eventually they cluster towards Scourge.

"Hi!" Scourge says to it and grins in its weird toothless grin. "What are you?" it asks of the strange creature.

There's a hissing sound, accompanied by actual steam jetting from sections of the creature. It stops its forward motion as it focuses on Scourge.

"Hmm, not the talking kind. Or one with manners and kindness, eh?" Scourge asks it, then starts backing down the corridor in the way it came. At least it shouldn't be able to fit in the ladder-tube down!

The trunk of the beast suddenly starts inflating further, to a remarkable degree, as if it's trying to fill up the corridor.

Scourge quits talking and just heads back the way it came to the ladder so it can go back down!

There's more steam hissing and thumping from the creature. Including the sound of the tube being pushed. There also sounds from the other labs along the way back towards the junction, from thumps to rattles.

"Okay, so I shouldn't poke the monster. No comraderes in monsters, I guess," Scourge laments as it hurries back the way it came to escape downward.

There's no security hatch to close in this case. But there is also more of the fluid surrounding the ladder that wasn't there before.

To help with the decision.. some drops down from the level above as well. So the fluid on the ladder itself could be from an overhead spill, or from something else.

Scourge starts upward because he either has a death wish. Squish, squish, up it goes.

The next level has a reversed corridor, arching in the opposite direction from the others, and so probably bridging sections that surround the central shaft. There's a lot of the spilled tube-juice here. And a sound like a breeze.

Thankfully goo doesn't bother Scourge, so he heads down the hallway through the tube junk. "I hope things here are nicer," it mutters to itself.

"Why?" Scourge answers as it moves more cautiously down the corridor. It feels like a trap. Lure someone in with calls for help, then gish.

"I'm trapped," the reply comes. The gender or age isn't clear. But it doesn't sound like a Fuff'nar at least.

There's no reply this time. But it probably came from one of the open lab doors.

"Totally a trap," Scourge thinks. It moves closer and closer, then peers into the first lab door.

There are many knocked over tubes in this one, along with other large equipment of unknown purpose. There an Eeee arm visible from under a pile of things. They don't look particularly heavy, but there's no way to really tell.

Scourge moves a slight bit closer. "Tell me your name, and I'll help you," it says, its weird eyes narrowed.

The fingers clench into a fist and then relax to show that the person(?) is still alive. There's a groan though.

Scourge tries to go into aura sense to see if there is a person under there, or that arm is a lure.

There's an aura, and it reads as Eeee.. but the arm is also very damp. There's no sign of blood yet. But the aura is dim.

Scourge knows its going to regret doing this, but it carefully moves closer, then brings its tail around to try and lift off the debris on top of the possible person.

It's easy enough to clear things away enough to expose the head. It looks like an adult, but its eyes are only half-open.

There aren't any clothes visible as more is exposed, but plenty of dampness. So this person was pretty obviously in one of the tubes. It doesn't look injured though, but does look frail.

"Who or what are you?" Scourge repeats. An odd question coming from, well, what technically is a monster.

The head turns a bit and opens its eyes, which are filmy and pale. "Who?" it croaks.

"I am Scourge," it replies, its head tilting a little to the side. "I asked first, though. Who are you?"

"No," Scourge says, then draws away to try and peer at what this 'person' may have came out of. Maybe it had a name plate.

There are several large tubes, all toppled and emptied. At least thre of them large enough to hold an Eeee, so there should be three lids.

Scourge snuffles about for the lids through the debris in the room. It has to wonder, though, how would he even help this Eeee escape? It doesn't even know how to get out.

"I'm trapped," the Eeee repeats, even through there isn't anything pinning it down now. The lids aren't hard to recover. The first label reads, "Host 112, lot 5, stage 1." The other two are similar, with different host and lot numbers, but 'stage 3' and 'stage 5'.

"Host? Host of what?" Scourge asks the room. It also then turns and looks at the Eeee in the floor. "You're not trapped by anything," it comments.

"You're not trying," Scourge counters and moves back. Close, but still at some distance, it uses its tail to try and roll the Eeee over.

The Eeee flops over. It's either a very immature female or else genderless, and its chest barely rises. But the body shivers quite a bit.

There's.. nothing there. The rest of it seems underdeveloped as well. The wheezing gives way to crackling sounds.

"You're not a real person," Scourge comments, then moves away from the body. There's no one to help here, and the stage information on the tubes worries it a lot.

The shallow breaths stop, replaced by a deep breath that keeps going, until the chest splits down the center, with the separated ribs acting like they're hinged at the back. A pair of very wet insect-like wings emerge from the cavity.

What pulls itself out of the body cavity is clearly some kind of Horrib. But it has too many Eeee-like features. It's head is reminiscent of the Horrib Queen in Gorphat's Temple, complete with a 'face' made of moving chitin plates. "Free.. now.." it chitters.

"What are you?" Scourge asks it as it draws to a stop. "You look like one of Gorphat's creatures," it adds; and as such now Scourge has to stay and find out more.

Scourge twitches, and gets some odd impulses. "Do you wish to leave this place?" it asks the strange creature.

"Hive.." the proto-horrib clacks, fanning its wings to dry them. "Host?" it seems to ask, it's very Eeee-like eyes focusing on Scourge.

Scourge turns and presents its back to the creature, even though his mind is demanding it doesn't. But, if it's Gorphat's creature, it is duty bound to serve and help it. "Can you burrow into me and use me as a host? I can get you out if you are within me," the fungus-dragon offers, even as its saner parts of it's mind is screaming at it not to.

There is a buzzing noise, and then a weight on Scourge's back, between its wings. But there's no sting, or bite. "Not.. alive?" the insect voice asks. Horribs exclusively use animals after all.

"I am one of Gorphat's creations, and serve Her. "I am alive, sort of, Her creation. If you are also of Her, I should be a decent host to help you out of here," Scourge explains without twitching at all, even with the terrifying weight between its wings.

"Out in the building? Outside of the building?" Scourge asks and then heads to the door and look outside.

"Ah," Scourge comments and then slips out the door to see if it can find the other two. "I will try to help you, somehow. If I cannot help you from the building, then to the others."

Outside in the corridor, there's a new sound. A scream that doesn't sound like an Eeee.

Scourge's ear-things fold back some, and it heads in the direction of that scream.

More doors are open, there's a corpse in the corridor around the bend. It looks like another hybrid, but with the Horrib and Eeee mingled together asymmetrically. Half of the creature's head is horrib, and the other half Eeee, but the limbs and body are distorted and misshapen. There's also a large hole punched into its chest.

"Ow," Scourge comments as it gingerly works its way around the body and further on. The sane part of its mind is telling it to just run, get the monster off its back and run. But .. Horribs are Gorphat's creatures, and in this body, it must obey Her.

There's a trail of blood leading further on from the corpse. "Now only one other," Scourge's passenger claims.

"One died?" Scourge asks, it figured one came out of the chest. Onward scourge goes as it tries to locate the other.

Another noise sounds like a door being forced. By the time Scourge follows the curve towards it, the blood trail turns into one the labs.

And Scourge follows the trail into the lab; it's a compulsion. It must help Gorphat's own.

Something is tearing open the tubes in there, releasing whatever is inside. It stands as tall as an Eeee, although the legs look more insect-like, and it has multiple pairs of hybrid wings, and a powerful scorpion-barbed tail. That barb stabs down into the strange creature that was released from the recently opened tube.

"What are you doing?!" Scourge demands of the large Eeeee before its rational part of its mind stops it.

The barb pulls out of the new corpse, and the larger creature turns. It looks like.. Hosheb. A more Eeee-like version. A multi-part jaw hangs beneath an Eeee face. And it screams at Scourge.

"I am one of you, a child of Gorphat!" Scourge challenges back as it crouches down and arches up its back into a defensive/fighting posture. It also prepares to encrust it in spores if it must to stop its rampage!

The aura coming off the hybrid creature has the dark purple hue of madness to it. It isn't clear what is driving it to violence, unless that is precisely what it was made for. It doesn't hesitate when it sees Scourge, and screams in high-pitched challenge. The blood barb of its stinger rises up and prepares to strike!

Scourge readies itself, down to whipping its tail around and trying to entangle that stinger! It also growls, though how given it has no throat is anyone's guess. Along with that growl comes it's own challenging aura, the oppressive feel of death coming, of sharp maws, spikes, and fire. That of a shadow dragon about to strike, and kill.

That aura actually seems to get through the feral madness of the hybrid, and it takes a step back. And then another. Scourge is in the doorway, and there's no other way out of the lab. The beasts aura cycles, showing confusion.

"What are you doing," Scourge growls out, slowly. It draws its tail back, though it keeps its aura in place a bit longer. Does this strange hybrid show any sign of understanding?

It clutches at its head, claws scraping against the chitin parts. The aura keeps changing, as if there is something under the anger that is just being suppressed by it. It still doesn't attempt to speak, but its multi-part mouth is very active and clicky. It hasn't screeched again though. It then grabs for its own antennae, keeping them from moving.

"Calm," Scourge says and shifts up its emission; going for one of calm, relaxation, and inner peace. Granted the only things he can pull from for that are things he learned from Mave and Toadstool. It just hopes it doesn't arouse the beast.

It falls to its knees.. and starts banging its head on the floor. It doesn't seem to be damaging it, but the amount of madness in the aura is diminishing.

Scourge moves closer, slowly. "Calm," Scourge repeats. "You are not alone. Your ... brother is on my back." Scourge now wonders if it's horrified and angry at what it is?

The pounding begins to slow down, until the creature is just resting its head on the floor for a few moments. The antennae starts wiggling again, causing it to grab them to hold them still once more. Then it levers itself up with the extra set of insect arms until it is sitting.. or trying to sit, since things don't move the way they should to make that easily possible, which raises the creature's anger level again.

Scourge moves close enough to try and bring its tail around to rest on the creature's shoulder like one might a hand. "Do you understand me?" Scourge asks it.

The creature makes a hissing noise, then clacks in frustration from the tint of its aura. It's still holding its antennae in its main arms, but starts gesticulating with its other ones. A lot this seems to be pounding on its own chest, and making gestures suggestive of trying to find a gap in its armor.

"Trapped? What do you mean?" Scourge asks its little rider. Well, not so little.

"Trapped inside what? That body?" Scourge asks and uses its tail to tug on part of the Eeee part to see if it comes off?

It seems to be all one body. Eeee generally don't have four arms and two sets of wings. The contact does cause the tail to rise up again defensively though.

Scourge withdraws its tail. "Can you help it? I am not sure if there is anything I can do," Scourge admits.

The creature seems intent on pulling out its antennae at the moment. "Maybe not armor then," the smaller monster notes. "Drone. Drone with.. head part of soldier?"

"Possibly. It is the other one," Scourge notes, "Do you wish to go with it, or help it?"

"I do not know. Can you communicate with it?" Scourge asks. Scourge also tries something; it tries to spore the hybrid before it to see if it can get any more information about it or how to communicate.

The sensations that come back are.. deranged. It has insect vision, but also seems to focus like regular vision is there's something important. In this case, the creature seems to be very aware of Scourge and its rider, while everything else is visual mush. And the impression of Scourge keeps changing. Mostly it appears normally (if a bit pixelated around the edges) but there are moments when it appears as something truly horrific, which corresponds to the spikes in madness-anger that the creature is constantly battling with. The spores also make Scourge's aura sense a little clearer from the inside. There's something very much like a tortured Eeee mind inside of the creature, surrounded by a shell of rage.

Scourge tilts its head this way and that. "Calm," it says as it pushes that aura of calmness to the strange beast. Then it tries to reach out and touch it with its tail. If it can and keep the contact, the weird dragon-thing will try to envelop it in shadow! To examine it in more detail, and see if there is anything that can be done to silence that rage, somehow. It has no idea how of course, just just to see if there's anything that can be focused on, removed, altered, something distinctly separate.

For being calm, the creature has an incredible amount of physical tension. The body really is at war with the mind apparently, but it using its limbs more for restraining itself, managing to pin its stinger-tipped tail sections under one arm while still keeping a grip on its antennae.

But as far as the shadow is concerned, physical resistance really doesn't count as much as mental resistance.

Scourge is slow and carefil as it delves into this creature; trying to find out why it is so conflicted and fighting; why it is so angry. Sure, Scourge has theories, but it needs to find out if there is anything it can do for this poor creature. Or ... if it's better to simply shut down its heart and let it die.

There are gradients that Scourge keeps encountering. Places were the flesh doesn't quiet match up. It becomes clear that the monster was surgically modified with bits of an Eeee, including the brain. A surgical chimera worthy of a Sylvanian mad doctor.

But it also had a smaller second brain that must have been the one it was originally created with, and that's the one hooked into the senses.

"This was a person one, an Eeee. IT was fused with one of your kind," Scourge explains, voice distant and distracted. "I am not sure there is much I can do for it." Now Scourge is looking for the source of that rage.

It seems to come from two places. The bug-brain is purely homicidal. The Eeee brain is angry at its condition, and likely was deliberately killing any other hybrids it could find.

"There is nothing I can do for this creature," Scourge admits to the creature on its back. "What would you have me do with it? If I release it, it may kill you, and try to kill me. But ... it is the only other of your kind here."

"I am not one to choose," the proto-horrib claims. "It seeks to be free of body-trap. So that."

"I am sorry, but there is only one kind of freedom I can offer you," Scourge tells the hybrid monster sadly. Sometimes you just can't save everyone; and all you can offer them is peace. So, it reaches deep with the shadow, and simply tries to halt its heart.

In the stasis of the shadow, the creature can't resist. It's probably painless at least. But once the body just stops, the spirit is standing there in the lab. It's mostly Eeee, with some pieces missing here and there, but with most of the head. "Is it over?" it asks.

"Is which over? That body you were in?" Scourge asks the spirit, but has trouble looking at it. "I am sorry; I couldn't do anything for you."

"A soldier," the ghost claims after furrowing its brows. There's not quiet enough detail to determine if it was a man or woman originally. "To destroy the enemies of Babel. Service to the Sabaoth is the highest reward," it recites.

" ... Right. Well, the nightmare is over. You can rest," Scourge tells it. Another victim of the Sabaoth and his insane experiments.

The spirit fades away. There isn't one hanging around for the hybrid that was killed while still in its tube though.

Scourge shakes its head. "I am sorry," Scourge tells the creature upon its back.

"What are you asking me, didda-chick?" the horrib-thing asks, assuming Scourge is talking to it, since it can't sense any ghosts.

"Not you, I was talking to the creature's spirit," Scourge remarks, then proceeds to look around the room for anything of interest since it's in ehre.

There's a lot of wreckage, and evidence of more burned documents. There were three of the suspension tubes originally, since their bases are still in place. The only intact one is empty, and the other two smashed, although there's only one body on the floor.

"Meh," Scourge remarks after rummaging through the room. "This one may as well be a tomb," it remarks as he heads back out the door, and then closes it behind itself. Back in the hall, it looks about for other doors, or passages that might lead out.

The floor is wet going forward, so this may not have been the first room ransacked by the creature. And since Scourge's senses are more alert, it's easier to detect active creatures. There is definitely something two doors further on in one of the labs.

"There is more alive down here," Scourge tells its jockey. The fungus-dragon makes its way slowly down the hall; heading towards the room it senses some life in first.

The door to that lab is open, but is blocked by some sort of spider-web. Beyond it is more of the webbing, and something moving behind a desk. There are three tubes in this room as well, and all of them are broken.

"Yay, spiders," Scourge remarks dryly. It whips its tail forward to try and knock some of the webbing down.

The webbing parts easily. And the sounds stop almost immediately from within the lab.

Scourge then waits to see if whatever it is starts moving about again. It's not fond of spiders, after all.

Silently, something appears over the top of the table. A furry leg, like that of a grabbit. It's joined by several others, and then tips of.. ears? They twitch, as if trying to hear what's out there.

The ears rise up more. Definitely Eeee ears, from their shape.. but rather small ones.

"Who or what are you?" Scourge asks it as whatever it is rises up a little more.

Yet more legs appear, and more of the creature rises up above the table. It was clear an Eeee originally. It has a small Eeee body, and an Eeee head.. but that's about it. It has a cluster of eye little black eyes in the center of its forehead, and its limbs end at the elbows and knees before splitting into five grabbit-style lets each. Even the wings do this, with much longer finger-legs. Presumably there's some part that is producing the webbing as well.

"Can you talk at all?" Scourge asks it, face held straight. Whatever that thing is ... is creepy as hell. "Can I come in?"

The thing just stares at Scourge (but then it doesn't seem to have eyelids) in silence. It's finger-leg-things do twitch and tap on the table though, and its ears are definitely focused on Scourge.

"It does not have wings, no," Scourge agrees, and does go into the room a little to look around for anything useful or informative.

The grab-Eeee (Eeeebit?) turns to keep facing Scourge, but doesn't otherwise move. This lab seems slightly less abandoned, in that there are still some glass lab equipment with the residue of whatever liquids were once inside, and even a bound logbook. It's all covered in webbing.

Scourge tries to get ahold of the lab book. It's also watching and sensing for other movement, or eggs, or other creepy stuff

The creature on the table hisses as Scourge gets closer to the book, and skitters closer on its thirty 'legs' in a very odd manner.

"I just want to read the book. What is your problem?" Scourge asks it, then burps spores on the thing to get more information about what the heck it is.

The feedback from the thing is almost impossible to process. A bizarre overlay of sight and sound (even more so than regular sonar) and something distributed about its awareness. It takes several moments to sort out that it has eyes in its knuckles and elsewhere besides the cluster in the middle of its head. There's a disturbing pulsating sensation from its body.

Scourge moves a little closer towards the lab boon, though it's watching the creature intently.

The spider-bat skitters closer to the end of the table, and hisses again, but this time it's a bit more aggressive.

Scourge challenges it right back with a growl, and another push of that draconic aura that it used earlier on the other monster to see if it will back down.

The aura causes the critter to skitter back a bit, but still complain loudly. "I didda-dudda-don't like that," the back bug notes.

"Like what?" Scourge asks the passenger as it moves closer to try and get a look at the old lab book.

"That thing," Dudda-Chum claims. The lab book is heavily webbed, but that's hardly a barrier to something with fingers instead of having to use its mouth. It looks like some strange glossy material as well. Not quite chitin but not quite glass.

Scourge uses it's tenta-tail to open the book, but otherwise not move it. It's also keeping an eye on the weird spider thing.

The thing on the table is very agitated about this. The first page inside the book looks very strange as well. It's using characters that are close enough to regular Babelite to be readable, and they clearly were not written by hand. They don't even look typeset. "Project Infiltrator, Design Specifications" is legible as the title, at least, using the old phonetic style writing that hardly anyone learns anymore, since the pictographic version takes less effort (but more memorization).

Scourge keeps looking between the creature and the book, then flips to the next page. "I am not going to damage it," it tells the spider-thing.

There are extremely odd symbols and tables of even stranger symbols, but eventually there are pictures - not drawings, but actual color images better than any painting - of various parts of the anatomy of an Infiltrator. Including pictures of internal structures, somehow. They certainly seem to match up with the thing on the table. There hasn't been a description of what it's all for yet though.

This is making Scourge uncomfortable. It keeps looking back to the strange critter, then flips another page again, trying to find a description of what it's for. It's also extending its aura-sense, watching for anything that might be approaching.

A page is revealed that has pictures of something very familiar: little fungal spores. But these are in some sort of fluid rather than airborne. "Infiltration Spores" is the legend for the picture, to make it clearer. Then there is a lot of nigh-unreadable jargon that describes some sort of delivery system.

This makes Scourge twitch even more. Is this about what Gorphat made it into. It's liking this place less and less. Next page it is, it doesn't want to linger on things like that.

That page discusses the delivery system. It looks like a grabbit, but tiny and with a horrifying proboscis. "Up to 23 delivery drones can be carried by the Infiltrator," is says, in a non-jargony part that was probably meant for whatever upper-level person this was being sold to.

"I'm not liking this creature either," Scourge admits as it makes a face at that disturbing picture. "What in Dagh's name is this place?" it asks. Next page, as long as the spider thing isn't attacking yet.

"The thing is doing something," Dudda-Chum claims. The next page shows in graphic detail how the drones deliver the spores to the base of their target's skull.

Scourge turns from the book and looks at the spider-thing instead. Its eyes narrow as it focuses its senses on the creature, trying to determine what it's doing.

It's stopped hissing for one thing, but it's mouth is hanging open. Brown and black furry spider-legs emerge, gripping the sides of the gaping maw as drones pull themselves out, one after another, and start scurrying to the edges of the table.

At least there isn't any evidence that the Infiltrator can open the door if it's closed. And hopefully there won't be any gaps large enough for one of the drones to squeeze through either.

"This place is messed up," Scourge complains as it makes sure the door is closed tight. IT thinks it'll go back to the two doors it passed on the way here and see what's in them. Nothing alive at least according to its weird senses.

The first one has only two tubes, because they're big ones. One is broken and empty, but the other has another of the Hosheb-morph creatures, still in suspension.

Scourge peers at the still occupied tube. "Do you want it out?" it asks its riding companion. Granted, it's not even sure it it's alive, and is trying to focus senses on it to try and tell.

It doesn't have an aura, but so far none of the tubed creatures have. "Me? No," Dudda-Chum claims. "Nasty."

Scourge leaves it and walks out of the room, then closes that door. One more room to check that its passed by.

The next room is full of bodies and broken tubes. Worse, these look like regular Eeee (except for the holes punched in their chests by a big stinger-barb). They're wet and naked though, so obviously from the tubes, which means there must be something different about them.

Scourge moves to those bodies to examine them up close and figure out just what was different about them. Why? Because Scourge is an idiot.

Nothing seems different on the surface, but that doesn't mean there's something under the surface.

Scourge uses its tail to poke a bit at the bodies to see if it can see, well, inside it.

The bodies feel abnormally squishy in the gut area. And are perhaps inflating a bit faster than decomposing body gasses should account for.

This causes the target to burst open, releasing a bounty of what might be miniature horrib larvae.

"Ewwwww," Scourge mutters and quickly backs up to the doorway! "I'm going to close this door now," it admits, and does so.

"You want to go back in here and take care of them?" Scourge asks its riding bug-thing.

"I'm not sure I can get you out," Scourge admits, "But I will try. You may have to hide inside me, or something horrible, though" Wanting to get out itself, the fungus-dragon resumes its quest to find an alternate way back down.

The hall continues around the central shaft. There are more labs, all with open doors but mostly empty save for bits ash and in one a complete Eeee skin, as if something had been wearing it then peeled it off. That particular lab is near another ladderway, going up and down, that terminates the hall. In the distance behind, there's a scraping sound. The odd giant creeper thing may be coming back this way.

Scourge tries to go down first, as its goal is to get out of this nightmare-building primarily. But, it'll go up if down appears to be blocked. What it can't do is remain here too long, or eventually something will get it.

So, down Scourge keeps going. "It will get nastier the lower we go," it warns the thing still riding on its back.

"Nastier that where we came from, chicka?" the hitchhiker asks, clinging to Scourge's back.

Going down is easy enough, with Scourge's fringe of glowing tendrils lighting the way as it clings more to the walls than the ladder, descending head first. The descent isn't short, as if several floors were being bypassed. There are patches of wall that are painfully hot, and need to be maneuvered around, but eventually the ladder ends in slightly more open space with a hatch in the center of the floor.

Scourge rights itself, then flicks its tail. That tail splits apart and it begins working on opening the hatch in the floor. "Are you okay back there?" it asks its companion.

The hatch is heavier than the others have been, but isn't affected by the dampness, being ceramic. As it opens there is another burst of moist air.

"The world is damp," Scourge replies. It peers down the hole and looks for the next ladder, if any, and will continue down.

There's a space down there, but it's dark, with a few irregular reflections of Scourge's own bio-light. There's no ladder beyond, but the floor (or the reflections at least) don't seem all that far below.

Scourge tries to stick to the ceiling and the wall as it tries to climb further down.

The ceiling is slick and damp, and very irregular, but offers better traction than the walls of the ladder tube did. It feels like chitin, and is warm. There's also a sense of motion behind the hard surface. It's another corridor, but more larger than the ceramic ones, and seems to only go in two directions. But there's some red (or pink) light dimly shiny in one of them, and darkness in the other.

"We might be heading the right way," Scourge notes as it extends its senses again, trying to locate the tunnels far below. Ultimately, it ends up selecting heading towards that seems like light. There was plenty of it in the tubes below.

It isn't very far to the light. The wide corridor is open to the top here, revealing that it's the bottom of the big central shaft that the laboratory levels seem to circle. The light is coming from some of the labs with windows onto the shaft. One of those must be where the General's spare parts are kept. There's only darkness further up the shaft beyond those windows though.

So, Scourge crawls ever downward if it can. Down is the way out of here, not up. The upper levels are isolated by debris after all; so no real way out that way. No, it must use the tunnels it came in through

The sense of something moving beneath the chitiny shell gets stronger, and soon Scourge comes across a break where the green oozy effluent is leaking out. There are also vague glimmers of the aura put off by the 'breadcrumbs' left on the journey into the tower further ahead.

"I'd rather not disturb whatever is behind this," Scourge admits, and starts moving more gingerly to avoid attracting too much attention to itself. So, downward movement is slower as a result ... but hopefully safer!

There's more of the fluid leaking out of the wall in places, and at least one spot that is gushing. The cracks may be from shaking caused by the destruction of the flesh-grafts earlier, or they might have always been there. A side pipe seems to lead in the right direction at least.

Scourge heads into the side pipe. "Still alive back there?" Scourge calls to the riding bug thing. It's been so focused on escaping it hasn't checked in a while.

"Feel.. slow," comes the reply. The walls of the tube begin to change from chitin back to ceramic, and slopes downward.

Downward Scourge goes. It has to get out of here, but it worries about the bug on its back. As worried as it may be, though, it cannot stay forever and fret. If the bug makes it out, so be it. If it can't .... maybe that's for the best. It cannot save everyone and everything.

The pipe spills out into the cistern that Nicora ended up in. Scourge can sense the breadcrumbs moving.. so are probably being carried out by the slow flow of the toxic effluent. At least it makes it clear which pipe to take.

Scourge has to offload the bug on its back, and spit out the bag in it's mawthroatthing. This gets transferred to its splayed out tail, then it sighs. This is the part it really doesn't like, as it has to turn back into a blob. So, frowning, the fungus dragon drops into shadow to restore that horrible, squishy, and utterly messed-up form.

It's extra tricky due to the remaining arm needing to be dislocated. But injuries are also recorded (otherwise Nicora would still look a bit like Rose after every shift, and it's unclear what happens to the parasites). It still hurts though, like having the arm dislocated again, and the sense of limbs falling off even though aren't literally being shed this time. When it's over, Dudda-Chum is clinging to the wall in Yodhmagog senses, and seems to be heading upwards towards the top of the cistern.

"Are you leaving?" Nicora asks the retreating bug. "I thought you wished to leave this place, and I am about to leave through the tunnels."

The bug stops moving. Nicora can't hear it if it's replying though, since the bug doesn't know her ears are plugged.

"I cannot hear you. If you are coming, you'd best return to my back. I will be leaving soon," Nicora claims, then it waits a bit to see what the bug decides to do.

The bug seems uncertain. Seeing the transformation may have startled it. But it does fly back down to cling to Nicora's back, where her arm is half-embedded into her plumped up, squishy flesh.

"Squeeze down and hold on," Nicora remarks, then it turns and swishes its way towards the tube out, as well as focusing its senses on finding its own trail in the yuck-n-muck she came through.

At least this time it's mostly downhill, and moving with the flow. Not that it's particularly fun, as it means there's buildup at her behind, and the toxic sludge isn't exactly warm. It's also a bit chunkier, which may be do to explosion of flesh from earlier. It certainly smells more like Magog's Hell, which.. doesn't smell bad in this form. The trail of breakcrumbs is still clear enough to guide her through the junctions she comes across.

"Why me? Why do I get involved in these things? Why am I so stupid?" Nicora asks herself as she works her way through the pipe, feeling very much like the clogging turd holding back a tidal wave of diarrhea. Those thoughts don't make her feel much better about this either. God, she's going to want to bathe for a week!

At least there aren't any voices this time. Although the bug might be screaming for all she knows. The pipe begins to level off, which means the outlet should be ahead. The path of breadcrumbs 'looks' straight from here, at least. She brushes against the sides of the tube more often now as well, and she has to negotiate more 'debris' now as well, including hard bits that pinch and scratch her slime-boob-feet.

More discomfort, but knowing she's near the 'end' so to speak encourages her to push on. There's lots of mental complaining, though. It's become a pastime of hers, it seems. A night, hell, a week of drinking is needed after this.

The gunk is piling up and making it harder to keep going. There only a few more breadcrumbs before.. she gets stuck! The bug is pushed into her back fat, with just her armored arm keeping it from getting squished against the top of the pipe. And things keep building up behind her.

Nicora starts squirming like mad! Though, she suspects she knows what will happen, the pressure will eventually be enough to shoot her out of the tube! But, she keeps squirming never-the-less to try and get free before that happens.

The squirming helps. It loosens the gunk on the sides, and lets her bubble-body expand in that direction, creating a gap at the top. So instead of being popped forward like a cork, she's surfing out like a Gigi. Slowly.

"Once, I thought adventures were full of dignity and honor. I want to kill all those writers of those stories. The world isn't like that at all!" Nicora continues to complain on her turdlewave through the pipe. She must be cursed! Well, yes, she's cursed by Gorphat, but she must have been cursed earlier in life for things to end up with her being a living turd.

The breakcrumbs end, and so does the pipe. With she can only imagine is a 'plorp' sort of sound, she is ejected and falls face first into the offal that had been accumulating beneath.

And then there is the slow, indignant, squirm to try and quit being a dart in a pile of goo. There's no way she's shifting back now; not until she gets cleaned up some because ... she really doesn't want to smell this.

There is some squirming as the bug wiggles free of Nicora's back. She can feel it jiggle back into shape afterwards. Given what the outlet area is like (a toxic swamp) it's unlikely there is a source of relatively clean water nearby.

Nicora is trying to squirm away from the ick and the ooze at least before changing into anything else. Granted, the only form it dares use right now is Scourge, anyway.

But.. at least Scourge can talk. And see. And hear. And has no sense of smell.

Once Nicora is away from the swamp, she thinks, it's back into the shadow to return to Scourge form; at least that one can travel easier.

Limbs! And wings! And extra limbs if you count the tenta-tail. Surely the best of all possible forms. There are even bits that glow. "You did not say you could turn into the grub thing," the bug notes. "This room is very big. I cannot see the top." There isn't much daylight that gets through to the Streets Below, even this close to the Tower.

"This isn't a room, this is the outside," Scourge explains and stretches out some. "I can become many things, apologies for not explaining. I will be heading back to a temple. You are welcome to accompany me; I am the high priestess there, and I tend to others of your kind."

Now that Scourge can see, the aria around the waste outlet is very Magog-esque, with bits and pieces and sometimes complete organs from the 'repurposed' Eeee bodies that had been used to patch up sections of the lower Tower. And more is sludging its way out still.

"Well, this is disgusting," Scourge remarks on its surroundings. "And a temple is a place dedicated to worshipping a diety. This one is dedicated to Gorphat, and creatures like you are sacred to Her. Are you going to come with me?"

"Yes. I will, since I do not understand this outside chamber," the bug notes, and flits onto Scourge's back.

Scourge waits for the bug to settle, and then it takes off and heads skyward. "Are you male or female?" it asks as it climbs a little, but remains lowish to stay out of sight. Then it's banking and heading back towards Mount Gorphat.

"I am neither in this body, though I can be either, depending on the form. When I get back to the temple, I will become a female," Scourge explains.

"And you will lay eggs?" the bug asks. There's a gathering of auras ahead - Gorphat City, as it sprawls from the temple entrance at the base of the mountain.

"Depends on the form, some do," Scourge admits, "And I prefer being female for that ability, to bring new life. Anyway, we are almost there."

People generally do not notice Scourge while it's higher up. The city is busy, even though it's primary industry is dealing with the sick and diseased. But there's a generally clear landing area kept in front of the temple.

Scourge circles down and lands in that clearing with a mild thump. Then it's waddle-walking itself into the temple before anyone might 'mob' it in greeting. "We will go to the queen's chamber, where others like you live," it explains.

There's some commotion in the inner temple. The Yodhrinala technically aren't allowed to have acolytes, so they might be nurse-trainees.. but it's hard to imagine anyone volunteering here if it wasn't for some religious purpose. In any case, they're new enough to not expect a strange dragon-thing to come in bearing a Horrib with far too many Eeee-like features on its back.

"Do not fear, I am Gorphat's Pet," Scourge explains to the acolytes within that seem to be about to panic. "I am merely passing through, pay me no mind."

The older Yodh get things sorted out while Scourge heads into the inner temple area. It's never been clear if it was making use of existing tunnels are had simply chopped them out of the rock without any really eye to making things smooth.

Scourge makes its way through the rougher passages until it reaches the chamber of the horribs.

Lair of the Sacred Horribs
This was once the chamber of the Senior Priestess, second to the High Priestess and thus next to her suite. It isn't all that big, but big enough for the current occupant: a 'modified' Horrib Queen, birthed by the current High Priestess herself. The surfaces are all covered in hive resin, with alcoves used for holding 'victims' while the Queen herself is suspended in the center of the chamber in a cross between a cocoon and a throne made of extruded chitin.

There's a buzz when Scourge enters with the new, strange Horrib. Brutus comes to inspect, and the Hoshuosin tending the Queen pause to look the new creature over as well.

"It is a friend and ally, do not harm it," Scourge insists, and slowly takes the cargo on its back closer to the queen.

The Queen clicks and clatters and reaches out to stroke the odd Horrib. "Prince," she hisses.

"I believe so," Scourge explains. "Princes are considered important. It also means you are male."

"Easier than being female," Scourge admits, "But it also means you must serve the females faithfully."\

"There is more than one?" the Prince asks. Which is a tricky question, since there just seems to be the Queen. It's hard to tell with the others.

"Well, it depends. Right now this queen is your ruler; you should obey and tend to her. She is the center of the hive," Scourge claims.

The Prince flies up and.. sits in the Queen's 'lap' for now. "Yes. Didda," he says.

"I will leave you to get acquainted with the hive, then," Scourge claims as it slowly backs away from the queen. I must return to the High Priestess and ensure there are no more pressing duties. Then it's heading out of the room and back to the High Priestess' chambers.

Chambers of the High Priestess
Unlike certain of her Sisters, Gorphat is not known for ostentation. The apartment within the Temple of Gorphat has its own bathroom, which sets it apart from the others, even if that just means there's a special closet for the chamber pot. It might also be slightly dryer, and have higher ceilings, but otherwise it has the same rough-hewn look combined with a bit of masonry to fill in the gaps - so long as it doesn't disturb the organic feel of the place.

Aside from the usual flora and fauna (such as the High Priestess's Skedat Throne) the chambers are empty and quiet.

Once Scourge is in the chamber of the High Priestess, it drops back into shadow. In there, it tries to find a more intact form of Nicora, one that's still got all her limbs, to use as the imprint to shift to here.

The 'last' one is still pretty messed up, being the version just prior to delimbing and plumpening. She still has inside bits that hang outside, however.

Nicroa grunts, but this is the current 'normal' form of the High Priestess, even if it's incredibly uncomfortable. It also encourages her to grab one of the chamber pots that she then squats over. Making things worse, she actually reaches back and helps pull her poor stuffed rump open, and there she tries to expel ome of those worms that are filling her intestines. Goddess knows how full they really are, though, or if she has any prayer of getting them out.

Given the way Creepers usually operate, with those sucker-limbs, it doesn't seem likely. Regular tapeworms could at least be pulled out, since they aren't latched on to anything inside. But it does make them squirm a bit.

There's a lot of grunting, and a whole lot of squirming, and things dangling from her now stretched rump, but nothing actually falls out. Nicora growls in frustration, then gives up. She gets up and waddles over next to one of the tanks that houses her organic 'diapers', that helps hold her insides in and keep her cleaned out. Pity it latches onto ring holes and hooks up into her backside to anchor on. But, it does allow her to walk around some. So, with a grimice, she holds the thing 'in place' and waits for it to latch in and set.

Creepers have so many uses, but it does cause her to remember the thing in the hallway back in the Tower. But it does latch in as it should, at least for the time being. That gets a reprieve from the swarms of flies that miraculously appear otherwise.

And she can walk without agony! Just a lot of discomfort, and waddling since she has to keep her legs spread. And she does; out of her room to go check on the horribs and make sure the new one is settling in.

It's a mercifully short walk to the Lair at least, since it's the first chamber along the corridor past her own rooms. It looks like the Prince is being cradled against the Queen's soft parts at the moment. The other Horribs have settled down, but Brutus immediately flies over to perch on Nicora's back and shoulders.

"Is everything okay in here?" Nicora asks those present. "Our new hive member settling in?"

"Did-a-chick," Brutus claims. Since the new Prince hasn't been torn apart by the drones, it probably means there isn't an issue. It was never clear exactly how the Queen fertilized her eggs anyway.

"Good," Nicora says and turns to leave. This means waddling back to her own room and settling down with a squish onto her bed. She leans back, and is thinking about heading to one of the bars later as Alptraum, and getting drunk. And maybe laid.

And presumably bathed. The only bathing option in the Temple is the worm pool, or whatever the Yodhrinala uses to disinfect patients. There's the baths in Greytown, and the one up at the Temple of Inala (if Mave lets him in before washing off with a bucket first). Or..

Thunk-slosh, thunk-slosh, thunk-slosh. The sounds of The Bucket, usually connected to Otto, approaches.

"Is there anything more you have need of, Mother Gorphat, or Hosheb?" Nicora asks the supposedly empty room. Then her ears twitch, Otto. Joy.

"You have earned a reward," Gorphat whispers into Nicora's ear. "The curse is ended."

"Curse? Which curse?" Nicora asks as she sits up, ears perking. "The Sabbaoth one? What sort of reward?"

"The Sabaoth's curse, of course," Gorphat notes. "Are there other curses you know about?" she asks. Of course, her 'gifts' are blessings, not curses, after all.

"I wasn't sure, after all. What do you mean by 'a reward'?" Nicora thinks, perhaps a bit warily. A reward from Gorphat can be not so much fun, after all.

"What would you consider a suitable reward?" Gorphat leads. Is she giving Nicora rope to hang herself, or genuinely wants to give her something she wants?

"I ... do not know. I don't often ask for rewards," Nicora admits in communion with Gorphat. "Something special with you, perhaps? An experience? Your embrace and love? Or more simply, some time with your blesseings eased so I can do more in Your Honor."

Gorphat is silent, as Otto enters the room and sets his bucket down. He dips a rag into it, and then approaches Nicora. "Gotta wash yer," the big rat notes.

Nicora stands up, since she can, and spreads her arms and legs. "As you wish, my rat," The High Priestess intones.

Otto starts from the top, wringing out the rag over Nicora's crest of scalp-worm-things. Then he washes behind her ears. It's pretty relaxing, aside from having to stand up.

Nicora closes her eyes and relaxes. Being bathed and clean as a Yodhgorphat is a novel experience; even if she continues to feel all squirmy on the inside thanks to her living cargo.

With each wipe of the cloth though, she does feel cleaner. And things start to smell cleaner. The soaking and wringing of the rag sounds soothing, and seems to happen faster, until it sounds like running water. "Will you keep your eyes closed throughout?" a pleasant voice asks.

"If I need to, yes," Nicora replies as she relaxes even more, thanks to the scent of clean. The absence of foul smells, almost a floral thing as she relaxes. Maybe she's going insane.

There's a pool, covered in low patches of mist and fed by several narrow waterfalls. It's in a grotto that appears to be the inside of a geode, full of giant amethyst crystals. It isn't clear where the water is coming from, or where it flows out to. The sky is dark and spotted with strange constellations, and no Procession. She also doesn't feel chilled or clammy. "Do you like it?" Gephesa asks, smiling in front of Nicora.

"I do. It is peaceful here," Nicora agrees, for once not feeling awful. She pares herself a glance, though only that, she cannot take her eyes off Gephesa. "What is this place?"

"Well, this was part of my Paradise, a way-station where people could recover from injuries," the goddess explains. "A place of rest and recuperation."

Nicora nods at this and even dares to touch the Goddess, if briefly. "A good place to be, for a time," she agrees and looks around. "I feel ... normal."

Touching Gephesa also brings another surprise: her hand and arm are coated in soft, dark brown (nearly black) fur. The way Nicora was before undergoing the Stations and burning it all off.

"I'm back to as I was?" Nicora asks, surprised and eyes wide. She steps back and looks herself all over, and even all her bits. Completely normal, still pierced but normal?

She looks the same as when she first arrived in Babel. Even her right forearm and hand look 'normal', without the chitin and other effects: her palm has full sensation again, even.

"Wow, I haven't looked like this in a very long time," Nicora admits and spins around a few times. "I'm not complaining. This is ... novel."

"Yes, it is quite pretty," Gephesa says. She's light brown with cream accents herself.. and of course with a divine aura of beauty. "It has been awhile for me as well."

Nicora moves close again and hugs onto Gephesa, then without even thinking about it snogs her. As in she does kiss the Goddess rather aggressively, including tongue.

"Hmm, you seem eager," Gephesa says, and takes Nicora's hands to lead her towards the water. "I have another surprise still, but it can wait a bit."

Nicora laughs, "Aw, you can show me now." She does head towards the water, though, still marvelling at being able to walk like a person! Heck, all of her functions normally!

The water is tingly and warm as a bath. "This is my healing spring," Gephesa claims. "And you might get distracted if I reveal the rest so soon," she notes as she wades deeper.

Nicora laughs again. "You know me too well," she admits as she slowly slides into the water and then sinks down up to her neck. She sighs out and stretches, letting her body spread and float in the warm pool.

Certain spots tingle more than others. The water even makes things sound a bit more musical. "Are in the mood to relax then?" Gephesa asks.

"I'm in the mood for anything," Nicora admits as she floats there, all giddy. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Oh, this is about you, not me," Gephesa says, and moves around behind Nicora to brush her hair. But even that feels.. really good. Almost as if each brush is making it grow long from the way the follicles feel.

Nicora practically purrs and shifts so that she's sort of float-sitting to make the brushing easier. She reaches back while the Goddess is brushing and starts feeling her up, whatever she can manage to reach.

Gephesa feels nice of course, everywhere Nicora touches. Her fingers tingle then as well. So the Goddess, pulls her up more, so that her back is pressed against Gephesa's torso, and even nuzzles her neck, which is really mind-blowing.

It also makes it harder to feel the Goddess up, alas! So she ends up using her legs and feet to extend them back and rub them along the Goddess' legs. "Feels very nice," Nicora murmurs, then sort of gasp-squeals at the neck-nuzzle.

"I am rejuvenating," Gephesa claims, and then nips one of Nicora's ear, which is really nice. Then she starts feeling up Nicora, which is even better.

The dark Eeee oooos and squirms. If groping is part of rejuvenation, she doesn't mind at all! She also flickflicks that ear.

"Now.. close your eyes again," Gephesa whispers to Nicora in the recently nipped ear.

Nicora keeps one eye open for a moment, then closes them. She's wary, but Gephesa is the nice form ... so it should be okay.

Theres a heavy splash from the center of the pool, and the ripples make Nicora bob up and down. "Now you can open them," Gephesa says.

The splash makes Nicora squeak! Her eyes open pretty quickly after that! "What was that?!" she asks.

Standing in the middle of the pool is.. Hosheb! The demon then reaches up and pulls his own head off. Actually, it's a helmet, and underneath is a very handsome Eeee. Eeee generally don't come in 'chiseled' form, so it's more likely the General wasn't the first successful super-soldier. He's got tan fur, with dark Savanite-like spots, and long black hair. Which he whips around once it's free of the helmet.

This makes Nicora blink repeatedly. "Hosheb?" she asks tentatively. "Or ... I suppose your name would be different." It's good that she's dark, or she'd be blushing severely right now.

"Hosheb is my name," he says, and starts removing the rest of his armor. It seems to be stuck on rather than a suit. It leaves his fur wet where the pieces come off. The spots may be more than decorative, since they're very symmetrical. "It takes time to get this off. I usually need help," he apologizes.

"What is it? How does it even stay on?" Nicora has to ask. "Should I help?" She'd move, but ... Gephesa is behind her and she doesn't want to upset her.

"I wouldn't mind," Nicora admits and then moves to help the other Eeee remove the armor. It also gives her a chance to feel him up, all over, as she pulls off piece by piece. Gah, why does he turn her on so, even in this form?!

It may have to do with how he stacks up. No Eeee should have shoulders that broad. Is the Hosheb she usually interacts with like this underneath? What does that mean for the other demons? "If you get between my wings," he asks, "I'd be very grateful."

Nicora slips behind him, and uses the chance back there to feel up his butt. "Oops," she claims, then moves her hands to help pull off parts between those wings.

The plates of sticky armor are hard, and the Eeee underneath is still hard as well, once his flesh is exposed. "I don't usually handle this or applying the armor myself," Hosheb says. "Thank you for the help." At least his wings aren't heavily armored, so he can those himself.

Nicora helps anyway, though she's rubbing up against him because she can. "I don't mind helping," she purrs, then hugs around his midsection, and ends up nibbling between his wings.

Whatever it is that sticks the armor to his fur tastes sweet, like syrup. "Be careful or you're stick to me," Hosheb warns with a chuckle. "I need to scrub it all off."

Nicora rolls her eyes and slips back. "Okay, okay, I'll behave," she pouts and then floats away from him.

Hosheb has to actually step out of the pool to get the lower half of his armor off. "Well, there's some oil you can use to help clean my fur with if you are interested," he offers. Gephesa is actually holding something in her hands.. another geode, cut in half to form a bowl.

Nicora floats over to where the bowl is. "Is this it?" she asks Gephesa, "Or is that bowl for me...?"

"This is the special cleansing oil to anoint Hosheb with," Gephesa says with a wink. "Don't worry about using too much, it will never run out."

Nicora giggles all too girly and takes that bowl. She's then wading her way over to Hosheb. Smiling slyly, she dips her hand into that bowel and the oil within. Soon, she's slowly massaging it into the Eeee's fur. She's trying to start in innocent places, but her hands drift now and then down to his rump, then between his legs, over his chest ... and then she goes right back to doing some place innocent. Her ears fold back, embarrassed.

"Do you need some help?" Hosheb says, and then dips two fingers into the bowl. "You don't need much, see," he says, and then rubs the oil into Nicora's nipples.

Nicora squeaks at that! "No, I don't need help ... I just ... your'e so, er," she babbles and stuffs her hand back in the bowl and starts smearing it on him again while huffing.

Hosheb's fingers nearly touch when he wraps his hands around Nicora's waist and lift her up high enough so she can easily get to his shoulders. And also so he suckle on her at the same time.

Nicora finds the suckling very distracting. So her rubbing of his shoulders is all hesitant and twitchy, though she does her best. She also has a panic-thought .. if Inala's blessing kicks in, will Gephesa be mad?

So far it seems that Inala doesn't hold sway here. It was Gephesa that restored her like this, after all. It does become clear that Hosheb's tongue, like the rest of him, is possibly bigger and more muscular than a typical Eeee's.

Poor Nicora is squirming while being held, and making all sorts of whimpery-pleased, happy sounds, just from being nursed on! Her feet are wiggles all about and grasping at things, too.

Hosheb carries her to one of the crystals, so he can sit down. He still holds her up though, so she can finish working on his shoulders.

Nicora looks at the ceiling while she continues to work upon Hosheb's shoulders, and her ears feel like they're burning. "So ... what brings you here like this?" she babbles in lame small talk.

"This is an echo of our previous incarnations," Hosheb explains. "So, Gorphat is Gephesa, and I am her guardian. I was a living man originally." He then nuzzles between Nicora's breasts.

Nicora squeaks at that and sort of frizzes out! "Ah, well, these forms should have a place again in Babel too," Nicora claims. "The people are slowly coming around." She resumes her rubbing after collecting some level of decorum.

"The current version of me hasn't an Eeee left in him," Hosheb notes. "The armor replaced my body." He lowers Nicora down a bit more so he can nose at her throat.

This makes Nicora swallow nervously. "That can be changed, can it not?" she asks. "Not that your current form isn't handsome too, of course."

"I conform to Gorphat's image," Hosheb notes, and nips at the side of Nicora's neck. He has to lower her a bit more for that, and she can feel him poking her down there.

This makes Nicora sort of 'meep' in surprise. There goes that ear-burning again! She ends up playing with his ears nervously to do something with her hands. She also ends up glancing towards Gephesa.

Gephesa is lounging on another long crystal outcrop, looking more like a feline than a bat. She has a very big grin though. "Are you not up for a challenge, without any blessings?"

Nicora bites her lower lip. "In honor of our Mistress," she says nervously and adjusts her position carefully so that things are aimed, er, more rumpward instead of Inala's claimed body part. "I think this is more appropriate for the first time you take me like this," she says, her voice tone all over the place in ridiculous embarrassment. "For your, and Her, enjoyment, not Her sisters."

"Oh? How very generous!" Hosheb says, and loosens his grip on Nicora, so that she's supporting herself now. "I'm in your hands," he says.

Nicora knows to apply some of that oil to things before she does what she's about to do. It unfortunately also appraises her of his build and he might be the first Eeee built close to a Rhian. She's very careful about ligning things up and making sure the pointy bit it poking center of her poor backside. Then she draws in a deep breath and slowly lowers herself. It's sort of a self-impale and it starts off not bad, but as things stretch wider to accommodate, it quickly becomes uncomfortable. She breathes out slowly and takes it slow. Down a bit, rest, recover, relax, then a bit more. It's not that it doesn't also feel good to her too, but it is a challenge, and she's trying to, well, sit all the way down so that all of him is inside her. She also can't help but glance over to Gephesa.

"Not many have gotten that far," the goddess comments. "I suppose my conditioning has prepared you for anything then?"

This surprises Nicora, but she does drape her arms around Hosheb's neck. And she's still working downward, slowly. She's feeling wide enough back there now that a wagon could roll though. She also ends up growling a little in that kiss.

"Oh my, I forgot that you are a biter," Hosheb notes, barely breaking the kiss so still touching noses. "Am I in danger?"

"Yes," Nicora claims simply and grunts. She finds herself sitting fully in his lap, and feeling very, very, full. She growls again, and bites on his lower lip playfully, then tugs.

"I am defeated," he claims with a slight lisp, and then reaches around at.. strokes Nicora's weird tail. He even rubs its head with a thumb.

This makes Nicora squeak again, and let go of that lip. "Are you; you have impaled me," she points out with a purr. From there it's sort of a rolling slow bounce she has to start, which makes it feel like there's a massive snake/thing inside her as she moves on it. "I just felt taking you like this was a way to honor you and Gephesa and Gorphat. Willingly doing it this way, enjoying things without Inala's ... help," she admits, her voice soft and a bit, well, embarrassed.

"You know that Gephesa and Rinala got along very well, don't you?" Hosheb teases, and uses his hands to help spread Nicora's cheeks. But something is still fondling her tail at the same time.

"Yes, I know," Nicora admits and bites her lower lip again. "But I like it when I do it this way when in Her service," she admits, "This just feels more ... right. Finding enjoyment in doing something so challenging."

"Hmm, it feels very tight," Hosheb notes. "Are you handling it alright?" Something weird is definitely going on with Nicora's tail now.

Nicora nods slightly. "I'm okay. It's uncomfortable, and ... enjoyable a he same time. It's hard to explain," she admits, sounding very weird and distracted.

"Let me know when need help," Hosheb, nuzzling the left side of Nicora's neck. And then someone starts nuzzling the right side, and is pushing up against Nicora's back.

Nicora squeaks! She tries to look over her shoulder at who or what is now behind her!

This makes Nicora a little nervous, but this is the nicer form so it should be okay! "You can move some too," she tells Hosheb. "Just go slow, okay?" The she sort of gasp-squeaks, when a strange sort of pleasure from what she's doing hits her again. How such acts can still feel good baffles her, but they do.

With permission given, Hosheb raises Nicora up just a bit, until there's some slippage, then lets her back down again. And Nicora's tail is feeling very warm and damp now, so it's probably inside Gephesa at this point. She can feel it struggling.

And that also feels disturbingly good too, and it makes Nicora sort of squeak-moan. She shifts, moving in sort of a rolling circular motion so that there is movement if both directions. It feels incredibly weird, but also incredibly good. "See, this feels very nice," she murmurs out to the two. "I could seal Inala's gate and still enjoy your company in this way," she teases and giggles.

"Isn't that what your chains are for?" Gephesa notes, and nuzzles Nicora's throat. The longer Nicora's tail is inside Gephesa, the more sensitive it becomes. Which could be a problem, since Gephesa is a goddess there's no point of 'release' for the tail if it comes down to it.

"Yes, it is, but I could always be fitted with solid rings instead," Nicora giggles, feeling all weird and really, really, good. "I always want to do things in Your honor. It's just ... it's not out of fear, it's that I always want you happy," she claims.

"Most Babelites just want to appease us," Gephesa says. "So few really appreciate or embrace us. It is refreshing.. but I wonder if it is because you were raised outside of our influence, or if it is because of what you are? Not that either lessens your efforts."

"This way I get to know you, not keep you away," Nicora claims. "I like being with all of you. Maybe it is because I grew up away. And always being a bit feared? Anyway, I will continue to honor you, whichever shape you wear. Even in your harsher Gorphat body, I do want to please you and for you to test and change me."

Gephesa gives Nicora's tail a squeeze just as Hosheb gives her a little bounce-thrust. "Well, you are special to us as well," the goddess notes. "No mere mortal has ever had this sort of access to us, not since Dronnel."

"I don't want to end up like him, though," Nicora claims, then ends up sort of squeak-giggling when another weird sort of pleasure wave hits her. This encourages her to speed up some more, as well as test clenching onto Hosheb's part at times to see how he reacts.

It's like trying to squeeze smooth stone: it makes her go either up or down the shaft. It's hard to tell for certain, since he's still bouncing her up and down, but the bouncing seems to be increasing. Since Gephesa isn't bouncing as well though, it makes for extra rubbing against Nicora's back.. and some kinking in her tail which feels pretty odd, but still pleasant.

Nicora, at some point, almost things of this as a perverse sort of pole-dancing. Her movements are more focused on his reaction than hers as this isn't exactly enjoyable in the usual way obviously. Though having Gephesa back there doing things ... helps.

Hosheb moves one of his hands across Nicora's belly, and down lower. He catches the ring through Inala's Orb with the tip of his thumb claw and gives it a little tug. "These rings are interesting," he notes.

Nicora squeaks at the catch and pull. "I, ah, had them put in so I could be sealed," she admits, ears flushing. "So inala's aspect couldn't be easily used by anyone."

"But you did not seal Gorphat's aspect," Hosheb notes, kneading one of Nicora's breasts with his other hand. "She had a healthy fear of Inala before she even arrived in Babel," Gephesa claims, and does something that makes the tail's head actually spin a bit.. or at least twist to its limit.

Nicora bites her lower lip. "I have myself to Gorphat," she points out when it comes to not sealing that aspect. Then she's twitching a lot whenver the Goddess did ... whatever she did. It's making Nicora see stars.

The tail's sense of taste seems a lot stronger now as well to Nicora. It's definitely using its tongue in there. Meanwhile, Hosheb slips a finger into Nicora so he's got her doubly pinned. It also adds a little extra pressure on the bounces.

This makes it so Nicora can't even really talk. She's mostly drooling, looking stunned, and going up and down on her 'impalers'. She's pretty sure she's moaning and making all sorts of other disturbing and embarrassing noises too; shameful, lust-filled, wanton, whore kinds of sounds.

Hosheb is making some low sounds, at least once he wraps his mouth around Nicora's other breast. Gephesa has moved on to lick her ears, and Nicora's tail is close to it's point of over-stimulation. Hosheb has very long, thick fingers as well, he keeps making little come-hither gestures with the one inside of her. At least things feel like their moving more smoothing at the other entry point.

Nicora frets she might get in trouble for enjoying this when the more mercurial Gorphat returns! But, she can't exactly stop herself either. She's moaning and shivering from the overload of stimulus. Then it sort of snaps and she starts to buck, twitch and squirm as everything goes all fuzzy-intense as it overtakes her, and all her penetrated bits spasm along with her! She's also pushing down hard on Hosheb and taking as much as she actually can of him, stretching and pain be damned!

Hosheb actually goes 'oof' at the sudden grind, and tries to keep up. Gephesa is cackling a bit from behind, but Nicora's tail stays at its limit - until it finally boils over into Nicora's other release.

Somehow Nicora's managing to nurse on Hosheb, through both passages! Or her muscles are just spasming very oddly! Either way, the poor bat is writhing like a hopeless slut.

"Hmmmm," Hosheb ponders, and licks Nicora's nose. "You seem fairly worked up," he says. "Are you ready for the finale?"

Nicora is gasping like mad. "That wasn't the finale?" she wheezes in shock, eyes wide as saucers.

"Well, not for me," Hosheb says, then uses his wings to hold Gephesa and Nicora against him while he stands up (so that he doesn't need to stop doing what he's doing with his hands). He then turns around, and lowers the pair down to the crystal bench he was previously using.

Nicora squeaks at that in surprise! It's a weird way to be carried and feels really, really, odd. Soon she finds herself sort of on top of Gephesa; the goddess being a living mattress.

Hosheb keeps them wrapped too, so Nicora is sandwiched rather tightly. Then he begins to actually.. well.. thrust.

Which seems to turn Nicora into some sort of instrument. Each thrust makes her squeak out, loudly. She also had no idea she could take someone this big without blessings! It's good this is a dreamscape, or she'd be walking funny again.

Of course Gephesa is still doing things as well, rather than just be a mattress. She's still got the tail, which is now feeling tingly at its head and root, and she's also got her arms around Nicora and sucking on one of her ears. Loudly. In any form, Gephesa is not dainty.

Nicora isn't sure what to make of this! Her eyes are huge in shock, and she swears with each thrust her eyes might pop out! There's a whole lot of squirming from the Eee-In-The-Middle.

"His first one is usually a warmup," Gephesa whispers to Nicora, as the soldier-bat picks up his pace and goes deeper.

"Warm up!?!?!" Nicora squeaks! The more Hosheb moves, the more she's feeling like some sort of tube! Which feels weird! Good, but weird.

And then comes the filling, which.. also feels weird, since it doesn't stop the Eeee for at least a dozen more thrusts. Only then does he start to slow down, and Nicora is getting sweaty from be the wing-wrap and sandwiching as well.

Nicora goes blurp! She doesn't usually feel much when someome releases in her, er, alternate passage but this she feels because it's a lot! It makes her squirm around and make all sorts of weird chirping noises!

She is then released from the leathery burrito, if not from the sandwich. "It has been awhile for me," Hosheb claims.

Nicora almost feels like a balloon. "No kidding," she squeaks. "And that's a warmup?!!?"

"Well, I wouldn't be very divine if that's all I could manage," Hosheb notes. And then pulls out abruptly, causing a definite pressure drop.

Nicora yarps! And her bottom makes a very embarrassing sort of 'slorp' sound. Then she feels a breeze in a place she shouldn't, and feels like a cart could be driven up in her. Her ears are burning in embarrassment.

"I'm going to wash up, how about you?" Hosheb says with a grin as he heads back into the pool.

"When things close up, sure," Nicora whimpers, and relaxes, trying to get things to ... unstretch.

Gephesa helps her to sit up.. by pushing her upright. "Hygiene is important for a long and healthy life," she notes.

Nicors sits up ... and almost falls forward! Then she does, and just sort of crawls into the pool to clean up. blurp! she disappears under the water.

Her tail is really wiggling too, as if happy to be free from scary cave. But at least the water is soothing, especially for her various aches and pains that are beginning to announce themselves.

Nicora floats under the water for a bit, then comes up and gasps in a breath. Then she's shaking out her hair some and blinking.

"Feeling better?" Hosheb asks. Gephesa lounges half-in and half-out of the water.

"Yes," Nicora admits and rubs over her own face. She certainly feels less stretched!

"How is your gag reflex?" Hosheb then asks. His tone is light, but it is probably a worrisome thing for him to be asking.

"Nonexistent," Nicora admits before it really hits her what that question could mean. Given how much she's endured at the temple, her answer IS technically true...

Standing in a slightly shallower part of the pool, Hosheb is on display. And twitching as well, from little flexes of his groin muscles.

Nicora blinks. "Are you asking me to, uh," she starts to say, then has a hard time looking at him.

"Well, it would be a treat," Hosheb claims, "But I wouldn't want you to choke. And I also wouldn't want to be bitten. But you still have a tongue and lips and hands and boobs if you feel creative."

Nicora hmphs. "I can take you," she claims in her own bizarre ego. So she moves closer and starts by leaning in and just licking. Partially to figure out the size, and best, ah, angle of attack. Once she does, though, she's putting her lips over the end, curling her tongue around it some, and slowly easing herself forward. And adjusting her head and position as needed when she starts feeling resistance.

Using her cheeks makes it easy to get a gauge on Hosheb's.. gauge. Getting that far in fine, but it would require her line up her throat as much as possible to get further. But there's still more than a hands-width left outside. This isn't exactly something Inala would have given her a blessing for either, as far as she knows. And it doesn't stay still. There are twitches and of course the inevitable expansion that makes it a bit harder to maneuver, especially when that maneuvering has to avoid a lot of very needle-sharp teeth.

Nicora has to use her hands to make up the difference, and there's a lot of angling and adjusting as she lines things up. Then she stops and pulls off and looks at Gephesa. "I cannot believe I am asking this," she admits, ears back, "But I could do this better without my teeth. Can you, uhm, temporarily bless me to lose them so I can tend to Hosheb better? Temporary." Emphasis on that last word.

"And deprive my dear Hosheb of a true showing of skill?" Gephesa asks with a sardonic wink. "I will offer a compromise instead, so that you do not need to worry about it." And then Nicora's teeth start to feel.. strange.

Nicora's ear twitches, then she pokes at a tooth with her tongue to see just why they feel strange.

The sensation of doing that is bizarre, because it feels like her tongue is touching itself. Multiple selves, even.

Nicora has no idea what that is, or did, and is confused. But, she ends up shrugging come and trying to go back to tending to Hosheb. Which means being careful with getting back into a very specific position, with specific alignment, and compensating with her hands again.

It does become clear that her teeth have become tiny tongues, once they all start licking in unison. "That tickles," Hosheb notes, and wiggles a bit more.

This is just ... it makes Nicora sort of go cross-eyed. It's weird on a level she can't quite explain, and isn't even sure she likes! But, she did offer to do Hosheb this way and once she gets the alignment right, she has to sort of move her whole body to bob safely.

"Is there a better position I can be in?" Hosheb asks, and brushes his fingers though Nicora's hair.

Nicora can't really answer no, or shake her head. So she tries to sign it, then realizes he probably doesn't know Silent sign. So, she answers by just keeping going with how she has been. It's the best angle for her at this point all things considered.

Hosheb is clearly holding back from moving, but he still keeps twitching up and down. Nicora can really, really taste him now, but the change to her teeth gives a bit more wiggle room, which is good because Hosheb is starting to wiggle more from side to side.

Well, she's surely tasted worse! And she's shifting up again to make it so if he wants to move some, he can. She doe shave to time her breathing, though! As well as really use hands when she needs to breathe better for a bit. She can also clench her jaws some to add pressure here and there, but only a slight bit at that.

Closing her jaw with teeth that are suddenly made of muscle is not like doing it with just gums. Sometimes the 'teeth' get bent funny, and the grip is very loose. At least when things are closed more, there's less 'tickling' for Hosheb. Now he's got both hands on her head, playing with her hair and ears, and starting to rock his hips instead of just 'bobbing' things. Not enough yet to upset Nicora's balance, but she can still grab onto him if she needs more support.

Nicora keeps her jaws tighter then, since that seems to help. Her hands remain where they are just to make up the distance difference, otherwise they'd be on his hips. Once things seem to be working, she focuses more on pace.

With the tongue-teeth still be dragged back and forth a little (a bit like having a very floppy lip under her actual lips) it still is a bit of a challenge on when to breathe, especially as Hosheb starts to put a bit more effort into his own motions while holding on to Nicora's hair. He's started grunting as well.

It's time like this gills in your sides would be useful. But, she must do what she can, and some of that is being a bit more forceful when she needs time to breathe. She also has her eyes squeezed shut because she feels utterly humiliated while doing this.

Closing her eyes means she can't keep track of Gephesa, until someone starts rubbing her butt.. and occasionally pinching and groping. Hosheb is making it harder to keep a firm grip with her hands though.

Nicora squeaks, sort of, at the butt-grabbing! She also soon shifts her hands to Hosheb's hips since she can't really keep them where they were. Hopefully that won't come back to bite her, metaphorically.

"If you can still make sound, try humming into him," Gephesa suggests from behind Nicora. "Lower registers work best in this case."

Nicora almost whacks the goddess with her wings. She doesn't need a back-seat fornication coach. Still, she ends up trying to hum, though it's a bit hard when things are really in deep.

Still, the sporadic hum seems to stimulate Hosheb enough that he picks up his pace. Since Nicora has her grip on his hips, it's a little easier for her react, but there's always that bit of elbow give at the start that lets her head be pushed back a bit first. As long as Hosheb doesn't get too enthusiastic she should be alright. And if she remembers to hold her breath when it feels like he's about to pop again.

That part worries her a bit! He released a lot, which means in this case she's going to get a huge 'meal'. But, she'll cross that bridge when she gets there. She focuses more and more on his movement and reaction, and adjusting in time to them, so she can better predict.

He keeps getting.. well.. thicker as things progress. Or it may be because he's trying to pull her head towards him as he pushes now. There's enough drool running down his length (tongue-teeth need lubrication) that there's isn't much in the way of frictional resistance either.

Nicora actually tries to g further down with each thrust too, though that causes a lot of stretching and she has to get a breath before she does it! She's also just sure Gephesea is back there laughing at her, too.

Gephesa is, in fact, groping and rubbing at sensitive spots in an attempt to distract Nicora. Keeping up the humming is harder now as well, since there just isn't enough time to get in a proper full breath, so she's forced to hyper-ventilate. But she can feel muscles start to twitch on Hosheb, acting as a sort of countdown timer.

When the twitches start getting fast, that's when she takes a really deep breath, then pulls herself as far down on him as she can! The torments of her back areas are ... well, yes, distracting! But she doesn't dare get too distracted given the dangers of what she's doing.

Timing is everything! And Hosheb gives out before her held-breath does in this case. It's thankfully not as much as before, but it does last a bit longer, which doesn't help.

Nicora is feeling rather woosy by the time things end and she pushes herself off quickly when she can! Then there's a lot of gasping for breath before she passes out!

Pushing off also pushes her back suddenly against Gephesa, who goes down and takes Nicora with her into the water.

Hosheb does reach down to fish the two women out of the water. "Are you alright?" he asks.

Nicora sputters and looks pathetic while she hangs there. "I'm fine," she claims.

"Did you enjoy that?" Gephesa asks. Nicora's teeth seem to be back to being teeth again.

Nicora breathes for a bit and then nods. "Yes," she admits, embarrassed. "I did."

Hosheb scoops Nicora up out of the water completely, almost cradling her and carrying her to the 'shore' where the towels are.

"So," Nicora asks, "Where's the other shoe? When is the gotcha part going to do something horrible to me?" She asks that in a weak voice, but the sisters are sort of known for it.

After setting her on her feet, Hosheb starts to fluff Nicora dry with the towel. "Well..." Hosheb says, also feeling Nicora up while he dries her. "There's one more thing I'd like to try.."

"Nothing.. disturbing," Hosheb claims, once Nicora is dry. Then he starts drying himself.

"If it's not disturbing, then what is it?" she asks as she helps dry him. Given the size difference, well, it's like a skeek trying to dry a vartan.

Once the drying is down, Hosheb scoops Nicora back up again and kisses her while carrying her back to the bench-crystal. "Just something a bit more basic," he claims as he lies her onto her back.

Nicora laughs a little. "Basic in Babel can mean so many things," she points out as she's put down Grateful to be on her back now, without a squirming mattress, or having to be bent at an 'L' for a long time.

She feels a bit small again when Hosheb climbs on top of her, especially since she can't see past his chest without craning her head. And he's.. well, knocking on Inala's Gate.

Nicora's eyes are wide when that happens. She did sort of expect it, though. She ends up actually reaching down to help align things and spread things and ... then she lets out a surprised trill. Yep, he just started pushing in the poor Eeee. He feels gigantic this way too.

He isn't going very slowly, either, trying to get as far in as he can relatively quickly. Maybe to see how far he can go, or just to see how far Nicora will let him.

Nicora is letting him go as far as she cal. She'll let him know if anything really hurts to the point of needing to stop. The size means it's going to hurt some, regardless, but that's fine, a little pain is spice to it. And she's curious if she can take all of him too. This time she's letting him set and control the pace.

So he keeps pushing, until he's effectively penetrating her twice as he gets past the cervix. "Nobody ever lets me go all out," he tells her.

"Well, you are a bit, uh, big," Nicora squeaks. "But I'm probably better trained than most to deal with it!" And yes, it does hurt, the double penetration is not something an Eeee is really built for; but she'd felt so much worse it feels pretty minor.

"I prefer this one right now," Hosheb says, and then gets a good grip on Nicora's shoulders before starting to rock his hips, just to make sure nothing gets stuck, and that she doesn't just get pushed along the crystal.

Nicora thinks if her eyes could bug out like an Eeeps, they probably would with what he's doing and how it feels. Though she never complains, since he really wants it, and it must stink to not be able to really go for it with another Eeee. She also grabs his legs with her feet for better anchor-grip too. And it's not like it's all pain or anything, it does feel good too, just ... with a whole lot of edge pain and stretch.

Nikky would probably be cackling. Or the Shrine Maiden would be ecstatic. Nicora is currently unblessed though. So that edge never quite goes away, although Hosheb really starts to work up a head of steam, and keeps going faster just as she starts to get used to his current pace.

Nicora thinks he may ruin her for any other Eeee, or rhain ... but this doesn't bother het too much actually. He's all kinds of hot, and she lusts after him in either form of his, sadly. So, she keeps taking it, even with the discomfort, and even moans every so often.

At least she can breathe! Her spine is taking the brunt of the impacts though, as Hosheb starts to actually pound. Keeping the grip with her feet is giving her thighs a workout as well. But Hosheb is also panting already.

Nicora hangs on for dear life! All she can do is ride it out, and hope nothing ruptures! Granted she's moaning too much and grunting to really think about that happening.

She manages to peak a bit before Hosheb does. And continuing the trend, he takes a bit longer for his release to finish than last time. Only this time he starts to collapse on top of Nicora afterwards.

Nicora sees a massive Eeee coming down on her after he's done, and she's both pined and impaled by him. There's no escape, none. So she braces herself and ... soon all you can see is Hosheb's flopped out body, and these four spindly lips sticking out around him.

Gephesa eventually comes over to check on Nicora. "Have you enjoyed your reward?" she asks.

"I'm heartened to hear that," Gephesa beams. "Now I suppose you'll need to help deal with those invading mages? Do you know what they're after?"

"Body parts to make the General a new body," Nicora answers from under her furry prison.

"A new body?" Gephesa asks. "From parts? Not using the Sabaoth's method? But.. that may not work if she's undead."

"Yes, there are vats of weird body parts down there, some actually labeled with her name," Nicora says muffedly. "It's probably a combination of techniques, but all of it is creepy."

"No, I thought they could be used as bait or as ransom. They're very hard to get to," Nicora answers.

"Cunning!" Gephesa claims. "You've done well, my Yodh. Now get back to work, you've lazed about enough."

"Just as soon as the giant Eeee gets off me," Nicora deadpans. "And stops drooling and snoring in my ear..."