Alptraum wakes in a familiar bed that is, nonetheless, not the bed he went to sleep in. Nor is there a lean Eeee woman sharing it. Instead of the heavy sound-deadening walls of Thath's residence, there are open walls draped in gauzy curtains stirred by warm summer air. There is also a full-sized dragon looming over him decked out in armor. "I need your help with something," Kaira says as soon as she sees Alptraum stir.

Alptraum bolts upright! "Dammit, why did you tickle the pickle monsters!" he blurts out, "What is wrong with you?!"

Kaira's head actually pulls back a bit. "Pickle monsters?" she asks. "Are they hard to dill with?"

Alptraum smirks. "Well played," he admits before taking a moment to rub over his face some. "What do you need help with that requires you in armor ... and me not? I'm supposed to get stabbed, aren't I?"

"Actually you need to be naked for this," Kaira claims. "I'm wearing armor because I was attacked when I tried to handle this issue on my own."

"Wait, what? Why do I need to be naked?" Alptraum asks and one ear skews sideways and out. He gets out of bed to see what being naked means in this place; since he's got so many versions of naked.

In this case, he's.. himself. As a male, that is. And he's even got all of his jewelry here, including the nose-ring.

Alptraum snorts and rubs his be-ringed nose. "Hah, being normal feels so abnormal," he laughs.

"Well.. hmm," the dragon starts, then pauses and sits back on her haunches. "Do you want the long answer?"

"Well, I want a reasonable answer," Alptraum admits, "And clothing. But I guess I'm only getting one of those?

"How reasonable?" Kaira asks, a bit cagily. "I can make it fairly reasonable, I think."

"I'll have start with some background then," Kaira says, making it sound like a heavy burden. "You've met some of the.. inmates.. of this world now. What would you say they all have in common?"

"Not all of them piss me off," the dragon claims. "And as for being dead.. that can mean different things for different types. For instance, the majority of the beings here are true immortals. That means they can't actually die permanently. They'll either reincarnate without losing their sense of identity or for the more powerful ones they can just create new bodies out of magic. At that point, they're basically living spirits anyway. Immortals are Vorgulremik's preferred prey."

Alptraum nods. "That would be handy. I can't do that, alas. I can just remake mine," he admits and mock pouts a bit, then grins. He also reaches over and scratches Kaira behind one ear.

The scratching distracts Kaira momentarily. "Mmm. Oh, the reason.. Well, when an immortal like that 'dies' they release a burst of magical energy. That's why when Vorg was alive each of the realms he devoured would repeat the final day before he destroyed them: the 'echoes' as they are called. That kept that burst of magic going, which he could then harness."

Alptraum nods. "Well, that makes sense," he admits, then tries licking Kaira's ear to see what happens. Or to see what she tastes like.

It tastes like salty leather, as it turns out, before she starts flicking it back and forth. "Tickling me won't make me more reasonable, you know," Kaira points out. "Now where was I? Oh, magic. So, magical creatures tend to come in two flavors, fae and fiend. Which is where the famous challenge, 'Fiend or fae?' comes from, probably. Aside from the high immortal types, there is a sliding scale of sorts in how magical or mundane a particular type of being is. Fiends and fae differ mainly in the sources of their magic."

"The phrase is friend or foe," Alptraum claims, and behaves himself for now. "Anyway, not important, just saying. Okay, so two primary sources of magic based on what they are. Even I can follow that."

"Now, Vorgulremik didn't bother going after the mortal sorts of either type," Kaira claims. "With.. a few exceptions. See, the unified fae forces were hounding him for a century or so to exhaust him, and that meant chasing him.. and fighting him.. across multiple worlds. And due to certain mechanics of magical gateways, he couldn't just pop through to a planet or realm that was 'fat' with immortals, because we were pushing him hard and that meant just getting to the next closest place with enough magic to support gate travel. Which.. uh.. led to a certain degree of collateral damage.."

Alptraum arches his brow. "Ah, I see. So you need me to help with something you feel guilty about," he remarks whole giving her that sort of 'uh-huh' look while he does so. "One of which involves me being naked. You have weird guilt."

"It's not my guilt," Kaira claims. "It's that certain people blame me for chasing Vorg across their world and getting them devoured. It wasn't even really me!"

"It was part of you, no?" Alptraum asks while grinning. "Anyway, I'm being disruptive, I'll shut up now." He even mimes locking his mouth.

"Sooo... the thing about these fly-over worlds is that they were generally unaligned with any of the big ideological factions that give me the most trouble in here, like the Seelee and Unseelee courts, the Demons and the Devils, and.. mainly though I suppose. So I could really use them for helping manage those groups. But there are other snags."

"Something worse," Kaira claims, scowling. "Religion, or the lack thereof. See, when a group that doesn't believe in an afterlife end up here, where they suddenly have one, ugly as it is, they may not be too keen on giving it up. And with this latest group, I haven't been able to find out if they even want to leave this place."

Alptraum rubs his face again. "That sounds ... I don't see how it involves me being naked and you can't ask them, but ... I'll go with it," he admits. "I guess you want me to talk with them since I'm not, well, you? And you trust me?"

"I trust you to survive the encounter," Kaira says. "And naked because they don't wear clothes but have lots of jewelry and tattoos, which I think are magical. What I know of that world is that the inhabitants don't wield magic directly, but can craft magical artifacts and.. ugh.. magical technology. They rank as very low-level fiend types, so not immortal, lob balls of lightning all over the place types. But they've got magic rifles that do that. It's not the sort of world I'm familiar with. Oh, and they're called the Drakshasir.

"Bless you," Alptraum jokes and grins. "Well, so I have to go because you want to send someone naked with decorations and I'm the only one you know," he tries to summarize. "To a dangerous group of lightning lobbing fiends. And ... talk to them to talk to you?"

"Well, find out what they want first, in terms of leaving here," Kaira replies. "I have to know what to offer them. Oh, and anything else they might want. I don't know a lot more than I've said, other than that they look a bit wingless bat-jackal-wolves and may be a bit militaristic. Or xenophobic. But they are dead, so you shouldn't have any problem communicating."

"What if they attack me?" Alptraum asks as his other ear splays out to the side now. "Do any of my abilities work well in here? Can I still defend myself or influence them? What if I have to trade something or do something weird?"

"Well, if they attack you, assume they respect strength and beat them up," Kaira suggests. "You still have your shape changing abilities, and since these are mortal souls you should have influence over them to some degree. Like.. sticking them into bottles or something. You can do that with spirits, right? Otherwise it should just be like dealing with the Yodhblakat, but maybe evil Yodhblakat, depending on how fiendish they are."

"Where would I keep bottles to stick them in?" Alptraum points out and gestures at himself. "I'm naked! But ... fiiiine! Where are they? How do I get to them?"

"You've got jewelry, you could trap them in that, probably," Kaira says. "Ah yes, getting there. I'll have to carry you. Because these were magically minor realms, they aren't as strongly connected as the others. So you can ride me!"

"Ride you? Well, roll over and I'll try to get you warmed up," Alptraum jokes, with a big fangy grin.

"I'm way harder to seduce in this form," Kaira points out, and gets down on all fours so Alptraum can climb onto her back. "It's the armor."

Alptraum notes, "Except I know you, and I already know how to make you squirm." Still grinning, he actually does climb onto her back and tries to find a place to sit where metal parts don't grind or cut into his nakedness. Or anything snag for that matter.

The metal between Kaira's wings and shoulders is more like a metal fabric - or microscopically fine chain-mail. If his fur gets stuck in it he'll know for sure. But then she galloping out into the courtyard, with the painted sky and sun above, and heading for the swimming pool.

Alptraum hangs on! "If you drop me and I die, I will haunt you!" he claims. "Or just fly since duh, I'm a bat!"

"But this first part is underwater, so hold your breath," Kaira warns just before diving into the pool. Which apparently doesn't have a bottom, just an ever darkening depth.

"Blurp!" goes Alptraum as he draws a breath just before splashdown! Gah! Wet! Cold! And he's not even Nicora! So, he just plots horrible things to do to Kaira later.

There are some twists and turns in the darkness, and then light as they start to ascend.. into a swamp. A very cold swamp. The sort of place where 'dismal' doesn't do it justice. "Oh, I should probably mention that there's something of a time constraint.." Kaira says, and then leaps into the air. There is now a wonderful vista of.. a dismal swamp as far as the eye can see.

Alptraum gasps and wheezes! "What do you mean there's a time constraint?!" he blurts out now that he's out of the water, and even colder. Now his teeth are chattering. "How long do I have?"

"That is a very good question!" Kaira calls back over the noise of the wind as she heads for a large plume of smoke rising up out of the swamp ahead. "I don't know! See, mortal souls erode here over time, and when the last one is gone from a realm.. it starts to fall apart. And there are a few in the chain to get to Drakshasir. So that's why it's really important to get a handle on these people before they get cut off. Which would be bad."

"So you want to rebind them to a more solid anchor?" Alptraum has to ask and hangs on. "So, if they require a sacrifice ... can I offer you to marry one of them?"

"Well, it shouldn't come to that," Kaira claims. "If they will let me come over and give me a chance to open a new portal, that will do it. But you can't offer to let them kill me afterwards or whatever. That sets a bad precedent and then everyone will want to do it!"

"No, I need to maintain some authority here or there will be even more chaos," the dragon claims, and then starts diving for the plum of smoke. "Close all your orifices for this one, it might sting!"

"You need a sense of humor," Alptraum remarks, then grabs his ears and pulls them down. Eyes soon follow, and he even holds another breath!

It still stings. Also it's hot, which at least dries him off, but it's not a comfortable heat. It goes on for entirely too long before it passes and the air feels.. less stingy again.

"What in dagh's name was that?!" Alptraum growls and slowly opens his eyes. "That was awful!"

There's a loud rumbling below, as they've apparently just flown out of a volcano. "Sulfur spring," Kaira claims. "Or maybe brimstone." The landscape below is definitely dead, and the ground is covered in deep fissures, some of which are still growing and spewing more toxic fumes. The sound of breaking stone rattles the air.

"No, this is one of those deteriorating links in the chain I mentioned," Kaira claims and slows down to try and get her bearings. "The landscape keeps changing, takes a moment to find the next way-point. It was a big spire.. might have fallen over, but I'm pretty sure it was in this direction."

"What if it isn't this direction? Do we die horribly?" Alptraum asks, trying to predict the response.

"You can't die here, really," Kaira says. "You'd just get kicked back into your body I think. Aha! I think that's it over there. It did fall over." The dragon banks to the left, towards a low-lying dust cloud with a some wreckage. Apparently of a very tall tower that looks like it was made of brick.

Alptraum hangs on and goes 'Wheeee!' when they hard bank!. It might be at a pitch Kaira can't hear though. "And that's a pile of baked mud and straw or similar binder, not a tower," he says helpfully.

"Hey, you live in a city were most of the buildings are made of stone and held up with magic," Kaira points out. "You'd be surprised how common that is on magic-rich worlds." The fly over the broken spine of the tower until they reach the 'tip', which is where Kaira lands. "Stupid place to put a portal," she grumbles. "But that's a high priesthood for you."

"IT's an ego thing. Put a passage on a high point above all the common folk, duh. It's why temples are always on the mountain top," Alptraum explains, "Except Gorphat, it's in the bowels because it's more appropriate. So, do I have to go through here alone...?"

"It'd be best if they not immediately associate you with me," Kaira suggests, and trots through the dust to the portal, which is apparently a statue of a multi-armed lizard-monster-god-thing, holding tools or weapons of unknown nature. Kaira takes a moment to stand it back upright, even as the ground trembles again.

"So, how do I get out of their world? Wake up?" Alptraum asks next. "I assume right now this is somewhat of a one-way trip? And are you sure I can't have clothing?"

"You can always use your shadow to make some, but for first contact I'd suggest not wearing anything," Kaira says. "I'll be waiting on this side and have it open enough for you to come back. Hopefully the anchor point hasn't shifted too much." She starts waving her hands through the air in front of the the statue.

"Okay, okay, I'll go naked. Oy. I still think you're trying to embarrass me, though," Alptraum claims and crosses his arms as he waits for the passage to open

There's something like a crack in the air now. Or a frozen bolt of lightning. It's rather narrow. "Alright, it's open, just go through," Kaira says. "Start by sticking your hand through the crack. The rest will follow. It's not as bad as it looks."

"I bet it's worse. It's not like you'd tell me if it was, you'd try to convince me it'll be fine," Alptraum comments and sticks out his tongue in a bleh. Still, he offered, so he's going. He saunters right up to the crack and shoves his hand through!

There's a tightness as his hand forces its way through, then a numbness and a pulling sensation. The crack seems to widen, or else Alptraum is getting very thin. It could go either way, but it feels weird regardless. There's a slight feeling of being poured through the opening, and then he's standing in the middle of a city.

Jak'sar City
Broken skyscrapers of glass, metal and crystal reach upwards (and sometimes at angles) towards a blue-tinted sun in a green sky. The surviving architecture shows a sometimes jarring juxtaposition of smooth, almost sensuous curves mixed with rigid sharp-edged obelisk-style buildings. There are tree-lined avenues (often filled with debris) and open spaces with jungle-like parks, and even in the daylight some surfaces glow with strange light or seem covered in oily rainbow sheens.

"Bllleargh!" goes Alptraum as he oozes through the crack in reality! So this is what demonic pudding feels like?

A few natives are nearby, carrying a piece of debris between them. The look female, but are very tall.. and do have a Yodhblakat sort of build to them. Large pointed ears, a canine-ish face and odd skin (at least it looks like skin, instead of fur) with bushy tails and crest-like manes of hair. There are certainly tattooed markings, and it isn't clear if the transition between the ventral and dorsal coloring is tattooed or if it just looks that way naturally. They have pronounced upper and lower canine teeth and protrude past their lips, and lots of chain jewelry that connects to gem-like embedded studs, along with rings along the outer edges of their ears. The eyes are very dark, almost black, and they have hard-look brows that curve up a bit like horns. They both stare ate Alptraum. One has markers like a tiger Khatta, the other with purple and cream coloring. They're both naked except for the extensive jewelry.

"Woah, they have more decoration than I do! I'm jealous!" is the first thing Alptraum thinks. The second is that he's staring at naked and admiring, and the third is that he's naked and covers himself with his wings quickly! "Uh, hello," he says dumbly and even waves to them. "I'm just a traveler. Not a threat, not a monster. Not anything dangerous!"

The two women drop what their carrying, which clangs like a bell when it hits the ground and approach him. They are much taller than Alptraum as well. Facing him fully, he can make out elaborate tattoos on their cheeks, and more along their right sides. "Nachtri'va," one growls. They stop a body-length away, and.. just stare. The other asks in a slightly less growly voice, "Who are you here for, Night Twin?"

"Night twin?" Alptraum asks as one ear splays sideways again as he looks up, then down, still marvelling at the level of, er, augmentation and decoration. "That isn't a phrase I am familiar with. I'm not here for anyone specifically, I'm just world-hopping to find survivors, of a sort. This world seems to still be populated."

"City," the first one corrects. She her mouth opens it looks like her tongue is glowing green. "Jak'sar. There is nothing beyond. Who are you, Night Twin?"

"Well, the literal meaning of my name is Nightmare," Alptraum admits and at least lets his wings drop since everyone is naked and no one is acting too weird except him. "There are things beyond this place, if you know how to look. But that's not that important right now. It's a pleasure to meet you?" he offers hesitantly, and does hold out his hand.

The closer, gruffer one takes the hand and.. turns it over to examine it. "What is this?" she asks as she apparently is confused by the shadow-chitin-armor. "Such a large setting for this pale jewel."

The other is coming up and openly tugging at one of Alptraum's wings now. "What is Nightmare? You are clearly a Night Twin."

Alptraum lets them pull on his wings, since they're curious; and he soon opens that one fully. "Nightmare is my name. What is a Night Twin?" he has to ask. "I am called an Eeee in my lands."

"A demon twin that comes to suck your essence away at night," the tiger-marked one says. "You look underfed though. Is your kind returning now that the world has stopped ending?"

"No, and I'm not here to suck anyone's essence," Alptraum says, "I am looking for survivors to rescue. This place will collapse unless it's bound to a more stable place. And I cannot possibly be a twin of one of you, I'm not nearly so decorated, right?"

"Night Twins are scrawny and jealous, thus latch onto someone strong and wealthy," the less growly one notes. "But you are very.. hairy. And you have jewelry, although I sense no power from it."

Alptraum crosses his arms. "I am not scrawny, or jealous!" he claims. "Well, admittedly, I like your jewelry, but I'm not jealous of it!"

"Look around, the city has already collapsed," the purple one says. "We were dead. We died every day. Now we do not. So we are returning to life and the city will return to our world, surely."

"No, it will not. Not without help," Alptraum answers as he does look around. "It's connection is tenuous and the tethers to it are breaking. It needs a bond to a stable world to avoid it fading. And without that bond, you cannot return to life. Though, I don't know why you'd believe me or trust me. Is there any way I can prove myself?"

"Prove.." the Tiger Woman repeats, and looks thoughtful. "Summon the Lord of the Eleven Pits to vouch for you," she then requests. "As a proper demon, you should be able to do so."

"Or we can take you to the Commander and let him worry about you," Purple counter suggests.

"I told you, I am not a Night Twin," Alptraum repeats and is soon rubbing is face, "I don't know this Lord you speak of. So, yes, the Commander is probably better."

"If you come to me in my sleep, I will know you are lying," Tiger Woman says. Then she turns to her companion and asks, "We are low rank, how can we get to the Commander?"

"We can at least get to the tower and pass this 'Nightmare' to a sentry," Purple notes. "We don't have to personally take him to the Commander."

"Low rank? You look important to me," Alptraum admits as peers at them again. "All that jewelry and ink couldn't have been cheap." Then he pauses and holds up a finger. "Pardon? Capture? I'm not a prisoner here."

"You are either foreign then or lying," Tiger notes, pointing to her cheek. "I am a lance-corporal, and she is a sergeant," she explains, pointing to Purple's cheek.

"You will come with us," Purple notes. "It is what you requested. But we will escort you."

"I've already told you I'm foreign," Alptraum points out and sighs. "And yes, I will come with you, as a guest. Not a prisoner or slave."

"What is a slave?" Purple asks, then points towards a mostly intact looking tower visible behind two ruined ones. It's got that oddly feminine-phallic combination of shapes to it that sets it apart from the ones that are just one or the other.

"A forced servant, for all sorts of tasks and duties," Alptraum explains, "From menial to pleasure." He then shrugs and nods as he peers at that oddly shaped structure. "All right, well, I guess we should go."

The two escort Alptraum.. one in front and one behind. Tiger is in front, growling at anyone who gets too curious. The locals come in a lot of different colors and patterns, and the amount of jewelry each displays may be related to age or something else, but the younger looking ones don't have the elaborate tribal looking tattoos or significant amounts of jewelry. The odd transition between skin colors does look natural though, which makes it a bit odd given the way they resemble the tattoos. One dark skinned male they pass has white tattoos instead of the standard black ones. And while Tiger keeps the way clear, Purple doesn't do anything stop people from following them. So they have quite a train by the time they reach the tower. Two male sentries with cheek markings stand guard with odd looking weapons that carry over the odd sensual esthetic.

"We have an intruder to bring to the Commander," Tiger all but growls into the face of one of the sentries. They didn't react much to their approach.

"He has been informed," the accosted sentry notes calmly. Some of the jeweled studs on his forearm flash in different colors, and he says, "Go on to reception."

"I am not an intruder," Alptraum says and sighs," I'm a visitor, and I came to help." He also glances back at their gaggle of followers and has this sudden urge to go 'Booga booga booga!' at them, but is wise enough to at least resist that one. His ears are flicking about too, and his aura sense has extended as he tries to read the emotions of those around him. He also finds him admiring the bodies of both genders, which when he realizes it makes him flush and do more to quit doing that.

Emotionally.. these people feel like Babelites. There's a hint of sadism in Tiger, and a sort of curiosity bred of boredom in the crowd. The sentries are completely unreadable, as is Sergeant Purple. There isn't sort of military salute given, and Tiger just marches on ahead into the building. The inside of the building is hollowed out, so that one can see all the way up it's length to the sky, with several glass bridges connecting the inner edges where balconies and open halls ring around the space, meaning any rooms would be in between the outside and inner walls. There are bulges and other protuberances that are probably larger areas than would fit between the walls.

There isn't a reception desk, just a sort of podium with a woman behind it. She's all in shades of gray, and watches the trio approach without betraying any sort of emotional presence.

Alptraum tries to influence Purple, seeing if he can stoke curiosity, or desire, into that impassible facade with a tweak of the aura and just a slight push. It leaves him some time to peer about and make out the shapes of what might be rooms. "Tough crowd," he mutters to himself as he's brought towards the podium.

There's actual resistance, and not a natural force-of-will sort either. It's like she's wearing some sort of armor that he can't penetrate with subtle influence. Her particular set of jewelry must be some sort of magic ward.

This makes Alptraum arch his brow. Good to know this, he won't be able to use any subtle tricks to control them if he needed to. He relaxes the attempt quickly once the resistance is hit, and hopefully before anyone notices.

The receptionist is probably shielded in a similar fashion, since Alptraum gets no reading from her. "Number 3," is all she says to Tiger, before any other words are exchanged, and Alptraum is led off towards.. a glass tube against the inner wall. One of many spaced around the inner circumference.

Tigers walks right through the glass as if it weren't even there (and maybe it isn't), then turns and waits for Alptraum and the sergeant. "Go on in, we will hold you," Purple notes.

"So ... does anyone smile here?" Alptraum asks in some sort of sad small-talk. "You seem a gloomy people." He then peer at the tube and steps in (or at least tries to).

"Only when one is about to bite," Tiger claims. Alptraum feels some resistance from the tube until Purple takes hold of his shoulder. Then it feels like dry water. She keeps hold once both of them are inside, and Tiger takes hold of his other arm. Then their tattoos begin to glow with an odd, 'dark' sort of light and they begin to rise up the inside of the tube. Alptraum doesn't feel weightless though, it's very clear that he's being held up by their grip, but they aren't supporting him fully. Whatever magic is involved is being transferred partially to him through their touch.

"I have wings, I can fly," Alptraum points out as he's lifted by this odd sensation and the grip of the others. He's trying to sound more confident than he feels right now. These creatures are dangerous; and he's wondering if they should even be saved. He's also trying to keep his power suppressed, just in case he needs a surprise hand to escape with.

"Not in this lift," Tiger claims. "Assuming you need to flap them, instead of using your demonic power."

The stop about mid-way up the tower. The women act as if they didn't know which level they would be stopping at, since it takes them a moment to move. The step out of the tube while still holding onto Alptraum, only letting go when they're all on a glass platform. Tiger holds her fist out and moves it around, watching the jewelry embedded in the back of it. Once all of them light up with the same color, she starts moving in that direction. Purple starts to as well, then reminds Alptraum, "Please follow her."

And Alptraum follows. So all their decoration has purpose, that's interesting. Kaira was right, it's how they manipulate magic. "So, what will this commander do to me?" he asks his 'escort'.

"Well, then now you know how to prove it," Tiger growls back. "I am being helpful," she claims.

"You're trying to provoke me," Alptraum remarks, "And all I've done is offered to help." He even sniffs, loudly.

They are eventually led to what might be a door. It is in the general shape of a door at least, but has no handle. Tiger stops outside of it, and waits for the gems on her hand to change color again before stepping through it. It's like tube 'glass', just opaque, so anything could be on the other side. Purple holds onto Alptraum's upper arm again so they can pass through.

Alptraum's ears flatten out. The deeper he goes in here, the harder it will be to get back out. Well, unless he forces himself to wake, or somehow dies. He looks over and up at Purple for a moment, then attempts to pass through the 'door'.

The room beyond is completely black. Black foor, black walls, black ceiling - the only thing differentiating them are lines of white light where they intersect. What is probably a desk made of glaring white light floats amidst other floating 'pages' of symbols in various colors. A figure is outlined by the light of many bits of glowing jewelry and glowing tattoos, until it gestures and the pages all return to a stack on the desk. Neither the pages or the desk look like they really exist, at least to Alptraum since the sounds of the room don't seem to reflect off of them. Figure is illuminated by the light from the desk though when it turns. It's a male, and large. His skin is mostly red, with a cream underbelly, while his mane is long and black. If his eyes didn't reflect the light slightly they would have looked like holes. He gestures again to make the ceiling glow a bluish-white, bringing the brightness up to twilight levels (which are perfectly fine for an Eeee). Seeing the man's many scars, which are pierced by rings and bars, somehow makes Alptraum think of a gender-switched Blakat, but that's mostly from the colors.

He also wears piercings and chains on his genitals, not so different from Alptraum's own array.

Alptraum blinks. Several times. His ears cant in many directions as he maps out this room. His wings also furl in and around himself a bit more and soon he's staring at this figure, including his massive amount of decoration, and where they reside. This makes him blink even more, and he begins to wonder if Kaira knew this and that's why she sent him to this beast. "Uh, hi," Alptraum says and even waves a little to this imposing creature; and actually feels a bit afraid, and more disturbingly to him, also attracted to this beast-male. He stops those thoughts by biting his lower lip after talking, at least for the moment.

"Approach," the man says, and sweeps the desk and its contents away with another glowing-gem accompanied wave of his hand. These people apparently don't use chairs, since there's no other apparent furniture in the chamber.

Alptraum gives Tiger a 'Really? Like I didn't know that?' sort of look. He takes in a deep breath then approaches the massive creature. He'll approach until he's ordered to stop, and he keeps his wings furled in and arms down.

The point where someone would normally stop comes, but there's no indication from the man that Alptraum should stop. He just stands there in a very neutral if unnatural stance. He doesn't move at all, and keeps his arms having straight down. He has very broad shoulders, and the closer Alptraum gets the smaller he feels due to the height of the creature.

Alptraum keeps approaching then, though he will stop before he runs into the man. It does end up with him having to crane his head up and look. His brow arches questioningly to the commander.

"That is close enough," the man says once Alptraum is at the point where neck strain would make conversing difficult. The man also smells of ginger for some reason. "Where do you hail from?" he asks. His voice is deep, but not growly. So far.

"Another plane and world," Alptraum answers as his nostrils flare a bit around his own ring as the scent hits him. "I come from a city called Babel. I am not a demon, just a traveler. I have been looking for survivors on worlds that bindings have become tenuous."

"Ask if they want help. I have an ally that can force a more permanent portal binding this world to another so it doesn't fade," Alptraum further explains, and has to force himself to not look at the man's decorated crotch now that he's this close since it's not far below his chin now. "Granted, you have no reason to believe anything I'm saying," he adds, "So if there is any way I can prove my word, I am willing."

"How did you find this place, exactly?" the man asks. "You don't have any starpoints, or other obvious means of wielding power."

"Starpoints?" Alptraum inquires. "I got here through my ally's power for opening gates. What power I wield, I wield directly. I don't need adornments to do it." He pauses there, then blurts out, "And I am not a demon!"

"Odd, why wouldn't you claim to be a demon if you could?" the man asks. "So why are you here and not your ally who could create this magic gateway?"

"Because I look more like you," Alptraum answers, "And as for why I do not claim to be a demon, because I'm not. And I don't want people thinking I am and doing horrible things to me, trying to imprison me, or worse."

"I see," the man says. His lack of gestures is still disturbing. "You have unusual ideas about demons, since they are holy beings to us. I suspect the only way you would have found your way here without being a demon is if you are allied with either the Destroyer or the Devourer. What is your name, Man from the plane of Babel?"

"I helped imprison the Devourer when he escaped recently, if that helps any," Alptraum claims, then shrugs some. "My name is Nightmare in most languages. In my native one it's Alptraum."

"You look like Nachtri'va, the Night Twin," the man claims. "I am Commander Ak'chazar. What is that gesture you are making with your shoulders?"

"It's ... hmm. Sort of a resigned expression," Alptraum admits. "I know nothing of your kind, I'm, well, flying a bit blind here. And frankly, you all scare me a little bit."

"Only a little bit?" Ak'chazar asks. There's no hint of humor in the question though. "So, you are with the Destroyer then," he claims instead of waiting for an answer.

"I am with Kaira, yes," Alptraum answers, "And yes only a little bit. I may be smaller, but I can still defend myself if I absolutely had to."

"So that is the name of the Destroyer?" Ak'chazar asks. "An odd name. What does it mean?"

"I have no idea what it means, and it's not her True Name, if that is what you were hoping for. She's trying to save you all, you know," Alptraum explains. "It was through her that the endless destruction here stopped." He pauses and rubs his forehead a minute, which means he ends up looking at the man's junk. "Nice jewelry, he remarks, then grrks when he realizes he said that out loud.

"The cycle of death was better than being trapped and unable to change," Ak'chazar claims. "And yes, it is very high quality armor. What exactly is Kaira trying to save us for?"

"To escape from the Devourer's prison and be reborn into a new world," Alptraum answers and looks back up.

"Oh, not for dinner then," Ak'chazar notes. "And how would this rebirth work? We cannot produce children here. A good sign that we are still dead."

"I channel you back out into the real world. That's one of my abilities, I can transport souls," Alptraum explains.

"And once there, what happens to them?" the man asks. Now his eyes seem to narrow a bit.

"They find new worlds to reconstitute in and start anew," Alptraum answers. "I don't know all the details on all of it; I'm just an intermediary."

"We are supposed to go to the Pit to serve the Pit Lords in death," Ak'chazar says. "Will this be an option?"

"I don't know," Alptraum admits. "You would have to ask Kaira if you have a choice. If you do, she could make it happen."

"So, we must trust the one who brought destruction upon us?" Ak'chazar asks. "No simple task. What does she get out of this?"

"To save all of you, to try and undo some of the damage wrought when the Devourer was stopped," Alptraum explains and takes a step back from the large male. "So, what do I do from here? Am I your prisoner now?" he asks.

"No, but you will go and report to Kaira, won't you?" Ak'chazar asks. "I would have you take someone to verify your claims."

"Of course I will. Can your kind gate travel, then? Or do I have to transport you as a soul only?" Alptraum inquires.

"I don't know," Ak'chazar admits. "Are we naught but souls already? If so, then it shouldn't matter. Valantajr will accompany you."

"Who is that? I don't know anyone's name but yours. As for what you are ... this place is odd. You are souls, yes, but this is still a world of sorts," Alptraum admits, ears flicking some and peering up at the Commander again. "And I have to say, I like your body decorations; far fancier than mine."

"We are the Drakshasir," Ak'chazar explains. "I am a drakshasa, Valantajr is a drakshasi and my daughter." He finally moves, gesturing behind Alptraum.

Alptraum peers backwards to see which one of his escorts he might be referring to. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet both of you," he claims, "And I suppose since you can't have children, it explains all your, ah, lower decoration."

The original two are not longer there. Instead there is a female that has the same color markings as Ak'chazar. And a Nicora-like chastity chain as well. For all the metal chains draping across these peoples bodies, they don't rattle at all like they should.

Alptraum blinkblinks, then dips her head to the female. "You may call me Alptraum, or Nightmare," he says to Valantajr and even offers a smile.

"So you are to be my Night Twin in another world?" the girl asks. At least she has some body language. That hip-cocked pose would be familiar on any teenaged girl Alptraum has ever met, although it's impossible to tell what Valantajr's age is, since she's a complete alien. "When do we leave?"

That pose causes Alptraum's brow to arch some. "Any time you wish to leave. If you wish me to stay for a bit to learn more about me first, or ask of me anything to further prove I am being honest, that is fine too," he says and spreads his arms a bit to show he's safe.

"I'll know sooner once we go back through the way you came," Valantajr claims. "Then if I do not come back, my father will know the truth. If I do come back, it will be either with corroborating knowledge or.. otherwise."

Alptraum nods. "Fair enough then. We need to return to the spot I first appeared, the gate should be there, and she will be waiting on the other side," Alptraum explains then walks towards the younger one.

"I'll take you out of the tower then, since the doors won't work for you," the girl says. "Call me Vala."

Alptraum tilts his head, then offers her his arm. "Well, then let us be off," he replies, "And on the way, can you explain to me the importance of all the marks and jewelry. It seems to all have a purpose, and I'm curious. But only if you feel safe in telling me of course."