After scaring off the shocked shepherd, Nikky's cackling is interrupted by.. something blowing in her ear? There doesn't seem to be anything there though, and making shooing motions in case it's from a bugs wings only disrupts it temporarily.
"Whaaat, what? Quit wiggin' my ear you dead perv!" Niky remarks as she now waves wildly about her head in annoyance.
The blowing becomes more insistent. "Alptraum," it seems to whisper. "If this is you, hold your breath to receive message."
"Eh, dat you, Windcaller?" Nikky remarks in a sort of grumble. Her ear twitches, then one eye, then she holds her breath.
Wynona's voice still sounds wispy, as the message plays out. "Alptraum, we have engaged the enemy near the main trade route. It is likely that other routes are being attacked simultaneously. The Mages should be on the move soon in Babel."
"Dagh, already?!" Nikky blurts out. She flops her butt down to try and shift back to Alptraum completely, she can't be a rat and stop these jerks, after all. "I'll be headin' to the Tower, den and looking for where they intend to invade it from."
"Just so you know, this message does not allow you to talk back to me, in case you're trying. The Yodhrephath should have a presence at the Tower of Babel by now, however, if you need to contact them."
"I'm going to give her a wedgie," Nikky-Traum comment in a sort of half-shifted shape. "Underwear over her dagh head."
The air sprite seems to be gone now that it's delivered the message. And there's nobody around to spy on the transformation. The energy from Inala is making things go quickly at least.
Alptraum closes his eyes and disappears into the shadow to make it easier still, also, longer-lasting. When he does finally emerge, he has to tighten up clothing in places before taking to the air!
There's no sign that the city is on alert. The air traffic is typical, with the Wound being avoided by flyers even without the presence of the Yodhrephath patrols. The shrine at the edge is as busy as ever though, and the newer business plazas are busy as well. From high up, there's no sign of trouble at the Tower, but then it's been pretty quiet in general since the garrison set up camp there.
Alptraum suspects they would go low and avoid the upper part of the tower anyway, so he wings his way in that direction and focuses on the tower; specifically, aura-senses, to see if anything stands out as weird. He knows he'll likely have to get closer, but he's trying to push his senses limit to their max.
There are a lot of signatures clustered in specific areas. The Yodhblakat stand out the clearest, and the very nervous auras near them are probably the Temple forces. The less nervous ones are probably Yodhrephath. There are.. sporadic.. signals from the ground, but they would be in the Wound.
Alptraum drives towards the sporadic ones in the wound. Underground alternate tunnels would be possible, and opened when the wound was made. He should have checked there to begin with!
There is an exposed section of the Tower, and also some exposed veins of Sifran crystal, which could be interfering with Alptraum's aura sense. It's possible that the Mages did have some sort of lab down there, where the crystal would disrupt scrying magic.
Alptraum's ears focus down there; he listens for movement, breathing, anything really. It quits relying on trying to use the aura-sense and instead falls back to what is natural; hearing!
There are sounds, but they're echoing. It's a giant bowl, and that makes it hard to pinpoint where the sound originates. But the crystal is an obvious location, especially since it glows in the shadow of the sunset.
Alptraum dives fast to come in low in the depression, and skims along the surface a ways as he approaches the crystal base. Hopefully the shadows down here will help obscure him some.
The debris at the bottom (mostly chunks of buildings) provide plenty of audio scattering to mask Alptraum's own approaches, and the crystals would disrupt any magical senses being employed.
Alptraum alights on his feet silently; something learned from years as a performer, and thief. Her coils his wings about himself to help obscure his shape and moves every forward towards the tower base, his own ears flicking and trying to track sounds of movement.
The crystal is making him feel fizzy. He's never been this close to veins of the stuff thicker than tree-trunks. But the liquid light shows a fissure deeper in where the foundation(?) of the tower was cracked by the crystal. Which raises other sorts of questions about how that could have happened.
Alptraum's brow arches. Did someone just recently do this? He heads towards the fissure, slowly and quietly, to see if he can hear movement within, or slip inside himself. The fizzy feeling is ... distracting, but he'll cope for now, what else can he do?
Whatever caused the damage must have happened long ago, since there are signs of new construction inside. But new material looks like regular brick and mortar. Experience as a thief lets Alptraum spot a telltale spot on the floor that seems to be less dirty than the rest up against one of the new walls.
Alptraum slinks close and lightly traces claws along it, seeing if he can catch on a seam or find something loose...
A loose brick! It pushes inward and there's a barely audible sound from the wall.
"Well, I opened a door, or set off a trap," Alptraum thinks. So he moves to the side and pushes at the wall to see if it moves. And if it does, he'll hopefully be out of firing path.
It takes a few tries to find the section that moves. It's very low, so someone would have to go through on hands and knees (which makes it very unlikely for easily getting anything back out).
Unless it was small, of course. Alptraum gets it open, then waits a bit, listening for movement within. Only when it seems reasomnably clear will he even dare to try and crawl in.
The floor definitely looks like someone has been through, since it's dirty enough to show that things have been disturbed. It's also a twisty passage due to the organic branching of the crystal.
Alptraum continues onward, and also spends some time examining the floor to see if he can discern what species, and how many, came through here.
He can certainly smell them. There's sweat and more importantly blood. Not a lot, but enough to tell there at least three, or more if they weren't all scratched or several had the same blood-type.
Alptraum's ears remain forward, and on he continues. Three, or more. Well, this could get tricky in a hurry. He'll have to work fast or viciously. "Hey, Lizard-lips, wizards are on the move; be ready with some people to pop out, eh?" he tries to think and get into his arm to the guardian lizard.
"What sort of people?" Kaira asks in Alptraum's head. "How much energy do you want to invest?"
"Evil wizard types, probably. Former Royal mages. Might even be more glued-together sorts. But, I don't know for sure," Alptraum thinks. "How much can I safely do?"
"You're pretty topped up. Enough to create some shadow minions if you want to try it. And be sure to stealth yourself as well," Kaira says. "Or you could probably give temporary form to a spirit from the dagger to help."
"What, like one of those crazy cat-bat-things?" Alptraum wonders as he continues onward slowly, and quietly. He also even shifts his hair wile moving from white, to all black, just in case.
"Were they crazy? But yeah, sure, why not," Kaira says. "Do you want one? Oh, that's right.. try to kill these guys with the dagger."
"How long does it take to summon someone?" Alptraum wonders, "It's a little cramped in here..."
"Depends," Kaira says. "You'll want some standing room though, those things were tall."
"Well, not yet, then. Stand by. And probably the daughter; she was shorter, and still bloodthirsty," Alptraum thinks as he crawls along. "Can you see if she'll agree?"
"I'll track her down," Kaira says. "But shouldn't be hard to convince her."
"I'd say I'd owe you, but this helps you out too ... so ... we're even!" Alptraum teases.
"I can probably throw in that Drow for free too, I think they've been hanging out together," Kaira offers.
"That would be helpful if so, and it won't kill me," Alptraum thinks. "Not feeling up to maiming people yourself?"
"I'm not much of a fighter, especially in close quarters," Kaira claims. The passage ends in another brick facade, but the hinge is easily visible on this side, along with a pull ring and latch lever.
"You're more of a fornicator?" Alptraum thinks as he examines the door and lever for possible traps. He's a suspicious sort.
There isn't any sign of magic on them at least. The latch is basic, with another brick-switch from the outside. "I can't pump the dagger if I'm out there," Kaira notes.
"You can pump me," Alptraum teases and starts to work the latch and caaaaaarefully open the door.
Like the previous one, it's nearly silent. There's some dim light beyond, in a larger room. It has one wall that looks like what he remembers from the rest of the Tower innards, with the rest of walls having a rougher look. The light is coming from a small square above the single closed door.
Alptraum eases his way out into the larger room to stand, then stretch a bit. "All right, I'm in a place that can handle large people, or small people with large egos." he thinks.
"Alright, I've wrangled your commandos," Kaira reports. "Feel free to make some sort of mystical gesture with your fight hand."
Alptraum considers making a rude gesture, but doesn't feel up to explaining what it means to those that might appear. So, instead he waves it a bit and wiggles his fingers instead.
He feels a big of a pull as energy flows into the hand, and then shadow flows out to form silhouettes. Then these inflate into three dimensions before taking on color and texture. Soon enough, Valantajr and Syfilyvr are standing in the room. The tall drakshasi is naked of course, and her tattoos are glowing. The dark elf is very dark indeed, wearing some sort of form-fitting black catsuit. Like Alptraum, her hair soon fades from white to black, and even her eyes go black.
"Who do we get to kill?" Vala asks. The elf counters with, "No, we don't kill them. Just disable them. Alptraum has to kill them."
"We'll know when we find them. There are at least three, and they are likely mages. Be prepared for anything," Alptraum explains, quietly, then gestures for them to follow. Where he goes? The door with the light of course.
Alptraum has gotten pretty familiar with the Tower doors, so opening doesn't pose any challenge. But once it's open even a crack he can start to pick up voices, so he knows which way the mages have gone.
"Quiet, I can hear them, and they will hear us if we're not careful," Alptraum says very quietly. Then he opens the door slowly the rest of the way so he can follow the voices in.
"Is the path clear or not?" an Eeee whispers ahead, around the curve of the corridor. This isn't like the laboratory levels, as the walls and ceiling seem to mad out of pipes and less recognizable structures. There's some flickering light around the curve as well, probably from a lantern.
Alptraum tries to extend his own shadow to make himself and those he's with sort of a whispy-moving-blob of darkness, then he moves slowly into the corridor. He also tries to start sensing out how may actually are there.
Now that they aren't being directly masked by the crystal, Alptraum can make out four distinct auras, and a fifth one that isn't very clear. Not flickery so much as dim.
Alptraum gestures to the others five. He quits sensing and then does something else; he starts pushing a low-level sense of dread and doom in the direction of their prey. The sort of oppressing feeling that a bit predator is about to come at you... The good ol' draconic aura.
"This place wasn't so creepy before," a new voice comments. "Something must have been released when the bio-patch broke down, I'm not feeling well at all."
"There should be an alternate route," another says, not bothering to whisper. He has a deep voice for an Eeee. "Let's keep moving until the map updates, I feel very exposed standing here for some reason."
Alptraum pushes up the sensation and the aura, so the air might feel a bit like wading through pudding. He doesn't attack yet; for now he just follows with the pair in tow to see where they end up...
The mages are definitely picking up the pace now, keeping out of sight still as the corridor snakes about. But eventually a relatively there's a straighter section, and Alptraum can spot them. Four Eeee, though one looks nearly Sylvanian in build, dressed for stealth. A fifth figure is with them; an Eeee with either a very misshapen head or wearing some kind of helmet. The bigger Eeee is holding map plates, held in a framework and glowing blue to counter the yellow from the lamp held by one of the others.
Alptraum gestures to pause again and watches. He wishes he could speak, since he'd tell the others that he wants to surprise them right as they think they're victorious. But, it's evil enough he guesses they probably suspect that anyway. Or at least he hopes they do!
So far the two women have been quiet, and sticking close behind him. Close enough that his wings brush into them every few steps. "This way," the big one says, pointing to a ladder, and they all scramble up it as if being chased, except for the weird-head one that seems unrushed as he takes up the rear.
Alptraum waits until that one goes up too before he moves up, and even there he tries to sense if the five have moved away from the ladder before he attempts to climb after them.
It looks like they're going up quite a ways, but eventually they get off several levels up.
Alptraum gestures, then follows upward slowly, while remaining cloaked in moving shadow.
So far it doesn't seem like the mages have bothered looking behind them, but the climb means they're no several minutes ahead of Alptraum's group. The first level they pass is very humid for some reason, but the second is dry and cold. The third is dry and warm, and it's the one the others stopped at. It looks like another ring-corridor, but the walls look odd, like they've bulged in places. It stinks as well. But at least there are still some damp footprints visible in the greenish light to tell which way they went.
Alptraum continues after them, though he does quicken the pace now to try and gain ground on those malcontents...
The chase is twisty. To get around the damaged areas, the mages go up and down quite often, switching levels as they work their way inward. Eventually they end up on the level with some of the wandering experiments, and have run into one of them by the time Alptraum catches up. "How did they all get loose?" one of the mages complains.
Alptraum gestures to himself and grins at his 'companions'. He then shapes some shadow around his own head into some weird 'conic' sections to make his voice echo and seem to come from strange places in here. Then he finally says something from within the shadows and out of sight. "Oh, you might say someone proceeded you to this tomb," he remarks in a weird sort of lilting voice, "Tombs are the domain of Sunala and Her Children, after all. And one of Her children guards this tomb quite closely, and is displeased to have grave robbers dare to defile it."
"It's the Yodhsunala!" one of the mages yelps, but the deep-voiced one says, "They don't announce themselves. Let the thrall deal with this thing. Zed, stop shaking and go delay whoever that is!"
"Barsunala," Alptraum answers, simply. "Different, and far more dangerous." Then a miasmatic ozing shadow surrounds the three and they finally do round the corner to face the intruders. And as they go forward, the shadow ripples and melts backwards slowly, to reveal Alptraum and his companions. "And did I mention ... I have friends?" He smiiiiiiles, with all sorts of white, shiny, teeth.
There's only one mage facing them, who has very white fur and dark hair.. and lots of glowing jewelry. Behind him is the one with the insectile helmet, who seems to be trying to beat a land-squid with far too many tentacles to death with a polearm. The mage is startled for a moment, and starts to raise his hand towards Alptraum. There's the glowing ring of a held spell, one that looks very much like fire.
Alptraum tries to whip a shadow-tentacle of his own out and grasp the mage's hand, then aim it at the ceiling!
The mage is caught mid-trigger, causing a jet of flame to splash upwards onto the ceiling and spread out. He looks stricken when he realizes what he's done. And then Vala leaps forward and knocks the man against the wall before he and do anything else. At least that knocks the wind out of him.
Alptraum withdraws the shadow, then smiles to the Drow. "Feel like hunting?" he purrs at her. "Pick a target, or feel free to hunt down the missing ones..." And with that, Alptraum saunters towards the out-of-breath mage beneath the flaming ceiling (provided he doesn't catch himself on fire while doing so!)
Syfil ghosts off, ignoring the seemingly oblivious man beating the monster to death. "Did I break him already?" Vala asks. The mage is wheezing badly.
"Mages are a bit fragile," Alptraum admits to Vala, then nods towards the man beating on the squid. "Want to take on someone a little more, well, physical?" The wheezing mage has his collar grabbed by Alptraum and yanked until he's eye to eye with him. "Answer quickly. I will know if you lie. Are you here of your own free will, or forced through threat and contract?" he says through gritted teeth.
"Nobody forces a Royal Mage," the man wheezes, trying to look defiant. "We're taking back what's ours." The latter seems a bit less sincere though. Unless the project that created the General is also one of their own.
"Well, then this is easy for me," Alptraum replies simply, and coldly as he legs go. A sickly wet sound soon follows as Alptraum draws the dagger from his right arm and then shoves the square into the man's chest. "Today, Royal Mage, you get to serve a more worthy purpose; your flesh and soul shall be a gate." And with that, he taps Kaira mentally, "Now."
The man's eyes go wide, as does his mouth. Light begins to pour out both, like he's being burned up from inside. He begins to distort and his fur does catch fire. The flames take on the shapes of Drakshasir, looking as if they are burning their way out of him. They are small of course, but there are a lot of them, and the mage writhes in agony as they consume him.
Alptraum holds his grip and the knife in place, even as he winces and leans back from the flames. "Find your new world, and rebuild," he says a bit with reverence. "And know it was one of your daughters that aided you in finding your freedom."
"I like the way that looks," Vala says, watching the man burn. It seems to take awhile, which makes her smile even more. "It only works with that dagger though?" she asks.
"And me," Alptraum adds. "We are linked; and through me and it, we can create a gate by which those imprisoned in your captive echoes can be freed."
Eventually the flaming figures fade away, leaving a charred corpse behind. Apparently only immortal souls cause the bodies to explode. There's still a quite a bit of jewelry and other items among the remains though. The Royal Mages were always fond of magical items after all.
Alptraum pulls the dagger back, then takes a moment to collect any of the jewelry he can without getting burned for examination later. "We have more to deal with, come," he tells Vala, then turns to heads towards The Boy and his Squid. Alptraum's shadow-cloak ripples and smolders in his wake.
The thrall has finished bludgeoning his foe, and calmly begins walking forward. The plight of the mage doesn't bother him at all, apparently. There is a scream from further ahead.
Alptraum continues on towards the man, and shadow-tentacles burst forth from him; trying to ensare the thrall and hold him firm. The Eeee's expression is cold, determined, and deadly.
The entwined Eeee comes to a stop, not even trying to struggle free or showing any sign of distress.
Alptraum peers at this man, searching him through aura and shadow for what might be controlling him; or if there even is a person left.
The controlling part is easiest to discern, now that he has him immobilized. The lumps of his head are split in places, revealing chitin under the skin and fur. A single large compound eye protrudes from the center of his forehead, and various spider-like hairy legs pierce out from the man's face to dangle and twitch. Two protrude from inside his mouth, waving about like antennae.
"You have hardcore head lice here," Vala comments.
"Ah, one of the creations. Then this is also easier," Alptraum remarks with no emotion in his voice. Again he stabs, square into its chest. "Monster thing, Kaira, use whatever you can with it," he thinks. "We have monsters that masquerade as people, and monsters on the outside, that were once people. It is both a horror and a tragedy; and something I seek to end."
The body bursts into flames, but it's the head-bug that reacts, tearing itself free. Apparently it had replaced the mans upper skull, with lots of tendrils and tubes penetrating into his brain.
"Kill that," Alptraum barks to Vala as the head tries to skitter free.
There's soon a cracking sound, followed by more cracking sounds. Vala is crushing the thing's legs one by one after she caught it. The former Eeee burns up apparently painlessly as more of the Drakshasir souls are freed.
Once done, Alptraum draws his dagger back. "Lets go find our murderous friend, shall me?" he remarks to Vala, while trying to not wince at all the crunching sounds. Then off he goes in the direction the elf lady went earlier.
It's clear where Syfil has been. Alptraum soon comes across another of the mages, this one black-furred. He's on the floor with his back propped up against the wall, posed like a marionette with cut strings. His jaw is slack, and there's something wet in his lap. When he turns his head to look at Alptraum, his jaw sort of.. dangles.. from the movement. His eyes are a bit wild.
Alptraum's eyes widen a bit. She must have done something to paralyze the man. No real chance to learn much about this one, he just takes the dagger and stabs the main through the top of his skull! Not as easy as a chest stab, but at the fallen figure's current height, the easiest thing to do. "And another to burn," Alptraum thinks, to signal Kaira.
The flames only burn the victim, Alptraum notices. But they aren't real flames after all. This time the man's eyes melt, but at least he's quiet and still. His aura is painful to look at though until the process finishes.
Alptraum does look away and even closes his eyes. He tries to block out everything, all sound, light, sensation, and just breathe. A moment to recover; he's not a killer by his own nature, so even if he acts cold, each life taken weighs on him and makes him feel ill. He needs this moment to prepare for the remaining ones ahead...
"I smell conflict ahead, Nachtri'va," Vala tells Alptraum, using the 'Night Twin' nickname for him. "The air is charged."
"Changed how?" Alptraum inquires once he opens his eyes, having recovered a bit from, well, killing.
"Something like magic is in use," the lanky woman notes, and holds up her right hand, where some of the tattoo marks on the back of it are blinking yellow.
Alptraum tries extending his aura senses again, to see if he's picking up anything. "Moment, let me see if I feel anything," he notes.
There is definitely something going on further along the curve of the corridor. Alptraum is picking up fear, anger and panic, but only from one person, and it isn't Syfilyvr.
"Let us move cautiously. The elf isn't feeling fear, though; so I don't think she's in any danger," Alptraum notes as he draws himself back and nods once. "Come along, you freakishly sexy beast," he jokes, then slips off further into the tower.
"I am not freakish," Vala argues before getting very quiet as the move forward. Hugging in the inner curve, they're able to creep forward in the lee of one of the pillars of pipes that occasionally run from floor to ceiling. From there, Alptraum can see a female Eeee mage sitting on the floor, and shakily holding a small stave with a sculpted golden cobra Naga coiled around it, fangs bared at the end. There's a lot of blood soaking her robes. She's the source of the panic aura, and seems intently focused on the wall opposite her, that she keeps pointing the stave at.
"Freakish, but that's a good thing," Alptraum claims as they go. When they enter and spot the Eeee, he draws to a stop and raises a hand. "You can't win," he then says to the mage. "You're surrounded, and you're dealing with me. And if anything, the stories about me are tamer than they should be."
The woman looks towards Alptraum's voice without moving her stave. "I'm bleeding," she says. "I have your.. human.. Yodhsunala. Help me and I will.. uh.." She seems to realize that her bargaining position is weak. "Why are you even here?" she asks instead.
"To prevent the recovery of anything from this place; specially if it was the body parts to make the General a new body," Alptraum answers. "And the problem with you having the elf is, she's sort of already dead. She's a spirit. She exists in this world because I will it."
"So, why are you here?" Alptraum inquires.
Her grip on the wand seems to get shakier. "This is our city," she claims. "It's not right to drive us out, to try and erase us and all that we've accomplished. Now we're hunted."
"What have you accomplished? The extended reign of a madman? Murder? Death? Decay?" Alptraum inquires. "All you've done is helped Amenlichli of Aztepa, she was behind most of this."
"We did what the Sabaoth commanded, just like everyone else," the mage claims, tears flowing now. "He was a god. The High Princess wanted to be more than that. And we nearly did it. We nearly created a real god!"
"And look at what it got you. A third of the city destroyed, and now you're hunted. Saying I was only following orders is cheap. Did you not think about what those orders were? What it cost?" Alptraum points out. "Look around you. All of this, all this destruction, this decay; it falls on you. And by the by, creating, or being a God, is over-rated."
"And so.. so.." the woman begins to falter, as if about to pass out. The wand drops from hands, and Syfil is on her in a blink, grabbing the artifact.
And Alptraum also moves to her quickly. He doesn't stab her; not yet. He takes a moment to examine her, to see how old she is, if sh's a new host with an old mind ... or a child in a bad place.
She's not young, but also doesn't glow like a powerful mage would. Skilled enough to use artifacts though. She's barely conscious from blood loss - it looks like Syfil sliced up her arms before she was kept at bay by whatever the wand does.
"Foot soldier," is Vala's comment. "Here to stall adversaries, I think. Expendable."
"Then also possibly redeemable," Alptraum admits, and places his hand upon her to use the shadow to seal her wounds and stabilize her. "I know I am soft-hearted; but I am trying to build a better future. Not repeat cruelties of the past."
The process does cause the woman to pass out, which is probably for the best. Healing wounds is easy enough, but creating blood from nothing isn't. While the bleeding has stopped, the mage won't be going anywhere under her own power anytime soon.
Alptraum still shreds some of her robes to tie her up and gag her, just in case. "I'll probably regret that, but, I can't change who I am," he admits, then rises and wipes himself off. "There were others, were there not? Which way did they go?"
"Further ahead," Syfil reports, and points with a stiletto. "Into one of the side chambers."
Alptraum extends his senses again to try and locate them.
He runs into a wall.. or a barrier. Something that is blocking his aura-sense, but the block itself is easily located and definitely magic.
"This way," Alptraum says and gestures for the others to follow. Onward, though cautiously. He doesn't want to walk into a trap he could have spotted were he not in a hurry.
There is something stuck to the ceiling on the way. It looks like an ornate egg, and it's magical aura is faint, but not so faint as to go unnoticed.
Alptraum points at the device. "Looks like we've got a trap," he remarks. "I suggest we back up and set it off at a distance, unless one of you can disarm it."
"What do you suppose sets it off?" Syfil asks. Vala is just staring at it silently.
"I imagine proximity," Alptraum comments.
"It's weak, so unlikely to be fatal," Vala says. "Something to slow or disable then."
"Like this thing?" Syfil asks, holding up the wand that was holding her at bay. "Like a paralytic."
"Unknown," Vala concludes, and looks to Alptraum. "Should we try setting it off?"
"Probably. Or it could be weak because it's a lure to attract the beasts in this place," he observes. "Ideally, we would disable it, but I'm not sure how to do that."
"We could find one of the monsters," Syfil suggests. "Or just send Vala. Her defenses may be adequate."
"Are you adequate?" Alptraum asks Vala, and grins.
"No, I am superb," Vala claims, lashing her tail. "Perhaps I could capture it!"
"Go ahead and try," Alptraum offers, and sort of bow-waves her towards the egg.
So the drakshasi gets down on all fours, and slowly stalks forward, with her tattoos glowing. When she's two body-lengths away, she leaps up and yanks the egg down from the ceiling, clutching it tightly in her glowing hands.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Alptraum admits to the elf. "So something bad, or silly, might happen."
"I have it," Vala says, but doesn't come back towards the others. "The magic on it is a trigger, easily jammed."
"But you probably have to keep holding it?" Alptraum asks before trying to approach.
"I am trying to drain off the triggering magic, but it feels strange," the woman notes. "The shell feels fragile, but I have no sense of what might be within."
"Nothing good. We should continue on. We might be able to throw it at the next mage," Alptraum points out and finally starts moving onward.
There aren't any more apparent booby traps, but the door with the barrier is the one behind which the spare General parts are kept.
Alptraum heads for that door, though slowly. And instead of opening it himself, he uses a shadow tentacle to try to open it!
It's actually sealed.. but it isn't clear if it's with magic or not. Alptraum still has the 'keys' that opened it last time though. There's some tingly feedback along the shadow from the contact however. So it's possible that Spirit, Life or Shadow magic is employed - or all of them, if it is yet another artifact generating the magical barrier.
Alptraum draws the shadow back, and goes for his key instead. "Past this door is a room of animate body parts, so ... just be prepared. There may be groping, and it won't be nice," he admits.
"You don't want us to grope anything, then?" Syfil asks.
"Just ... be careful," Alptraum requests as he operates the key upon the door.
The lock accepts the glass key and the door unlatches. Someone on the other side immediately says, "That can't be Vessa or Terrio." It's the deep-voiced Eeee.
Alptraum steps back and once again uses the shadow to push the door open! Or at least try to.
There's more magical resistance, and it nearly feels like burning. Which would imply resistance to Spirit Magic. But it opens enough for Vala to get her claws in and use her strength to open them further, even through her defensive tattoos are glowing so bright that it's difficult to see. There's a slight smell of burning flesh however.
Alptraum has to withdraw his shadow. "Careful!" he tells Vala, worried for her health; burning is ... not good.
The woman bares her teeth, making sure the first look at her from those inside is a frightening one. The barrier is definitely reacting as well, as the harder she pushes on the door, the more magical sparks flare up across her.
"She's still holding that egg," Syfil notes to Alptraum. I don't know where though."
Gettinjg an idea, Alptraum says, "Throw the egg through the crack in the door!"
And Vala does that, by spitting it out of her mouth. Then she lets the door close again, just in case.
The barrier weakens to Alptraum's senses, specifically the Spirit component.
Vala is still smoking slightly as well, but doesn't seem bothered by it.
Alptraum hurries to check Vala. "Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, checking her for injuries, even if this is just a projection. He's also allowing some time to see if whatever was in the Egg does something dangerous on the other side before trying to open it.
"I am fine," Vala insists. "Did I get any interesting scars though?" she asks, examining her arms. They don't seem damaged, despite looking very sunburnt around the edges of the tattoos.
"You look fine," Alptraum says, then goes to the door to listen this time, and if quiet(ish) try to open it.
There's less resistance, and opening it a crack is enough to hear inside. There are wet sounds and muttered curses, and an acrid odor. Also chanting, so someone is actually trying to cast a spell inside.
Alptraum steps back and kicks the door, in case the person is close enough behind it to whack!
Nobody seems to be right next to the door, but the barrier has been weakened enough for that move to work, even if a bit slower than it would if there hadn't been a barrier. The spellcaster is leaning over someone on the floor, and the big Eeee is facing the doorway as it opens. He's got some splinters and burns on his clothing, including some nasty ones on his wings, which have burnt through in places. "You're summoning monsters," the big Eeee accuses.
"And you're here to get parts to make one," Alptraum counters and lashes out with the shadow to disrupt the spell and ensnare the mage!
The big Eeee moves quickly, and cuts the shadow. Alptraum feels a painful burning sensation, although it did impact enough to at least interrupt the mage.
"Ow!" Alptraum growls, then looks around near the mage. He doesn't have,to attack directly, if he can pull something onto the mage!
There are the tanks full of parts, and the mage on the floor. And some sort of bags. "We are here to get parts to heal someone suffering from a severe condition," the big one claims, and cracks his knuckles. He's wearing gloves that look to be made out of metal chain mail, and also sport metal studs. From the shadow's reaction, they're probably iron.
"You're here for the General's spare parts. She abandoned her own body to try and betray Amenlichli, and now wants a new body to threaten Babel," Alptraum remarks, calmly. He extends the shadow in all directions around himself in order to distract, though some tendrils sprout from that to try and grab one of the tanks and pull it down on the mage!
The tanks are heavy (and full of liquid) so don't budge. But the lighting panels pull off easily, so that the only light is coming from the window facing into the central cylindrical space. The odd bags or sacks aren't very heavy either, and easily flung. The big Eeee has to wrap his already wounded wings around himself to absorb some of the buffeting. "We made her," the mage growls. "We owe her. Even you must see the value in reversing undeath!"
Alptraum aims one of the bags at the Eeee's head! "Because it worked so well for the Sabbaoth? You folks used arts Amenlichli taught you; they are not for the help of anyone but her. Her interference in our city ends!" he growls.
The big sack is heavy enough to cause the Eeee to stagger, but the distraction lets the other mage finish his incantation.. which doesn't do anything but release a burst of Life magic, causing the Eeee on the floor to moan and begin to stir. Despite being staggered, the big Eeee starts moving towards Alptraum instead of just acting as a punching bag.
Alptraum figures ... what the hell. This will hurt, but ... Alptraum charges in on the large Eeee and simply tries to impale him on his dagger! The iron, though, that will be bad. "Vala, Syl, get the others!" he barks.
Once he's fully inside he can feel the other two entering behind him, and the ruckus it causes. The big one does deflect the first jab with his is iron gauntlet, and close up Alptraum can sense a faint, familiar spark inside of him: he's a vampire, which probably explains his size and strength. He counters the stab attempt by throwing a punch towards the side of Alptraum's head with his other hand.
Alptraum uses the shadow as sort of a third appendage to attempt bend and duck under the punch at a tilt that shouldn't be possible, were it not for shadow acting as a prop to hold him up when he does so!
It's a near miss, and he can feel the 'heat' as it passes his ear. "Wait, please.." one of the other mages calls out before going quiet. The presumably magic-treated one is still groaning, and easily disabled by being pinned beneath one of Vala's feet. From the near miss, Alptraum can at least tell that the gloves are the only things made of iron, and his opponent's arms are otherwise unprotected by the metal.
The next thing Alptraum does it try to wrap the man's biceps in shadow! Though, if he does manage it, it's not to restrain; he'll try to sink the shadow in and take control of the man's body if he can. "The old Babel dies to make way for the new," he growls.
"That's fine if you aren't one of the ones that have die with it," the mage growls. When the shadow grips him, he tries to use his other gloved hand to stop it.
It's a battle of wills. While Alptraum's opponent can't quite make contact with the glove, moving as if being restrained, Alptraum can't really move much himself while trying to keep control. But the Barsunala is gaining the upper hand, since he doesn't have to fight against it, and because he has better magic. Only the other Eeee's hands are unrestrained, but the arms they connect to are.
"The path you are on you chose; as is the end you chose. I will not allow the horrors of the past to continue," Alptraum growls, darkly. And while he's got some control over the man's arms, he tries to bury his dagger into the man's gut!
It's a risky move, since it requires taking some focus away from restraining him. He almost gets bear-hugged when stabs, and the vampire keeps on trying to grab him even as he starts to burn.
And with the shadow infusing him, Alptraum can start to feel what we's going through.
Alptraum winces, trying to steel himself for things to get worse. But, what choice does he really have? This has to end. Here. Now. These men have no compassion, no soul, not given what they've done to others.
"We won't just lay our necks on the chopping block.." the vampire mage hisses, even as flaming figures begin to tear through his mouth. It's possible that the shared pain means he isn't succumbing as quickly as the others. And Alptraum can feel just what those spirits are doing; clawing, biting and burning their way through him as they flow from the dagger, and pulling parts of the man's spirit along with them.
"I never expected you to. I am the vengeance of all the souls you have wronged, all the people in Babel you made suffer. I am the gate of change," Alptraum hisses out through his clenched jaws. Muscles tremble and ache, but he holds his ground. "And I will win this day."
"Hherrr," the man rattles, before his head bursts completely into flame. For a moment his large canines are revealed as the flesh burns away. Alptraum can hear the Drakshasir spirits as the revel in the destruction and consumption. Eventually the resistance from the man's body stops.
And Alptraum snaps the shadow back immediately and wheezes himself. Every muscle hurts. It's not just that, it was like watching himself burn too; which is making him feel sick.
There are two loud thuds as the iron gloves hit the floor and the rest of the former mage collapses into a small bonfire. He's certainly lasting longer than the previous ones. The other two mages in the room are also still alive. The wounded one that was healed may not be conscious, but with Vala's taloned foot on his neck, it hardly matters. The other is being restrained by Syfil, with one of her blades at his throat to keep him quiet.
Alptraum turns his look to the one Syfil holds. Alptraum's eyes are narrowed, cold, and determined. "For all those you condemned, for the suffering caused, you will burn," he says coldly, tired, and raspy. He heads towards that man and brings the dagger to his chest, tip touching it. "Do you have anything to say in your defense before your sentence is executed?"
"Sunala grant me mercy, and take my soul," the man says with conviction. "Gorphat spare me pain, for I have strived to overcome challenge. Zakaro recognize me for the power I have gained and used. Sabaoth.. rot in Magog's Hell. May our enemies join me soon."
Alptraum's brow arches, then he stabs. "Granted."
"Unf," the man exhales, and closes his eyes. The flames do not completely consume him though. The bulk of the spirits may have already been released.. or he managed to die before the process could complete. He was a Life Mage after all, and may have had a suicide spell or enchantment.
Alptraum draws the dagger back, then turns and stalks back to the man upon the floor. He kneels down and peers at him.
He's been badly burned, apparently by some sort of acid, and has splinters of wood embedded in his face. They aren't as bad as the iron, but Alptraum recognizes thistlebark. The egg was an anti-spirit bomb.. with some acid added, apparently. He's breathing hard (probably because of the foot on his neck) and doesn't have an aura of magic about him. It's not clear if he's conscious or not, but he just doesn't read as a mage.
Alptraum places his hand upon the man's chest and sinks shadow into him to see if he can learn anything more about the man. If he's just a slave, or a soldier, or something else.
An Eeee man stirs from the ground, and running his hands over his face in a panic before noticing where he is.
"You aren't dead, yet. Merely in-between," Alptraum rasps from a nearby stump he perches on and peers down at the other Eeee. Alptraum is gaunt, whispy, and parts of him seem to dissolve and blur before solidifying again. "Consider this ... mmm, your judgment, I suppose. Justify yourself."
"I don't understand," the man says, remaining on his knees. "It exploded right in my face.." He then looks at Alptraum and drops forward to kow-tow. "I'm.. just the technician.." he claims.
"The technician of what?" Alptraum inquires, sounding a bit ... bored? No, a bit unconcerned perhaps. "You are still alive; I'm deciding what to do with you. A push either way, and you live, or you die."
"I operate the bags," the man says, raising his head slightly so he can watch Alptraum. "The body bags."
"For how long? And why?" Alptraum asks. "Why help them?"
"I have no choice," the man claims. "The bags maintain the pieces outside of the tanks.. uh.. do you know what tanks I mean? And what parts?"
Alptraum waves his hand. "The General's spare parts, yes. Why do you have no choice?" he asks.
"I'm the one who maintains the bags," the man says. "I must not be though, if I'm between life and death. It was never made clear to me what state I would be in."
"What do you mean by that?" Alptraum inquires, head tilting, and one ear disappearing briefly. "Why are you the one that maintains the bags?"
"I've been prepared to do it," the man says. "It's what I'm for."
"You are a creation, then? YOu have no memories of parents?" Alptraum inquires.
"I.. have memories," the man says. "I've always been.. part of things. My body and spirit have been prepared for this." After another moment, he explains, "I suppose I'm a sacrifice."
"Mmmm," Alptraum muses at this. "Well, then I will do something new to you. What is it you wish for?"
"Wish for?" the man asks, looking confused. "What do you mean?"
"Do you wish to live, or die? Do you wish to find your own path?" Alptraum asks.
"Live.. I don't have much time for that," the man says. "Timing is important to the process. My parents were used to create the General, I think. My family has always served in these roles. We're cultivated for it. I don't know if I should live. I'm going to die anyway."
Alptraum nods, frowning slightly. "Do you know how many mages remain? Where they are?" he asks.
"I was the only prepared sacrifice," the man says. "There were other missions, but I don't know where they were, or if they were all for the Tower. There were thirteen of us that left. I don't know if they all came to Babel or not. It was all of them, all that remained."
Alptraum nods at this. "Well, I will give you your peace, then. Thank you. I am sorry your existence was not better," he admits.
"I can't die near the bags," the man says. "Or the parts."
"Why?" Alptraum asks. "What will happen?"
"If the timing is not right, it could be bad," the man explains. "My life will flow to them."
"Good to know, thank you," Alptraum says and nods. He reaches out and taps the spirit on the forehead. "Now, go back to rest."
"What just happened?" Syfil asks when Alptraum stops using Territory. The sacrifice man is still immobile on the floor and unconscious. But Alptraum is more aware of the 'bags' scattered around. Some are certainly the right size for the body parts.
"I interrogated his soul. He cannot die in here; it would react with these ... parts. Can you carry him?" Alptraum inquires, stands, and puts the dagger away.
Vala stops stepping on the man and slings him over her shoulder. "Your kind are light, like children," she claims.
"We fly, being light helps," Alptraum tells Vala, and pats her on the butt. "Come on, Syfil, we can leave this place now. We need to pick up that girl on the way, too."
"What about these parts in tubes?" the elf asks. "Can you use them as leverage? Someone certainly wants them."
"They tend to get animate when removed. How would they be transported?" Alptraum inquires.
"I assume that's what the bags are for, but you probably don't need to move them," Syfil says. "So long as you control access to the chamber. I'm just wondering if you'd rather destroy them instead."
"I can always do that later. For now I will leave them, just in case" Alptraum decides.
The chamber is sealed and locked, after recovering the key used by the mages.
"Right, lets head back to where the one mage was left. We need to collect her. We can also dispose of this one there, I believe," Alptraum claims. He also peers a bit at Vala. "And with your people mostly freed now, I should probably send you back in, and use this one as your gate to freedom."
"Just when I was having fun," the drakshasi says, grinning toothily. "But I suppose you can handle carrying the female."
"Well, you can stay if you wish. I just did not want to force you to remain," Alptraum points out.
"I like being active after so long being stuck," Vala notes. "There will always be time to go to Hell later."
The bound mage is still where they left her, and still apparently unconscious but alive.
"Then you are welcome to stay around until you decide you wish to leave," Alptraum tells her. "Drop that one so I can finish him, then we'll gather the young mage and leave."
Vala sets the man down with a bit of care, propping him against the wall like the woman is. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, but makes some noises all the same.
Alptraum kneels down before the man. "I'm sorry your existence was so horrible," Alptraum murmurs and dips his head slightly. "May you find peace." And with no further words, he draws the dagger and stabs him.
There's no flame, but there's a lot of light. It boils off of the main like a fog, with tendrils reaching around as if looking for something. The light does take on the shapes of Drakshasir though, so clearly there are some still in the chambers. It's a good minute before the white mist runs out and the flames begin.
"That was ... different," Alptraum muses. "Kaira, is everything all right in there?"
"Yes," the dragon says, appearing has a hovering head near Alptraum's right hand. "That one had a lot of excess life energy in him for some reason. I don't think it was his though."
"It wasn't. He was a sacrifice of some sort to animate parts," Alptraum tries to explain. "But, that's now done with. How many of Vala's kind remain?"
"About a hundred or so," Kainudy replies.
"Not many, then. Vala wants to stay around in there for a bit longer, or I'd have sent her back before using this guy. That's all we can release for now, I'm out of mages, except for one I'm hoping to ... rehabilitate somehow. Thank you for all your help," Alptraum says.
"You can dismiss the helpers whenever you need to," Kaira notes. "Going to turn the last one over to Cyprian?"
"Yes, the last one goes to Cyprian," Alptraum agrees. "A poor gift for a date, though."
"Is she cute?" Kaira asks.
"I didn't notice, honestly," Alptraum admits.
"Well, be sure to get useful information then, because the Mages probably won't let you just stab and explode her," Kaira says encouragingly.
"They'd have to surrender her to the city if asked, though," Alptraum points out. "And i'd like to get out of this place before it makes my partners horny and I get jumped. I'll check in with you later."
"Be careful, who knows what else is in there with you," the dragon says before fading out.
"Plenty of monsters. Just not as scary as us," Alptraum claims. "Come on you two, lets get to the exit before I let you return to your worlds to torment your friends."