Invisibility has served Alptraum well, for he has made it through some of the rougher parts of Babel without being hassled by the natives – be they Eeee or otherwise. He has skirted past several gangs of tough-looking youths, packs of loose guard-beasts turned feral (and fond of the crunch of light Eeee bones in their ridged mandibles), and the occasional loner whom it would be best not to inquire about – nor to be inquired by.

Now, the Coalition Tower itself looms high above, as Alptraum watches from a ledge on a nearby structure. A few bridges span the distance, but these are all very heavily guarded – even though some of the guards are far harder to spy than others. The main causeway is the most daunting prospect, as it is well-lit, and well-protected by very visible guards. Two lesser bridges also span the distance from nearby buildings – though it would require considerable working around for Alptraum to reach them.

Of course, there would be the possibility of simply flying across, but the open "moat" of area around the tower is devoid of any structures that might help hide his presence, and the activity involved in flying would most certainly preclude the possibility of his invisibility spell to adjust – in a chameleon fashion, only more exaggeratedly so – to his new surroundings as he goes. Yet another option would be to try to take the ground route, and make his way to the very base of the tower, but so ancient is the foundation that even the House Cenesta records offer no help on the layout of that level – and even if they did, it is almost assured that many of the passages would be in neglected ruin, or sealed off to thwart robbers and squatters. (And that's not even to take into consideration the many dangers of the Streets Below.)

So, for this quiet moment, Alptraum's magical cloak adjusts to make him slowly fade from what seemed like a shimmer in the air near a cluster of stone Eeee sentinels on the porch of an abandoned (and thoroughly vandalized) mansion … into, for all appearances, nothing but thin air itself. So long as he stays in one place, he is most assuredly invisible … but, of course, one cannot get far by staying in one place.

Wispy clouds slide across the star-speckled night sky, briefly glowing ever so faintly as they pass before the thin glittering band of the Procession. Despite the peaceful look of the clouds, a distant rumble of thunder hints that they are only heralds for less hospitable weather coming off from the ocean. The night breeze carries with it a faint dusty smell. It blows through open windows, gaps in stone, under and over bridges and buttresses, and turning about on itself in hollows and cul-de-sacs, joined by a symphony of echoes that brings the city alive to Eeee ears.

Crickhens chirrup from nests built in holes bored long ago into rain-etched stone, and the edgy bays of a loose pack of groks echo from somewhere in the darkness and refuse far below. An intermittent slapping sound and periodic knock hint at curtains and unlatched doors inside the abandoned mansion. Something swings too far, and there is a bump, then a breaking of glass.

Laughter, a scream, then more laughter, from some unseen quarter. A lonesome strum of a lute and a buzz of muffled chatter from a distant nocturnal pub. "Looks like it's going to rain," one of the guards says in a low voice at the main causeway – but the sound still carries far, as do the sounds of some noncommittal grunts and mumbles from his comrades.

The shimmering Eeee draws in a breath. "Okay, time to get moving. Can't wait for the next changing of the guards and I have just a horrid feeling about trying to sneak by them. And well,, after Phlagaea gave me a tour of some of the undercity that day, I don't think trying to search the base for access is a good idea either. So, those side entrances look pretty darn good. I hope I can make it to one before morning," Alptraum thinks. He then checks over his gear and makes sure it's secure, then goes back out into the city making a slow and careful approach to one of the side entrances.

The night draws on, long and weary. The thunder proves not to be a bluff, as rain scours the city. Alptraum's outer cloak provides some protection from the elements, but he discovers to his dismay that a shower of raindrops is more of an assault on the ability of his enchantment to maintain his invisibility than it can take – any onlooker would notice an odd, not-quite-right distortion in the rainfall where Alptraum makes his way from one shelter to another. The rain's assault only worsens, and he soon feels as if he will be soaked to the bone. During one mad dash to get away from the open elements, he quite nearly runs into someone nearly as invisible as himself, but some instinct, some little voice in the back of his head warns him to be wary, that something isn't right. As he averts his course to stand under some scant protection afforded by a broken guardian "daemon" gargoyle, he can see that under a more attractive overhang, someone else has taken up residence.

Past a broken short wall that originally would have protected a flightless stroller from an accidental pitch to certain doom, one can see – through the downpour – a walkway that leads to one of the "back entrances" to the Coalition Tower. The guards have retreated there to the scant protection afforded by their guard boxes to each side of the walkway, though they're still a very real presence. Watching this scene, from a more attractive overhang closer to the edge, formed by a low balcony, is an Eeee in tight black leathery garb, her fur so ebon black that it blends with her clothing, her hair hidden by a black cowl. She is but a silhouette to Alptraum, from where he sits. She could be anyone, really, but the way she is perched there under the overhang suggests to him, more than anything else, a predator on the prowl, carefully judging her prey. There's something lethal about her poise, and he can tell that there is refined muscle to her otherwise light Eeee frame.

To have blundered into her, his instincts tell him, would have been a terrible mistake.

Alptraum pauses to watch this strange figure, canting his hears to listen to her. "Do I have competition to get in?" he wonders.

His unspoken question is not met with any obvious answer. Whomever this is, she seems content to wait out the rain – or at least to wait on something. If she makes any noise, it is quiet enough to be drained out by the downpour (and the rain is bad enough that this is not necessarily saying much, even to an Eeee's ears). She is no statue, and she moves a bit. Perhaps it's only his imagination filling in the detail, but he is fairly certain that he caught a glimpse of a white strand of hair straying loose from her cowl. There's something familiar about the shape of her face, even as obscured as it is in shadow. It's been so long … but a memory strikes him of a disdainful face from an island "paradise" that didn't quite live up to its billing for him. Sutrana.

"Great. Her. Just what I didn't need out here. Why is she out here? Heh, probably to kill someone in the Tower," Alptraum thinks, then glances back toward the guard towers, trying to gauge how likely he could sneak by at this point. As he looks, a small fangy smile creeps over his face as he realizes he might be able to use Sutrana to get in.

While he ponders this, Sutrana slowly moves back from the edge, and her silhouette melds into the shadows of broken stonework and statuary underneath the balcony. Alptraum can't see anything of her now; she must be lurking in the shadows, waiting for … something.

Alptraum picks up a small chunk of debris and judges the weight for a moment. Satisfied, he chucks it at one of the guard boxes, then quickly goes back to being still. "Let'ssee if this gets their attention… " he thinks.

The stone lands right in front of one of the guard boxes, far below, built just off to the side of the walkway, suspended over empty space. As the walkway has nothing in the way of conveniences such as guard rails or retainer walls, the stone skids right off the edge and plummets into the deeper darkness below. Alptraum can hear some noise from the guards, but between the downpour and the fact that it's still night (and a very cloudy one at that), he can't see what's transpiring.

Alptraum slowly and carefully picks up another piece of debris and eyes the location he saw Sutrana crouching and hmms softly. He checks his position and hopes he's not too visible at then point, then rears back and hooks the debris at the location Sutrana was, hoping to cause enough noise that the guards look up there. Again, after releasing the stone, he goes still, letting the spell cloak him again.

Another stone goes flying. It smacks around somewhere in the shadows underneath the balcony. Lightning flashes so close that the thunder is virtually instantaneous – but Alptraum just managed to pull back into his cover, lest he give away his position to anyone who might happen to be looking his way. (Incidentally, he can't see anyone who would qualify at the moment.)

Alptraum pauses and waits. "Come on, guards, come check out that noise! Come get her//," Alptraum thinks coldly. "I hope they head that. If not, maybe one of these crossbow bolts is loud… "

Alas, the guards don't seem to be playing along, rushing away from their positions to climb up through the ruins to investigate the sound of the tossed stone.

For all Alptraum can tell, they're still down there at their little guard boxes … though, truth be told, he can't be absolutely certain of that without getting out into the rain again to take a peek.

Alptraum starts looking over his crossbow bolts. "Did one of these say something about screaming?" Alptraum tries to remember.

Alptraum draws out one of the flash bolts and carefully fits it into the crossbow and takes aim at the location Sutrana was last seen at. "Let'ssee if this lights up her life… " Alptraum thinks, and with a grim smile, pulls the trigger.

The bolt unerringly flies into the dark confines under the balcony, with only a brief and very quiet whisper, as the sound of the bowstring and the click of the latch is dampened by Alptraum's spell. The crackle and flare of the bolt shattering and exploding in the confines, however, is far more audible.

Alptraum very clearly sees the flash from the bolt. The trouble is, now he can't see anything else. Although he reflexively covers his eyes without thinking, when his eyes are assaulted by the brilliant flash, it's too late. All he can see … are stars.

He can, however, distinctly hear shouts from below, and the sounds of beating wings. That flash definitely got some attention.

While Alptraum sits there, blinking a lot, he can hear the sounds of approaching wing-beats … though, with no small relief, he can tell that they are not converging on his particular position. "Over here!" one shouts. "I smell smoke!"

Alptraum continues to remain motionless and listening. "Idiot," he thinks as he blinks repeatedly, waiting for his vision to start clearing.

Alptraum sees red. Well, that's something, at least, but it still doesn't resolve itself into something more patently useful. More wing-beats. "I found it!" one shouts. "Some sort of explosive? Must be Templars!" "You idiot," another voice chides him. "Gunpowder doesn't work on the surface." More wing-beats suggest a third still in the air, who's not joining in the argument, and hasn't landed yet. Alptraum counted a total of four guards at the boxes…

"Crap. They all didn't come. I was hoping they weren't that bright." Alptraum thinks and continues to wait and hope his eyes clear. Maybe this wasn't such a grand plan. Oh well, at least he caused Sutrana some problems, that's definitely something.

"Bekhis, there's some sort of hole here. I'm not crawling into it!" one of the guards shouts.

"Aww, you know you want to," Alptraum thinks with a grin.

"Send for one of the spotties," the other guard says. "I'll stand watch."

Alptraum tenses slightly, not liking the sound of that.

"All right, all right," the first guard says, and then Alptraum catches the sounds of wings taking to the air.

Finally, Alptraum's eyes clear to the point that he can see the guard flying off, and the other one – it must be "Bekhis" – standing guard at the balcony. He still has spots dancing before his eyes, and for a moment, he has the peculiar sensation that some of the shadows nearby are in the shape of a childish scrawled shape of a Creen. As his eyes adjust … no, it most certainly is a shadowy shape, like a child's wax crayon drawing of a Creen, flitting about, with a big exaggerated "frown" face and beady eyes, waving its wings frantically in front of Alptraum, as if trying to get his attention.

Alptraum blinks again, wondering what the heck that is. He looks down at himself, wondering if it's an alert that his disguise is fading, since that looks like something Rory would do.

Bekhis sighs from underneath the balcony, where he cowers in the shadows. "Ah, I should have been the one to g – " WHUMP THUD

Alptraum looks up and thinks, "Ut-oh."

As Alptraum looks down at himself, he can see a faint ghostly outline of himself. He's still pretty indistinct … but it's noticeable. The little shadowy shape pulls a cartoony two-dimensional hourglass out of … a pocket? … and holds it up. Little black "grains" filter through the hourglass. At this rate, if this is meant to be representational, Alptraum might have … a few minutes? It doesn't look like long.

"Crud," Alptraum thinks and starts moving, hoping that Sutrana will keep the guards busy, as he's guessing that she struck down one of them already. He starts downward carefully, keeping a lookout for guards as he does so.

As Alptraum starts climbing down the ungainly way, comprised of incomplete staircases, fallen columns, and some gaps that he has no choice but to leap or half-fly across (though thankfully not in full view of the tower or its guard posts), he catches a glimpse of a falling shadow – a twitching Eeee plummeting in a tight spiral. He hears a shout, "Gekki! Gekki, they got Zonar! Sound the al – GIKK! (gurgle!)"

"Avralie, she's getting them. Too bad the didn't get her," Alptraum thinks grimly. He keeps moving.

Once Alptraum gets to the bottom, he sees that the other guard – Gekki? – is winging his way toward the tower. There's a prone Eeee lying near the guard boxes, with a sharp piece of chitin protruding from his neck – a lethal weapon, for sure, but without the range required to take out Gekki at this distance, it seems. Although there is ample sign of her handiwork, Sutrana is nowhere to be seen – for the moment. This is becoming slowly less the case for Alptraum, especially now that he's out and in the rain, as rivulets of water form ghostly splotches and rivulets on his unseen cowl and cloak.

Alptraum doesn't wait. He gets moving towards the entrance, watching carefully for any other guards. "Got to get inside soon," he reminds himself. "Go, go, GO!

A shadow whips by, and Alptraum can see it spelled out against the clouds that slowly begin to light with the fiery glow of dawn. As he sticks to the walkway, however, it seems that his invisibility spell is still sufficient to make him blend in with the stonework, at least as seen from the air. He continues his mad dash, and as he does so, he can hear his own feet slapping against the wet flagstones once he reaches the end of the bridge on the other side. Into a doorway thrown open in the fleeing guard's haste, and he can feel the spell slipping away, even as he hears the now-familiar alarms sounding within the Coalition Tower.

Alptraum doesn't wait there, he moves onward into the tower and keeps a mindful look for more guards and doorways he can duck into. "Okay, need to get out of sight now and move slowly. I don't want to die here," he thinks.

Now, this brings back memories. Alptraum must be not all that terribly far from where he first encountered Rikat … though getting to that area, as he recalls, would involve going down a number of claustrophobia-inducing passageways, and past at least one barracks – probably not the best route to take, all things considered.

Some guards come down, rushing toward the open entrance … but Alptraum deftly slides into a side gallery just in time. If he remembers the blueprints correctly, there should be a corridor down this way, and a closet that once was a larger room, but which was somewhat haphazardly reduced in size to make for larger guest quarters…

And that's exactly where Alptraum heads to. Better to be out of sight and let this mess calm down some before snooping.

"Careful! It's a Yodhsunala assassin!" Alptraum hears someone cry out … but, no, nobody has spotted him – It's just a warning by one of the sergeants to his men, as they fan out. He can hear some of them coming this general direction, but he manages to find the closet, and to duck inside. It's dark in here, with only a very faint bit of ambient light coming from the torch sconces in the hallway. Shelves are stacked with spare towels, soaps, and other such niceties, while a couple of brooms and mops lean in the corner with dustpans and a bucket.

Alptraum crouches down and draws out his chitin dagger. At the corner edge of the wall he thinks he remembers as the fake one, he prods at it with his knife, going slow so as to not make too much noise.

Bits of the wall powder away under the edge of his blade, which makes more noise than he feels comfortable with – but this much is done: he's certain that this is the wall, now.

Alptraum slips his knife away for now and pauses to listen to see if he hears anyone nearby.

"Spread out, but go in pairs! No loners! Yodhsunala just love that," Alptraum hears, in snippets of shouted orders and complaints. Approaching boot steps…

Alptraum stays low and goes quiet. He grips onto his chitin daggers in preparation and waits. "Go on by, just go on by," he prays mentally.

"You check the closet," someone in the hall says.

"Argh!" Alptraum thinks and looks up, hoping the closet goes up higher than the door. If so, he can just climb up and wedge himself above the doorway and hopefully out of view.

Yes, it does go up higher. No telling if the guard will think to look up… but there's precious little time to think of that now!

Alptraum, trying not to panic, starts climbing up and wedges himself above the doorway in the closet. He pushes arms and legs against the walls tightly, holding himself up there with both claw and strength. "Don't look up, don't look up!"

"Blazes if I'm sticking my head in a dark closet with a Yodhsunala on the loose," Alptraum barely hears the guard mutter. He never even sticks his head in the door. "All clear here!" the guard announces, loudly, and then Alptraum hears quickly retreating boot-steps.

Alptraum lets out s sigh of relief and lowers himself back down carefully. He waits until the boot steps fade sufficiently, then nudges the shelf, testing how easily and quietly it can be moved.

By the standards of most ears, the shelf can be easily enough moved without making a sound worth noting. By Eeee standards, however, that's another matter entirely. It will be a risk, that is sure, if there's anyone nearby to hear … but judging from Alptraum's best estimate, there are no guards nearby in the hallway. (He can only hope there's nobody at the moment quietly waiting in any adjoining rooms.)

Alptraum takes the risk and starts to slowly move the shelf to the side, enough to clear access to cut a hole he can fit through, then pull the shelf back over it to mask one inside … if he can do so, that is.

It's slow work … and at one point, he has to stop as more guards come down the same hallway, heading the other direction … but nobody checks in on the closet again. A little more, and he has one of the faux blocks cut free, large enough for him to squeeze through. On the other side is darkness, though his keen ears and the acoustics alert him to the presence of a narrow vertical shaft that continues up and down a considerable distance, with a couple of cables hanging down its length.

Alptraum works his way into the passage carefully now, thankful he's gotten this far. "Now, can I manage to wedge myself in here and move the shelf back over the hole to mask it? It'll be tricky… " Alptraum realizes as he grips onto the cables to stabilize himself as he gets in the narrow shaft.

As the Eeee strains to get himself into a vertical shaft without plummeting to certain doom, snapping his neck, getting stuck in the hole, or getting tangled in the cords, and also trying to pull the shelf back to cover the hole … well, things don't quite go perfectly. Although he manages to scrape the shelf back almost into its original position, a few of the towels fall off. Still, it's enough to cover the hole … and Alptraum is now in near-total darkness. (It's only near total in that, here and there along the vertical distance, he can see faint lines of light along hatches in the dumb-waiter shaft, quite possibly leading to occupied rooms.)

Alptraum sits there for a moment and thinks back to the lunch visit Thath requested of him. "What floor was that on? That would be a good place to start, I think." Alptraum decides.

Up. Definitely up … and a long way at that, without room to spread his wings to fly. This is going to be a very long climb … but Alptraum starts to it.

As Alptraum makes his way up, he manages to keep from making much noise at all; definitely, he's getting pretty good at this stealth business, even without the magic, all things considered. However, he finds the confines to be too awkward for him to comfortably (or, at least, effectively) eavesdrop at the dumb waiter hatches along the way. He can tell that some of these rooms – at least – are occupied along the way. He can also tell that one of the cables is pulling up, and the other down. Fortunately, this doesn't make him plummet to certain doom, though it does force him to at least momentarily let go of the cables and brace himself against the walls. His ears keenly warn him that there's a large object descending slowly – large enough to take up the entirety of the shaft – and that the cables are being pulled with enough force that he can't hold them still just by a tug-of-war.

There's a hatch nearby, just a little bit below Alptraum's current precarious position, that offers the most immediate egress from the hatch. Unfortunately, Alptraum most certainly heard an Eeee voice in there. There's another hatch up a bit higher, but struggling to climb that distance – and quickly! – would be tricky. (Plus, there's no telling whether or not the other room is occupied. As with so many things, it would be a gamble.)

Alptraum starts going down and listens again, trying to see if he can recognize the voice behind the hatch below him.

He manages to work his way down, and though he's bound to have a terrible crick in his neck after this, he reaches a point level with the hatch. He can hear a higher-pitched Eeee voice – female, one would hope – talking cheerily in a nearly sing-song voice. The last person he heard talking quite like that would have been Davaryna, but considering her fate, that would be highly unlikely just about now.

Alptraum waits there for a moment and presses his ear to the door, trying to make out what she's saying.

"Hush with that nonsense, child!" comes an older Eeee voice from the other side. "There are no demons in the dumb-waiter! Here, I'll prove it to you." Footsteps approaching. Of course, so is the dumb-waiter. Squeaky-squeaky-squeaky.

Alptraum cringes and can't wait any longer. He tries to open the dumb-waiter door to crawl out and out of the way of that thing! He'll just try and talk his way out of this, uh …

The door pops open. "I TOLD you, Mama!" a little red-furred Eeee squeals from where she bounces on the bed. "YAAAAAAUGHHHH!" shrieks a russet-furred elderly Eeee woman, as she faints dead away at the sight of the black-and-white Eeee head behind the dumb-waiter hatch. The hatch opens into a luxuriously appointed apartment – noticeably devoid of any windows or open breezeways that usually characterize Babelite architecture – decorated primarily in tones of ivory and patterned gold.

Alptraum scrambles through the hatch and says rapidly, "Sorry sorry sorry! I don't mean to startle you! I was doing maintenance work in the shaft when it started moving! I had to get out. Please don't tell anyone, okay? I'll get in such trouble if they find out I disturbed anyone while working," Alptraum stammers, blinking and trying to smile amiably. "Great, I hope you didn't kill her, Traum," he thinks.

The little red bat just squeals and kicks her little feet, clapping her hands together. "Get up, Mama! Hee hee hee!" "Mama," however (who looks more like "Grandmama") just groans from where she lies on the floor. (Fortunately, it's a thick carpet – a novelty Alptraum has yet to encounter before, as for a moment it almost seems as if the floor has sprouted some sort of thick amber GRASS that squishes softly underfoot.)

Alptraum kneels down beside the woman. "Madam, I'm terribly sorry for startling you. Are you all right?" he says gently.

"Oh, oh … goodn – " Her eyelids flutter, and then she looks up at Alptraum … and screams! "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Alptraum waves his hand frantically and shushes. "Madam, I'm just a maintenance worker and the waiter started moving while I was working in the shaft. Quiet, please. You'll get me in trouble," Alptraum pleads.

"Oh … oh! I'm … I'm so sorry!" the woman manages, calming down, as she struggles to right herself. "I … it's … the white hair … black fur … there's … there's a Yodhsunala … heard it from … the guards… "

"I know, I heard it too," Alptraum says quickly. "I'm afraid someone might shoot me and ask questions later. I mean, I am a guy and all, but with panic… I'd normally just get yelled at for disturbing someone while working, but right now, eeek. I'm very sorry for disturbing you."

"Mine!" squeals the little red bat, as she flutters from the bed, and bounces against Alptraum's side. She topples back to the floor, clutching a shiny prize in her hand – one of the crossbow bolts! "Hee hee!"

Alptraum reaches for it quickly! "Careful with that! With all the mess we've had lately, we've had to resort to using what we can for tools. That's dangerous," Alptraum says gently to the little red bat.

"Nuh-uh!" the red bat protests, holding the bolt behind her (though that hardly protects it from Alptraum's reach, as he could easily pick up the entire batling if he cared to). "I got it! Mine now!" He can see from the rune on the head that it's the "Acid Spray" bolt – definitely not safe for children under the age of four (or five or six or… )

Alptraum smiles to the little girl. "Come on, I need that to work in the small places in the shaft. Besides, it's dangerous for little Eeee. Why, you might cut yourself! Can I do anything for you, perhaps, in exchange? I can play some music maybe? I learned to play a little long ago," Alptraum bargains.

"Unn-unn!" the little red bat protests, shaking her head. "No trades! I take! Mine mine mine!"

"Pleeeaaase?" Alptraum pleads, holding out his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the elder Eeee frets. "She's that way. You'll … oh dear … there's really no graceful way about it. You'll just have to be forceful and take it from her, I'm afraid." She sighs, standing the rest of the way up.

"No!" the little red bat squeaks. "No nono no nonononeverno no NO!"

Alptraum tries one more thing and sniffles dramatically at the little girl and edges closer, "Please? You might get hurt and that would make me and your Mama very sad. You want your Mama happy don't you?"

The little red bat closes her eyes tightly for a moment, twisting up her muzzle into a very sour expression, and then she peeks at the recorder. At last, she declares, "I don' want this stoopid thing!" With that, she tosses it toward Alptraum!

Alptraum makes a muffled noise and tries to catch the thing gently, behind the tip as to not set it off!

Fortunately, the throw is not nearly so forceful as to present any real challenge. Alptraum catches the bolt handily.

Alptraum puts it away quickly and backs toward the dumb-waiter hatch. "I should get back to work before I get in trouble. They said it was stuck, but it doesn't look like it to me. Ah well, who am I to question? Say, I know there are important meetings going on … do you know what floor so I can avoid it? I don't want to annoy them with noise nor get near any guards while this Yodhsunala business is going on," Alptraum explains.

"PLAY!" the little red bat squeals.

Alptraum erks again and winces. "You want me to play some music?" Alptraum asks and pulls out his recorder. "I really don't have much time, but I could squeeze in one song if you promise to be good for your Mama and let me get back to work."

"Mph!" the red bat squeaks, as she flaps up onto a couch, and makes herself comfortable. "Playyyyyy!"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," the elder bat says. "I want to say she's not normally like this, but … well … actually, she is."

Alptraum shrugs sheepishly at the older Eeee and asks, "Do you mind if I play, then? I'll try to be quick. And may I ask her name?"

"Oh, please do play," the elderly Eeee says, wringing her hands. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it, and maybe it will calm her down."

Alptraum smiles at the little girl and says, "I'll play a song a friend of mine likes, 'The Mocking Chibix'." The Eeee then raises his recorder to his lips and starts playing it, keeping the notes a bit quieter than he normally would as he does so, but still tries to play with a bit of enthusiasm, bobbing to it and grinning slightly.

"Yee hee hee!" the little red bat squeals, clapping her hands and kicking her feet.

Alptraum doesn't try and rush the song … but plays it to completion and ending it with the odd 'phhbt!' sound he did last time as to not provoke the child further. At last, he lowers his recorder and smiles, saying, "And there you go! And I must get going. Madam, sorry to ask again, but can you tell me the floors to definitely avoid right now? What with the meetings and all."

"Well, if you must know," the woman says, "you really shouldn't be on this floor at all. Please don't say a thing about anything you saw here. Anything. We don't want any trouble, really we don't."

Alptraum blinks and asks, "I'm not? What's going on here?"

The little red bat, meanwhile, just cheers and claps. "Mine mine mine! The music is mine!" She pantomimes grabbing unseen somethings out of the air and stuffing them in pockets in her tunic.

"I'm … I'm really not at liberty to tell you, if you don't know already," the old woman says, looking increasingly ill at ease. "We're just guests here at the tower, that is all. We don't mean to imply anything more than that. Certainly not."

Alptraum blinks and wrings his hands slowly. "So, the rumors I heard about people being 'guests', whether they like it or not is true?" he asks.

"I – I … I wouldn't say that," the old woman croaks. "Please. You must go now. I mustn't keep you from your work. Please."

"He's not bad," the little bat declares, and she looks at Alptraum intently, grinning impishly.

Alptraum goes back to the hatch and pokes his head in the shaft and looks for the waiter. "It's just that, I heard rumors someone I know is here too. And if it's not by choice, that scares me, you know? I mean, I'm just a maintenance guy, but I've met a few important people over the years. Especially those involved in construction," he says.

"I can go anytime I wanna," the little bat proclaims, "because I'm – " And just at that moment, the elderly bat rushes to her, and puts a handkerchief to her mouth. "Oh! You have a little CRUMB on your mouth, dear. Now hold still!" The little bat fusses and fidgets and protests loudly, then sulks when the elder bat proclaims, "There! Much better now." Yes, the elder bat certainly looks high-strung over something.

Meanwhile, the dumb waiter is somewhere far below, well out of view. The cables, for the moment, are stationary.

"Oh! Are you someone important? I had no idea!" Alptraum says and turns. He bows and then asks, "And whom do I have the honor of having played for?"

"BLAKAT!" the little red bat squeals, even as the elder bat wails and tries (too late) to squelch her.

Alptraum bows low. "You're Blakat? I had no idea. Forgive me, I'm terribly sorry for intruding," he says, bowing low.

"No she's not!" the elder bat protests, dropping to her knees and clasping her hands together. "Please, please, I beg of you, don't say anything about this to anyone! She was born with bright red fur, the most beautiful scarlet, yes, but she's just a little girl! The Yodh, they have filled her head with such things, but … oh, you mustn't say a word. If they learn … if they even think she means something to the Yodh … Oh, please … please, I beg of you, have mercy… " Tears rim her eyes.

Alptraum goes over to the elderly Eeee and puts his hand on his shoulder and says, "Then we have something in common and I better come clean." His voice shifts, becoming more firm and stepping back, "I should probably introduce myself. It is true I am no threat to anyone here, but I am here for learning what is going to happen to the future of Babel. You may know of me, I'm Alptraum Reisender, the one known as Barsunala. I give you this information and place my life in your hands as gift that I will say nothing to anyone about her. Can you help me? Can you tell me what has been happening here?"

The elderly bat bows her head. "A terrible thing … a terrible thing indeed," she says, in a quavering voice. "I … I hardly know where to start."

Alptraum sits down and nods. "I know some, as I was witness to the fate that befell the Yodhgorphat. Please, take as much time as you need. I need to know, to understand, what has happened from the moment this Tower became closed to now," Alptraum says in a gentle but firm voice. "And thank you. I will try strive to use what you tell me to help protect what we have left and rebuild what we can, as a free people."