Sitting at a table at the very foot of the stage, under the towering figure of Inala, Alptraum realizes this must be a dream, since he is far away from Worms now, and also because he is certain that Lilith, Phlagaea and Mave would not perform the tarantella in the real world with the exuberance they are showing on stage just now.

Alptraum scratches his cheek slowly and peers around. "You know, I knew that rabbit looked a little spoiled," he comments, knowing full well the rabbit was a fresh kill. His eyes and ears move around the stage and room, looking for all those he knows. He can't help but look at the dancing Lilith, Mave, and Phlagaea with a bit of surprise. "Yes, got to be a dream, or a nightmare. Depends on if the women in my dreams have it in for me, I guess," he mutters.

"You worry too much about women," says a voice from just behind Alptraum, one he hadn't expected to ever hear again. It comes in concert with the sound of chair shifting and someone sitting down. "Although it would have been nice to see Ravenia up there with them," the Steel Dragon adds as he settles in at Alptraum's table.

Alptraum spins to face the dragon. "Well, they're about as easy to trust as a dragon is; not at all," he points out, eyeing the creature. "All right, so this is your doing, then. What exactly do you want from me? well, aside from the usual revenge, death, and torture, I can expect generally."

Having taken on a more humanoid form, and lacking his draconic aura, Vorgulremik is nowhere near his former intimidating self – he even appears a bit emaciated. "Ah," he says, holding up his hands in a gesture of innocence, "you assume too much, Alptraum. This is all your doing. I am simply taking advantage of a small, rare opportunity to talk to you while Kaira is occupied."

"Right. Well, I won't argue the point with you," Alptraum notes, his brow rising slightly. "What exactly do you wish to talk to me about, then?"

"Our futures, of course," the dragon says, lowering his hands and smiling. "And the continued likelihood of our having them. You caused quite a mess when you used one of my powers, by the way. Kaira is still trying to clean things up. I should thank you for that, but really I've come to warn you."

"Well, you realize by now, I assume, that we have similar powers, yes? It's why I can actually use them, you know," Alptraum asks, then shrugs and keeps his eyes on the dragon. "So, what of our futures, then, and what have you come to warn me about?"

"Well, did you every wonder why Kaira would tell you about such a technique, and have you use the dagger to mediate it?" the dragon asks, cocking his head. "Especially when you probably could have managed it without the dagger at all, if you really tried."

"She doesn't want me to become like you. And honestly, neither do I," Alptraum replies, then looks at his claws. "I have no desire to touch my darker side."

Vorgulremik chuckles, although a bit weakly. "Do you really think that matters to her?" he asks. "It is enough that you have the potential to become like me, Alptraum. And every time you use the dagger, you reveal another piece of your soul to her. That is why she suggested the technique to you in the first place."

"So, she's trying to trap me as well, then. Is that what you're suggesting?" Alptraum inquires. He smirks and shakes his head, noting, "You could easily be lying, for the simple fact that if I do finish purging this place you will cease to exist. Or, you could be telling the truth. I really have no way to know."

"I could be doing both," Vorgulremik says, shrugging his wings. "After all, it is only natural for me to act in my own best interests. If they happen to include your own, well, what have I to lose? If you really are immortal in the same way that I am, then Kaira will try to destroy you, no matter how good you are in this incarnation."

"This will likely be my last incarnation, regardless. Not because of her and what she may do, but because of where I go and what I know I will have to face and do. I already expect I will not exist within a year or so," Alptraum says flatly, then shrugs. "So, really, I have nothing to lose because I've already lost. So, if you're trying to encourage me not to continue, well … "

"Merely telling you not to rush headlong into oblivion," the dragon says. "After all, what do you really know about your origins, beyond old myths and fables? Can you be so sure of your fate? Don't you deserve a chance at life, at least?"

"It would depend on who you ask that question to. I'm certain a great many would disagree I deserve any chance at life," Alptraum notes and shrugs. "As for if I feel I do … I'm not even sure how to answer that. My existence, my birth, helped cause a pointless war where a lot of people died. All the while I lived my life out in obscurity and ignorance. Is one life, any life, worth thousands? Those deaths are on my conscience and I wasn't even there. That weighs heavily on me. I'm not sure you would even understand how I feel."

"Hardly your fault, that others act whom you do not know and have no control over," Vorgulremik says, waving a hand dismissively. "Did you kill them? No. Could you have prevented their deaths? No. A pawn should not feel guilt for being a pawn."

"Emotions are funny that way. The guilt remains," Alptraum says with a sigh. His claw tips tap on the table. "And you know, if Kaira seeks to destroy me, then maybe she's right. In time, I imagine I'll either grow cold or insane. I'd rather be destroyed than become you. I'd also rather be willing to put some faith in people, then live out whatever life I may have left suspecting everyone of seeking my doom, too."

"Ah, but why depend on faith when you can find out for certain on your own?" the dragon asks, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

"Because the act of seeking it out can be the act of betrayal which seals my fate?" Alptraum points out, then waves his hand. "But, I presume you're going to suggest a way I can find out, then?"

"It's really very simple," the dragon says. "Just ask her, straight out. A dragon would not be offended by such a question."

Alptraum quirks a grin. "She's a spell, not a real dragon. But in any event, how can I be sure that whom I ask is Kaira and not say … you, in disguise? You already said you act in your own interest."

"True, but my actions are limited right now," the dragon says. "I have only been able to contact you at all because you used one of my powers, and because you are in a magic-saturated environment at the moment. Once you wake up, or the lingering magic fades, I will not be able to talk to you again."

"Well, I will take that under advisement, then," the Eeee replies. "For what it's worth, I had no choice in stopping you, you know. You tampered in a realm I protected on that world, and in time would have come after me."

"I hold no resentment, since you were, as you say, 'defending your turf'," Vorgulremik says. "Although if you feel guilty about it, you could conjure up the image of Ravenia for me. Now that I have a humanoid form, there's something I've always wanted to try with her… "

"She has been tormented enough. I would prefer not to do any further harm to her, or an image of her," Alptraum notes warily. "The few friends I have, I protect."

The dance on stage finally ends, and the ballroom applauds as the Eeee women vanish behind the curtains that come down from Inala's wings on either side of the stage. The crimson-furred Lapi-satyr host hops on and says, "Let's hear it for the Dancing Daughters of Temptation!" The audience applauds even louder.

"Really, it would just be a dream image," Vorgulremik says, sitting back in his chair and looking a bit pouty. "I'm in constant torment all of the time you know."

"I'm not sure they'll appreciate being called that," Alptraum notes as glances towards the stage. He chuckles, then looks back to the dragon, noting, "Image or no, I won't risk actually pulling her here. I've been able to do that before, you know, pull the actual person into the dream. Aren't there other dark elves here you could get, ah, close with?"

"And now, by special engagement," the host says, stepping off of the stage and gesturing towards the curtains, "the Avatar of Inala!"

"None that like me," Vorgulremik says, then turns his attention to the stage. "Oh, what's this, something special for me after all?" he asks the Eeee.

Alptraum rubs his temples. "Her again? I've seen her before. But it was ages ago, back during a journey, when Inala herself cast me out of paradise," he notes, then skews his muzzle. "I watched the world of paradise and peace be ripped away from me, and was dumped into darkness and torment. Not a pleasurable memory."

The figure that comes onto the stage is as Alptraum remembers from his visions, all white and gold and sporting a golden horn. She even starts to sing the same melancholy song he heard during the night of Rephath's hunt for Captain Rockmore. Then there is a crash and Vorgulremik falls backwards out of his chair.

Alptraum nearly jumps when the dragon next to him falls back. "She sings well, and is attractive … but I didn't know she could knock a dragon flat," he notes, amused.

For a moment, there is look of absolute terror on Vorgulremik's face, until he turns it towards Alptraum and angrily snarls at him. "This is low, Alptraum," before getting on all fours and running back through the ballroom, disrupting various people and creatures and causing much laughter.

Alptraum pushes himself out of his seat and pursues the running dragon now, offering apologies to those who were bothered. "Low? Heh, I don't even know who that is, other than the one time I saw her," he grumbles.

The crowd closes in between Alptraum and Vorgulremik, and soon enough the dragon has vanished completely. Surprisingly, the Avatar is standing right beside Alptraum, while still performing on the stage. "Your friend is very jumpy for a dragon," she says. "He thought I was going to destroy him."

"Destroy him? I take it that you know him somehow, then?" Alptraum inquires as he glances sideways at the figure. "And I wouldn't call him my friend. Acquaintance, perhaps."

"Know him?" the Avatar asks, looking blank. "I'm just a figment of his imagination. Or yours. Maybe both. I just wanted to stab him with this dagger," she says, holding up something that looks much like the Spirit Dagger, except that its blade is a purplish metal.

"Hmm. I wonder if you're what imprisoned him the first time, then," Alptraum considers, then peers down at the weapon. "If you wanted to stab him, then you're likely from his imagination. So, who are you?"

"Just an envoy," the creature says, and sheaths the dagger. "He fears the dagger, and thinks I have it, because I chased him once."

"Well, he's been bound by a similar dagger recently," Alptraum notes, then shrugs. He glances around at the crowd, then back to the Envoy, and asks, "Did I really create this place?"

"Who can tell in dreams?" the Avatar asks. "You were here once. Maybe you still are, and only dreamt that you ever left? And since I'm a figment of someone else's imagination, I really couldn't give you a straight answer, now could I?

"I think you're saying that because you like to be confusing," Alptraum says drolly. He then just shrugs and asks, "So, what is Kaira dealing with? Do you know at all?"

The Avatar shrugs, and asks, "Who is Kaira?"

"Heh, never mind. So, since we're in a ballroom and no one I know seems to be around … do you want to dance?" the Eeee asks, apparently giving up asking for any information.

"That depends," the Avatar says. "Besides, there's something crawling on your leg."

Alptraum arks and his head jerks down to look at his leg. "What the heck?!" he growls.

Reality reasserts itself, and Alptraum is looking into the beady red eyes of a vermite clinging to his leg where it sticks out from the tangled nest that Phlagaea has made. Clothing and bandages are strewn about the tiny hut, and the little scavengers are investigating.

Alptraum growls and grabs for the creature, wanting to chuck it outside and deal with the others that are about. Quickly, he also glances about for the green Eeee.

Phlagaea rolls off of Alptraum as he moves, and mutters, "… you missed a few in that building, Legba… throw the fireball overhand… "

Vermites scatter at the growl, streaming out of the entry to the hut - except for the one caught in Alptraum's hand.

Alptraum peers at the vermite. He then figures he may as well have breakfast. So, he turns his back to Phlagaea so she can't see, and just bites it.

"What," the green Eeee murmurs, finally rousing and rubbing her eyes. "Is it morning?" she asks groggily.

Alptraum mmmphs and raises a hand to try and indicate 'just a moment'.

Phlagaea continues to blink, then realizes it is still nighttime. "Why'd you wake me?" she asks.

Alptraum finishes with the vermite and throws the remains out the door quickly. "We were being invaded by vermites," he tries to explain. "I shoo'ed them off," he says and then wipes his mouth. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, sorry," the Yodhgorphat says, eyelids drooping. "I must have summoned them accidentally."

"You summon vermites?" Alptraum inquires, then slinks a bit in the bed, sliding his form over hers and lightly pinning her in the makeshift nest.

Phlagaea giggles, and says, "Well, they're handy for spreading diseases, and… oh, it must have been from… ah… " She blushes, something Alptraum feels rather than sees. "The ritual involves a certain religious euphoria, you see, so when we were… appeasing Inala earlier… well, I don't mean to compare you to Gorphat in that way, but… ah, never mind."

Alptraum grins slightly and noses her cheek. "I don't mind the comparison. At least, not from you at this point," he notes. "But, I didn't know you had such thoughts about her. And you know, I'd look silly in all those bandages… "

The priestess tries to cover her giggle, but her hands can't get past Alptraum's bulk in time. "It's not like that, exactly, it's… oh, does it matter?" she asks, trying to look cute. "They're just vermites, after all."

"Of course it matters. I want to know, and it makes you blush," Alptraum points out, then rolls over and pulls Phlagaea back on top of himself. "As for the vermites, I don't think it matters too much, just because they're not really a threat."

Phlagaea bumps noses with Alptraum, and asks, "So, back to sleep, or summon more vermites?"

"Why would you want to summon … " Alptraum stays to ask, then giggles and nips her ear lightly. "Mave certainly had an effect on you, I see," he says, then curls his wings up and around her. "This time, you just relax. Let'ssee just how many I can inspire you to call, shall we?"