Guest Suite
Just off of the main hall of the castle, and deep enough into the stone edifice to make windows impractical, this comfortable suite of rooms has been given over to Tulani, Alptraum and the two Yodh. Aside from the four rooms, there is a central communal hub with a fireplace, couches and a large table.

This evening, only one of the guests is in attendance: Yodhgorphat Phlagaea. Her bandages are fresh and bleached white, covering her upper arms and legs, hips and chest, with a slightly ornate weave around her forehead that leaves her green hair to flow free, and bares most of her face (save for a gauzy veil over her snout). She has a few of her usual baubles and faux-gemstones clipped on, as well as her usual vials of glowing green goo. Her fur has a yellowish tint added that seems to glow slightly as well. She lays on her side on the couch, facing the fire in what she hopes is a very feminine pose.

Alptraum had withdrawn into his room before Phlagaea had exited hers. And somehow … it's taken longer for him to get ready than her. But finally, his suite door opens and out glides an Eeee in a coal-black robe with the mark of Sunala emblazoned across its back. As for the features of the Eeee … none can quite be seen at the moment, but the size is certainly Alptraum's. The robe seems to glide over to the couch where Phlagaea lounges and kneels down before her. "Good evening, High Priestess of Gorphat," comes Alptraum's voice, quiet and formal. "Will you accept an audience from the Son of the the great Goddess, Sunala, sister to your Mistress?

Lost in her thoughts, Phlagaea squeaks suddenly as the apparition appears before her. She scrambles to her knees before realizing who it must be. "Alp-" she starts to say, and then smooths out the hanging bandages of her 'headdress' before saying, "In the name of Gorphat, I welcome your audience, Son of Sunala." she recites.

The hooded head bows slightly. "You honor me, High Priestess," he says. "All our Mistresses have endured much, as have their servants these past few years. In an effort to find peace between them, I have sought to be close to those of the other Goddesses, as friend to some; consort to others. But, I have realized that that hasn't been enough; to be alone in these lands without someone to share all with must be lonely. So, with my Mother's blessing, I offer myself to you, and become one with your temple for a time. My Mistress only requires that I be returned unharmed to her once her colors return themselves to me." The hooded Eeee then reaches up and draws back the cloak. Firelight ripples over the familiar features of Alptraum, save for the emerald/mint green that his hair, fur and even skin now bears. The only parts that still keep his usual coloring are his silvery eyes. He draws back his robe sleeves, revealing that all fur and skin (save the chitinous gauntlet), also bear green. And the last thing he does is to then reach out and daintily take Phlagaea's hand and kiss the back of it. "I hope the color pleases you?"

The Yodhgorphat's surprised intake of breath actually sucks in half of her veil, causing her to nearly choke before she tears it away with her free hand. "You're… you… " she stammers, her eyes large and wet. "You really mean it?" she finally asks in a whisper.

"I haven't spent much time with you lately. And in these lands you must feel very alone. I grew up here so they are a home to me. But … I have to remember they aren't for you. So, yes, I'm giving myself to you for as long as the color remains so that you will not feel so alone. Also, I hope it shows that even though I have many concerns … you are certainly still one that is very important to me," Alptraum says with a smile. "So, my High Priestess, should I shed the robe of Sunala for the next day and be with you … or do you wish me to return to Her embrace?"

"Shed it!" Phlagaea all but barks. "I mean… oooo… Do you really mean what you say? You understand what it means to me?" she asks.

Alptraum draws back the robe, letting it fall to his waist. Apparently he's not wearing much under that robe, as down to his waist, at least, is bare, green, fur. "I am hoping you will show me what it means. And I do mean it; I took some harm from completing this for you that I have not yet had a chance to repair," he says, then lifts his chitinous hand and turns it over for her to see the withered and sunken, scaled flesh, beneath. "It took the remaining energy I had, and a bit more, to do this. I can replenish the energy of course by consuming some small prey … but I hope it shows you that I wanted to do this for you."

Green fingers gently stroke the withered flesh, and then pull back suddenly. "Does that mean your hand is… hungry?" she asks with a bit of concern.

"A bit. It does mean I cannot summon Kaira currently. But … I do not think you are in any danger," Alptraum answers. "But, if you wish, we could feed it something small to be safe," Alptraum offers, "Or leave it and see if it poses any danger. It is your choice, my High Priestess."

Phlagaea licks her lips once in thought, then glances from the hand to Alptraum's face. "Well… I could use Kaira's help with a few… things. Now that I know you… well… I wasn't prepared for you to offer yourself like that! I'll have to get some things ready. So it would be best if you fed it, I think."

"You didn't think I would offer myself completely to you?" Alptraum asks as he draws his hand back. "Well, if you summon a few vermites I can consume while you prepare, it should be enough, I think."

"This castle is fairly clean, but I can try," Phlagaea says with a grin. "I'll be right back!" she promises, and hurries off into her bedroom.

As the green Eeee leaves the room, Alptraum can't help but wonder if he's made a mistake. She seems really excited. But then, she's always been excitable. While waiting for her to return, the Eeee sheds the remainder of the robe. While not nude, he wears just a simple sarong-like wrapping around his waist. He folds the robe up and sets it in the corner of the room, then goes to settle himself onto the couch and wait. He feels over his own withered hand while waiting, grateful there's no growing lump in the middle, at least.

In the relative silence, Alptraum begins to pick up the sounds of tiny skittering legs – some of them coming from behind the stone walls themselves.

"That didn't take her too long," the Eeee notes in thought. Getting back up, he starts looking for any that might be in range to actually grab.

Something darts across the floor, but it disappears into Phlagaea's room nearly as soon as Alptraum spots it.

Alptraum slinks towards the room, then knocks on the door. "May I enter? I hear that you have been able to summon a few," he says.

"Come in," Phlagaea replies, but her voice sounds further than it should.

Alptraum opens the door and slips inside. He watches warily as he does so … just in case.

The room looks the same as his own, with a small fireplace and a large bed. There are a lot of green candles burning as well, giving the room a mint-tea sort of scent. Beyond is the bathroom, where the green wings of Phlagaea can be seen as the bat is on her knees next to the bathtub.

Alptraum slips towards the green Eeee, trying to see what she is doing as well as looking for the vermites he was hearing…

Several of the verminous critters are dangling from Phlagaea herself, clinging to her bandages. Most are in the tub however – at least a dozen so far – with more coming up through the drain pipe ever few seconds at the bat's urging. The bathroom is a bit cluttered with jars and pots and small cauldrons full of… stuff. Glowing fluids, overflowing molds and fungus, and something that seems to wiggle in a jar of slime stand out the boldest. It's no wonder the castle keepers decided to give Phlagaea some lab space.

Alptraum tiptoes his way through the odd mess and is careful to not touch anything. "That should be plenty," he whispers as he tries to not be too … grossed out. He extends his hand over the bathtub and concentrates, trying to extend what little of his shadow power remains to engulf those gathering.

It actually hurts his upper arm slightly to extend the shadow at this point, but it does manage to engulf about half of the critters. "I don't remember it doing that before," Phlagaea notes.

"It is a more effective way to absorb," Alptraum explains as he winces from the pain … and that upper part starts to pull in just a little now too. Remembering his lesson, the Eeee tries to ken the creatures, then draw them in.

There isn't much to ken about vermites, it seems – or else his energy is too low to manage it completely. The first scoopful is enough to produce a dim glow in the eye, and ease the pain in his arm, but it certainly isn't filling out his flesh any.

Thankful for the pain easing, he tries to absorb the remaining half in the bathtub as well. Inwardly, he starts to worry a bit that maybe his flesh isn't going to restore itself easily.

Phlagaea helpfully throws in the few vermites that climbed onto her, but once the tub is empty the hand still shows signs of being energy-starved.

Alptraum looks to the back to check the glow level of the crystal, wondering if it is enough to summon Kaira, at least.

The eye is glowing dimly, but then it usually does. The only way to find out if it's enough to communicate with the dagger would be to try.

"It was some, but I'm not sure enough to summon Kaira. The withering remains for now," Alptraum says, trying to sound unconcerned. "Shall I go try to summon her? Do you wish me to return to the living room, High Priestess, or return to your room?"

"You could try to call her," Phlagaea says. "I really could use her help. But don't strain yourself!"

"I shall return soon then," Alptraum says and bows. The Eeee then slips out of the bathroom, through her room, and back over to his own to locate the dagger. He fingers it briefly, then slots it into the back of his forearm, prepared for the cold that usually follows.

The chill is sharp, and the eye glows brighter momentarily before the familiar dragon head appears above it. Kaira is a bit more translucent than usual, though. "Alptraum?" she asks. "There's barely enough power to let me see. It's making you look green. Are you sick?"

"No, I shifted my color for the night to cheer Phlagaea up by attending to her as one of her temple. She said she would really appreciate it if you could help her some tonight. I 'm not sure what she wants, though. Is there enough for you to form yourself out here?" Alptraum explains, then asks.

"Not nearly enough," Kaira claims. "When did you last feed the hand? You don't want it to get too low, or it might start drawing on your own life force."

"It already did a little," Alptraum admits, frowning, "So, I need more. Okay. I'll get more, then."

"Try for one of those big hogs if you can," the dragon says, already beginning to fade. "That first one lasted a whi-" And then the connection is gone, leaving nothing but a dark crystal and the chill of the dagger.

Alptraum slips the knife back out, then heads back to join Phlagaea. "I will need more energy than that if you want her," he admits, bowing his head. "I will have to go out and find something larger. Do you wish to wait for me and prepare here? Or do you wish to come? Your will is my command, High Priestess."

Phlagaea seems indecisive for a moment, and then says, "I'd better come along. I don't know if the castle guards would recognize you right now."

Bowing, Alptraum says, "Then let us go. I do not wish our evening to be nothing more than a hunt. This time is for you." He reaches up and brushes the green Eeee's cheek, adding, "I meant it when I said I was giving myself to you. I want to be sure you have time to enjoy it."

Green ears blush, and Phlagaea goes to fetch Alptraum's robe. "I know where the livestock corrals are kept," she says.

"All right, then let's go," Alptraum says as he slips his robe back on to conserve modesty while out. He then walks to the door and opens it, bowing low so that Phlagaea exits first, as is proper.

Phlagaea leads Alptraum along service corridors he's never seen before, and down several flights of stairs until they've reached the 'dungeon' level of the castle. Just as several cells had been converted over for the use of the wizards and alchemists, this section has been made over into a holding area for livestock. There hogs and Rughrats are kept apart in cells or corrals – except for a few particularly mean looking boars that are behind the bars of actual cells.

A young Khatta boy is dozing on a stool, with a shovel leaning against one shoulder.

Alptraum moves quietly through the dungeon to see if there are any boars or hogs that look obtainable without too much harm to himself. Or at the very least, if any seems comparable size to the one Melusine had him consume earlier.

The ones in the pens don't seem quite as large, but then they're almost all asleep and it's dark. The really big ones are awake though, and stare out of their cell at the two bats with malice-filled piggy eyes.

Alptraum looks at the animals for a bit … then remembering something about Stonebarrow, he goes to the sleeping Khatta and taps his shoulder. "Excuse me," he whispers.

"Waahaha!" the boy yells as he jerks awake, losing his shovel and his balance both. The stool topples and he lands on his rear, looking wide eyed with fear. "Don't eat my toes!" he cries, before finally realizing it's two Eeee in front of him.

Several of the hogs start to snort and grunt at the outburst. The ones in the cage make laughing noises.

"Don't be silly. I'm not going to eat you. I'm the Countess' friend, Alptraum. I'm working some rituals with Yodhgorphat Phlagaea and we have found we need a large animal for a power boost," Alptraum tries to explain quietly. "Which one of these would be safe to use? I remember that the Countess' is rumored to have turned people into hogs before … so I do not wish to use those. I would prefer a natural hog."

The boy glares at the caged boars, and then asks Alptraum, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather sacrifice an invader?"

"That white one looks pretty plump," Phlagaea has to admit. "And he's been giving me dirty looks."

"Yes. I just … it would be wrong to do that, even if they deserve it," Alptraum notes and glares at the hogs in the cages.

The Khatta sighs, and turns up the wick on his lantern. "Alright, come this way then and watch were you step. Hog or Rhat?" he asks.

"Hog," Alptraum answers, remembering that is what he consumed the last time and it gave sizable energy. And at that request, he certainly watches where he steps!

The boy leads them down to one of the farther corrals, and points out a rather scruffy looking (and extremely bristly) old boar with a both tusks broken and two blind eyes. "Old Faithful here is pretty useless," the boy says. "Too old and tough to be 'et, too stupid to breed, and blind as a Gort."

"All right. That should do. Thank you," Alptraum tells the boy, then tries to ease closer to the beast without startling it. "No one will mind if this one is removed, correct?" he asks.

"I sure won't, but be careful mister," the boy warns. "I call him Old Faithful because every few minutes he… " The explanation becomes unnecessary at that point, as the hog makes a horrible gurgling sound, followed by an explosively rude noise and a cloud of choking gas. Phlagaea doesn't seem bothered by it at all, naturally.

"Ugh," Alptraum groans and covers his nose with his left hand. With his right, he extends it out, trying to get as close as possible. To the boy he notes, "You may not want to watch this."

"I've seen hogs explode before," the boy says boredly.

"Explode? Ah, that's not what will happen," Alptraum notes, "How have you seen hogs explode before?"

"They aren't picky eaters. Sometimes they eat the wrong things," the boy says.

Shrugging, Alptraum tries to extend the shadow again to cover the old hog. He braces himself, fully expecting for the pain to return given the eye was once again dark.

The hog is leaning up against the wall at the far side of the corral, and isn't quite within reach. "Don't strain yourself," Phlagaea urges. "Just go do that withering thing. It's more exciting than just blotting things out."

Nodding to Phlagaea … Alptraum climbs into the corral and heads to the hog, hand splayed to grab it…

Old Faithful grunts in his sleep, and is probably building up to another release of swamp gas already. It doesn't appear to be aware of the approaching bat.

Alptraum's hand comes down and grips firmly onto the back of the hog's neck. The Eeee fully prepared for the really disturbing pumping sensation that this method generates…

The throbbing kicks in, and the hog struggles for just a moment before its body begins to shrivel. The eye begins glowing brighter now, pulsing with the odd sensation. But with each pump, the flesh of Alptraum's forearm begins to fill out until its back to normal again.

Alptraum's ears twitch and he grimaces a bit as he feels the pumping begin. At least there's some relief in that his forearm is filling back out. That does get a small sigh of relief from the bat.

The Khatta boy scratches at his cheek, and admits, "Never seen that before. I wonder if it leaves jerky behind afterward?"

Phlagaea watches the process with wide, interested eyes.

"I thought I sensed no-good," a familiar voice remarks from down the hall. "Having at some bacon, are we?" From the shadows emerges Mortimer, his scythe rapping along the ground.

The vampiric approach to feeding the gauntlet is nowhere near as quick and clean as the shadow method, so Alptraum is 'stuck' to the hog for the duration it looks like.

"Can I have some of your blood yet?" Phlagaea asks the albino Korv.

"This isn't villainy," Alptraum mutters as he tries to concentrate on the task at hand. "I needed to recover from the usage of the shadow and it takes the power of something living to do so. This is just a hog. I won't do this to anything but a natural creature of the field. That would be just wrong."

"I only donate blood to my own causes," the Reaper replies. "Try various spots across the countryside, and a ghoul south of Northshore." He waves Alptraum off, cackling as he does. "Nothing unnatural about eating a hog, except maybe the method there. If the monsters of the field all fed on hogs, why, our lives would be a great deal easier."

"Hogs is evil anyways," the Khatta boy claims. "Not like Rughrats. They're sweet."

"I am not a monster," Alptraum huffs. Never mind his hand is clamped to the neck of a hog and absorbing it.

"We've been over this, Eeee. You take the term too personally," the Reaper insists. He walks over to a wall near the hog-sucking event, and leans against it, brushing hay off his butt when he thinks no one is looking. "Looks a mite bit like a raisin now."

With a 'crackle' of creaking bones, the pumping sensation finally stops. Old Faithful is a big blob of skin and loose bones now.

Thankful that the event is over, Alptraum flexes his hand and steps away from the pile of skin and bones. "How would you like being called a monster," Alptraum notes to the Korv as he returns to Phlagaea's side.

"Is it dead?" the Khatta asks Alptraum, just to be certain.

"Very," Alptraum says with a nod.

"Oh, I have been, I assure you. You get used to it," Mortimer answers. He pushes off, then walks over to prod the pig body with the butt of his scythe. "Not even bacon strips … "

The corpse makes a grunting sound as its prodded, and shifts slightly. Maybe… it doesn't look quite so shriveled as it did a moment before.

"What the … " Alptraum mutters as he steps forward again, moving into a position to defend Phlagaea.

"What did you do, Reaper?" Phlagaea accuses. "Did you turn it into a zombie?"

"Of course," answers the Reaper, who continues to prod the body, "we Reapers go around making zombies out of pigs. It keeps us in business. Nothing more terrifying than a rug-like piece of flesh flopping after you at a snail's pace." He gives Phlagaea a look, then cackles again.

The ex-hog continues to fill back out, and even seems to get to its feet again. Most unexpectedly though, it seems to leave the ground and drift upwards.

The Reaper takes his scythe, turns it around, and promptly pokes the pig with the sharp end.

"Uh, I think it's a swamp gas balloon," Alptraum warns and starts to back away, nudging Phlagaea to do the same. "You might want to stab it before it gets any bigger… "

"It's a ghost!" the Khatta squeals, and bolts back towards the cells. He leaves the lantern behind though, and so inevitably slips on something that sends him sliding through the hay.

At the poke, Old Faithful makes one last rude noise. And then he explodes.

Alptraum covers his nose again. "Gah, that reeks," he complains, ears folded down.

Phlagaea also covers her ears, but not her nose. A few flaps of hide rain down over the now squealing hogs in the other pens. "I told you so!" calls out the Khatta boy.

Mortimer, for his part, seems unaffected by either the explosion or the smell. "Dead bodies often bloat, as your green friend knows, I'm sure," he remarks. Then, he dusts a pig snout off his shoulder.

"Well, I think I've seen enough here. And I have enough to summon Kaira now," Alptraum mutters with a bit of a nasally tone. "And how can you stand the smell?" he can't help but ask Phlagaea.

"It's pretty fragrant" Phlagaea notes, and takes a deep sniff. "High Priestess Cessteria had some perfume a bit like this."

"Ah, okay," Alptraum says, sorry that he asked. "Shall we return to our suite?"

"Well, now I'm hungry. It's a side-effect of the Reaper life to come to enjoy the smell of carrion and the like." Mortimer turns, walking back the way he came, using his scythe like a broom to push aside pig bits. "I'm sure I'll see you later, Alptraum. Good day."

"You are disturbed," Alptraum tells Mortimer.

"Watch your step!" warns the Khatta who forgot to a moment ago.

"This from the man who sucked up a pig?" The bird can be heard to cackle, even as he disappears into the dark. The clack of his scythe echos in the dark, undoubtedly helping him not fall on his beak.

Phlagaea grins at Alptraum, "Of course!"

Alptraum slips his arm around Phlagaea's. "Then let us return, High Priestess," he tells her then bumps his nose lightly against her cheek. He then walks with her back through the rows of corrals, mindful to at least watch their steps, lest the suffer the fate of the splayed Khatta.

---

Back in Phlagaea's room, Alptraum doesn't have any difficulty in summoning up Kaira. The dragon appears wearing a green baldric that reaches to her knees, and with a sigh says, "How may I serve you, Mistress Phlagaea?"

The Yodhgorphat nearly squeals with joy, and produces a bundle of bandages. "Come with me into the bathroom and I'll tell you," she says.

Alptraum has already slipped free from the robe and is back to the simple waist covering he had earlier. With an apologetic look to Kaira, he whispers, "Thank you." To Phlagaea, he asks, "I assume I should attend as well? Or is this … planning between you two?"

Phlagaea ushers the dragon past her, and starts to close the door. "Secret stuff, no eavesdropping Alptraum!" she says.

"Okay," Alptraum says and turns away from the door, even, so his ears won't focus on it. "You really put yourself in dangerous situations, you know," he thinks.

The females let Alptraum sweat for a few minutes, before Kaira comes back out with the bundle of bandages. For the moment the door is opened, the sound of chanting can be heard… and the names of several nasty diseases. The dragoness looks a bit… uncertain.

Alptraum glances at Kaira, then asks in a whisper, "Is it that bad? She really seemed unhappy … I really wanted to cheer her up… " He looks downright nervous now.

Kaira clears her throat, and recites, "The sacrifice and altar are to be prepared. Please lay back on the bed."

Alptraum's ears splay. "That is never something good to hear," he thinks. But somehow, he actually manages to lay back on the bed. It took a lot of inward reminders that he's doing this for her, to make her feel better.

The dragon starts to wrap Alptraum's left forearm with the bandages. "I'm sure Phlagaea really appreciates what you're doing for her," she comments just before using the bandage trailing from the bat's wrist to tie him to the bedpost.

Alptraum swallows. "Just what is she doing?" he whispers to Kaira. So far, still no resistance from Alptraum. With the way his ears are twitching, though, he looks like he wants to bolt for the door.

Kaira moves on to his feet, repeating the wrapping and tying process. "Preparing… things," the dragon says. Once the feet are secure, she pauses. "I'm not sure binding your right arm is a good idea, so I'm going to skip that part if you don't mind."

"Ah, okay, probably not, right," Alptraum says with a weak nod. He rolls his head a bit to the side to try and listen for what Phlagaea is chanting.

The door muffles everything… and there's also running water in there too! Phlagaea isn't taking any chances, it seems. "Just hold your right arm in the same position and try not to move it… especially for this next part."

Alptraum moves his right arm into the same general position as his left. "You're really worrying me," he confides to the dragon.

Climbing onto the bed then, Kaira kneels down between Alptraum's legs. Without warning, her wings flash forwards and start tickling the Eeee's ribs and armpits with their feathers.

That … well … elicits a whole lot of laughing and twitching on the bed. "Gah, stop!" he complains to the dragon. "This isn't funny! Even if … laughing doesn't make it funny!" He even arches up (thanks to his wings) but doesn't go very far.

Once it's clear that the bandages will hold (and the bat isn't about to pass out), Kaira stops. "Okay," she says, and actually looks nervous now. "Uh… I need you to really, really be understanding about this next part, okay?"

It takes several deep breaths before Alptraum can actually talk again from all the laughing. "Okay, I … well, I'll try," Alptraum explains, "But you're worrying me even more now… "

Dragon claws rest on Alptraum's stomach and drum rhythmically as Kaira seems to hesitate. "It's just that I'm supposed to… uh… 'warm you up' next," she warns.

"Warm me up?" Alptraum asks, looking confused. Realization hits him a moment later and he asks, "That kind of warming up… ?"

The dragon nods. "So, if you could do it through willpower or something, let me know now," she says, as her claws dig into the fabric wrapped around Alptraum's hips.

"I don't know … " Alptraum admits, "But, uh, just think of it as beating Melusine to it?" Well, maybe that will offer some encouragement.

Kaira just gives Alptraum a look, and then tears away his wraparound. She also unhooks her own garment from behind her neck, and lets it just… dissolve away. Once that's done, she just stops and waits expectantly.

Well, maybe abject fear happens to be a good motivator. It's certainly an embarrassing one in this case because it does seem to get a 'warmed up' effect from the Eeee.

"Thank goodness," Kaira says. "I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise." Just then, the bathroom door opens and Phlagaea backs out of it into the room, carrying a cauldron in her arms and some sort of brush or writing implement in her mouth. Her bandages are gone, and she's got all sorts of black markings painted on her stomach and thighs, but the most prominent is the Wound, the symbol of Gorphat, just below her navel. "Oh gud," she mutters around the handle of the brush, before she sets the cauldron down on the bed next to Alptraum.

Alptraum's brow goes up at the site of Phlagaea. His jaw also drops open and he seems at a loss for words. Finally, he manages out in a weak squeak, "High Priestess … what are you doing … ?"

The brush is dipped into the black goo of the cauldron, as Phlagaea comments to the dragon, "I didn't have the ingredients to induce the curse of priapism on him. Oh, I'm just going to make some marks on you now, Alptraum! It won't… hurt."

"You will never learn, will you. You agreed to this. You are crazy," Alptraum thinks to himself. He swallows again, then squeaks, "As you wish, High Priestess."

Phlagaea paints the symbol of the Wound on Alptraum's chest, and the goo tingles when it reaches his skin. It'd almost be ticklish, if he hadn't already been pre-tickled. Below this is drawn a ritual circle of sorts: more symbols arrayed in a circle around Alptraum's navel. Throughout this, Kaira flexes her arms, or raises them over her head, or otherwise tries some pose that's meant to keep the bat aroused the whole time.

"What are the symbols for… ?" Alptraum asks as he squirms a bit from the tingling? The Eeee even tries to look at the symbols and see if he can recognize any of them.

They don't look particularly familiar… except for one! Right at the bottom of the circle of runes is the one for Inala. And that one gets repeated… in a very sensitive place, too, as Phlagaea urges him to, "Try not to wiggle."

Easier said than done. His ears and toes twitch like crazy. "What ritual is she trying to do?" he thinks, trying to take his mind of the rather strange experience. "I have an idea … but surely not… "

With the last symbol painted in place, Phlagaea moves the cauldron off of the bed and throws herself across Alptraum, giving him a really passionate (and slightly teary) kiss. "I'm so happy!" she blubbers. "And now I'll never be lonely again, once you give me a child, Alptraum, now that you are pledged to Gorphat and able to!"

Alptraum's eyes go huge at that. "Okay, maybe it was what I was thinking," he thinks, looking all the more terrified. "Is that … is that even possible?" he squeaks.

"Now that you've made the pledge, and been consecrated, yes!" Phlagaea says happily. "And with Kaira here, we don't even need to borrow Mave's trapeze!"

"Even though the pledge was only for a short time?" Alptraum asks next, wishing he could sink further into the bed…

"At least a day! That should be long enough," Phlagaea says, nuzzling at the bound Eeee's throat. "Yodhinala aren't the only ones who can affect fertility… although really I'm used to doing it in the opposite way… but Gorphat will understand!"

Kaira remains stoically silent throughout this, but does look over Phlagaea's wings to see how Alptraum is taking it all.

"And you really want a child?" Alptraum asks next, swallowing, "I never knew you had wanted one… " From Kaira's perspective, he's taking it in a form of shock, really. As if this is somehow a strange dream.

"Of course I do, I just never thought it could happen!" Phlagaea says. "I'm like the Countess in that… " she adds, and then raises her head and looks Alptraum straight in the eyes. "You do want to give me one, right? That's why you offered yourself, isn't it?" she asks. "Not so I could give you some other sort of Blessing?"

"I offered because you were having such a hard time here. I had never thought it was even possible with what you've told me before," Alptraum admits. "I never knew what you would actually do; I just … trusted you. I wanted you to know I trusted you. And if this is what you want, High Priestess Phlagaea. I made the pledge, I will do the best I can to try and succeed. I only have one request?"

"Name it," Phlagaea says.

"If it succeeds, that you would be willing to involve me in your child's life a little?" Alptraum requests.

"You are the Barsunala," Phlagaea says. "Mave believes the future of all the Temples depends on you. Why would I hide your own child from you? I will be proud for you to be involved!"

Well, if that isn't a horrifying thought… "Well … then shall we see if the time was right for this to … work?" he says in a whisper.

Phlagaea licks Alptraum's nose, and says, "Just leave everything to me." And then adds, a bit quieter, "… with a little help from Kaira."

"Here's a test of your faith in friends, if anything. I just hope you're not making a mistake," Alptraum thinks to himself. Trying his best to actually relax he can't help but keep thinking of some tales he heard in Babel about those who slept with Gorphat herself now and then. At least it's probably a good thing Kaira's antics do help break those thoughts at least…