Sister Toadstool's wagon is a narrow black wooden box with an overhang that covers the driver's bench from above. There are still some places on the side where the name of the previous owner has been painted over to try and hide the fact that it is a re-purposed hearse. The single Dromodon that pools is a laconic and exceptionally dull animal, even for a breed known for dullness.

The rear of the wagon is barely larger than a Rhian-sized coffin, but that's still enough for a bedroll and basic supplies. Snow travels lightly, it seems. The bench isn't really roomy enough for two people, but both the albino and Alptraum are lean enough to make it work. The narrowness of the wagon makes it easier to navigate the wagon-crowded streets of Gromit, although the lack of nocturnal pedestrians helps a lot as well. Once they make it through the southern gate of the town, Snow tells Alptraum to turn away from the river along a side road.

"Why in the world did you buy a hearse?" Alptraum finally asks as he pulls the reins to get the Dromodon to turn down the side road. "Are you trying to scare people away?"

"Of course I am," Snow admits. "I sleep during the day, and sometimes have to just pull off to the side of the road. Nobody wants to rob a hearse."

"Not really. Unscrupulous types will steal from anything," Alptraum notes. "I happen to know at least one person who would swipe stuff from a hearse. And no, not me. A gypsy I know would."

"If they look inside, then I will surprise them," Snow notes, the turns her hooded head to look at Alptraum. "What sort of wagon would a Reaper use, if they had one?"

"Something made of ironwood and thistlebark," Alptraum says after thinking about that for a second. "Useful for containing undead creatures, or worse. I don't really need a wagon, though. I usually fly everywhere I'm going."

"We are not all so blessed, who bring light to the dark paths of the world," Snow recites. A hut appears ahead along the rutted path. It is lit from within, and some smoke can be seen rising from the chimney in the dim Procession-Light that manages to glow through thin parts of the overcast.

Alptraum barks a laugh. "You think I'm blessed?" he asks the human, "My life has been anything but easy. All of us have challenges to endure."

"Pull up to that hut," Snow requests. "I will go see if it's the right one."

Alptraum snaps the reins back to slow the already slow creature and guide it towards the hut. ""I can go check if you would rather guard the wagon," he offers, "But I also don't mind guarding it, either."

"I don't… " Snow begins to say, and then seems to swoon dizzily in her seat, and has to grab Alptraum's arm to steady herself. "Oh… this is the right place. I'll probably need your help… "

Alptraum's brow goes up as Snow wobbles. "What's wrong?" he asks as his ears flick towards the hut. He tries to see if he feels anything in the air.

The night is calm and cool, with nothing overtly supernatural or ominous in the air. "I'll be fine," Snow says, seeming to shake off whatever afflicted her a moment ago. "Just… wasn't expecting… The girl is really suffering," she explains, and climbs down from the wagon.

"I don't feel anything," Alptraum notes as he also climbs down. Even though she says she'll be fine, Alptraum goes over to Snow and takes her arm lightly, just in case another attack hits her.

The girl gathers up the jar full of blue flowers before turning to the hut. With Alptraum beside her, she knocks on the door. It's answered almost immediately by a weary looking older man who is going bald. He seems startled at the pair's appearance. "She… she isn't dead… " he tells them nervously.

"We're here to save her," Snow replies. "Do you have the bundle ready?" she asks. The man nods and steps back to let them enter.

"That is why we're here," Alptraum replies, echoing Snow. "We intend to make sure she doesn't." The bat nods slightly to the balding man as he and Snow enters the hut.

The hut is basically a single large room, with one section partitioned off by heavy canvas blankets, while several lighter blankets are hanging near the fire to dry. The canvas muffles most sound, but Alptraum can still make out the rustling of chains and a mix of moaning and whimpering. "Please wait here, Alptraum," Snow says, as she heads for the blocked off area clutching her jar of flowers like a talisman.

"Call if you need me," Alptraum says and actually nods. The Eeee's demeanor is completely different from what it was earlier; more serious and oddly, authoritative.

"That girl… is she really a Shrine Maiden?" the man asks once Snow has vanished behind the heavy curtain.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Alptraum asks the human.

"She seems so… spectral," the man says, looking worried. There are more sounds from behind the curtain, and then silence. Snow pokes her head through, looking flushed, and says, "Alptraum, I need your help now."

"Less so than I am," Alptraum says mysteriously to the man. His lips draw back in a tight, knowing, smile and he then walks toward the curtain. "What do you need?" he asks Snow.

Snow holds the curtain open for the bat, and the first thing that strikes him is the smell: human sweat, and something else that reminds him of Snow's lure. Inside the small space is a narrow bed, with a human girl around Snow's age tied down with rope and animal fur. Her breathing is shallow, her skin pale and her dark hair matted with sweat. All she wears is a black Fairy Lace piece of lingerie – although a closer look shows that the mesh is bonded to her skin.

There are the remains of a crushed blue flower petal on the girl's upper lip as well.

Alptraum scents the air a few times and his ears splay. "Interesting scent," he remarks as he steps through and then goes to kneel beside the human so that he can get a closer look at the bonded lance. "Using the flower as a sedative?" he asks absently as he tries to pick up a bit of the lace gingerly with a claw tip, fully expecting to be unable to.

"Yes," Snow replies. The lace feels warm and even throbs with the girl's own pulse, and doesn't pull away at all. "I need you to untie her and carry her to the wagon," Snow explains, sounding out of breath.

"What was she doing when you entered?" Alptraum asks as he goes about undoing the girl's restraints. He considers something, then asks, "Would you mind if I tried to ken the lace?"

"She was struggling," Snow says, rubbing her forehead with the fingers of one hand. "And… you probably shouldn't, Alptraum. I'm linked to her now. We just have to get her to the spring."

"I wanted to see what it was doing to her," Alptraum explains as he lifts up the unconscious human. "How would you have done this if I hadn't come by?" he asks as he now carries the woman out of the room.

"I didn't know what to expect, but I knew you would be here," Snow replies, taking a bundle of cloth from the man who is probably the girl's father. "Don't worry, we'll have her back soon," she assures him.

"You have a lot of faith in me, then," Alptraum notes to Snow. To the older man, Alptraum says, "She won't die on my watch."

Once the girl is in the back of the wagon, Snow uses the fur-lined manacles to secure her arms and legs.

Alptraum actually checks the pulse of the girl in addition to double-checking that the manacle bolts are secure.

"Shouldn't I have faith in you?" Snow finally replies as she climbs onto the wagon's bench. "We… should hurry. I think I can hold out for an hour more, so long as she stays unconscious."

"What are you feeling from her?" Alptraum asks as he limbs onto the wagon next to Snow.

He picks up the reins and snaps them loudly to get the lazy beast moving. "Which way to the spring?" he asks.

"South, back to the main river road," Snow says in a whisper. "And I feel… like you do, when you feel my lure. The lace is pushing her body hard, and keeping it aroused to produce the hormones it needs. I'm draining that off, but I can only last an hour… "

"Lasting an hour is quite a feat," Alptraum notes as he directs the beast back to the main river road. He's rather insistent to the Dromodon now, trying to press it to go quickly. Well, as quickly as he can make a lazy creature go, anyway."

"I suspect that her mother may have been a dryad," Alptraum remarks in a absent tone. "Or somewhere in her family line there was one."

"Her father is a woodsman, so I would not be surprised," Snow admits. Things seem to go fine, until a particularly rough-and-bumpy stretch of road causes Snow to moan. Once past that, the smell of the river is close.

Alptraum's ears are particularly alert tonight; he's listening for anything that doesn't match with 'typical wood noises'. He's not in the mood to deal with people up to mischief, in other words.

It is a challenge to focus as well, since Snow is overheating, and opens her cloak so that she's sitting naked next to Alptraum. He can feel the heat rolling off her.

"You're starting to distract me," Alptraum remarks with a hint of worry. He actually debates deploying his shadow cloak to try and isolate himself physically from Snow for the time being.

The bat isn't distracted enough not to notice the sound of rustling cloth up ahead, where the trees come very close to the road.

Alptraum draws the cart to a stop. A few short bursts of sound try to 'feel' out what is causing that rustling ahead.

"Why are we stopping?" Snow asks breathlessly. Up ahead, the trees make it hard for Alptraum to get a clear image, but from the movement he detects it's clear that there are at least two people up ahead – one much taller than the other. Perhaps a Rhian and a Skreek.

"Possible trouble ahead. Two people. One large, one small. Are you expecting anyone along this road?" Alptraum says in a quiet voice. Another burst of sound comes from the bat as he tries to sound out the people ahead.

The motion has stopped, which could mean they've been noticed. Snow shakes her head, saying, "Nobody else… We can't delay." She she starts taking slow, deep breaths… and with each one she looks less flushed and flustered. The sounds from ahead begin to change, however.

"Eh, Bron, leggo," comes a barely audible (to Alptraum) Skreek voice from ahead. "Wa's got into yer, mate? Why are you… oh… Hey! Put that away you lummox, what do… Ahggh!" This is followed soon by Skreekish screams and the whinnies and grunts of a very lustful Rhian. Someone is probably not going to be able to sit down (or walk straight) come morning.

"I feel much better now," Snow says, pulling her cloak back around herself for warmth. "That bought me another fifteen minutes at least. Let's hurry on."

"I suppose I don't need to take on my … alternate body, then," Alptraum notes as he urges the Dromodon to resume moving. "I may have been able to intimidate they quite readily … but I suppose a little buggaring works just as well," he even notes with a laugh.

"Have you been practicing with your aura then?" Snow asks, as the wagon passes an area of strewn clothing, including a nasty looking crossbow, and a large bush that is shaking something awful and screaming like a rat.

"If you use the other end he won't be able to scream," Alptraum offers the bush rather evilly. To Snow he notes, "You have never seen the wraith, which is intimidating enough on its own. As for the aura, I was going to supplement the appearance as best I could."

"You should try to exercise your aura by itself," Snow says. "It is good not to have to depend on being seen first."

"I'm not sure how," Alptraum actually admits. "It seems more reflexive."

"And I wouldn't want to be that Skreek in the morning. That hurts," Alptraum remarks and folds his ears down to try and muffle out some of the more, ah, detailed, sounds.

"You can probably learn the same way I did," Snow comments. "Perhaps I can teach you."

"I would appreciate the help," Alptraum replies.

The Shrine Maiden checks for landmarks, and says, "We may have to stop once before we're in walking distance of the spring."

"Why?" Alptraum asks as he continues to guide the Dromodon onward. "And how is our passenger doing?"

Snow looks through the curtain back into the wagon, and says, "Still sleeping. I'll feel it when she starts to wake up." Her white skin is already starting to turn pink again.

"Why would we need to stop?" Alptraum repeats the question. His ears flick back forward as he listens for the telltale burble of a natural spring.

"We'll need to stop because I will need you to make love to me before I reach my limit," Snow explains. "So keep an eye out for soft looking areas."

"What would happen if you did reach your limit?" Alptraum asks as he keeps an ear out for anything, even a sturdy tree.

"Well, the same thing that happened earlier," Snow explains, with an actual blush. "But everything I feel will probably be felt by the girl too, so I wouldn't want it to be so… rough."

"So you're going to avoid encouraging me by using me as a sink for what you're feeling?" Alptraum asks. Onward he goes, his attention focused on the landscape around them shrouded in darkness. "There may be a break in the trees ahead," he notes, "Small clearing on the left."

"Okay, let's check it out," Snow agrees.

Alptraum leads the Dromodon in that direction, then draws it to a stop and hops off the wagon. "Ah, an old tree fell recently," he remarks, "This is the remains of its uprooting and the trees it took with it."

There's some weeds and tall grass, which the Dromodon immediately starts eating. Snow hops down and tests the fallen log. "This might work, if you're sitting down," she notes.

"I could always hang from a tree and hold you," Alptraum jokes as he sits down on he log and tests that it's stable.

"Do Eeees do that?" Snow asks, looking up at the branches.

"Sometimes, yes," Alptraum answers honestly. "Our feet can lock, so it's no real effort to hold on."

"My feet can't do that," Snow notes, as she undoes her cloak. Once more, heat seems to roll off of her in waves. "And I'd have to climb up… I'd get distracted along the way."

Alptraum actually undresses where he sits and even uses his clothing to pad the log better. "You may wish to use your lure on me in limited amounts to ensure I, ah, sink the appropriate amount from you," he remarks. Okay, he decides this has to be one of the odder moments in his life.

As the Shrine Maiden sits in Alptraum's lap, she seems to pout a little. "I need to use that on you now?" Snow ask, before kissing the bat.

"Not really," Alptraum replies, amused. He does decide to do something for a little privacy, though. As the shrine maiden kisses him, he envelopes both of them in his shadow-cloak. Soon enough the two are in their own dark place … and quickly engaged in something to help her sate the rage within her body.

Working within the cloak adds something. At first Alptraum thinks it's his imagination, but sometimes he seems to feel Snow's body heat with the cloak itself. And then there's the odd echo, until he realizes that every little sound of pleasure made by Snow is also being made by the girl bound in the wagon!

"This is not quite like when Rose, Phalgaea and I … " Alptraum's mind wanders briefly in the odd moment. Still, as things go on, Alptraum can't help but see if he's feeling with the Shadow cloak, even if it only in short bursts. He had hoped it would help siphon off some of that body heat…

The cloak could be keeping Snow from melting at that, since the parts not covered by it (because they're against Alptraum directly) seem much hotter. Things are as wild as earlier, since Snow isn't overflowing into Alptraum this time, but it still isn't exactly a slow and intimate affair.

Alptraum finds he can't help himself and Snow ends up with two puncture wounds … on her shoulder when he bites down at the precise moment certain other things tend to release pent up energy. And there he sits for a good two minutes as the haze leaves his brain, the cloak withdraws, and he realizes his jaws are on her shoulder. "Ut-oh," he thinks.

"Nnnngh," Snow says as she shudders. "Can you heal that quick?" she asks quietly. "I don't want our patient developing a craving for vampires – especially next to a town full of them," Snow says, adding a giggle. "And… we can't linger. We have another twenty minutes by wagon, then we leave the road."

Snow can feel his teeth pull out of the wound and then Alptraum's hand covers the wound quickly so he can try to heal it. "Are you telling me you have a craving for vampires?" the bat teases. The wounds are small, so close relatively quickly when he allows a small amount of his stored energy flow into the damaged tissue.

"Well, you're the only one I really know," Snow admits. "The only man I really know, at that. Are all of the others like you?"

"We're all pretty different," Alptraum remarks. The pair decouple and Alptraum dresses quickly. "I smell like human female," he remarks after he takes a moment to sniff himself.

"Yeah, what with all the sweat from me and Hester," Snow comments, slipping into her cloak. "Speaking of whom, I'd better give her another dose of flower after that," she notes, and hurries back to the wagon to tend to her patient.

"Someone is going to mistake me for a girl," Alptraum mutters to himself as he heads back to the wagon. He sniffs himself again, then mutters more, "A woman in heat." He's soon climbing back into the wagon seat.

Snow joins him on the buckboard soon enough, and says, "Let's get going."

Snap goes the reins and the wagon lurches forward again. "What would the other Shine maidens think? You're cavorting with a monster regularly," Alptraum teases in an attempt to at least distract her a little from her current urges.

"I'm sure the others would be more shocked that you are a Reaper," Snow comments. "But then, they can walk around in the daytime without any problems, and mingle with normal people just fine. Get temple work and such."

"Why would others be shocked I'm a Reaper?" Alptraum asks, "And oh, yes … you owe me an earring." He grins.

"Because Reapers are weird creatures that creep people out," Snow notes. "I'm practically one myself, but I don't have the ability to work shadows. And what do you mean about an earring?"

"I get one from women who become close to me," Alptraum explains and waves his hand briefly. "Territorial mark," he jokes and grins fangily to Snow.

Eyeing Alptraum's ears, Snow remarks, "I didn't think so many women could share a territory? You should be used to smelling like us by now!"

"What? Not all of them are intimate related. Some are just good friends. One if from a Sphynx friend of mine and we've never been intimate," Alptraum notes.

"I guess she's immune to your aura then?" Snow teases.

"I never tried with her," Alptraum counters, grinning. "Is my aura really that bad?"

"Not as bad as mine," Snow notes. "But noticeable. There's a fork in the road up ahead, take the path to the left. It's probably really overgrown."

"What does my aura feel like to you?" Alptraum asks before sending out some sound pulses to determine if there is a path ahead and how clear it may be.

The path may not be clear, but the opening between the trees makes it easy to find at least – there's only one route the wagon could fit though. "Warm," Snow replies. "And a little bit… hmm… Ominous? Like you're bigger than you are. A hint of danger."

Alptraum slows the Dromodon a bit so he can maneuver it down the path ahead. "Rough road ahead," he notes to his companion. The aura explanation elicits him saying, "So … I am starting to feel draconic in some ways. Is it any stronger now than it was when you first met me?"

"When I first met you I just felt the monster part," Snow admits, "since that's what was reacting to me so strongly. And I suppose 'draconic' can describe it. There's a sense of power coiled up… oh, we're far enough in, we can stop here."

"Always when I get to something good," Alptraum grumbles in Babelite. He pulls the wagon reins and stops the Dromodon. The reins are tied off and then the bat hops down. "I have to carry her the rest of the way, don't I?"

"Yes, if you could?" Snow asks, as she goes to start undoing the manacles. "I have to carry her clothes."

"How far is it?" Alptraum asks as he waits for her to be freed. Once she's free from the restraints, he hefts the be-laced human out of the back and balances her as best he can. He hopes the spring isn't far!

"Well, about five minutes until we reach the river," Snow reckons, "and then another five through the river itself, I think."

"I hope my arms don't give out," Alptraum admits, "I may have to supplement myself with my shadow." Once he has the human in a relatively strain-free position, he says, "Lead on, o' twilight maiden!"

Into the dark tunnel of trees they go, with Snow leading the way. Most of the path is too dark to see, so it's a wonder how the Shrine Maiden picks her way without the benefit of Eeee sonar, but the girl never seems to trip or falter. The sound and smell of the river draws them on, until the reach a large flat boulder that marks the bank of the river. The forest, however, doesn't stop at the bank: huge tree trunks rise up out of the water as well.

Snow stops at the boulder, and sets down the bundle, then removes her own cloak and shoes. "Anything you don't want to get wet or don't need to bring, you should leave here," she tells Alptraum.

"How do you navigate in this darkness?" Alptraum finally asks, "Your ears are woefully underdeveloped." It's also here Alptraum tries to feel if there is anything spirit-related ahead.

There's something in the distance, barely noticeable.

"I just imagine the trees are gravestones," Snow replies, as if that answer would actually be meaningful.

Alptraum has to set the unconscious human down so that he can disrobe completely. All he decides to take is the pouch with the crystal heart in it … and the dagger. He never leaves the dagger out of his sight. So, to carry it, he slots it into his forearm. His ears twitch as the shock of cold radiates into his hand as his flesh and blade become one blob of … something. He still has that image from the scope in his mind of the mass of flesh writing about in his arm, after all. Now as naked as Snow (save the one pouch), he lifts the human back up. "Ready," he says.

The albino girl steps right into the river, wading in up to her chest and still following some hidden path. "C'mon in," she calls, "the water's fine!"

"They're perky in the water too," Alptraum mutters … and then joins Snow in the river.

It isn't fine. It's freezing cold! But then, Alptraum isn't running a fairy lace induced fever. Even the furnace that is the sleeping Hester doesn't help against the cold current.

"This water is cold," Alptraum complains, "You're so going to get it." And then an idea hits him, he tries to extrude his shadow-cloak as a buffer against the cold water.

"It's fine for a river," Snow claims. "Haven't you ever bathed under a mountain waterfall?" She keeps on heading out into the river and the soggy forest. At least Hester is buoyant enough that Alptraum doesn't have to bear her full weight.

"No, I like feeling warm," Alptraum complains. "How is it you humans can endure this?"

"Practice," Snow claims. "And not having natural fur coats." The trees are changing, the further in they go. It becomes clear to Alptraum that they aren't trees at all – but roots. Roots that reach up and merge far above.

"You're all crazy," Alptraum grumbles through gritted teeth. "Oh, question … have you ever seen a bottle with a dragon painted on it anywhere here?"

"Bottle?" Snow asks. "Maybe in the old temple behind the spring," she suggests. Something brushes up against Alptraum's back just then.

Alptraum stiffens. "Something just touched me. There aren't any dangerous creatures in here, are there? And who is the old temple to?" he asks.

"Some old god or something," Snow says. "Is it a fish? An eel? Is it nibbling?" Whatever it is is just pressed against his back though, not moving.

"Pressed against me and isn't moving," Alptraum admits. He tries to use his wings to feel out what it is.

The Eeee's wings quickly become tangled in whatever it is.

"Probably Fairy Lace," Snow suggests.

"Oookay, it just grabbed my wings," Alptraum says, "Why is it sticking to me?" Still, he tries to continue on without panicking … yet.

"They get sticky when they're ripe I think," Snow says. "Stop being a baby and I'll peel it off when we get there."

"Well, I don't want it bonding to me," Alptraum points out.

"I look silly in women's lingerie," Alptraum adds and even grins.

"You've worn it before?" Snow asks, as the feel of the rive rbottom changes. Alptraum is sure he just stepped on a stone block.

"Once, yes, in Draco Castle," Alptraum admits. "I needed a robe and that's all that was available." The stone gives him pause … he thinks he just found a stair.

There are more stairs, made clear by the amount of skin that Snow was showing more and more of as she left the water. A parting between two massive roots revealed a building – or the outline of it, at least. Roots had replaced most of if, with just chunks of stone floating in the wood and between the the gnarled trunks. The door looks mostly still there, although the forked trunk that frames it gives it a more feminine look. Something beyond it is giving off a green glow, and the spirit presence is much stronger.

Alptraum concentrates and tries to tell if the spirit feels similar. He also tries shifting his vision to that of the Barsunala, to see if he learns more about what he approaches. "How old is this place?" he asks.

The shift to spirit-vision is actually blinding. Literally everything but the river is glowing brightly, meaning the roots (and tree they merge into) must be producing a huge amount of spiritual aura. "Well, the tree is probably a thousand years old or more," Snow guesses. "So really… no idea. Really, really, really old."

"And painfully bright," Alptraum complains as he closes his eyes and immediately reverts his vision to normal. "I wonder if Nala passed through here once."

"Hmmm, no idea," Snow admits, as she shakes excess water from her legs outside of the entrance. "It's pink, by the way."

"The lace stuck to my back?" Alptraum asks as he approaches. "Is it actually trying to bond to me, or just being sticky?"

"Just sticky," Snow says, and comes over and peels it off. She models it briefly for Alptraum: they're panties.

"They might look good on you," Alptraum comments. "Hold onto them for me. I want a souvenir of this weirdness."

Instead of holding on to them, Snow takes a bite out of them and chews on it for a bit. "Cherry," she concludes.

"Bah, you're no fun," Alptraum grumbles. "So … I assume we need to take her inside?" he asks.

"Yes," Snow says, dropping the lace to go inside. "Oh, you'll need to hand her to me once I'm in the water… don't come in yourself!"

"Why not?" Alptraum asks. "What would happen?"

"I don't know," Snow admits.

"Then I might enter the water once you're done to find out," Alptraum says, "I have a heart to purify, after all." He nods towards the door and asks, "Shall we?"

The inside of the former building is now dome-shaped, with roots and tendrils dangling from the ceiling, many of which dip into the pool of glowing water that takes up the center of the chamber. Stone blocks litter the floor, but none seem to have fallen into the pool itself.

"Wow, it's … green," Alptraum says in awe as he looks around. While his eyes explore, he looks specifically for any symbols that might answer who this place was once a temple to.

The Shrine Maiden wades into the glowing green pool, which underlights her features oddly. Snow turns, and holds her arms out for the girl. There aren't any markings at all that have survived, unless they're on the bottom of the fallen stone blocks.

Alptraum walks over to the water's edge, then lowers the unconscious human down to the shrine maiden.

Snow strains under the weight, but at least is looking less flushed. She staggers deeper into the water, until her burden can float on its own.

"What does the water feel like?" Alptraum asks from the shore. He can't help but sniff the air, wondering if any scent is recognizable.

There's a slight scent of… mint? "It's like Zolk," Snow says, as she goes about washing the still unconscious Hester.

"It smells minty," Alptraum says. While he waits for Snow to treat Hester, he looks around for the door she mentioned earlier that might contain an old bottle.

Near the back of the chamber is another opening that might have once been a doorway.

"I'll be right back. Call if you need me," Alptraum says as he heads towards that other opening…

There is a hall back there, completely dark, but Alptraum can sense another chamber at the end. That too is dark, but it's full of large and medium and small objects.

Alptraum heads slowly towards that chamber and uses sonar to sound it out…

The objects are smooth, curved and cylindrical – just like bottles, jars and pots! But if they're marked with dragons, sonar alone isn't enough to find out.

Alptraum's brow goes up. The first thing he tries is switching back to Barsunala-vision to see if any symbols can be made out…

In the silvery light, the wooden intrusions into the room glow brightly, which casts the non-spirit-containing objects show up as black silhouettes. There are lots of clay jars of various sizes, some as tall as Alptraum himself! But their surfaces are still dark.

"Would you like some light?" rasps a voice from behind Alptraum.

Alptraum nearly embeds his head in the ceiling! "I wouldn't mind," he remarks as he tries to sound all causal about it, as if he meant to jump like that.

The roots begin to glow green, filling the room with a dim light.

Alptraum lets his vision return to normal. He also looks over his shoulder for the source of he voice.

There's a man in the wall. Or rather, in the thick root that holds up the wall. He looks old, even for a dryad, with a beard of moss and lots of twigs growing from his rough bark skin. His legs are gone, merged completely into the wood.

"Who are you?" Alptraum asks the strange creature. "What exactly is this place?"

"I'm the Guardian," the wood-nymph rasps. "I suppose I kill people who intrude in here, like those poor souls." With an effort, he extends an arm to point to the various skulls and skeletal remains piled up around the bases of the jars and bottles.

"Kill people? Why?" Alptraum asks next, his voice a forced calm. He's suddenly very glad he didn't just start grabbing bottles. He also makes a mental note to tell off Azrael for not warning him about potential death traps. "And I do hope you have no intention of trying to kill me… "