There are voices in Alptraum's throbbing head. As consciousness bubbles its way up through his brain, he realizes the voices are external, coming from some other room. The straw he was laying in sticks to his bare fur, since he's completely unclothed. The nearby sound of breathing lets him know right away that he isn't alone in the chamber.

Alptraum nnnghs, "Remind me to not take those drinks Arkold offers." He sits up slowly and looks around, blinking. "Or, maybe that was a dream. Heh. Pity this isn't," he comments, then scratches his chest lightly. It's at that moment he realizes he's naked. He curls up slightly to keep some modesty and says, "Ah, who else is in here? And, er, do you have my clothes?"

There is some shuffling at the far side of the chamber, and a groan from closer by. "Alptraum?" whispers the familiar voice of Lilith, from just a few feet away. The female Eeee crawls closer until she can touch Alptraum's arm. "Where are we? The last thing I remember was bending over to fill a canteen from a stream."

"Well, it looks like a cell," Alptraum comments and reaches over to touch Lilith at well. "I remember having just tracked down a rabbit, and then everything went black," he comments and rubs the back of his head lightly. "They took everything, whomever they are, including all clothing, heh. I have a bad feeling about this. I hope they're not slavers or something."

"Speak Standard?" asks a gruff voice from the opposite end of the cell, in heavily accented Rephidim Standard.

Alptraum shifts over to standard. "Ah, sorry. Do you know where we are?" he asks, tilting his head towards the voice. He also does a couple short sonar bursts to try and determine what else is in there with them.

There are two figures hunched against the far war, with sonic profiles consistent with Gallahs, although there isn't any way to tell what specific breed without more light. "We in the squeakers' tower. You squeakers too?" the voice replies.

"We're both Eeee, yes. But I'm not sure where we are or who these people are," Alptraum comments. HE starts checking over his body by touch, looking for shackles or whatnot. "Do you know why we're here?"

"If you drugged when caught, you here for sacrifice or… is one of you a man?" the Gallah asks.

"I am. Sheesh. Isn't it obvious?" Alptraum asks, and moves closer to Lilith, just because and tries to extend his wing around her.

There aren't any bindings on the two Eeee, and Lilith moves in quickly and hugs close to Alptraum. "I don't like this," she whispers.

"I don't either. We need to stay together," Alptraum whispers in reply. "I'm going to try and check the lock in a moment. I might be able to pick it. Well, if I can find anything stiff enough, anyway."

"Hard to tell with squeakers, all sound same," the Gallah says. "If you man, you maybe lucky. Or not." A course chuckle follows this statement. "They been look for man-squeakers."

"Who? What are these people like? What do they look like?" Alptraum asks. He then starts sounding the room, looking for the door.

"Crazy women," the Gallah says, as Alptraum finds the door. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything like a lock, or even a handle, on this side. Even the hinges are hidden behind a stone lip. "Craziest ones dress like… uh… rag-tag. Got red hair. Others too, but they not in charge."

"This is bad," Alptraum whispers to Lilith. "We might be being held by some Yodhblakat. If so, we're both in extreme danger." He searches for her hand, adding, "Given who I am, they may just kill me, or keep me as a servant. You, well, I'm worried about what they might do to you. I'm not about to let them hurt you."

Lilith takes Alptraum's hand, and squeezes it tightly. "Why would they know you though? Did you meet any when you were in Babel?" she asks.

"I met a child who claimed to be Blakat, but not any of the Yodh," Alptraum notes. "But, it seemed as all the cults knew of me, so who knows what these may know." He then turns towards the others and asks, "How often do they come in here? And, er, will they bring us any clothing?"

"Dunno, they come when they want," the Gallah says. "No way to tell time. No clothes for prisoners."

"We could just call out," Lilith whispers. "Someone must be on guard."

Alptraum frowns. "Great. Well, Lilith, er, looks like you're going to learn more about me than you probably wanted to," he says weakly to Lilith. He then nods and shouts out, "Hey, is anyone out there? Why are we in here? Where are our clothes?"

There is movement on the other side of the door, and tiny slit window opens to let in a brief wash of ruddy firelight, before someone's head blocks it. "I'm out here, hehehe! You're Roogi's catch, aren't you? A man?" the Eeee guard says.

"Yes, yes, I'm male," Alptraum remarks. "It should be obvious. And what do you mean, Roogi's catch? Now that we've been caught, you're going to release us, right? Fun's over, yes?"

"Oh ho, fun hasn't even started yet!" the guard laughs. "I'll call for Roogi and let her know you're awake, eh?" she says, then the window is closed once more.

Alptraum rubs his temples and sighs. "This is bad," he mutters. "Maybe I can negotiate at least your freedom," he whispers to Lilith.

"Negotiate?" Lilith whispers, sounding skeptical. "Was that a Babelite accent she had? Aren't they… well… frail compared to us?"

"Yes, it was. The Yodhblakat are a bit different. They're fighters and crazy. They're probably equal to us physically," Alptraum explains.

"Oh," Lilith says, sounding disappointed. "What do we do when they open the door?" she asks.

"Nothing, yet. We don't know how many there are, and heck, where our stuff is. I need to get the dagger back. So, for now we're on information gathering until it gets too dangerous. You should be good at this," Alptraum notes and noses Lilith's cheek affectionately. "Heck, if we can trick them into moving us to a less secure place we could plan an escape… "

A burst of high-pitched argument occurs in the outer room, but stops abruptly. The door rattles as a crossbeam is lifted away, and then dim light pours in through the open door. Four Yodhblakat wait on the other side, all dressed in scraps and wielding sharpened sticks. The one in the lead has a particularly sour expression. She thrusts her hand out, and pokes Alptraum in the center of his chest with one finger, shouting, "No matter what, you belong to me! Roogi! Got that?"

Alptraum stands up and looks at Roogi. He then remembers he's naked and folds his wings around his body. "Yodhblakat Roogi, I take it," Alptraum replies in Babelite. "If we intruded on your territory, I apologize. We meant no trespass against you or your Mother. And, er, what do you mean I belong to you?"

A hush falls across the foreign Eeee, and Roogi smacks Alptraum across the snout in anger. "You never say that here!" she hisses, glaring up at the Sylvanian. Roogi is the biggest of the bunch, but still a head shorter than Alptraum. "We are no longer Her daughters!"

Alptraum turns his head to go with the slap and lessen its impact. "I see. Roogi it is," Alptraum remarks, trying to show no evidence of pain. "Well, I would like to know what is to become of us, then."

The Eeee warrior huffs a few times, then says, "Barba wants to see you. Then… then we decide." Roogi turns and pushes through the Eeee behind her, heading for the far door. "Come on!" she commands.

"What about my friend, Lilith? She and I need to stay together. Can she come, at least? I promise to give you no trouble if you allow her along," Alptraum says, trying to not be pushed quickly.

"Both of you!" Roogi yells, already out of sight. The remaining guards hustle Lilith and Alptraum forward, taking the opportunity to feel and even smell their unbound hair, while the fourth remains behind to close up and guard the cell.

Alptraum quits resisting the pushing and goes along with his apparent 'owner'. He still keeps his wings curled about himself to some degree, to keep some level of modesty. "This is going to be strange," he mutters in Sylvanian to Lilith.

Lilith practically glues herself to Alptraum's back, which at least reduces the groping from the guards. They're led up a long flight of narrow, twisting dark stairs. "One of them just pinched me!" Lilith laments in reply.

"As long as that's all they do, be thankful," Alptraum whispers. "I really hope we can get out of this mess. Now I wish they were slavers. Who knows what they want us for."

After more turns through dark, cold rooms, the group emerges into daylight. The curved walls of a wide tower rise up around them, with wooden platforms that are the remains of floors clinging to the stone. The top of the tower is fairly open, although the cross timbers that once supported the roof are dotted with red-headed Eeee. Several other Eeee look down from the platforms.

The floor of the tower is littered with debris, junk and piles of firewood. The guards push the two naked Eeee forward, towards a large fire near the far wall. Several Eeee are seated around it, two of them in their thirties at least: a heavily scarred Yodhblakat with her left hand missing, a white-furred, blonde haired woman working a mortar and pestle, and a teenaged girl with brown fur and black hair that sits upon a trap door.

It appears to be all of them," Alptraum whispers to Lilith in Sylvanian, "Please, count the numbers here so we know how many we're dealing with." Alptraum takes a step forward and draws in a breath. "Roogi instructed me that a Miss Barba wished to see me?" he asks, then bows to try and be somewhat polite.

The white Eeee pauses in her grinding to look up, and the scarred one actually stands up. "I am Barba, leader of the Forsaken Ones," she announces in a harsh voice (perhaps the result of one of the scars on her throat) and looks Alptraum up and down. "So, you are Roogi's prize? What is your name, man?"

"My name is Alptraum bar Reisender," Alptraum replies and bows slightly to the scarred Eeee. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

The girl on the trap door lets out an involuntary squeak upon hearing Alptraum's name, but Barba doesn't change expression. "So, the Barsunala himself. Sit," she says, gesturing to a space behind the fire, where the white Eeee is working. Near her, Alptraum can see a pile of familiar clothing – both his and Lilith's.

Alptraum reaches back and pats Lilith's hand lightly. He then moves to the place near the fire and sits down, saying, "Thank you. I fear I must ask, but what do you mean by Roogi's prize?"

Lilith sits down right next to Alptraum, looking around nervously.

"Roogi captured you, the first Eeee male we have seen in this land," Barba says, then snaps at the Eeee in question, "Roogi! Fetch Hekatt!" The sour-looking Eeee frowns further, narrows her eyes, then turns and stomps off toward the door.

"May I ask who Hekatt is? And what is to become of Lilith and I?" Alptraum inquires keeping his voice steady and calm. He watches Roogi leave, then turns his attention back to Barba.

"You ask a lot of questions for a demi-god," Barba notes, her altered voice making it difficult to tell if she's trying to be humorous or not. "Hekatt is our useless sorceress," she explains. For a Yodhblakat, she seems entirely too polite. "She will tell us if you are dangerous, since Sunala is still a goddess of influence; perhaps the more powerful Sister now. Then, Mave will examine you," the warrior says, gesturing towards the apparent Yodhinala that's grinding some leaves into powder still.

"I am simply trying to be polite. You haven't harmed us yet, and I would prefer to ask questions, then force answers is all, Miss Barba," Alptraum replies quietly, keeping his voice friendly. "Will we be released after the examination? Lilith and I are on a quest of great importance to all of Sylvania. It would benefit all of you to allow us to continue."

The scarred Eeee looks at Lilith as if just now noticing her. "Your wife?" she asks Alptraum.

"Ally, guide, and good friend," Alptraum notes and smiles as he looks over to Lilith. "We are inseparable."

Lilith clutches onto Alptraum's arm as if to emphasize the point.

Roogi returns at that moment, pushing a smaller, grayish Eeee before her who stumbles over a brick and nearly falls. The woman recovers though, and hurries over to the fire, clutching something to her bared chest. She wears no clothes, and is covered in runes dyed into her fur, although some are starting to fade. Her black hair stands out like a wild halo around her face. She kneels before Barba, and says, "I come at your summons, Barba."

Alptraum watches the former Yodhzakaro. He squeezes Lilith's hand firmly, then noses her cheek. "Calm yourself. The less nervous you appear, the better," he whispers in Sylvanian. He then glances over to Roogi and just smiles at her, hoping it might improve her disposition some.

Roogi does seem to perk up a little, but whether it's from Alptraum's smile or from having pushed the smaller woman around is anyone's guess. Hekatt looks up at Alptraum with wide eyes.

"This man claims to be the one known as the Barsunala in Babel," Barba says to the sorceress. "Is he?" she asks, plainly.

"Good day, Miss Hekatt," Alptraum says cordially to her and smiles.

The gray bat licks her lips nervously, and twitches when Alptraum addresses her. "Uh… he had this," she says, and holds out the sheathed spirit dagger. "It's for exorcisms, I think, but… " she begins to say, then just draws the dagger from the sheath, exposing the black, blue-veined blade. "This… isn't chitin… or… or anything I know. But there was dried blood on it, so it must be used for sacrificial rites. It… it isn't… I think he's the real thing."

"The blood is of the dragon, Vorgulremik, which my companions and I slew some distance from here. Within it is bound both his soul, and those of the ones he took over the long years of his life. I it my duty to release those he captured. I won't go into explaining how, because that's not important," Alptraum says simply and considers Hekatt. "I would advise not cutting yourself with it, though, or damaging it. Bad things may happen to you."

The sorceress sheathes the dagger once more and clutches it to her chest. "What bad things?" she asks, with a somewhat hungry look in her eyes.

"Such as your soul being sucked out and imprisoned for all eternity?" Alptraum says, then shrugs. "To be blunt, it would likely destroy you."

Hekatt clutches the dagger even tighter now, if possible. "Do not think to use it on one of us, Hekatt," Barba warns, then turns to the Yodhinala. "Well, Mave? What does this mean? Is he useful or not?" she asks.

Alptraum extends his hand towards Hekatt, palm up. "I would advise you return the dagger to me. I'm acting as a buffer and link to keep the dragon imprisoned," he notes.

Mave pauses in her work, and sets aside her mortar and pestle. The Yodhinala has the generous curves and proportions (for an Eeee) that come from having borne children … and from being a Yodhinala.

Hekatt scoots back away from Alptraum in fear, and Barba says, "Hekatt will hold onto the dagger. Soul-sucking or not, it is still a dagger and you are still a prisoner, Alptraum bar Reisender."

Alptraum dips his head to Barba. "As you like, Miss Barba. If it gives you any trouble, summon me." He then looks to Mave, "Examine me however you need. I won't harm you."

Mave smiles at Alptraum's offer, but instead turns to Lilith, asking her, "Have you mated with him yet?" Lilith flushes in reply, and shakes her head. "Ah. The Yodhsunala do not take mates, and do not bear children, Barba, just as with the other Yodh. I do not know if a Barsunala, born to an Srinala, is fertile or not. The Yodhinala never managed to find out."

Barba frowns at this, and turns to the girl on the trap door. "Well?" she demands, but the girl just shrugs and smirks.

"Well, I haven't attempted to sire any children, either," Alptraum admits, sounding rather embarrassed now himself. "I have no idea if I can. Well, I can perform the act, just not sure if the results are, well … heh."

Alptraum can't help but squeeze Lilith's hand again, since both are obviously very uncomfortable with this line of talk.

Barba stretches her arms up over her head, the sets them back down, rubbing the stump of her left arm in thought. "Perhaps Roogi has not found the prize we hoped for. What good is a man that may only sire Srinalas? Mave, how long will it take to find out for certain?"

"Well, if you really don't wish to take the time, you could allow Lilith and I to proceed on our journey," Alptraum suggests.

"Well, that depends," the Yodhinala says. "I can mix up some herbs to make a girl more receptive, and to make him more potent, but it will still take many, many days of trying, and even then there is no guarantee. If the girl does not become pregnant, it does not mean he is infertile. And if we try with many girls, there is the danger that they will become pregnant, but suffer complications. In that time, we may have found some normal men, in which case our healthiest girls might already be bearing cursed children and not be able to take advantage."

Alptraum rubs his temples and mutters in Sylvanian, "This is bad." He glances back over to Roogi, moderately curious as to her take on all this.

"Question. Why do you want to have children?" Alptraum asks absently.

Roogi looks as sour as ever, probably because nobody has mentioned her stake in all of this. She looks at Alptraum in disappointment, and with a bit of hostility as well, as if it were his entire fault.

"We are isolated here," Barba replies. "Barely two-score of us survived the journey. Too few to prosper."

"Sacrifice them to Smashangrab!" Roogi suddenly blurts out. "Such a sacrifice will earn us greater favor!"

"Ah. Well," Alptraum says, rubbing his chin in thought. "You could try with Roogi, perhaps. She has made the claim that I'm her man," he offers, then glances at Lilith. "Or, perhaps Roogi just wants to kill me."

"It is a plant, Roogi," Barba says, chidingly. "Just because it destroyed the Gallisians doesn't mean it wants to protect us. If we feed it anyone, it will be the sick dog."

"Besides, killing me could bring down a worse plight on everyone," Alptraum points out. "Such as say, the dragon being released and devouring you all… "

Barba stands up, and declares, "Enough talk. Roogi, you will fly patrol and search out the 'companions' the Barsunala mentioned. Mave, prepare your potions and see to our prisoners' comfort. We will test him out on the Blessed One – if anyone can bear a child by him, it will be her. Hekatt… sacrifice the sick Gallah however you see fit, and feed the remains to Smashangrab."

"Er, who is the Blessed One?" Alptraum inquires, finding that name to be a bit … concerning.

"And can't you just release the Gallah? He's no threat," Alptraum points out.

"You will find out," Mave says, patting Alptraum on the shoulder. "You can put your clothes on now, if you like."

Alptraum gathers both his and Lilith's clothing. "Thank you," he replies and offers Lilith her clothes. The Eeee then stands up and starts dressing. He figures they've already seen his both by this point, anyway.

Lilith doesn't hesitate, and starts pulling on her clothes. Hekatt grins at the prospect of a sacrifice, and fondles the hilt of the spirit dagger.

"Don't use that dagger. You'll regret it," Alptraum warns Hekatt. "Only I can safely wield it."

"Oh, yes, of course, Barsunala," Hekatt says, and even bows to Alptraum. "And after you're done with the Blessed One, perhaps we could… spend some time together?" she asks, showing that she's lost a few teeth.

"If you wish to wait on the sacrifice, I could demonstrate with the dagger," Alptraum notes. He then considers the offer and nods, "If you like. I imagine I will be expected to, ah, visit everyone in time?"

"On no," Barba interjects. "We don't all care for men. But your friend can help out in that regard."

Alptraum gives Lilith a sympathetic look. "So, ah, if all goes well, will we be free to leave?" he asks hopefully.

"We will see," Barba says, noncommittally. "First, we must find the companions you mentioned. I doubt you meant just Lilith."

Alptraum shrugs, commenting, "The number of companions I travel with changes regularly. The last I haven't seen for some time and are likely dead." He then walks over and puts his arm around Lilith and says, "Come along, Lilith. It looks like Mave will be looking after us for a bit and probably instructing us in our new 'duties'." His expression flashes briefly to Lilith, though, one of 'Oh dear Gods, I hope we can get out of here.'

Lilith smiles bravely for Alptraum, and whispers, "Well, at least Mave is attractive. And I want to talk to that Yodhbarada girl alone too."

"You're more attractive. anyway, get what you can out of them," Alptraum whispers in Sylvanian, then thinks of something. "I may see if I can contact Kaira, even without the knife at hand. Knowing Hekatt, she'll try to use it anyway. and, if possible, I want to cause a huge explosion, it may help us with a distraction… "