Alptraum and Autumn-Storm continue their trek across Sylvania, coming to an eight-way crossroads. At last, they decide to take the northeast route, continuing on toward Draco County, but they are overcome by a heavy storm. They seek shelter in the Dew Drop Inn, though Alptraum gets a sense that something is not quite right here. Alptraum secures a room, while Autumn-Storm is distracted by a handsome young Savanite male in the commons room. Alptraum, on his way up the stairs to see his room, encounters, somehow, the strange Eeee girl from his dreams. She warns him that this is all an illusion – a trap for the unwary – but that he personally is safe to shelter from the storm here. (She does not, however, indicate that Autumn-Storm is safe, as Alptraum is soon to become very conscious of!)

Alptraum relaxes in a bath of hot water in his room, and then dreams of Paradise, witnessing a part of Envoy's performance for Inala, though once again, Alptraum's "presence" in the dream realm is noticed, and he is expelled from Paradise.

Back in the real world, Alptraum realizes that this bath isn't hot at all, but rather a tub of stagnant water, in a room in a state of great disrepair. The inn is actually a ruin, hidden in an illusion. There is a knock at his door, and the "maid" asks him how things are. In his mind, he can hear her pleasant voice … but his ears tell him a different story: that she has a rasping, wheezy voice, not quite natural. Once the "maid" is gone, he ventures into the hall, catching the scent of blood, and he finds the room where Autumn-Storm is. He hesitates, thinking that perhaps Autumn-Storm is just romantically involved with the Savanite from downstairs, but at last, he decides that it's worth the risk of humiliation, given that something is obviously amiss.

As he comes into the room, he is treated with the sight of Autumn-Storm embracing and kissing a withered corpse – which she believes to be a handsome Savanite, as seen downstairs. Alptraum leaps to attack the undead horror, tearing it to pieces, but Autumn-Storm is still under the power of the illusion, and is frightened instead of Alptraum and his apparently murderous act. The other "patrons" of the inn come to investigate, and when a Rhian-recently-turned-zombie attacks, Alptraum tricks him into charging over a weak portion of the floor – but he doesn't manage to quite get out of the way himself, and they both go tumbling downstairs.

Downstairs, Alptraum finds that in the common room, there's actually a ritual circle there. As he hears the others moving in to "comfort" Autumn-Storm upstairs, he destroys the ritual circle, breaking the spell and causing the zombies to de-animate … but also starting a magical fire that threatens to consume the inn. He rushes upstairs, hastily gathers Autumn-Storm's things, grabs her, and leaps out the window, using his wings to glide with her to the ground outside.

Autumn-Storm is quite shaken by this turn of events, but she still managed to grab a talisman off the corpse that she (under the power of the illusion) mistook for her beloved, and shows it to Alptraum. She confirms that the sorcerer that stabbed her wore a talisman similar to this … and thus, it seems that they are still on the right trail.