The Story

As soon as you are seated, the lady speaks to you. "Welcome, friends." She says with a warm smile. "I am Lady Malista, the one who called you here. Please help yourselves to some nourishment." Now that you can look at her better, you know that you've seen this lady in your dreams. Always with that lovely smile and sweet voice.

Behind her you hear a 'Ding' and a small hatch opens up in the wall, revealing a plater of roast turkey. The butler enters the room, walks to the hatch, picks it up, sets it on the table and leaves again. "Thank you, Jeeves." Malista says as he closes the door.

"You must be wondering why I brought you here." She continues. "Well, I promised you your wildest dreams. And I intend to keep that promise."

While she talks, at one point you see her wince and the lit candles in the room flicker for a second. Then she smiles again and continues.

"You see, as the days of this world shorten, I am gathering strength to reach a new home." She picks up her cup of tea or coffee and has a sip. "I need your help for that and I hope you accept my offer." She gestures to the beds over on the other side of the room.

"I can send you into a never-ending dream where your most desired thoughts come true. In return, I receive your worship which will give me the strength to relocate." She rests her hand on her chair again. "You will dream peacefully until the end comes."

She looks to each of you. "Will you take my offer?"

"I don't see how you consider this a bad offer." She says politely. "Your world is coming to an end. There is no stopping it. Why not spend the time you have left in paradise?" She genuinely looks baffled by the fact that you aren't jumping at this opportunity. "I'm not trying to lure you into some sort of trap. I am merely giving you an honest choice."

When Borda stands up, she says. "Borda, don't you want to live in a place like this?" She gestures to the room you are in. "Surrounded by riches and the blood of your enemies?"

Another reverse flash of lightning sends the room into darkness for a split second. Malista gives no attention to it and continues her talking. "Jotna, what about your comfortable home with a scaly family?"

"And the opium induced hallucinations would be real?" She responds to Jotna's remark. "You are here now, with the same offer. You could give your life force to opium or to someone who actually has a use for it. For you the result may be the same, but you could make a difference for someone else."

"Kill? Oh my, no." Malista answers. "They will simply wake up and fall back into their bleak lives. Without all of you I fear I will not have the strength to keep up their dreaming." She confesses.

"You see, an evil presence is trying to infiltrate my mansion. So far I've been able to stave off their attacks. But with only a few dreamers, I will eventually fail to deflect the attack."

Lady Malista doesn't answer you right away. It would seem she was not expecting this counter offer. She takes a minute to consider what you just said. Then she calmly states "It appears you all share this sentiment. How odd." As if studying a creature she's never seen before.

"I never really considered that the evil could be chased away." She admits. "But the thought of it is intriguing. Very well. I will accept your offer." She smiles. "If you can chase away the evil, or at least keep it busy for long enough for me to build up the energy I need, I will in return provide riches."

She stands up and walks towards the dumb-waiter where the food was being brought up from. "Come, I will remove a small part of the protective barrier I'm maintaining around this place. That will allow you to pass through into it's domain. Once you succeed, head back to the same spot and I will bring you back."

"Oh, and don't worry about telling me what riches it is you seek. I have been inside your dreams."