"What kind of creature are you and why do you appear in my dream?" Ma Yun scratched her head, "Strange...how do I know I am dreaming?"
"You know you are dreaming because I let you know you are dreaming. My name is Panda." The monster replied.
"Panda...isn't just a panda!"
"Please listen to me, impatient mage lady." The long-nosed panda named Panda patiently explained to her: "Panda is just my name. In fact, I am a dream tapir."
Goofy is also watching Dorothy Gale's dream.
After listening to Panda's self-introduction, he quickly opened the astrolabe and retrieved information about the creature "Dream Tapir".
Judging from the information provided in the Monster Manual, the Dream Tapir is a medium-sized magical beast that is neutral and kind.
Dream tapirs love to eat the dreams of intelligent creatures, especially nightmares, thereby relieving the dreamer's anxiety and panic.
The kind-hearted Dream Tapir hates each other and the Night Hag, who is keen on creating nightmares and torturing others through nightmares.
The dream tapir has a gentle temperament, but once it encounters a night hag, it will pursue it to the end, vowing to eliminate these evil spirits who spread nightmares from the world.
The old enemies of the Dream Tapir and the Night Hag naturally remind Goofy of Evanora, the Witch of the East.
Evanora is an evil night hag who probably had a conflict with Panda, the dream tapir.
Evanora has been crushed to death by Dorothy's cabin. Judging from the common sense of "enemy of enemy can become friend", Panda should have no ill intentions when sneaking into Dorothy's dream.
The next news revealed by Dream Tapir Panda confirmed Gao Fei's guess.
"Miss Gale, have you heard of the Four Witches of Oz?" Panda asked Ma Yun.
"Of course I know this! Among the four great witches of the East, East and West, the Witches of the East and West are both bad. The Witch of the South and the Witch of the North are said to be kinder."
"The name of the good witch in the north is Edpel, and she is my mistress." Panda finally revealed his intention, "Miss Wizard, I sneak into your dream tonight just to convey Ms. Edpel's warning to you.
"
"What exactly do you mean by warning?" Ma Yun asked curiously.
"The Witch of the East, Evanora, who was killed by you, also has a daughter named Istna. Do you know about this?"
“This is the first time I’ve heard of it!”
"Then you have to be careful, Istna, a female mage with the blood of the Night Hag is hunting you down!" Dream Tapir solemnly warned Ma Yun.
"Chasing me...she wants to avenge her mother?!"
"You are wrong. There is no close affection between a hag and her daughter. In fact, Istna was very happy when she first learned about her mother's death."
"I guess this Miss Istna has been abused by her mother since she was a child," Ma Yun said.
The dream tapir nodded and continued: "The old witch Evanora is dead, so Istna can take possession of the nightmare colt and night neighing hound that her mother lent to her. This is the reason why she is happy."
"But Istna soon thought that her mother had a legacy that was more valuable than the Nightmare Colt and the Night Hound - two magic books and a pair of magical silver high heels!"
Ma Yun shuddered and couldn't help but look down at her feet.
Meng Tapir glanced at her thoughtfully, and then said: "Estna has reason to believe that the female mage who killed her mother, that is, you, Miss Dorothy Gale, must have seized the magic book.
and magic shoes, and as Evanora's only heir, she has the right to take back her mother's inheritance, so she mounted the nightmare horse and drove the night neighing hounds to follow your travel route."
"Oh! What a bad luck! It would have been great if Istna had been with her mother when my wooden house and I fell from the sky!" Ma Yun sighed with a bitter face.
"You have reached the key point, Miss Mage. In fact, Istna has caught up with you a long time ago. The reason why she has not dared to take action is mainly because she is worried that you will use the powerful spell of summoning meteorites... or wooden houses again to kill her.
Also smash into meat patties."
"Unfortunately, I don't have that powerful magic power."
"Of course I know this. What's more troublesome is that after a long period of secret observation, Istna has now figured out your details and is sure that it will not be difficult to defeat you."
Dream Tapir bluntly pointed out this fact.
"I admit that I am weak, so why doesn't the hag's daughter take action?" Ma Yun asked back.
"This is because you have a group of companions around you." Meng Tapir explained, "Estna doesn't look down on the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, but there are still two that occasionally appear around you...
Haha, a weirdo with unknown origins."
"Estna found that these two weirdos would always appear suddenly from your side, travel with you for a while, and then suddenly disappear. This was so weird that she couldn't figure out what these two weirdos were.
That’s why I haven’t been able to muster up the courage to attack you.”
"Ha! You are talking about Basaka and Musk. Of course I know their background, but I'd better keep this secret!"
The mage lady winked slyly.
"Anyway, your tour group is already very close to the Emerald City. If Istna doesn't make up her mind and delays until you enter the Emerald City, she will have no chance at all."
Finally, Meng Tapir made a grim prediction:
"As expected, Istna will probably kill you before the sun goes down tomorrow. You'd better be careful."
Ma Yun shuddered again and nervously asked Meng Tapir: "Istna...is she evil and cruel?"
She couldn't help but imagine herself falling into the hands of the hag's daughter and being tortured in various ways.
"Well..."
Meng Tapir touched his long nose, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to tell the truth.
"To be fair, Istna is not as vicious and evil as her mother Evanora, but after all, she has inherited the blood of the night hag and is by no means a good person."
"Estna is like a spoiled child, selfish, capricious, and moody. She wants to get what she wants, no matter what the means."
"Estna can do good or evil according to her own pleasure. As for whether it is considered evil or not, it is up to you to judge for yourself."
Ma Yun nodded in confusion, and then asked Meng Tapir: "How strong is Istna?"
"As a 'replacement', that is, a half-blood hag, Istna has outstanding spellcasting talent. She has become an 8th-level mage at a young age. She is also accompanied by two vicious servants, the Nightmare Colt and the Nightshuck Hound.
, if you and your companions meet Istna and his party, you'd better run away quickly."
At this point, Meng Tapir's figure quickly faded and gradually disappeared from Ma Yun's eyes, leaving only a wish.
"The long night is coming to an end and the road ahead is long. Miss Dorothy Gale, it's time to say goodbye. I hope you can reach the Emerald City safely."
