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It is about midnight when both stalkers report back. The second reports that there's a bandit pack camped at the base of the pass, and the leader has had many scouting groups out during the day. The first stalker has a surprising report.
"I saw the prince and followed him for a bit. He was moving recklessly fast down the trail that leads north from this pass. As I was following him, his horse slipped and fell. The Magic Prince broke his neck. When this happened his assistant, who is a genie (jinn) by the way, looked at him for a while, then teleported him somewhere, then all the soldiers, horses and equipment vanished, then the genie vanished into this common lamp... and I bring you this lamp."
The Invisible Stalker held out what looked to be a very ordinary oil lamp... well, not quite ordinary. It seemed like an ordinary lamp when you didn't think much about it, but if you looked closely at it, it appeared to be old, well made and covered with unreadable glyphs, in other words, it was an extraordinary lamp that was casting a spell on itself to make it seem ordinary.
I thought, "A magic lamp with a genie inside, how interesting!" and I took it. I thanked both stalkers for their excellent work and dismissed them. I was now alone in my room at midnight with a magic lamp containing a genie, and outside there was a bandit pack ready to climb the slopes of this pass at first light, and rough up the innkeepers when it got here.
I threw a couple protection spells on myself in case the genie came out with an unfriendly or mischievous attitude, then I rubbed the lamp. The genie came out and bowed to me saying, "Good evening, new master. How can I serve you?"
"You can serve me by telling me a little about yourself." I said in an even tone.
The genie started in a sing-song way (as if he had said this many times), "I am the genie of the lamp. I will serve the lamp's owner by granting him three wishes."
"What if I was a woman?" I asked.
The genie eyed me, "Few women have owned the lamp, but when they do, I serve them."
"Who bound you to the lamp?" I asked.
"I did." he answered quickly, then said nothing. I felt like I was questioning a prisoner. I tried a new tack.
"Forgive me for being so abrupt, Lamp Genie. I am Baron Iglacias Rostov of the Kalzov Valley and I am honored and delighted to meet you." I bowed slightly.
The genie warmed up and bowed deeply back, "It's been a long time since one of my owners treated me as an entity rather than a wish-fulfilling machine. I appreciate that, Baron Rostov. I am Abdul Amir, a jinn of Sssslass in the Elemental Plane of Air. To finish answering your previous question, I bound myself to the lamp as a way of studying humans. There are few in the Elemental Plane of Air who deal with humans, and many of the dealings have had sad endings. I hope to rectify that by understanding humans better. Then we should have more happy endings."
"And I am ruler of the Kalzov Valley, many days ride north of here. I have come to this area to study the marble ruins in this area. They are numerous and magnificent. What brings you to this area?"
"I travel with the whims of fortune, Master Rostov. My lamp and I started in the desert south of Baghdad, and I will return there when my studies are finished."
"Who was that young man you were with when I first saw you? The one in this inn, who looked like a magic prince?"
"Was it so obvious that magic made him a prince? I shall have to work on that. His name is Aladdin. He is a boy-turning-man from a humble family."
"What happened to him after he left here?"
"He rode too fast and too recklessly, and his horse fell. In the fall he broke his neck... most sad."
"What happened to him then?"
"I used his last two wishes to heal him and send him home. He's now healthy, but not happy."
"What was he after?"
"That which puts hustle in most men's steps: a woman. It was his hometown girlfriend, I believe. She was from a rich family, and only by being a rich man would her family pay attention to him and allow him to court her. He chose being a prince as his form of rich man."
"And why is there a bandit pack headed this way?"
The genie first looked at me as if to say, "How should I know?" then a light when on inside his head, "Ahh... that would be the bandit pack that Aladdin was part of when I met him. Aladdin did some fine thievery and took the lamp from under the nose of Ali Babba, the leader of the bandits. The man was most unhappy, and probably still is. He's headed this way because he knows Aladdin lives north of here, and he guesses that's where he was headed."
"So Ali Babba knows about the lamp's power?"
"Ali Babba has not seen me. He's not sure what the lamp does, but he suspects it is powerful magic because of the place of prominence it held in the tomb he was looting when he first saw it. Aladdin was one of his men, and now that Aladdin and the lamp are missing... I suspect he's quite, quite curious.
"Umm... he would be. And he knows where Aladdin lives. And this now-dead man at the inn recognized Aladdin?"
"He recognized him, and tried to stop him. He was laming horses when one of my soldiers killed him."
"Ouch! Then he knew Ali Babba, too... and if Ali Babba knew the dead man... this has the makings of a very messy story, with lots of senseless death."
"It does." agreed the Genie, "Humans have a strong linkage between greed and death. It is the most consistent thing I have learned so far in my studies."
"Well, lets see if we can teach you a few other human qualities, some better ones."
"Thank you, but teaching me is not necessary. What is your first wish?"
"I don't have one yet. Instead why don't you go back in your bottle while I warn the innkeeper."
The genie did so, and it took only a quick search before I found the innkeeper's bedroom door and knocked loudly. Her husband opened the door.
"Pardon the interruption, but something urgent has come up. I must talk with both of you. " I said. He let me in. I asked them both, "Do either of you know a bandit called Ali Babba?" The man gasped quietly.
"He's quite famous in these parts." said his wife.
"Are you on good terms with him?" I asked, looking at both, "Good enough that if he's looking for something and you say you don't have it, he will believe you and ride on?"
"He's chasing that prince?" the woman asked.
"He is, and the prince won't be happy if Ali Babba catches him. Nor will anyone Ali Babba chooses to question as he looks for him."
The husband and wife look at each other, then the husband says, "We certainly know of him, he's well known in these parts. His reputation is that he's very successful. He's supposed to be cunning. Generous to those that help him, but ruthless and cruel to those who cross him. And, no, we don't know him well enough to avoid a harsh questioning."
I thought, then asked, "How much time do you need to properly close up and leave? Close up this place in a way that it doesn't look as if you ran out hastily with the prince? If Ali Babba thinks you are in league with the prince, he will probably burn this place to the ground."
"That will take two full days, sir."
"Hmm... so one way of dealing with this situation is to convince Ali Babba to go somewhere else for at least two days. Is there another pass where he can cross?"
"The nearest passes to the east and west are both much busier. He risks encounters with soldiers."
"Hmm... OK, you work on getting packed and out of here. I will work on distracting Ali Babba."
The husband looked puzzled, "Why will you take this risk, sir?"
At first I look puzzled back, then I remember, they don't know I have the lamp now. In fact, my wisest course would be to say no more and simply ride away. But Ali Babba is about to start a senseless rampage that will hurt many innocent people. If I can do something to stop that, I should.
"Since I have met the prince, Ali Babba's interest in the prince now concerns me, too." I say, then I go back to my room... and I come up with a plan. I summon the genie once more.
"Abdul, can you make me look like the magic prince? I wish to lead the bandits on a wild goose chase."
Abdul got a funny look on his face, "Of course I can.... You are going to lead your enemies on a hunt? There is so much to learn about humans... so much!"
I had a plan, I rested easily the rest of that night.
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