About midnight, the second Stalker reported back. My intuition seemed to be correct; there was indeed a horde of bandits camped a few hours’ ride from the inn. The leader was bellowing about his betrayal by somebody named Aladdin, and vowing to rip the boy’s fingers off when he captured him in the morning. It seemed likely that was the Prince.
The first Stalker arrived on the heels of the other, with a more surprising report.
“I located the Prince’s party moving recklessly fast along the trail north from here. His horse slipped and fell and he broke his back. The party stopped. The Djinni with him, the one you called his advisor, looked down at him for a while. He seemed worried. Then he waved his hand and seemed to magically Send his master somewhere. I don’t know if the man survived. Immediately after, all the soldiers, horses, and equipment vanished, and the Djinni smoked down into this common lamp.”
The oil lamp that my Stalker offered me did indeed seem to be a very ordinary lamp—so long as you didn’t think much about it, or look closely at it. It was well made in a very old style and covered with unreadable glyphs. In other words, it was an extraordinary lamp that was casting a spell to make itself seem ordinary.
I thanked both Stalkers for their work and dismissed them. I was now alone at midnight with a magic lamp containing a Djinni. Outside there was a bandit band that would set out for the inn at first light, asking after the Prince and his men, ready to rough up anyone who impeded them.
I set the lamp on my bedside table, threw a couple of protection spells on myself in case the elemental spirit came out with an unfriendly or mischievous attitude, then rubbed the lamp. Smoke emerged, coalescing into the appearance of a muscular male, wearing neither a scarf around its face nor a shirt on its body, so I shall call the Djinni “he”. Nevertheless, the Djinn are very different from us—for instance, reproducing more like certain sea creatures than the humans they choose to resemble when on our plane.
The Djinni bowed, saying, “Good evening, new master. How can I serve you?”
“First, by telling me about yourself,” I replied evenly.
In the tone of one who had said it many times before, he declared, “I am the Djinni of the lamp. I will serve the lamp’s owner by granting him three wishes.”
“Who bound you to the lamp?” I asked.
“I did,” he answered quickly and coldly.
I tried a new tack. “Forgive me for having been so abrupt, lord Djinni. I am Baron Iglacias Rostov and I am honored and delighted to meet you.” I bowed slightly.
The Djinni bowed deeply back. “It’s been a long time since one of my owners treated me as anything like an equal rather than a slave. I appreciate your courtesy, Baron Rostov.
“I am called Abdul Amir, a Djinni of Sssslass in the Elemental Plane of Air. I bound myself to the lamp as a way of studying Humans. Few in my plane have dealt with your kind, and many such dealings have had sad endings. I hope to rectify that by understanding Humans better and sharing my knowledge.”
“I wish you all success and joy in your endeavor,” I told him. “I am ruler of the Kalzov Valley, many days ride north and west of here. I have come to this area to study the ancient temples. May I ask what brought you to Thrace?”
“I travel with the whims of fortune, O Master. My lamp and I started in the desert south of Baghdad, and from there I will return to the Elemental Plane when my studies are finished.”
“Who was that Magic Prince you were with when I first saw you in this inn?”
“Was it so obvious that magic made him a prince? I shall have to work on that.”
“I’m sure it was not obvious to most, but having some skill at transformation myself, I did observe certain signs.”
The Djinni Abdul bowed again at my courtesy. “His name is Aladdin, a very young man from a very humble family.”
“What happened to him after he left here?”
“He rode too recklessly and nearly killed himself when he fell from his horse. Most sad. I deemed that his third wish was to be healed, and granted it. He’s now healthy, but not happy, at home.”
“What was he after?”
“That which hurries most men’s steps: A woman. He had won her heart but not her hand. Her father is a wealthy merchant in a nearby town, and her family would not accept a poor man as her husband, so he wished to be a rich prince.”
“And why do bandits pursue him?”
“Ahh … that would be the band that Aladdin had become a member of. He is quite an accomplished thief. He took the lamp from under the nose of Yavuz Eskiya, the leader of the bandits. I suppose he knows that Aladdin’s family lives in a village north of here and assumes that is where the boy would go.”
“So this Yavuz Eskiya knows about the lamp’s power?”
“Its place of prominence in the tomb he was looting when he first saw it, contrasting with its No Importance spell, made him suspect powerful magic. I don’t know why Eskiya didn’t rub it immediately; perhaps he didn’t want his men to see me. And now that Aladdin and the lamp are missing … I suspect he’s quite, quite curious.”
“Umm … he would be,” I agreed. “I am certain that Georgios, the man who one of your soldiers caught laming a horse, recognized your Aladdin. Was he one of Eskiya’s band, too? If so, this has the makings of a very messy story, with lots of senseless death.”
“It does,” agreed the Djinni. “Humans have a strong linkage between greed and death. It is the most consistent thing I have learned so far in my studies.”
“Well, let’s see if we can show you a few other human qualities, some better ones.”
“Thank you, but teaching me is not necessary, Your Excellency. What is your first wish?”
“I don’t have one yet. Instead, why don’t you go back in your bottle, Abdul, while I consult the innkeeper.”
A quick scrying, using water in the flower-patterned bowl on my dressing table, located the innkeeper’s bedroom. The serving woman was apparently his wife, since she was sleeping next to him. I knocked quietly on their door until he answered.
“Pardon my interrupting your sleep, but something urgent has come up. I must talk with you,” I said.
“Come in, then, Your Excellency, so we don’t disturb anyone else,” said his wife, standing behind him.
They sat on the bed as I took the chair beside it. I asked them, “Do either of you know a bandit called Yavuz Eskiya?”
The innkeeper gasped audibly.
“He’s quite famous in these parts,” said his wife. “Nobody knows where he comes from, but he’s been around for a while. ‘Eskiya’ is just Turkish for ‘bandit’, so that’s probably not his real name. And he’s the one chasing that Prince?”
“He is, and the Prince won’t be happy if Yavuz Eskiya catches him. He was made to seem a prince by magic, but he’s really only a poor boy named Aladdin, heading home to his village.”
“So that’s how I recognized him!” she said. “My only sister married a carpenter in Aladdin’s village. I’ve been there a few times, and he’s passed through here more than once.”
I said, “If the people in his village try to hide him—”
“I’m sure they will,” said she.
“What do you suppose Eskiya will do then?”
The two looked at each other and shuddered. Then the husband finally spoke. “He’s generous to those who help him, but ruthless, even cruel, when crossed. I wouldn’t want to try hiding anyone from him.”
His wife added, “Of course if Eskiya comes here seeking Aladdin, he’s welcome to search the place. You and any other guests we have by then will just have to vacate your rooms for a while. It’s a risk you take in bandit country. Of course, if he decides to hold you for ransom, …”
“I’d worry more about yourselves than me. I’d expect him to be in a terrible temper when he comes through here. But the real problem is to save your sister’s village,” I declared. I think I was feeling guilty about the lamp having brought all this danger to these people.
They looked at each other again in puzzlement. “How do you know all this, sir?” said the wife.
I smiled. “I have my own ways.” They seemed to believe me.
But the husband asked, “Why will you put yourself in danger, Your Excellency?”
“If I can do something to stop Yavuz Eskiya from a senseless rampage that will hurt many innocent people, I must.
“Thank you for talking to me. I’ll let you go back to sleep while I plan exactly what to do. In the morning I’ll ask you for directions to that village.”
By the time I regained my room, I had an idea for a plan. I summoned the Djinni 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 friendly hunt?” I smiled and shook my head. “There is so much to learn about Humans,” the Djinni remarked, “so much!”
I rested easily the rest of that night.