Dawn - 8 hours until sunset.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The Tent of Abu Gebir
"Come in, strangers, come in and welcome." A strong, musical voice beckons from within the tent.
Adib pulls aside one of the doorflaps and ducks inside, followed closely by Eurynome and Soren. You blink as your eyes adapt to the dim shadows of the interior, coming in from the bright, morning sun. It is a bit cooler in the tent and the shade is welcome.
The interior is decorated rather luxuriously. Elegant rugs and cushions deck the floors all around. Candles on little gold stands shine and the light catches fine embroideries on the silk. In the center of the room there is a low table covered with fruits and cheeses, as well as a flask of wine and several silver goblets. Behind the table sits a man.
He is somewhat hidden by the lack of light. But he seems to be dark of skin and hair. His white teeth flash as he smiles. "I am Abu Gebir, a humble astronomer. Welcome to my temporary home." He gestures you to the f ood and drink, "please join me in my breakfast if you will." The food smells very tasty and fresh.
Should you accept, Gebir will snap his fingers and another shadow will move. To your eyes, it seems as if dishes of food and drink rise up of their own accord and float through the air towards you. Gebir watches you to observe your reaction.
Soren, you know from your skill with lore that desert sages often employ spirits of the desert as servants. This fellow may have a djin at his command: such a thing would be hard for the mortal eye to see.
Adib, you sense no danger from what is happening. You also detect no trap or trick, as a circus magician might carry off. Those plates and cups seem really to be floating around.
Eurynome is, of course, a seer.
You clearly observe a white-skinned djin kneeling by the table the whole time. He looks like a man except for his pointed ears and three-foot height. He serves the food without comment, but he keeps his eyes on the guests, watchfully.
"You may be wondering where you are," comments Gebir. "But the answer to such a question is never simple. You have perhaps heard of the Temple of Light? It lies just up the road. It is both a blessing and a curse for you to have found it."
He leans forward intently to tell his story, "in older days the Temple was a great place of learning, an ancient library of the seven sciences. Both mortal and djin were welcomed there. The temple would appear at dawn and disappear at nightfall, each day in a new location, gathering knowledge from all the corners of the world. Today it has landed before you. But it will be gone the very instant the sun sets."
A look of regret crosses the man's face, "but the Temple has changed. I, and all the other mortals, have been exiled by the djin. Recently, a powerful Djini sorcerer called the Malik Far has gathered together warriors and taken the Temple and its grounds by force. He claims that the Temple was originally created by the spirit-folk and that mortals defile it. However, this is just talk to hide his true purpose. He seeks the Custodian."
"The Custodian is the true guardian of the Temple. No one has seen him for centuries. It is said he is hidden away somewhere in the deepest archives. The Custodian was known to be a djin powerful enough to grant any wish, even to open the mind to all the mysteries of the cosmos. The Malik Far wants this knowledge."
Abu Gebir smiles. "What a grand thing it would be, to have any wish granted. What would you wish for, eh?"
He looks to each of you expectantly. He is genuinely curious.
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ReplyDeleteSOREN COMMENTED:
ReplyDeleteThe painting of the three adventurers is so good that i think of it once in awhile, especially when I am writing.
Soren was impressed with Adib, and liked his confident and easy going manner about going into the tent. Soren has decided that Adib is something of a leader, and encourages Adib to lead the way more often, since his instinct about what to do seems to have panned out.
Adib is somewhat in awe of the tent. The only other opulence he's ever known was the gaudy private chamber of his former master's hovel and this is clearly a thousand times better. He looks around and quickly assesses possible values and the likelihood of being able to "borrow" some of the items in the tent. Still, Gebir did offer hospitality and there are all these shadows around that would no doubt react poorly to attempted "borrowing".
ReplyDeleteAdib will sullenly accept the invitation of food and during the course of the meal will stuff his pockets with as much portable food as they will hold and that he feels he can get away with.
"Wishes? Ha. Do you know how many wishes I've made in my life? And not for gold or riches either. Simple stuff like bread or dates or somewhere warm." He starts to spit on the floor, but catches himself although it's obvious what he'd intended to do. "The gods don't grant them, the djin don't grant them. I've given up on such tales." He looks a little shocked and embarrassed at his sudden outburst. He avoids meeting anyone's gaze and pays a great deal of attention to the plate in front of him, although he will listen carefully to whatever is said.
As for Soren's encouragement that he lead the way more often, this will confuse Adib a bit, especially since it appears that Soren is serious. He'll shrug and mutter something about luck, but he's a tiny bit pleased.
Eurynome sits back on one of the plush cushion-piles. She does not bother with a plate. Instead she takes a bunch of white grapes and plucks them neatly and methodically. They are devoured one by one, unhurried but inevitable. When grape juice makes a sticky trail through the dust on her chin she pats it away with a nearby napkin. She appears quite at home.
ReplyDeleteWhile the white crystal globes meet their end she listens to Adib first, then Soren. One negation, one unification. All that is needed to complete the eternal golden braid is an unknown.
She curls her lips on the bough of the last remaining grape. "I would let the Custodian choose."
"If ya let the Custodian choose, wouldn't that be your wish... wishing to let him choose?" Adib thinks a second. "Besides seems like you'd already know what he'd choose seeing as you can 'see' things like people's names and conversations."
ReplyDeleteEurynome nods toward Adib. "Clever boy. Yes, if I foresaw that the Custodian's choice would be troublesome, then I'd drop him-- a forgotten god, languishing in shame-- and pick my own wish. Then if I hit stormy seas, I'd have only myself to blame."
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