“So how long are you going to cling to that rock face?”
“Until I figure out if you’re friend or foe.”
“Neither. Just a humble traveling merchant.” He lifted his head scarf to clearly show me his face. I recognized him as the djinn merchant that smuggled me into (and out of) a djinn city in my quest to meet my Lord of Fire.
I gave a cry of recognition and quickly fell from the rock face, landing before him with a rush of wind following me. He shielded his face from the stirred dust.
“You have wings, my friend? I thought you are human!”
“Winged, taloned, and not pretty to human eyes. But quite comfortable. And I am human.” I made a great show of looking at my altered hands. “I think.”
“Here. We are surrounded by sands. Show me what Weaver can do, and I’ll take you as her.”
“I have another thing in mind, actually. I’m glad to have come across you. I have a jewel with an occupant that I need to either release, or dispose of. I have enough sentient tagalongs on me as it is.”
“Get with the glass making, you. And tell me about this jewel as you do.”
“I thought you didn’t trust me.”
“I never said that. I just want to see you make glass!”
I laughed and grabbed a handful of the sand at our feet. Noting the different layers in reach, each with different mineral content, I used the layers to my advantage, making a milky glass bowl with horizontal stripes of colors. It wound up looking like it had been carved from green and purple fluorite.
As I made it, I told him the story of how I obtained it, having caught an aggressive fire spirit that was intentionally destroying human dwellings. I have it the choice of capture or destruction, and it chose capture. I was given the choice of keeping the ruby as payment for my efforts, or taking another currency and passing the ruby along to others. My conscious did not like the others that were eager to take the ruby, so I kept it.
I handed him the bowl as I finished the story. He looked it over and nodded. “Now, this ruby. I wish to see it.”
I reached in my satchel with intention of plucking it off the shelves and singed my hand instead. Looking into the satchel, I could see the shelf and the ruby. Surrounding the ruby were six small candles along with a few other things intentionally placed. One of which was a note, which I retrieved first.
“Your hospitality skills need improvement. The fire spirit would spend too much energy keeping warm in this environment, so I placed candles to keep it in comfort. We’ll go over the other items later. —Snake”
I made a note of his words, and using the satchel as a portal, extinguished the small candles. I pulled out the lab-grown gem and held it up to the merchant.
The gem is as long as a golf-ball, as half as wide as it is long, and as thick as my finger. Completely faceted with an oval cut, the flat sides allow one to see the gem is clear and flawless. Unless you have eyes to see, and then the fire spirit shows as a strange dance of light within the gem. Where my fingers held the gem was strangely brilliant, as if the gem itself was scorching my flesh.
It would have, except I have a higher heat tolerance than most.
“Ah. You have a feisty one there. How would you release it?”
“Depends on why I’m releasing it. It holds ill towards any man-made dwelling, and wants to see anything constructed by human hands burn. If I was an arsonist, I would use a long-distance device to shatter the gem, and start running. To be honest, I don’t think I should be the one to release it. I stink of humanity and I’m the one that captured it.”
He held out the bowl. I obliged and placed the ruby in the bowl. To my surprise, it was a perfect fit. He smiled knowingly. “Tell you what, friend. Make me a lid to match and fit this bowl, and I will accept the set as payment for taking on the burden of the ruby and its occupant.”
As I teased him to taking advantage of me again, I did just that. Visually, it was a pleasing combination. The cool milky green and purple bands of the bowl and lid were a contrast to the bright and vivid red of the gem. My task quickly completed, I fit the snug lid against the bowl and found it sealed the ruby inside perfectly.
He looked at the combination and requested a change in the lid. “Make it peak up, like a topping of whipped cream, and make a hole at the top of the peak, as if one were to place a wick within it.” It didn’t take much to modify the lid, and I did as he asked.
When I handed him the completed set, he whispered to the bowl and a finger-sized flame took station on the lid’s peak. “Excellent.” Oh the satisfaction in his smile! “You are correct about refraining to release the fire spirit just yet. It does desire to burn, however it is only choosing human targets because humans are least likely to defend themselves. I’m sure I can find a better place for the spirit to indulge its pyromania and to mutual benefit of those around it.” He blew out the flame and removed one of his many sashes. Quickly tying the set together, he tucked it into his bag of goods.
“My! Every time I see you, you have something exciting for me!”
“Merchant, you’ve only seen me twice. Including today.”
“And what excitement you have brought me this day! It is a good day.”
“Tell me, Merchant. Do I still have a bounty on my head in the lands of the djinn?”
“Ah. No.” He sounded disappointed. “Wiser tongues have reached [the king of the djinn] and explained your role in his son’s death. You have been found not only innocent, but to be a victim in the tale as well. Possessed and used to infiltrate the realm of men? Distasteful. Dishonorable.”
“Is there then a bounty on those that did end the tale once and for all?”
“No. They were tried [in absentia] before [the king] and found to have been acting properly considering the circumstances. The fallen prince had chosen the method of his destruction the moment he entered you.” The merchant made an apotropaic gesture that I did not recognize. “Those that cleansed you, whoever they may be, were found to be acting in goodwill and purity. But I don’t suggest they brag about it.”
“You sure know a lot of details about it.”
The merchant looked up with a glint in his eye. “Are you suggesting something?”
“I’m suggesting I should find you around the corner more often. Information is a valuable commodity.”
“Rumors are a commodity. Information is a luxury. I can sell rumors until the sands harden into rock. But information… ah… it is a dangerous trafficking, it is. You never know if you are being sold the truth or a lie.” He looked dead to rights at me, with glowing leonine eyes that seemed to lance deeper than all my scars. “Or if the lie that you know is being turned into the truth that you don’t believe.”
He hefted his goods. “Oh, look, friend. It is getting dark. I still have a ways before reaching the next town. I must hurry or the gates will be locked before I reach them. I look forward to our next meeting, friend! I am sure you shall bring excitement again.”
Before I could respond, he hurried quickly away. I thought of his strangely specific words. As I started to scale the rock face (because I could and I had no fucks to give), I was suddenly reminded to two snatches of stories I had heard.
I jumped off the rock face and flew into the void in between. I have stories to consult.