D&D 5E Al-Qadim Moving Through the Flame

[Shayuri]

And then Amina is standing beside her...emerging from the shadow of a stack of empty crates haphazardly stacked a little ways off from the lit fires near the spot Akilah and Nimar met, and crossing the distance in a few steps. It's a dubious hiding place...not because the shadow is too thin or small, but because it's isolated. There was no way to get to it without being seen. Yet she had.

"Shall we return to the others?" she asks subserviently.

 

[Thateous]

"They should be heading back now. Let's greet them when they arrive." she says with a smile and outstretched hand.

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[Shayuri]

"As you say, honored one."

"I am curious...is it your intent to simply lead them to the tomb and leave the rest to them? The dangers and rewards? Or is it your intent for us to go inside as well?"

 

[Thateous]

"Unless the Brotherhood have taken up residence in the tomb I have no desire to enter." with that she takes Amina's hand and mutters something under her breath. The two are then instantly teleported into Akilah's study.

OOC: Word of Recall used

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[Shayuri]

Attuned the environment as she was, the sudden shift gave Amina a lurch. She quickly turned around, taking in the new surroundings. Only once she knew where the walls, ceilings, floors and doors were did she let her breath out.

Long-range teleportation was a bother. And, if she was honest, disconcerting. How could one ever feel safe just appearing in the middle of a spot with no idea what or who was near?

"What will you tell the Sheikh?" she asked, quickly resuming the pose of a dutiful handmaid.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Salahuddin pondered the questions asked by Kaniel. The question hit close to thoughts Salahuddin had asked himself in the past. He was mortal but has pledged allegiance to the Djinni court. The Mamluk did not fully realize the nature of Salahuddin's bond with the Great Caliph. The allegiance he has sworn to his patron is bound to his soul and he cannot throw it off just because he swore an oath to the Sheikh. Just as his oath to the Sheikh was not negated due to his prior pact. The Djinni and mortal goals align and each is strengthened by the other.

Salahuddin chooses his words carefully.

"A Sha'ir by their nature is caught between both the mortal world and the planer realms of the Genie. The pact I have forged with the Great Caliph, may he rule the winds for eternity, is bound to my soul. I have served the Great Caliph for most of my mortal life, and was marked by the Djinn since birth, or so I have been told. The oath I swore to the Sheikh is incapable of changing this." Salahuddin looks carefully at the Mamluk. "I took the oath and server the Grand Caliph. I plan to serve him faithfully and with honor. But I never renounced my oaths to the Great Caliph of the Djinn. Each oath strengthens the other. I now serve a mortal Caliph and an immortal Caliph. It is my nature to be between the mortal and immortal worlds and now these two oaths cement that position more than ever."

Salahuddin listens to Easifa report on Akilah's progress. It would seem that the woman's position as Vizier was warranted.

Good once she is safely away return to me.

The Sha'ir turns his attention back to Kaniel. He shakes his head at the question about memory loss.

"This power is beyond that of a Djinnling. Some wizards know such spells but it would be obvious if they where cast on the Vizier."

 

[Foxbytes]

~ Najiyah flinched from Kaniel's gruff tone, staring unhappily at the toes of her slippers. The constant reminder that she was not behaving to the standards of a Vizier, and further, was not quite normal, was beginning to gnaw away at her confidence in her place in the world.

"...I've always had a knack for picking up on the arcana, and I would suppose Genies, or those marked by them, are no exception to that." She glanced towards Salahuddin briefly. "...I will confess, the sensation made me abnormally uncomfortable, but I don't feel my trust in faith in Salahuddin, and by proxy, his Djinn, is misplaced. I'm a good judge of character, Akilah and I have, at least, that in common. ...And yet...my memory has never blacked out like that before-"

Her head lifted suddenly, her hand raising to her jaw in the universal language of I just thought of something.

"No, that's not quite true. I had many long, black-out spells from when I was a child. In fact, I have almost no memory to speak of before my parents took me to this city. I was very young, and it was a long time ago, but..."

Najiyah's pace picked up as they headed towards the palace.

"I should ask the Herald, my father. He might know more about the nature of this malady."

 

[Jago]

~ Kaniel supposed these answers were a start, though he worried for Najiyah Amahhum. To have a history of ... no history? What strange events had befallen her as a child? Briefly, the Half-Orc wondered if that may have been a blessing in disguise: Would that he could forget the terrible things he saw at The Desert Mosque, perhaps he could have lived a long and simple life as Al-Badia, and not caught up in a plot of Genies and Men.

Though, it certainly did have its perks. In a rather gentle motion for the Mamluk, he moved his hand from her shoulder to brush the backs of his fingers against her cheek. To touch the face was a most solemn and intimate gesture, but Kaniel had always innately railed against such social stigmas in the name of doing what he felt. Najiyah had saved his life when he was younger: he wanted her to know that the Half-Orc would most certainly try to help her in return.

" This deserves more attention, but I agree that the streets of Tajar are not the place for it. The hour grows late as well: returning to The Palace to regroup would be best. I'd imagine Akilah and her servant would make their way there once they are done as well."

The Half-Orc gave his attention to Salahuddin, studying the man for a moment. In an odd sense, he felt a strange kinship with how he described that his oath to one group did not override his oath to another. Kaniel dipped his head to this wisdom: he understood it.

" Forgive my doubts, Sha'ir; we have many enemies, but I do not imply that you are counted amongst their number. I, too, know what it is to serve two peoples, and while I may not understand Genies as well as ..." he paused and looked back to Najiyah, " As well as both of you, I understand being between worlds, Salahuddin. It is not something I wish upon any, but as Al-Badia say, 'Truly, for some men nothing is written until They write it'. I will balance my oaths, as I am sure you will balance yours."

The hot sun had fallen behind the sands, leaving a certain chill in its wake. The High Desert had taught Kaniel to brush off such temperature changes, but even he would not turn aside a warm meal and a fire.

" Come, then, zumala’e; let us regroup and see what Akilah has learned, as well as if the Herald may know more about what has happened to Najiyah. Perhaps it even has something to do with why the Sea Mage Siblings assumed you were a member of the Brotherhood, na'am?" ~

 

[Quickleaf]

Back at the Sheikh's Palace

By the time Najiyah, Kaniel, and Salahuddin make their way through Tajar's night markets to the Sheikh's palace, their discussion of straddling two worlds still fresh in their minds, Akilah and her "handmaiden" are descending the stairs down from the upper living and study areas. Most of the palace, except for the ever-watchful guards of House Bakr, have gone to bed.

You meet in the Long Hall that connects the gardens and the throne room; off of this hall are numerous alcoves for taking coffee or relaxing in contemplation overlooking the gardens. Nightingales coo and crickets chirp from the garden grounds, in stark contrast to the bold sounds and scents of the markets. From the throne room drifts the soft evening music of Dulcet Riqqiyah's oud playing for the Sheikh.

 

[Thateous]

"There is only one thing to tell the Sheikh. The truth." she said as they made their way to meet everyone. She smiles as their paths cross.

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