Kadin and the Jinni

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As the collective eyes of all near by sailors fell on the scene at hand, Kadin was relived to see that none had noticed his deliberate assault on the Bosun. However, he was not relieved to see that the fire in the Jinni's eyes had not been extinguished.

Kadin held his breath as she knelt to the ground. For a moment he thought that she was going to finish him off, only to see that she was going along with his plan. He was amazed that she, a magical desert being, had picked up on it so well.

Kadin followed suit, dropping his boards to the deck and kneeling. There was a lot more blood now pooling up around the unconscious Bosun, and for a moment Kadin feared he might have killed the man. His chest rose in labored puffs as his limp body was carried away to the doc.

"Um, well sir you see.." Kadin stuttered in response to the Quartermaster. One look into his eyes told Kadin that he was no fool, and there was going to be trouble. The quartermaster was not as easily persuaded by the story. A blow directly to the head like that? he thought. And by none other than the two who had been hiding beneath deck on the first night of departure? A coincidence that he Quartermaster could not accept.

"You two. working together, are you?" He was speaking loud enough for the rest of those around to hear."Ol Macalaster (Gerald McAlester: Bosun) being a little too rough on you, huh? Thought you'd take him out?" The kind demeanor of the Quartermaster was gone. He may be a friend to the crew, eating and bunking with them, but above all else he lived for the better of the ship.

"No sir!" Protested Kadin, but was cut off before he could speak.

"Whether or not, there will be hell to pay when the Bosun wakes up, and until then." The Quartermaster measured Kadin, and then the Jinni, as if judging the likelihood that they were criminals "To the stockade with both of you! We'll let the captain decide!"
 
It was just as well that Maahealani was watching Kadin when the sailors took to the Quartermaster's decree. The first sailor to touch the jinni nearly was fried right then and there, but for the fact that Kadin didn't struggle when the same happened to him. Even with the barely contained fury, the jinni would have took exception for any of these men to lay a hand on her.

This is not to say she made it easy on the sailor, he found he kept losing his grip as they were taken to the bowels of the ship. The stockade, or holding area, was not very large at all. Pushed in, there was a clank as the door was shut on them. If the jinni had thought the sailors had smelled she was unprepared for the riot of odors from the enclosed space.

Disgusted, she looked around, not wanting to sit anywhere on the floor. "This is too much," she muttered and dropped down onto the ground, a pillow breaking her fall and a strong gust blowing the stench out past the bars. She then looked at Kadin. It was evident she was unhappy, but unlike the look she gave the bosun, there wasn't a inhuman rage. "This is the worst plan ever. I hope you figure out what you want to do next. I'm taking a nap."

She then curled up on her overly large pillow and closed her eyes. Before she could completely relax though she opened one eye and pointed at the floor beside Kadin. Another plush pillow appeared. She didn't say anything, just curled backed up and soon was asleep. The jinni needed the nap, but there were other important things to do and she intended to not let any more interruptions get in the way.



"Are you ready to unlock the mysteries?" An impish smile was upon the jinni's lips as she held her hand out to Kadin where he laid. It had been only a moment since he had closed his eyes. Once he took took her hand and stood she led him away from the darkness and into the desert garden, a warm breeze meeting them. Where they had been before they were in her garden, unremarked upon.

"No, we are not really back," she answered the question he didn't ask. "We need someplace safe to practice though, and since it seems to invade my sleep, anything we do here should translate into the waking world." Carefully she pulled the chain around his neck so that the charm stone came out from under his shirt. She hesitated for a moment then looked up in Kadin's eyes. "I hope you're ready."
 
The smell below deck was enough to make Kadin, who was used to human smells, gag. The buffet of odor was something like curdled milk, wrapped in burned hair, served in a rotted fish. Bon Appetit!

Kadin, who was nearly thrown on his face behind the Jinni, managed to catch his balance and give the jailer a nasty look before the bars were slammed shut behind them. By the look of the well crafted cell it was obvious that the Desert maiden had it's fair share of 'undesirable' desert folk aboard her decks. After all, three months of sailing into the freezing north is enough to turn even the most stone jawed sailor into a raving mess.

"Too much!?" Kadin shouted in protest, raising his eye brows and throwing out his hands in a 'who me' guesture' "And I suppose it was ME who got us in this mess in the first place? You have a unpredictable temper for a desert girl who lives in an oasis." Kadin turned to face the out side of the shell, his anger at the Jinni's words was immediately replaced by hopelessness. He was unable to defend them, and therefore defeated. "I am sick of this damn Charmstone, I have half a mind to just chuck it off the side of the ship." He trued, only to see the Jinni was fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile at her ability to fall asleep at the blink of an eye. After a moment or two she procured another pillow, not asleep after all.

Kadin hunkered down, back against the wall, eyes closed. Kadin was usually not even on speaking terms with the sandman, but tonight he drifted off almost as soon as his eyes closed.

"Are you ready to unlock the mysteries?"

Darkness, absolute and whole, the only thing Kadin could see was the Jinni. It felt like a dream, had to be, but the details were crystal clear. He took her hand and was soon greeted by a familiar thing. The desert, his home. It took only a moment for Kadin to realize that the Jinni's magic was much more powerful than he first assumed. She wasn't just a desert magician selling her tricks for coins at a traveling bazaar, no, she was the real deal; A djinn of the sand and stone.

Kadin didn't hesitate when he heard her voice. Their plight aboard the desert maiden, forgotten, and his feelings of hopelessness were gone.

"I am ready."
 
They sat next to the trickling stream facing each other, partly shaded from the harsh desert sun by the wide palms. "I find it unlikely that the story you were told is completely true. I find it unlikely your father found the charmstone." Her words were not accusing. It was more like she was pondering a problem. "It seems almost, not completely, but almost like it was made for you." She paused to let that idea set in with him. "If I were to guess I would say it was made for your bloodline, or specifically for an ancestor. There are still many puzzles about it though." Like why it led him to her garden, and why she was now claimed by it. She was starting to come to some ideas, but that just left even more questions.

"Understanding it's past may eventually lead to you having better mastery, but for now let us work on the basics. I want you to try to feel the pulse of the stone. It will to be a heart beat, but it's there all the same. It might be easier to close your eyes,mor look directly at it." Maahealani had not considered that there would be two pulses there. There was the pulse of the stone and there was her own life energy that it claimed. It was an oversight on her part, partly born of blindness of the power it truly had over her.

Time moved much faster on the ship, and the sailors were now in the dead of night, not knowing what horror awaited them in the sea.
 
Everything had blurred edges, and for lack of a better term was fuzzy. However Fuzzy didn't really do this dream like state justice as everything, including Kadin's perception, was well defined and absolute. He was alert, and the Jinni, at least to Kadin, looked as if she were irradiating heat,even more so than usual. He had a sudden urge to kneel before her and apologize for nearly kissing her at the ball. He, a mere mortal, trying to seduce a magical being. It was a fleeting feeling of guilt, one that Kadin put aside for the time being.

They were here for a reason: The Charm Stone.

Kadin listened to the Jinni. He had never felt any desire for the Charmstone, but he had made the connection that his father had. For whatever reason it was the one thing Kadin's father cared enough about to lead Kadin to before his death. If ther was a connection in the blood line was it possible it skipped Generations? Kadin thought on it a second before grasping the stone with his left hand, slowly rubbing his pointer finger over the smooth opaque center wrought in what appeared to be gold and steel. He tried to focus on his heart beat, but had little time before an image played at the corners of his mind.

A darkness seemed to set in the air as Kadin felt his pulse pounding in his wrists and neck, it seemed to sync up with the charm stone, which felt hot in his hand. A breeze picked up in the desert and soon became a heavy wind.

"This isn't right.." Kadin managed to say as the darkness enveloped around them.

He saw two men, one was his grandfather, a much younger version than Kadin remembered. He was naked and stradding a stone pillar in what Kadin understood to be a pyramid structure that ran deep beneath the earth. Blood ran from his ears and eyes as the other man stood before him. Kadin couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed by this point as the robed man spoke in a foreign tongue, a language Kadin did not know, but could translate perfectly.

"Blood of the chosen be split, and from it a fire will burn. Sacrificed for the gods beneath the earth, the fire eaters of the desert will rise again!" The voice reverberated throughout the structure as Kadin snapped back to the desert dream.

He looked to the Jinni, wide eyed, not knowing if she too saw what he had seen, feeling that he needed explanation. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly felt a searing pain in his hand that gripped the Charmstone. He pulled his hand away and saw that a deep burn had marred his flesh.
 
The vision inside the dream frightened Maahealani. It frightened her more then anything she had witnessed before, but the reason for it eluded her. Was it how it came upon her, no them, so suddenly or was it what they saw. It might have been both, but the fear was brought about by how helpless she felt as a watcher. The robed man represented what every djinn feared from humans though, a wizard of malicious intent. He wanted power, that much was certain, and he was trying to use one of his own kind to somehow extract it from one of hers. Watching the vision the desert maiden shivered.

Once more in her dream garden, the jinni looked at Kadin as he was about to speak. Instead of saying what was on his mind he quickly moved his hand from the Charmstone and looked down at his palm. Leaning in, she saw what was distressing him. It burned him. What the vision meant she wasn't sure, but she knew the stones reaction was part of it.

"Tell it to stop that," she told Kadin. "Remind it you're not ... that you're not to be used." It was partly a guess, partly intuition. "Place your hand upon it again and remind it that you are not going to be it's servant. It mustn't be allowed to continue to control you."

It dawned on her how true her words were. The only was Kadin could have ended up in her garden was if the stone had directed him there. She knew he hadn't been aware of such direction. Just like he wasn't aware what it did to her. "Don't bow down to it." This was the first test for Kadin to take control of his fortune and their lives.
 
The blistered flesh protested as Kadin did as the Jinni said. He hesitated only a second, before realizing that the Jinni knew better than he could understand, and that listening to her was the best thing he could do. His hand closed around the stone, tight, nails digging into the palm of his hand.

At this moment two things happened: The surface of the stone became white hot, sending the smell of cooking flesh into the air, and Kadin screamed, without moving his lips, that he was a slave to no one. He half expected to burst into flames, but instead, the stone became cool. It sat in his hand, heavier now, more formidable, but none the less cool to the touch. He found that a wave of calm was flowing through his body, which only a second ago was preparing to be cooked alive. Something felt off about the calm though, as if the stone was baiting him to come closer, deeper, closer. Kadin could almost hear a laughter just before letting go, not of the stone, but of his thoughts that surrounded it.

He looked to his desert accomplice.

"I think I heard it laughing..."
 
"It laughed?" While she was surprised she did not think Kadin would joke or lie of such a thing. Finally she shook her head. "There is must we will need to learn still."

Maahealani had been ready to suggest more, but she tilted her head and looked past Kadin. A frown appeared on her lips and she refocused on the man before once more. "We will continue later."

Reaching over, she put her hands atop his. "It's time to wake up."

Her feet were wet. The jinni wasn't sure why there was water on the ground, but she was glad the overstuffed pillow had kept her dry for the most part. There was a lot of noise also. Men shouting, timber breaking. Something had happened while they were asleep and it was obvious that they needed to know what it was.

Standing she walked over to the door. "Shall we go see what is going on?" There was a mischievous grin on her lips. She did not mind if the sailors were inconvenienced after all.
 
Being a non-military ocean ship, the Desert maiden was not equipped with anything other than the small arms carried by ranking members of the crew and paranoid ship hands. Most pirate ships that roamed the waters knew better than to highjack such a vessel, being wanted by wealthy business men who owned small merchant vessels was one thing, but the price to pay for marauding a ship that regularly docked at the royal city of Palma would carry a price even the most seasoned pirate captain wouldn't risk. This was all fine and good, but when The Desert maiden crossed paths and dropped anchor into the nest of a sea beast in the middle of her slumber most on deck wish they had harpoon and cannon, to say the least.

"All hands on deck!" Roared the Quartermaster, his usual stoic tone was shaken with fear as the ship took a massive hit to her port side. Splintered wood and shattered bone meshed in the night sky. Above the ship, casting a shadow from the full moon, were foggy green scales and large furious eyes.

Kadin lead the way to the top deck towards the screams of a yet unknown chaos, feeling in his gut much less brave than the Jinni looked. When they reached the final step to cabin door, the ship took a sudden hit and the wooden studs around them seemed to lift off their foundation and fly into the air. The scene before them unfolded, a massive sea creature that Kadin only knew through desert legend as a wyvern , had the top mast clutched in her massive jaws and was attempting to take the Desert maiden into a death roll.

With the horrific scene of the charm stone dream momentarily forgotten, Kadin clutched the Jinni by the hand to await a seemingly unavoidable death.
 
Maahealani was becoming more and more convinced of one thing. As she looked at the horror that was tearing at the ship. "I hate traveling by sea!"

The ocean spray might have been nice, but the lack of solid footing was no, especially when there was a beast such as this wanting to destroy everything, for reasons that were it's own. She felt Kadin take her hand and she looked over and smiled, even as his eyes were transfixed on the sceen before them. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, or if he was, but despite his full attention being on the beast he spared her a thought. He was a good man.

"We can leave here now, right? There's no reason to hide at this point, these sailors are in no position to hurt us." Even as she asked she stretched her senses. All they needed was a dry solid place to put their feet. Where ever was closest. Once they were away from all this they could figure out where they were and what their next move was. Staying here to figure all that out was reckless.

Maahealani squeezed Kadin's hand, happy that soon they would be away.
 
The ship took another furious blow as destruction rained down upon the poor sailors of the Desert maiden. Kadin nearly lost his footing and had to grab onto the Jinni for support.

"How are we going to leave with life boats?" As the word boats left Kadin's lips he saw that while most of those aboard the ship were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, a few were lowering 25ft long boats into the water. Kadin, still clutching the Jinni's hand, in a way she was like his personal life boat, ran towards those jumping ship. The beast over head seemed preoccupied with giving the ships main haul a thrashing and payed little attention to the long boats. Kadin stepped up to unfasten one of the ropes that secured the long boats when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ladies and sailors first, deck hand" The man was gruff and short with Kadin, giving him a push. Kadin, who was already off balance having not yet acquired his sea legs to maximum strength lost his balance and went topping over board, falling to the water below.
 
"Kadin!" Maahealani screamed as the man went over board, she then glared dreadfully at the man who had pushed him. "You, stay here. Do not move. You will stay there until the next sunset." It was quite simply a death sentence, unless by some miracle that portion of the boat did not sink or end up in the sea monster's belly.

Turning away from the stunned sailor she made a swift motion with her hand and the ropes on the boat Kadin had been going for turned to ash, and the boat dropped to the water, with Maahealani disappearing from the ship's deck to appearing in the long boat. Where though was Kadin?

While sailors yelled and screamed as the monster decimated the ship, the jinni dunked her head into the water. There was debris flying off the ship, splashing into the ocean water, but she ignored that. She was looking for Kadin, he had to be near by. She feared though he could be sinking deeper and if so what she might have to do. Already she was miserable, her head in the water looking this way and that for signs of the man.
 
The drop to the water was not nearly as bad as the plunge. First Kadin was falling through the air, surrounded by the screaming sailors and thrashing sea monster, then there was the splash and then nothing but airy silence. He sank fast, must have been at least a 25 foot fall. The salt from the churned sea water flooded his sinuses and pushed the contains of his lungs out through his mouth. When the bubbles cleared, Kadin could only register the fact that he couldn't move his arms. Dislocated maybe? Broken? Either way, the sea monster, the Jinni and the devoured ship seemed miles and years away now.
 
Her eyes were not distracted, once she spotted the man, there was nothing eles. Kadin was sinking, and fast, not moving at all. Diving into the dreadful water, she left behind a trail a steam, not knowing or caring there were now a few sailors that had been on the long boat when she lowered it that were looking at the spot she left in new fear.

Water was deceptive and tried to impede her progress, but she was determinded and soon reached Kadin despite the debris and the muck. Unsure what else to do but to get him out of the water she wrapped her arms around his chest and quickly launced them back to the surface. "I hate the ocean," she complained once her head broke the surface. Kadin though did not respond.

Distressed she looked at him, then looked around. There was her long boat, and someones were trying to row it away. She would have none of that. Despite the men's efforts it glided back to where Maahealani and Kadin were bobbing in the water. Once it was next to them, the jinni saw to it that the man was laying in the boat and she next to him.

Why was he not breathing? It was the ocean's fault! Putting her hand on his chest she though about the water and how it shouldn't be in his lungs, the salty water escaping from Kadin's mouth. "Please be alright. Say something," her voice was soft as though talking to someone who had just woken up, but it was tinged with sadness and fear.
 
Kadins world was black, and it was odd, but his last fading thought was of his grandfather. He was stuck In that weird place in-between sleep and wake, and god help him, he could hear his dead grandfathers voice.

"It's the men that are born evil that you have to watch for."

Like a whirl pool of rushing water Kadin awoke. he had a brief flash of embarrassment twice since I've know her she's had to rescue me. Kadin thought he had better stop falling in dangers path, or else he might have to turn in his man card.

Out of the fire and into the kettle

He heard the Jinni's voice, calling to him. He answered saying only one word.

"Maahealani…"

He slowly opened his eyes, thankful he was awake, thankful he was looking into the Jinni's eyes, and thankful that they had some how wound up alone on a long boat. The only problem now, with the Desert maiden fading into the distance going head to head with a fifty foot long sea beast, was the endless miles of churning gray.

Kadin, despite all obstacles that lie ahead, managed a weak smile.

"I would not want to be sealed in a watery prison with anyone else on earth."
 
Maahealani laughed despite herself and wrapped her arms around the man once he sat up, hugging him. "I would rather that we were not in such a predicament at all honestly." When she finally released him from her embrace, she studied his face to reassure herself that he was truly alright. She had moved a hand to his chest and laid it there, between his heart and the charm.

"We are however a long way from anywhere," she admitted to him, the smile did not disappear though. "I can smell land though. Can you smell the warm earth? The light fragrance upon these salty winds?" She watched his expression. She was too tired. Too little sleep plus delving into the depths of an unfamiliar element had done more damage then she wanted to admit, but it didn't matter Kadin was alive. Neither of them would stay alive if they did not get out of the ocean. There was not only monsters and sea swells but Marid, the giant cousins of the Ifrit who may or may not harass them. All in all she wanted to be back on land.

"You can smell it, can't you?" She asked when she saw his expression change to reconition. She then lead his hand to the charmstone, knowing too well there might be another contest of will, but suspecting that in this it would assist. After all they were not doing anything useful in the longboat without fresh water or supplies in the eternal gray of the ocean. "Now reach for the land and pull," she wispered as she gathered up the last of her strength to ensure they did indeed make it to land.

A misty steam surrounded them and the rocking of the boat soon changed as in front of them the scenary became clear, they had just run up onto a beach. Maahealani would have expressed her delight if she could, but all she had the energy for was to smile before her head drooped.
 
Kadin took in a deep breath, then sputtered. The Jinni's warm hand felt good on his skin. He felt him self melt a little at her touch, his insides relaxing.

"The only thing I smell is seaweed" He wiped a stray piece of sea creeper from his shoulder and squinted into the foggy aftermath. It was indeed true, they were in the middle of the Ocean, gray and salted. Kadin was sure of few thing at this point in his life, but one was crystal clear; he was a man of the desert, born and raised, the sea held no contort for him.

When the mist enveloped and then cleared they were staring face to face with an island. It's shore line was dotted with palms, and it's sandy banks littered with coconuts. Kadin saw the clouds part as early dawn stretched fingers of light across the earth. He was ecstatic, nearly forgetting to take the Jinni by the hand before jumping into the ankle deep water and trudging his way to solid ground. One he was ten feet from the water line he dropped to his knees and gave the earth a sandy kiss.

He turned a dirt covered face to the Jinni and spoke.

"Ok, how about no more ocean, ever. It was a bad idea and I truly regret it." Despite all the hardship his joy was evident "I guess we explore now."
 
As soon as she got out of the water, more then a bit dragged by Kadin since her body was slow to respond due to exhaustion, she let herself fall. With her back resting on the land she took a deep breath as Kadin gave his own thanks to the land. When he turned to her she gave him a smile. "If you by some chance forget how horrible an idea it is, I will remind you so we will never have to have such an experience again."

Sitting up, she let Kadin take one of her hands to help her up onto her feet. It was time to explore.

They walked away from the ocean as it lapped against the beach and walked into the grove of palms. As they journeyed they heard no birds nor anything russeling in the bush. At first Maahealani did not notice the absence, but as they went further inland, and to higher ground it nagged at her that something was missing until an eerie mist lapped at their feet. It was then the jinni paused.

"Does this place not seem odd to you?" She would have said more on the subject except she turned her head slightly. "Wait, is that a wall?" She pointed further into the bush to what looked like a red sand wall.
 
Kadin's 'Land-Ho!' tunnel vision had prevented him from noticing anything else about the island, but when the Jinni spoke he took a second look. There was defiantly something off about this place, and Kadin hadn't noticed it before, but there was a sour feeling in his stomach. He bent down and picked up one of the many coconuts that lay fallen on the beach and nearly jumped as it's surface writhed with maggots. He kicked it aside and saw that the palm trees were equally rotten, their bark stripped away in some places revealing dead, dry wood. The sand, that at first appeared to be soft and inviting now looked old and forgotten, much like the dirt in a centuries old graveyard. This place was rotten.

"Yeah, something does seem off. I've never seen trees rot in droves like this, must be termites." Kadin offered this as his mind tried to rationalize the situation.

"Wait, is that a wall?" said the Jinni

Kadin shifted his gaze. What appeared to be a red sand wall was visible just past the tree line. It didn't look man made, yet it was anything but natural in this setting.

As they made their way towards it, now within a stones throw, Kadin spoke.

"This place is dead. It may or may not be obvious, but this barrier was put here for a reason, by who -or what- I have no idea." Kadin investigated further to find a length of rope protruding from one of the twenty something foot high sections of wall. He pulled it.
 
Maahealani's eyes looked up at the wall. It was errie to say the least. It had an odd tecture to it, one which made her not wish to touch the wall. As Kadin spoke she nodded. This place seemed very uninviting indeed, but it was still better then the ocean. As Kadin pulled the rope, the jinni frowned. It was maybe not a good idea to mess with anythng involving this barrier, but now it was too late.

There was a booming sound and then much clanking as the very solid looking wall started to part before them. Fearful that something would protest and take advantage of the opening, Maahealani grabbed Kadin's arm, with the thought of somehowmwisking them away. With as exhausted as her magic was that was not very likely, but in any case nothing but a rolling mist greated them. It was a cold sensation that went steaiht to the bine and the jinni shivered.

"Should we go in?" She asked as the form of what looked to be buildings were outlined in the distance. She was curious despite herself. What was hidden in this place. Also if there was buildings, that would mean there were people!
 
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