You're travelling the packed dirt road to Ecba. [[Your horse]] is (in your opinion) walking lazily.
The rolling green hills and the distant mountains are enough to make anyone relaxed though.
You give your horse a solid tap; it's largely ignored.
Then, you [[see something->Lamp on road]] on the side of the road.
(set: $jinntext to (text-colour: orange))
(set: $trust to 0)
(set: $horse to 0)
(set: $blessing to 0)
(set: $imprisoned to 0)
She was a gift from your aunt's family. You've come to consider her more of an insult. They never seemed to care for your father or, by association, you.
[[But, this is what you have.->Start]]
There are fragments of pottery around the base of a cliff. As if someone dropped several jars from [the top]<look|.(click: ?look)[ There's nothing there now. Just dust blowing in the strong wind.] The pieces you can see are quite lovely. Perhaps this is worth [[investigating]].
Amongst the tan shards, there is a ring. The design looks like twisted rope, and it's a curious red colour.
You smile at your fortune. You //could// sell this too, but it would make you look less like a desparate tinker if you wore it. You'll can decide once you reach Ecba.
[[Pick up the ring.->BeastRing]]
You slip it on your middle finger. It fits well, and it looks very fine on your hand.
//Did you mean to put it on?//
Night comes, and you make camp in the shelter of the high cliffs. Just before you lie down to sleep, you hear a thunderous noise. You look up and see the sky blotted out by an impossibly large hawk. Your horse shrieks and bolts, and you are left staring into its great yellow eye.
[[Run!]]
[[Call out for help!]]
You dash away, weaving in between tall rocks in the hopes of keeping it at bay. The bird smashes the stones to pieces behind you.
Something clips your shoulder and you're sent sprawling into bushes.
You cry out as the monstrous bird swoops in.
Suddenly the ring grows warm, almost burning your finger.
You see your hands, your clothes, your whole body shimmering with a hot, smokeless fire.
The bird twists at the last moment, its body smashing into the rocks around you. It shrieks again and pushes off, flying into the night.
$jinntext["Good evening, traveller."]
[[Take off the ring.]]
[[Jinni_Intro<-"What are you?"]]
Your voice is answered only by the distant snort of your horse.
The bird swoops in and you throw your arms in front of you in desperation.
Then the ring grows warm, almost burning your finger. You see your hands, your clothes, your whole body shimmering with a hot, smokeless fire.
The bird twists at the last moment, its great body smashing into the rocks around you. It shrieks again and pushes off, flying into the night.
$jinntext["Good evening, traveller."]
[[Take off the ring.]]
[[Jinni_Intro<-"What are you?"]]
You try to remove it, but the ring singes your fingers. Though, curiously, not the finger it's on.
You know what this is: a jinni, bound to the ring.
$jinntext["Don't toss me aside. I have power unimaginable and you'd simply get rid of me? Imagine how we could help each other."]
[[Take off the ring, no matter what.->FinallyRemove]]
[["I don't trust you, jinni."->Deal_Refused]]
[["What could you offer?"->Consider_Deal]]
You pull at the ring with your other hand but the scorching heat is unbearable. Your hand is blistered and red by the time you're through.
$jinntext["Wouldn't it be easier if we came to some kind of agreement?"]
You know better than to make deals with the jinn.
You find a heavy knife from your supplies. It's the one you sharpen to show customers how keen you could get their blades.
Your scream echoes off the cliffs around your camp and the pain makes you faint. For the next few hours, you flicker between consciousness and a pain-wracked stupor.
In the morning, you are sweaty and exhausted, but the bleeding has stopped. The ring is dull and dirt-caked on your lost finger.
Your horse has returned and is munching on scrub brush.
You tenderly repack your things. With a missing finger, you'll look like a thief instead of a merchant, but that only changes who will buy from you.
There are worse fates.
(click:"worse fates")[(reload:)]
The flame around you fades, and it's only you in your rocky camp.
The voice comes again, like a rhythm played on your bones. $jinntext["I think you know //what// I am."]
You've heard stories of sorcerers controlling jinn by binding them to objects. It rarely ends well for the sorcerers...
"You're a jinni," you say as you stare down at the scorch marks surrounding your feet.
$jinntext["Yes. I was used by a vile woman for far too long. Allow me to bring justice to her. In return, I will lend you my aid. Surely that will improve whatever life has led you to this road, alone."]
You feel dark anger behind its words. Did it mean to let you feel that?
[["I accept your deal, jinni."->Deal_Accepted]]
[[A deal with a jinni? You're not foolish. "I don't trust you."->Deal_Refused]]
$jinntext["Wise mortal. Trust me when I say the woman who enslaved me will be no loss to your kind, and you will be richly rewarded."]
You touch the ring nervously several times as you pack up your meager camp.
[[Move on.->Move_On]]
(set: $trust to it + 2)
Heat flares up in your hand, but it isn't painful.
$jinntext["Very well. A savvy merchant would not trade for goods unseen and unproven, so I will have to demonstrate my helpfulness.
Continue on your journey, I'll see if I can save your life. Again.]
Remove the ring now.
[[Pack up your camp and move on.->Move_On]]
(click-replace: "Remove the ring now.")[(colour: orange)["Now, now. We are still negotiating."]]
(set: $trust to it -1)
$jinntext["I was used by a vile woman for far too long. Allow me to bring justice to her. In return, I will lend you my aid. Surely that will improve this life which has led you to this road, alone."]
You feel dark anger behind its words. Did it mean to let you feel that?
[["I accept your deal, jinni."->Deal_Accepted]]
[[A deal with a jinni? You're not foolish. "I don't trust you."->Deal_Refused]]
[["Who was this person?->Artakama_Intro]]
(set: $trust to it -1)
It's still hours until dawn, but you wouldn't have been able to sleep. Thankfully, neither you nor your horse seem very tired.
As the heat peaks at midday, you come to the city of Ecba.
$jinntext["Yes, she's still here. I'm shocked your kind can't sense the stain she leaves on the world."]
[[Enter the gates.->Ecba_Entrance]]
{(unless: (history:) contains "Ecba_Entrance")[Ecba is busier than when you were here last. Before you even reach the proper market, you find yourself surrounded by the calls of merchants, tinkers, and [[charm-sellers]].]`
`}
You are walking through the streets of Ecba. What is on your mind?
(unless: (history:) contains "Prove_power")[(link-goto: "How can the jinni help?", "Prove_power")]
[[Finding the jinni's old master.->Find the witch]]
(unless: (history:) contains "Praying")[(link-goto: "Praying at a temple. I'm grateful for surviving that journey.", "Praying")]
You look to your tired horse and think about the jinni's promise.
"I'd like to know //how// you can help me be successful."
$jinntext["Of course. Your wish is my command."]
The words from the old tales make your heart skip a beat. You decide to play it safe and not involve yourself directly in the request.
"The horse needs to rest, and I don't want to pay for a hostler."
You sense surprise from the jinni. Was he planning to pounce on some badly worded desire?
$jinntext["I suppose I am lucky to have been found by a mortal of such low ambitions.
"Bring your [[persecuted]] animal to the stables and we will give it some deserved respite."]
[[Head to the finest stables in the city.->Stables]]
(set: $trust to it + 1)
{(if: $horse < 1)[You left your horse with a caravan boy who promised not to let her out of his sight. The horse was unconcerned about leaving you.`
`]}
{
(if: $trust <= 0)[$jinntext["Good. The first step to being free of each other."`
`]]}
You follow the directions that the jinni whispers into your head and arrive in front of a large, walled villa.
There are servants and guards, but you've gone unnoticed so far.
$jinntext["Don't worry. I know all the places they don't look. Do as I say and we'll be inside quickly."]
[["What was it like being held here?"->Flashback]]
[[Sneak into the villa.]]
You find a temple of wood and pale stone not far from the city's entrance. Inside, the noise and heat slip away, held at bay by the walls.
You lay down your mat and pray to God using the names your mother and grandmother taught you. You pray that the spirit who rides in the ring doesn't curse your soul, though you're a little embarrassed to bring it up.
$jinntext["Your god cared little enough for you when you faced the roc. Do not look to it for compassion now."]
The [[priest]] shuffles around the edge of the temple, waiting to collect the offerings from the altar.
The sun is getting lower, and there is [[more for you to do.->Ecba_Entrance]]
The priest smiles expectantly. He is an old man, with thin bones and skin like faded leather.
"Welcome to my temple. What questions do you have that prayer has not answered?"
[["No questions. I just wanted to compliment you on this lovely place."->Priest Chat]]
[["Do you know how to get rid of a jinni?"->Priest Ask]]
You mention how good it looks in a city of hastily-made buildings. He thanks you warmly.
$jinntext[Are you quite done yet?]
You smile at the priest and make your way back into [[the noise and heat.->Ecba_Entrance]]
"Do you know how to get rid of a jinni?"
The question obviously stuns the man. You start to worry that you should have said nothing. He could have you chased out of town for being crazy or possessed.
"Are you asking for yourself?"
You nod, wary of what he will do, but unable to lie.
"I may not be able to help much, but I will do what I can."
{
(if: $trust <= 0)[$jinntext["This is getting pathetic. If you care for this old man, you will stop."]]
(else:)[$jinntext["This isn't what we agreed on, nor what you really want. But because you've been accomodating, I will allow you to continue. Just know your simpering religion does you no favours."]]
}
{(if: $trust <= 0)[(link-goto: "You allow the priest to bless you", "Blessing")]
(if: $trust > 0)[(link-goto: "You allow the priest to bless you", "Real Blessing")]}
[[You hold up your hand to stop the priest.->Priest Stopped]]
The priest's prayer washes over you like cool mist. But the ring becomes hot again.
$jinntext["You will learn to listen my warnings."]
The priest lets out a shocked, shaky cry. The cool feeling is burned away as the smokeless fire envelopes your body. The priest's hands are seared black, and he's thrown against the wall by an invisible force.
Everyone turns towards you and screams. Their faces are lit by the intense fires, the stark shadows accentuating their horrified looks.
You sprint out into the streets, and the fire winks out, leaving only a tingling heat on your skin.
$jinntext["Now, there is work to do. Find my old master, or I'll let you be killed and buried like the devil they think you are. You have tried my patience and will face the consequences."]
[[Do as the jinni demands and look for his old master.->Find the witch]]
[[Run out of the city. It's the only way you or anyone else will be safe.->Flee the city]]
He's confused, and he stumbles on the prayer he was starting. You quickly say, "I'm sorry." and rush out of the temple. You hear him call after you, but his voice is quickly swallowed up by [[the crowd.->Ecba_Entrance]]
$jinntext["This is for the best. I promise."]
(Set: $trust to it + 1)
The priest's prayer washes over you like cool mist. The ring warms, and you can tell this makes the jinni uncomfortable. It's not a victory, but it feels something like one.
All too soon, the coolness fades. "It is finished. May you find some peace." The priest looks resigned, but he puts on a smile for you.
$jinntext["Ugh. Peace. Is that really what you're here for?"]
You thank him, ignoring the grumbling of the jinni, and return the heat and noise of the [[city.->Ecba_Entrance]]
(set: $blessed to 1)
(set: $trust to it - 2)
The jinni screams in your head, and the fires flare up around your body. Maybe you're screaming now too.
Passers-by dive to get out of your way as you tear out of the city.
You hide for days, making sure no one is put at risk by finding you.
You wander the scrub lands outside of Ecba, determined to survive long enough to beat the jinni.
But any water you try to drink boils away. The food you try to eat turns to ash. It is a painful descent into thirst and hallucination.
Through it all, the voice taunts you, telling you it could have been different.
(click:"different")[(reload:)]
You focus your will through the ring. You remember every time you shared a connection, the feeling of that two-way street between your souls.
(set: $alertText to (colour: orange) + (text-style: "bold"))$alertText[No! I will never allow myself to be taken!]
(if: $blessed >= 1)["I'm only taking what you offered, you deceitful spirit!"
Despite the struggle inside you, you feel calmness enveloping you. You're reminded of the temple.
The heat that was beginning to take over you body abates. The jinni's voice is there, but quieted.
Three hundred nights is hardly penance for this spirit, but you will put it to [[good use->Success with Magic]].]
(else:)[You try to hold on, but the fires are already wrapped around you. The awning above you is burning. People are screaming as sparks jump from your body onto other buildings.
$jinntext[Throw the ring away and release me now, or the city will burn!]
With no choice, you pull the ring off, releasing the jinni from his bonds.
The fires on the buildings sputter, but the ones near you only grow. For the first time, you feel the blistering heat of them on your skin.
The jinni leaves nothing but your ashes behind. At least it will never come near human lands again.(click:"again")[(reload:)]
]
(set: $trust to it +2)
You plunge the knife into the woman's body and blood seeps out of her.
You shakily stand but are quickly doubled over with nausea.
$jinntext[Such feeling for the death of a terrifying monster.]
You run out of her compound and into the night.
In the morning, you're awoken by the sound of carts on the paving stones.
Sellers are getting ready for the market, just as you should be.
[["Is this the part where I become rich?"->Discuss with jinni]] you ask out loud, drawing looks from the passers-by.
The jinni screams in your mind; you scream at Artakama as you charge her. She spits a curse and then strange magics erupt around the room.
You give your body over to the jinni. The forces clashing in this vile room are nothing you want to deal with.
You are sheathed in fire, there is a crescendo of shrieking, then suddenly the flames around you snuff out.
The room is dark, the wild spirit inside you is tired, and [[Artakama lays on the floor->Defeated Sorceress]], faintly breathing.
(set: $trust to it -2)
Your arms fall to your sides.
"See," she says, "you're not a killer. Come. This will be over soon."
She holds out her hand, leading you to the brazier.
{(if: $trust >= 1)[The jinni rattles with fear more naked and true than anything you've felt before. $jinntext[Please! She'll destroy you and enslave me again. [[Strike her now!->Fight with sorceress]]]]}
[[Take her hand.->Stabbed]]
You start small. Nicer clothes, better sales at the market... you contemplate getting a new horse but it your mare deserves some reward.
Gradually, with the jinni's powers, you achieve greater and greater success.
By the turn of the next year, you run caravans to lands you have never heard of, your village has become rich and vibrant, and you have enough money that, jinni or no, your wishes will never be out of your grasp.
(if: $imprisoned >= 1)[As soon as the jinni was freed, he went to the prison where they held Artakama. The magic that kept her ageless had faded; she was weak and old. The jinni took his revenge all the same, but you wonder if it was really the satisfaction he'd been craving.]
You make sure to tell the children of your village that they should //never// pick up a ring. It could have gone much differently.
(click:"much differently")[(reload:)]
$jinntext["Finally. This can all end now."
"Kill her. Then, my powers will be yours for three hundred nights.
"Just do it quickly, before she summons any more strength."]
[[Pick up Artakama's knife and finish this.->Sorceress Killed]]
[[You are no killer. Keep her alive, but imprisioned.->Sorceress Imprisoned]]
(set: $trust to it + 1)
$jinntext[It was the most terrible period of my life, and I have lived since the time of your grandmother's grandmother.
{
(if: $trust <= 1)[Our current arrangement chafes at both of us, but it is paradise compared to having your will robbed from you.]
(else:)[Imagine if you had no power to choose. If, like her, I could simply reach inside your mind and force you to do anything, even that which you abhor.]}
You might think being forced to kill was the worst, but that became a bearable, if grim, task.
No, Artakama had me ruin harvests and spoil water, so those who lived off the land would die slowly. I tricked people into becoming her allies and lovers. I dug into the minds of depraved men so that she could blackmail them.
She saw my power as her own and stopped regarding me as a being. I was merely the extension of her grasp. [[Nothing more]].
]
[[Your own grim task awaits.->Sneak into the villa.]]
$jinntext["I'm sure a cunning trader such as you knows this, but the charms sold here are useless. They would not protect you from camel spit, let alone me."]
[[Ignore the stalls of iron beads and talismans->Ecba_Entrance]]
$jinntext["Like me, she is forced to serve a capricious master out of necessity. Also, she is more loyal than you give her credit."]
[[Let's get to those stables->Stables]]
You're standing in front of stables that are nicer than any building in your village.
The hostler comes out and gives you and your horse an incredulous stare. But, he smiles as he greets you.
"Welcome, young traveller. I look forward to hearing why //you've// come to my stables."
$jinntext["Hm. I do love a mortal who is forthright with their desires."]
The ring becomes very warm in your hand, and all of a sudden you feel like you're floating above the hostler and your own body.
You feel the tiredness of the middle-aged man's body at the end of a long day, his hunger for his wife's cooking, and his appreciation for dealing with another commoner and not a demanding noble.
$jinntext["You must relax and let me speak with your mouth. This man will take care of your horse for little more than a story."]
[["And let you possess me further? I don't think so."->Stop_Stables]]
[[You sigh and relax. The warmth from the ring spreads up your neck.->Tell_Story]]
(set: $trust to it - 1)
$jinntext["What? You demand proof and then reject my help? You are a foolish churl. When we face my former master, my instructions will save your life.
"Hopefully you'll be more co-operative then."]
[[Apologize for wasting the hostler's time.->Ecba_Entrance]]
(Set: $trust to it + 1)
The jinni's words spill out of your mouth. He tells the story of some other journey.
You are carried away by his description of the beauty of a desert oasis. You feel the cool water around you and your lover, and you are honoured to have this horse, the only memento of your brief but passionate tryst.
As the tale finishes, both you and the hostler are looking at the horse fondly.
Soon, the mare is led into the stables with the man wistfully patting her side.
$jinntext["There is your demonstration, mortal. Simply by understanding their wants, we can control them.
"Now are you ready?"]
The [[streets->Ecba_Entrance]] are still busy.
(Set: $horse to 1)
(set: $imprisoned to 1)
(set: $trust to it -2)
You bind the woman's arms, then push her at knifepoint into the street. The jinni's spiteful curses ring in your head, but you maintain composure long enough to get Artakama in front of a watchmen.
One look at the strange magics still making ripples around her convinces him of her corruption. You're thankful you don't end up thrown into a cell beside her with how you look.
$jinntext[Your pathetic morality will cause you ruin. I suppose a life trapped in a cell is fitting puinishment for her, but I would see her suffer true pain for what she did.]
You are outside the watch captain's post late at night. Once the jinni calms down, you decide it's time to [[ask about what he promised->Discuss with jinni]].
You keep to shadows and end up in a large stone chamber that contains a great brazier, hot with red coals. Around it are several items: a knife, a dark-stained bowl, dice made from bones, pages of vellum.
$jinntext["Do not lose your nerve. We are close now. You only need to get me near her."]
"Is he speaking to you now?"
The voice is not from the elderly crone you imagined, but a young woman who has stepped out from an unseen entrance to one side.
You turn to get a better look, but there are ripples in the air around her that hurt your eyes.
"He says you enslaved him and did awful things with his power."
Her hand falls to a long dagger at her side. "And what do you think? If you were fully possessed you'd have been at my throat already."
She isn't wrong. The jinni's wrath is pulpable inside you.
"Do not be his slave now. I am a flesh and blood woman and you would kill me at the word of a mad spirit? Stop, and I can rid you of him."
[[The jinni is not mad. She must be stopped.->Fight with sorceress]]
[[Maybe you have gone too far...->Hold back at fight]]
Underneath the jinni's ever-present bruised ego, you feel something else. These words hide a real wound of some kind...
[[There isn't time to contemplate. You must go.->Sneak into the villa.]]
$jinntext["Her name was Artakama, though you will not know her. She works through the people she controls. But her cruel desires and magic have affected you, I am sure. Few in this region have escaped the effects of her corruption."]
[["This sounds worthwhile."->Deal_Accepted]]
[["So you say, jinni. I don't trust any of it."->Deal_Refused]]
$jinntext["Farewell, human. My time with you has made one thing clear: I should never have come near your lands. Enjoy a more... simple life."]
The ring comes off your finger, and then looks suddenly dull and cheap.
You go find your horse, gather your bags, and head to the market to find a space before it gets too crowded.
The plain copper ring sells quickly, though not for very much. You take that as a good sign.
When the market closes in the afternoon, you are exhausted but thankful. You rarely dream when you're this tired, and dreams are the last thing you want. (if: $imprisoned >= 1)[You try not to imagine the eerie face of Artakama coming for you. Without the jinni, what can protect you from her?]
Before you find a place to sleep, your return to the stables to check on your horse.
You hear from the hostler that she is being a pain, and you assure him everything is as it should be.(click:"should be")[(reload:)]
Artakama's face looks stranger in the light of the glowing coals in the brazier. Her features are no longer young or old. They are alien and cruel.
In an instant, her hand has gone to her knife and thrust it between your ribs.
"There you go. Finally free."
Her cackles sound distant as you fade away...
(click:"Her cackles sound distant as you fade away...")[(reload:)]
(if: $trust <= 1)[$jinntext["Now you ask for my power? Such heights of insolence. You may have defeated Artakama, but I will not bow to a fool like you. I will save you the trouble of living an interesting life by leaving. Give my regards to your horse."]
[[You cannot let him go now. Bend him to your will using the ring's connection.->Attempt to bind the jinni]]
[[Be rid of the jinni before your life gets any worse.->Release Jinni]]]
(else:)[$jinntext["You're no longer the poor trader who found me, are you? I admit, I wasn't going to help you. But, now I am curious to know what you will do. That is, if you would deign to work with one of the jinn."]
[[Remove the ring and release the jinni.->Release Jinni]]. You may be worse off than when you started, but he would only bring you more misfortune.
One could do a great deal in [[three hundred nights.->Success with Magic]]]