The Jinn

Chapter I

The moon shown high above the arid desert, its rays reflecting off of each and every grain of silver sand, illuminating the landscape for miles and miles. A truly lawless land, free of Kyrosian soldiers and even the ecstatic hordes of the centaurs. None dared call this land home, with even merchants heading east and west often placing their bets on the mountains to the north to guarantee them safe passage.

And yet, the loud voice of the desert had called out to many, telling legends of great riches buried within. A few brave souls heeded the call, but, as of now, none had returned to confirm or deny such tales from an age long since passed.

A cool night, the appropriate time to penetrate deep into the rolling dunes, which was the mindset of three lone travelers riding atop their calicomels. Ships of the desert, built to withstand both the heat of the sun and the cool winds of night, it would be suicide to attempt the journey without one. The three humped beasts made their way across the mountainous dunes, the silver sand covering their calico pattern, with not even the slightest hint of exhaustion.

One of the men, a young Kyrosian, pat his beast on the neck. "We make good progress, Kolkata."

"Define progress," another, a young woman, said, adjusting her headscarf. "We've been traveling for days across this burning hell, and we haven't so much as caught a glimpse of this tower you speak of."

The third figure, a dark Aethiopian man, rode his calicomel up alongside the girl. "Come now, Akilah. It's hardly good form to give up now. Where is your sense of adventure?"

"I must have left it behind twenty dunes ago," the girl spat. "I still don't know how I ever let you two convince me into coming along."

"I suppose you just couldn't say no to a handsome man," the aethiopian said.

The girl smirked and gave him a shove, nearly sending him falling off his beast face-first into the sand below. "As if. Assuming this trip pans out, I'll have enough money to get any man I want."

"I guess we have our answer then."

"Save your energy, you two," the Kyrosian said. "We can't afford to waste any moisture out here."

"And who put you in charge, Salman?" Akilah asked. "Last I checked, we were equal partners."

"Disregard my advice if you wish," Salman replied. "Just don't expect me to share my water with you, partner." Salman pulled out a worn papyrus scroll from his robe, observing the trail and landmarks depicted on the fragile object. "At the rate we're traveling, we should reach the tower by tomorrow night."

Akilah groaned, letting her head fall back. "You better not be pulling my leg."

Salman folded up the map and placed it back within his robe. "It would hardly be appropriate given our situation." he felt the water satchel by his side; it was half empty. "How much water in yours?"

Akilah felt hers. "A bit less than half."

Asif did the same. "More or less the same here."

Salman scratched his chin. "We passed that spring a day ago. Will we make it to the tower and back before we run out. There's no springs listed here. We may have to dig, which would mean setting up camp early, before the sun rise. It would add more time to our trip, but the alternative could be costly."

While he was still deep in thought, Asif pulled up alongside him. "I'm still surprised that you of all people are willing to take such a risk on this map. Akilah and I are one thing, but I never bought you as one to put this much faith in legends."