The Mughal's Magician (On Hold)

The Structure

"This field isn't going to end, is it?" Momin whispered to himself as he trudged through the grass towards the structure in the distance. Was it a mirage? Why wasn't the building getting any closer? He paused and looked up at the sky as the sun beat down on him. Might as well charge my phone. The sun is in peak position, Momin thought to himself before swinging his backpack forward. The solar panel on the front of his backpack had already begun storing some energy in the small battery pack that was installed in one of the flaps. He pulled out the charging cord for his phone and proceeded to attach it to his phone before slipping the phone into his backpack.

"Well, whenever I do get a signal, at least it'll be charged," Momin murmured before restarting his trek. He trudged along while keeping the structure in view. It's getting closer. Finally, Momin thought to himself. As the structure loomed into view, Momin stopped in his tracks. The fort. This is the fort's wall, Momin thought and ran up to the towering brick wall. He ran his hands over the bricks and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't strayed away from the fort which meant that his family could be nearby. He nearly celebrated this event, but paused because something caught his attention. He studied the bricks and frowned. They didn't look the same, as if they were newer than the ones Momin had seen earlier.

"Did they renovate the wall? These must be newly casted bricks to fill up the areas that had decayed," Momin whispered, but wasn't sure if he even believed what he was saying. He raked his nails over the wall, seeing if there was a color difference beneath the exposed part of the brick. There wasn't. That's not possible, Momin thought and proceeded to take out his multi-tool to scrape off more of the bricks. They can't all be new, Momin added in thought before looking at a tree next to the wall. They must have renovated the entire wall. Maybe if I climbed up the tree, I could look over it to see where I am. If I can find the main road, I'll get a rickshaw. With that thought Momin began to climb up the tree. He hadn't climbed a tree in years, but that didn't deter him from his task. Thirty minutes and a couple of minor mishaps later, Momin had climbed high enough to look over the massive wall. What he saw made his heart race.

"Thi-this can't be. There's no way I'm anywhere other than the fort. Mom was right in front of me, so was Dad an-and Maria. Where did they go? Where am I?" Momin whispered in distress. In front of him was greenery as far as the eye could see. Trees, bushes, and grass made up the majority of the setting. There was a worn path a few yards to the west, but it wasn't paved in any way. He had no idea where he was and it didn't help that the sun had begun to set. He'd have to make camp, he decided and looked around the field for some sort of shelter. He could use his compact tent and prop up against the wall, but he didn't know where he was. The tree he was in was pretty stable and high up enough so that curious animals or humans couldn't get to him. He needed his sleep if he intended to find out where he was. Using his backpack as a prop, Momin rested his back against the tree's trunk and with that, forced himself to sleep.

*****

The ground was shaking. That was Momin's first thought as he was jolted awake by the tremors. He looked around wildly once he was awake. Where was he? Why was he in a tree? Why was the ground shaking? Oh, yeah. I don't really know where I am. The tree was the safest bet for rest, but why is the ground still shaking? Momin could hear voices underneath him and quickly adjusted himself against the trunk. He didn't want to be seen, especially since he had no idea if the people were hostile or not. Heck, he still had no idea where he was.

The tremors continued, causing Momin to tighten his grip on the tree. It's not an earthquake. Earthquakes don't last this long. Do they? Wait, what's that? Holy-. Momin couldn't finish his thought. His mouth hung open in wonder as he looked at an animal that he had only seen in zoos. Elephants. Those are elephants and there are people sitting on them. Those are elephants with people sitting on them and they're wearing funny hats, Momin thought as an elephant passed by the tree. The rider didn't so much as glance up the tree as the elephant continued it's trek down the field. Momin frowned while staring at the rider and realized that he had never seen the costume the man was wearing. Was this for a play or movie?

While watching the rider pass by the tree, Momin was able to study the man perched on top of the pachyderm. The man seemed young, but had a scar across his cheek that caused him to look older than he was. His hair was dark, shoulder length and slightly curly. Momin felt as if the man was shorter than his own height of 6'1", but no shorter than 5'6." His build was sleek and he seemed muscular. He wore something that resembled the traditional long shirts he had seen men wearing in Lahore, except the man had on matching white pants and a belt over his shirt at his waist. Attached to the belt was a menacing sword. The man glanced around the field and then proceeded to yell out into the distance.

As if on command, two armored horses along with their armored riders trotted up to the elephant. The men wore similar outfits, but wore chainmail over their shirts and had cylindrical helmets. Their horses wore similar plated armor and strutted majestically next to the elephant. The elephant's rider said something to the riders on horseback, but Momin couldn't make out the language. Was it Arabic? No, it didn't sound like Arabic, but it did sound a bit familiar. By now, the elephant's rider had moved on past the tree and out of Momin's line of sight. The riders on horseback parted ways and headed into opposite directions, all while yelling something in their unknown language. Did they make up a language for a movie? Like in Avatar? Did they try to make it seem like Arabic?

It took nearly an hour for all of the elephants and even more horseback riders, to pass by Momin's tree. He had counted at least 57 elephants and their riders and nearly 100 horseback riders. He was certain there weren't that many elephants in Lahore, which only added to the question, where was he? Once he was sure that there was no sign of the riders on horseback and on the elephants, he proceeded to descend from the tree. He pulled out his phone and groaned once he realized that he still had no signal. What kind of area had completely no signal in the vicinity? The same area that has elephant warriors.

Momin heard his stomach growl and couldn't help but frown again. He needed food and water. He had rations, but he didn't want to touch them unless things became dire. Where do I look for food? There's plenty of trees here, but I don't see any fruit. Think Momin, think. There's no one here, but you and the only signs of life you've seen were the warriors. They had elephants and horses, which means they eventually have to feed and water them. I need to stay at a distance from them, but right now they're my best bet. He nodded at his mental evaluation of the situation and proceeded to give the area a sweep to make sure his belongings were with him. With one last visual sweep, Momin gritted his teeth and began his march towards the warriors.

Here goes nothing.