Investigation II
ou mull it over for a moment, but in the end, your own curiosity has proven to get the better of you - you can’t help but want to find out what may be lurking under the ground, so you nod in agreement to the idea.
‘I say we go for it,’ you remark. ‘Nothing makes me think it’s a bad idea to at least investigate, until either of you says we should stop.’
“A most apt decision, Master,” Akam says. He smiles wide. “I very much appreciate that you’re considering our suggestions in this matter - I know I must be repeating myself at this point, but I am always very touched to find a Master with a good head on their shoulders.”
Shira scoffs with a playful air. “You mean a good head in always seeking your guidance, Akam?”
“Well, that too,” Akam replies, shrugging innocently. “We djinn are old and proud beings. We like it when the youngsters listen to us, or at least care enough to ask for our opinions on matters.” He gives a little wink to you, then folds his arms. “At any rate, Master, I will stand by your decision. It’s no harm to me, nor to my hidden kin, so I see no reason to deny your curiosity.”
‘Well, what are we waiting around for, then?’ Ali asks. ‘We gonna dig this bad boy up or what?’
You grin. ‘Let’s.’
Ali nods after you, and the two of you move to stand on either side of the mound of dirt. Before you start to dig into the ground, you take a moment to think about something - you may be curious about all this, sure, but you’re not the sort to indulge in being overly reckless, so you decide you want to be cautious as well.
‘Do we need to be, um, wary of anything?’ you ask either of the genies.
“Mm, nothing comes to mind,” Akam replies. He strokes his chin in thought, glancing to his fellow djinn. “We’ll keep an eye out, to be safe, of course.”
“Most certainly,” Shira says with a nod.
You look to Ali again.
‘C’mon, you heard them. Let’s do this,’ Ali says, grinning wide.
She’s clearly excited, and you feed off that excitement.
Without another word, the two of you begin to dig into the ground together - your big paws make short work of the dirt that seems to be housing another djinn, although it takes a bit of time for the two of you two dig down to where the container of said djinn happens to be.
‘Not what I expected to be doing after eating,’ you remark to yourself, although Ali can hear still given the wavelength the two of you share. ‘But I can’t lie and say I’m not excited about it.’
‘Ha, tell me about it,’ Ali replies. ‘This is super cool. Most fun and excitement I’ve had in one day, lemme tell you.’
It takes a few minutes, maybe four or five total, for the two of you to dig, dig, and dig down into the ground, before you create a big enough hole together - and by then, you stumble across the source of the magical smell: it isn’t a lamp like you half-expected it to be, however, and at first, you aren’t sure WHAT it is that the djinn is living within.
‘We’ve found it,’ Ali says.
The two genies float over to join you in full. You peer down at the thing that’s now been uncovered, and soak it in. Instead of a lamp, it appears to be some sort of small vase that the djinn is housed in - a very old-looking vase at that, since the shape and design doesn’t strike you as anything close to modern.
Said old-looking vase is a muted yellow in color, with inked designs on it made from dark-red, blue, and black inks, although you aren’t entirely sure WHAT these designs are. From a glance, they appear to be another language entirely, although some of the shapes could be figures instead of letters. You aren’t sure, nor do you want to jump to conclusions and assume what it could be.
‘I’ve never seen a vase like this before,’ you say, as you continue to examine it.
You start to lean in to grab it with your mouth - after all, you’ve got these teeth that you can put to use, so why not use them? - but before you can get too close to the vase, Akam stops you by putting a gentle hand on your muzzle.
“Hold a moment, Master,” Akam says. “Let me move it out for you…”
He extends a hand toward the vase. His hand begins to glow, and with a crackle of reddish energy, the vase begins to float up from the ground, following the motion of Akam’s hand. It hovers and then gradually drops on a soft part of the ground, where Shira is now standing. She examines the vase closely, and as she’s inspecting it, her eyes go wide with shock.
“Oh… oh my,” Shira says. She continues to gawk for a moment, as if she’s somehow seen a ghost. Then, she looks to Akam. “Now THIS is a shock. Akam, is this what I think it is? And does it hold whom I think it is?”
You and Ali trot over to be closer, both of you sharing mutual looks of curiosity - the tone Shira spoke in has you both wondering what you might’ve just uncovered, because it doesn’t seem like a ‘good’ thing any longer.
Akam joins her, and he, too, takes on a similar expression.
“Do my eyes deceive me?” Akam asks her.
“No, they most certainly don’t,” Shira replies. The two share a look. “It’s what it appears to be, Akam. Of all times, of all places… to come across a vase like this, buried in the woods…”
‘What kind of vase is this?’ Ali asks. She’s obviously quizzical about whatever it is the two djinn are discussing - you don’t blame her, because you feel the same. ‘Doesn’t look like anything from the history books I’ve read. Not that I’m super well-versed on vases or anything.’
‘Ancient Greek, maybe?’ you offer. ‘Is that why you’re so surprised to see it?’
“No,” Shira says. “The shape of the vase appears old, yes, but that isn’t what’s caught my attention. It’s the designs you see that has us both reacting in such a way.” She gestures to one design in particular, her eyebrows lowering into a frown. “What does this look like to you two humans, pray tell?”
‘Um, well… I’m not sure,’ you admit. ‘I can’t tell if it’s art or writing.’
‘Yeah, I figured it was maybe some fancy script,’ Ali adds.
Shira’s frown has strengthened. “You’re not wrong. It’s writing, yes, but it isn’t the sort of writing either of you would recognize. This is a very particular type of scripting, the sort I haven’t seen in a long, long time now.”
You look at Akam, who has a similar frown on his face.
“She’s right,” Akam says.
‘What sort of writing is it?’ you ask.
“It’s difficult to put into terms you’d understand, Master,” Akam replies. His lips twitch. “Not because of reasons you might expect… rather, it’s difficult because the culture this writing came from is one neither of you have ever heard of before.” He looks at you fully. “It’s from a peoples that haven’t existed in centuries, and you won’t find any record of them anywhere in history.”
You stare at him. ‘Wait, for real?’
‘How is that possible?’ Ali asks.
“Because most of them died out,” Shira replies. “However, the others…”
There’s a beat of silence.
“Do you wish to know?” Akam asks. He is sincere in his question, and he has a troubled look in his eyes, as if the subject may not be the best or most pleasant thing to talk about. “This isn’t what I expected you to find, Master. It’s a great deal more complex then either of us initially thought, I’d dare say…”
Silence falls. You start to wonder… DO you want to know?
Written by Hollowpages on 03 December 2020
