Playing Catch Up
While you do find yourself being curious about the nature of the shopkeeper (because you can’t help yourself there), you decide against it for the time being. Instead…
“Let’s go talk with Fia,” you say. “Maybe she knows more about this situation.”
Moirine nods in agreement, and the two of you venture toward the front of the shop.
It doesn’t take you long to find a woman looming near the front of the shop, a tall, curvaceous woman with pale skin and long, flowing, fiery-red hair past her shoulders – she spots the two of you fairly quickly, and she comes over to meet you both halfway.
“It’s about bloody time, Moirine,” she says. “I was beginning to question if you’d ever find the right Shard to get here.” She has piercingly blue eyes, and freckles on her cheeks. She glances to you. “You must be the pup I’ve heard about.” She leans in and sniffs you. “Aye, you definitely stink of the magics from inside that damnable shop.”
“Oi, be nice, Fia,” Moirine says with a frown. “This one’s become my charge and my friend in the time I’ve known them.” She scoffs. “There’s no need to be so sour about it. We got here as quick as we could, and we’re here now, isn’t that what matters?”
The woman rolls her eyes, yet sighs afterwards. “Aye, I know. Fine.”
“Er, sorry,” you say, unsure of what else to say at the moment.
“No need for apologies,” Fia says as she turns to you. “You know this already, but, I’m Fia. And I sincerely mean no offense to you on the matter, young one. You aren’t the one behind this madness – that lousy, stinking bastard of a djinn in there is, and I’ve had it with his shenanigans. Why the Seamother doesn’t allow me to beat his sullied arse to get to the heart of the matter is beyond…” She stops and turns back to Moirine, her eyebrows knitting together. “What the bloody hell happened to you, Moirine?”
Moirine gives a curt grunt. “Griffon.”
“Ah, bugger, really?” Fia asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay?” Moirine mutters, very much proving that she is still incredibly miffed about whatever happened that you missed with the griffons in that one Shard. “I’ll tell you later when we’ve sorted this djinn nonsense out.”
Fia arches an eyebrow. “Why the dolphin piss did you get into a tussle with a griffon, Moirine? You’re usually a fair deal calmer and smarter about handling that lot.”
“Later, Fia,” Moirine says, scowling.
There’s a brief beat while Fia snorts.
“Whatever, you prissy bitch,” Fia says. “Shite.”
You try not to smile at the indignant look on Moirine’s face. “So, uh, what can you tell us about the genie in there? Doesn’t seem like there’s a lot to go off of other than the fact he shouldn’t have done what he did with me, even if has a Master like he claims to?” You shrug. “I’ll be honest, I’m still not entirely aware of this whole genie thing myself.”
Fia’s nose wrinkles. “How much about the djinn do you know of?”
“Er.” You bite your lip. “Not… a lot.”
Fia nods. “Then let me give you a crash course so that you comprehend as much as you can on why this situation is a big deal. Djinn are one of the few species in existence that are not ‘free’ the way we selkie are, pup. They are bound to their miniature Shards, which take the form of mundane objects such as bottles, vases, lamps, and so on.” She points to the shop. “Only when a human comes to them, and provided the human and the djinn form an agreement in which that human becomes the djinn’s Master, does that djinn become ‘free,’ at the cost of being attached to their new Master. Got it thus far?”
“Yeah,” you say. “That much is kind of what I figured.” You pause and blink as something catches your attention. “Wait… their lamps and stuff are Shards?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Moirine says. “The only difference is that those Shards were created by the djinn themselves – they’re a purposeful, artificial construct meant to house a portion of a djinn’s true power, along with the djinn themselves when alone.”
“Whoa,” you say. “Okay then.”
“They are still to follow the same laws they must follow,” Fia says. She folds her arms and scowls. “And the prime law of all that shouldn’t even NEED to be spoken aloud to a djinn is to not fuck with humanity. Master or no Master, they are to leave humans alone, not to use their magics to ‘play around’ with human lives. They did this in the past. This is why they are forever forced to live within their own Shards, split from all worlds.”
“So then the djinn broke that big law with me,” you say.
“Aye, pup,” Fia says. “Not only did he purposefully twist your own response without even having to manipulate you, he turned you into a selkie against your will. He argues that he was following the wish parameters set about by his Master, but, the bastard didn’t prove to HAVE a damned Master when you went in there. You saying this is proof enough, but I even went further and spoke to the,” she shudders, “shopkeeper, too.”
Moirine grimaces. “Oof, sorry, Fia.”
You furrow your brow. “What’s the deal with the shopkeeper? I’m… lost on that.”
“Did Moirine not tell you?” Fia asks.
Moirine shakes her head.
“Yaksha, pup,” Fia says.
“Uh.” You stare at the two selkie for a moment. “I don’t… know what that is.”
“They are a species not too different from the djinn in nature,” Fia says. Her tone and expression grow severe. “But trust me when I tell you this, human: do not, ever, trifle with a yaksha, for they are one of the strongest and trickiest among ANY existing being, magic or mundane. The less you deal with yaksha, the better for your sanity in the long run, because while they aren’t innately ‘evil,’ they are incredibly wise, dangerously cunning, and you never know for certain if what they say to you is full-truth or half-truth.”
“O-oh…” You swallow the lump that forms in your throat. “I see.”
“Yaksha are… unnerving entities,” Moirine says. “They have this aura about them that makes it feel as though they always know a hundred times more than you do, and they can read your emotions, your words, and your thoughts all at the same time.”
“They have all the capabilities of djinn, with none of the caveats,” Fia adds, and she grits her teeth. “Dealing with them is something we try to avoid. Unfortunately, when the djinn proved to be uncooperative, I opted to suck it up and try, lest I start to destroy their shop.” Her lips twitch. “Definitely not a wise thing to do, that; they don’t take kindly to anyone tarnishing what belongs to them, we selkie have long known this to be a fact.”
Your stomach knots as you look toward the shop. Learning there was a being in there – or more than one, you aren’t sure, since it sounds like there may be more – with the same powers as a djinn, yet without the limitations… it’s a frightening thought, especially when you take into consideration how unnerved Moirine and Fia seem to be.
“Were they even willing to divulge any information to you?” Moirine asks. “Or did they dismiss your concerns? Frankly, I’d be a little worried if a djinn housed in my Shard decided to pull the stunt this djinn did. But, then, knowing how yaksha can be…”
Fia sighs. “I’m fortunate I got to speak to the… well, the ‘nicest’ of the three. She said that the djinn was not of her control, but she implied that finding out the truth regarding his Master would be beneficial for getting the answers we need. I didn’t dare linger on and ask for more information, not when I could tell it wouldn’t do me much good.”
You glance between the two selkie. “Are they really that bad to deal with?”
“They’re not… ‘bad,’ like I said,” Fia says, and she frowns again. “We inhuman beings don’t have the same moral views you as a human do. However, of all among us, races like the djinn and the yaksha, those with a deeper essence tied to magic… they are even further detached from the ‘morals’ that we selkie have, as an example.”
“We have a stronger connection to human emotions and ideologies,” Moirine adds. “The fact our kind has the ability to become humans at will, and how I’ve mentioned selkie can fall in love and form families with humans… this isn’t something yaksha do, pup.”
“But,” Fia says, “even so, yaksha are not malicious, nor cruel, nor spiteful, things that some djinn, and a select few other beings, could be if they could get away with it.” She chews her bottom lip. “A yaksha isn’t like that – they wouldn’t kill you for their own enjoyment or curse you with horrible luck or turn you into something against your will like that djinn did. That isn’t the crux of why we’re reacting this way with them. Rather, it’s everything else about the yaksha that has Moirine and myself acting as we are.”
“Oh…” you say. You’re at a loss, but, you do feel you’re getting the big picture. “So they’re kind of… more alien compared to you, and, they’re incredibly strong, too.”
“Among other things,” Moirine says.
“Let’s focus on the djinn for now,” Fia says. “I don’t know where their Master is or what the bloody hell sort of wish was granted, but, the djinn is sticking to this, and the yaksha owning this Shard have essentially made it clear they won’t lift a finger to do anything about what the djinn has done… until they have the proper information given to them.”
“Wonderful,” Moirine says.
“What do we do, then?” you ask.
“We can go about this a few ways, I feel,” Fia replies. “The Seamother believes you, pup, being in your human form would be a good bit of a surprise to the djinn, and I for one agree with her. He’s an arrogant sort, I can tell, and the last thing he’d expect is for you to be the one to awaken him from his alleged ‘slumber’ in his rotten lamp.”
She looks toward the shop, then back to you and Moirine.
“My ideas are this,” Fia says. “We can deal with him inside the shop or outside, because there’s nothing stopping us from getting that djinn’s lamp and bringing it out here.”
“The shopkeepers wouldn’t mind?” you ask.
Fia cracks a wry grin. “The yaksha don’t care about the djinn, no. Hell, the most emotion I got from the one I spoke with was genuine disdain toward him, and that’s good. As long as we don’t destroy anything inside, minus the lamp, we’re fine. Either way, beyond those two options, we can also choose how we go about handling this bastard. You can go in there right away, and whether or not you want to do this inside or out, just the sight of you in human form may shake him up enough… or, we can trick him.”
“Trick him?” you ask. “How?”
“Moirine can be the one to go in and get the lamp first,” Fia replies. “The thing about djinn, pup,” she grins wide, “is they’re typically so arrogant, they won’t know the difference between a human and someone in human form, especially when we can hide our own essence from others. He didn’t realize I was a selkie until I told him, which means Moirine could likely deceive him by luring him into a false sense of security.”
“Ooh,” Moirine says. “I like that idea, Fia.”
“Either one would work just as well, I’m sure,” Fia says. “What do you think, pup?”
You start to ponder this… do you want to deal with the djinn yourself at first? Or do you want to have Moirine be the one to trick the djinn, and see if that makes it easier? And, of course, you also wonder whether to do this inside the shop or outside in the open…
Written by Hollowpages on 08 February 2022
