Phantasmal Party

by Trey Myr

  "I can definitely use the extra mana, and I don't see any other option, really," Ed agreed. "I don't have an Elementalist phantasm, and I can't make one right now anyway."

  Ingrid nodded acceptance, and Ed transformed his fox-kin into a large reddish-brown Shard, placed it over his chest and started pushing it in. "Ouch!"

  A drop of blood appeared from the small puncture in Ed's skin, and he quickly took the Shard away, even as the naiad healed the insignificant wound.

  You are attempting to Slice two Shards of the same type.

  "I guess that's it then," Ed said. "I can't use a phantasmal Shard on myself."

  "I would not be so quick to jump to conclusion," Katya disagreed. "You said fox-kin had Manaflow, yes?"

  "Yeah, it does. You think it's the two Manaflows that prevent me from Slicing it?"

  "Is possibility that should be considered."

  "It does bring us to a dead end though," Lucy said. "The naiad also has a Manaflow, and the rest of the phantasms don't fit Ed's role."

  "And I still can't create another one."

  "You can always give me cat, yes? Then you start new one with Shards that work for you."

  "Let's wait a few more days first, OK? If it turns out that we're incompatible as team mates, I want to be able to split."

  "Where is sense of adventure?" Katya pouted.

  "Limited to almost getting killed by giant hyenas and lightning wolves?"

  "I don't think this is getting us anywhere," Ingrid said while scanning the desert for foes. "We'll wait to see if we want this to be made more permanent, which, by the way, I'm positively dying to explain to Mother. There is one more option I want to check when we get back home, but let's focus on clearing this floor first."

  The rest of the party was happy to agree, and the four started to move deeper into the desert.

  The next attack came from above. There was no sound at all. Just a sudden brown and grey blur and the fox-kin was carried away by a giant falcon. A few seconds later the dead fox-kin was dispelled, and the falcon let out an angry screech as it climbed back to the sky deprived of its prey. Much slower on the way up than it was when swooping down, the falcon was an easy target for Lucy, Ed and the phantasmal archer, and after a precise arrow disabled its wing, an even easier target for Ingrid and Katya.

  "Good thing it attacked one of the phantasms," Lucy said after the fight was over. "That swoop would have been nasty for Ed or me."

  "Foxes and fox-kin must be part of its standard prey," Ed mused after resummoning the dispelled phantasm. "Probably the hyenas too, but that's not as relevant to us."

  "That's not something I want to rely on," Ingrid said. "We're going to have to keep an eye out for more of them."

  "I'll set the automaton to watch the sky," Ed said. "It should be able to disable them on the way down."

  The party kept on towards the desert, fighting the occasional pack of hyenas or lone giant falcon. Knowing to expect the hyena's laughter, Katya was able to protect the party from its effects without issue, and while the automaton had only a fifty percent success at catching the swooping falcons, it still managed to give enough warning for the intended target, which was indeed always the fox-kin, to get out of the way.

  After a couple of hours, the party spotted an oasis in the distance.

  "Want to bet that's where we'll find the boss?" Lucy asked when it became clear that the oasis wasn't a mirage.

  "My babushka, she taught me not to bet against house."

  The party started to move faster, eager to get out of the oppressive heat of the desert, and it wasn't long before the desert sand was replaced with knee-high barley. The palm trees above gave very welcome shade against the punishing sun, and the smell of dates and honey filled the air. The party cautiously approached the spring in the middle of the oasis, and soon came in sight of the crystal clear water. A large pack of hyenas lounged next to the water, and a smaller group of hyena-kin sat next to a small campsite comprised of three large tents surrounding a cooking fire. One of the hyena-kin was tending a metal pot that sat on the fire and gave off the smell of mint and lemongrass. Seven camels stood away from the tents, hitched to the trees and munching on oats.

  As the party peered at the caravan from between the palms, a large jinn came out of the central tent and looked straight towards them.

  "Come in, come in! Do not be shy, I don't allow any harm to those under my hospitality!"

  "And are we under your hospitality?" Katya's voice held not even a trace of her usual accent.

  "Oh ho ho!" the jinn laughed and bowed in the party's direction. "Indeed, you are my guests! Come, sit in the shade and drink!"

  Katya started walking towards the camp, only to be stopped by Ingrid. "Aren't you supposed to be the sneaky one here? You can't possibly trust this guy."

  "The Seal of Sulayman binds jinn to speak nothing but truth to sons of Adam," Katya's accent was back in force now that she got the jinn to formally accept them as guests. "They will twist meanings of words and talk in half-truths, but will not outright lie."

  "You are learned in the ways of the jinn," their host bowed again in Katya's direction. "And it is no wonder, as I can smell the fires of an ifrit on you."

  "My name Yekaterina Gregorovna. These are party mates, Eduard, Lucy and Ingrid." Katya pointed at each of the others in turn as she approached and sat on a comfortable looking pillow that appeared from thin air at the jinn's gesture.

  "Salaam alaikum, delvers. I am Hassan Abd alMalik, merchant and caravan master." More pillows appeared on the ground, enough to sit the entire party and the jinn himself. Once the entire party was seated, the hyena-kin tending the pot took it out of the fire, holding onto a long wire handle, and poured the steaming tea into a second pot, which it then stirred before finally pouring the tea into five china cups standing on a metal tray. Hassan took the tray, handing each of the party members a cup before taking one for himself and sipping from the still boiling drink. "Drink, my friends, drink. There is nothing in the tea that will hurt you in any way."

  Ed raised the cup to his lip, blowing on the tea to cool it down, and took a cautious sip. The strong, sweet drink tasted wonderful after the long trek through the desert, and for a while, the only sounds other than the crackling of the fire were contented sighs.

  "I have met many delvers in my travels, and I know what you must be thinking," Hassan said once the tea was drunk, "but I am not the amir of this which you call a floor, and I have neither the need nor the desire to fight you. Instead, I invite you to browse my wares, acquired in the vast reaches of this realm, and see if what I have will catch your fancy."

  "We would be delighted to see your wares," Ed answered the jinn, "but I am not sure we have money that you will accept."

  "Nonsense!" The merchant exclaimed. "I have done business with delvers before, and will do again in the future, and your credits are more than welcome to my purse!"

  The jinn led the party into the central tent, and Ed couldn't help but gasp at the interior of the simple looking wool dwelling.

  Glass spheres filled with glowing fireflies hang from the tent poles and shone their light on a vast carpeted room, far larger than the tent could possibly hold. The outside's simple black wool gave way to brightly colored silk, and silk pillows covered with treasures, knickknacks and everything in between were scattered around on the carpet.

  Hassan was silent as the party spread in the room, giving them time to appreciate his merchandise.

  Ed walked into the tent, ignoring a collection of glass jars containing what looked like a variety of spices, and leaned towards a simple looking brass oil lamp. "Is this?"

  "Alas, it is not," the jinn was instantly by his side. "That lamp is beyond a simple merchant like me. This lamp will fill your house with a warm light and drive away insects, and nothing else."

  Katya's attention was almost instantly drawn to an arabesque covered oud, which she picked up and strummed gently, listening carefully to the liquid soun
ds of the strings, ignoring her surroundings.

  Ingrid's eyes turned to a bright blue sleeveless coat, clearly meant to be worn over a shirt and reach down to the wearer's ankles. The garment was heavily brocaded and sported buttons made of ivory.

  Vizier's Coat

  This magnificent garment was once worn by one of the Khalif's viziers, and still holds an echo of his knowledge and wisdom.

  +2 Intelligence

  +2 Wisdom

  "This would work very nicely for you, Ed."

  "Ooh, snazzy!" Lucy looked up from where she was examining an ornate pair of boots with upturned, curling toes.

  Ed went over to look at the coat, which Ingrid was quick to drape over him. "Give us a twirl!" Lucy ordered enthusiastically, and Ed obligingly turned in a circle before removing the garment.

  "A wonderful choice!" Hassan exclaimed, "And it can be yours for a mere twenty five hundred of your credits!"

  Hearing the price shook Katya out of her trance, and she reluctantly placed the oud back on its pillow and came over to see what the fuss was all about. "Twenty five hundred! Bozhe moi! You are asking for money I put aside for babushka's new teeth! I will give one thousand for pretty boy coat!"

  Lucy and Ingrid could only watch speechlessly as Hassan dramatically grabbed at his heart. "One thousand! And how will I feed my hard working camels? You are asking to bankrupt this poor merchant! Not a credit lower than twenty four hundred for this lovely enchanted coat!"

  With the boundaries firmly set, the two settled down for a lengthy haggling session, their audience struggling not to giggle at the outrageous claims made by the merchant and the Drab.

  Ed, meanwhile returned to browsing the merchant's seemingly endless collection of wares, his eyes roaming over jeweled shibriya daggers, colorful glass figurines, brightly colored hats, vests and trousers, and a saddle that might have fitted a horse, but only If it was thirty centimeters tall.

  Eventually, among the cluttered treasures in the tent, he came upon a large pillow that was set aside from the rest, and held only a single item, a small seven-sided Shard.

  The Luck of Sindbad

  This was all the information Ed could get from the Shard, which just increased the strangeness of it. Everyone knew that Shards were pentagonal, and came in one of three types: Race, Class or Skill. And when you looked into the Shard's base you saw its name, type, tier and description. But the only thing that he could see was what he assumed was the Shard's name.

  "Thank you for keeping away from our haggling," Hassan's deep voice brought Ed out of his reverie. "It is a lot less fun to haggle when one is bound to tell nothing but truth."

  "I figured that would be the case," Ed answered the jinn. "The Seal is as absolutely literal as it could be, isn't it?"

  "Indeed. And you would do well to remember that. I am but a humble merchant, and there are few things I love more than a good haggle. But the shayatin hated humanity since before the third king, and their hatred only grew when he placed his seal upon us."

  "Thank you for the warning," Ed bowed towards the jinn. "Can you tell me anything about this Shard?"

  "Ah, you have a good eye, young delver. Sindbad was perhaps the most famous of sailors in the khalifate, for both his legendary luck and his legendary resourcefulness. Seven voyages he made in his life, and seven times disaster struck him on his way. Seven times he was abandoned or shipwrecked, and seven times he made his way home richer than any man could imagine. The Luck of Sindbad is both blessing and curse. Use it and you will find yourself on voyages of untold peril, but overcome the challenge and you will be rewarded."

  "What kinds of peril, and what rewards?" Lucy asked curiously.

  "That, I cannot say. For years I've had the Luck in my possession, and I have never mustered the courage to use it. But it is said that both the trials and the rewards are different for each person, so even if I had the knowledge, it would be of no use for you."

  "I've never even heard of a Shard like that," Ed said in wonder.

  "I have," Katya whispered. "My babushka, she has Kindness of Ivan. Three tasks she was given by witch. She never told me details about tasks, or of rewards she got."

  "We call them Questshards, and my cousin Erik has the Strength of Thor," Ingrid added. "He finished three of five trials, and then lost his team mates in the fourth. He left New Minos after that one, and now refuses to enter the Labyrinth again because he doesn't want to face the fifth. I do know that he got large boosts to his strength and an ability that boosts lightning skills from it."

  "How come the two of us don't know anything about these Shards?" Lucy asked. "There aren't even rumors about them!"

  "Because they are extremely rare. I knew about Sveta's Shard because she used to be a good friend of my mother's, but the Kindness and the Strength were the only two I've ever heard about until now."

  "Is likely that other Houses have found few more, but they are keeping quiet. More important question is how much you want for Shard?" Katya added, rubbing her hands in delight at the thought of another haggling session.

  "I'm afraid this Shard is too precious to be sold for credits," Hassan said apologetically. "The only reason I would even consider selling it is that I will never dare to use it myself."

  "What would you except for it, if not credits?" Ed asked the jinn.

  "I will take one of your own in trade for the Shard."

  "I don't think that's going to happen," Ed said, placing it back on the pillow and backing away from the jinn. "My companions are not for sale, no matter what you offer."

  "You misunderstand my intention. I do not traffic in slaves. But my home is the desert, and jinn are creatures of the fire, earth and air. A spirit of water will be a precious treasure indeed for one such as I, and will be a welcome trade for a danger I am unwilling to face and rewards I will never attain."

  "Can we even make such a trade? I have no way to disconnect the naiad."

  "I am jinn!" The merchant boomed. "If you agree to the trade, I will facilitate it!"

  "I think we need to discuss this in private," Ingrid took Ed's arm to lead him out of the tent. "But first, I would like to know if Ed will be able to replace his summon if he trades it off to you."

  "In truth, I cannot answer your question. I have never encountered a summoned creature quite like this before."

  "I'll probably be able to replace it, Ing. Just like when they blew up or when I gave them to you and Lucy."

  "It does make sense," Ingrid agreed, "but I would have liked a more confident answer than that before trading away our main source of healing."

  "Then if you will please forgive us, Hassan, we really should discuss something like this before agreeing."

  "Of course. The Luck of Sindbad would catch up your whole party, and it is a poor leader who makes such decisions on his own," Hassan said before bowing to the party as they left the tent and walked out of earshot from his camp.

  "This is not a good idea," Ingrid said as soon as they were out of earshot. "These things killed my cousin's entire party and left him unwilling to enter the Labyrinth."

  "We can't ignore it though," Lucy argued. "If the Labyrinth brought us to a Questshard, ignoring it will only bring us even worse trials."

  "You don't understand how it works Luce. This thing can grab us into its journey out of nowhere. As long as you're in the Labyrinth, it can arrange for the most contrived coincidences to pull you into its trials. It's too dangerous!"

  "I don't like this any more than you do, but if the Labyrinth wants us on those adventures, it will get us on those adventures."

  "Where is sense of adventure? My babushka has Questshard and says she never regretted using it. We should grab Shard and embrace trials with both hands!"

  "Your grandmother has a three sided Shard, Katya. Erik managed the first three too before the fourth wiped his party. And this one has seven!"

  "Labyrinth is harsh, but is not unfair. If it gave us Shard, we have chance to succeed."

&nbs
p; "The Labyrinth is an extradimensional deathtrap. It doesn't do 'fair'."

  "And yet you walk in every day risking it for thrills and power," Lucy tagged in to the argument. "This isn't any difference, other than raising the bar on both danger and reward."

  "Is Ed's decision anyway. He is one that has phantasm to trade."

  "It can't be just me that decides," Ed shook his head. "Lucy and Ingrid are going to get pulled into this, even if you can just stay away."

  "It's still your decision," Ingrid disagreed. "Much as I dislike this, it's two for and one against, and you're the deciding voice here."

  "Then we're going to take the Shard. I'm sorry Ing, but this is the kind of opportunity that we can't ignore."

  "I had a feeling you'd say that," Ingrid sighed. "Then we need to consider the practical side of it. We're in the middle of the floor, and since Hassan isn't the boss, we still have that ahead of us, and this trade leaves us without a healer."

  "That is good point. I do not like thought of fighting boss without healer."

  "Maybe Hassan knows where the boss is. If it's near, we can fight it before trading away the naiad," Lucy suggested.

  "We'll go and ask, but if it isn't near here, we're going to have to retreat after getting the Shard," Ed decided. "We're going to want to be out of the Labyrinth before Slicing it anyway, since we definitely don't want the trials to catch us without a healer."

  Seeing that nobody had any further objections, the party went back to the waiting jinn. "We'll take the Luck of Sindbad," Ed said, "but we don't want to face the boss fight without a healer. Do you know if it's near enough that we can fight it first and then do the trade?"

  "The amir is a powerful gnoll that lives in a ruined temple to the kafir god Ra. It lies half an hour's walk into the desert from here."

  "That's annoying but doable. We can go to the temple to fight the boss, then come back and buy the Questshard before we leave the floor."

  "Then I bid you good luck on your battle," Hassan bowed. "I must warn you that evening is approaching and that I must continue my journey when the air cools down. You will have until then to finish your battle and return if you want the Shard."