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Where Needs Must
Dec. 6th, 2011 08:59 pm(This is the second of two; here is Part One)
Xi whistled a tune as he walked along the shaded path; he'd heard it at an inn two weeks or so back, and picked it up. The djinni had helped, he would have to admit; he'd played it on the lute whenever asked. But he was getting better at whistling it without needing the spirit's memory, and so he delighted in doing so as he walked.
The sun was going down, though, and the air had a chill to it that wasn't helped, now, by the shade. Xi was far from home, walking in a great forest that he'd discovered in his travels. It was possible to make it through, they said, but not easy - one would have to go prepared, for provisions were all but impossible to find in the thick of the trees, and those who left the path seldom or never returned to speak of it.
Xi smiled. He was well prepared. Seeing a fair-looking spot for camp, he set his pack down at the base of a tall fir tree, and retrieved the lamp from beneath his coat (after a scare with a pickpocket, he never left it in his pack anymore). He ran one finger along the brass handle, and after a moment, the smoke that poured out of the lamp resolved itself first into a column, and then into the shape of a man.
"You called?"
Nodding, Xi gestured the area. "I did. The day grows short, and I would sup before nightfall. Fetch me food, spirit."
As always, the man dissipated, and was gone for a few short blinks. When he returned, the ground was spread with a decent supper, mostly bread and some beans - Xi had long ago learned that it was a bad idea to eat heavily while walking, and instructed the djinni of the lamp accordingly.
The moon rose in the sky, but he only caught glimpses between the thick treetops. All the trees were thick in this part of the world, thick, and never dying - they were green all the time, and bore a spicy sort of scent that he particularly loved, in the cold. It was a journey Xi was glad he had made, and he was even glad of the darkness as the night closed in around him, starless on the forest floor.
Whatever awakening he might have chosen, this would not have been it.
He blinked at the axe. It seemed to shiver before him, and shake just a bit. They had crept up on him very quietly - stealth he would not have reckoned possible, with so many trees all around. The needles, he supposed, muffled sound...
They were speaking to him, but he could not make out the words; they were all sharp, shouted, strangely accented, and obviously in another language. Their clothes were rough, their gestures moreso - obviously bandits. If Xi had been more awake, he might have cursed his luck, but as it was, he resigned himself to blinking at them.
"I cannot speak your language," he finally told them, when it occurred to him. Maybe one of them spoke his?
The man holding the axe barked another shout, and, he could not help noticing, held the blade rather closer to his throat.
A cold wind blew through the small space, bringing with it a clear scent - Xi felt his mind unfog, just a bit. It was enough; he awoke fully, and began to think. He had slept, as always, with his lamp under his head - where would it... ah. Kicked aside, it now lay about two arms' lengths from his current position, while the men focused on his pack. More fool them, as it held absolutely nothing of value.
Xi assessed his situation. Undoubtedly, as soon as he moved, the man would put the axe through his chest, or attempt to. But if he reached the lamp before it took his life...
He said something again to the man, the first words that came to mind - oddly, his mother's warning. "I am not invincible!" he shouted, turning sharply towards the other side of the clearing. The attacker's attention wavered, for just a moment, and Xi dove for the lamp.
The axe came down, hard, on his side, but he curled around his treasure and shouted for his djinni - again, the first words that came to mind.
"Help me!"
Xi whistled a tune as he walked along the shaded path; he'd heard it at an inn two weeks or so back, and picked it up. The djinni had helped, he would have to admit; he'd played it on the lute whenever asked. But he was getting better at whistling it without needing the spirit's memory, and so he delighted in doing so as he walked.
The sun was going down, though, and the air had a chill to it that wasn't helped, now, by the shade. Xi was far from home, walking in a great forest that he'd discovered in his travels. It was possible to make it through, they said, but not easy - one would have to go prepared, for provisions were all but impossible to find in the thick of the trees, and those who left the path seldom or never returned to speak of it.
Xi smiled. He was well prepared. Seeing a fair-looking spot for camp, he set his pack down at the base of a tall fir tree, and retrieved the lamp from beneath his coat (after a scare with a pickpocket, he never left it in his pack anymore). He ran one finger along the brass handle, and after a moment, the smoke that poured out of the lamp resolved itself first into a column, and then into the shape of a man.
"You called?"
Nodding, Xi gestured the area. "I did. The day grows short, and I would sup before nightfall. Fetch me food, spirit."
As always, the man dissipated, and was gone for a few short blinks. When he returned, the ground was spread with a decent supper, mostly bread and some beans - Xi had long ago learned that it was a bad idea to eat heavily while walking, and instructed the djinni of the lamp accordingly.
The moon rose in the sky, but he only caught glimpses between the thick treetops. All the trees were thick in this part of the world, thick, and never dying - they were green all the time, and bore a spicy sort of scent that he particularly loved, in the cold. It was a journey Xi was glad he had made, and he was even glad of the darkness as the night closed in around him, starless on the forest floor.
Whatever awakening he might have chosen, this would not have been it.
He blinked at the axe. It seemed to shiver before him, and shake just a bit. They had crept up on him very quietly - stealth he would not have reckoned possible, with so many trees all around. The needles, he supposed, muffled sound...
They were speaking to him, but he could not make out the words; they were all sharp, shouted, strangely accented, and obviously in another language. Their clothes were rough, their gestures moreso - obviously bandits. If Xi had been more awake, he might have cursed his luck, but as it was, he resigned himself to blinking at them.
"I cannot speak your language," he finally told them, when it occurred to him. Maybe one of them spoke his?
The man holding the axe barked another shout, and, he could not help noticing, held the blade rather closer to his throat.
A cold wind blew through the small space, bringing with it a clear scent - Xi felt his mind unfog, just a bit. It was enough; he awoke fully, and began to think. He had slept, as always, with his lamp under his head - where would it... ah. Kicked aside, it now lay about two arms' lengths from his current position, while the men focused on his pack. More fool them, as it held absolutely nothing of value.
Xi assessed his situation. Undoubtedly, as soon as he moved, the man would put the axe through his chest, or attempt to. But if he reached the lamp before it took his life...
He said something again to the man, the first words that came to mind - oddly, his mother's warning. "I am not invincible!" he shouted, turning sharply towards the other side of the clearing. The attacker's attention wavered, for just a moment, and Xi dove for the lamp.
The axe came down, hard, on his side, but he curled around his treasure and shouted for his djinni - again, the first words that came to mind.
"Help me!"