Dragons and demons and Rangers, Oh my!
Chapter 1: The summons
Bartimaeus
It felt like a usual summons. I'm just enjoying myself in the Other Place, reveling in the togetherness of all currently dismissed spirits, and I feel the familiar pull. As I fly down to Earth at amazing speeds, I work on what form I want. Hmmmm. Ptolemy is too fresh; it still hurts. Raging Demonic form? No, that only works on the inexperienced ones. It seemed subtlety and finesse were called for; not a problem for higher djinn, such as myself. I wondered if this poor guy knew what he was getting into. Last great adventure I had, I stole the mighty Ring of Solomon from right under his nose. Marids, Afrits, hordes of djinn, no problem. All you need is some intelligence and cunning. Thud! The swashbuckling Arab slammed into the pentacle. I was complete with dual scimitars crossed on my back, the spiked cap, even the ferocious scar on my left eye. "What is your desire?" the aforesaid Arab demanded "Riches beyond your wildest dreams? A kingdom to rival the might of Jerusalem? The secrets of women's minds? Tell me your foe and I shall blast them to dust!" All nice and well on the outside, but really 50% of that was beyond me. Especially the part about women. It was about now I noticed that my slaver was wearing a mottled green and brown cloak, cowl up and deep enough that I couldn't see his face; this I did not notice until later, as I was staring at the massive longbow at his side and the silver tipped arrows in his quiver. It would appear I was going to be asked to "Blast my foe to dust"! Then he spoke. It was a strong voice, and I could tell from his stature that he could wrestle Jabor to the ground. "I don't have time for your praises of times gone past. I am going to tell you where you are, when you are, and why you're here. First of all, this is Araluen, around Celtica. Next, this is about 500 A.D. Finally, some strange things have been happening. Namely, a massive continent named Alagaesia crashed into Skandia, and with it, dragons, magicians, and strange beasts." He gruffly stated. "Glories gone past? Well, if it has been that many years, then maybe… More to the point, I suppose it will be the usual kill them, make me rich business then? And about the dragons, they're probably djinn in dragon form. Which is impressive, being that huge and all, but still. Nothing some well placed Detonations and Infernos won't take care of." I replied, still a little miffed about his denouncement of my glories. I ask you! Glories gone by! "No. I sent djinn before you. All of them are beasts, humans, or dragons are their respective forms on all seven planes. And, for the sake of clarity, by magicians I mean humans capable of working magic without the assistance of spirits." I gave him my patented "I pity your stupidity" look. "That's not possible. You humans are as magical as dust mites. Slightly less so, in fact. I once knew a dust mite that could turn himself invisible. And furthermore, dragons don't, and never did, exist." He gave me a look that suggested that he should be pitying my stupidity "Well, I suppose then that charges given to djinn no longer bind them, and that we should all bow down and worship the dust mites for their glorious ability to turn invisible right before we step on them, crushing our supreme overlords into the dust they're named after." He sarcastically spat out, "Do you think I would forget to order the djinn to relate their findings truthfully and without deception? If so, it appears the saying 'Wisdom comes with age' is false, as the younger of us would be the only one with a clear head. Do you take me for some spoon fed fool?" I replied with extreme wit, "Yes, and did you perhaps summon Faquarl? He is rather dense." His eloquent response was putting a silver arrow exactly one centimeter from my neck. "Perhaps you should remember who could dispatch you at any moment, without difficulty, and not even suffer from the famous indigestion you demons get after eating something physical." He said it slowly, as if speaking to an idiot, not a mighty entity that defeated Solomon in his own fortress. "Fine. What do you want?" I asked glumly. No point in arguing with the cold hard truth. "I want you to somehow transport yourself to the leader of Alagaesia, or the leader of any faction there, without causing undue alarm or initiating hostilities between us and any other land, and upon arrival, decide if they would be a helpful and moral ally for Araluen. If they are, attempt to negotiate peace or alliance with them. If not, do what you djinn do best. Kill all in your path and return to me."