Chapter 3: Curses, Beasts, and Enemies, Oh Drat
"So, what's it gonna be, do we split exit stage left, or stage right?" Iago said as he stood on Jasmine shoulder. Jasmine cut her eyes at him, but couldn't help but think that he was right about one thing - they needed to split up at this point in the path towards Lamrai.
Aladdin looked over his shoulder, scowling. "Iago, we haven't even been down here that long, maybe we need to travel together and then come back around."
Genie scratched his head. "Eh, I think the bird's got a point, Al. I don't think we wanna be down here longer than we have to. This place give me the creeps even if I don't see any sign of the beastly figures."
Aladdin took a long slow breath. "Okay then. Abu, Genie, you guys are sticking with me going left. Jasmine, Iago, and Carpet, you guys take the right. I guess we can meet in the wrap around and then see if we find anything."
Jasmine folded her arms across her chest, one brow raised. "And if we see any sign of Abis Mal or Haroud?"
Aladdin grinned. "I guess that would be a sign for us to figure out what he's up to. Jasmine, if you see them, try to follow them as far as you can. I don't think you wanna tangle with them, unless..."
Jasmine examined her hand casually. "I think you underestimate me, Aladdin."
Genie whistled. "Yep, no one messes with the Princess of Agrabah." He transformed her into a rocker chick with a big guitar. "Yeah, buddy, rock & roll! Go-oo Jasmine! Rock on!"
Aladdin laughed. "Genie, cut it out. Just be careful, you guys. We'll be around the way if you need us."
Jasmine smiled. "You too. Don't get into too much trouble."
Aladdin put a hand to his chest in mock surprise. "Me? Trouble? No way." Abu snickered, holding a paw to his mouth.
Iago rolled his eyes.
"Well, fellow explorers, I don't see any signs of those rootin'-tootin' rascals anywhere. Now where did I put my hat?" Genie - dressed as a cowboy - peered around one of the turns of the underground where Aladdin and Abu followed him.
"Anything?" Aladdin asked.
Genie reverted to his normal form. "Nothing. I'm starting to think that maybe they didn't find those coins down here. They may not even know it'd had a link to this place."
"But we know. That scarab that attacked Jasmine and me took that coin for a reason. I bet it traces back to Abis Mal, somehow. If they have that one, they'll want the others." Aladdin surveyed the area, his eyes moving up and down the curved walls. He found one of the few doors to Lamrai, approached it, and ran his hand around the markings on the door. "It's hard to believe a year ago we were just in the realm beyond this door. After everything that happened." His voice carried a sadness to it that made Abu whimper sympathetically.
Genie immediately snatched Aladdin up, put him down a distance away and stood in front of the door. "Nope, nuh-uh. Ixnay on touching. That would be bad." Genie turned himself into several flashing neon "No" signs. Which interestingly enough had all the variations of "no" even in languages Aladdin couldn't begin to understand.
Aladdin held up his hands. "Hey, you touching it would be one thing; me, not so much." Even still, Aladdin didn't approach the door further after Genie had plucked him away. Abu scurried on the ground, ambling behind Genie's leg as he looked between them both.
Genie eyed the door suspiciously. "Maybe, but I still don't trust the magic in this thing." He put his hands on the door, and after a moment of being lost in thought, his eyes went wide.
"What's wrong, Genie?"
"Somebody opened this door not very long ago. That is not good."
Aladdin's body tensed. "How do you know?"
"Since these doors have a very old magic system, they leave kind of a magic trace, like a footprint, whenever someone opens or closes them. This footprint was on here as early as yesterday. It wasn't coming out, it was going in. And whoever went in could work this door's old magic. Which means they could potentially access the same level of power I could." Genie's voice was anxious, and he had a hard frown on his face. Abu screeched with just as much anxiety.
"Can you tell who went in?" Aladdin asked.
Genie's expression softened. "Maybe if I still had my phenomenal cosmic power, I could, but nope. No can do, kiddo."
Aladdin tried to run through a possible list in his mind of those he knew could access that power, but he couldn't think of anyone, at least not without some kind of mystic aid. "Maybe that's why Abis Mal and Haroud wanted those coins."
Genie shrugged. "Somehow I don't think those two could have access to anything that could break this door's seal, Al, not even through those coins. But they might be in the company of someone who might." He swallowed hard, transforming into a an oversized kid with a beanie hat knocking his knees together. Genie's voice sounded then like a tiny kid's. "I'm scared. I'm really, really, really scared."
Aladdin put a hand on Genie's trembling shoulder. "Genie, you don't have anything to be afraid of. We'll be okay. Trust me."
"Easy for you to say, poofy-haired princely one."
The three made their way further along the path, but Aladdin couldn't help but notice something odd as they went along. "I don't remember there being this many doors to Lamrai being down here. I thought they all disappeared when Grenden did. Except for the main one we saw a little while ago."
Genie looked puzzled. "You know, you're right. Even when I was down here looking to see if there were any spare Ankbut that might've scurried up by accident, there was just the main door we saw back there. That was it."
"You think whoever accessed that door opened up all these other ones?"
"Might be." Genie swallowed hard. "Uh, kid, you seem less nervous about this than I do."
Aladdin stopped walking. "I don't know if it's me not being nervous as it is that maybe...never mind."
"Al...You're not hiding something again, are you? You know what happened the last time we were down here and you didn't tell us anything." Genie's expression was cross, but his voice was light. Aladdin knew all too well, considering Grenden had been the one who had made him keep several secrets from his friends while under a curse that nearly cost him his life.
Aladdin sighed, figuring the gig was up for him and he had to tell Genie about what Phasir had said in the Marketplace. "Okay, fine. It's just that I saw Phasir in the Marketplace the other day and well..."
Before he could say more Aladdin felt a rush of something inside him that stopped him cold. He felt his head swimming and suddenly Phasir's words came back to him.
I would watch what the realm of your dreams yield over the next few days. It may hold the key to either preventing or stopping that darkness. For if it goes ignored, we may be all in serious danger.
Then his vision went from the interior of the cave to a series of images like he'd seen at the fountain with Phasir. He remembered seeing something like this before - pictures of things that were in the past with their encounters with Grenden, but he realized something else. There were newer images, things he hadn't seen before. Abis Mal and Haroud were just a part of it in some flashes, that was certain - it was taking place either in the present day or in an event that hadn't happened yet. The images came faster than he could keep up with at first, but then one image came clearly in his vision. He could see Abis Mal standing among several of the shadowbeasts from Lamrai, and a figure who seemed to turn over his shoulder to look at something a distance away. Aladdin's blood ran cold with the recognition of the figure.
Grenden.
Then the image faded to a blinding white light.
"Carpet!" Jasmine cried as the magic rug suddenly staggered in midair than dropped like a rock to the sands of the cave. It really wasn't a far fall to the ground, but it caught the Princess by surprise. She was able to recover into a roll, while Iago - with a sharp cry - automatically took to flying.
Carpet lay motionless on the ground.
"What the...? Is he sleepin'? Rugs don't sleep!" Iago said.
Jasmine gave him a side eye glance. "They don't usually fly either, but Carpet's an exception. Why would he suddenly fall asleep like that? In the middle of flying, even?"
"You're askin' the wrong bird. Maybe his fibers are stretched or somethin'."
Jasmine heard voices from the path beyond them and hushed Iago quiet. Their voices weren't far away and they were approaching quickly to where they were.
Jasmine was absolutely sure she recognized one of them being Abis Mal.
"Quick, we have to hide, they're coming closer," she hissed. She took the opportunity to roll up Carpet, who still seemed to be limp in a sleep state, and duck behind a few mounds of rock in the underground path. Iago followed her, just as Abis Mal, Haroud, and another cloaked figure rounded the corner.
Abis Mal looked apprehensive. "Are you sure that curse thingy's worked by now? And where exactly are we gonna find those coins again? You said we could get them for a pretty penny as long as they were intact."
The cloaked figure cleared his throat, clearly displeased. "I can sense the coins close by. They're here, it's just a matter of finding them so the next phase of our plan can be arranged. And I've already activated the magic of the curse. They should be under a sleeping spell by now. Only temporary."
"Sleep spell? Hey, that's what happened to the rug!" Iago said, his voice in a harsh whisper. "Whoever that guy is, he somehow made Carpet go into dreamland."
Jasmine nodded, her brows narrowed. "The question is how he did it and why Carpet's under a curse at all. They want the coins that you stole earlier."
"How was I supposed to know those coins weren't your run of the mill gold? And anyway, maybe we should find the kid and the blue boy and hand 'em over. I don't wanna be a part of any curse. I'd rather not be sleepin' for the next 10,000 years. Sleep might be kind for my complexion, but not for that long." He ran his wings over his face.
Jasmine's eyes widened in recognition. "If Carpet's under this sleep spell, what do you think happened with Aladdin, Abu and Genie?"
"Beats me. Maybe it's one of those magic user curses or somethin'."
Haroud's voice broke their dialogue. "Did you hear something? I think it might've come from a little bit ahead of us. "
Jasmine and Iago quickly fell silent. Carpet still remained immobile, rolled up at Jasmine's knelt form behind the rock.
"I didn't hear anything, Haroud." The cloaked figure said. "In any case, I will leave you two to deliver the coins to me personally. Do not fail me. You may not be able to see the beasts yourselves until you find me in Lamrai, but they will help you subdue the boy and gain leverage for the coins. Then our plan can begin."
"What about the Genie?" Abis Mal said, gulping. "He's given us way too many problems in the past. We can't face off against him if he's with the kid."
The figure chuckled. "Don't worry. I have a way of dealing with the Genie...personally."
Jasmine realized that she recognized the voice of the cloaked figure a little more the longer he talked, but before she could get a glimpse of him, he suddenly disappeared into a shadowy mass, leaving Haroud and Abis Mal alone.
"So basically, we find the kid, we find the coins, then bring them back to the sorcerer. Easy," Abis Mal said with confidence. But just as soon as he spoke the words, he looked dubious. "Now which way might he have gone in this place? So dark, you can't barely see your way around in here."
Haroud sighed. "If I may make a suggestion, sir. We could go north to find them among the doors to Lamrai."
"Yes, yes, right. Glad I thought of it. Lead the way, Haroud!"
Jasmine narrowed her eyes as she watched them disappear past them. "We need to follow them and warn Aladdin what's going on. I don't know who that sorcerer was, but he definitely didn't sound friendly."
"He definitely didn't sound like someone Mozenrath knows either. Just as scary though. But what are we gonna do with the rug?" Iago asked.
Jasmine sighed. "We'll have to carry him with us. I'll admit it's a little strange that we're going to end up carrying him instead of the other way around, but we don't have any choice until he wakes up."
Iago wasn't expecting for Jasmine to hand Carpet's rolled up form to his claws. The sudden weight made him drop like a rock to the sands. Iago had to beat his wings just to support dragging along Carpet.
"Oh sure, make me do all the heavy lifting while the Princess keeps her hands free. And you can afford to lose a few, ya big palooka." Iago grumbled to Carpet as he followed Jasmine to where Abis Mal and Haroud disappeared.
