Chapter 21: Siamese If You Please
I woke up three hours later to bright sunlight filtering into my tent. The desert winds were rustling the tent flaps quite loudly. I crawled out into the sunlight. It was much hotter now. Sand grains swirled in the gusty winds as I tied the cloth over my face again. I saw Cody on the sand passed out.
Cody sat up and dusted sand out of his hair. "Hey, Matt," Cody's voice sounded a little raspy.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Other than the fact that I spent the last three hours throwing up? Yes." Cody stood up. "My canteen is empty after trying to rehydrate myself but, yeah, my stomach did not like the part of the giant sand worm I ate."
"My water is empty too," I shugged. "The most we've got for us is being slightly more tolerant of heat as fire wizards, but we're toast if we don't find Yakhal Mountain soon. Let's begin walking."
As we reached the next dune, Cody's eyes lit up. "Matt! Matt! I see water!"
"Where?"
"Its' on the sand!"
"Cody, that's a Mirage. The sun and lack of water play tricks on your mind."
Cody sighed and we kept walking. After what seemed another two hours of walking (It was probably more like thirty minutes), Cody saw something sparkle in the sun on the sand. He ran over to it. "Cody! It's probably just another Mirage," I said, despite myself also seeing the sparkle. I sat down and realized my arms were pink from sunburn and my cheeks flushed again. I took my boots off as the soles had completely worn off. Cody ran back with a lamp.
"Wait, it wasn't an illusion?" I asked groggily.
"It looks like one of those djinn lamps," Cody rubbed the metallic lamp with his sunburnt hand. A pink puff of smoke came out of the spout and out popped a djinn. She wore a pink sleeveless midriff, a pink skirt, and had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were a sapphire blue, as were her earrings, and she had no legs, but she floated on a cloud of pink smoke.
"Hello! I am Istar, the mediocre djinni!" She said. Cody and I glanced at each other, confused. "This is the part where you say 'you're awesome Istar'..." Istar then looked at us. "Oh, where are my manners. Hello new masters. It seems two teenage guys found me. You two look a little worse for wear."
"We've been trekking through the desert all night," I said.
"I mistakenly ate part of a giant sand worm thinking it wasn't toxic," Cody added. "And we ran out of water."
"Oh phooey! That sounds terrible, you guys," Istar said conjuring a large case of water bottles. Cody's face lit up as both of us each grabbed a water bottle. Istar seemed to awkwardly feel ignored as Cody and I spent five minutes rehydrating ourselves.
"Thanks, Star," Cody sat down next to me.
"It's Istar. Now, boys, tell me why you are out here in the desert baking yourselves?" Istar asked.
"We are looking for Shamiss in Yakhal Mountain," I replied, taking a sip of water.
"Oh dear... Shamiss? I can take you to Yakhal Mountain but I can't promise you he will be nice."
Istar guided us for another hour before we reached a conical mountain. "Where is House Siamese?" I asked.
"It's inside the mountain," Istar winked. The djinn led us into a valley where a path led us inside the mountain. The city inside was marvelous. It was forty degrees cooler inside. The city was built on tiers and at the bottom it was dark and icy while the top layer, with the House Siamese chairman's palace was under a hole in the roof of the mountain to let in the sun. "The Siamese created a city of Air Conditioning! Oh, isn't it delightful?" Istar smiled.
"Heck, yeah!" Cody grinned. "Now, where do we find Shamiss?"
"Follow me," Istar floated off along the streets. We followed her up to the chairman's suite. The area at top in the sun was just as cool as below, but the sun rays had allowed for the palace courtyard to be a basking ground. Several Siamese Qhats laid on lounge chairs tanning in the sunlight while still being cooled by the industrial air conditioning. The whole city was an engineering feat to be marveled at.
The three of us entered the Chairman's Suite. "Oh hello, Istar! How great to see you! I see you hired new servants," a qhat in regal attire said.
"No, Chairman Meow, these guys are not servants. They are travelers from afar, here to seek Shamiss for something," Istar said.
"Ha! I am not speaking with a ludicrous pair of foreigners," a djinn in red and orange said. I assumed this yellow haired djinn was Shamiss.
"You will if you want me to not report you to Eerkala, the queen of the Djinn..." Istar said. "Ya know... about that... incident last weekend," Istar winked.
"Oh, oh dear, of course, I'll speak with you lads," Shamiss said in his Albionian accent. "On one condition, you must be presentable for our meeting, not looking like sunburnt dune wanderers."
"Thank you, sir," I bowed politely.
"Now, join us for lunch, great visitors. You must be starved after your journey here!" The Chairman offered.
"You have no idea," Cody laughed sitting down at the Chairman's dining table.
After lunch Istar guided us to a small apartment where we could sleep during our visit to Yakhal Mountain. The first thing I did was take a bath and wash off all the sand, sweat, and dust. After I dried off and put my robes back on (which Istar had mended with her djinn magic) I actually noticed how elegant the room was. There were two beds and a large nightstand where Istar placed her lamp. I eagerly rested while Cody washed up in the bath room, which was really more like an indoor hot tub.
After everyone was refreshed, Cody and I returned to the Chairman's Suite for our meeting with Shamiss. "Enough of that pleasant ruse I was givin' ya two hours ago! What do ya want with me?!" Shamiss demanded.
"We were sent by Ignus Ferric to learn Scorching Scimitars," I told the djinn who had a temper hotter than a volcano.
"Ignus sent ya? Well, why didn't ya just say so? Ignus and I are great friends. He sent ya lads to find Scorching Scimitars? My sister Sandra can help ya there. She can be found..."
Just then, a longer haired, more feminine looking djinn similar to Shamiss came in. "Hello, brother," she spoke in a more Miragean accent than her brother.
"Just in time, Sandra," Shamiss began. "These lads are looking for the Scorching Scimitars spell," Shamiss indicated Cody and I.
"Hiya," Cody and I waved.
"You two look like nice young men," Sandra stated. "But-"
"UGH, there's always a 'but', isn't there?" Cody sighed.
"There is a rebellion. House Bumbai, the ice keepers, have begun rebelling, something about their people being 'sick and tired of being opressed for the last century'. Please help us resolve the matter swiftly and I can help you with what you need," Sandra explained.
Cody, Istar and I took an elevator down to the lower level of Yakhal Mountain and hid behind crates to investigate. The temperature was quite chilly down here. Bumbai Qhats spent hours freezing the water to feed the industrial cooling system keeping the mountain so refreshingly cool on the hottest of summer days. A qhat came over to the crates we hid behind and lifted one.
"What the blasted sand monkeys?! It looks like I found some Siamese infidels sent here to oppress us further. Let them know that we are not to be bullied around. Our message to the chairman will be your broken bones..."
We soon found ourselves surrounded by Bumbai Radicals. "Sorry to kill the party, but I don't have bones," Istar taunted.
Cody and I began attacking the qhats. Several of them were knocked out while Istar summoned various objects or create obstacles to confuse them.
"ENOUGH of this!" A beautiful grey qhat in a white robe came out of the deep freezer. She approached me. "What makes you think you can attack my people?"
"No offense, miss, but your Bumbai Ice Keepers started a rebellion..." I explained.
"The Siamese started this. They designed this city and let us stay only as slaves! We will not rest until we get equal treatment. Bring this request to the chairman at once. Bring his answer at midnight. Good evening to you all," the qhat turned back around and returned to her apartment.
"Well, that was rude," Cody scoffed.
"She has a fair point. The rebels have a valid reason for, y'know, rebelling..." I conceded.
"I am sure there is a logical way to settle the issue..." Istar said.
"I think I know a way to make both groups equal," Cody said logically. "Let's go see the chairman."
We re-entered the chairman's suite while the sun was setting. "Ah, hello travellers. Back from the ice keeper area?"
"Yes, and we have come to address a problem," Cody began.
"What? Is the air not cool enough for you?" Chairman Meow looked concerned.
"No, sir," I began. "Are you aware of a rebellion among the ice keepers? They feel they're not getting the treatment they deserve."
"No. My advisor Goofang must have left that out of his report. Thanks for telling me. What do you want to do to solve the problem?"
"I think the Siamese and Bumbai should share the basking grounds and ice duties," Cody suggested. It was quite a fair idea.
"Oh my word, that is a MARVELOUS idea my boy! Why did we not think of that sooner? That foul Goofang never told me that the Bumbai were upset!" Chairman Meow purred.
"No offense, your highness, but may I point out that it's pathetic for two foreigners were the first to inform you of this when it's kinda your job to " I said to the qhat as Istar and Cody began to walk out.
"I know," Chairman Meow sat down. "It's quite sad. I'm firing my advisor Goofang at once. Go to his lab and let him know. I will go with Istar and your genius friend to work out a diplomatic solution. Fighting my insolent advisor seems more like a job for you, brutish young man."
"I have to fight Goofang?" I asked. "And I am not very brutish, sir."
"Eh, you'll do fine. Onward Istar!" Chairman Meow exited with Istar and Cody to speak with the Bumbai leaders.
"Where to find Goofang?" I asked myself, glancing around the suite.
"He's in his lab," a qhat said. I turned around to see a teenage male qhat standing there. "My master's lab is outside and to the left. Let me show you, foreign brute."
"Thanks," I said before facepalming myself. Apparently, I am a brute to these qhats. At least we're going to get our spell and leave this city. The mysterious qhat let me into the lab. "Master Goofang, a visitor is here to see you," he bowed. "I shall now exit," he quickly tiptoed away.
"So, you are the foreigner who enlightened the chairman, yes?" Goofang asked from his desk.
"Y-yes, sir," I nodded. "And he sends me with a message: You're fired."
"This cannot be! I cannot be humiliated by a foreigner!"
I drew my wand. "The Chairman's words, sir. He is your boss."
"I am not going down without a fight!" Goofang attacked with several Sunbirds and Phoenixes. He was quite powerful.
I sent out fire blasts that knocked him back a bit, then I summoned a Firezilla that breathed flames on the Siamese cat.
"I surrender," Goofang gasped. "But, a few final words. I kept the Chairman isolated because I didn't want him corrupted. I see that my plot failed. I only had the Siamese interest at heart."
Just then, Goofang's apprentice, the one who led me here, returned. "Sir, are you alright?!" Then he turned to me. "You monster. He warned me about foreign brutes like you."
"No, my apprentice. It is alright. We shall go back to being humble scientists. The Siamese leadership has no place for xenophobes like me."
"I'm sorry," I said. "But, Chairman Meow ordered me to do this. He's currently making an agreement with House Bumbai down below."
A few minutes later, in the chairman's suite, Cody and Istar returned with Chairman Meow. "Good news, Matt. The rebels have agreed to the terms," Cody smiled.
"And Goofang, the xenophobe who started all of this, has been fired."
"Alright, I think you gentlemen have earned these..." Sandra said, holding out two Scorching Scimitars spell cards after entering the suite.
"Thanks," I thanked Sandra, admiring the card.
"Now, you voyagers can go home," Istar said. She summoned a magic carpet. "This will take you back to Caravan, where the world door is."
"That would have been nice to have coming out here," Cody laughed, sitting on the flying rug. I sat down, a little nervous about flying on the desert winds on a carpet. I held on for my life as the carpet zoomed out of the palace and up and out of the Sun hole at the top of the mountain. It was nighttime above the desert and the sands were drenched in the pale light emitted by the full moon.
"The view is nice!" I shouted over the wind.
"Yup," Cody said, the wind blowing through his brown hair.
I happened to notice an odd glowing portal on the desert floor. "Woah... what is that?" I asked.
"Let's check it out, we got time to kill." Cody said, turning the carpet around.