The prompt this week was "The various masters (good and evil) of Jinn over the years, and what kind of questions she had to answer."

Lord Perabo sat brooding over the maps spread out on his desk. With Vale to the north and the Grimm everywhere else, he was not in a good place strategically speaking. Still, he did not regret the decisions he'd made. He refused to be made a slave to the king of Vale or to her.

"My lord," greeted an armored guard as he entered Perabo's chambers. "An emissary from Vale has arrived. He requests an audience."

Perabo sneered. "Who is this emissary?"

The guard hesitated before answering. "My lord, it is Osmund Maverri."

The guard jumped as Perabo's fist slammed into the table, almost knocking over a candle.

"I will receive him in the great hall," the lord growled, turning to exit the chamber. As he departed, he picked up a cloth sack from the table and held it against his chest protectively. Whatever was inside the sack gave it an odd, somewhat pointed shape.

Arriving in the great hall, Perabo carefully set the cloth sack beneath his throne before lowering his bulk into the chair. Guards stood at attention around the hall, hands resting on their swords. Perabo nodded and one of the guards opened the door at the far end of the hall.

Osmund Maverri strode confidently into the hall. He was a tall, thin man with dark brown hair and a well-trimmed mustache. His dark green suit declared his allegiance to Vale. He carried a cane with a strange silver handle, but it was clear that he did not need it to walk.

The emissary stopped in the center of great hall and bent at the waist. He bowed low, as if Perabo were still a loyal retainer of Vale. It might have been an attempt to extend the offer of peace, but it drew only a sneer from the lord.

"If you are hear to ask me to submit once more to the king of Vale, then you should leave now," snarled Perabo.

Osmund started at his hostile tone. "Lord Perabo, surely you must see the wisdom in-"

"In allowing my soldiers to be used as fodder to protect Vale? I think not!"

"In providing for the common defense," Osmund pleaded. "Our people are stronger together."

"Oh, I am certain that is true of Vale," spat Perabo. "But my people are better off without you leeching our strength!"

"My lord, you were a valued part of Vale," Osmund implored. "The Grimm are a threat to all of us and-"

"All except the witch, you mean," interrupted Perabo with a smirk.

Osmund froze. "The witch?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" the lord shouted. "You know exactly who I mean. If I trusted a single thing that she said it was that you know even more than you let on. Tell me, Osmund, exactly who is she to you?"

"My lord, you cannot trust her," whispered the emissary.

"Oh? But she at least was able to protect my lands from the Grimm for a time. There were no attacks while I went on her little errand. It might have even stayed that way for a time had I not realized that she too would have made me a slave, just as your king did!"

"Lord Perabo," protested Osmund. "The king never saw you as a slave."

Perabo snorted. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps it isn't the king who I should blame, but you instead. Osmund Maverri. The true master of Vale, ruling from the shadows while all eyes are on the king. He was your puppet, and you wished to make me one as well!"

"My lord," begged Osmund. "I can see that you're angry but-"

"A blind, deaf, comatose lobotomy patient could SEE THAT I'M ANGRY!" Perabo took a breath, and Osmund opened his mouth to speak, but the lord raised a hand to cut him off. "No! You will be silent! I now have the means to see through your lies."

Perabo rose from his throne and bent to retrieve the cloth sack beneath it. From the sack he drew out an ornate, golden lamp that glowed with a soft turquoise light. The lord smirked as Osmund's mouth fell open in recognition.

"Jinn!" cried Perabo. "Your master summons you!"

Time stopped in the great hall. Osmund froze even as he tried to speak. The guards that lined the halls weren't even breathing.

Blue smoke began to pour from the lamp. It gathered at the back of the hall before taking shape. Jinn emerged from the smoke in all her radiant beauty just as Perabo turned to face her.

"Are you ready to ask your final question?" the keeper of knowledge intoned.

"I am," replied Perabo with a smirk. "What is Osmund's true objective?"

Jinn smiled and nodded before answering. "Osmund came here today to make you return to Vale or else kill you by using his cane. It has the ability to store time and use it later." Perabo laughed, sparing a glance at the frozen emissary. He didn't fully understand what Jinn meant about the cane, but having Osmund's plan revealed like this immediately proved the worth of the Relic of Knowledge.

"But," continued Jinn. "I'm sure you wanted to know his larger objective as well." Perabo smiled and nodded.

And then she showed him.

The lord collapsed to his knees. He was covered in sweat and panting as if he'd just fought through a pack of Beowolves.

Then, slowly, he began to chuckle. He threw his head back and let out a full-throated laugh.

"I'll do it!" cried the lord. "I will find the God of Light's well and obtain the same immortality as Salem. Then, once I've united all of Remnant beneath my rule, I will bring the Relics together and summon back the gods. And once humanity's magic is restored, I will rule this world as its eternal king!"

Perabo turned around to regard the man that had failed for thousands of years to defeat Salem…

Just in time to see Osmund stab his cane through his chest.

"No," said the emissary. "You won't."

Perabo gasped in confusion. Time was still stopped. He looked around the hall and saw his guards standing at attention, completely frozen. Blood poured down their chests from where their throats had been cut.

The cane stores time…

Perabo met Osmund's eyes and for a moment he saw all of them. He saw the princely hero of the old world. He saw the farmer raised against his will to become a sorcerer-king. He saw the drunkard wishing for a death that would be denied to him. And he saw all the rest up to the puppetmaster of Vale.

Jinn faded into smoke. As time restarted, Perabo collapsed to the ground. He reached for the Relic one last time before he died.