Night fell over Balbadd. In the deluxe suite of the fanciest hotel, the lights were out and covers on the two king-sized beds pulled up over the heads of three figures. Dark and serene, this was short-lived as an explosion hit the beds. When the debris settled, silhouettes of Cassim and other Fog Troop members stood in the windowsills.
"Man, that was too easy!" laughed Cassim. The makeshift bomb devised by some of the group's members had thoroughly decimated the whole sleeping area.
His glee was short-lived however when he heard, "I wouldn't quite say that." The thieves turned their heads to see three shadows lurking in the far corner of the room. The central figure continued, "I was afraid your previous lesson wouldn't deter you for long. Out stealing again?"
"The only thing we intend to steal tonight is your life!" Cassim exclaimed.
"Oh? Then I take it you launched this attack knowing exactly who I was."
"Sure do, King Sinbad!" Cassim growled then pointed his sword forward for the troop to attack.
Crossbows fired but were soon diverted by the quick work of Masrur throwing furniture up to block and Ja'far using his roped darts to disarm the assailants. Sin bounded the table and closed the distance between him and the troop. Cassim made a swing at him but he blocked it with his own thin sword.
"I would prefer it if we talked things out calmly…" Sin started.
"And give you a chance to slaughter us?! Never!" Cassim growled, leaning into their clashing swords.
He tried to kick Sin in the stomach, but the older man was well grounded. The rest of the troop closed in on him and the others in an attempt to subdue them. With enough swords on him, the troop managed to pry Sin's sword away from him.
"Who said anything about slaughter? There must be a misunderstanding." Sin tried to reason while sidestepping every swing towards him.
"Heh. Don't play dumb. We know you are plotting with the government." Cassim again swung at Sin.
Being empty handed, Sin didn't have much choice but to duck under and throw his hands against his assailant's abdomen. Cassim was thrown back by the force and clenched his stomach while blood spurted out of his mouth. Sin grumbled about wasting magoi. The commotion died down as the rest of the troop was restrained by Ja'far and Masrur.
"Apparently, you've got me all wrong." Sin adjusted his clothes and frowned down at the rebellious leader. "Can't you see you've only been dragging your people into fights you can't win? I was hoping to meet with you peacefully to offer a solution."
Cassim heaved on the ground, distraught at being outmatched twice. His helplessness was stifling. As if in response to his desire for more power, he felt a drumming inside.
He protested, "We don't want your solution! Just switching one oppressor for another. Curse you! You should have been helpless without your vessels!"
"You don't know anything, do you?" Ja'far spoke with a dark expression. "Sin's vessels do not make him the Conqueror of the Seven Seas. He obtained them because of his own power."
"What makes you so special to have such power? Are the rest of us just trash? Doomed living to source your luxury?" Cassim's clenched fist hit the ground, the pounding inside him growing stronger. "If we don't like the life we're given, shouldn't we have the right to change it?"
Tears hit the ground. Startled, Sin kneeled down in another attempt to get through to him.
"Now hold on…"
Cassim wasn't listening to Sin anymore however. There seemed to be something more internal going on as he shouted out in frustration. His sword next to him started to glow and he clasped the handle and used his weapon to help him stand up. A new aura of strength surrounded him as he lifted his eyes to meet Sin's with a vengeance.
"I accept your power…" Cassim's voice was quiet but resolute. "Household vessel: Maru Saiqa!" He shouted and stabbed the ground to his side with the sword. Dragging it in front of him caused the floor to break away from underneath as sharp projectiles hurtling towards Sin.
Instinctively, Sin crossed his arms in front of him to avoid damage, but the force sent him flying back to and through the wall. In a moment the High King of the Seven Seas was gone, falling to his doom outside the hotel. Ja'far reacted instantly, jumping out a window and using his rope darts to swing down after him.
His undulating descent sped by kicks off the walls hastened him down quicker than gravity to catch up with his king. "Oh come on! You're so useless!" accused Ja'far, while rushing to him.
"Shut up," Sin reprimanded and reached out.
After grabbing hold, they continued their descent at a slowing pace until they reached the earth safely. As they stood upright, the sound of metal scraping resounded above. Looking up, they saw what was making the screeching noise.
Cassim too was descending outside the hotel, his sword dragging through the outer wall to steady him. Grinning wildly, he joined them in the street. He tapped his sword in hand before stabbing the dirt below him.
"Let's see if you can survive a second attack like that?" Again he called out Maru Saiqa, sending a spray of earthen shafts towards Sin.
Sin was prepared for it this time. He and Ja'far dodged in different directions to avoid it, but Cassim was already dragging his sword across the ground, sending another wave towards Sin. This time Sin spun around out of the way, trying to get closer to his assailant. The closer proximity however gave him less time to get out of the way of Cassim's third attack.
Having scaled down the hotel, Masrur came crashing down, taking out a number of the earth spears with his hefty feet. Only a few got by to graze Sin's arm as he closed the distance between him and Cassim. Upon reaching him, Sin grabbed Cassim's wrist with both hands and sent a reverse power that drained his Household.
"What did you just do?!" Cassim screeched.
"Altered your magoi flow so you can't keep using that. Now: will you listen to reason?"
Cassim pulled his arm out of Sin's grasp and took a few steps back. He looked at Sin, flanked by his two retainers, all three with serious expressions. Cassim glowered back. In his peripheral vision, he saw the reinforcements he stationed on the streets gathering around. He stuck an arm behind his back and gave a signal for them.
In response, a small bomb landed in front of Sin, creating a lot of dust in the air as it exploded. In the split second before, Sin and his retainers managed to defend against the blow, but when the dust settled, Cassim and the rest of the Troop were nowhere to be seen.
Zenobia walked along with Alibaba as her magoi replenished. They were just outside the stronghold of some desert bandits near the border of Balbadd. This was a brief detour that Zenobia wanted to test Alibaba in. Thanks to her Andromalius djinn, she had located something of interest within this fortress back when she was using it to search for Alibaba.
Fortunately for them, it used to be a mine and still had undiscovered veins below. Alibaba got to witness this other djinn in action as she partially equipped it and stuck her clawed right hand into the earth.
"A second djinn equip?" Alibaba stammered. "Just how many do you have? As many as the great Sinbad the Sailor?"
Zenobia refrained from scoffing as she twisted her arm, boring a tunnel into the earth. "And how many does he have?"
"According to the Adventures of Sinbad: seven."
"Not quite that many. But I do plan to get more."
They were able to excavate ample amounts of raw gold, which Zenobia entrusted to Alibaba for their upcoming encounter. It was a simple matter of economics. In essence she paid him with the gold in advance for something she wanted within the bandits' stronghold. He would negotiate for the items of interest and the lower he could get them for, the more he could keep for himself.
The bag of gold was slung over his shoulder as they walked up to the main gate. The bandits standing guard looked at them like they were prey, but Zenobia adopted a shifty demeanor and spoke with euphemisms to get them to let her in to see the one running this operation. They might not have been fully convinced by her act, but deemed the two harmless and figured seeing their boss barter with such a petite woman would provide some amusement.
They were brought to a room where they met a short, fat man with an eyepatch and mustache. Zenobia scanned the room and zeroed in on a sack in an alcove.
"Greetings. I am S Nando. I am told you have something worth my while," his raspy voice resonated through the carved out stone room.
"That all depends if you have something worth our while." Zenobia walked towards the alcove and started fingering the items in the area. "I'm sure you have acquired many trinkets, but those trinkets are of little use if you can't pawn them off." She started to pick the sack of interest up while saying a coded word to let Alibaba know what his goal to buy was.
"If you don't mind keeping your hands to yourself." S Nando said and she dropped the bag, metal clinking inside. "That is, unless you buy it. It seems you know the woes of being such isolated folk as us. Trinkets don't serve us as well as gold does."
Zenobia nodded to Alibaba and he took the lead. "Then you are in luck. I just so happen to have some gold on me!"
S Nando turned towards Alibaba. Zenobia rubbed her forehead. Being so blunt would surely cause a conflict. She placed a wary hand on her weapons in case they needed to fight their way out if the bandits tried to steal instead of trade.
"Just how much?" the eldest Nando brother inquired, rubbing his hands together.
Alibaba chuckled, "That depends. I haven't exactly counted it myself, but the more you can give me, the more you'll get. You have to admit, with the surrounding areas starting to trade only in paper money, my offer is rare. That brings the value of physical gold way up, so show me how much you're willing to part with to get some of this. If you impress me enough, I might be able to give you enough to buy a mansion in town." Alibaba wriggled his eyebrows mischievously.
S Nando gave a sly smile. "Well come and look at our newest inventory and see if anything tickles your fancy."
As S Nando presented their recent hauls, Alibaba did a good job not looking impressed. Eventually, S Nando presented the sack Zenobia had covertly indicated, but did not reveal its contents. Instead, he offered a straight trade of the sack of treasures for the bag of gold. Alibaba negotiated a few other items that he took a personal interest in into the bargain before they came to an agreement and shook on it.
"I hope this sack is worth it, mind telling me what's in it now that I bought it?"
S Nando opened his new bag and his face lit up as he stared at the gold within. "Oh? Just some stuff we got off a drunk. You can tell by the quality of the jewelry though that he was pretty wealthy. This was everything he had on him," the oldest Nando brother laughed.
"Everything he had?" Zenobia inquired as she hovered over Alibaba's shoulder to see the items, "You mean to tell me you left him stark naked?"
"Well yes, but you make it sound so crass."
Zenobia gave a mysterious smile. "Is that so? I will treasure this greatly," she mused to herself.
Suddenly the bandit boss felt like he was getting the short end of the stick. "Oh? Well, I'm not sure we're willing to part with them for such a small sum…"
In a flash, her dagger was at his throat. She spoke low and even, "I trust my associate amply reimbursed you for your efforts already. Now, if you wish to keep breathing, the deal is closed. If you wish to discuss further, I'll see about cleaning out this snake pit so no more travelers get cursed by your venom."
S Nando sweat profusely. He held his hands up in defeat as he stuttered, "O-of course! It was an, er, pleasure doing business with you."
Zenobia seized the bag and Alibaba gathered up his baubles. They gave the dealer curt nods before leaving the room.
Alibaba smiled up at his examiner. "Do you like what I did there? I figured they'd want all the gold, so instead of haggling down the price, I purchased some items for myself!" He placed the necklace over his head, the armbands on his wrists, and fiddled with a few of the other items.
As they crossed the open area towards the front gate, Zenobia sighed to Alibaba, "I would advise that one of the first enactments when you rule Balbadd would be to encourage those folk to take up gainful employment. Divert their attention and they won't be harassing innocents."
"But bandits don't care about gainful employment. It's too much work for them."
"So give them something they can contribute that is easier than thieving," Zen winked. "See if you can come up with an answer before I tell you what we do in my capital. The more solutions we have under our belts, the more options we can choose from in different situations."
Just then, they found their path cut off as the bandits surrounded them. S Nando and his brothers were laughing around them
S Nando sneered gleefully, "You were foolish to wander in here with that gold thinking we could trade when it would profit us more to take your gold and keep the treasure!"
Zenobia readied to summon one of her djinn when Alibaba took a step towards the brother. His hands were outstretched peacefully.
He said, "Well that's too bad if you were to kill us over a sack of gold. And here I thought we had come to a mutually beneficial arrangement?"
L Nando and M Nando looked at their eldest brother in confusion. "Arrangement? What arrangement?"
Alibaba pointed a finger up as he explained, "You have a problem moving your stock, right? Well, it just so happens that I am a merchant which makes moving stock my specialty! I can frequent by here with more gold to get your merchandise off your hands, but if you kill us now, all you get is that one sack of gold."
"So there's more gold where that came from, eh?" S Nando rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"There will be after I sell off some of these goods. You see, in that way, I make money grow. You know another option for you is to take that gold I gave you and make it grow too," Alibaba said with an impish grin.
Perhaps you can bring further progress to Pamira after all… Zenobia thought to herself as the young prince talked their way out of a fight.