Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow
_

Most men would have been deterred, or at least upset by this development. But Mozenrath did not react. He said very little over the next day as they began to travel north along the coastline.

Aladdin rubbed his neck. "Moze I'm sorry. I'd hoped…"

"What's next on the list?" The sorcerer cut him off. "Tell me you had other ideas."

Aladdin felt rebuked for a moment, but shook his head. "Yeah we had a couple of other leads. The tree was just the easiest to get to, and the closest."

"So where are we headed now?"

"The Cavern of Machana."

"Machana?" Mozenrath paused as he stroked Xerxes.

"Yeah. Genie got sick once and we used one of the orbs of Machana to cure him."

Mozenrath considered. "But you used it on the djinn. Are you sure its use isn't exclusive for that purpose?"

"Well it cured him if that's what you mean." Aladdin started.

"Obviously, but no. I mean that some magical objects are meant for one specific purpose. For instance these orbs might be intention only for genie and other ifret or bottle demons." The necromancer reasoned. "It might do a bang up job on your genie but have no effect whatsoever on me."

"Maybe, but it's the next closest possibility." Iago argued.

"So we are getting further away from Agrabah." Mozenrath looked out over the sea. "If I didn't know better Aladdin I'd say you were looking for a safe place to dump me. Perhaps a lone island in the middle of the ocean."

"Geez are you always this paranoid?"

"It pays to be wary in my line of work." Mozenrath said absently. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was actually glad to be leaving both Agrabah and his own kingdom behind. No one had mentioned it and he was loath to bring it upr, but the event Aladdin had mentioned with the mamlucks made him nervous. The mamlucks, but their very nature, were entirely devoid of will. Even basic self-preservation was beyond their capacity. It was his power and will alone which motivated their actions. So the idea that they had been gathering unprompted by him was worth investigation.

The fact that Destaine's fetid corpse apparently had something to do with it made him uncharacteristically agitated.

He was the first mamluck I ever made. Mozenrath considered to himself. Perhaps there was some flaw in the design work. I was young and a bit less observant back then. Did I leave something behind? He was, unbeknownst to his rescuers, dissecting his methodology with obsessive detail, considering every component used to transform flesh and blood into dried and tied mamluck.

The process in and of itself was not altogether dissimilar from basic mummification. The difference was in the black sand itself. As well as a stroke of genius thanks to yours truly. He smiled a little. Mozenrath had gone about the brutish business himself, lacking the minions at that time to carry out such a task for him. First had come removing the organs, leaving the body as a hollow husk to be filled by his purpose. There had been a crude joy in seeing his old master laid barren by his work. And he had taken his time with the procedure.

By far more difficult was the encasing of the ka, the manifestation of ones spirit or soul. That part had actually frightened him. The ka was said to be conscious, aware of it's surroundings and those near by. What if it still housed Destaine's malice towards his young pupil? He had managed to extract and encase this spirit with due care and consideration, only to be somewhat disappointed when it proved to be less than he'd anticipated. A cringing, coiling wormlike thing that gave off a dull sickly glow. Still, it had been that of a once powerful sorcerer. And Mozenrath had been sure it would have some use. He had ignored the ba, the personality of his former master. That held no power in and of itself.

But perhaps that was a mistake. He considered briefly. If nothing else Destaine had maintained a forceful personality. He'd considered the ba useless as all the power and magic was housed in the ka, the actual spirit. But perhaps he should have erred on the side of caution and kept the mentality somehow.

Ah but I did not do that with any of the other mamlucks either. Mozenrath reasoned. So why then would Destaine react differently, and why only after so many years? Perhaps it was a simple fluke. He had completed the process in the usual manner, dismembering the body and burying the corpse in hot, dry sands until it dehydrated. Digging them out by hand weeks later and taking painstaking caution with how every limb was re-sewn properly, giving the powers a vessel in which to inhabit. The process had been exhausting, but when Destaine's eyes had opened with that eerie semblance of life, Mozenrath had felt a twinge of fear in his breast.

And the burn of success in his heart.

Destaine had been slow and shambling at first, but as he had learned to master this new power the other's had responded quicker. And the more minions he produced the easier it was to have them go on raids of the local graveyards and preform the more menial parts of creating a mamluck. Within two years he'd created a substantial army of undead, perfecting the process along the way to create stronger, more long lasting creatures.

But still, that didn't explain how Destaine would have any ability to act on his own. Perhaps I should have just destroyed the ka. He thought to himself. He hated to waste such an excellent potential resource, but still…

"Are you okay?"

Mozenrath's head snapped up, his eye wide and unguarded for a split second. He had entirely forgotten his surroundings. "What?"

Aladdin arched an eyebrow and exchanged a look with his Genie. "You've been sitting there silent for hours."

Mozenrath blinked and shrugged. "I'm fine Aladdin. Just considering something." He said with no intention of elaborating further.

"Well I hope you're done, because we're about to camp for the night." Aladdin said pointedly.

The sorcerer looked irked as he remembered Aladdin's casual threat the day before. "Just try and pick somewhere we aren't likely to be assaulted in our sleep." He mentioned and went back into himself as they spotted a sight and landed. Before anything could be said (or gods of evil forbid, Aladdin could attempt to give him an order), Mozenrath extended his hand and closed his eyes. It was somewhat satisfying to realize that the second a fire lite itself in his palm, the little group of hero's went on guard. Smiling to himself, Mozenrath cautiously sent the flame into a pile of sticks, which ignited and burned cheerily.

"I thought he couldn't do magic without his gauntlet." Aladdin whispered cautiously.

"He shouldn't be able to…at the very lest it should have severely limited his capabilities." The blue djinn said as he stroked his jaw.

"Oh please you're both worrying too much." Iago snapped in, ignoring the dirty look Mozenrath directed at him. "Fire spells are level one stuff. Wiz kid here is just trying to keep us on edge." He gestured airily with a wing. "Even Al here could probably manage it with enough practice, and he's about as magical as a rock."

"I'll remember you said that, bird." Mozenrath emphasized as the parrot seemed to remember who he was speaking ill of. "At any rate I've done my part." He turned his back and proceeded to find somewhere he could be alone.

"No." Aladdin strode forward with the water pouches. "We need more water before we head off in the morning. Since you've gotten a fire started for us you can go and find a fresh water supply." He tossed the pouches at Mozenrath with a smile. "Shouldn't take long."

Mozenrath grimaced but took them and headed off into the woods.

"He really does make being taciturn into an art form doesn't he?" Iago said and Abu laughed.

"Yeah well as much fun as it is we should try not to antagonize him." Aladdin said sheepishly. "Moze has got a habit of coming back full force, even after something like this. And somehow I don't think he'll be grateful enough not to hold a little teasing against us." He chuckled with his friends as they started setting up the tents.

"Somehow I don't think it's gonna happen this time Al. I mean granted Moze is a wonder at bouncing back, but I've never seen anything like this before. And when a 30,000 year old genie hasn't seen something…"

"Yeah that's been bugging me too." Iago chimed in. "Magical objects are a dime a dozen but getting your hands on something like that glove a his doesn't come easy. It's loaded with raw power in and of itself but he isn't using it for half its real potential."

"Keep your voice down!" Aladdin said quickly, grabbing the birds beak firmly and looking around. Bad enough Mozenrath could come back at any moment, but if what Iago said was true he defiantly didn't want the young wizard knowing. "What do you mean? The gauntlet is more power than we've seen?"

The parrot rubbed his beak irritably before continuing. "Well duh! He's even used it to take out our main magic boy over there. Didn't it ever occur to you that a mortal sorcerer shouldn't be anywhere near as powerful as even a defunct genie?"

"Well forgive me for not being a familiar to an evil sorcerer." Aladdin said with good natured humor.

"You're a funny guy Al. Make one mistake with your choice in friends and they never let you forget it." But he kept going. "Yeah I'd say that gauntlet packs a powerful whammy when it needs to, but maybe Mozenrath can't handle the full scope of power."

"I find it hard to believe he would put a limitation on himself."

"He might not be doing it consciously. Look, Mozenrath isn't exactly the typical evil sorcerer. He's like a third the age of most of the big boys out there. Power, especially evil powers, take a toll on the body and mind. It takes years, sometimes decades to be fully capable of controlling some of the heavy artillery available to a sorcerer of Mozenrath's caliber." Iago explained. "And, even then, you have to be careful. There's usually a payment involved. Well Mozenrath obviously paid the price, but he isn't letting himself take full advantage of the power available."

" Maybe he can't. Maybe he knows he couldn't handle it." Genie offered.

"Does that seem likely to you? Nah, my money is on that glove of his being more than it appears. He practically said it's got a mind of its own. Well maybe it's got an agenda to go with it. And wizkid is only a means to an end."

"But then, does Mozenrath know about it?" Aladdin surmised and shook his head. "And if he did, why would you even put something like that on in the first place."

"Control."

Everyone jumped a foot in the air as Mozenrath appeared from the dark forest, tossing the filled water jugs at Aladdin's feet. The sorcerer seemed entirely too gratified about this reaction and sat cross-legged next to the fire. Aladdin was determined not to let that be the end of this. "So you knew this could happen?" No point in denying what had already been overheard.

"I knew it was an eventual possibility." Mozenrath admitted, taking a chunk of goat jerky and shredding off bits to feed to Xerxes. "But at the time it was not my main concern. The sacrifice was necessary to gain the power I needed."

"What could you possibly need power for so badly that you were willing to give up not just your hand, but your life?" The hero sounded amazed, and a little shocked. It truly astounded him that someone would be willing to inflict such self-harm.

"My gods, what must it be like in that naive little head of yours Aladdin?" He actually sounded amused. "You honestly can't see past your own world of happy endings can you? Struggles to you means nothing more than playing a game you know you're going to win. But when did you ever have to really give up something you needed? When was the last time you truly suffered in order to achieve something?" He scoffed in disgust when Aladdin looked at him with a total lack of understanding. "I told you hero, I needed the power in order to gain control."

"Control over what? The black sands?"

"He's talking about Destaine." Iago said with sudden awareness.

Aladdin caught a flicker of something in Mozenrath's eyes, but it was hidden within a second. "Yes. Destaine. You said yourself he was no neophyte. In order to defeat him and take over the black sands, I would have had to wait years; decades even to contend with him. An object of power was the only way."

"So you wanted control over your old master, is that it?" Aladdin surmised, seeming unimpressed. "Why didn't you just…I don't know…run away or something?"

"Do you really think it would be that easy? Don't you think I tried?" Mozenrath snapped then seemed to realize something. He leaned back against the tree, all emotion wiped from his face. "Besides, I had already come too far with my training to just throw it all away. Sometimes your goals need to be more long term. I wanted control over my own life. This was the only way to get it."

"I don't understand. You said once that Destaine was like a father to you. What could he have done that was so bad you wanted to kill him?" But whatever had prompted him to be so open had passed. Aladdin watched as Mozenrath's eyes narrowed and he looked away.

There was an uncomfortably long period of silence while they ate their dinner. If Mozenrath was aware that it was his presence alone causing such discomfort he said nothing. Genie tried once or twice to lighten the mood with a juggling act and actually got a laugh as he misfired and the balls went in every direction. Mozenrath jerked back as one of the bright red ones struck Xerxes in the middle and sent the eel flying. He gave the Genie a look of dangerous intent and everything quickly settled back down.

'You know what I've been thinking about?" Aladdin said absently, not really talking to anyone so much as thinking out loud. "Why did that middle marker give us so much trouble? I mean it couldn't have just sealed up on it's own."

"You're more worried about an old stone than who destroyed a valuable healing resource?" Mozenrath of course had to make him sound like a complete idiot.

"I'm willing to bet it was done by the same person…or group of people. Burning down a tree doesn't take much, but you and Genie both seemed surprised when the way was blocked. What would be powerful enough to keep both of you out of something if you wanted to get in?"

Mozenrath looked ready to say something derogatory but stopped, as though it had just dawned on him. "I don't know." He sat, sitting up and adopting a thinking pose. "There are a variety of barrier and protective spells, but they can usually be unraveled quickly enough by someone like me. Even without my gauntlet I should have been able to detect one."

"And you're saying you didn't sense anything there? Any magic at all?" Aladdin confirmed.

Mozenrath nodded. "No nothing. That actually worries me."

Aladdin braced himself for the back snap when he said. "Are you sure it couldn't just be because you're less powerful without your gauntlet? Just asking." He defended when Mozenrath frowned.

"Regardless of my level of power, I am still a sorcerer, Aladdin. I can still feel spells and incantations no matter where they are with a perfect degree of accuracy. I could tell where your genie is if I was deaf, dumb and blind. I would certainly know if anyone had left behind power enough to stop us from entering the tunnel."

"Okay well then what about the tree? Did you sense anything there?"

A shrug. "Just residual power from where the tree once stood. A few minor secondary power sources, but nothing strong enough to eradicate the tree." He tapped his knee thoughtfully.

"Why? I mean, it's just a tree right?"

A tired eye roll. "It's a magical tree Aladdin. For pities sake even you should know that something magical is inherently difficult to destroy. Your Genie is irritatingly resilient! Even you…" He stopped mid sentence as a calculated look came over him.

"Don't even think about it." Aladdin rebuked.

"I wasn't thinking anything Aladdin." Mozenrath insisted, but stopped none the less. "Regardless, something powerful enough to destroy the tree would have left some magical signature. Something I could recognize. What worries me is that there was none whatsoever. Which could only mean an excessively powerful force."

"Powerful yes." Came a voice from the nothingness. "But excessive, that remains to be seen."

Mozenrath was on his feet in and instant, ready to defend himself. He was surprised to see no one else held the same reaction as a tall, very thin man in grey rags approach the group. As he neared, Mozenrath got a better look at him. The man had an aged face, a long white beard and hair falling about him. But the most telling thing about his appearance was the scrap of cloth he wore about his eyes, rendering him supposedly blind.

"Fasir." Aladdin said and rose to greet the man.

"Uh oh." Mozenrath heard the bird mutter. "Blindo the magnificent appearing never means anything good."

"Fasir." The sorcerer strode forward. "You're Fasir?"

"You know him?" Aladdin sounded surprised.

"By reputation only. My mo…Mirage told me about him." He said smoothly.

"Did she now?" Fasir clasped his hands patiently. "What an unexpected development."

Before anyone could discern what he might mean by this, Fasir held up his hands to bright the group to attention. "I have come to speak to you about your quest young Aladdin. I have been permitted to answer some of your questions, as I see you have many."

Mozenrath opened his mouth first, but Aladdin was determined not to let him say something that might offend their friend. "Can you tell us what happened at the stone barrier? And why the tree was burn to the ground?"

The old man gave what could be interpreted as a sorrowful smile. He pointed to Mozenrath with forceful implications. "Many would wish your failure and, ultimately, your demise. You have made many enemies for yourself, young sorcerer." He said heavily.

"Others, few that they are, see that there may be something in your worth saving. They would strive for your life, if only you would put some small faith in them."

Mozenrath gave a noise of disgust. "I don't need anyone's help old man. I've gotten where I am all on my own…"

"Meaning that you have no one to blame but yourself for your current predicament." Aladdin pushed in.

"Perhaps not." Fasir said. "Perhaps so. But the truth is, you stand at the precipice of your own fate Mozenrath. Your suffering is not yet over, and you will be asked to endure much to prove your worth."

"Prove my worth?" He sounded so haughty as he spat out the words. "Prove my worth! And who am I proving myself to? Who dares to think they are allowed to determine my life, either in its entirety or it's end!" he threw out a hand, waving off Aladdin before the hero could speak to stop him. "And for that matter how am I to trust anything you say? I don't even know who's side you're on?"

"So distrustful for one so young." Fasir spoke thoughtfully. "But be at ease Mozenrath. I am not here to cause you harm, but to help you and your friends here avoid it."

"How?" Aladdin stepped in, curious about what he could tell them. It was true that Fasir had a tendency to be a precursor to trouble. But he also made a habit of giving them a way out of it if you were patient enough to pay attention.

"I am not permitted to interfere too far into what shall happen." He confessed. "Simply ponder this." He turned to the fuming sorcerer, giving Mozenrath the sensation that he was being stared at with powerful intensity. "You put your faith in no one but yourself. You argue that you need no one's help. Yet when it was offered, you embraced Aladdin's hand an accept it."

"I didn't see any other options at that point." Mozenrath defended.

"Perhaps, but you have saved yourself before. You have endured beyond what any here know." Mozenrath stiffened a little, his head held proudly up. "You are a survivor by your very nature, and yet you accepted Aladdin's help. Does this not mean you have placed your trust, your life in his hands?"

He looked ready to pop off some snide comment, but held back at the last moment. A sardonic grin crept across his face and he looked over his shoulder at the street rat. "Oh I've long established that Aladdin is simply too…noble…to kill me off on his own." It was funny how he managed to make that sound like an insult.

"Ah but ask yourself this…in the end…will nobility be enough?"

"What in the seven hells is that supposed to…?" the turned and he had gone, disappearing into the mists and darkness surrounding them. "Well now where did he go?" he mused thoughtfully, despite his rising temper.

"What did he mean by that? 'Will nobility be enough?'" Aladdin began analyzing quickly.

"You know Fasir. He always likes to make things nice and vague for those of us who actually have to accomplish something." Iago grumbled as Abu chittered worriedly.

"I don't like it." Mozenrath said heatedly. "It means not only am I being watched, I'm being toyed with. And what's worse, I have no idea who."

"Really? You mean you don't keep a list of people you've wronged?"

"Be easier a keep a list of people I haven't." He at least had the self awareness to admit it.

He knows.

Of course. But this was inevitable. We knew he would figure it out eventually.

But Fasir telling him did not help the matter!

Be patient just a while longer. He can not avoid his fate. No man can live forever.

*growl* He should have been dead long ago. He should have been ours.

He will be. Soon enough. *a thoughtful pause* Though perhaps it would help us to be rid of the hero who helps him.

We can not touch that one. He is protected. He is BLESSED.

We can not interfere with him directly no. But if we can remove the sorcerer from his sight… *cruel chuckle* How far would this hero truly go to protect someone who has caused him such strife and difficulty?

Ahhh! I see. Perhaps then we should turn our attentions to the master then? He is most eager to be reunited with his dear pupil. He would not notice if we should perhaps aid in his pursuit.

An excellent plan. After all, we did not aid in his return to let him go to waste