It was now a minute or two later,
And Paimon didn't say a peep during this time...
"It seems that Paimon can indeed keep her Silence.", Cyno noted, sounding mostly serious, as well as slightly amused, "...Who shall continue with the current retelling...?"
"Let me do it.", Jebrael answered almost right away, before there were a few seconds of silence, "Back then, when I was succumbing to the Golden Slumber, even seeing Ufairah...Lord Rhadames saved me at the last moment, but I still wished I could see my wife one last time. And if not see her, at least complete the research she started so long ago and pay her respects.", he soon explained, sounding sad now, "Ufairah was a great woman and researcher. Her research of the "Scarlet Sand Slate." allowed her to not only uncover the secrets of the Golden Slumber, but the Eternal Oasis, as well. She was the one who found out and deciphered the prayer for the Golden Slumber, which is a part of a longer prayer she wrote down in her notes."
He explained, before there were a few seconds of silence again,
As a sigh was soon heard, followed by some short coughing sounds...
...
"O stars high above the wasteland,
O nightingales weary from the day,
It's time to take off your crowns of roses,
Cleanse yourself with wine made from grapes.
...
Sleep, sleep.
The eternal oasis welcomes the lonely wanderer,
And here the crisp springs flow,
And the memories are forever sweet.
...
Sleep, sleep.
Yon golden slumber summons thee, wandering sand,
Drink not that bitter salt water,
For the sorrows of tomorrow have gone away."
A song was suddenly heard,
Slightly gruff sounding, yet still melodious...
...
After which a few seconds of awkward silence followed...
"...Jebrael, is everything okay...? You look a little annoyed.", Paimon soon asked, sounding a little concerned and confused.
"...This song that Ufairah sang to me back then, my voice doesn't do it any justice.", Jebrael finally said, sounding quite annoyed, before a deep sigh was heard, "...It would be foolish to dwell on this now. If you wish to know more of how great a person Ufairah was, I would gladly tell you about her later.", he added, sounding more serious and a little apologetic now, "...To continue from where I left off, I really wanted to go to the Eternal Oasis to finish my late wife's research and pay her respects. So when Jeht began asking Lord Rhadames to enchant her daggers, I soon told her of my intentions."
"And while you two were discussing this, the Traveler was checking some of those "instruction papers" that Samir wrote!", Paimon continued, sounding quite thoughtful, as well as slightly concerned, "Which Samir must have noticed, since just moments later, he was like: "You can visit it if you want to, it's not like I could return there now...No, I don't have the right to...", is what he mumbled at that time, getting all depressed again!"
"Which is why I decided to share the news about the hostage situation with him. One thing went to another and in the end I gave Samir the map and he and Cyno left.", the Traveler continued the retelling, "Moments later Jebrael and Jeht finished their discussion and a much bigger one soon started between the whole group. A discussion about who is going to continue our adventure and who wants to leave.", they explained, before there was a short silence, "Unsurprisingly, Tirzad said he had "enough excitement for the last few days" and asked to hire an escort back. Candace and Dehya agreed to the "job" and so the group, together with Nachtigal and the Sumpter Beasts, soon left for Aaru village."
"Before Tirzad left, he gave me the Scarlet Sand Slate, saying that he 'had no need for it anymore' and that I 'would surely find a better use for it'.", Jebrael added, sounding thankful, as well as slightly amused, "...I am glad that he is slowly becoming a better person, even if he is still too ashamed to admit it."
"...Well, Paimon supposes that he is. Tirzad is not as stuck up as he was when we just met him, that's for sure.", the Pixie admitted, before a small huff was heard, "But he is still going to write that "research paper" of his, right...? Paimon surely hopes he won't mess it up and start making up a bunch of lies again!"
...
"...I have to agree with Paimon here, the way he acted at the start of his "Indoor Archaeology"...If any of the other Temple of Silence members were there at the time, he wouldn't have gotten away easily.", Cyno admitted moments later, sounding a little cold, "Hopefully, he learned his lesson and wouldn't write anything unnecessary in his thesis."
"...Before, Paimon said that Samir was scary. B-but you are also scary, Cyno!", the Pixie said moments later, sounding a little afraid, before there was a short pause, "...Paimon is going to continue the retelling now. After some people left and our group got smaller, the Traveler showed those "instruction papers" Samir wrote to everyone, where there was so much information about the "Eternal Oasis" alone, Paimon started getting a headache!"
"I can explain from here, Paimon.", the Traveler reassuringly said, before there was a small pause, "...It might take some time, Venti. At least a few minutes to explain where the Eternal Oasis is and how to get there."
It did indeed take a few minutes to explain everything,
After which, Venti could make a small summary...
...
"The Orchard of Pairidaeza/Eternal Oasis:
The oasis was created by King Deshret as a cemetery for the Goddess of Flowers, preserved for eternity in a single moment with the help of a special mechanism and a branch from the Irminsul tree.
Located underneath Mt Damavand in the middle of the Desert of Hadramaveth, which is in the center of a huge sandstorm.
Can only be entered through Deshret's Glass Goblet, which is located beneath it. The mechanism is being guarded and maintained by the Jinni Ferigees."
...
The Traveler also admitted that during this adventure and even before,
They checked the "instruction papers" only when they really needed to...
*They quite liked exploring and solving puzzles by themselves, after all,
A sentiment that Venti understood perfectly...
...
"But I am not sure how to tell Samir about this, since it did take him some time to write down all those instructions..."
The Traveler soon explained...
...
...
Speaking of instructions on how to get to the Oasis,
There was an important one that the Traveler had to follow:
"...The only way into the oasis is through the use of a Jinni Fragment, which can be found at the ruins of Gurabad, in Safhe Shatranj/The Temples Forsaken."
Which is where we get to Liloupar, who is a Jinni...
*But first...
"The Jinn (singular: Jinni):
A mystical race of elemental spirits that were created by Nabu Malikata/Goddess of Flowers, born from the water lilies that grew from the streams which came into being from the goddess' footsteps.
A proud and very blunt race who only give allegiance to those whom they deem worthy, aiding their chosen master with their power.
Most of the Jinn used to live in Ay-Khanoum/"City of the Moon Maiden", which Nabu Malikata and King Deshret jointly constructed for them.
After the Goddess's death, they turned to serve King Deshret, who promised them that their late mistress slumbered in the Orchard of Pairidaeza and that he would one day revive her.
The Jinn can dwell inside bottles, as well as other items such as weapons."
...
...
Wait a second…
…
"Thankfully, Miss Candace somehow realized what was happening (Apparently Babel used the same "tactic" on some of the tribe Elders) and used her shield(it was shimmering) to summon a small tornado that blew them all away!"
"...I really wonder what Samir did with that shield of hers..."
"Oh, "Samir" did something to it? it was even better than the usual "enchantment"! Can he do the same to my twin push daggers? It would be really great and I will be very thankful if he...!
...Uh, later I mean...If he could do that, I...I will become a devotee!"
...
-That information about the Jinn dwelling inside different items, such as weapons...-Venti slowly started, not quite sure how to address this. -...The "usual enchantment" Jeht talked about at that time, as well as the "enchantment" Samir made for her daggers, is it...?
"It is similar in a sense, but not the same.", Cyno interrupted, sounding quite serious, "This so-called "usual enchantment" is made with the help of Spirits of Omen that can either be summoned as "combat helpers" or sealed as fragments inside weapons, which awaken in moments of peril.", there was suddenly a short and eerie silence, "...And once the fragmented spirit awakens, it can only be silenced by the cries of the vanquished — whether that be its wielder, or its wielder's foe.", he ominously added, before there was another pause, this one a slightly longer one, "As for "Samir", I wager he still uses the Jinn's power. Though I am unsure if it's fragmented or not."
"So basically, the "usual enchantment" is a double edged-sword and the one Samir uses is a stronger and safer one, but...", the Traveler started, before their words trailed off, "...Venti, since the implication is, well...What is your opinion on it...? Especially since it sounds like the Jinn chose this themselves."
-Since it sounds like slavery, right...? -Venti couldn't help but say moments later, looking and sounding quite conflicted. -...Honestly, I am not sure what to think about this. On one hand, this goes against the concept of Freedom, while on the other...They made this choice freely. You explained it yourself, Traveler: "The Jinni chooses its master". -He explained, before deeply sighing. -...It's so contradictory, that I am really not sure how to react...
"...Or what to think, really.", was left unsaid,
Yet Venti was certain that the Traveler understood what he meant...
*And as the "God of Freedom", trying to understand such a contradiction...
...
...
Somehow, no matter how much he tried,
He couldn't get his head around it...
...
It just didn't make sense to him!
...
With his aspect being "Freedom",
Perhaps, this issue...
...
...
It was weird,
Really really weird...
...
-...Traveler, it's weird...-Venti soon said, looking and sounding very confused now. -No matter how much I am trying to think about it, to decide whether it's good or bad...-He heavily sighed. -...I am just drawing a blank...
He finally admitted, feeling pretty stupid now...
*"God of Freedom" or not, why did he...?
...
Why was this issue so contradictory...?
*And before this, he didn't really mind how Samir is,
So hearing how he used those Jinni...
...
Even though they freely chose this themselves...
*He also sounded really affected by what happened to Rukkhadevata and Nabu Malikata,
So if he promised to try reviving the latter...
...
...
"Civilization is born of knowledge, but so, too, can knowledge be its demise. A disaster caught us unaware, it was knowledge that did not belong to this world. King Deshret brought this forbidden knowledge into our world and it quickly spread like a plague. People's minds were filled with crazed whispers, dark gray scales spread across their bodies. Even the land was stripped of its vigor, only a desperate, deathly silence remained."
...
-Did the Forbidden Knowledge disaster happen because Samir tried to revive Nabu Malikata...? -Venti couldn't help but ask aloud, feeling quite shocked about the sudden realization. Or maybe it was just a weird theory...? But still, from what he heard and what Samir told him himself...-...After Nabu Malikata's death, he tried to find a way to revive her, turning to Forbidden Knowledge in his grief. But just when it looked like he finally found a way, it backfired and the desert was plunged into chaos. After which...
He decided to end it there,
Realizing that this might really be the case...
...
Especially since...
"After what I did to Rukkhadevata, Nabu Malikata and the people of Sumeru, both from the Desert and from the Rainforest regions..."
...
"After what I did to...Nabu Malikata..."
...
...
Samir felt responsible for her death.
*But why would he feel responsible...?
Just what happened to...?!
"I am going to leave the room for an unspecified amount of time. Continue the retelling without me.", Cyno's voice interrupted his thoughts, sounding very serious and slightly weary, "...There is something I need to discuss with a certain person."