Ali spent the day as usual; entertaining. The choice of traveling to Cerenis had been a good one. The people there were used to magic, but not so used to as to find it dull. He had brought in a decent amount of money that evening, and spent a bit of it on a couple drinks at the local tavern. As a whole, life was good. He knew he couldn't stay for too long in any one place, for someone may figure out that he was a manner of genie; from there, things would become unbearable. His way of getting out of it was granting the occasional three wishes for a friend or acquaintance. It was fortunate for him that one had to figure out he could grant wishes before the bond was made and he had to grant them.
He decided to take a quiet stroll through the night. After a hectic day it sounded quite nice. Walking to nowhere in particular, he drifted off in thought, accidentally bumping into someone. Turning slightly, he flashed them a pleasant and apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."
Xerordir looked up at the man who had walked into him, revealing the blood red eyes and the mask. He was unimpressed to say the least.
He had been having a bad day already. He would be hunted by magic users galore if they knew he practiced dark magic, so he had hidden all his possessions at a dead drop sight unwittingly. Then local gang members had taken his stuff. All he had now was one cloak, his money, mask, clothes and necromancy/demoncraft book. Not a great day to walk into him.
Xerordir decided to go offensive this time instead of hiding away. He summoned the dark magic ball, and threw it at a nearby chicken. The chicken disintegrated under the corruptive power.
"Men with no power should watch where they walk. I do not enjoy it when petty peasants and idiots walk into me." The anger in his voice and eyes portrayed the frustration that he had to deal with.
Well wasn't he pleasant. Ali's smile didn't leave, but the friendliness in his eyes went stale. His eyes flicked to the disintegrated chicken. He'd been threatened before, but rarely and even more rarely with magic. If he'd been a more aggressive person, perhaps he'd make a comment that was less than savory. Though, as he spied the mask, he shied away.It was disconcerting to say the least.
"O...kay. I'll be on my way. I'm sorry." He glanced at the man's eyes, furrowing his brow slightly at the crimson eyes that bored into him, and began to walk off.
The man had an odd feel about him, and energy that made him seem familiar.
"I sense magic in you. Show me this magic of yours." Xerordir was in no mood to see petty glamour magic. Something with power behind it.
"Show me magic, and you can walk away from this conversation. I am curious. I have sensed magic before, but not your kind." Xerordir had a truth to his words. He had felt it, but only in certain objects. Objects he refused to touch, for fear of springing a deadly trap.
Ali tensed up a bit. He could see his magic? The man before him seemed like a powerful mage; he could sense the magic in him as he was a magical being himself. However, he'd very rarely had someone call him out on showing him the magic he possessed like that. He paused. He knew he must, as he may just end up like the chicken otherwise. Hesitantly he drew a hand across his eyes, changing their color to deep blue. "I can shapeshift a little." He was going to attempt and hide the fact that he was a wish-granter. Probably a futile course of action.
He looked at Xerodir cautiously.
A shape shifter? This didn't feel like shape shifter's magic. Not at all.
Xerordir decided to voice his opinion.
"You are lying. I have come across shape shifters before, and you do not emanate the same magics. Tell me truthfully. Before you become a large scale chicken demonstration." Xerordir stared into the man's eyes. He wanted to see just what the man was truly capable of. If he decided to shapeshift into a dragon, Xerordir would peg it. If not, the man had this one chance to save himself from being attacked with a corruptive dark-ball.
Ali looked at the other man, bringing himself to look into his eyes. What a strange colour. Perhaps it was a result of his magic? He couldn't know.
"Alright, alright. I can't show you because it isn't that sort of magic, but I'll tell you. I'm a sort of...well, you'd call it a genie." He paused. He wished there was a way to get out of this. All because he'd bumped into a stranger. How unfortunate.
"I can show you something closer to my true form if you want."
"That is why I do not recognise your magic. You are known as djinn on Thanatos, but it is a local term. What is your name?" Xerordir beckoned for the man to follow. Some djinn were legendary on Thanatos. Used in children's cautionary tales, and myths and legends. Xerordir had heard most of them, and believed none of them. But djinn existed. Perhaps he had pertained a role in Thanati legend and myth, simply being renamed.
Ali took on a more calm posture as the mage seemed to be less intent on vaporizing him. So he either was from Thanatos or had at least lived there once. He wondered why the man came all the way to Cerenis.
"I am Ali. And you, sir?" Adopting the formality seemed appropriate, as it seemed he was about to be bound magically to this person for a while. There was no way he was going to leave this opportunity alone.
"I am Xerordir, Necromancer and Black magician. So what exactly does your magic allow? In the myths of djinn that I grew up with, they could grant wishes? I have never heard tell of this in reality, for I know no-one that has met a djinn. Can you? Or is it all a cheap trick to keep peoples hopes up?" Xerordir was very curious as to the abilities of the Djinn in front of him, and wanted to know more.
Ali nodded to greet him, studying the mage. He seemed dangerous, powerful. Not to him at the moment; they seemed to be getting along now. Either way he wanted to stay on the cautious side and avoid angering him.
"I can grant three wishes, yes. There are...limits, but yes I can."
Three wishes with limits. Sounded fun. Now Xerordir wanted to plan his wishes.
"What sort of limits are there?" Xerordir knew djinn couldn't grant ultimate power, but they could help. It would definitely help a lot.
"Well, firstly, one would have to make me agree to granting them wishes. That's just a matter of asking nicely. After that, I'm not entirely sure of the limits myself; it's more a matter of the person asking and I determine if I can do it or not. It's more of a feeling I have, it's difficult to explain. I can't scam you out of a wish though, I must grant it if I have the power. Make sense?"
Ali was a bit worried as to what the man wanted to wish, though he didn't show it on his face.
"One would assume that from that, you don't have power enough to alter things like time and space? Change things like that? You can just do the basic, here are the tools job?" In Xerordir's opinion, not very exciting but he could get his stuff back, and a bit more. At least that was something.
"Please might you get my stuff back, preferably in a backpack? A local gang took it." Xerordir was prepared to ask very nicely for things he wanted.
Ali nodded. Technically, he could alter some stranger things such as emotions and perceptions, but that was more difficult and he didn't really want to mention it. Time of course was beyond him, and he could not change the past.
"As you wish." Suddenly, markings and patterns appeared on his skin, glowing blue. His irises began to glow the same colour. It all made a faint hissing noise. He closed his eyes briefly. Suddenly Xerodir's belongings appeared before them, though in a sack instead of a backpack.
"I apologize for that. I think that happened because the bandits had been putting them in a sack and it came along with the rest." He hoped his temporary master wouldn't get angry about it. After all, he couldn't leave his presence until the wishes were granted.
"It is of no concern my dear djinn. Thank you. I do not mind about the other two wishes, I cannot think of anything more to wish for. I have my belongings, and for that I thank you. Would you like to come and watch me summon a zombie?" Xerordir was happy, this Djinn was very nice, and was helpful!
Ali nodded, surprised at the positive attitude. Well, he'd seemed to have just brightened this man's day. Much better than the alternative. He had no idea how long he'd be in the company of this strange, dark mage, but he didn't seem so bad now. He could only think that it was great that Xerodir hadn't come across his power-hungering brother instead.
"Sure. What do you plan to do with it?"
Although he was still a bit wary of this man, he was curious. Magic of all sorts was interesting, after all.
"Merely leave it. See how it acts, reacts and responds to the guards and the civillians if I don't command it at all. Someone may get bitten, but they need to learn to run." Xerordir chuckled. He took everything he could from the sack that he had been given and stored it. He remembered to take his spare coinage this time, and kept some of his food to hand. Then he summoned the energy needed, and put the sack in a pocket dimension.
Ali watched him put the sack into...well, what looked like nowhere. He couldn't rightly say that it confused him a bit, but he knew it was magic. He hoped somebody wouldn't notice him with Xerodir terrorizing Cerenis and but a bad name on him. Just to be safe he shifted into a slightly taller male with lighter skin, gold eyes, and black hair. He still looked similar to his normal self, but it would have to do; his shifting abilities didn't go very far and took much energy.
"Alright." He'd never seen a zombie before. "What else are you able to summon?"
"I can summon Shade's and a few Shadow's. Shades cost me very little energy, and I need no study of them. They merely kill things and obey their master's. Shadow's are taxing however, and very clever sometimes. Dangerous even. I would not release one into this world unless it really did have some sort of mental disability, for they are very violent." Xerordir looked for a half fresh grave. Anything too old, and the body would be destroyed in the process. Anything too young and it would be a ghoul. He wanted a zombie.
The graveyard was small, and made finding a suitable body difficult.
"If you see a grave with the time of death marked between 40 years ago and 70 years ago, let me know."
Ali nodded again to show his understanding. So he was quite a powerful mage then if he could summon such things. He was glad he didn't have to see one of these 'Shadows'. A zombie now seemed a lot less threatening. He hoped it didn't bite or maim anyone; he was fond of mortals.
"Okay." 40-70...As he began looking for a grave marker suitable, he found something odd. One of the graves was already torn up, dirt out of place and when he looked down into it the coffin was in pieces. He could feel some sort of magic there, but no idea about what kind.
"Was this your doing?"
The grave had been ripped open. But dug out completely. An amateur mistake, one Xerordir knew to never make.
"Zombies only claw their way out so that they can fit out. This was an intelligent action. Not intelligent but deliberate. An amateur necromancer perhaps. Or a grave robber. LE us follow the tracks. Whatever they took was heavy, as they have left deep tracks." Xerordir pointed to the tracks. They lead away.
Ali peered cautiously into the hole before heading off with Xerodir to find gods know what. If it had been his choice, he'd probably be having a drink right now at the local tavern and entertaining. Not to say he didn't find this interesting, he just wasn't sure what they'd find or if it wanted to tear him limb from limb. Then again, Xerodir had two wishes left; therefore, he'd probably protect Ali to an extent. The tracks seemed to lead on for quite a while.
"So, Xerodir...how long have you been practicing magic?"
How long HAD he been practicing magic? Xerordir had forgotten now, he had gotten hold of that book at around 6 years old.
How old was Xerordir? Xerordir didn't count his own birthdays or annual festivals around him. He simply did the only thing he knew how.
"I first picked up magic at about six years old. A basic elemental magic book, mostly offensive. No wards or resistance spells. Just point and shoot ones. Then when I was about 9 or 10, my mother became the sacrifice for a demon. The demon didn't accept the offering, and I ended up getting stuck with a magic book. Then I practiced necromancy, shadowmancy and demoncraft till my sister made me break, at which point, I failed to summon a demon, and I had to leave home. I can successfully summon demons now, and I still practice basic elemental magic and all forms of dark magic since then. So a long while. I don't count the years. It reminds me that I am mortal."
Ali nodded in response. Six? Well, he supposed he'd been using magic just as long. However, Ali could not use attack spells. There was usually no reason for him to fight with anyone, and he didn't like to anyway. He knew just enough to defend himself and be on his way. One part of Xerodir's story he found unsettling.
"You sacrificed your mother?"
"My mother had a habit of going out and picking wild berries, me and my sister loved them. She was gone for an abnormally long time, so I was made to go and look for her by my sister. I came across her sacrificed body in the woods, getting a glimpse of the man that killed her. At the time I did not know how much of an honour it was to be a sacrifice for a demon. Now I do. The man fled, leaving behind a book of dark magic and necromancy. My mother was dead as I arrived, and nothing could save her. I sacrificed my sister though. Witch..."
Alright, so he wasn't a murderer of mothers. That made him look slightly less corrupted, ignoring the fact that he sacrificed his sister. There was no positive comment he could think of regarding that, so he decided to leave it be. Best not question the morals of a man he'd have to follow around for who knows how long.
"When you summon a demon, why do you do it? Do you ask them for assistance, favors, what?"
There were hundreds of reasons he summoned demons.
"Mostly for my clients, those who wish to know dirty secrets, want assassinations done in an intimidating way, want to extort people. Any situation where a demon is needed to make sure the plan succeeds. I also make some of my clients eligible for my necromancy service." Veraxitoc studied the tracks.
"I wish these tracks would lead us somewhere of importance in the next 5 minutes."
Ali looked at the tracks himself, annoyed that they had been taking so long. "Yes, they have been going along for an awfully-" He ran smack into a tree that the tracks seemed to lead to. He backed up, feeling idiotic but too confused to care. "What...why do they lead to a tree?" He stared at it blankly. He looked up, but there was nobody in the tree. Where did they go? He looked at Xerodir for answers.
((OOC: haha you called him Veraxitoc in your post))
Xerordir examined the tree. It was perfectly solid. "Perhaps the roots will give us some indication. There must be something." Xerordir put a hand on the ground. Nothing. Then he sniffed the air. Nothing...
Then he put an ear to the ground, and, hearing nothing, hit it. A hollow thud resounded.
"Something under the grass. Or perhaps the grass isn't real..." His hand traced for an edge.
Ali couldn't help but wonder what they had stumbled upon. Was it...some bandit place? Some storehouse? What? He kneeled down, poking at the grass to find where a door could be hidden. Nothing. Curiously, he walked to the other side of the tree. Suddenly the ground fell out beneath him.
Managing to grab onto the edge of the trapdoor that met the real ground, he called for Xerodir.
"I found it...sort of!"
Xerordir ran to help Ali. He pulled the genie up, and looked down the hole.
"I think we should take a look. Don't you?" Xerordir jumped down the hole, to find a cage. And he was in it.
Ali had jumped along with him, and it appeared to have been a bad move. They were surrounded by bars that made up a somewhat roomy cage; in fact, they shared it with a couple other occupants.
A couple dead occupants.
Fortunately (as fortunate as sharing a cage with a couple of corpses could be), they were freshly dead and therefore didn't smell quite as bad. Ali wasn't particularly concerned about getting out. If Xerodir could melt a chicken, he could most certainly melt a cage. Or, Ali thought so.
He peered cautiously into the darkness surrounding the cage. Quietly he asked his companion, "What should we do?"
"We wait. Whatever killed these people will come back for more. And we kill it." Xerordir took his knife and cut the arm off one of the bodies. He set it on fire and used it as a torch.
"We're alone."
Ali grimaced at the arm-torch. He couldn't say it wasn't resourceful, but...it reminded him all too much of something his brother would do. He couldn't help but think again it was a blessing that they hadn't met instead.
"What killed them, then?" He peered out the bars cautiously, not getting too close. He was reminded that he'd gotten in the middle of this just by bumping into some odd mage in Cerenis. Funny how fate worked.
"If I knew that my dear djinn, I would be unlocking the cage. But I feel it is best if we wait for this threat to come to us. Bide our time and energy. Just keep a light on." Xerordir took his arm-torch and lodged it on a spike on the cage.
"I hope it isn't immortal. I just want it to be something normal. Or killable at least."