CHAPTER FIVE—TRAITORS AMONG THE RANKS

They had walked for some time as the wind continually picked up, the black clouds in the sky becoming darker and darker as the storm approached them. Perhaps they could collect fresh water from the rainfall instead of venturing to the freshwater pools with the pearls.

At least it would save them the trip and the expenditure of effort could be put toward finding food. Fresh water was certainly their biggest need, since before setting out the boats had been packed with provisions, a lot of it being bard tack, dried beans and meats, and honey. It is always best not to use—

“Master Shiro!”

He looked up. It was Ushtan and a group of Scorpions. He hadn’t seen them coming up to them because of their black pantaloons and jackets.

“What is he doing here?” asked Debaku.

Shiro looked at him. Jessamine had long since vanished. Walking was beneath her—at least, that was what she had told them before whirling away.

Shiro shrugged. “Captain,” he said as they met. “What are you doing out here? Is everything all right?”

He glanced to his men, looking somewhat uneasy. “It is master Ali and his brother.”

“What has happened?”

“Nothing,” said Ushtan. “I mean…”

“Tell us,” said Debaku.”

The captain signed. He commanded a large portion of the Scoprions, and indeed, after the adventurers, he was the highest Scorpion, retaining command of all the army.

“They have found some turtlenuts, only these turtlenuts are not normal.”

“Explain.”

He gestured for Shiro and Debaku to follow, then he pointed across the straight to a large grassy hill with palms atop it. “They are just there. I do not know what happened. They broke open some turtlenuts to drink the what was inside, and now they are behaving strangely—as if they are drunk.”

“And why did you not stop them?”

“Stop them, my lord?” he asked of The Black Cobra. “How can I stop them—it is the high vizier and his top-tier adventurer brother. They outrank me.”

Shiro sighed, feeling somewhat apprehensive. “Let’s go!”

And the ran with Debaku, Ushtan and his company of Scorpions. When they got to the sandy edge of the water, Shiro didn’t bother getting into the rowboat, he simply jumped as far as he could into the clear seawater and swam across.

Debaku kept pace as he made his way in a switchback fashion up the steep and mossy hill with the turtlenut trees. When he arrived among Ali and Razul, he noticed the Hashem, the requisitions officer was also there, along with Captain Gohar.

“Ah!” said Ali, raising his hand. “Shiro—you have finally come back!”

“Took you long enough,” said Razul. He was standing, but swaying as if to the rhythm of drums and lutes.

Shiro looked at them with confusion. It is not possible that turtlenuts did this. “I cannot believe this. You are drinking?”

“Yes!” Hashem said, raising half a turtlenut.

Debaku stepped forward immediately and took the fruit away, then he put it to his nose and sniffed.

“What is it?” asked Shiro.

“The best milk you will ever drink,” said Razul with a smile. “Try it, man.”

Debaku touched the inside with his finger and tasted it—then he spat it back out. He looked up at Shiro. “This turtlenut milk—it is infused with magic.”

Jessamine appeared in a swirl and sauntered between them all. “This looks most interesting.” She took the turtlenut from Debaku, who did not prevent her from taking it. Then she upended it and drank.

“Stop!” shouted Shiro. “What are you doing?!”

“What, Shiro?” she complained with a shrug. “Do you really want to prevent me from having a good time?”

He sighed loudly. “I cannot believe you.”

She laughed and then made a face that revealed her feelings. “I am very unimpressed.” Then she hiccupped and her eyes glassed over. “Wait…”

“What is it?” asked Shiro.

“Oh!” she said, a smile coming over his lips. “It’s very good. Try some.”

“No.”

“Oh, Shiro—do not be a bore.”

“I am a bore,” he said, “at least in this.”

“Fine,” she said, “be that way. Raz?”

“Yes!” he said, swooping to her command. “What may I do for you, Jinni?”

“Get me some more of the milk.”

“Stop,” said Shiro. “Raz, if you do as she tells you, I will cut off your arms.”

Raz laughed as blood went to his ears. “Wait—you are serious?”

“Very.”

Of course, Shiro would never attack Raz, especially for being a troublemaker, which was what he always was. But he doesn’t know that—the fool.

But I do, Jessamine conveyed with amusement.

Shiro frowned, realizing her conveyance distorted somehow, and yet all of their words were perfect.

“What is it?” asked Debaku. “What are you thinking Shiro?”

“They act as though they are drunk, or worse, have ingested a drug—but they are fully lucid.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Yes,” said Debaku with a nod. “It is most interesting, I think. I should preserve some of the milk for later study.”

“Then do so quickly,” said Shiro as he unsheathed his red-bladed scimitar, “for soon there will be no turtelnut milk to drink!”

He swooped forward and with a flurry of quick strikes, cut through the every single turtlenut the fools had stacked.

“What—hey!” called Ali as he pointed his finger. “You can’t… You can’t do that!”

“Watch me!” said Shiro, his tone dour and serious. He did not think this a game, and in their right minds, he was certain all of them would agree with them.

All save for…

He looked at Jessamine askance, who had her arms crossed with disappointment. “Fine, Shiro. Normally I would go back to the void to shrug off these wonderful effects—but they’re just too yummy—and since you plan to destroy all the turtlenuts, I must now enjoy the effects for as long as I can.”

He looked at her, and so did Debaku. Shiro was quite shocked. He had never heard her speak at such length. She was by no means a taciturn jinni, though she was rather insolent and rarely explained herself, even when asked.

“Shiro!” Raz said, spreading his arms. “You cannot destroy every turtlenut in the Isles of Sand and Bones.”

“Eh?” Ali complained. “Do not call it that, man.”

Raz chortled. “Why not?”

“It sends shivers up my spine.”

“Me too,” said Hashem with a nod, and he turned to Debaku when the Mar’a Thulian took the uncracked turtlenut from his hands.

“Why do they call it that, anyway?” asked Raz. “I mean… there is a lot of sand, yes?” He scratched his head. “But I don’t see any bones.”

“You idiot!” spat Ali. “They don’t call it that because there is literally sand and bones!”

“How do you know?”

“Because!” he cried, “it’s supposed to be a dangerous place.”

“That is right,” said Debaku, “which is why you should not be drinking this milk.” He turned to Jessamine. “Venerable jinni—please, you should set an example to us all.”

“Oh, please,” she said and rolled her eyes, “I do not see any monsters here. There is now harm. Besides—you should all know that me and Shiro found a glowing hot spring! A lagoon where we made—“

Shiro covered her mouth. “Be silent, jinni.”

She took his wrist and lowered his hand. “Ever the shy boy, Shiro.”

He growled. “We must do something about this!”

“I agree,” said Debaki. “This has gone on long enough.” He stalked away from them.

“Hey!” called Raz. “Where are you going?”

“He’s giving up,” Gohar said, speaking up for the first time. “He’s probably going to get some of his own.”

Ali laughed like a fool.

Shiro covered his face with his hand, dragging his fingers over down over his chin. Kami-sama—I cannot believe this is happening to us.

Just then Ushtan and his Scoprions arrived.

“Captain!” Shiro snapped.

“Yes, Master Shiro?”

They could not just as well knock these fools unconscious—not when Raz and Jessamine were involved. They were far too powerful to force into submission so that this foolishness could be stopped.

Instead, they would remove the turtlenuts as quickly as possible.

“Baka!” He spat.

“Master?”

“Not you,” said Shiro with a sigh.

“Oh, lighten up, my love—and have some of the milk.”

The isekai ignored her. “Captian, take your men, bring back as many scorpions as you can. We are going to clean this place up of all the turtlenuts, yes?”

He nodded. “I obey your commands, Master Shiro.”

“Hai.”

A sudden flood of magical energy became known to Shiro and he glanced toward it.

“Whoa,” said Raz with excitement. “Debaku—what are you doing?”

“I…” he said, whirling his sword around him so fast that the air picked up, “am going to end this stupidity.”

“I can stop you.”

“Do not try it.”

“Heh? And why not?”

“Do you not remember what happened last time, you dolt?” It was Ali speaking, and he was quite annoyed, if his features were any indication. “You destroyed my house!”

Raz frowned. “Oh—right!”

Dabaku howled deeply, his magic coalescing to levels similar to that time he had done battle with the other top-tier adventurer.

“This is ridiculously,” said Jessamine. “There are thousands of these turtlenuts here.”

“Yes!” screamed Debaku through the torrent emanating from him. “But with my attenuation magic… I can destroy them all.”

“What!” Barked Raz. “No—wait! Debaku!”

He scrammed, jumped into the air as a streamer of magical energy could be seen wisping from his sword, blue and purple and green all at once.

“What are you doing?!” Ali called, shieling his eyes with his hand.

The scorpions screamed and took cover, along with Hashem and Captain Gohar. Even Shiro took two steps back.

Jessamine cried out with contemptuous annoyance and swirled away from them all. Shiro grasped the lamp hanging at his side with one hand to ensure it didn’t get caught in the whirlwind and blown away as he bent onto one knee and shielded his face with is arm.

Suddenly a shock rushed past Shiro and the ground shook. As he was shunted onto his back, he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut.

Everything calmed and all was quiet.

In the skies, thunder rumbled across the sky like a thundering horse, lighting the backs of the black clouds.

Ali groaned.

They all did.

Shiro got up an glanced about. Most of them were still on the ground, and some of the Scorpions still had their hands over their heads. “Is everyone all right?”

A blue light appeared behind Shiro and the sound of light footsteps over the mossy rocks came behind him. He turned, saw Jessamine.

“I am… not under the effects any longer.”

“You traitor.”

“It is not my fault, Shiro.” She smiled saucily. “Though I must admit”—she put a hand on her hip—“that was fun.” Then more quietly, she added, “I wonder what it’s like to make love under their effects?”

“Hmph,” he scoffed, though he couldn’t keep the wry smile off his mouth. You are an incorrigible jinni, Jessamine.

“Look at you, Shiro—and using such big words.”

He ignored her rejoinder and found Debaku coming forward. “They are all destroyed,” he said.

“All of them?” asked Raz in a tone most despondent. He glanced about pitifully. “How could you?”

“Now we wait for the effects to wear off,” said Shiro, “and then maybe we can continue our foraging mission.”

“I think we need to get moving,” said Debaku as he glanced toward the west, in the direction of Kalush. “This place is said to be filled with monsters—a danger for anyone who comes here.”

“Doesn’t seem too bad to me,” Ali said, his tone bored. He sighed, glancing about like Razul for something that wasn’t there.

Shiro certainly saw a longing in his eyes—the poor fool.

The ground trembled from the aftereffects Dabaku’s magical confluence which had resulted in him cracking the rocks between some of the palm trees. For the most part, he hadn’t destroyed anything, he simple shattered the turtlenuts, but still, the shockwave of the magic—

“Eh?” Ali noised, spreading his arms for balance. “Why is the ground still shaking?”

“Bah!” scoffed Razul with a wave of his hand. “That is just your wooden legs.”

“No—I feel it.”

“I do too,” said Debaku.

“Wait,” Shiro said, suddenly alarmed. “That is not you?”

The Mar’a Thulian shook his head.

Jessamine glanced down at her feet and took a sideways step. “I sense a magical aura from underneath the mountain.”

“What?!” Ali barked. “There are monsters under us?”

“I did not say monsters,” she corrected.

Hashem strode forward, his hands spread out for balance. “What is happening?”

They all glanced about with widening eyes. Shiro looked off to the side where they had come from. Over the isles the rest of the army awaited, but on the beach hundreds of Scorpions were encamped.

He could not see them through the mist.

“I…” Debaku started. “I do not know what is happening.”

“And I’m not staying to find out,” Jessamine said. “Shiro—take care.” And she whirled into a plume of luminescent mist.

“Having a jinni in your pocket,” said Raz, “has its disadvantages, I think.” He stepped to the side, almost losing balance as he spoke.

Shiro would have rolled his eyes, but at this time he was in no state to banter with Ali’s brother. The samurai noticed the ground was becoming farther from them, which could only mean that they were rising.

“Hold onto something!” he called, and he bent his knee to take hold of the rock jutting up next to him.

The ground shook and trembled violently, and for a moment, Shiro thought he might be lifted off of the ground as the earth rumbled and shuttered. The men screamed, and so did Ali, though with frustration and indignation, as if what was happening were some form of punishment upon him.

Suddenly the ground stopped trembling and they all, laying or standing, were still with wide eyes. They glanced among each other.

“Did it stop?” asked Raz.

Then the ground rumbled slightly and a crash echoed from the ground below.

“I don’t understand,” said Gohar. “What is going on?”

Jessamine appeared suddenly, her body in the air like a spectral spirit enshrouded in divine light and mist. Her feet touched the ground softly. “Now I understand.”

“What is it, venerable jinni?” asked Debaku.

“Hmm,” she noised with great amusement as she glanced over at him. “We’re atop a great beast. I could see it from above.”

“What?!” barked Ali. “What kind of beast are you talking about?!”