“You have it wrong, Master,” The woman laughed.

She hopped back a few steps to give him some distance, but Raylas refused to let his guard down. She bowed and spread her arms wide as a colorful array of lights flashed around her.

“I am not a lowly succubus,” she continued. “I am a djinni, and I am here to grant you any desire you wish as long as it is in my power.”

Raylas waited a few moments before he started to circle around the woman. The lights flew around her in a tight circle, but they appeared harmless. A few times they even flew through her arm as if they were made of pure light.

As he moved around her she did not move an inch. She just stood there with her eyes closed and head bowed. How confident was she?

“You must think me a fool, demon,” Raylas eventually said as he completed a circle around her. “A djinni? What kind of idiot do you think I am?”

“I do not think you an idiot at all, Master,” she replied without a hint of sarcasm. “Cautious, yes. But only an idiot feels no fear.”

So she saw him as a coward? The brave feel no fear, so by insinuating he felt it meant she saw him as a coward. A woman who wishes to break the wills of men and have them submit to her. She indeed was a succubus.

Raylas’ face darkened as he changed his grip on the dagger and pulled the chain tight, ready to test a few experiments he practiced earlier.

“Do you see an enemy?” the woman asked as she glanced behind her and her orbs of light faded away.

Raylas took the moment to launch himself toward her and released the dagger, swinging it toward her throat. As soon as it got close the she dissipated into a mist and reformed a step further back, safely out of reach of the dagger. As she reformed she had her hand on her chin in a thoughtful expression.

“Better form than earlier, but you still have a long way to go,” She muttered. “Your footwork especially needs to be– oh my!” She faded into a mist again as the weight flew through her. Raylas used the momentum of the dagger swing to spin and swing the weight toward her, pulling the chain holding the dagger close and spilling it in a tight circle.

“Clever!” She cheered playfully. “And you still have good control over the blade!”

“I will kill you and banish you back to the hells before I let you remain here to torment me,” Raylas yelled as he launched the dagger straight at her. The blade met mist again, but instead of letting the blade swing around he used the weighted end as a counterweight and had the blade come back.

The dagger returned but it did not go back into the controlled spin like before, but instead flopped lazily downard and clanked against his armor.

“Spoken like a true Heir of Aasim!” She laughed, then bowed again as Raylas regained control of his weapon. “You might not be of the same blood, but you have the same spirit.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Raylas growled.

“The Heir of Aasim?” She asked, tilting her head. “That is what you are. You’ve even been blessed by Ialdir like the old Patriarch of the family.”

Raylas swung his weapon but she dodged again. She was a powerful magic user to be able to transform like she did, but even the best mage had a limit. He attacked with the weight and bland, constantly forcing her to move in and out of mist form. She always stayed just out of reach, though, like she was afraid of his fists.

Raylas smiled as he continued to attack.

“By taking the mantle you can become a great being in the world,” the woman preached. “And by being great, you will be able to live just as you desir–”

Raylas saw an opportunity as the woman made a sweeping gesture. He launched himself forward and let go of the weighted end of the chain and reached to grab the woman. She froze as his hand grasped her shoulder, which did not turn into mist.

“Gotcha,” Raylas bragged as he yanked her close and wrapped the chain around her. Her arms became bound and the blade of the dagger ended just at her throat.

“Master, this is unnecessary,” she stammered. Raylas had one arm wrapped around her arm and waist keeping her close and could feel her heartbeat quicken.

She had a pulse. She was not a demon. She was a human?

“I’m not really in the mood for games,” Raylas hissed. “Now tell me truthfully who you are and what you are doing out here?”

The woman hesitated for only a moment before sighing.

“I am the Djinni of the Ring you possess,” she said. “Did you not read the band before you awakened me?”

“I can’t read.” Raylas plainly stated. There was something strange about everyone wanting him to read? Was it so bad to just do one’s job and leave the scholarly stuff to better men?

The woman started to shake in his arms. Raylas first thought she was starting to cry from fear but he was taken aback when she threw her head back and laughed.

“So it was all a mistake? This won’t do at all!”

A searing pain erupted in his head, this one different from the booming voice. It was focused in his eyes and Raylas cried out in pain. He released the woman and clutched his eyes thinking she had somehow tore them out of his head. They both remained but his vision was scattered. The world appeared to be moving and adjusting.

It lasted just moments before he stopped and Raylas panted on his hands and knees, sweat dripping down onto the cold dirt. He looked up as the world refocused himself and saw the woman was ten paces away and swinging his weapon lazily.

“Now take out the ring,” the woman ordered.

She was too powerful. Raylas knew when he was beaten, but he would not just give up. An opportunity could still present itself for him to escape.

Raylas glared at her until she pointed at his pouch again. With a sigh he reached inside and pulled out the ring and flicked it to her.

“If you want it then here. Take it and go, then,” He growled.

The woman rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Read the ring, Master,” she prodded with her sweetest voice. Raylas could hear the frustration in it.

“I can’t read,” Raylas repeated.

The woman tsked in frustration and left. She moved to the edge of the forest and took a stick. Raylas blinked to dispel the phantom pain that remained in his eyes, and stood up. The woman returned before he found something to use as a weapon and used the stick to flick the ring toward him. It clinked against his foot, but Raylas just gave it a brief glance before continuing to stare down the woman.

“Pick it up and read it, please,” she pushed.

Raylas with nothing to lose decided to bend down and take up the ring. He never took his eyes off the woman as he snatched it and stood back up. She gestured impatiently for him to look at the ring and he gave it a quick examination.

“Master of the Ring, Show me the World and I’ll Grant Your Desires,” he mumbled before snapped his gaze back at the woman. It took a few moments before it clicked in his head and he looked at the ring again.

“What is this?” he muttered as he stared at the engravings. The words appeared in his head again as he examined it over and over again.

“That is what is called reading,” the woman chuckled. “Now then let's start over.”

She tossed his weapon back at him and gave him a polite bow, the orbs of light returning and flowing around her an impressive and complex pattern.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Master. I am a djinni, and I am here to grant you any desire you wish as long as it is in my power.”

Raylas’ mouth opened and closed multiple times. He looked between her and the ring. What in the hells was going on? What kind of artifact was he cursed with?

“What do you mean ‘grant’?” He asked first.

“Exactly what it sounds like. If it is within my power I will serve you to grant you all your desires, as long as you show me the world.” She winked at the end with a giggle.

“Serve me?”

“Of course,” she confirmed. “The djinni of the rings are servants to the masters, or owners of the rings.”

“What kind of harlot is a djinni?” He asked.

The woman’s polite face warped into disgust.

“Harlot?” she spat.

“Who else would dress as you do besides a harlot?” Raylas inquired.

“This outfit is the traditional clothing from the Great Ousta Kingdom on the desert continent,” she hissed while trying to cover herself.

“A kingdom of prostitutes?” Raylas breathed. Such a thing was the worst kind of fiction created in the darkest depths of the night talks with other mercenaries.

“An honorable kingdom of mages and spellswords,” the woman snapped.

“A kingdom of mages?” Raylas gasped.

“Now you are starting to understand.” The woman smiled and stood straight. She puffed out her chest proudly.

“I see now…”

“Now that this nonsense is–”

“You’re insane,” Raylas concluded.

The woman froze, her body deflating immediately. She tried to talk but her mouth only opened and closed with nothing coming out.

“A kingdom of mages would be so dangerous that I’m sure even the demons would ally with the humans to take them out,” Raylas continued. “What a wild imagination.”

“I am being serious!” She howled.

“It is all right, miss,” Raylas chuckled as he picked up his weapon and strode to the unhinged woman. She was a powerful mage, true. A very rare find outside of the nobles' courts. But she was also obviously lost, and ill prepared for winter looking at her dress. Perhaps a miscast magic which caused this? Magic does the impossible, they say. This wouldn’t be out of the question.

He took off his cloak and swung it around her. The lights immediately disappeared as she tensed, and the cloak landed solidly on her shoulders.

“Come,” Raylas said. “Undead are coming close by and I do not wish to abandon you here to become food. We have shelter nearby.”

“I am not worried about–”

“You said you serve me, right?” Raylas sighed.

“Of course, Master,” she replied immediately with a bow.

“Then listen to me,” Raylas pushed on. “Your kingdom is far away, if it exists. For now it cannot help you and there is danger coming. Come, we must depart.” He started off toward the fort, trying to ignore the cold wind blowing.

“The kingdom does exist, Master,” she mumbled as she fell into step behind him. “Or it did…” She fell silent and looked up at the sky in thought.

Raylas sighed. First he found an artifact and got cursed, then kicked from his group, and now he was stuck with some strange mage. He started to wonder if he would ever get to Gloomscrest by the way things were going.