Age of Kings

by A bag of plums


91 - The Trials of the Djinn

Emerald Edge followed along behind Sombra as he led the way across the White Desert. She still didn’t trust him completely, so she kept close enough in case he decided to try something. After all, he had almost killed her once before in Equestria.

Light Speckle and Nightfall Gleam hung by the camel, where they did what they could to alleviate Posey’s discomfort and pain. It didn’t help that a camel was no place for a wounded companion, but they didn’t have anywhere else. They needed to get that artifact, and fast.

“I have to warn you…” Sombra suddenly said from the front, seated atop his horse. “The temple is no easy path. Only the truly tested may pass into the sanctum of the djinn.”

“What does that mean?” Honeygold asked. “There some kinda puzzle or riddle we gotta solve to get in?”

“It is a secret that is passed down through the royal family of Saddle Arabia for time immemorial,” Sombra huffed. “But since we are working together, it would make sense for me to tell you. Only so that you survive this to face real justice. Not because I trust you.”

Emerald scoffed at that. “Tis your wish and I do not care for your choice.”

“Must you be so hostile towards our alliance?” Sombra grunted.

“Must you?”

“You are a criminal,” Sombra said flatly. “I am a prince on a noble quest to reclaim my homeland from a madman. The two of us are nothing alike.”

“You cur!” Emerald exclaimed, clenching her fists and resisting the urge to wring his neck. “What do you think we are doing?! You are the criminal, not I!”

“You dare to come into my kingdom and you call me a criminal?!” Sombra stopped in his tracks.

“I am on a mission from my princess, and interfering with a quest given by royalty is a crime!” Emerald snapped. “If I had not been thrown in prison for two weeks I might already have the artifact! You delayed me and that’s why your father is dead! In fact, you’re the reason I am even on this quest! Usurper!”

“Cease your use of the word! I am no usurper! I am heir to the throne!”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Emerald growled. “Let’s just get this on with. What obstacles are we likely to run into?”

Sombra exhaled deeply and resumed leading the group. “There shall be four traps to deter the unworthy, along with the dangers that emerge in darkness.”

“And you know the way through these traps, yes?” Nightfall Gleam asked. Sombra didn’t reply. “You… do not?”

Emerald shot him a glare and he sighed. “My father was to take me there when it was my time to rule, but…”

“You do not know the way,” Emerald replied curtly.

“And who is to blame for that?” Sombra shot back angrily.

“Tis you!”

Golden Nugget shoved his way between them before a fight could break out. “Could you two just stop arguin’ for five minutes? Em, to get through this, we need to work together, like it or no. Prince Sombra needs our help and we his.”

“He is right,” Light Speckle added. “Posey needs you, Emerald. We all do. Now, your majesty, please, surely you must know what dangers the temple contains?”

Sombra slowly nodded his head. “The Trails of the Djinn. The first of which is La Yujad Daw Huna. From light comes darkness and from darkness, light.”

“Ooh ooh!” Parisa suddenly started flailing her arms about. “I know this! Everyone in the palace knows this! The second one, Ant Wahid. Only alone must you find your way. Yjb An Tanjaraf. Only the fearless may overcome. Now what was the last one… Oh well! I have forgotten it!”

The dancer went back to prancing around the group as though what she had already said wasn’t depressing enough.

Yjb An Taghraq Fi Al’aemaq. Only through the Sea of Shadows may the worthy find the light,” Sombra finished for them. “Aside from the traps,
the darkness holds creatures beyond any reason which would tear you limb from limb. We call them the ghul. Takers of life.”

 Emerald didn’t like what she heard, but then again, when was anything ever easy anyway. They had pushed to get this far. They weren’t going to stop now.

Just over the next dune, Sombra stopped and pointed down and to the left where a well-sized plateau stood. At first, Emerald saw nothing, but then she saw that at the bottom of the plateau was a cave entrance with pillars carved around it, leading deep into the ground. The man-made pillars and supports blended in quite well with the rocks surrounding it and she didn’t know if it was intentional, but the rock surface outlining the entrance resembled the face of a snarling beast, frozen in time as it was about to devour its next meal, which hopefully won’t be her and her group. Though Sombra was free to be devoured, she didn’t care.

“We are here…” Sombra breathed. It sounded more like he said it to encourage himself. “We have no time to lose. If you wish to save your friend, we must bring her to the sanctum of the djinn.”

“How do you know these djinn can help her?” Guard Streak asked.

Sombra glanced at the squire as if deciding whether to answer. “Do you have any better ideas, child?” he said coldly. “Besides. I am not here for your purposes.” He then spurred his horse and rose ahead.

“The king already said so anyway, Streak,” Spectrum told him as they followed after the prince. “He said ‘healing’ when we talked to him.”

“What if we heard him wrong?”

Light Speckle put hands on both their shoulders. “Then you better start looking for manticores. Manticore blood is a vital ingredient to our healing magic, which unfortunately, we do not have.”

The squires looked at each other gloomily, then followed after Sombra. There really wasn’t a choice here.


The temple looked even more imposing and ominous up close. Men with pointed helmets and spears were carved all along each pillar’s surface and for some reason, they all wore expressions of doubt and fear. More carvings outlined the entrance, detailing pictures of humans fighting strange creatures that looked a bit like cats with wispy lower body halves.

“Welcome to Faki Namur.” Sombra waved a hand across the entrance as he tied his horse to a support. “Your people would call this… The Jaw of the Tiger. The entrance to the underworld itself.”

“It looks frightful,” Jewel Pin shuddered as she beheld the carvings. “Must we really go inside this place?”

“By all means, stay outside.” Sombra removed his hood and scarf and left it on his horse. “Only those worthy in the eyes of the djinn may enter this place.”

The prince loosened his sword in its scabbard before marching into the temple, where he was soon swallowed up by the shadows. Even Parisa’s usual cheer seemed to have evaporated.

“I don’t care if I’m worthy of these djinn or not,” Emerald muttered. “I’m going in.”

“But Em,” Honeygold dithered. “In all the stories, bad things happen to people who go into places they ain’t supposed to! If somethin’ happens to you, who’ll stop Morn?”

“If I don’t go in there, then we’ll never stop Morn,” Emerald squared her shoulders and drew her sword. “The artifact has to be inside. I”m going to get it, whether Sombra likes it or not.”

“You won’t be alone!” Spectrum followed along, dragging Streak with her. “As squires, it is our duty to accompany the knight on dangerous quests so that we may one day be knights ourselves. Right, Streak?”

“Umm… right.” The male squire was a lot less confident.

“Then I will be coming too!” Parisa popped up behind Emerald. “I’m a dancer! Dancers are trained to fight as well!” Two disc-like objects suddenly appeared in her hands and she spun around in the sand and swung them a few times. “See? I’ll get the prince to wait. Prince Sombra! Wait!” And she ran off into the dark to find him.

“Gee, she talks a lot.” Spectrum rubbed an eyebrow. “Still. A fighter is a fighter.”

“I shall leave the questing to you lot then.” Jewel Pin seemed relieved. “I shall wait here with Posey and the others.”

“But Em, please hurry.” Light Speckle came over and looked back at the wounded archer. “There is only so much we can do for the wound without our healing magic. She is getting worse. I do not know how much longer she has. You must make haste.”

Emerald gazed down into the dark yawning cave. She knew what she had to do, but she didn’t know if she had the strength to do it. No, she would do it or die trying. She owed it to everyone here and everypony back in Equestria.

“Here, take these.” Speckle held out a set of flints. “Tis for lighting a torch, should you need it. And you do need one.”

“Thank you, Speckle.” Emerald gave her a hug, then nodded to her group. “Let us go.”

Spectrum and Streak followed along behind her as they descended into the darkness below, grabbing broken pieces of wood on the way. It seemed a construction project had started here a long time ago, but stopped for an unknown reason. Still, the wood would be useful for some light.

Once they had fashioned two torches from wood and cloth, Emerald flicked the flints together and in no time, they had light as they went down a crude sloped path. She could now see Sombra
and Parisa waiting for them just a little further below.

“How were you walking without light?” Spectrum asked the duo when they got closer.

Parisa shrugged rather happily. “Hunches, new friend!”

Ahead, Sombra ran a hand along the surface of a wall. There were more carvings here of ancient warriors facing more of those cat creatures, at least, Emerald thought they were cats. Words were carved into the wall above, written in the Saddle Arabian language.

La Yujad Daw Huna,” Sombra read out loud. “Here begins the first test.”

“What does that mean anyway?” Spectrum lifted the torch to better inspect the words. “Sounds like a type of fruit.”

La Yujad Daw Huna,” Parisa repeated. “There is No Light Here. The name of the first test!”

“Too bad for them.” Spectrum raised her carried torch. “There is light now. Right, Streak?”

The other squire nodded.

The entrance to the first trial was down a tunnel in the cavern wall which was pitch black. The path was almost too small for even Spectrum, Streak and Parisa to fit through, so they had to bow their heads lower to get by, while Emerald and Sombra had to crouch lower. Bones outlined the floors, revealing humans who had attempted the gauntlet, only to fail. After traveling far in, the tunnel suddenly split into three paths, each going in a different direction.

“What now, prince?” Emerald asked with such a venomous tone.

Sombra glared at her, then shook his head and sighed. “From light comes darkness and from darkness, light.”

“You said that the first time. So what is it?”

“It’s our clue,” Sombra added. “Each test has a clue to help us through.”

“Well, from light…” Then Parisa pointed to the torches. “We have light!”

“So from light comes… darkness?” Guard Streak looked down the left tunnel. “Does that mean the darkness around the torch?”

“And light is supposed to come from the darkness…?” Emerald repeated. “Tis made of no sense! How can light produce darkness, which in turn produces light?”

“Is this magic? Do we need one of the mages to cast something?” Spectrum pointed back down the tunnel. “We are not too far in. I could run back and get Nightfall.”

“I have an idea!” Parisa bounced over to the squires. “Hold out your torches.”

Spectrum and Streak looked at each other, but then they complied and held them out to the dancer. With a deep breath, Parisa blew and somehow, she put out both torches and plunged them all into darkness.

“What in the hay! Why did you blow our lights out?” Spectrum could be heard somewhere behind Emerald.

“Shhh!” Parisa hissed. “Just wait!”

No one moved or said anything for a few seconds. Emerald didn’t know what the dancing girl was thinking, and she was about to say something when she realized she could see her hand.

“Huh?” She looked at the greenish hue that was cast over her hand. Then she noticed that the sides of the tunnel floor were now glowing a luminescent green. “What… is this?”

“Looks like mushrooms.” Spectrum kicked one and it wobbled.

“Of course…” Sombra snapped his fingers. “From light comes darkness. The torch, while a source of light, keeps the path in darkness. And from darkness, light. The mushrooms glow in the dark.”

“We already understood that. You didn’t need to repeat it,” Emerald said irritably.

The five of them followed the path down the right tunnel and along a few more twists and turns. At one point, Emerald could swear she heard some chittering, followed by something that sounded like laughter, but when they all stopped, the sounds stopped as well. She chalked it up as her own imagination, but as royal spymaster, it wasn’t something she could simply ignore. She had to be prepared for anything.

The tunnel soon widened out into a large cavern, where the ceiling disappeared into the darkness above. A rocky stairway led down onto a squarish platform that was separated from the stairway by a small gap, which dropped down into nothingness.

Ant Wahid,” Sombra announced. “Only alone must you find your way.”

“Looks simple.” Guard Streak eyed the square platform. “It should lead us to the other side. All we have to do is walk across it.”

“Only alone must you find your way…” Emerald mused and repeated the clue. It couldn’t be so simple.

Sombra tightened his sword belt around his waist and proceeded down.

“Wait, Sombra, it cannot be that easy!” Emerald called after him, but he waved a hand at her.

“Alone you must find your way…” Sombra eyed the platform ahead. “I shall go first.”

Taking a few steps back, Sombra jumped over to the platform, which rocked as his feet touched the ground, almost throwing him off balance and into the abyss below.

“This is no stable platform.” Sombra stretched his arms out to keep his balance.

It seemed to be tilted up on the opposite side now, with Sombra’s weight bringing the front lower. Emerald figured if a second person were to jump on it, it would just send the whole platform falling down the chasm.

“Alone you must find your way. Of course…” she breathed. But yet, it still seemed too easy. That just meant they would have to get across one at a time.

Sombra was now about halfway when the chittering sounds returned, echoing out from the tunnel they had come from. On instinct, Emerald had already spun around, scimitar in hand. She couldn’t see anything down the tunnel yet, but whatever it was, the sounds were getting louder now.

“What is that?” Spectrum drew her shortsword and stood alongside her. “We can take them.”

“We don’t even k-know what ‘them’ is yet...” Guard Streak said, but also drew his weapon.

Emerald remembered Sombra’s warning to them. The temple didn’t just hold traps to ensnare the unwary. They contained creatures said to inhabit the dark.

Ghul.

“Parisa, what can you tell us about the ghuls?” Emerald turned to the dancing girl.

Parisa Pie was busy spinning around in a sort of dance, but then stopped and skipped over. “Ghul? They want to eat you! I don’t think there’s anything else to know about them. Oh! And they look somewhat like hyenas. You know hyenas?”

“Who is that?” Streak asked.

“Nevermind! You’ll see.”

“E-Em!” Spectrum patted the spymaster’s arm rapidly, trying to get her attention.

Emerald returned her attention to the tunnel. It didn’t look any different, except now it had two white orbs peering out of the darkness at them. As they got closer, Emerald could roughly see a face illuminated by the glowing mushrooms. It looked to be like a cat or even a little like a dog, but then its mouth opened in a smile, revealing rows of sharp fangs. This was no mere animal.

With a laughing sound coming from its mouth, it charged down the tunnel towards them on all fours, almost too fast for Emerald to raise her weapon.

Almost.

Lifting her sword, the creature impaled itself on her weapon, sliding its body all the way down to her sword’s guard. Its long skinny arms reached out and clawed at Emerald, slicing into her left arm and part of her chest, right through her armor. The former pegasus cried out, but then twisted her sword and slashed through its body and stepped away.

The ghul fell past her, almost in two pieces, still twitching, which Streak quickly finished off with a thrust to its head.

The creature was skinny, looking like that of a malnourished human, where its ribs could be seen pushing against its skin. Its legs were digitigrade, like that of an animal, but its most chilling feature was its face. The ghul had a short snout, ending in two simple slits for nostrils, and below it, its lipless mouth, housing two rows of fangs above and below.

“Wasn’t so hard.” Spectrum kicked its body to make sure it was dead.

“Tis not over.” Emerald narrowed her eyes as more sounds could be heard coming down the tunnel. “Sombra, make haste!”

Emerald touched her left arm, then came away with blood. She didn’t have time to patch it up now as two ghuls appeared down the tunnel, their mouths also twisted into grotesque grins.

“We cannot let them get on the platform,” Streak said and held his shortsword tighter.

“Then we’ll have to hold them in the tunnel.” Emerald looked back to Sombra again. “Hurry, Sombra!”

The prince picked up his pace across the platform, trying to take lighter steps to keep the platform from tipping too much to one side. Emerald watched as the platform moved beneath him. It said alone, but what if someone else were to balance it out as he reached the other end?

“There is a ledge over here!” Sombra called out from the other side of the platform, which was now tipped down on his side. “I cannot reach it!”

Emerald risked a glance back at Sombra before returning her attention to the tunnel where the creatures were getting closer. She could hear their feet scraping on the earthen floor of the temple. Emerald readied her scimitar and prepared to fight. Beside her, Spectrum and Guard Streak also took up a combat stance.

Parisa looked at the former pegasus and her friends, then at Sombra, who was trying to reach the higher ledge, but having no success. The dancer thought for a moment, then leapt off onto the platform with a “Whee!”.

The platform tilted, raising Sombra up toward the opposite ledge. But not quite high enough. 

“Uh, hey!” Parisa called back over her shoulder. “I think I need more weight! Can one of you small ones skedaddle over here and give me a hand?”

“Who you calling small?” Spectrum stood at the edge and looked down. “Uh, are you sure tis safe for another to be on this?”

Emerald noted what they were up to. It was risky, but it might just work. “Spectrum, do as she says.”

“If you say so, Em.” The female squire jumped over and almost lost her footing if Parisa hadn’t grabbed on to her, though her sword fell into the darkness below.

With their combined weight, the platform lifted high enough for Sombra to grab the ledge, hauling himself up to the other end of the chasm.

The next two ghuls got close enough to attack, but Emerald ducked under the first one, while spinning around in a slash, severing the second ghul’s right leg. It fell in a screech and tried to claw her, but the spymaster stomped down on its other arm and sliced its head off. The second one barreled into Guard Streak and attempted to bite at his exposed neck, but the squire raised his other arm to defend himself and bit it instead. He quickly stabbed the ghul in the gut as Emerald slashed at its head. The ghul grew limp and slid off Streak and into the abyss. Already, more could be heard coming down the tunnel, hungry for human flesh.

“Parisa, your turn. Go!” Emerald yelled and raised her weapon again. She winced. The wound on her shoulder and chest was starting to take its toll. “How do you fare, Streak?”

The squire lifted his arm. There were punctures all along his sleeve and it was now stained red.

“Go. I’ll hold them off you. Help Spectrum.”

Streak nodded and sheathed his blade. “S-Spectrum, here I come.”

He leapt over to where she was, and as soon as he landed, the platform shifted down and Parisa used the momentum to launch herself right up to where Sombra was.

Waw, ya laha min qafza! That was excitinggg!” She waved from the other end. “Next one!”

“Spectrum, you first.” Guard Streak ushered the female squire with his good arm.

“No, Streak. You’re hurt. You first.” Spectrum shook her head.

“I-I’m heavier. You need to go.”

“Decisions need to be made!” Emerald parried the claws of another ghul as it tried to slice her into shreds. It jumped around her and kicked off the wall to try and bite her. “Go!”

Emerald dropped on her back as Spectrum began making her way across the platform, and stabbed up with a hidden blade multiple times as the ghul passed over her, spraying dark blood down across her form. The ghul sailed into the abyss with a blood curdling shriek.

More of them now stood in the tunnel they had come from, their smiling faces barely illuminated by the glowing mushrooms; sinister laughter echoed down to Emerald. She couldn’t take all of them. They had to hurry.

The ghuls in the tunnel broke into a run, their hands and feet tearing grooves across the tunnel’s surfaces. This was it. She had had to hold on a little more for her friends.

The first ones attacked like lightning, their claws flashing across Emerald as she tried to fight them all off. She killed one immediately as she swung her scimitar through its face and then she severed the right arm of another, but they managed to wound her across the right thigh and left arm as they passed.

Passed…

Emerald looked back in fear as one ran straight for Guard Streak, who thankfully, was ready for it. He jammed his sword through the creature’s neck as it slid down to him, its weight bringing the platform lower.

We need to go. Now.

Sheathing her weapon, Emerald ran for the platform as the horde of ghuls pounded after her, their cackling echoing across the cavern.

“Streak, go!” she ordered as she leapt into the air.

The male squire nodded and began moving across the platform before the spymaster landed so that their combined weight wouldn’t bring them all down. Spectrum waited for him to reach her on the other end before jumping up on the other side, where Sombra and Parisa helped her up.

Emerald clutched at her wounds as she watched the beasts descend down the stairway to the platform. Her thigh burned from the strain, but she needed to press on, at least just for a bit more. She only had one shot at this, and she couldn’t miss it.

After Streak left the platform, Emerald ran over to the other end, stretching her arms out to keep her balance. The ghuls came after her, their combined weight tilting the platform dangerously towards their side. Something at the bottom seemed to give way and the platform began to slide down towards the stairway.

“Come on, Em!” Her friends called her from the other end as she fought to maintain her footing.

The former pegasus made it to the end of the platform just as it went completely vertical, jumping up onto the thin side of it and kicking off just before the entire thing dropped, bringing the ghuls with it into the dark below.

Sombra caught her hand as she descended, hauling her up to safety. “Not bad work. For a criminal.”

Emerald shoved his hand away and winced as her adrenaline began to fade. She hadn’t gotten out of that one unscathed. Sombra exhaled and tore off pieces of his tunic and began to wrap one around Emerald’s thigh.

“What are you doing?” She scowled at him.

“Preventing you from losing too much blood. At least until the sanctum,” Sombra answered without looking at her.

“I do not need your help.”

“Now is not the time to be harsh, criminal. Just let me bandage up your wounds and we can be on our way to the third test.”

Emerald grumbled, but she made no effort to stop him. When Sombra was done, she got up without a word and led the way forward. Her wounds still hurt, and its not like she could keep going like this either, but at least it helped, if only a little.

She didn’t know what to make of Sombra now. Why would he help bandage up her wounds? Then she remembered what he was after and she knew immediately she was right. He just needed her until he got his kingdom back from Morn.

Well, so be it. Once his use for her was over, he would probably kill her. That’d unless I kill him first.

With that happy thought, Emerald and her group carried on, awaiting the third trial.