Arix and the tomh of Mul'din

 

There once was an ancient tomb, a tomb darker than night and so abandoned that no human eye has seen it centuries. Arix the young adventurer pushed over a stone slab from outside the tomb. The slab fell inward creating a booming noise that echoed through the ancient tomb. Tomb had not been disturbed, felt sound or sunlight in centuries and Arix the adventuring youth introduced light and sound to the tomb in one motion. Light beamed in from the bright midday sun, banishing the darkness and causing small, nocturnal creatures to scurry away in fright.

 

            This was the lost tomb of Mul’din, a great and fierce king of old. Mul’din was kind to his people and brutal to the rest of the world. His armies were vast and he would dominate and destroy all who did not join his Kingdom. The Kingdom of Mul’din stretched over a quarter of the world and his riches stretched on as far as the eye could see. Mul’din didn’t just acquire treasure from conquering, he also sent out bands of pirates and raiders to loot and pillage in his name. Mul’din’s raiders would regularly harass and land that couldn’t be conquered and through his looting and conquering he had a treasury stuffed with rare items from around the world and more gold than anyone could count.

 

            Arix had spent years trying to find this lost tomb. While he explored other ruins and new lands he always kept an ear open for anything that related to Mul’din. Arix even spent a fair amount of the treasure he found in other tombs just for info about Mul’din’s tomb. Finding this tomb would give Arix recognition, opportunity to join the explorer’s guild and befriend famous adventurers and Arix also had the possibility of finding Mul’din’s treasure and being incredibly wealthy.

 

            Arix crept carefully through the tomb holding a blue gem that let out a soft light. The light was faint enough so that Arix wouldn’t be immediately spotted by predators but bright enough to see inside the pitch black tomb, the gem also sent light out further than a torch would. The gem was the size of a small apple and glowed through Arix’s hand. The sunlight from outside illuminated the first room, but the darkness won out as Arix walked deeper inside.

 

            The tomb was silent and every light step that Arix took sounded like heavy boots stomping on the stone. As Arix walked he heard a faint voice calling from deep within the tomb, the voice was followed by a purple fog that reflected the light of the blue gem. The fog floated through the tomb, in and out of only certain rooms. The fog started looking like a trail and Arix wanted to find its source. Arix’ curiosity got him into trouble more times than he could count and he knew that the strange voice and purple fog could be luring him into a trap. It was possible that Mul’din’s ghost was trying to tempt a greedy treasure hunter and lure him into an ambush. Arix had experience with the undead and was overly confident with his ability to get out of bad situations.

 

            The fog led Arix to a large room that was full of bottles, tables and small trinkets. As Arix entered the room torches lit themselves and the voice calling out grew louder. “Help please!” cried the voice. “Where are you?” asked Arix “I am trapped in this bottle, please open it!” The voice called out. Arix now knew the voice belonged to a mystical creature, as a mortal could not survive being trapped in a bottle and sealed in a tomb for centuries and would have to be shrunken down to even fit in a bottle in the first place.

 

            Arix followed the voice and looked through a table full of dusty bottle of different sizes. Finally Arix touched the right bottle and the small glass bottle glowed with purple light. “Please release me!” Cried the voice. “I want to know where Mul’din’s treasure is first, then I promise to release you” Arix said. The voice was silent for a few seconds then finally spoke. “Mul’din acquired mountains of gold but when he died he did not keep any of it. He loved his subjects so much that he told his royal advisor to give everything to the people of his kingdom. He did not see the point of storing it or burying it. He gave the largest portion to his sons but he told them to use his riches to make their own riches. He was a wise man. This tomb was built in his honor and while many of his prized possessions were buried with him, none of those possessions were gold or jewels” Explained the voice.

 

            Arix was disappointed but didn’t completely believe the voice. “How did you end up here? And how do I know you aren’t lying to me?” Asked Arix. “I wouldn’t lie and risk my first chance to be free in centuries. I am a djinn, a wish granting spirit who has been trapped in this bottle by the king. I do not care about the king and if he had gold I’d help you find it. This is my punishment for not being able to bring back his dead wife” Explained the Djinn.

 

            Arix figured that gaining the favor of a wish granting spirit might be even better than gold and so he opened the bottle. The bottle had a cork, which was covered in a cloth, and the cloth had ancient writing all over it. Arix twisted the cork and pulled open the bottle.

 

            Purple fog sprang forth from the bottle. It flooded out and filled the large room, then in a second it all was pulled toward a single point in front of Arix. The fog swirled around and the Djinn appeared before Arix. “Thank you so much, kind master” Said the Djinn. The Djinn was dark purple, had yellow eyes with no pupils, had a torso and head but his arms were partly transparent and his legs were missing, he was completely made up of purple fog from the waist down.

 

            “So I am your master now?”  Asked Arix. “Yes, you are. But before you start trying to make wishes, let me make a deal with you. If you do not like my deal, you can wish for any one thing” Said the Djinn. Arix was intrigued and figured it wouldn’t hurt to listen to the spirit. “What is your deal? I was hoping for a mountain of gold in this tomb, so your deal better be worth the time and money it took to find this place” Arix explained.

 

            “The deal is, you bring the bottle outside of this tomb and use your one wish to free me. Once I am free I will be able to join the wind and cloud spirits in the sky. I will never bother a single mortal and after being stuck under ground for so long I will probably never even want to leave the clouds again. In exchange for my freedom, I will leave all of my magic in the bottle in the form of a potion. This magic potion will cure any disease, ease all pain, emotional and physical and it will give you energy like a night of restful sleep” The Djinn explained.

 

            Arix liked the sound of this magic potion but was still cautious. “What is the downside, there is always a downside” Said Arix. The Djinn grinned “Well of course. I see you are no fool. All magic comes with a price. Even those who wield magic must suffer a burden of it. The potion will do just as I say it will but if you use it too much or become too reliant on the magic, then you will suffer from it. Mortals cannot handle magic in large amounts or consumed too frequently” Explained the Djinn.

 

            Arix figured that he was as careful as anyone and would only use the potion in dire situations. So Arix agreed and the Djinn led Arix out of the tomb. They talked as they walked through the dusty ruins and Arix felt more confident that the Djinn was telling the truth about all he said.

 

            Once they reached the exit, Arix took a step out into the fresh air and held the bottle open as he said “I wish you were free from this bottle and live peacefully in the clouds away from mortals” Arix wished for a very specific thing just in case the Djinn wasn’t as friendly as he seemed. Arix hoped that the phrasing would bind the Djinn to his word and force him to be peaceful. Arix didn’t want to be responsible for unleashing a terror on all humanity.

 

            “Thank you human!” Said the Djinn as he started to turn into purple fog. A thin blue chain appeared. The chain led from inside the bottle and was wrapped around the purple fog that struggled to break free. Finally the blue chain shattered into a thousand pieces and each piece puffed up into the air in a ball of smoke. The Djinn was finally free and shot up into the air as fast as he could “Remember my warning human!” called the voice of the Djinn as he disappeared from sight.

 

            Arix knew he would heed the Djinn’s warning and put the purple glass bottle into his adventuring bag. Arix might not have been rich and famous from the trip into Mul’din’s tomb, but he did gain a magic healing potion, which in his line of work was priceless.

 

            Arix also decided to not tell anyone that he found the tomb, not only was there no gold to share but owing a magical cure all potion and telling people about it would drastically decrease his life span.

 

            Arix began the long trek home, his head swimming with tales of ancient kings and a long lost time. Arix put the potion out of his thoughts and did not think about it again until the day he desperately needed it. But that is another story for another day.