ELEVEN
Aladdin woke to find his head pounding, as though he'd drunk too much wine. As if he could afford to drink wine. "Where in heaven's name am I?" he asked the inky darkness.
"Tasnim, the forgotten city," a familiar voice replied, as a glimmering blue ball appeared and expanded to become a man. Kaveh.
"And why does it feel like a camel stomped on my head?"
"That would be the cask of Prince Firdaus' private reserve you drank." Kavek sounded amused. "It's powerful stuff, or it was a century ago, when he first bought it. Now it must be strong enough to kill an ox. I told you to drink sparingly, but you told me you were too thirsty."
Aladdin lurched to his feet. "Well, now I don't want wine. I want water. I'm sure I saw a well around here somewhere."
"You won't find any water in it. Why do you think all the people left? Without water, the city would die."
Kaveh began to tell a story about a ruling prince who vanished when the water did, and the fate of his people, but Aladdin shut him out and concentrated on looking for water. His mouth tasted like rats had nested in it and used his throat for a privy. He never wanted to drink wine again.
In the faint blue light from Kaveh following him, Aladdin came to one of the wells he remembered. A dusty bucket lay on the ground beside the well, so he hooked it up to the rope and lowered it into the depths, praying for the splash.
He'd almost lost hope when he heard it – though the sound was faint and deep. Aladdin let the bucket drop lower, then began hauling it up again, hand over hand. It was heavier than before, he was certain of it.
When the bucket rose into sight, the blue reflection on the surface of the liquid of the brimming pail was enough for him to let out a hoarse cheer.
"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," Kaveh said.
Aladdin ignored him again. He lifted the bucket to his lips and only then did the stench reach him. Aladdin coughed. "What is that? It can't be water."
Kaveh grinned. "Well, it was once water. Before some bastard pissed it out, maybe, and threw it down the well before he left the city. Where it's been festering ever since."
Aladdin gagged and tipped the bucket's contents back where they'd come from. "Is there no water in the city at all?"
Kaveh shook his head. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. There's no water here. The only liquid to drink in this city is wine."
Aladdin had drunk enough wine to last him a lifetime. "So where's the nearest source of water?"
"Half a day's ride, back the way we came."
Of course it was. The oasis where Gwandoya had first called a halt, Aladdin would wager.
"How long would it take to walk?"
Kaveh eyed him critically. "Forever. You wouldn't last the distance, not as starved as you are. You'd need to stay here for a month at least, emptying the royal larders, before you had sufficient strength."
"There isn't enough water here to last a month."
Kaveh brightened. "But there is more than enough wine, even after seeing the way you drink it. You'll need a flask or two for the journey, for it is at least a full night's march to the oasis."
"A month? My mother will go mad with worry over me. I must set out as soon as night falls."
Kaveh shook his head. "And I thought you were a bright one. You will not survive, you fool. And what of the treasure you wanted to take back to win your princess? Even if you had the strength to make it to the oasis before the sun rises, you would not be able to carry anything of value back with you. If you return home, it will be poorer than when you left."
The princess? Maram was the least of Aladdin's concerns now. But taking something home as payment seemed like a good idea. At least he'd have something to show for this foolishness. "What of the curse that prevents thieves leaving with their ill-gotten goods?" Aladdin asked suspiciously. "Are you trying to get me turned into a statue like the others, so that I can enrich the city, too?"
"I'll carry it out," Kaveh said. "The curse doesn't apply to me. Why, I could proclaim you as the new Prince of Tasnim, rightful owner of the city and all its riches, and no one would contradict me!"
"A prince?" Aladdin tried to sound sceptical, but the tantalising thought of walking into the Sultan's palace, being announced as a prince, before asking for Maram's hand in marriage, was too strong to resist.
Kaveh smiled. "A fitting husband for a princess, if you carry a suitable gift for her and for her father."
For even just the chance of seeing Maram again, it was worth the risk. "A week, then. In seven days, when the sun sets, I will set out for the oasis."
"And while we wait, I shall show you all the secrets of Tasnim, and its treasures." Kaveh's grin broadened. "Treasures fit for a princess, as you shall see. What the prince kept in his harem was vastly superior to what he locked in his treasury."
"I thought you said everyone was gone. Do you mean to say the women are still here?" Aladdin asked, horrified. "We have to save them!"
"The prince's concubines were the first to leave, taking all their jewels with them. I am sure they are as far from the city as they can get." Kaveh's eyes glowed brighter. "No, it is what they did not take that I must show you."
Aladdin nodded. "Then let me find a flagon of wine, if there is nothing else to drink in this place, so that I may break my fast and drink to the vanished prince's health, before I steal his most precious treasures." This did not sit well with Aladdin, but what other choice did he have?
"As the Prince of Tasnim, you cannot steal your own things. They are yours, as is everything in the city. You shall see." Kaveh said. "I have proclaimed it, therefore it must be so!"
Aladdin sighed. He'd gone from one madman's clutches to another, and still he had none of the promised wealth either had lured him with. Oh, he still had the blackened lamp, tucked into his tunic, but what use was such a thing here? Still, this madman had the only light in the city, and he was the only man who could open the doors, so Aladdin followed him deeper into the labyrinth. It seemed the most sensible thing to do.
For the moment.