Tales of the Jewel

At the display of theatre he had wondered if they had'nt fooled him after all. He sighed inwardly and chose not to reveal he was in on the ruse, hoping it would catch the 'crone' unware in case she slipped rather then put her on the defensive.

''Thank you for taking your time to listen. A friend came to me not to long ago with a strange problem...picture this, if you will it, sayyeda: two women lying in the same bed having spend the night with each other. The first woman is suddenly awoken by the sensation of drowning...because she is. A tendril of what appears to be living foul waters is forcing itself down her throat but she flails, resist and manages to wake the second woman. The second woman awakes but is unable to act, the tendril of water coming from her own belly."

He pauses

''The first woman, fighting the waters, backs away from the bed which seems to disconnect the thing from it's source and the foul liquid falls to the ground helplessly.''

He now watched her reaction

She listens, considers, "And what do you offer in exchange?"

''Depends on the value of the answer, sayyeda. Do you know what that is and can you cure it?''

She shrugs slightly, "A story told by one who was not there only tells so much. Many things it could be, with many different solutions."

''And thus only guesses can be offered'' the man countered ''Offering an idea how where to start looking, what questions to ask is advice enough''

You come for wisdom. Wisdom is offered. You have yet to say what you have to potentially offer in turn."

''I have a stage I can offer for a time, sayyeda. The festival may only last for so long but there will always be need for stories and those who would tell them.'' he squints

''The caravan of entertainment found my dealings quite fair in our exchange.''