When our happy company woke up at the late afternoon after a nap, the witcher was nowhere to be found. The heroes were feverishly looking around the camp, calling their friend by his name, when their loyal mares came to the rescue. Roach and Loki motioned their heads at the nearby lake, the trio thanked them and went into its' direction. There, they found Geralt with a fishing net.
"Geralt!" Jaskier shouted. "Don't scare us like that, we almost had a heart attack!".
"Forgive me" the grey-haired man murmured, once again casting the net.
"We'll be having fishies for dinner? Ah, I'd love to eat a pike-perch, or no, a trout..." Olaf dreamed.
"No" Geralt answered shortly, pulling the empty net.
"Oh..." the snowman saddened for a moment.
"What are you trying catch, then?" Anna questioned, intrigued. "Runestones for your swords?".
"I'd love to" Geralt smiled lightly. "But I'm looking for something else. To believe my sources, there should be a vessel with a djinn inside in this lake" he added, casting the net again.
"A djinn?" Jaskier blinked few times. "Like a genie djinn? A djinn making your wishes come true? Like in fairytales?".
"Oh, but they do exist!" Olaf smiled. "A princess from Ofir once had told us how she befriended one. From what we'd heard, he's a nice fellow!".
"Djinns can also be dangerous" the princess said. "For a time being, we guested a group of wandering warriors. They've been telling us about their adventures, including one, in which they had to fight a very powerful djinn. He'd wanted to absorb their powers and take over the Continent".
"Holy gods..." the bard replied. "I wish I've been there, it's a perfect material for a great ballad...".
"Oh Jules, Jules..." Anna shook her head. "In fact, why are you looking for the djinn?" she turned to Geralt, worried, that his search might be connected to the Law of Surprise, which her friend had claimed months ago.
"Recently, I've been having trouble sleeping" the witcher confessed, the blue-eyed woman was a bit relieved. "I want to make a wish, so I can sleep".
"You really need a djinn for that?" the princess wondered. "Don't throw yourself at it like a troll at a soup made from elf and onion, there are many safe ways for getting better sleep, for example meditation, calming excersises...".
"Healing brews!" Olaf interjected.
"Exactly, healing brews!" she agreed with him. "Or we could go to a herbalist!".
"I could soothe you to sleep with my singing as well" Jaskier suggested. "Long time ago, when I've been in a relationship with countess de Stael, I've always sang her to sleep, because she couldn't fall asleep for gods' sake. One day, however, she didn't wake up...".
"I wonder why..." Geralt muttered, at which Anna laughed slightly.
Olaf, not able to contain himself, bursted out laughing. The troubadour did not like this situation, for he indignantly asked a question:
"Are you implying something?!".
"Me? Not at all. Did I say anything?" the grey-haired man turned to the princess, who shook her head negatively, claiming she hasn't heard a thing.
"Oh ho ho, we are so having this conversation!" the brunet threatened. "Geralt, be honest. How's my singing?".
Olaf stopped laughing, Anna puffed out her cheeks. They were curious about the monster slayer's answer as much as the bard.
"It's like ordering a pie and finding it has no filling" the White Wolf stated, casting a net once again.
Olaf covered his mouth with his hands, Anna slowly let out the air from her cheeks. She put a hand on her loved one's arm, while he widely opened his mouth in shock. He wasn't sure whether Geralt's answer made him surprised or indignant.
"You really need a nap!" he said, threatening the witcher with his finger.
"There, there, my dear, calm down" the princess embraced her partner's face with her hands.
"How am I supposed to calm down when Geralt is hurting my feelings?!" he asked with disbelief. "It's inappropriate and sad, and... cruel! Hurting! Not to mention the fact that you were laughing with him too earlier!" he added in pain.
Anna lowered her gaze. She felt foolish, as hurting Jaskier was the last thing she wanted. She sighed.
"You're right. It was improper of me, childish even. I thought it's funny, I didn't know it could hurt you. I am sorry and I promise I won't do such a thing again" she assured, causing the bard to smile lightly for a moment. "Now breathe, come on. Hee... hoo... hee... hoo..." she was slowly breathing in and out, instructing Jaskier what he should do. "Geralt for sure does not think like that. You just asked him on a wrong day. I am conceived that just like me and Olaf, he likes listening to you, right, Geralt?" she turned to the White Wolf, looking at him meaningfully.
Nevertheless, the grey-haired man didn't reply, for he managed to fish out what he was persistently looking for. To the eyes of the company appeared a jug with a seal, in which the djinn had been situated. The snowman took his head and lifted it up to take a precise look at the seal. It was a nine-armed star with a cross in a middle, which ends where similar to an anchor. A long time ago Olaf had read about seals and was able to recognize when they were put by sorcerers. He also knew that in most cases it was better not to remove them. He expressed his opinion aloud, placing his head back on its' place. The princess agreed with him once again, and then she made another attempt to convince her friend to try other methods for a good sleep, when suddenly the bard stepped into action, grabbing the ear of the jug and trying to snatch the vessel from his companion.
"Take it back about my fillingless pie and you'll get your djinny djinn djinn!" the troubadour stated firmly.
"Let it go" the witcher ordered.
"Jaskier, I beg you, let go of this jug, it's too dangerous!" the blue-eyed woman interjected.
"I'll do so, my dear, when I get the apologies!" the brunet replied. He wasn't going to give up easily.
"I'll apologize to you when you let go of this bloody jug!" Geralt snarled.
"Apologize to me first, then I'll give it back to you!" Jaskier said.
"For Freyja's sake, you two are worse than children!" Anna commented, irritated, grabbing the vessel at the top and bottom. "Geralt, I swear, if you don't apologize to him right now, I'll throw this devilry into the lake and I'll do it so you won't be able to fish it out again!" she threatened.
"Oh dear, how many unnecessary shouting!" Olaf joined the conversation. "It'd be the best for us to get rid of the djinn and drink calming brews, then we'll catch some fishies for dinner, laugh at the bonfire..." he was listing, next he also got a hold of the vessel.
The exchange of words continued, becoming more heated with each passing moment. In addition, it began to be accompanied by a scrimmage, because everyone in the company wanted to do something with the jug, meaning, throw it away, take it away or open it. Finally, it ended with Jaskier pulling the vessel into his direction so hard, that only the seal remained in Geralt's hand. Everyone blinked twice.
"Oh bother" Olaf said.
Nothing happened. The troubadour tilted the jug, trying to spill something, but nothing got out. The brunet found this disappointing, however he quickly changed his mind when dark clouds gathered over the heroes and they could see a pale face levitating over the lake, which was surrounded by a little mist. It wasn't an ordinary face, as its' nose was long and similar to a beak of a bird. The eyes were empty, completely black, and the cheeks were lifted up, puffed out. It brought to mind a mask used in the theatre. "What an ugly being" the snowman thought, narrowing his eyes.
"Djinn!" the poet turned to the creature.
"Jaskier, no!" his friends shouted at the same time.
"I have freed thee and as of this day, I am thy lord!" the brunet continued, approaching the shore. "First of all, may my dearest, princess Anna of Arendelle, always be happy, no matter how much I upset her" normally Anna would smile at this, but in this situation she was trying to stop her beloved one from making more wishes. "Second, I wish for Valdo Marx, a scabby troubadour from Cidaris, to be struck down with apoplexy and die. Thirdly...".
"Julian! Enough!" Anna declared firmly, causing Jaskier to flinch.
"There are only three wishes, he won't fulfill all of your desires!" Geralt interjected, pulling his friend back.
"And you broke the basic rules!" Olaf added, disappointed. "You can't wish for more wishes, you can't ask for love, to bring someone back to life and to kill someone, which you just did! This will lead to a tragedy!".
They heard a wicked laugh. An unusually strong wind began to blow, which contributed to the troubadour dropping the jug. The vessel broke into many parts, and just a moment later something was causing Jaskier to feel how he's losing his voice. He tried to clear his throat, but it didn't do him much. The djinn began escaping, Geralt casted the Aard sign, trying to stop him, however the creature has already disappeared from the sight of view. The weather got a lot better, what couldn't be said about Jaskier's state. His friends ran to him and held him up to prevent him from falling, when the poet vomited blood on the ground. The heroes looked at each other. There was no time to waste.
On their mounts, they managed to reach a camp in the forest near the town of Rinde, where there was an elven healer. They quickly took the bard to him, so he could inspect him. After hearing the story about the djinn, Chireadan did not believe at first, but agreed to examine the poet, whose throat was swelling more and more with each passing moment. Anna tried to control her nerves, but she was not able to. She was breathing anxiously and unevenly, worrying terribly about her beloved one. In order to provide her encouragement, Geralt put a hand on her shoulder - although he had to admit, he was worried too. The snowman held hands with both Anna and Jaskier, to express his support.
"Dear gods..." the elf said, looking at the swelling.
"What is it?" the pacient's friends asked at the same time.
"I have received the best medical education, but these injuries... they're of magical nature" Chireadan explained. "I can give him a brew easing the pain, but it won't do much. His throat was attacked" he approached a table on which there were many vials with various substances and began preparing the medicine. "The spell must be lifted as soon as possible, otherwise its' effects will be irreversible. He'll completely lose his voice and there's a risk that he'll die".
"No..." Jaskier managed to grunt out.
Anna momentarily became pale, she felt she'll pass out any minute. She wanted to say something, nevertheless she couldn't, as her jaw was shaking the entire time. Seeing this, Geralt used the Axii sign to calm her down. The princess took a deep breath, peeked at the witcher and voicelessly thanked him. The healer finished the brew, then he gave it to Jaskier.
"The medication will give him a few hours, but magic is required here" he informed. "You need to take him to another town".
"Perhaps we could send a message to your cousin?" Olaf proposed, looking at the princess. "I'm sure her magic would solve the problem in seconds!".
"It's a great idea, but the message would go a month at least..." Anna shook her head sadly. "You really don't have a sorcerer in Rinde?" she turned to the elf.
"No. The mayor doesn't like them" Chireadan replied, a note of worry could be heard in his voice.
Geralt snorted.
"You're lying".
The elf's eyes widened. He denied, however none of the travelers bought his story.
"Listen to me very carefully" Geralt ordered firmly. "I will ask you politely, and you'll answer me just as politely. There's something you're not telling us. If you don't want me to drag it out from you the more drastic way, say it now. I'll repeat Her Majesty's question. You don't have a mage in Rinde?".
Chireadan, feeling the monster slayer's scowling gaze on him, swallowed his saliva loudly and then answered:
"Well... there's a certain... person. I was supposed to bring them to justice, but I underestimated their abilities. In the end, the mayor made the capture himself and imprisoned them in his house".
"See? Couldn't have said that right away?" the witcher said, helping the bard to get up and throwing his left arm over his own.
"Be careful" the healer warned. "This person is powerful and really cunning".
"Not such individuals we had to deal with, we'll be alright, mister medic!" Olaf assured proudly.
"We're grateful for your help" Anna smiled lightly.
Chireadan nodded, not saying anything. Anna threw Jaskier's right arm over her own and led him out the tent with Geralt. Olaf, who waved goodbye to Chireadan, joined shortly after. When they were going back to their horses, the blue-eyed woman asked with curiosity:
"You weren't going to actually torture him, were you?".
"Of course not. We're in hurry, I'd just cast Axii at him" the grey-haired man replied.
"I understand".
After they seated Jaskier on Roach and Olaf on Loki, they mounted their horses and set off to Rinde as fast as they could.

~⚔️~

Me oh my, it got dangerous. Hopefully our heroes will arrive at their destination on time. There's also coming a meeting with a certain persona, whom you should know. I'll give you a hint, she smells quite nicely.
If you've noticed any mistakes, feel free to let me know.
Don't look for a djinn, because it could end tragically, now I'm saying goodbye to you and sending my greetings! Be well, see ya!