Newcomer

   Note from Owen Tucker:  You may read the paragraphs following this and become righteously indignant, saying that these legends were horribly mangled.  This, I will not argue with.  All I can say is that I’m relating these things as they happened to me.  Who knows?  Maybe we’ve had the wrong legends this whole time.

   “Pft, that’s nothing.  I never knew my mother, father, or even an uncle!”
   I spun around to find the source of this new voice, which happened to be an dark skinned kid in robes floating up on a magic carpet about ten feet up. 
   My my.  The nut jobs really are attracted to you.
   The kid frowned. “Your ring is really very rude.  You should do something about that.”
   I gape at him. “You can hear him?”
   “Of course I can.”
   “But, how?”
   The kid held up his right hand and wiggled his ring finger, upon which a ring was sitting.
   “You’ve got a magic ring too?”
   He grinned. “No duh.”
   I glared at Dave and Poncho. “So much for that whole mighty, powerful, and really unique junk.”
   I am far more powerful than that fellow’s ring.
   So am I, as it has been established that I’m more powerful than Davey.
   No such thing has been established!
   The kid chuckled. “Yeah, Cameon, I completely agree.”
   I scratched my head.  Things were getting a bit more complicated than usual.
   “So, uh,” I started. “Who’s Cameon?”
   “My ring.”
   “Oh.  But I didn’t hear him say anything.”
   The kid shrugged. “Sucks to be you, then.  Because he just said something.”
   “You are a very insolent boy,” Dan interjected. “I believe we should curb his tongue, Sir Owen.”
   Fire formed around his hand. 
   I rolled my hands. “You’re really going to shoot a ten year old kid with a fireball?”
   “Hey!” the kid objected. “I’m twelve.”
   “Same diff, little punk.  What’s your name anyway?”
   “Alabbin.”
   I frowned. “Say what again?”
   “Alabbin.  Haven’t you heard of me?”
   I shook my head. “Nope, sure haven’t.  I’ve heard of Aladdin, though.”
   “You must have heard of me!  I am the famous Alabbin.  I steal from the rich and give to the poor!”
   I held up a hand. “Wait wait wait.  That’s Robin Hood there.”
   He frowned. “Who is Robin Hood?”
   “He’s the guy who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.”
   Alabbin shrugged. “Never heard of him.  But he is clearly trying to ride off of my reputation.”
   “What reputation?”
   “Haven’t you been listening?  I’m the most notorious ‘criminal’,” he made the accompanying hand gestures with the word, “in the ten kingdoms.”
   “What ten kingdoms?”
   Alabbin was silent for a few seconds, then he nodded. “I agree.  He is rather dense.”
   “Hey!  No need to be rude here.”
   He shrugged and grinned. “Simply agreeing with my good, truth telling friend.”
   I glared at him. “Be that as it may, still no call.  Now, since you are obviously Aladdin in disguise, I assume you have a magic lamp?”
   He glanced up at the sky. “Lamp?  I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
   “Oho, sure.  Now I know you definitely have a magic lamp.  And at the moment, a magic lamp would be a really big help.  So might we be able to borrow it for a moment?”
   He rubbed his chin. “Hm, lemme think about that.  No!”
   With that, he jerked his carpet around and sped away.
   “After him!” I yelled and took off running.
   Well, running through sand is slow business, and Alabbin began getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
   “We’re losing him!  Can’t you make us fly or something, Dave?  What good is a magic ring if I have to walk everywhere?”
   And just like that I was streaking along ten feet off the ground.

   To be continued…