Chapter Text
Beppi cringed, then looked at the list in his hand. What was he doing at some rich guy's rummage sale?
Well, the Cabinet of Curiosities needed a few new exhibits.
He walked along the rows of objects. Nothing of interest.
"Excuse me, sir," he said. The dead-eyed butler running the sale just stared at him, unmoving.
"Yes?" Beppi cringed.
"Um, is there anything... interesting here?"
The butler opened his eyes a bit wider. "Well, Master Gravesly is selling some travel souvenirs over here." He gestured to a table with an assortment of objects on it. "All were purchased from local merchants decades ago."
Beppi walked towards the table. A silver oil lamp sat beside an immense Ming vase.
"How much is this?" he asked.
The butler slowly walked towards the table. He looked at the price list in his outstretched hand.
"That... will be... about fifty coins."
Beppi opened his wallet and counted, sweating. That's all he had.
"They're gonna kill me," he squeaked before dumping his wallet's contents on the table. The butler paused to count every single coin.
"You have... enough. It is yours."
Beppi grapped the lamp and ran.
"Come again," the butler called out.
"I will," the clown lied. He quickly stashed the lamp in a burlap bag.
Several people awaited Beppi's return.
"Hey, whatcha got there?" a pair of acrobats asked.
The clown slowly turned to his coworkers. "Um, yeah, something." He clutched the bag to his chest.
"What's in it?" a rabbit magician asked. He reached one paw towards the bag, trying to get it out of Beppi's clutches.
"You'll find out soon enough," Beppi replied before continuing his dash.
He ducked inside a red tent set up beside the roller coaster. He then threw open the bag and pulled out his new prized possession. A thin layer of dust covered the lamp.
Beppi used the bag to wipe off some of the dust. "I wonder..."
The lamp shook violently in his grasp. He dropped it once the metal became too hot to touch. Thankfully, it landed on a pile of old papers.
Beppi backed away, almost running into the tent door. Crimson smoke billowed out of the opening.
"Who dares summon me?" a deep booming voice said. The smoke drew closer to the clown and seemed to envelop him.
Beppi stifled a gasp. "Me?"
The smoke quickly gained form, revealing a red-skinned man in Arabian attire. The man just smiled, as if to stifle a laugh.
"Oh, you should've seen the look on your face, my friend," the genie said.
Beppi took a few moments to regain his composure. "You're not gonna hurt me?"
"Hurt you?" the genie replied. "This is the first time I've been out of there in two hundred years." He pointed to the lamp.
Beppi got to his feet.
"Oh, might as well introduce myself," the genie said. "Djimaeus Aleazim, but you may call me Djimmi."
"Uh, hi... I'm Beppi. Beppi the Clown."
The two shook hands.