He swam towards the Scavenger and his other friends and asked, “We need to find the treasure chest before half an hour.” They had no difficulty talking underwater as well.
The Scavenger pointed to a spot on the seabed. An outline of a treasure chest was clearly visible.
Before they could reach it, a voice called out, “Halt! I am the guardian of the fourth piece. I am known as the Eater. Beat me, and the piece is yours.”
The Scavenger nodded. Almost as if on cue, something huge swam through the water towards them. It was a big shark with huge dorsal fins that gleamed brightly. James leapt aside as it almost collided with him.
It turned and came back at them. James accidentally slammed against Matt and was pushed aside… and, at the same time, he found himself atop the shark.
The shark roared and swam away. James was paralyzed with fear. He looked back and saw his friends swimming hard. But he knew that they wouldn’t be able to reach him in time.
James was riding a bloodthirsty shark that was whisking him away to a secluded place, where it could kill him, and there was no one that could help him.
James mustered all his courage and tightly grabbed the shark’s fin.
Using his Elemental Powers, James concentrated hard and summoned water, lifting him and the shark out of the sea. The shark was now enraged, but before it could do anything, James shot a massive jet of water at it, flinging it on land. The shark leapt towards the water, but powerful wind gusts thrown by Matt prevented the shark from entering the water. Daniel too was swift in binding the shark with seaweeds. After about a minute, the shark disappeared, as it could not breathe on the land for long.
A voice echoed, “Well done! You deserve to get the piece and the riddle.”
A chest emerged from the sea and flew towards James. Meanwhile, the Scavenger and Archer joined them.
Everyone congratulated James on a job well done. James grinned modestly and the Scavenger opened the chest. In it lay a riddle and the piece of the Crown.
The Scavenger immediately pocketed the piece of crown and read the riddle aloud:
“Journey on the Sails of Time,
Try to find the Ship Divine.
Get the piece from the maze,
Directions written in the haze.
That’s it.” The Scavenger paused.
“It sounds meaningless to me,” Archer said.
“I disagree. The Sails of Time is a divine ship in the Dark World. The White Sorcerers once guarded it, but they were captured by the Death Lord. He controls it and evil pirates now sail it.”
“And then?”
“We will think about that later. First, think of getting away from this island?”
“How about summoning a boat?” James suggested.
“Boats are not like chariots, my dear. Although I can summon a chariot-like structure that we can convert to a boat,” the Scavenger said.
The Scavenger chanted a spell and a heavy wooden structure appeared. “Let’s work on this. Matt and James go and find some suitable wood from the forest on the left side. Archer and I are going right. Let us meet here after an hour,” the Scavenger directed.
Daniel could make things easy by just summoning the wood, but he was already snoring.
“Let him rest,” the Scavenger said to James and Matt. “Let’s begin.”
An hour later, they reassembled and found Daniel still sleeping.
“Good. The wood should be enough. I will have to use a lot of magic in making the boat,” the Scavenger said.
They spent hours in making the boat. Daniel woke up in between and used his Elemental Power, which helped in assembling the wood to form a boat.
Finally, there stood an incredibly magnificent looking boat. Going by its size, it was more of a ship, complete with masts and sails and a control with a steering wheel at the helm. The Scavenger also arranged an armoury inside.
Daniel grinned at the masterpiece. He had done most of the work, lifting huge logs of wood and transporting them, and everyone thanked him.
The Scavenger wiped the sweat off his brow and said, “Come on, boys. It’s time to go.”
They set off towards the sea and, once aboard, all the children wearily set off towards their rooms to rest.
***
James stood in a barren field facing two fighting warriors.
One of them struck the other with a punch that sent him flying. He got up and pummelled the other with kicks.
“This is what happens to those who fall in greed,” a voice said to James.
James turned to the right to find a man in regal attire. “You are…?” James asked.
“Don’t you recognize Lord Arcane? I am here to tell you something,” the man smiled.
Arcane pointed to the two warriors, who were fighting vigorously.
“Once great friends, one day they found a treasure and see them now… the result of plain greed.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I am showing you this as a lesson. It’s greed that destroys everyone. That is why I chose you to be the One.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“It’s easy to turn foul due to greed. It takes someone strong to resist it. And I sense it that you are powerful, strong and fit to be the One.”
“But the Death Lord came to Matt in his dream and said that he was the One.”
“I know, but the Death Lord was wrong in his assumption. Matt is equally good and pure, but greed can lure him, and your other friends too. But you will remain unshaken by greed, and so I chose you as the One.
“But that’s not all. You also have a big role to play later, but first promise me that you will not tell anyone about this conversation, not even the Scavenger.”
“I promise.”
“Then listen. In the battle that will come, Matt will believe himself to be the One and he might insist on fighting the Death Lord. And that decision could be his end. When that time comes, which I’m sure will be soon, you will have to stop him.”
“So will I have to wear the Crown?”
“No. There is only one person who
