“Thanks, Lord Arcane. I have so many more questions.”
“You will know what to do when the time comes. And remember not to breathe a word about our conversation.”
“But wait…” James tried to continue but found himself awake with a start.
18
James woke up in his room in the boat.
His friends were standing with binoculars. They all seemed tense, and their boat was not moving.
James asked the Scavenger, “What’s wrong?”
The Scavenger handed him a binocular. “See for yourself.”
James put the binocular to his eyes and gasped. He could see a massive ship in the distance. It looked magnificent, but the dangerous looking men on the deck were spoiling the beautiful picture.
“That’s the Sails of Time,” the Scavenger said. “And the people on it are pirates. According to the riddle, we have to defeat the pirates.”
James said, “I have an idea. We will sail our ship near the Sails of Time and fire our cannons and ballistae.”
Everyone agreed.
The Scavenger readied the ballistae and directed their boat to the open sea, near the pirate ship. He aimed one ballista and fired a shot.
A cannonball hurled towards the Sails of Time, but just when it was inches away from hitting the ship, it vaporized into thin air.
The Scavenger groaned in frustration. “I forgot! The Sails of Time is a celestial ship; spells and incantations must be protecting it!”
It was too late now. The pirates had spotted them. They rushed across the deck, yelling in eagerness. They started loading the cannons on the deck with cannonballs.
“We need to get out of here,” the Scavenger yelled, bolting towards the control room. In the control room, he pressed hard on a button labelled ‘Speed’.
Their boat now shot full steam ahead on the high seas, rocking violently. The children grabbed the rails. Suddenly a cannonball exploded in the water, just beside the ship, where Archer stood. A large mass of water splashed over him, making him dripping wet.
“What do we do now?” Matt asked as another cannonball barely missed them.
“We have to make sure they follow us,” the Scavenger yelled. “When I call out, all of you jump off the ship. Let the pirates blast our ship and think we are dead. We need to swim and sneak into the Sails of Time.”
“Do you think this will work, seeing how the last plan went?” James asked his friends.
“No!” came the expected reply.
“His ideas are insane,” James muttered.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Archer replied.
“Fire ballistae,” the Scavenger roared. “We have to distract them.”
Archer fired a cannon. A cannonball shot out and went poof before touching the pirate ship.
Suddenly a pirate cannonball jolted their boat.
“JUMP!” the Scavenger shouted, and they jumped into the sea. Several cannonballs hit their boat as it disintegrated in the sea.
They swam towards the Sails of Time and stayed beside it for a while, ducking their heads in the water, hidden from view.
The Scavenger gestured to a rope ladder dangling from the paling. They noiselessly climbed the ladder. The Scavenger was the first to reach the top.
He leapt over the railing and was surprised to find only a handful of pirates on the deck.
He silently rushed towards them, pulling out his sword, catching them off guard.
One of them turned when he heard the footsteps. James struck him from behind.
Everyone had reached the deck by now. They were contemplating their next move when a horn blew so loud that it nearly pierced their eardrums.
Someone was surely aware of their unsolicited presence and had just alerted the others.
“Now what?” Daniel asked, frantically, when they heard the footsteps and hooting of armoured men from down below quickly racing up.
“Hide yourself, fast!” the Scavenger ordered. They dispersed in different directions.
Archer leapt towards the open door. He could hear the sound of footsteps getting louder.
Looking around, he saw a trapdoor on the floor. He opened it to find a lot of wine bottles stored inside. Wedging himself in the tight space, he closed the door, held his breath and strained to listen to the angry voices of the pirates.
Archer was having difficulty breathing in the confined space. His mind was racing to find a way out, when he heard a shout.
Taking a peek through a half an inch crack, he saw Daniel and James, tied in ropes and surrounded by the pirates.
“Now,” the pirate leader grunted, “tell us where your friends are.”
James and Daniel remained quiet.
“As you wish,” the pirate snarled. “We will find them ourselves.”
A rustling sound drew Archer’s attention, and he saw the pirates pushing the Scavenger and Matt towards the other captives. They were bound with ropes too.
Archer figured they couldn’t use their Elemental Powers, since the hexed ropes curbed them from doing so. He directed his attention to the conversation.
“Is that all?” the pirate leader asked.
“I think so,” one of the pirates replied. “The Death Lord told us that there were four prophesied ones, and there are four of them.”
The pirate leader nodded. “Hmm… I wonder what to do with them…?”
“Throw them, overboard and call the sharks!” one pirate suggested.
“Oh, yes!” their leader grinned. “It will be fun to watch!”
“Let’s not waste time,” another spoke. “Let’s toss these two over!”
Their leader snapped his fingers. Two pirates picked up Daniel and began dragging him overboard.
Archer had to think of something… anything… quickly, before his friends became shark food!
Food… water… wine…
Suddenly Archer had an idea. An insane idea. He remembered James telling him that alcohol was combustible.
He had to take the risk. Their lives were at stake.
Picking up a bottle from the cellar, he readied himself.
Throwing open the trapdoor, he shrouded himself with fire, trying to look menacing.
Raising the bottle, he shouted, “LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER… OR DEATH IT IS!”
He hurled the bottle coated with fire on the
