“It’s not far, a few hours at most,” the Scavenger replied as the ship started.
The children rested and woke up when the ship had docked on an island.
The Scavenger hung a ladder from the railing, and they all got down.
Matt stretched his arms and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with clean, unpolluted fresh air on the island.
“We have to search this island for the Golden Moose,” James said.
The Scavenger led the way deep into the island, checking various spots all along, his ears cocked and ready to pick up any sound of the moose.
At last, nature rewarded them. They heard a loud sound.
The Scavenger rushed towards the voice. They all ended up in a clearing where a magnificent moose stood in front, with a shimmering golden hide.
The moose lifted its head and, with nostrils flaring, it charged at them.
Archer tried to summon fire, but the Scavenger checked him. “Don’t! We have to tame him.”
Matt jumped to his right as the moose charged past them. It skidded to a stop, quickly turned and snarled at them once again.
This time, when it charged, Matt jumped towards it, landing on its back. The moose shook itself hard, trying to throw him off, but Matt clung to its neck.
The moose roared and jumped as hard as it could. A normal human being would have been thrown thousands of feet away by the moose, but Matt was using his Elemental Power. He focused to his level best as he used wind to keep himself on the back of the moose.
The moose stopped, exhausted, and bowed. Matt dashed to the ground in front of it and put a hand on its head.
The moose stood motionless. Matt glanced at the bewildered expressions on his friends’ faces.
Suddenly, the moose roared and dashed ahead. The moose lowered itself and Matt found himself on its back. The moose raised his head, snorted and took off.
“WHHOOOOOOOOOAAAAA!” Matt yelled as he desperately tried to hold on. The moose tore through trees and bushes until it screeched to a halt. Matt fell to the ground.
There was a humongous tree in front of him with its branches stretched to the ground. Its bark gleamed in the sunlight and its fruits were incredibly large.
A scroll lay on the ground, seemingly unguarded. Matt looked back, but he couldn’t see his friends.
“Welcome, traveller,” a voice came from nowhere and startled Matt. “I applaud your bravery. You have managed to tame the moose. But the task is not over. My name is Dutch. And now you fight me.”
The wind rustled and a man dressed in crimson appeared.
The moose roared and charged at him. Dutch sidestepped casually and the moose struck the tree. He pulled out a sword and brought it down on the moose, but Matt deflected the attack just in time.
Matt yelled as he and the moose charged at Dutch. Surprisingly, Dutch disappeared just before the attack happened.
“Good work,” his voice resonated. “You are fit to take the piece.”
A shining piece and a scroll appeared in front of Matt, hovering in the air.
Matt snatched the piece and the riddle. He turned towards the moose and bowed to thank it.
The moose snorted and then ran into the woods.
His friends came to him running. “What happened?”
“Oops,” Matt teased, handing the Scavenger the scroll. “Looks like you missed all the fun.”
“What?!” a shocked Scavenger exclaimed. “How… when… why?”
Matt explained to his friends about the fight and how the moose had helped him. When he finished, the Scavenger looked proud.
“Good work!” he said.
Matt grinned proudly.
“What’s the next riddle?” Daniel asked. “My guess is that the last piece will be the most difficult to get.”
The Scavenger rolled down the scroll and read:
“Go to the Temple of Gold,
Find the stone and behold,
The seventh piece, covered by a bait,
Use the stone to get the wraith.
Death awaits for those who lie,
Do not hear the Silver Cry.
Respect those who respect thy
And find the key that breaks the tie.”
“I guess we first need to find the stone, then the wraith and then the key that will lead us to the seventh piece,” James said as soon as the Scavenger finished.
“And what about the Silver Cry?” Matt pointed out.
“Step by step,” the Scavenger said. “First let’s go to the Temple of Gold. We will find the stone there and then figure out the other things later.”
“Where’s the temple?” Daniel asked.
“In the Desert of Grief,” the Scavenger replied.
“Let’s go,” Matt said, turning to the deep forest. “I wish the Golden Moose was here to take us across quickly,” he said as they started to follow the Scavenger.
After a long walk, they burst out of the clearing and emerged on shore of the island. The Sails of Time was waiting for them. They got inside and the Scavenger piloted the ship towards their destination.
A while later, Matt spotted the outline of something in the far horizon. As they drew closer, he realized they were pirate ships.
The bandit leader they had thrown into the sea could be seen standing on the mast of the leading ship. His face wore a grim smile.
“Oh no!” the Scavenger screamed, clutching his head. “I should have killed him when I had the chance! He must have alerted every pirate ship in this whole ocean! Activate the defences! Check the cannons! Quickly!” he commanded the children.
Matt scooped up all the grenades in a bag that Daniel had produced and handed it to Archer. He also gave Archer hundreds of small knives.
Archer took them up and put them beside the grenade bag.
The defences were triggered, the masts and sails were unscratched, the cannons and ballistae were all set and ready to fire.
“This is exciting, isn’t it?” Daniel said, rubbing his hands.
James looked at him in disbelief. “What if the pirates capture and kill us?”
“You need to enjoy life, James,” Archer said. “After all, what’s life without the risks?”
Matt seemed to agree there. In their city back on Earth, their day was set. School, lunch, homework, play, dinner and sleep. Nothing new, nothing exciting. In
