The Captain's Son: Part Three

     “What can I do for you, Captain?” he asked.

      Rourke sighed and recited the entire story of how he knew Havelock and of how he had kidnapped Scrap. Professor Fairweather's face turned a shade paler after Rourke had finished. For a few minutes he stayed silent, trying to decide what the next course of action should be. Then he walked over to a shelf that contained row upon row of books, taking a particular one from its spot. Returning to his chair, he showed Rourke the volume.

     “This is The Book of Light Magic. I have been translating it for the past two years. I have nearly finished doing so, except for a single page. That particular page has been giving me some trouble, but with time I am sure I can finish it. Most of the content is about a light faerie, Sunhild, who is far stronger than any of the others. She does not reside in Faerieland, which means no one could contact her by going there. Even if she was there, traveling all the way to Faerieland would take up too much of our precious time. However, there is a spell that can summon her. Unfortunately, I think that the spell is on the exact page I am having trouble translating. Hopefully I will be able to decode the page and Sunhild will be able to be summoned. I do not know who Havelock's 'mistress' is, but Sunhild should be able to defeat her.”

     “Well, once you find out what the words to the spell are, we might stand a chance. There is one problem, though. I have never cast a spell in my entire life.”

     Professor Fairweather frowned. “Neither have I. Oh, what to-”

     He was interrupted by a sudden flash of light that appeared in front of him. Both of the Neopets stumbled backward and covered their eyes with their paws. The light slowly dimmed, revealing a red Bori. Its sides heaved in and out as it and it was panting heavily. Rourke was about to attack the unexpected visitor, but the Professor stopped him.

     “My friend, where have you come from?” he asked the Bori with a kind smile.

     The Bori turned his gazed towards Professor Fairweather. “I cast... a spell... to... find Rourke. I... ran halfway across... the Island. The Amulet... would n...,” the Bori muttered before falling down on the floor.

     “My goodness! Here, let me help you sit down,” the Professor stated. The Bori leaned on the Tonu's shoulder as they made their way over to a couch. Once his guest was seated, Professor Fairweather went into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water. It was eagerly gulped down by the weary traveler. Meanwhile, Rourke eyed the stranger with a suspicious gaze.

     “Now, would you mind explaining why you decided to suddenly appear out of nowhere?” the Ogrin barked.

     “My name is Albatross. A few days ago I overheard a conversation between a Maraquan Scorchio called Auduna and a red Kyrii concerning the Amulet of Fyora. The Kyrii said he had cast a tracing spell that led to an orange Gnorbu child who resided in your house. Both of them disappeared after the conversation. I snuck into your house via portal and stole the Amulet. I was hoping that the tracing spell's focus would switch from the Gnorbu to me, and that I would be able to break it and obliterate the tracing spell altogether. Unfortunately, as I had feared, the spell's focus remained on the child, even though I was in possession of the Amulet. I also could not break the item, which meant that the spell would remain active. I followed the trail back in order to warn you, but the child was halfway across the sea onboard a ship by the time I arrived. I then came here.”

     “Why did you not tell me that Scrap was in danger before you stole the Amulet?” Rourke growled.

     “I assumed that the spell's focus would switch to me, so, at the time, there was no real reason to inform you about it. I also thought that if the tracing spell still led to Scrap I would be able to break the Amulet before he was hurt,” Albatross explained.

     “It seems Auduna is not finished with me after all,” Rourke muttered.

     “Albatross, we have a plan to defeat Auduna, but we need your help. There is a spell that can summon a light faerie to defeat her that we need you to cast, although I am not yet finished translating it,” Professor Fairweather stated with a hopeful look in his eyes.

     “Of course I will help. After all, Scrap's disappearance is partially my fault,” Albatross confessed, glancing down at his feet.

     “All that is left is to tell Lilian, Roxton, and Werther about all of this,” Professor Fairweather said to himself, starting towards the front door.

     “Why do they need to be included in this venture?” Rourke snapped, crossing his arms.

     The Professor turned around and faced him with a determined expression on his face. “They care about Scrap as much as you or I. Besides, we need all the help we can get.”

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     Professor Fairweather, Rourke, and Albatross were standing beside the S.S. Primella when Roxton, Lilian, and Werther came into view.

     “We came as soon as we heard the news,” Roxton explained. “It is a shame that Scrap was taken by that monster, but we will catch him. I assure you of it.”

     “We need to get going now. Havelock's ship already got a head start on us, so the sooner we go the better chance we have of catching him,” Rourke commented as he climbed onboard. The others followed suit, and soon the S.S. Primella had set sail.

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     “Alright, runt, tell me where you hid the Amulet of Fyora!” Havelock bellowed, looming over Scrap.

     The little Gnorbu tried to look away, but he could not move his eyes away from the Lupe's glare. “I... I hid it in my dr... dresser.”

     “Do not lie to me! It is not in there and you know it! If you do not tell me where the Amulet is really hidden, I will find a way to hurt Rourke!”

     Scrap shook at the thought of the Captain being hurt. “I buried it five miles inland by a big tree,” he lied, hoping Havelock would not notice his bluff.

     “I knew you would spit the truth out once I threatened that cranky Ogrin,” Havelock remarked with pride, steering his ship towards land.

     I hope that I can stall him long enough for Cap to find me. If this Lupe finds out that I lied to him, he might do something bad to me. He might even try to hurt Cap. It better not come to that! Scrap thought.

     When the ship reached land, Havelock shoved Scrap off of it, taking hold of the ropes that bound him. Scrap walked slowly, taking his time with every step. His captor followed close behind him while he kept an eye on every move the Gnorbu made, ready to tackle him if he tried to escape. Scrap glanced from tree to tree, wondering how long Havelock's patience would last. After an hour of wandering through the forest, Havelock had had enough.

     “I am tired of playing games, runt! You better remember where you hid it... now!” Havelock shouted as he pulled the ropes tighter.

     “Okay! I hid it by... that one!” Scrap cried, pointing to a particularly tall tree. Havelock dragged him over to it and began to chant. He moved his paw around the base of the tree, trying to feel for any warmth. He felt nothing. Growling in anger, he threw Scrap to the ground. The Gnorbu whimpered as dark magic began to form in the Lupe's paw, receding when Havelock heard a rustle from nearby. Scrap nearly shouted with joy when he saw Rourke, Lilian, Roxton, Werther, the Professor, and a red Bori burst through the trees.

     “Rourke, you were a fool to follow me!” Havelock spat when he saw his enemy.

     “Let him go, Havelock!” the Captain shouted back.

     “Ha! There is no chance I am letting him go, you cantankerous old wart! I am sure that he knows where the Amulet is, even though he lied to me!”

     Rourke charged Havelock, who staggered backwards as the Ogrin hit him. The Captain repeated his move, but Havelock moved aside. Havelock then shot a blast of dark magic at his opponent, which collided with Rourke's right arm. Rourke yelled as his limb seared with pain, but he grit his teeth and prepared to attack Havelock once more. Meanwhile, Roxton was sawing through Scrap's ropes with a knife.

     “Almost done... There!” the Lutari exclaimed as the ropes fell to the ground. Roxton and Lilian quickly ushered Scrap away behind a tree where Professor Fairweather and Werther were busy translating the Book of Light Magic. The original Book of Light, the translated version, and a sheet of paper containing the Tyrannian and the Neopian alphabets were splayed out in front of Professor Fairweather. The Professor used the paper with the alphabets written on it to change the Faerie text in the Book of Light into Neopian text. He then called out the translated words to Werther, who wrote them down in the other book.

     “...this... spell! Gracious, Werther, we finished the page! Now we can summon Sunhild!” Professor Fairweather shouted with delight.

     “Oh no! I think Rourke is beginning to tire!” Lilian cried. The others turned their attention back to the fight. Rourke was panting heavily as he leaned against a tree. Beads of sweat ran down his brow as he shook from exhaustion. Havelock took advantage of his opponent's fatigue and began chanting a spell. The dark magic in his paws grew larger and larger. Rourke collapsed as he tried to move away from Havelock, who grinned as he prepared to strike.

     He was about to unleash his attack when Albatross tackled him, causing the Amulet to fly out of the Bori's pocket. Instead of hitting Rourke, the blast of dark magic collided with a tree, but Havelock hardly noticed. His eyes were on the shiny Amulet that was in front of him. Before Albatross could stop him, the Lupe grabbed the treasure and dashed off into the forest.

To be continued...

Trivia:

• Sunhild means "battle of the sun" in Norse