He slams the door mercilessly behind him and recovers his breath after the unexpected attempt on his life. Soon it strikes him that his surroundings are unfamiliar. Instead of returning to the previous room, he has entered a new room: a grand open space with a huge rectangular banquet table, laid out with tall candlesticks, silver plates and cutlery.

The Gossip Stone glows in his pocket. "I see you've finally met the Phantoms of the Ghost Ship. You handled them pretty well."

"It was just a bit of luck." Ningan dismisses. "Who is this child? And why is that key so important?"

"The key that boy possesses is the key to answering the mystery of the Ghost Ship itself!" the Gossip Stone explains. "If you are to unlock the secrets of this place, you must find that child!"

"But he could be anywhere aboard this godforsaken hell-ship!" Ningan groans.

"Maybe it's time I offered you a handy little piece of technology which will help you in your search..."

"That would be very helpful indeed..." Ningan mutters. "Where do I find it?"

"It sits in your very palm." the voice answers. "It is the Gossip Stone itself. In the right hands, it can be used as a dowsing device. The more it blinks, the closer you are to finding what you are searching for."

"So say I get the key...what does it unlock?"

"You may recall a door on the top floor of the vessel that was locked from the outside. Inside that room are the answers to all your questions."

The Gossip Stone fades. Ningan groans with frustration. Perhaps on the other side of the door he would find Ricco so they could both go home and forget all about this nightmare? Wishful thinking, he supposed.

The mystic blue light of the Gossip Stone blinks suddenly. Ningan bears it before him and follows the tempo of the glow.

The banquet table is draped in a torn and dusty grey tablecloth. His first instinct is to lift the tablecloth. Unsurprisingly, he finds no hidden child. His second instinct is to climb atop the table and march along it, checking each seat and even underneath the lid of each gallery dish.

"I know you're here somewhere, you brat." Ningan snarls. "Give up the ghost and hand me the key."

He kicks a candlestick in annoyance and it flies across the room. An invisible hand lifts it into the air and extinguishes the flame.

"I see you!" Ningan yells, and leaps from atop the table.

The candlestick drops to the floor just as he reaches it. One, two, three; the remaining candlesticks on the banquet table are put out and the room is plunged into darkness.

"Now you see me, now you don't!" the child's voice chuckles.

Ningan races to retrieve the lantern form his satchel. Once it is ignited, he plods cautiously along the carpet, calling into the blackout.

"You might think you're spooking me with your tricks, but let me tell you; I was a kid once, and I used to play pranks. I know every trick in the book. And you know what they say; you can't trick a trickster."

The door on the other side of the hall swings open and shut. Ningan sprints across the room, determined to chase the snippet of light at the other end. He was not about to be undone by this imp of a ghost. Then there is the familiar unsettling sound of clanking metal. Ningan holds his breath: the Phantoms.