Ten minutes or an eternity later, and he was still in this blasted fog. Ragetti sneezed for the fifth time - or the hundredth - and suddenly met the wall. First with the tip of his nose and then the rest of him rushed to introduce itself, causing him to yell in pain and quite foolishly kick it. The only lucky part of his body remaining he now hopped upon, clutching his sore foot and with the other hand, his throbbing face. "Bastard sonnuva --"

"-buggering bilgerat!" screamed an agitated voice, over the muffled sound of boot meeting skull.

Ragetti peered around the edge of the wall and gawped. He took in a breath and let it out in an exclamation of joy, running through the skirling fog and throwing his arms about the stout figure. Pintel flailed until he recognized his assailant and Ragetti yelped with laughter as he was lifted by the waist and hugged until he couldn't breathe. Just as quickly however he was deposited onto the ground and scowled at, but Ragetti was too happy to flinch.

"Just where the hell've you been?" Pintel snapped, hands on his hips. "You have any idea of the trouble I just went through tryin' to figure out where ye bloody WENT?"

Ragetti blinked and looked around, getting his bearings. Ahead of them was a gate. And a little before that was an old man lying face-down on the ground, long white beard strewn in all directions as though it were part of the fog. He was either dead or quite insensible.

"Pint, I just got here! Ain't my fault you got here faster!"

"Well," Pintel scowled, though not as ferociously as before, "Tha'll teach you to dawdle then won't it?" He turned his wrath back to the motionless gentleman sprawled out at their feet. "THIS lout was tryin' ta keep me from comin' inside outta the damned fog! Somethin' about not bein' on no damned list, yet not ten seconds before I got here he was lettin' some bloke in!"

Ragetti frowned. "Pint, he said we wasn't allowed in?" He peered up at the tall gate. "Supposin' this is the bad one? And . . . And maybe we gone in the wrong direction? It ain't got no pearls in it."

"Pearls don't matter none, Rags. Look beyond. You see any more fog?"

"No . . ."

"That's better than our lot out here and if it were the bad place, there'd be even more fog cause THAT place is all about what ye DON'T want. And right now, that's bloody FOG." Pintel's logic was sound and he crossed his arms, daring either Ragetti or the senseless saint to argue further.

Ragetti nodded in agreement. "And I don't think that gate's got anybody out in front turnin' people away or lettin' 'im in. But still, even if we's in the right place, they ain't lettin us in, Pint." He nibbled at his lip, worried. "This mean we gotta find the other gate?" he asked in a small voice, and looked longingly beyond the bars. They weren't made of pearls, silver, gold, not even brass. But when he reached out and flicked them with his fingers the metal chimed beautifully.

"I ain't goin' nowhere 'til I find out what bloody idiot didn't put us in that there book." Pintel was indignant. "I been baptized . . . I think! And I was religious!"

Ragetti gave him a look. Pintel caved after enduring less than a minute of it.

"Well I stopped buggin' you about it, didn't I?" he argued weakly, "That's patience and one of the virtues that is!"

The old man gave a faint gurgle but didn't lift his head. Ragetti frowned, prodding him with a shoe. "You gave 'im the right names n' such, right Pint? Not many people know me first name." He suppressed a giggle. "Or your middle one."

Pintel glared viciously. "Shut yer hole." He directed the evil look unto the barred gate, following it up to the top. "I already searched him for a key. T'weren't none."

Ragetti followed his gaze thoughtfully. "It don't look too high. And I think it's a mistake we ain't welcome. We weren't terribly bad."

"Nah, not terribly."

Saint Peter gave another pitiful moan.

"Barbossa was worse. I bet he gets in," the thinner man pouted.

"Aye, Sparrow too I bet." Ragetti gave his mate a bewildered look. Pintel snorted. "Can't imagine it either can you?"

"Why then there's no reason at all we can't go in. And if we can't, we deserve at least to know why," Rags said, sounding hurt.

"Right you is, Rags. And with present company currently out of order, there's nothin for it but to sally forth and find the answers ourselves. Now help me move this bloody book so we can stand on it."

Between the two of them, they got the immense volume off the inert Keeper of the Gate and fixed it in place beneath the barred entrance. It really wasn't that hard to climb after all.