The next morning, they left Melody, Sam and Grant at Miss Leila's store to work out how they could adopt Oliver and travelled back to Skull Mountain, where they found Tengri not in his cave anymore.
"Where's Tengri at?" Oliver asked.
"Why don't we go ask Kublai?" Esther asked. Oliver nodded, then they ran onto the ship, where they found Kublai watching the sky, looking proud.
"Hi there, Captain Kublai!" Oliver said. "Uh… Do you know where Tengri is?" Kublai chuckled.
"You come at a good time, boy. You see…" That was when they heard a loud screech.
"...That sound!" Esther exclaimed, and they turned to see Tengri flying in!
"Tengri!" They all shouted in unison. Oliver ran over and gave the dragon a hug around the nose, laughing as Tengri nuzzled him a little.
"Behold!" Kublai called. "He's a sight for sore eyes, and no mistake! He stopped sniveling and took to the skies again not long after you left. Like magic it was… Wait- you meddling dogs did something while my back was turned, didn't you?"
"Well, it's a little hard to explain, but…" Esther started, tapping her chin. "We went to another world and Oliver helped the Tengri there get better… All you need to know is that Oliver's magic is the reason that Tengri is flying again!" Kublai laughed.
"Still spouting nonsense, I see! But no matter-you did as you said you would. I'll not question your methods." Esther laughed.
"Hee hee! I had no idea the real Tengri was so lively!"
"This is how dragons should be." Abyssa said. "Flying around, and not broken hearted." Kublai grunted.
"Hm. Seems he's taken a liking to you." He told Oliver. "And after all my hard work… Gah, so be it! I know when I'm beaten." Abyssa gave him a look.
"No you don't." She told him, but he ignored her.
"He's yours. You're his master now, lad. You and he both know it already." Oliver's eyes widened.
"Wh- Really? But…"
"What's the matter, worm?" Kublai demanded. "Not good enough for you?" Abyssa gave Oliver a look.
"Don't turn down the offer of a dragon, Oliver. You'll never get another opportunity like this one!" Oliver shook his head.
"N-no! No, Sir!" he told Kublai. "Th-Thank you very much, Captain Kublai, Sir!" Kublai laughed again.
"That's settled, then! Tengri, lad-say hello to your new master!" Tengri screeched, seeming happy with this. Esther giggled.
"Hee hee! Nice to meet you too, Tengri."
"Likewise, I'm sure." Swaine said, crossing his arms. Abyssa just laughed.
"Hello, Tengri!" She called. It'd been ages since she'd last properly rode on a dragon. This time, she wouldn't fall off.
"All right!" Oliver said, pumping his arms. "Let's go find the magic stones!"
"Set a southward course, lad." Kublai told him. "You'll happen upon Solitary Isle soon enough!" Tengri gave a screech, as if to say "Let's go!".
"Let's get going then!" Abyssa exclaimed, taking a running start, jumping, grabbing onto Tengri's collar and pulling herself up. "Giddy up, Tengri!" The others followed her on, and Tengri started to go up. Swaine began to laugh with Abyssa and Drippy shouted "tidy!"
"We're flying! We're actually flying!" Swaine exclaimed.
"I can't believe it!" Abyssa added. Esther giggled at their excitement.
"It's nice and comfy up here!"
"Come on Tengri!" Oliver called. "Let's fly!" Swaine began to laugh harder.
"Away we go!" He and Abyssa called together, Tengri screeching. As they soared above the clouds, Abyssa cheered. This was better than flying away from a burning city and falling off!
"Woohoo!" She cried, standing up on Tengri, her staff flying next to her as fast as Tengri himself. Swaine grinned up at her, and she grinned back down at him. Then she did a backflip off of Tengri's back and as she flew back, grabbed onto his tail, staring down at the ground below. It Looked amazing!
"Harmony!" Swaine called, and she gave him a glare when he saw her. "Sorry!" All too soon, they reached Solitary Isle, where they found only what appeared to be a tombstone.
"Crikey! Look at this monument by here!" Drippy said. Abyssa went over and pulled some of the moss and dusted it off a little.
"Goodness. This must of have been here for ages. Around the Wizard Wars, at least. And that's about as far back as I know before I was born, so this could be even older than that!" Swaine shook his head.
"Well, this didn't make it here by accident. It must have something to do with the stones!" Oliver came over with Abyssa and helped push away some of the brush.
"Hey, look. There's something written on it…" he said. The others came over and looked over his shoulder.
"What's this funny writing?" Esther asked. Abyssa gasped.
"By the Ancients!" Drippy looked at her.
"You know what that is, don't you, Byssy-girl?" She nodded.
"Yes, I-I do! My mother said that every Son- er, child should learn it before their six years old! Less they be uncultured." To herself, she whispered, "And unable to cast the proper songspell."
"Nazcaan, en't it!?" Drippy told the other three. "And it probably tells us where them stones are hidden, and all! Shall I decode it for you, Ollie-boy?" Oliver nodded.
"Yes, please Mr. Drippy!"
"Righto! Gis a sec… Ahem! It says…"
"The secret that the map imparts, Lies not without but in it's heart." Abyssa said with him. "I don't need a moment to prepare." She teased. Esther tilted her head.
"...And that means what, exactly?" she asked.
"It means, if I'm not very much mistaken… that the stones en't on this island."
"What!?" Drippy nodded.
"You heard me! The secret of where they're hidden "lies not without," It said-meaning not on the surface of the map for all to see. And I reckon that bit about it being "in its heart" means the real locations of the stones are lurking somewhere inside the flipping thing." Abyssa reread it, then nodded.
"That makes sense. After all, it'd be too easy just to have the stones marked on the map of one solitary isle. You'd need to hide them especially secretive, and inside the map would be the place."
"So, uh… how do we, um…get them out?" Oliver asked the two. Abyssa shrugged.
"Well, I don't flipping know, do I!?" Drippy shouted at Oliver, then felt a proper hard tap on his head. "Ouch, mun!" He looked over at Abyssa, who was glaring at him, her staff in her hand.
"I warned you about those outbursts." She told him. "It's not his fault." Esther nodded.
"Yes, calm down, Drippy!" She told him. "It's not as if we even have the map at the moment…"
"Looks like we'd better go and talk to old Kublai again." Swaine told them. "Giddy up, Tengri!" Oliver used the dragon horn that Kublai had given him to call down Tengri and they climbed aboard.
"Hey, Oliver?" Abyssa said, tentatively. "Do you think that I could drive Tengri?" Oliver nodded, moving out of the spot and she slid in feeling right where she belonged.
"Let's go, Tengri!" The dragon gave a screech, then zoomed off. Abyssa wasn't as much of a smooth flyer as Oliver was. She did loop de loops and sharp turns. When they finally reached Skull Mountain, Esther was as white as a ghost, Swaine was as green as his jacket, Oliver's hair was sticking straight up, and Drippy's eyes were as wide as his lantern was bright. Abyssa's cheeks were pink and she looked happy, however.
"That was amazing!" She exclaimed, doing a backflip off of Tengri. "Can I do it again?"
"No." The others said in unison, getting off of Tengri with wobbling legs.
When they got back in the mountain and Kublai saw them, he laughed.
"Tell me, boy, did you find those magic stones?" Oliver shook his head.
"Well, uh… Not exactly. We did find a big old monument, though. It was-"
"The point is, Mr. King of the Pirates, is that there were no stones there. Not a single one!" Drippy interrupted. "I reckon you'd better give us another look at that map of youers!"
"Hm!? Curious." Kublai said. "And you searched thoroughly?"
"Thoroughly!? We're trying to save the world, mun! 'Course we searched flipping thoroughly!" Drippy shouted at him, then winced, giving a Abyssa a quick look, but she didn't hit him this time for the outburst. She looked just as annoyed.
THey followed Kublai back to his cabin and they looked at the map again.
"Hmm…" Esther tapped her chin. "It was definitely the right island…"
"Here, Ollie-boy-give the Nazcaan from that monument thingy another read. That'll tell you the secret, I'll bet!" Drippy told him.
"The secret that the map imparts, lies not without but in it's heart." Oliver recalled. "...What could it mean?"
"Well, the heart stuff always has something to do with your magic, right?" Swaine asked, putting his hands on his hips.
"So should we cast Take Heart on it or something?" Esther asked.
"Eh? Cast it on the map." Drippy asked her, jumping up. "And what would we do with what we got from it? If we got anything, that is…" Abyssa nodded.
"After all, it's not like the map has a heart to take." Oliver crossed his arms.
"But it could be something to do with magic, right?"
"Yeah… That tends to be the case when you're involved…" Swaine said, shaking his head. Abyssa nodded.
"It's for sure something to do with magic, we're not doubting that. But I don't think Take Heart is the spell to do."
"You put a good deal of faith in the boy's wizarding." Kublai told them. "Does he know many spells?" Esther nodded, pumping her arms.
"Oh, lots and lots!" She told Kublai. "People just keep giving them to him!" Abyssa chuckled at Esther's enthusiasm.
"A lot of people don't do magic, so they have no need for the spells." She patted her pocket that she had. "Unlike some of us."
"Youer not wrong, girls…" Drippy told them. "We've got a tidy pile of spells now, en't it… I reckon we must have something that'll work."
"The secret that the map imparts, lies not without but in it's heart." Esther repeated. "Do any your spells spring to mind, Oliver?" Oliver nodded.
"Gee, one or two, maybe… Well, there's only one way to find out!" Then he flipped through the Wizard's Companion, looking at all of his spells. Then he seemed to find the right spell and cast it on the map. The map itself lit up, and three glowing spots appeared on it. Drippy jumped up, the other three looking at the map in astonishment.
"Tidy!" He cried. "We've hit the flipping jackpot!"
"So they were hidden seperately… I had my suspicions." Kublai said quietly. "There are three stones after all. To hide them in one place seemed…foolhardy." Abyssa nodded, looking at one place.
"He really was guarding a stone. And now he is awake." She whispered to herself. "This won't be fun."
"Hang on, I'm not sure I understand." Esther said, tapping her chin. "What made the marks appear on the map?"
"It was the spell I used." Oliver told her. "Insight. It shows you the memories of the people who once owned an object."
"I get it." Swaine said. "So it showed you the places that the person who made the map wanted to keep secret." Oliver nodded.
"Yeah… The memories just came rushing into my mind all at once… And there was a message, too…"
"Well? What was it? Spit it out, mun!" Drippy told him. Abyssa slyly and quickly reached over and knocked Drippy over with her staff, giving him a superior grin.
"Uh, let me see…" Oliver said, ignoring the two. "The wand is the weapon of the heart… The stones merely reflect it's surface… True power lies in the depths…" He looked at his friends. "...That's all it said."
"What the heck's that s'posed to mean when it's at home?" Drippy asked. Abyssa tapped her chin.
"I think it means, if I'm not mistaken, the wand isn't the true power. It's only a representative of the power the wand holder has in his heart." She looked at Oliver. "Oliver, it's saying that the power is not truly in the wand, but in your own heart."
"Where did you get that, Abyssa?" Esther asked. Abyssa shrugged.
"Just a thought. After all, it said that the wand is the weapon of the heart. You can't actually use your heart to fight, so the wand is the representative. It just sounded right." (It really did! That's what I thought when I played!) Drippy shrugged.
"Fair enough." Then he looked over at Kublai. "Here, Pirateface, will you give us a lend of the map? It'll be a right faff coming back here all the time to check it." Kublai nodded.
"The stones are your concern. I have no need of the map. Take it." He grinned. "It will free up space for good, honest plunder!" Abyssa snickered.
"I'm not sure there's such thing as "honest" plunder, Kublai." She told him.
"Thank you very much, Captain." Oliver told him. "We'll go see what we can find at the three places marked on the map!" Esther pumped her arms.
"Then it looks like we'll be spending plenty of time up in the clouds with Tengri! I can't wait!"
"Heh. Yeah, we'll be keeping him busy all right." Swaine chuckled. Drippy did a spin.
"Tidy! It's time to begin the next chapter in The Adventures of the Intrepid Wizard Ollie-Boy: The Search for the Magic Stones!" Abyssa pumped her fist into the air.
"Wahoo! I get to drive!" Then she dashed out of the cabin and headed for Tengri before The others could turn their heads.