Theo cautiously walked out into the dark of night with confusion on his mind.

"Inside seven events where a horror resides, a magical dice hides from most sights.", he reminded himself, "What did he mean?"

A wolf howl rang out and it sounded close. Theo paused again and felt a grip of fear on his heart.

"Beware the moon.", he recalled, "Please tell me it's not a full moon night."

He looked up to see that the clouds had started to part, but luckily for him, it wasn't a full moon. Feeling relieved, he pulled out the box and scroll he had gotten and lifted the lid to show it had a velvet interior with seven little holes clearly for the dice he was looking for and in a realm of Horror, it wasn't going to be easy.

"So, the dice are hidden and I'm guessing if I find these "horrors", a dice won't be far off.", he shrugged before walking on, "Don't know where I'm going, but I'm sure I'll end up somewhere."

Then nearby, a bush rustled making Theo pause again and slam the box shut and put it into a pouch that had magically appeared on a belt that had appeared on his waist.

"Is somebody there?", he asked cautiously.

The bush parted as a large wolf like monster came out and landed a few feet from Theo who had raised his hand as if to cast a protection spell. It was clearly a werewolf due to it being humanoid in appearance, but with the huge snarling wolf head with a mouth full of dripping fangs, massive clawed hands, wolf like feet and white fur covering most of its body, it made Theo pause. At least it was wearing what looked like a pair of leather briefs so Theo knew that when it returned to it's human form, it wouldn't be undressed.

"You gotta be kidding me right?", Theo asked himself asking and hoping he was wrong.

The werewolf's snare got more intense as its eyes locked on the new person standing before him.

"Are you going to attack me or not?", Theo found himself asking.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what it did the moment Theo finished. Theo snapped his fingers and a wall came up which the beast hit face first. The fact the wall was transparent made Theo cringe as he noticed the werewolf's squished face. But the werewolf didn't get stunned for long, it backed up and attacked the wall again before going around and trying to attack from the side. Theo moved his hand and the wall followed deflecting the beast's attacks but that only seemed to make the beast growl louder and its expression more ferocious.

"Great, now I made it angry.", Theo sighed.

But when the werewolf hit the wall, Theo saw some cracks forming and bolted with the werewolf on his heels.

"If I die in this place, I'm filing a complaint.", Theo yelled.

He ducked into a nearby brush making a branch swing back and hit the werewolf in the face, fall on it's back, and slide across the ground until it fell into a ditch, got hit on the head by a falling rock and was out like a light.

/

Theo kept running til he could run no more. He had gotten to a hill in a clearing when he collapsed.

"Did I lose it?", he hoped.

A light came out of the side Theo was running towards, and a man dressed in pants, a leather vest, and buckled shoes stepped out with a lantern looking confused.

"Who are you?", he asked as he came up.

Theo looked up.

"Got chased around by a crazy wolf.", he gasped.

The man looked more confused.

"I think you should see my boss. We're not far from here."

Theo smiled.

"As long as I get a bed and some food, I'll be good.

Theo followed the man til they came to what looked like a traveling circus and after passing a mirror, he noticed his clothes had changed. He was now wearing what looked like a leather coat, pants, and a white shirt though the belt he had gotten remained. His shoes had also been replaced by brown leather boots. The man walked further to what looked like a bunch of crates and packages being ready to be shipped out. Theo paused.

"Um, what year is this?", he found himself asking.

"Nineteen o five.", the man answered.

There were a bunch of other people moving about packing up and were clearly near to being done by the way they were packing up the tents. Theo's escort led him to the near back where Theo saw an old fashioned steam ship and he felt something warm in his packet. He reached in and pulled out the scroll that Dr. Creepy gave him that was glowing. He unfurled it to reveal it had a poem.

"A ship will take you to somewhere unseen, find the dice, but beware the queen.", he read before the scroll went blank.

Theo's escort paused as he looked his way as Theo put the scroll away.

"You say something?", he asked.

Theo thought fast.

"I…thought that…I could talk to this "Angus" character and see if he can help me.", he answered, "I'm kind of on a deadline."

The man looked on and brightened.

"Oh, here he comes."

/

A while later, Theo was on a ship being sailed out to sea, with the salty sea air, he met up with Angus and after getting to know a couple people, he seated in the sunlight looking up at the sky deep in thought.

"What does somewhere unseen have to do with "queen" and the dice.", he pondered.

"Did you say something?"

Theo turned to see Lillie (Angus' wife he met earlier) in her usual flowing dress, hairstyle and shoes walking up to him with a curious expression on her face.

"Sorry Madam.", Theo said being polite, "I was just…lost in thought. So, what was that thing Angus brought with us that he won't tell me about?"

Lillie shrugged.

"He wouldn't tell me. Before you showed up, we were taking this old sailor home and he was going on and on about mermaids claiming that one killed his wife. Of course, I didn't believe him until he showed us he actually had one."

Theo looked impressed.

"You're kidding right?"

Lillie's expression told Theo she wasn't.

"Nope, she was beautiful, but something about her didn't feel right. She kept staring at me like she was trying to say something, but not say it."

Theo looked a bit more interested.

"That's odd. Not the way I originally thought mermaids would be like. So, where's this ship heading anyway?"

"Angus says it's going to the other side of the realm.", Lillie informed, "Won't take but a few days at the rate we're going."

Theo tried smiling.

"Nice to know."

"So, what brings you to us?", Lillie asked changing the subject.

"I'm just looking for something and hoped I'd find it on this trip.", he told her, "I got a bit stuck on my travels and wound up in this world, got chased by a crazy werewolf, and met up with your fellow carny before he introduced me."

"What kind of something?", Lillie asked.

Before Theo could answer, one of the carneys (obviously someone who binges the bottle) showed up with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, it looks like Mary Ann is trying to woo a younger man."

Theo frowned.

"Hey, we're just talking.", he said firmly, "If you think we're doing what you think we're doing, you're obviously not very bright."

Lillie and Theo quicky left before the guy could work out what Theo just said.

"This happen a lot?", Theo asked.

Lillie sighed.

"It was a one-time thing, but he won't let it go. I moved on from that after I married Angus."

/

The day soon turned to evening and Theo watched the horizon still in thought. Dinner would be on soon and thinking about the rhyme still.

"Wait, why does this realm feel so familiar?"

"Theo?"

Theo paused and looked around seeing nobody.

"Help me Theo and I'll give you a dice you're looking for."

Theo felt a bit scared again.

"Hello?", he asked, "Who is this?"

"I'm in the hold."

Theo looked curious as he walked towards the door leading below. While he was doing so, he didn't notice that a couple of strange looking bats had shown up in the sails. It was hard to describe them, but they looked like serpents with large bat like wings, but the heads opened to reveal several rows of teeth and no visible eyes. As the two watched Theo, their eyes shimmered projecting their view back to a place hidden away in a far away part of the realm.

"Keep an eye on him.", a voice in their heads ordered, "Dr. Creepy gave him what was needed, but I need Theo to obtain the dice."

One of the bats screeched a bit as if to object.

"Don't argue! Theo doesn't know it yet, but once all seven dice are collected, I'll have the means to break the curse that keeps me trapped in this limbo."

The bats slowly nodded their heads showing they agreed. That was when the connection to their minds was lost and they flattened themselves so that they wouldn't be seen easily as a couple of the crew members came out.

"Did you hear anything?", one asked.

"Nothing but the ocean air.", the other answered.

They left and the bats slithered across the wooden masts until they reached the crow's nest where they took shelter while still watching what went on down below. Even with storm clouds looming off in the distance, it wouldn't have concerned them even if they did notice.

/

Theo found the halls down below deck were narrow and hardly lit by the lit lamps along the walls which made the scene even more creepy.

"I'm here."

"Where?", Theo asked finding himself drawn to the sound which was louder now, "How do you know about what I'm looking for?"

"Come see me and I'll tell you."

Theo picked up his step until Lillie stepped out and the two almost collided, but luckily they stopped before they did.

"Theo?", Lillie asked a bit surprised, "What are you doing down here?"

"Thought I heard something.", Theo stated, "I heard it on deck, and then again down here."

Lillie looked a bit curious.

"You know, I've been getting a feeling lately too. Like there's something Angus brought on this ship before we sailed and never told me what it was."

Theo looked thoughtful.

"Why don't we find out what it is?", he suggested.

Lillie looked firm.

"No, it's probably better if we didn't know about it."

Theo then smiled.

"So, you're not curious about what Angus could have gotten?"

Then the ship rocked sending Lillie tumbling back a ways, but Theo caught her and held her steady.

"Rough sea huh?"

"You get used to it.", Lillie answered.

Then the lights dimmed for a moment, and then came back on. Lillie went off, but Theo still lingered.

"Maybe I should head off to bed.", he thought.

He had just walked a few feet when a voice cut through the silence. It was haunting, but beautiful and Theo froze.

"Oh great, tell me that isn't what I hope it isn't.", he prayed as he turned to the other end of the hall to see a door.

Before Theo knew what he was doing, his legs moved towards the door. Most of it was him, but he felt the song getting stronger as he got closer. Once he gripped the handle, the song stopped and he opened the door to reveal a vast empty room with a large thing in the center covered with tarp.

/

"Hello?", Theo asked but not getting an answer, "Hello?"

He walked in, but nothing seemed to move or make a sound. Even the voice he had heard before had gone silent.

"Are you in here?"

Still no answer. Theo came over to the tank and placed a hand on the tarp. A sudden feeling of wonder and dread washed over his mind. What was in there? Was it something he should evade or find out? Theo took a breath and removed the tarp to reveal a large glass tank nearly filled with water. In the dim light, it was hard to see what was in it, but then as Theo made some light, a face came to view which made him flinch in surprise. The light then revealed it was a beautiful young maiden with flowing light brown hair, pale skin like the moon, piercing icy eyes, and large seashells she used to cover her flowers (your mother will explain this). But the most interesting part was when Theo got to her waist, where her legs would be was a long pale white fish tail which told Theo one thing: it was a mermaid. Theo snapped out of his daze and backed up a bit even though his light kept the mermaid in view.

"Can you hear me?", he found himself wondering, "Tap once if you can."

The mermaid just looked at him blankly as if she was curious about him as he was about her. Theo turned to leave.

"Well, sorry for disturbing you miss, but I heard a voice and thought it was you. I must have been-"

He was interrupted by a song he heard earlier only it sounded like the room was full of it. He spun around to see the mermaid just as she raised herself to the top of the tank with her icy eyes locked on him, but still blank in expression. As she continued singing, she gripped the sides of the top with webbed hands and surprisingly hoisted herself out and almost fell on the floor if Theo hadn't ran over and caught her before falling on the floor.

"What was that for?", he asked snapping out of his daze again.

The mermaid said nothing. She just gazed in his eyes with her own while keeping her expression blank. Theo looked firm.

"Look, I don't have time for games. I'm looking for something and someone told me they could help."

He managed to hoist himself up while the mermaid gripped his shoulder. Her tail felt wet and slippery in Theo's arms, but he carried her over to put her back in. Just as he was about to do so, the mermaid tapped his shoulder and pointed to a bunch of junk on the other side of the room.

"It's over there?", Theo asked finding himself asking turning toward the mermaid.

"Yes.", she answered.

Theo almost dropped her the moment she finished speaking.