"Ship ahoy. Ship approaching on the starboard side."
Sinbad fastened the tiller and ran curiously to the starboard side. He called out and three sailors rushed around him. The man at the crow's nest looked out as well. Sure enough, there was a small ship nearing the Nomad. There seemed to be three people on board. One of them waved his hands. Sinbad peered in the morning light,trying to trace his unexpected visitors.
"Sinbad! Ahoy there! Thought you could escape me,eh?"
"Asif?",called Sinbad, startled."Is that you?"
"In the flesh,my lad. In the flesh"
Sinbad instantly threw down the rope ladder and climbed down halfway. The sailboat stopped near the ship's side and Asif climbed half-way up the ladder as well. Sinbad gripped him in a hug and then shook hands warmly. "It's been too long,my friend. This was most unexpected!"
"Nay. You spurning my hospitality - Now that was unexpected!"
"I will clear up any misunderstanding,Asif.. but first, who is that with you?"
"They climbed up on deck and the sailors helped the second person to climb on board. The person lowered the velvet hood and Nassima smiled warmly at the Captain. "This is my wife,Sinbad. My dearest Nassima. Nassima,this is my friend,Sinbad, ruler of the Seven Seas!"
"Iam very pleased to meet you,dear Captain. But please, could I be shown a place to rest? I did not enjoy the travel on the sea waves-"
"Yes,of course! Follow me". Meanwhile, Doubar ,Rongar and Firouz gathered around as well. Doubar felt his heart sink the moment he saw Asif-el-Quidar.

Nassima was shown to Maeve's quarters. Maeve's cabin was the only one that had a proper bed just then. The others had shifted to hammocks!
"Im so sorry to be causing you such inconvenience",said Nassima.
"Oh no. No trouble at all!", said Maeve as she sat at her desk.

"I am surprised to find a woman aboard this ship. This life is rough for a woman.I couldn't never do it! I am homesick already!",said Nassima, with round eyes, as if someone had commanded her to stay along with Maeve. Nassima removed her cloak and sat down on the bed. Her eyes wandered all over the small room. "I cannot think why you didn't accept our kind invitation. We would have provided you with all the comforts of home.."
"Well, Sinbad and Doubar decide most things around here. I was far too busy studying my books.". Maeve gestured to her table where there lay open,a leather-covered book.
"Ah, you must be very clever to read books like that!", cried Nassima. "I could never read such books"
Maeve smiled.
"You name is Maeve,isn't it? That's a pretty name. Maeve. Oh, am I disturbing you?. I see you've not progressed beyond the pages you are holding. I am very sorry!Shall I leave you alone?"
Maeve laughed this time. She took a liking to Nassima. Nassima seemed to have a child-like personality of innocence and animation that was rather refreshing after all the know-it-all types she'd met before. "It's all right Nassima. I don't think I'm going to read just now." Now that Nassima was comfortably settled on the bed, she was in the mood for talking than for taking rest. "Tell me, how does Sinbad know Asif-el-Quidar?"

Asif raised his drink and declared, "Long live, Captain Sinbad. May he be prosperous in all that he does!"
Firouz and Rongar echoed his words as well. Sinbad smiled happily. Only Doubar remained in a brooding sulk.
"Well well.. How life has changed the both of us,eh Sinbad?"
"Aye.",agreed Sinbad. "Only last month we laid a siege to Rumina's fortress in Skull Mountain and turned it to rubble."
"Oh. That's a risky thing to do",replied Asif,raising his brows at Firouz and Rongar.
"We had a long history of battles with her, my friend. Let's just say, we had a big score to settle with her.."
"Then,you've been pretty busy. Perhaps that's why you wished to ignore my invitation"
Doubar sat up and spoke for the first time. "No actually, we wanted to get away as fast as possible. We knew that you were upto no good, you scheming son of a jackal!"
"DOUBAR!",yelled Sinbad,in shock."I apologize for my brother ,Asif. He is in foul mood.."
Doubar interrupted with a scornful laugh. He rose up and mumbling something about getting some fresh air, and stomped out. Firouz cleared away the plates and Rongar went up on deck as well.
"My brother has been in foul mood ever since he heard that we were sailing in the waters of Beiud-Merra. He never forgets his wrongs easily",said Sinbad,looking extremely apologetic."But the moment,I saw you and Nassima come aboard our ship,travelling all this distance just to meet us, I could have no doubt of the goodness of your character. I must apologize for my brother's behavior once again"
"Think of it nothing,old friend",replied Asif with a genial nod. "Some things may never change between me and Doubar. But never mind that.. how have you been doing? I can't wait for you to come and see my mansion. It's more beautiful than anything in the world!My best work yet!"
"Then, we will certainly come",laughed Sinbad. "We shall meet all of your family. How is your father?"
"Father died a year ago. I have a little son. Abdul. He takes up most of my time when I come home for a break from work.",said Asif. Suddenly he leaned forward and asked in almost a whisper."Who is that fair woman on your ship?"
Sinbad looked surprised for a moment. Then with a smile, he replied,"Her name is Maeve. Her teacher was DimDim. You remember DimDim ,don't you? I used to speak of him to you before"
Asif nodded and Sinbad continued to speak. "He was lost to us during a battle with a sea monster - Turok's doing. I slayed Turok in the battle and Rumina had been taunting us ever since. But as you know, we've just destroyed her stronghold. Rumina may take a long while until she's prepared herself well enough to strike once again"
"Well, this Maeve looked .. rather serious,didn't she? Is she averse to our company as well?"
"NO! Of course not! Maeve's probably frustated that she can't test her powers against Rumina."
"Oh, she has powers of her own?"
"Yes. Maeve reads and prepares a lot to fight on the side of good."
"I see.."
Asif thought for a bit. "How did you come to meet Maeve?"

Rumina inspected the skull ring on her finger. The room was empty, save for herself. It was a rather gloomy room of dark green color. There were no windows. Yet somehow a dull light shone in allowing faint visibility. There was a long table in the far corner with a tall bookstand. The bookstand and the table seemed out of sorts with the general bleakness of the room. It was with patience unfamiliar to her character that Rumina sat extremely still in her chair. She knew that her powers would not be the same as before for a long long time. A lot of things had happened to her over the past one month. When Skull mountain rained boulders upon her for a moment,Rumina had feared that she would meet her father's fate. Like a coward,she had summoned all her strength and disappeared in a whirlwind leaving her father's body behind. Scratch was gone. "And good riddance too!",thought Rumina. She hated working with anyone who thought highly of themselves. She preferred to think that she was the best of them all! Yet now here she was, too feeble to even venture back to her lair to search for her father's body. She had sent her servants instead. The search had been fruitless and Rumina heartily blamed their incompetence for that! The door to the room opened at last and a tall man dressed in flowing robes, a little like Turok,but older walked in. Rumina stood up at once. The man kept walking until he was only a few feet from Rumina. "You asked for my help and I have given it to you",said the man.
"Thank you,Master Rushid"
"Your enemy ,Sinbad is quite guilty of leaving you fatherless and weak." Rushid began to move around as he spoke his words. He was a grey haired man, yet he was not old. His face was grey and stony. His eyes conveyed no expression. His mouth was a thin line half-hidden by a short brown beard. He was not a muscular man, yet he had a certain powerful presence about him. Unlike Rumina, he was never in a hurry to do things. "Yet, Sinbad is good nature supersedes his other failings. He seems to resort to battle only when provoked-"
"Do not speak of that wretched sea-dog, Master! Destroy him completly!",snapped Rumina,in fury. Her lips curled and her eyes flashed in rage. But Rushid merely smiled and wagged his index finger at her. "This is where you go wrong,my dear! We must speak of him. We must study him like how we study a beetle in a glass jar"
"I..I don't understand"
"Of course you don't. Turok never did either. Which was why he wound up dead!"
Rumina stiffened at once. She remained silent.
"You send whirlwinds, you conjure up a skeleton army and send monsters after him. But he evades them all. His crew never leaves his side and he can't be tempted to leave them. In the end, your energy is wasted. But this.. this is not my method. I study my opponent and I attack only at those places that are most weak. When the weak link is broken, the chain becomes useless. Therefore,the first step is to find out what binds each of Sinbad's crew to each other."
Rumina gave a scornful laugh. "I can help you with that. They are out there hunting for a fool called DimDim"
"You are wrong again. My my, you are proving to be a rather stupid little girl. Were you really as powerful as you claim yourself to be? It would take a lot of brain-power to master certain methods and I doubt if you were actually upto the challenge"
Rumina bristled at the insults. But as before,she remained silent.
"There really is only one person who is searching for DimDim with her heart and soul"
"Her? Oh, you mean that peasant woman-"
"Yes. Maeve. Sinbad's determination to find his Master falls short by a tiny hairbreadth in comparison to her unquenchable desire. Doubar's falls short even more and Firouz and Rongar accompany them in their quest for reasons of their own"
"So, the binding force is not DimDim's disappearance?",asked Rumina,with a frown. "It's not!", echoed Rushid, a slow smile spreading over his face.
"What is it then?"
"That's what my servant is out to find out",said Rushid. "Come with me"
Rumina followed him out of the gloomy hall ,through a long stony corridor and into a large hall with one wall,gleaming like her seeing pool. An image ,distorted yet clearing with every minute appeared on the wall. "That's Sinbad!",cried Rumina. "Who is that with him?"
Rushid gazed into the image as well. "That - is my servant - Asif-el-Quidar"