"This has to be the worst idea I've ever had", muttered Rumina to herself."If I wanted to torture myself by watching Sinbad for hours on end, I would have done so from the comfort of my own seeing pool. Even then,I couldn't stand watching two minutes of that sailor's insolence!. I'm wasting my time here" She shot a cursory glance at Master Rushid beside her. He was engrossed in watching the images on the wall. They both saw Asif uncorking the tiny bottle.

"Aaahh.. We now come to the interesting part..", cheered Rushid,sitting up on his cushioned chair.

"What do you mean?",asked Rumina,leaning forward as well.

They saw the vapors arising from Sinbad and descend into the bottle. Asif carefully pushed the cork back in again and hid it on his person.

"'That's good, Asif", applauded Rushid. "You have done very well indeed"

Rumina waited to see Sinbad falling to the ground unconscious ,depraved of his strength; Perhaps he would begin to fade out of sight or perhaps some kind of plague would come upon him due to the vapors. "How wonderful!A slow death!Just the way I like it!". Rumina grinned in anticipation. After a long wait, she realized that her hopes were in vain for the images on the screen continued to show Sinbad laughing and conversing with his friend. "I've had enough!",cried Rumina, standing up in anger. She could no longer be patient. Not for all the powers in the world. "I've got better things to do than to watch this nonsense! A crummy bottle is not going to destroy Sinbad!"

"That 'crummy' bottle,my dear",replied Rushid,calmly. "contains the elusive weak link!"

Doubar angrily slogged over the heavy barrels and boxes of goods down in the Nomad's cargo hold. The hold was decidedly cramped with a low roof.

"Boy, it's really dark down here"

Doubar straightened up and looked. "What do you want,Firouz?",he asked,curtly.

"I thought you should know. We're headed for Beuid-Merra"

"I felt the ship changing her course.",replied Doubar,lugging another heavy box. "Can't believe Sinbad can't see through Asif's disguise!"

"He's talking with Asif-el-Quidar as if he was his best friend",said Firouz,kicking some smaller parcels out of the way.

"Not helping,Firouz. Look,why don't you just leave me alone?"

"What about dinner?"

"I'm not hungry"

"You're kidding."

"GO AWAY!"

Firouz lingered for a while at the staircase. Doubar kept his back to him ,not giving any chance for further conversation. With a sigh he turned to climb back up the narrow steps.

"You don't know how hard I struggled after Mala's death. She was a greatest source of strength for me..."

Firouz stopped and listened. He raised his lantern and found Doubar sitting on one of the boxes. His face was drenched with sweat and his shoulders slumped from fatigue.

"Sinbad was very young and I wanted to be a good brother to him. I wanted to give him all he wanted. Good food, fine clothes, good education and even a sturdy horse. From the start, my little brother showed skill in everything he did. Master Dim-Dim said he was a fast learner.I wanted to encourage all that. But those dreams took a long time to become reality.I had to save a lot of money and I had to work night and day."

"You've made a lot of sacrifices for Sinbad"

"Aye. A lot of things were done in faith." Doubar's eyes narrowed in anger as he continued,"But that Asif showed him what it was like to carry a heavy purse. He spent money like water buying every glittering garbage that suited his fancy. I almost lost Sinbad to that ravenous wolf!"

"Things changed when Sinbad became Captain,didn't they?"

"The rough life on the high seas opened his eyes and put a daring spirit in him. Sinbad was never the same again"

"Then he owes it all to you,Doubar!",cheered Firouz."You've taught him the importance of hard work and good character . These are virtues far greater than what Asif could ever give! I've seen you two standing side by side, slaying monsters and performing death defying feats. How could Sinbad forget how much you mean to him? This Asif is merely a friend but nothing more than that. You ,Doubar are his brother ,father and friend."

Doubar listened silently. When Firouz finished speaking, he still didn't stir from his thoughts. Then with a faint chuckle,he reached out and thumped Firouz on the back ,nearly throwing him face forward on the ground.

"You know,you're not so bad. Sometimes Firouz, you make sense!I feel happy already"

"Glad to be of service",croaked Firouz, reeling from the blow. "Let me just put some distance between us before you get any happier". He rubbed his back and slowly climbed up the stairs to the upper deck.

Doubar grinned after him, his mind relieved.

The night fell swiftly and darkness covered the sea. It was a happy bunch that gathered around the dinner table. Asif and Nassima inquired about everyone, laughed gaily at all the jokes, teased and poked fun at times and listened keenly to any of the crew's stories. All in all ,they were excellent company!. After the meal, Nassima made an innocent remark on how she's always wondered how ships and boats made of solid wood and carrying heavy cargo didn't sink from all that weight. Firouz brightened immediately and launched into a extremely scientific explanation of buoyancy which dispersed the rest of the crew easily.

Sinbad clambered up on deck and took a long breath, tasting the salty air. He caught Maeve looking at him through the corner of his eye and turned lightly to meet the glance. As rare a sight it was, Maeve appeared on deck without her books. "Come to get the first view of the island?",asked Sinbad,walking up to her. "I'll show you. See that bright yellow light at the far end in the east? That's the unofficial port of Beuid-Merra. We should reach the actual island by dawn"

Maeve chuckled lighty."What do you mean by 'unofficial', Sinbad?"

"Well,Beuid-Merra consists of five islands. They are all rather primitive. People are mostly peaceful farmers, working at their farms all day. There are hardly any markets and not a lot of ships arrive there. So, only the first island has a small port with the guiding light. Any cargo that arrives is sent in boats to the other islands."

"That's interesting...".Maeve smiled and gazed in the same direction.

"Yeah. We anchor the Nomad at the first island and travel to the third by boat. That's where Asif's built his house",smiled Sinbad. "Hey, Asif and I talked a lot about the old times we've had together. He was full of admiration for the crew. He said he hadn't seen a finer crew in all of Baghdad. He asked me questions on how I met each one. ."

Maeve grinned widely. "So much praise in just one day-"

"Yeah well, he always was appreciative of everything concerning me"

"Is Doubar still grumpy?"

Sinbad rolled his eyes."He went to bed early. He knows its his turn to take the night watch with Rongar"

"Oh. Well, you know Doubar. He'll probably take a dozen night watches ,one after the other just as soon as he comes to a better mood"

"Yes. I know. A brother of extremes!",declared Sinbad, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

Maeve laughed and playfully bumped into him. "I never thought I'd say this but...when do you think Rumina's gonna show up?",she asked.

"Oh,she will. As soon as she's gathered all her strength,I guess..But,we'll find DimDim before then. And you study your books and prepare yourself for the final battle with your enemy!".Maeve did not reply at once. Sinbad thought for a moment and then ventured,"Maeve,what's this fight really about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never told me why you are seeking revenge on Rumina. What has she done to you? Why do you wish to destroy her?".Sinbad waited for a beat and continued,"When I told Asif about how I met you,I was raking every detail of memory to get my story right and I remembered something.."

"What's that?"

"I remembered how sure I was back then that you shouldn't set foot on my ship."

"I heard you complain so to Master Dim-Dim",acknowledged Maeve.

"I said,'Dim-Dim, you're not seriously thinking of taking that girl along ..and her bird." Sinbad smiled in recollection." And you know what Dim-Dim said?".He paused and then spoke slowly and deliberately."He said that you and I have similar goals - that the wounds in your heart run as deep as the wounds in as mine"

There was silence for a while.

"What do you suppose Master Dim-Dim meant by that?",mumbled Maeve,evasively.

"We'll never know unless we talk about it"

"Then,why don't you start?"

There was a hint of harshness in Maeve's tone. She had moved away from Sinbad and was staring intently at the open sea.

"Well,okay",replied Sinbad with a shrug."Ask me some-"

Maeve turned around in poorly disguised irritation. "Listen Sinbad, I'm tired. We'll talk about this another time". She strode off and quickly disappeared below deck.

"Whatever you say,Maeve",said Sinbad, softly.

Asif carefully bolted the door to the cabin and reaching into his cloak once again ,he produced four smoke filled bottles. He took out his bag and pulled out a lovely mirror made of silver. He laid it gingerly on the wooden table and chanted,"O,Mighty Rushid,receive this objects that you seek!". He placed the bottles one by one on the mirror and each bottle was consumed by the reflecting surface and vanished out of sight. Asif hid the mirror back in his bag again and wiped the sweat from his face.

Rumina folded her arms and studied the four bottles that were placed before her on the table. Master Rushid sat on the other side,with all the eagerness of a ten-year old boy. He gently took one of the bottles in his hands and polished it with a piece of fine silk. "It takes a lot of ingenuity to perform feats like this.",he said,evidently pleased with his achievements. "This bottle,my dear ..contains the weak link between our dear Captain and his brother. And this one-",he said pointing to the others,"-contains the link between Sinbad and his inventor friend, his celtic lady and the moor"

"You are posing a riddle,Master",replied Rumina,her brows knitting together in a deepening frown."And I hate riddles."

"Very well,plainly speaking, each bottle contains a memory." Rushid waved a hand to quieten Rumina's rising scorn. "Not just any memory,my dear.. but the exact memory that binds two people together. The memory that creates in each one,the feeling of trust and mutual respect, that instills in them the highest desire to keep up a promise or to defend one another in the most perilous of circumstances. There must be one important memory that people cling onto? That impresses on their mind,the need for the other person. That keeps echoing the value of friendship in the bleakest hour?"

"How does this kill Sinbad?",interrupted Rumina,abruptly.

"Watch!",replied Rushid, holding up the bottle he had finished polishing. He flung it one the ground and the bottle shattered into a hundred pieces. The smoke disappeared into thin air.

Maeve stirred lightly in her sleep. She felt a queer blackness cloud her dreams for just a fleeting moment and then vanish mysteriously. Dermott surveyed her from his high perch and uttered a soft screech. Unlike his sister,he was wide awake and on his guard. He could sense the approaching danger.

Sinbad felt the blackness as well. He shook his head and blinked several times. "Hope it's not a relapse of sickness",he muttered,strolling easily along the Nomad's deck. Then,as he looked up,a sight met his eyes that angered him instantly. "What's going on here?",he demanded as he half ran to the ship's tiller. He snatched it from Rongar's hands and steadied it himself. "Listen friend,I'm not gonna ask you how you got on my ship. But let me be clear once and for all that I don't really care much for your knife-throwing skills. Even if Mustapha had great faith in your abilities, it would be dangerous in a real battle. And besides, we've got a fine crew as it is. So,you can stay around till dawn and go about your own way once we reach the island. Got that?"

Rongar looked extremely confused at this angry recital. But as he started to form a reply,he seized his head as the strange blackness seeped into his mind and began to steal his thoughts. When it disappeared, all memories of having killed one of Turok's spies with his trusty dirk at Baghdad, disappeared as well. He nodded curtly and clutching his bandoleer, he walked to the other end of the ship and stayed there till dawn.