"One down... Three to go", said Rushid ,holding up the next bottle."Now here we have a very precious memory - the memory of a brother bearing the blame for burning down a ship and saving his younger sibling from a rather nasty predicament. "There was a soft crash. The bottle struck rock and scattered into a million pieces. "With that memory gone, Doubar will remember Sinbad betting with the deed at the gambling house. The rest never happened. His younger brother never became captain and never became the hero that he is today. Sinbad will also forget his brother. They will never respect each other the same way again"

Another bottle slipped down from Rushid's hands. "The inventor has lost his memory of meeting Sinbad. He still thinks Sinbad has died at sea! And last but not the least -the sorceress.. She will still hunt for DimDim. But she will never seek Sinbad's help or company."

"Good. Destroy her first,Master! Believe me, she is the most annoying one of them all!",cried Rumina,her excitement reaching a crescendo.

"Your harpies are already on their way to snatch Sinbad's crew away from each other. Doubar will find himself at Baghdad's port. Firouz will be busy with his experiements at his own home. Rongar - I don't really know where to put him. Maybe on some ship as a galley slave. He's got the brawn for that. Our Sinbad will awaken on the shores of the first island of Beiud-Merra, with all the memories of having narrowly escaped an early grave at sea. Just as he had when he first entered Baghdad after two years of voyage through the seven seas - a poor sailor without a ship and a crew..."

"Wait, aren't you going to kill them?"

"Patience,Rumina!",said Rushid, speaking more to himself than to the her. His fingers tapped a tune on the glass strewn rock."I have to find a place for Maeve. The Isle of Dawn is lost forever and that was the only home she had which I know of. I'll just leave her on one of the islands of Beuid-Merra for now."

"HOW ABOUT YOU JUST SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE AND JUST KILL HER, YOU ANNOYING OLD QUACK!",bellowed Rumina. Before she could raise her voice again,she found herself flung into a chair with such tremendous force that she instantly began to fight for air. "Forgive me..",she cried in fear."I..I can't b..breathe.."

"That I should help you at all seems ridiculous to me.. ",continued Master Rushid, turning a deaf ear to her pleas for mercy. "If it weren't for Turok, you'd be dead by now.."

"No..!". Rumina choked and gasped for breath. It was as if an invisible hand held her throat in a vice-like grip, squeezing the life out of her.

"An old quack,am I?".Master Rushid's voice grew louder and louder until it shook the entire room. "Want to know what it's like to be bound and fed to one of your own demons,little witch?".Then suddenly,he grew silent. The choke-hold released and Rumina was free to breathe again. She slumped forward, in exhaustion.

"Your head is as hard as your heart..", said Master Rushid in disgust. "Your magic is nothing compared to mine and I will not stoop down to do your killing for you. Not now. Not when I've seen how foolish you can be. You may think you are mightier than Sinbad, but count the number of times you have been defeated by him. You are nothing,Rumina. You have a lot to learn and I have helped you enough. You can find your own way now"

Rumina stood up with whatever dignity she could muster. She blinked uncertainly ,peering through her foggy vision. At the slightest threat, she would have summoned her whirlwind and sought refuge at her Skull mountain. But with weakened powers, she could not escape. Now as Master Rushid's words fell hard upon her ears, the truth in those words stung her for the first time. She gazed at the seeing wall which showed Maeve fighting desperately against the harpies. There was no one else on the Nomad except Asif and Nassima who sat huddled in a close corner. In strong impulse, Rumina raised her hand and a bright ray of magic broke through the image and in an instant, the Nomad suffered a deadly blow through it's hull. The ship began to sink."Die, you pesky witch!" Rumina's face grew white and her hand fell limply to her side as she leaned against the wall for support. "Oh,father... forgive my weakness..."

"Go,Rumina. Go home and plot your revenge.I will not have you here ,wallowing in self pity",said Rushid, unfeelingly. "There now, cheer up. Look! Your Captain is lying as helpless as you are upon the sandy beach. Look at him. His hair dotted with sand, his clothes in shambles,his sword lying yards away and his ship sinking in the eastern horizon. Poor Sinbad. Look at how vulnerable he is. He's as good as dead...". Rushid raised his hand and a swirling cloud of mist engulfed Rumina and took her away from his lair. When the mists cleared away, Rumina found herself standing on a low rocky cliff overlooking a strip of a sunny beach. There was Sinbad before her, still alone and unconscious. There was no sign of the others or the Nomad. This would be the perfect time to get rid of him once and for all. Rumina took a deep breath and summoned all her powers. She raised her hands ,ready to send the killing blow ...when suddenly she stopped.

"Sinbad will have the memories of having narrowly escaped an early grave at sea. Just as he had when he first entered Baghdad after two years of voyage through the seven seas - a poor sailor without a ship and a crew..."

"Those were Master Rushid's words..",she echoed, half-surprised at herself for not realizing it before."Sinbad won't remember me!"

Rumina lowered her hands and thoughtful look came over her face. She still studied her enemy. But this time ,there was a certain keenness and interest in her gaze. A world of possibilities began to open up before her. A slow smile began to spread across her face. "How marvellous.",she said in amusement." Just when I thought I was all alone without family or home... ". Her face hardened, a frown narrowed her eyes. "I will have you yet,Sinbad.. Together we will forge the strongest alliance and reduce Baghdad to a smoldering crisp!"

Maeve stood up on wobbly feet and dusted her hands. Her whole body was aching and a dull pain throbbed her temples."Dermott,where are you?",she called,peering around for her brother. In an instant, the hawk flew up with a loud screech and perched itself on her arm. Maeve lovingly scratched the back of Dermott's head. "Have any idea where we are,Dermott?". She frowned in thought."The last thing I remember was Master DimDim disappearing in a distance... into a purple haze...and we were trying to save him. But we couldn't. "Maeve gazed upwards at the tall trees which towered over her. "And now, here we are...in the middle of nowhere" The earth under her feet was soft and was no trail to mark the passage of horses. "Scout around,Dermott. See if you can find a village or town. We need to find shelter before sundown"

Dermott did not stir from his perch."Sister,I feel the salty breeze. We are close to the coast. Shall I search the Nomad?"He tilted his head,this way and that and then screeched loudly. "What is it?",asked Maeve,in surprise. "Don't you remember Captain Sinbad, Doubar, Firouz or Rongar?"Dermott screeched again, still tilting his head and even trying to peer into her eyes. "There is a vagueness in your eyes,sister. Some strong sorcery is at work..I will find help!" "Dermott,what's wrong?"Dermott gave a loud squawk and shot into the air,climbing higher and higher until he was out of sight. "I will find Sinbad myself... "

"Something's upset you..",said Maeve,gazing after her brother through worried eyes. "Dermott,show me the way...show me the way" . Maeve kept echoing the words as she entered a trance. Her senses merged with Dermott as he soared in the sky,traversing land and water. "A group of islands... a ship.. ". Maeve blinked uncertainly. "The Nomad...?" A searing pain shot through her skull and she collapsed on the ground in a heap.

"Thank heavens you're allright!If I should lose you, I don't know what I'd do.."Nassima nodded and pulled her husband closer for a tight embrace. A tear or two fell from Asif's eyes. They were in their own cart now, driven by their own horses and surrounded by their faithful servants. "Soon we will be home,my dear."
"And Abdul? Where is my son?"
"He is at home. Safe. He will be so happy to see us",said Asif.
"And Sinbad? He is not with us! What has happened to him..?"
Asif-el-Quidar avoided her questioning eyes and instead stared vacantly at the sea. Nassima followed his gaze and then gasped in shock. "It can't be.. Surely! We must hunt for him,Asif. He must be washed up on the beach. The others as well.. what about Maeve? They can't all have died.."
"Iam afraid so,my dear.",replied Asif, with an abrupt finality in his tone."Our search will indeed be futile.".He shivered and pulled at his cloak lightly."Let us be thankful that we did not meet the same cruel fate!" Nassima leaned back into the cart with a look of unbelief at her husband's indifference. She opened her mouth to say so when she noticed that there were beads of sweat lining Asif's brow. "His hands are trembling.",thought Nassima."Even now, in his gaze there is tension rather than sadness, guilt rather than pain... Asif,what is it?What have you done?"

"BANG!BANG!BANG!"
"We're back tomorrow!",came the impatient reply.
"BANG!BANG!"
"Drunken wretch,it's past midnight and my family's asleep. The tavern's closed!"
"Hatim,can't you spare a room for an old friend?"
There was silence. Then sounds of shuffling and the tramping of hurried steps down the stairs could be heard. The door opened a crack and a bearded face peeped out."Doubar,is that you?"
"Aye"
"Well,come in..come in.." The door opened fully and the big man stepped gratefully was led into the main room of the tavern and Hatim the keeper quickly trimmed an oil raised it and studied Doubar's face. "It is you!"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"It's been a year hasn't it?"
"Has it? I don't know. But before we talk, could you get me something to get rid of this blasted headache. I've had this one ever since I woke up at the dock.. Feels like being hit by lighting!"
"Haha.. of course. Right away. You've come to the right place"
As Hatim ran about fixing his potion, Doubar stretched and removed his sword from his person. He laid it carefully on the side table and sighed.
"Here!",said Hatim,handing him a large mug of foaming liquid.
Doubar drank it in one gulp and winced lightly.
"One more?"
"No! That's enough.. for now.."
"It's only a few hours to daybreak. I have an empty room upstairs. You could sleep there..free of charge"
There was no reply. Doubar was nodding gently,his eyes heavy with washed the mug and carried the lamp to the door."Doubar?",he tried the only reply he got was the sound of loud was asleep blew out the light and left.