Rongar's boat rocked and swayed along the gentle waves. The Jezebel was long gone and the sailboat was surrounded by miles of the open sea. Towards the far west, Rongar spotted a thin line of land. He suspected this to be the port of Baghdad. He'd rowed hard all night and now the sun was rising quickly in the east. The first rays of the sun streamed across the clear sky. Rongar stopped rowing and reached for the casket of bread and cheese which Talia had fetched for him. If he kept up the pace, he might reach land by mid-noon. Now,sitting comfortably in the boat and munching on his early breakfast, Rongar began to recall the puzzling events of yesterday in the hope of making sense of it all. One thing seemed to be very clear,those twinges of pain surfaced only when he tried to remember things that he never knew that he knew before. Rongar smiled at himself for the absurdity of his own reasoning. He's tried it once before and remembered Talia. Now he must try it again and remember this "Sinbad".. whoever he was. But that strong wall of energy.. Rongar shivered inwardly at the thought of ramming against it again. It was the most incredible experience he ever had. But he must endure it again if he is to uncover the truth.

Rongar leaned back and began to recall Talia's words. What did she say about Sinbad. He was the Captain of a ship called.. called.. the Nomad. An adventurer from Baghdad with his brother.. Doubar.. Quite suddenly the image of an ugly winged creature ,with a face of a fanged demon filled his vision.. Rongar gasped but continued to focus his concentration on recovering his memories. Once again he visited the scene of the creature attacking him on a heaving deck of a ship. He... ,Rongar was throwing his dirks and he missed because.. the harpy...was it a harpy? was ducking his every aim.. Two of the dirks..

The dull throbbing pain returned and began to grow stronger and stronger until it consumed Rongar. Rongar trembled and squirmed as the shock waves seized and ravaged the innermost recesses of his mind. Sweat dotted his brow. His hands clenched and unclenched rapidly. The veins on his temples bulged out from under the strain. He yelled out loud,tossing this way and that. The boat rocked hard ,making giant ripples in the water. Rongar's eyeballs rolled back into their sockets and he became still.

When Rongar's eyes shot open and he perceived himself to be in complete darkness. The pain was gone and he was alone. As he walked, his steps echoed through the darkness. He reached a gigantic wall that grew endlessly tall out of sight. Rongar laid his hands on the wall and to his utter astonishment, traced a heartbeat. He leaped back and landed square on his back. He looked about in terror. What was this strange place?
"How did you get here?"
The voice was deep and harsh that Rongar was instantly on his feet, with a dirk in each hand. He peered into the dimness,trying to identify the source of the voice he had heard.
"How did you get here?",demanded the voice again.
"I wanted to remember",answered Rongar. With a start he realized that he could speak. The dirk dropped involuntarily from his hand and clattered loudly on the floor.

"For the last time Firouz, Sinbad is not dead!"
"I know it's hard for you to accept the truth but -"
"Listen fellas..",said Prince Casib stretching his arms in both directions to subdue the emotions of both Doubar and Firouz before they broke into an all out fist-fight. "Sinbad is not dead"
"I told you so",said Doubar, glaring at Firouz and taking a long swig at his drink.
"But he's not in Baghdad either",continued the Prince.
"That's another way of phrasing my words",mumbled Firouz in an were seated in a luxurious hall of the Caliph's palace - honored guests of Prince Casib. Before them was a feast fit for kings - the finest food and the choicest wine. Doubar and Firouz were most grateful for the special favor shown by the Prince but they hadn't a clue as to why he should bestow it on them in the first place! The Prince regarded them as old friends and seemed as if he were indebted to them. But they knew not why.
Just then,they heard the sounds of laughter of women entering the hall. "Aaaahhh... here she comes.. Doubar and Firouz.. I think you will know who I mean",smiled Casib,mysteriously.
Princess Adina walked inside with all the grace of a lovely gazelle. Her maids stood aside awaiting her orders. Adina's face beamed with joy on seeing Doubar and Firouz. Doubar thought that all the jewels she was wearing couldn't have lighted up her face more than the lovely smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. Both men stood up at once and bowed formally. Prince Casib looked extremely proud and very pleased.
"I welcome you both,my friends",said Adina,with more familiarity than before."I owe to you and to your dear Captain, for restoring my life ...and my love" Casib held out his hand and she crossed to his side at once. Suddenly Doubar clutched at his head with a slight groan. Across the table, Firouz grimaced under the pain as well.
"What is it?",asked Casib, concerned.
"It's my head. It feels like it's on fire..",said Doubar, wincing painfully.
"Same here.",chimed Firouz. "I had the same pain twice this morning"
"I shall send for the physician immediately!",said Casib."You there! Fetch the physician at once!"
"Yes Sire". The servant sped quickly down the corridor to dispatch his duties.

"Rongar,.. that is your name,isn't it?", continued the mysterious interrogation.
"Yes it is",replied Rongar. He rubbed his throat gingerly and ran his tongue over his lips.
"Do you know where you are?"
"I do not know"
"Don't you wish to know?"
"I have many questions for which I seek answers"
"I bet you do",said voice,sounding extremely annoyed. Suddenly all fell silent. Rongar grew uneasy and swooped up his dirks. Suddenly the floor began to shake hard under his feet as something tall and horrendous emerged from the ground and loomed high above his head. It was a gigantic throne supported by demonic winged creatures on all four sides.A man steadily descended the steps from the throne, wearing a long cloak and a bejeweled turban on his head. He looked very severe, his eyes were narrow and shrewd and the graying hair on his temples betrayed his age. "My name is Rushid and I am a powerful wizard, an equal to Turok and soon to be even more.",spoke the man as he neared Rongar."No mortal come into my presence... yet here you are ,standing before me as bold as brass and you haven't the faintest idea how you got here."Rongar could perceive Rushid's eyes studying him carefully. Rongar returned a impassive glance.
"Well,well.. perhaps I have underestimated you,Rongar",said Rushid at length."I assumed earlier that you were more of a muscle man than a thinker but you've managed to find the backdoor here. Just what were you hoping to retrieve? Your memories?"
Rongar remained silent.
"Well,you can't get them back! Only I can give them back to you and I choose not to! Oh and don't bother to use your pitiful weapons. Nothing can harm me in my world. A world of my own creation - made up of thoughts and emotions. Only the emotional essence of a man can enter here.."
"Then my speech.."
"..is only in this world. As long as you remain here, your thoughts become your words. When you think, you speak it as words.."
"Why do you wish to be my enemy?",asked Rongar, shoving his dirks back into their belt."What have I done to you?"
"I am not yor enemy. Rumina is. She has vowed to destroy those who were responsible for her father's death"
"Turok! You are an ally of Turok!",cried Rongar,in surprise and anger."Turok was a monster - a tormentor and butcher of innocent lives!"
"On the contrary, Turok was only seeking to establish his beliefs. Don't forget. I may not have Turok's temperament, but I share those beliefs as well. I believe that the Eastern world and the world beyond must belong only to the higher beings - to only powerful sorcerors and their kind. The rest of the ordinary populace does not deserve to live.." Rushid laughed aloud and his laughter echoed throuch the hollow space. "Rumina is a most unworthy sucessor to her legendary father. Still, her suffereing had to be avenged. I could no longer sit back and watch as her Skull Mountain came crashing to the ground. Besides.. I loathe Sinbad.."
"Why?,asked Rongar,curiously.
"I hate his self-confidence, his mindless passion to establish peace and harmony everywhere he goes without any personal advancement or interest and being admired for it by other equally stupid people. Unlike you,he would never have the brute-force to get here..Haha.. Oh,yes. I've figured out how you got here. You kept ramming hard against the pain,like an old fashioned battering ram, hoping that you would retrieve your precious memories. A little more pain and your mind would have collapsed under pressure. What a silly risk for you to take!. My spells are strong and most humans suffer gladly under them. Well when you get back to your world, you will have forgotten everything that happened here,except perhaps,...you may have a few vague memories of your dear Captian Sinbad. "
"You are wrong,Rushid. Sinbad will challenge you right here,in your darkness. You underestimate the strength of his mind",replied Rongar.
"No indeed,I know Sinbad well. I know his type. Sinbad will never think too much about anything as long as he has annoying good deeds to perform. He is a shallow character with a tremedous ego which will do him no good when he pits his strength against true danger. One day he will meet with failure.. a soul-draining,devastating failure. Then we shall see the real Sinbad! A pity he will be destroyed soon!"
"What?",exclaimed Rongar in alarm.
"Turok's daughter has got hold of a very powerful sceptre - the scepter of Kohlmar. It was under the control of the feline guardian,Tohmohkhgrra who releases the scepter only on the fulfillment of one very special condition. You see, Tohmohkhgrra has a balance which measures the power contained in the requester. When the balance tilts completely to one side, the scepter is released for use."
"The scepter is only for sorcerers and witches. ",concluded Rongar. He frowned in thought. "But Rumina is weak from the war at Skulll Mountain. It is impossible for her to have obtained the scepter,isn't it?"
"Aaahh,but she has found an ally in Sinbad"
"Impossible",yelled Rongar.
"Sinbad has been tricked. He does not suspect her true intentions. But the alliance has been made. Or rather forged. Tohmohkhgraa's symbol is tatooed on their wrists which binds Rumina to Sinbad and Sinbad to Rumina. When she attacks, her power and the power within him will be put to the test. He cannot tear apart from her. If he does.. he will die"
"No!"
Rushid shrugged lightly. He mused,"I didn't suspect Sinbad having magical powers. I must give credit to Rumina for having smoked out that useful little , Rongar.. isn't it time you forgot this place and left back to your own world? Or will you keep drifting in the open seas and die a slow death of starvation?"
Rongar's eyes were full of sadness. He looked crestfallen against Rushid's heartless prediction of the near future. With new power in her hands,Rumina would surely target Baghdad and many innocent people will be killed.
"Come now,let's make a deal,shall we?",offered Rushid in soothing tones.
"What kind of a deal?"
"Leave your emotion essence here with me and if each one of your nomad crew - Doubar, Firouz, Maeve and Sinbad, make it here ... then I will release your memories and restore your fortunes.."
"And if not?"
"If not,you will become my slave for all eternity!"
Rongar remained silent for a while. Then he stepped forward and nodded in agreement.
Rushid smiled widely.
Rongar turned and closed his eyes. Slowly he forced himself to forget all the events that happened and he found himself turning light-headed. He was drifting back to the real world. "Don't forget,Rongar,whispered Rushid's parting words in his ear. "I always love a good gamble. And I never lose. That's how I got Asif-el-Quidar. He was foolish enough to bet on his son's life. Now he is a mindless menial serving Rumina at his own home. May you fair better than your unfortunate friend... Ha..Ha..Ha..."

When Rongar opened his eyes, he was back in his boat in the middle of the sea.