The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It)

by Wade Albert White

  “Aye, Captain,” said Locke. He barked out several instructions, which resulted in an increased flurry of activity. Moments later, the airship lurched forward. It slid between the two considerably larger warships hovering on either side of it and sailed out over Saint Lupin’s.

  From this vantage point, Anne could see the full extent of the damage the pirate attack had caused. The ballroom lay in ruins, and one of the dormitories had been flattened. There were several breaches in the outer walls. With everyone either taken prisoner or under pirate contract, there would be no one to watch over Saint Lupin’s while they were away. It saddened Anne to see the school in such a state. Perhaps back when the Matron was running things, Anne wouldn’t have cared, but so much had changed since then. Anne vowed to complete this quest as quickly as possible so that at the very least Jocelyn and the others could return and make repairs and begin classes properly. But then Greystone’s words flashed in her mind. She’d be fixing Saint Lupin’s up for someone else….

  As the ship left the skies over Saint Lupin’s, they entered a large fog bank.

  Marri pressed her lips together. “We’re not going to outrun them for long, even with this cover. We need a destination. Preferably our first quest location.”

  Hiro’s eyes actually brightened at this. “Does this mean we get to do research? Oh, if only we had worked things out earlier, we could have used the library at Saint Lupin’s. I’ve been working on IDs for everyone. I’ve also been updating the card catalog. Do you have any idea how out of date it was?”

  “If we’re going to a library, I’d be happy to help,” said Jeffery. He acquired information from books by eating them, and it was a constant struggle to keep him from consuming every piece of writing in sight.

  “We don’t have time for that,” said Marri. “But I was under the impression you have access to a special book that might be able to provide us with a clue. I believe it’s called The Adventurer’s Guide.”

  Anne’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know so much about us?”

  “I have my sources.”

  Anne frowned. “Well, the last time I saw that book, Rokk was holding it.”

  Marri searched the cloth bag and handed the twenty-sided dice to Anne.

  “Handle it carefully,” said Marri. “You saw what happened with the other one.”

  Anne studied the dice. Rokk was still suspended, but as she turned the dice over in her hand, she noticed that his body flopped with it. She kept turning the dice until she found a tiny red-covered book floating next to him.

  “It’s in there,” said Anne. “It was damaged during our first quest, though, so it doesn’t always provide reliable information.”

  “It’ll have to do.”

  “Three ships astern and closing fast!” came a shout from the crow’s nest.

  Anne looked behind them but could barely make out three dark forms in the distance through the fog. The council ships couldn’t use their cannons from this angle, but if they pulled even with the Blue Daisy, then Marri and her crew (not to mention Anne, Penelope, and Hiro) would be in serious trouble.

  “Let us worry about the ships,” said Marri. “You concentrate on figuring out where we need to go.”

  Anne squinted at the tiny guide. “I can’t make out the title.”

  Locke reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of circular glass with a wooden frame around it. “Use this. If you look through the glass at something, it makes it appear larger.”

  Anne held the glass over the dice, and indeed everything appeared much larger. The title on the cover read The Adventurer’s Guilt from Slaying Monster Cranberries. She tapped the dice gently, and the title changed to The Adventurer’s Guide to Defending Your School from Pirates.

  “A little late,” Anne muttered.

  She nudged the dice a second time, and the title of the book changed once again. Now it read The Adventurer’s Guide to Lost Castles of the Hierarchy. Anne tipped the dice on its side until the book opened to the first page. She read the tiny paragraph of text that appeared there.

  “Here we go,” she said. “It says: ‘Castle Stormwind, otherwise known as the High Castle, sits atop the central peak of the Cerulean Mountain Range. It is famously the site of the last siege of Uz the Magnificent.’”

  “The High Castle could be the ‘castle high’ mentioned in the riddle,” suggested Hiro.

  “If so, that’s not much help,” said Marri. “High Castle is a popular name. I can think of at least a dozen places called that. And besides, the riddle is ancient. Chances are whatever place it’s referring to isn’t even called that anymore. But it might be on the map.”

  “What map?” asked Anne.

  Marri brought out a tube and pulled a rolled-up piece of parchment from it. She unrolled the parchment across her lap. It was a map.

  “This was on display at the museum next to the medallion,” said Marri. “But I’m unfamiliar with the symbols on it.”

  “Enemies to port! Number unknown!” came another call. “Also, to starboard!”

  Anne looked off both sides. The council ships were closer now and she could see them more clearly. They had opened their cannon ports, and a moment later there was a crack of cannon fire and the whistle of an incoming cannonball. The shot fell short, though, and passed well below them.

  “Steady,” said Marri. “Nothing to worry about yet. They’re just guessing.”

  Eventually they would find their mark, and Anne returned to the map with a new sense of urgency. “Where’s the legend?” she asked.

  Without the legend, deciphering the map would be difficult, if not downright impossible.

  “Wait a minute!” said Hiro. He dug his mother’s letter out of his cloak pocket and unfolded the newspaper clipping. “Listen to this: ‘Taken along with the medallion was an ancient treasure map. Also from the same collection, but untouched, is a jade cylinder seal known as the Legendary Seal of Uz.’ Cylinder seals were an administrative tool invented thousands of years ago,” Hiro explained. “They’re cylindrical, of course. Usually only an inch or two long. A person could use them for almost anything: a signature, a magick spell—”

  “Or the legend of a map?” asked Anne.

  “Hand to it the legend’s power,” said Penelope. “The power of the legend is to unlock the map.”

  Anne turned to Marri. “Where’s the seal?”

  Marri looked crestfallen. “Still in the museum. There were many artifacts locked in separate cases. We didn’t think they were important.”

  “We’re going to need that seal.”

  “But the museum is crawling with extra security because of the theft.”

  “Fog clearing ahead, Captain,” said Locke.

  “Ship closing in on the port side!” hollered Hiro.

  “Probably hoping to board us,” said Marri. “Deploy countermeasures.”

  One of the pirates picked up a small canister and placed it in a slingshot attached to the portside railing. A second pirate aimed and fired. The slingshot sent the canister flying through the air. It hit the main deck of the council ship and exploded in a puff of green smoke.

  “What was that?” asked Penelope.

  Marri grinned. “Stink bomb. Nonlethal, but definitely unpleasant.”

  “Coming in from both sides now, Captain,” said Locke.

  “They’re trying to squeeze us.”

  Anne scanned the skies and spotted a cluster of tiers. “What about through there?”

  “Good eye,” said Marri. “Twenty degrees to starboard, Mr. Locke.”

  Locke conveyed instructions to the helmsman and the airship steered in among the tiers. They were tightly packed, and the hull scraped along the port side as they squeezed through. The larger council ships tried to follow, but they entered the gap at the same time. They collided with a crunch. One of them tried to veer away but slammed into the side of a tier. Its center mast tore free and went spiraling over the side. The other council airships were forced to stop.
Only two of the ships thought to drop below the tiers to keep up.

  Marri surveyed the path ahead. “We’re almost in the clear. Prepare the engines.”

  “Engines?” said Anne.

  Marri ignored Anne’s question and pointed to the stern. “Let me know when the flaps are fully opened and secure.”

  Anne moved to the railing at the stern. Directly below, two doors were being winched open. Once they were locked into place, two metal tubes were extended, and a pirate holding a torch stood next to each. One of the pirates waved at her.

  “They’re signaling ready!” shouted Anne.

  The gap between the tiers widened, leaving plenty of room for several ships to sail side by side. The two warships rose and began to close.

  “Now, Captain?” said Locke.

  “Not yet,” said Marri.

  The bows of the warships pulled even with the stern of the Blue Daisy, one on either side.

  “If those ships get into a position where they can use their guns…” said Hiro.

  “Now, Captain?” said Locke.

  “Hold!” said Marri.

  As the warships continued to gain on them, Marri pointed to a row of seats along the stern railing. “You’d better straps yourselves in,” she said to Anne, Penelope, and Hiro.

  Anne saw that other pirates around the ship were either buckling themselves into similar seats or heading belowdecks. Even Marri clicked the wheels of her chair into slots on the deck. Anne, Penelope, and Hiro ran over and sat down. Each seat had several straps, but they were all tangled. Anne pulled at two of the straps, trying to free them. As she was fighting with her seat, the Blue Daisy passed the end of the tiers.

  “Captain?” asked Locke.

  “Now!” shouted Marri.

  “Light the engines!”

  Several “Ayes” were shouted back in reply. Anne glanced back, and the pirates holding the torches lowered them.

  The warships were directly next to them now, one on each side. Anne could see council soldiers standing next to the cannons on both ships, and heard voices from either side yelling “Ready! Aim!…”

  Anne had barely clicked the buckle of her second strap into place when the Blue Daisy shot forward like the ship itself had been fired out of a cannon. Behind them came the report of cannon fire as the two warships sent forth their volleys, but the Blue Daisy was well out of harm’s way. The cannon fire from each of the ships slammed into the hull and sails of the other, toppling masts and blowing railings apart. Both ships immediately lost speed, and one of them began to drop.

  The Blue Daisy continued to accelerate, and the entire ship began to vibrate. Then it became enveloped in a green bubble of energy, not unlike the inside of a fireball. The straps bit hard into Anne’s shoulders. She tried to tighten them, but one of the buckles released. The force of the acceleration dragged her out of her seat. She grasped at the other strap.

  “Anne, hang on!” yelled Hiro.

  Penelope reached toward her, but it was too late. Anne lost her grip and was torn out of her seat by the sheer force of the wind. She flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to grab anything that would keep her on the ship, but there was nothing within reach. She tumbled end over end and slammed into the railing at the stern.

  And everything went black.

  ACCORDING TO THE ADVENTURER’S GUIDE TO DREAM INTERPRETATION, THESE ARE THE TOP THREE DREAMS AND THEIR MEANINGS:

  1) Dreaming about being chased represents anxiety (probably due to being chased).

  2) Dreaming about death represents change (for example, the change between breathing and not breathing).

  3) Dreaming about flying represents a desire for control. (Either that or your medallion is malfunctioning because of recent damage and is giving you nightmares, but really, how often does that happen?)

  The Pirate Haven

  Anne was no longer aboard the airship. She was standing in a long gray corridor. Or rather, she was floating about a foot above the floor of a long gray corridor. At the far end of the corridor stood a lone door. The door bore the image of a black dragon, which Anne recognized immediately as the Sign of Zarala, the image on the medallions from all her quests. A plaque on the wall next to the door read DR. ZARALA COLE.

  Anne thought about going to the door and found herself drifting slowly forward. When she reached the end of the corridor, she stretched out a hand for the doorknob. As soon as she touched it, a deep metallic voice spoke from nowhere in particular.

  “This is your scheduled dream sequence, as per Item 777 of your official quest itinerary,” said the voice. “Be advised this dream may be monitored for quality-control purposes. Your dream guide will be with you momentarily. Please refrain from pinching yourself while download is in progress.”

  “Um, what?” asked Anne.

  A cloud of color formed next to her. Wisps of smoke curled and chased one another, taking shape, becoming more and more substantial with each passing moment. Soon the mass resolved into a recognizable shape.

  “Jocelyn!” shouted Anne.

  Anne floated forward and threw her arms out to give Jocelyn a big hug, but she passed completely through Jocelyn’s body and crashed into the wall.

  Anne turned around, which was a tricky thing to do while floating in the air.

  “Why can’t I touch you?” she asked.

  “Because technically we’re ghosts,” said Jocelyn.

  “Who’s we?” asked Anne.

  Jocelyn pointed behind her. Several more shapes appeared, and now Princess Whiskers, Rokk, Captain Copperhelm, and Sassafras were all standing in the corridor as well.

  Anne gasped. “You’re all dead?!”

  Jocelyn shook her head. “Of course not, dear. It’s just an effect of the dice. Our bodies have been placed in temporary stasis, but our spirits are free to wander about. We’ve actually been watching your progress this morning.”

  “And keeping notes?” Anne asked hesitantly.

  “But of course,” said Jocelyn. “You’ll have my full evaluation once this pirate kidnapping business is all over. Keep in mind you’ll be graded on both the effectiveness as well as the creativity of your plan to rescue everyone.”

  Apparently not even becoming a temporary ghost could keep Jocelyn from grading her students.

  Anne looked around. “So, where are we? A weird voice said something a moment ago about this being a dream.”

  “Yes, precisely. And we’re your guides. The dream probably chose us because we were the closest available spirits.”

  “If you’re my guides, should someone wake Sassafras?”

  Sassafras had fallen asleep on his feet and was quietly snoring. The platypus, on the other hand, was alert and seemed quite intrigued by everything that was going on. Copperhelm grabbed Sassafras by the shoulders and gave him a good shake, but he didn’t stir in the slightest.

  Copperhelm grunted. “He’s probably the only person capable of taking a nap in the middle of a dream.”

  “So, what am I supposed to do?” asked Anne.

  “Whatever you wish,” said Jocelyn. “It’s your dream. You flutter about, and we’ll help you figure out what everything means.”

  Anne pointed to the door. “I was about to go through here. I think I recognize it from another dream I had back when we were on our second quest.”

  Jocelyn clapped her hands together. “Oh, a recurring dream. How dramatic!” She brought out a small book. The title on the cover read The Dream Guide’s Guide to Guiding Dreams. Jocelyn flipped it open and started scanning the pages. “Hmmm, it says here that a recurring dream could suggest you’re preoccupied with something. Or that you were born under a blue moon. Or that you’ve been eating too many red onions.”

  “Or it could simply indicate a lack of imagination,” said Copperhelm.

  “Perhaps your program is stuck in an infinite loop because it lacks a functioning exit routine,” offered Rokk.

  “Thanks, I’ll keep all of that in mind,” said Anne, more confu
sed than ever.

  She turned the knob and opened the door. The room in front of her looked exactly as she had expected. There were several long counters with a variety of instruments. A tall, thin young man with pale white skin stood at the farthest counter. He had dark hair and wore a lab coat and brown leather shoes.

  “Good morning, Dr. Cole,” he said.

  “Good morning, Dr. Grey,” Anne replied. She didn’t know why she said this. The words simply spilled out of her mouth.

  “Oh, do you know this person?” asked Jocelyn.

  “Not really. I mean, he was in my dream the last time, too, and for some reason I know his name, but that’s about it.”

  “Should I hit him with my ax?” asked Copperhelm.

  “No!” said Anne.

  Jocelyn flipped to a different part of the guidebook. “He could represent a possible love interest.”

  “In that case, maybe Anne should hit him with my ax,” suggested Copperhelm.

  “No one is hitting anyone with an ax,” said Anne.

  Jocelyn looked up from the guide. “Oh, maybe he represents that dragon boy from your last quest—”

  “Let’s keep things moving along, shall we?” said Anne, not wishing to pursue that particular line of speculation. “Where are we exactly?” she asked the young man.

  He looked surprised by the question. “Why, your laboratory, of course.”

  “My laboratory? But I’ve never worked in a laboratory.” Anne floated over to the first counter and ran a hand over the nearest instrument. The word microscope leapt to mind. “Although I do feel like I know this place.”

  “Why, these are Old World instruments!” said Jocelyn with a note of excitement. “I recognize some of them from the Museum of Science and Mythology. Oh, this is all very exciting!”

  “Would you like this morning’s test results?” asked the young man.

  “Um, sure,” said Anne, not feeling sure about anything.

  The young man picked up a thin book with a blue cover and started toward Anne. Halfway across the room, however, he froze midstep.