“If you really think about it, technically we never were students,” said Hiro. “We didn’t even make it through one class that whole time.”
“Marri said we’re more than welcome to stay aboard the Leaky Mermaid,” said Penelope. “We still have the pirate tokens, and it is what we always talked about.”
Anne recalled all their conversations back at the orphanage about becoming pirates and hunting for Old World treasure. In a roundabout way, all of it had come true.
“Maybe,” said Anne. She examined her shiny new gauntlet. “It’s too bad I never got to try this out, though.”
Hiro shifted uncomfortably.
“What is it?” said Anne.
“I don’t really want to say,” said Hiro.
Penelope cracked her knuckles. “You’ve already started, so finish.”
Hiro sighed. “While it’s true most Keepers are trained in proper quest academies, there is such a thing as an independent adventurer. They’re known as Rogues. You can sign with one of their guilds. All they require is proof of practical experience, but in this case I can’t see that being a problem. It’s not as prestigious as working for the Wizards’ Council, but under the circumstances…”
Anne brightened. “That’s—that’s fantastic!”
Penelope eyed Hiro suspiciously. “Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?”
Hiro hesitated. “Because you still have to have a minimum of three people in your group.”
“Well, Anne’s obviously in,” said Penelope. “And I’m in for sure.”
They looked expectantly at Hiro.
“It’s not that I don’t want to…” he started.
Penelope leaned closer.
“You know how I am about regulations and rules. I would just drive you both crazy. Plus, with the whole business about the doppelgangers and the barrier being out in the open now, who knows what kind of trouble that could bring us if people find out, you know, about me.”
Penelope leaned in until they were almost nose to nose.
He threw up his hands. “Okay, fine, I’m in, too.”
Penelope pumped her fist in the air. “Woo-hoo! We’re going to be adventurers!”
Hiro shook his head. “My mother is going to kill me.”
“Your mom is going to love it,” said Penelope. “And if she doesn’t, we’ll straighten her out.”
Anne gazed out over the passing tiers. “Rogue Keeper,” she said, testing out the title. “I think I like the sound of that.”
Penelope clapped a hand on her shoulder. “See, it turns out you’re the thief of the group after all.”
Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Anne lay in her hammock in her cabin. Penelope was fast asleep in the hammock next to her, snoring away, but Anne was still wide awake and thinking about all that had happened.
She glanced at her gauntlet. Its metal strips gleamed in the candlelight.
“Jeffery,” she whispered.
Jeffery appeared in a flash of light. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Anne shrugged, which is a very difficult thing to do in a hammock. “Okay, I guess. I still feel angry about a lot of things. And a little sad. But I’m also happy that the Construct is whole again and that Jocelyn is going to return to Saint Lupin’s and that we still get to go on adventures. Do you think it’s weird to feel all those things at once?”
Jeffery landed on her pillow. “No, I think it sounds about right. That’s just life, and it’s going to be messy and complicated and confusing at times, but also wonderful and full of joy and surprises. I don’t think you get to have one without the other.”
Anne reflected on this. Life was indeed all those things, and she strongly suspected it wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Still, for the first time in her life, she knew where she came from and where she was going, and at least that was something.
“I guess you’re right,” she said, and she reached over and patted Jeffery on the head. “Thank you for everything, by the way. I never could have done it without you.”
“No problem,” he said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
He gave her a salute with his tiny wing and disappeared.
Then he reappeared. “I’m also here for delicious books. Just in case there was any doubt.”
He disappeared again.
Then he reappeared yet again. “Just checking to see if this coming-out-of-the-gauntlet-whenever-I-want thing really works. This is going to be fun!”
Yes, Anne decided, it was.
It was going to be very fun indeed.
Avast, Here Be an Epilogue
And so Anne became a Rogue Keeper, and Penelope and Hiro joined her as a sword for hire and a wandering wizard, respectively.
Jocelyn returned to Saint Lupin’s. After completing repairs, she opened its doors at the beginning of the next school year and filled the campus with students. Rokk became a professor and taught a course in Old World mythology, and Princess Whiskers taught Combat 101.
After turning one thousand and two years old, Sassafras finally retired to his wizard’s tower and promptly blew it sky high, leaving a sizable dent in the surrounding countryside. Local authorities took him into protective custody (their protection, not his) and eventually transferred him to the Asylum for the Magickally Insane. He wasn’t technically insane, of course, but it proved to be a good fit nevertheless.
Captain Copperhelm was offered a position with the Wizards’ Council that involved tracking down sassy bards and giving them a good thumping. This also proved to be a good fit.
Nana severed her contract with Fireball Travel Incorporated and remained aboard the Leaky Mermaid with Marri and Locke to search for a cure for her shrunken condition. Only one sailor made the mistake of referring to her as the captain’s new parrot. The crew nicknamed him Mr. Flambé.
As for Anne, Penelope, and Hiro, they signed with a group called the Independent Adventurers’ Guild. Their first assignment involved hunting down a five-ton squirrel that was terrorizing a small village. They defeated it, but they required three weeks to recover afterward.
They also kept their pirate tokens handy.
Just in case.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE SUPPLEMENTARY READING LIST FOR WOULD-BE ADVENTURERS
(only to be read by those students who have at least two pirate accessories and are seriously considering joining a pirate crew)
QUESTING 301
• One Thousand Quests for the Armchair Adventurer
• 101 Quests That Ended in Complete and Utter Disaster
• Kelley’s Guide to Bizarre Taverns of the Hierarchy
• Famous Keepers and Their Untrimmed Nose Hair
• Quests That Never Happened
HISTORY OF ADVENTURING 301
• A Complete History of Pirates and Their Severed Limbs
• A History of Everything Important That Has Ever Happened at Precisely Three Forty-Six on a Sunday Afternoon
• A Long History of Adventuring (Written in Very Short Sentences)
• The Historical Guide to the Future: Prophecy vs. Prediction vs. Flipping a Coin vs. Outright Guessing
COMBAT 301
• Pirate Combat, Volume 1: How to Lose an Eye in Sixty Seconds
• Pirate Combat, Volume 2: How to Swash Your Buckle
• Gauntlet vs. Gauntlet
• The Game of Checkers: Tips and Tricks for Mortal Combat
• Water Squirrels: Scourge of the High Seas
MAGICK 301
• Magick for Pirates
• Magick for Nonpirates
• Pirate Spells: A Compendium
• Magickal Ingredients Every Wizard Has on Their Shelf but Never Uses
DRAGONS 301
• Twenty-Seven Dragons Who Ate Things They Probably Shouldn’t Have and Regretted It Later
• Famous Dragon Sayings
• Dragons Who Said They Were Sorry (and Other Myths)
• Why You Should Never Refer to a Dragon as a Parro
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s hard to believe that with the release of this book I now have a trilogy out in the world. And to think, just over two short years ago I wasn’t even a published author yet! This truly has been a dream job.
Thanks to Elizabeth Kaplan, my wonderful agent, who continues to be a steady guide and adviser and who keeps an ever-vigilant eye on all the business stuff related to writing that a head-in-the-clouds writer might overlook.
Thanks to Lisa Yoskowitz, my editor at Little, Brown, who has championed each book in this series. Her passion for this story and these characters has been greatly appreciated, and every page has benefited from her keen editing.
My thanks as well to the rest of the team at Little, Brown for all their hard work, including (but by no means limited to) Kheryn Callender, Jeff Campbell, Jackie Engel, Shawn Foster, Karina Granda, Jen Graham, Mike Heuer, Katharine McAnarney, Hannah Milton, Emilie Polster, Jessica Shoffel, Victoria Stapleton, Megan Tingley, and Karen Torres. Also, thanks to folks at Hachette Book Group Canada, especially Dominique Delmas, and to Jacques Filippi from Canadian Manda Group.
Thanks to Mariano Epelbaum, who created the art for all three books. I was captivated by his work the moment I first laid eyes on his portfolio, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with his illustrations. He has captured the heart of this story, and readers always give high compliments to the artwork everywhere I go.
Many thanks to the hardworking booksellers who have gone above and beyond to support and promote this series.
A special thanks to Lee Gjertsen Malone, Janet Johnson, Patrick Samphire, and Phillip White, all fabulous writers in their own right, for their insightful critiques of an early draft of the book. It is unquestionably stronger for having received their input. And thanks as well to Wendy McLeod MacKnight and Casey Lyall, my fellow Canadian writers and sometimes school tour partners, for their support over the past several years.
Thanks to my wife, Wendy, for her love and support and encouragement and wisdom, and to our three boys for their ongoing enthusiasm for (and occasional contributions to) these stories. Thanks also to our cat, Ariel, who inspired one of the characters in the series (Princess Whiskers) and whose picture continues to delight students at all the schools I visit.
And finally, thanks to the many readers who have enjoyed and supported these books. Your letters and pictures inspire me to continue writing.
BY WADE ALBERT WHITE
The Adventurer’s Guide to Successful Escapes
The Adventurer’s Guide to Dragons (and Why They Keep Biting Me)
The Adventurer’s Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It)
The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It) Page 25
