CAIPIRA

The long boat scraped hard against the rocky shoreline of Kithra. Timing her leap to avoid the incoming waves, Maeve jumped out and stood on the shore, taking a deep breath. Here at last, she thought. Doubar jumped out right behind her with Maeve's carrying bag slung over his shoulder and strode slowly up to where she stood. "Is there anything I can say to change your mind?" he asked. "I don't like this idea one bit."

Maeve shook her head and pushed a few stray strands of hair off her face. "You know I have to do this alone. There's no other way. Please don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. And only wait three days for me." She hesitated a moment, searching for the right words. "And Doubar, tell Sinbad for me that if I ...that I... really appreciate everything he's done already for me."

Doubar reached out and took her upper arms in his hands. "Maeve, be careful. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Good luck. May Allah be by your side." He let her go and turned quickly away so she wouldn't see the distress that was so evident on his face.

"Thanks, Doubar.I will. See you in three days."

She stood and watched Doubar push the longboat into the surf, then the sailors turned the boat around and rowed away. She stood watching until it was just a dot next to Nomad. She strained her eyes to see Sinbad on deck but could not pick out his shape. She raised her hand high above her head and waved goodbye to him anyway, hoping that he was watching through Firouz's Magnascope. Then she turned and started up the beach. She wished that he had been the one to bring her to the beach. It would have made her feel better about it all, somehow, to have his face the last one she would see before beginning her perilous trip. She knew there was more than a chance she wouldn't return. If only he hadn't fallen from the rigging during the last storm and broken his leg. She knew that he wanted to be there.

As she began to pick her way through the rock strewn plain that ran down into the shore area, she thought back to the set of events that had lead her to this desolate shore. 'It has been a long time getting here,' she thought as she began remembering...

It had all started with Rumina. 'Actually, that's not true. It all started with my pride. If I hadn't been so proud of the magic I'd learned, I never would have been so arrogant as to think I could match Rumina.' She shook her head, chiding herself. 'Sad but true. If I hadn't been so headstrong and full of my own power, I wouldn't have thought I could challenge Rumina. If I had taken the time to learn more about my opponent,' she thought, 'then Dermott would be Dermott, my brother, instead of Dermott, the hawk. I've been over this a thousand times. I still don't have my brother back. The important thing is, I'm working toward getting him back. I am. I've got to focus on that. This is the next to last step. I can do this.'

She walked with determination in her stride. But nonetheless, fear had its icy fingers around her heart. As a way to deal with that fear, she forced herself to think about what she had already accomplished.

Two years had passed since she had lost her brother to Rumina. She had been on the Nomad for only six months. But they had been the happiest months she's experienced for a long, long time. She felt at home on the Nomad. She felt needed. She felt like she was contributing. There was a purpose to her life that had been missing. And there was Sinbad. She bit her lip and shook her head to ward off the tears that were forming at the thought of him. She hoped she would see him again in three days.

Right after her failed confrontation with Rumina, she had taken Dermott in a cage and fled, without even saying goodbye to Dim-Dim. She couldn't face him. She was ashamed of the way she had acted. She had gone against all his warnings. She had misused her skills and it had cost her her brother. She spent the next half-year or so wandering from one port to the next, living from meal to meal, not caring what she ate or where she slept or where she was. She had lost interest in life. She could not look at her brother in his hawk shape without feeling self-recrimination at her foolish pride. He was her cross, and she'd done a good job of suffering.

Then one day, she'd been sitting on one of the wharves of Basra, gnawing on an old crust of bread she'd found in an alley. She was waiting for a ship to take her somewhere else. Out of the blue there was a thought in her head, a voice that wasn't hers. She turned and looked at Dermott. He was perched next to her on one the post that held up the wharf. "Yes," he said. "I said quit feeling sorry for yourself." Her brother was talking to her! But he wasn't using words. The words were forming in her head and using his voice. It was like internal speech, the way you talk to yourself in your head. That had been a turning point for Maeve. For the next few hours Maeve and Dermott talked to each other. At first Maeve used her voice but then she realized that Dermott could also "see" her thoughts. So for the next few hours, they exchanged thoughts non-stop. By the end of the day Maeve had come out of her depression, and had formed a plan. She vowed that night that she would not rest until her brother was back in his human form. From that point on her life totally changed direction and had a focus.

The first step was to resume her training in the use of magic. She still could not face Dim-Dim yet so she asked around and got the name of a woman who was reputedly a very powerful sorceress. The woman's name was Caipira.

Caipira had told her that there was no way that she could hope to go up against Rumina again until she had two items: the Emerald Aura Spell of Protection and the Crystal of Goodness. Without them, there was no hope of defeating the powerful Rumina. The Spell of Protection formed an emerald aura around the person named in the spell and this aura would protect the person from any type of black magic. However, the spell only offered protection. It was, in effect, a defensive weapon, sort of like wearing armor. And it was to be used only under the most extreme conditions, as it would only work once. It would not help her defeat Rumina. To do that, Caipira, explained, she would need the Crystal of Goodness. The Crystal contained pure goodness. Once released, it would dispel any evil in its immediate vicinity. Several of the gods had combined their powers to create this rare stone, and realizing the nature of its power, they had placed in under the care of The Giant Corbie, a huge raven-like bird of fierce disposition. Its exact location was only rumored at; no one had ever seen it. It was said to be deep within Black Mountain, on the island of Kithra. Caipira said that she had heard that very strong magic had been used to create three increasingly difficult levels inside the mountain. But that was all she knew.

Maeve spent several months with Caipira, learning many new spells and acquiring new skills, including the power to levitate items. But she was still a novice. She made mistakes and sometimes her ability to focus failed her and she could not control her powers or they would work erratically.

Maeve worked hard at learning her magic, but always Rumina and Dermott were on her mind. After several months at magic, she grew increasingly restless and knew that she needed to start acquiring the items she would need. She knew that without them, all the magic she learned would be useless. Caipira tried to talk her out of it, but Maeve was young and headstrong.

"You are not ready yet," Caipira counseled.

"It doesn't matter how strong my powers are," Maeve countered. "Unless I have the Emerald Aura and the Crystal I will never defeat Rumina, will I?"

"Yes, that's true. But if your magic is stronger you have a better chance of succeeding in obtaining the other items."

"I know that. But I can't wait. Every day I look at Dermott and think of the life he is missing. At the rate I'm going, he'll miss being a youth entirely before I can defeat Rumina. I can't wait any longer."

"You are too impatient, Maeve. I have much to teach yet."

Maeve took her by the hands and looked directly into her eyes. "I know that. But my mind is made up. This is something I have to do."

Caipira could see that there was no dissuading her. "Okay, child but let me do one thing more for you. Tonight I will try to make contact with the other side. Maybe I can get more information for you."

That evening Caipira put herself into a trance state to contact whatever spirits might be able to help her. She burned special incense candles and put herself into a deep meditative state. A vision came to her.

The next morning Maeve was shocked when she saw Caipira. The woman looked utterly exhausted. She motioned for Maeve to sit. Maeve sat down and Caipira began.

"My child, this is what I found out. The way will be very difficult. You must do these things: You must go to the island of the Lotus-Eaters and from them collect seven lotus seeds. You must find Calypso and obtain her hair and braid it into an exceedingly fine rope. You must seek out Cassandra, the great oracle, and collect her tears." Caipira paused, hung her head and bit her lip. "And you must capture the essence of Apollo and bring it to Kithra. All of these you will need to have any hope of obtaining the Crystal of Goodness."

Maeve sat and listened, her eyes growing wider and more incredulous as each task was enumerated. As soon as the woman finished, Maeve's questions poured out in a torrent. "Seven lotus seeds? What good will they be? Calypso's hair? Is she just going to hand it over? And how in Allah's name will I capture the essence of Apollo? What does that even mean? There must be some mistake. How can this be? It's impossible." She put her face in her hands and bent over, too distraught to continue.

Caipira spoke slowly and very, very softly. There was pity in her voice. "I do not know how you shall accomplish these tasks. That was not revealed to me. I only know that you must. Everything I know I have told you. I pray that you will receive guidance along the way from someone more powerful than I. I have done all I can for you. I am very tired now. I must rest." Caipira slumped back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Maeve lifted her head and looked at her. There were many more things she wanted to ask but she knew that what Caipira had told her was the truth. She had said everything that she had learned. Caipira did not know how all the pieces fit. It was something just to know what the pieces were.

Maeve rose and went over the woman and touched her arm lightly. "Thank you. I owe a great debt to you, one that I may never be able to repay. I will pack my things and start at once."

But it was with a heavy heart that Maeve packed. Caipira's words echoed endlessly in her head. She could hear every syllable. 'These are impossible things. How will I find these people and get these things? Capture the essence of the Apollo? I may as well sail to the moon. Even so, I must try. One step at a time. First things first.'

Maeve knew that her first task was to find a ship that was leaving Basra. She knew that the place to find sailors was at one of the local bars. So after she had her things packed, she headed into the heart of the city. She was just approaching the entrance to one, when, from the opposite direction she spotted four men just turning to enter it. One of them was a stockily built man with a full beard, a knotted headband and an immense sword in a sheath on his hip. Next to him was a smaller man with a cleanly shaven face and curly hair. He was talking very animatedly with the taller, bearded one, hardly paying attention to where he was walking. There was a tall, dark skinned man with a shaved head who strode along, sweeping his gaze from side to side. But the one that riveted Maeve's attention was the one leading the group. He had a boyish look to him. He had wavy brown hair, flashing eyes and a big grin. He was wearing a white doublet, open at the neck, showing his curly chest hair, and a blue vest that hung loosely on his upper body. He wore a blue headband that matched the color of his vest. The sunlight caught his light brown hair as he walked confidently along.

Maeve stopped dead in her tracks and just watched as the group came toward her. Just as the group turned to enter the bar, the man looked her way. He cocked his head ever so slightly in her direction and raised an appreciative eyebrow. It made her smile involuntarily. 'Now there's a man I'd like to know better,' Maeve thought to herself. And then they disappeared inside. Then he disappeared inside. She stood there. People passed by her going in both directions. She couldn't move. She closed her eyes briefly, saw him again in her mind, took a breath and let it out. A little shiver passed through her. She opened her eyes and stood there, shifting from foot to foot. 'You have no time for men,' she thought. But they did look like sailors, and she was going in there anyway, so she went in.

It was dark inside. Maeve stopped just inside the entrance to let her eyes adjust. As soon as they did, she looked around. It was a small, dimly lit place. There were only six tables, plus the bar itself. The group that she'd watched go in were seated at the furthest table from her. The table nearest her was empty, the next three had groups of two or three men at them and the table immediately adjacent to the foursome was empty. Maeve headed toward that table. The four at the table were occupied with their conversation and their drinks, yet as Maeve approached the empty table, she noticed that he noticed her, for his eyes fastened on her and watched her approach and sit. Then they went back to his friends.

There were three chairs at her table, one that faced the group, one that faced the bar, and one that would place her back to them. Maeve chose the one facing the bar, so her back was against the wall. Shortly, a poorly dressed man with a two-day stubble of beard came over to take her order. Maeve had very little experience with bars. She had only been in a few bars, and then only to beg a few crusts of bread. But she ordered one of the local beers, and sat forward in her chair, resting her elbows on the table and tapping the ends of her fingers together. She was quite uncomfortable. She thought about leaving but didn't. She needed to find a ship that would take her out of Basra and toward one of the places that she needed to go. Maybe someone in here could help her. She strained to pick up the conversations around her. Next to her on one side were two men who looked like local merchants. Both were quite drunk. One was describing a recent conquest to the other. She leaned a bit toward the foursome, trying to catch bits of their conversation. She noticed immediately that the dark-skinned one did not talk, but gestured occasionally in response to something one of them said. 'That's odd,' she thought, 'I wonder if he speaks at all.'

She continued to listen to their conversation as she sipped her beer. They were talking quietly but every now and then she caught a few sentences. It was enough to tell her that they were talking about cargo and different ports. Every now and then she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the young boyish one kept glancing her way, even when he was in the middle of a conversation. Finally, she heard the curly-haired one say rather loudly, "Sinbad, are you listening to me?"

'Sinbad. So that's his name,' she thought. She had heard that name before. She thought hard and then it came to her. He had once been a wealthy merchant but now he was an adventurer. The large one held up his mug and waved it in the air and shouted to the bartender to bring another round. Shortly thereafter the bartender arrived with more drinks. She watched as Sinbad spoke to the man. A few minutes later the bartender arrived at her table carrying another beer. He placed it on the table in front of her. "I didn't order this," Maeve told him. The bartender jerked his head toward the other table. "Compliments of the gentleman sitting over there in the blue vest."

Maeve looked quickly over to his table. He raised his hand to his head as though tipping his hat and nodded. Her first instinct was to get up, and give it back to him. But she didn't act on her thought. She nodded back and managed a smile. 'Be nice,' she told herself, 'Maybe I can get passage out of here.' He got up slowly and came over to her table. "I hate to see someone all alone," he said. Those were the first words he ever spoke to her. "Care to join us?"

Over the course of the next few hours, Maeve explained that she needed passage to Al Jizah, the home of the Lotus-Eaters. She did not explain why she needed to go there. Sinbad asked if he thought she could handle sails and the other duties of a crewman. "I can handle whatever I put my mind to," she had answered. After a few minutes of conversation Sinbad had made up his mind to sign her on as a crewmember. He liked her spunkiness and her beauty. Having a pretty face on board was a pleasant prospect. It was not hard to say yes.

During the next few weeks Maeve got to know the crew. She realized right away what a strong attraction there was between Sinbad and herself, but she also knew that she had no time or energy for romantic entanglements. For the first week or so Sinbad tried flirting with her at every opportunity but she rebuffed every advance, although it meant fighting her own heart to do it. She gently established that theirs was to be a working relationship only. But that didn't keep her from enjoying every minute that she was in his company.