(They eventually come to a large house)

Jullaner: That’s my house!

Firouz: Your father does well for a scientist.

Jullaner: The pasha that my father helped, left him a fortune when he died.

Sinbad: Exactly what kind of help did your father give this pasha?

Jullaner: He concocted a potion for eternal life.

Doubar: Guess the warrantee ran out. (laughs)

(The crew and Jullaner make it to the house; they go inside)

Jullaner: Father? Father, are you here?

Sinbad: Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in a long time.

Jullaner: My father wouldn’t have left without telling me. This is my father’s—it’s my home.

Maeve: Maybe he just closed off this section. We should have a look around.

Firouz: Maeve is right.

Maeve: Do you think her father’s still alive?

Sinbad: We can only hope so, for her sake. (goes to a door) Hey! (tries to open it, but it won’t budge) It’s locked…from the inside. Doubar!

(Doubar comes into the room and down the stairs)

Sinbad: Doubar, will you be so kind?

Doubar: Stand back. Let me have a go at it.

(Doubar runs for it, but is interrupted by Jullaner, who then enters the room)

Jullaner: Don’t!

(Doubar stops as Jullaner runs down the stairs)

Jullaner: It’s a lock my father designed. It actually becomes more secure with the more pressure that you put on it.

Firouz: Fascinating! I’d love to see the complete mechanism.

Sinbad: Jullaner? What’s behind this door?

Jullaner: My father’s workshop.

Firouz: Really? Is there any other way inside?

Jullaner: No, that’s the only door.

Sinbad: Well, it’s getting late. Let’s find some food and firewood and settle in for the night. We’ll have better luck searching after we get some rest.

(The crew and Jullaner are talking)

Jullaner: I don’t know how to thank you all for this.

Sinbad: There’s really no need. We all wanted to be here.

Jullaner: I was going to give this to the pirates for bringing me here.

(Doubar takes the bag and bites one of the coins, hurting his teeth)

Jullaner: They’re not real. I was studying alchemy, but I didn’t get it quite right.

Sinbad: So, you were going to pay our friend Plunkett with some fake money?

Jullaner: I didn’t know what else to do. My father always told me never to use alchemy to trick people. He had learned a lifetime’s worth of errors.

Maeve: Ah, so you’re father wasn’t always the noble scientist.

Jullaner: When he was young, he was quite the adventurer.

Sinbad: Give her back the coins, Doubar. If her father could get in trouble, I could only imagine what would happen to you.

(They all laugh)

Doubar: The rest of you should get some sleep. Rongar and I will take the first watch.

(Doubar and Rongar leave them as they settle down to sleep)

(Doubar and Rongar are on watch while the others are asleep; they hear a sound)

Doubar: What was that?

(Someone looks out at them from behind a painting; Doubar turns around, and the person behind the painting puts up the eyes of the painting, so they wouldn’t notice him)

Doubar: For a minute there, I thought someone was behind us.

(A spear comes at them, sticking into the wall beside them)

Doubar: If we had’ve turned back just now…

(They hear another sound)

Doubar: What’s that? Sinbad! Little brother! Wake up!

Sinbad: (comes running) What? What’s wrong?

Doubar: Ghosts.

Sinbad: Ghosts?

(Doubar leads them over to where the spear was, but it is no longer there)

Doubar: The spear! It was just here!

Maeve: Maybe you dreamed it.

Doubar: We both had the same dream?

Firouz: There is a rational explanation. Point of fact? People under stressful situations—

(An arrow comes at them this time)

Firouz: Or it could be ghosts! A scientific mind is an open mind. Come on.

(Firouz walks a few steps)

Sinbad: Firouz!

(Firouz is almost hit by a swinging axe)

Sinbad: Someone’s out to open your scientific mind permanently.

Doubar: Someone…meaning ghosts, right?

Maeve: I don’t sense the presence of ghosts or spirits here. There’s someone living here, though. They’re in great distress.

(Caitiff, wearing a robe, appears in the room)

Caitiff: Leave this place!

Maeve: Who are you? What are you doing here?

Caitiff: Leave this place, before it is too late!

Jullaner: Where’s my father? Mahmud al-Misri.

(Sinbad, who has been sneaking around the room on a ledge, jumped on Caitiff, and they fall to the ground in front of the rest of the crew; Sinbad holds up Caitiff)

Jullaner: Caitiff!

Sinbad: You know this man?

Jullaner: Yes. He’s my father’s manservant. He practically raised me.

Maeve: Why don’t you ask him why he was trying to kill us?

Jullaner: Caitiff, what’s happened? Why did you try to hurt me and my friends?

Caitiff: I didn’t mean you any harm. I…I thought at first you were the robbers. I just wanted you to go.

Sinbad: Well, Firouz. Here’s your rational explanation. He’s been the cause of everything.

(They hear a moan)

Sinbad: With the possible exception of that.

Jullaner: Caitiff, where is my father?

Caitiff: Your father is here.

Jullaner: Is he all right? I want to see him.

(Caitiff leads Jullaner and the crew into a room where Mahmud is; Mahmud has ‘grown’ since the last time she has seen him)

Mahmud: Jullaner?

Jullaner: Father! What have you done?

Mahmud: I’m sorry, child. I wish I would have had the chance to tell you.

Jullaner: I thought you were dead!

Mahmud: Difficult sending a note to you without a lengthy explanation.

Jullaner: Which I think I deserve. What have you done?

Firouz: It’s astonishing.

Jullaner: Oh, Father, these are my friends. This is Sinbad, and Maeve, and Rongar, and Doubar, and Firouz. He’s also a scientist.

Mahmud: Scientist? Only a scientist will truly appreciate what I have done.

Doubar: What have you done?

Mahmud: I have found a way to eliminate all poverty and wont. When I sent Jullaner away to school, I was concerned. The country there is plagued by civil war.

Jullaner: Yes, the land is baron and rocky, and there was constant battles over farm and grazing lands.

Mahmud: I’ve always believed that if famine could be eliminated, then all war could be eliminated.

Jullaner: So, you decided to increase the size of the animals to increase the food supply?

Mahmud: Exactly.

Sinbad: We ran into a couple of your experiments.

Mahmud: Mistakes. Increasing the size of dumb beasts wasn’t the answer. I realized to bring beasts to the world, all I needed to do was increase the size of the human mind.

Firouz: So you took some of the elixir you made.

Mahmud: Yes. To see whether my understanding grew with my size, I took the elixir. With just a few drops of the liquid, my understanding of the world was complete. For the first time, I saw everything clearly. I saw how petty and puny mortals were.

Jullaner: Father?

Mahmud: No, mortals would still be stupid sheep. What they really needed was a shepherd. Someone truly wise to look over them. Someone more intelligent than they could comprehend. Someone big! Someone like myself! Consider yourselves my honoured guests. Caitiff, take my visitors up to their room. Tomorrow, they will witness my true transformation, to a god.

Jullaner: Father, what are you going to do?

Mahmud: Tomorrow, I will drink the rest of the elixir, and I will develop beyond human understanding. I will see all, and know all. I will rule the world!

Firouz: You’re mad!

Mahmud: Mad? What miteless little monk has you to judge me?

Sinbad: Mahmud! Listen to yourself! Jullaner’s told us so much about your kindness. You have no reason to hurt anyone!

Mahmud: Who are you to determine my reasons for anything? I offered you the chance of all salvation!

Maeve: You mean enslavement!

Mahmud: Slave?! Slave you shall be!

(He throws a huge crate down on Sinbad and his crew)

Firouz: Do you see anything?

Sinbad: Mahmud. He’s talking to Julanner and Caitiff.

Jullaner: Father, please. They’re my friends. Please let them go!

Mahmud: How can you consider those people your friends? They’re unimportant.

Jullaner: Father! Listen to yourself.

Mahmud: Have they poisoned your mind against me? Have they?! You can stay here with your friends, and join them in death. Or join me, now.

Jullaner: Father, I don’t know what to do. What about the villagers? What about the village that was completely destroyed? What about the people?

Mahmud: We can rebuild, Jullaner! We can make the world a better place than we even thought possible! I have enough elixir for both you and Caitiff. We can rule the world. Jullaner?

Sinbad: Look on the bright side.

Maeve: What bright side?

(The lights turn out)

Sinbad: Good point.

Doubar: Any ideas on how to get us outta here?

Sinbad: I think we should just sit still and wait. We might be able to get away when he takes the rest of his elixir in the morning. If he still wants us as witnesses.

Doubar: And if not, we’ll be crushed to death when he starts to grow.

Sinbad: Looks like our goose is cooked.

Maeve: Oh, Sinbad. Really.

Sinbad: (sighs) It’s just a figure of speech.

(Mahmud is asleep; the crew is asleep; Jullaner and Caitiff go to the crate the crew is trapped under)

Jullaner: (whispers) Sinbad!

Sinbad: (wakes up with a start) Jullaner!

Jullaner: Sinbad, can you hear me?

Sinbad: (runs to the side of the crate) Jullaner? Where are you?

Jullaner: Caitiff and I are going to get you out of there.

Doubar: All I need is a little opening. Just enough to get my hand in.

(Caitiff puts the axe in the crate and widens it, so Doubar can push the board open; the crew comes out and sneaks off with Jullaner and Caitiff)

Sinbad: (whispers) Get out of here!

(They keep sneaking off)

(Soon after, Mahmud wakes up and finds the crew gone)

Mahmud: I won’t have to worry about feeding my little pets! (laughs)

(Mahmud drinks the rest of the elixir and soon goes through the castle roof)

(The crew is running away from the castle, and the see Mahmud break through the roof)

Sinbad: Hurry!

(They run faster but Caitiff is slow)

Caitiff: I have to rest. I…I can’t run anymore. Just leave me behind.

Sinbad: No one’s going to leave you behind. We’ll find a place to hide.

(A large snake comes at them)

Doubar: Sinbad!

Sinbad: Maeve, go!

(Maeve trips and hurts her leg)

Sinbad: Firouz! Take Maeve and the others back to the main village!

(Doubar and Sinbad stay to fight the snake)

Doubar: What do we do now, little brother?

Sinbad: Not get killed!

(They try to fight the snake)

Doubar: Relentless!

Sinbad: Then try to get back to the village!

(They run from the snake)

(Mahmud is fast approaching them)

Mahmud: Sinbad, it’s time to meet your maker!

(The crew reaches the cart they had left the day before)

Firouz: Let’s rest here.

(Sinbad and Doubar come running; Maeve gasps)

Firouz: I thought you were a monster!

Sinbad: Can you make it?

(Mahmud lets out an evil laugh)

Mahmud: Did you think you could escape? You cannot defy your master and live!

Jullaner: Father! Father! Please! This isn’t you! The man I knew would never hurt anyone! The father I loved was good and kind!

Mahmud: Jullaner?

Jullaner: Yes, Father, it’s me! Please! You don’t want to hurt anyone!

Sinbad: Go on! Get to safety! Think of the good you can do the world! But you must use your new power wisely! To help! You can’t use your size as a weapon!

Mahmud: The laws that apply to mortals no longer apply to me! I’m a titan! I will build and destroy as see fit!

Sinbad: Run!

(Mahmud’s weight sends him sinking into the ground)

Jullaner: Father!

Sinbad: No!

Mahmud: Help me, Jullaner!

(Mahmud disappears completely under ground)

Jullaner: (whispers) Father!

(The crew is in the village, talking to Caitiff, Jullaner, and Milford)

Firouz: There’s no way that this island of ashy foundation could support Mahmud’s increased weight. His every step destroyed the ground beneath him, and allowed the sinkhole to form.

Sinbad: He grew too large for the world he helped create.

Firouz: The same is true for his experiments. They couldn’t survive.

Milford: We found the body of the giant lizard last night.

Firouz: As far as I can tell, Mahmud’s elixir caused massive growth. When it didn’t take into account that the beasts could not adapt to the change in size.

Jullaner: Neither could a man.

Sinbad: I’m sorry things didn’t turn out better.

Jullaner: My father made a mistake. He lost sight of what was truly important.

Sinbad: That’s always the problem, when someone starts to think that they’re a god. This world was made for people to grow, learn, succeed, and fail.

Jullaner: I know. Now it’s up to us to restore what my father destroyed. But, no easy answers this time, just hard work. And hope.

Caitiff: Come visit us in a year. We should have Malaysia restored to being a true paradise of the sea.

Sinbad: We’ll be back to see how you’ve done.

(The crew leaves)

(Jullaner goes to the monument that says Mahmud al-Misri, and puts something on it)

THE END