Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger Page #2

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- Captain Sinbad can help us.

- I implore you, be silent.

What can you do -

- when they've consulted all the wise men,

doctors, priests, astrologers?

- There may be another.

- No one! Abandon this false hope.

- Kassim is doomed forever.

- You lie. You want him doomed.

Within the passing of seven moons,

if Kassim is not crowned caliph, -

- he will lose his right forever.

You bewitched him.

You want your son Rafi to be caliph!

Let me cut the smile from her face!

Let me go!

You'll bring an eternal curse on us -

- if you draw one drop of blood

from any member of the royal family.

It's only for that

she hasn't murdered Kassim!

As cunning as a snake, as malicious

as a shark. Rafi will never be caliph!

- There is no one to prevent it.

- Melanthius will prevent it.

Melanthius is a myth and his powers

are a legend. He does not exist.

We shall soon discover if the myth

and the legend exist. We sail tonight.

My beloved,

may your days always be blessed.

Sail for Rhodes or Tripoli,

you'll find richer cargo there.

Set sail in search for Melanthius

and you'll set a course for damnation!

Aboo-seer, Hassan, Bahadin.

Prepare the ship for sea.

Order your men

to bring treasure for Melanthius.

We sail for Casgar.

One thing I advise...

Set a careful watch on Zenobia.

I will have my men watch her castle

by day and by night.

Zabid will be in command.

He's the best soldier I have.

My son, Sinbad has agreed

to help them. We must act quickly.

He has taken them to the Isle of Casgar

to consult the great sage Melanthius.

- Is the heart ready?

- Yes.

You said no one can help Kassim.

Exquisite, my son.

If Melanthius truly lives,

he is the one person who could.

You promised me. I am to be caliph. You

swore Kassim would never inherit Charak!

- I shall prevent it.

- How?

Sinbad has a ship, a crew.

Balsora has the palace guards.

We shall have other forces

at our command.

More powerful than a palace guard

and a lovesick sea captain and his crew.

That... will be our army.

Quickly as you can.

We must be away before nightfall.

- Take that box in my cabin.

- Carefully, I implore you!

It's a baboon!

What a beautiful specimen.

Get back to work

or I'll make baboons of you!

Does he do any tricks, Princess?

There, there...

They mean no harm.

O brave and proud bull -

- whose mighty heart my son

has fashioned of purest gold.

Beat... with the power

as only I command you.

I made it perfect in every detail.

O mighty Abu Salem...

you who rule over a thousand devils, -

- by all the fires

of hell and darkness, -

- give strength and life

to this your creature.

Minaton... Minaton...

Perfect!

A colossus of bronze...

and mine to command.

- Hear anything?

- Nothing.

Keep awake! Orders are

to keep a watch on Zenobia's castle.

Or I'll slit your throat.

The wind is dying.

A baboon that can play chess?

Go away!

- He's frightened of you.

- I'm frightened of him.

He attacked me.

Baboons can turn savage, you know.

He is not savage!

I command you to go away.

Is he a gift for the wise man of Casgar

to play chess with?

Go away!

Hassan, get back to your work.

- But Captain, the beast was playing...

...chess, he has beaten me twice.

He is not really a baboon.

He was transformed by the black arts

of Queen Zenobia's witchcraft.

He is... Prince Kassim.

Can you be certain

that it is not the princess -

- who has been bewitched to believe

this animal is a prince?

He is my brother.

Look!

I am Kassim.

Now do you believe?

What is it?

What could it be?

A ship that moves without sails!

He seems to be rowing for six men.

Come on, let's try to get aboard.

Hurry, it's moving out to sea.

A fishing boat.

Spies of Balsora!

Minaton...

Wheel head into them.

It's Zenobia!

For the love of Allah, row!

Row, will you!

Row, you thickheads, row!

It's witchcraft!

- Save yourselves!

- Ram them, I said. Ram them!

Mercy! Save me!

Minaton... Minaton.

Wait... wait!

And now for Casgar.

North by north-east.

I see nothing.

Breaker ahead!

The rocks and the reefs

will be invisible.

It'll be impossible to land.

- I have an excellent idea.

- Yes?

Let's turn back.

- Lower the rowing boat.

- Aye aye, Captain.

Hassan, keep up!

Stay close together, move!

Rest.

How can you be sure

where to find Melanthius?

This is a path.

There are tracks. Signs.

Forward, men!

There!

A great pillar.

- Must be a holy place.

- Built by a people of great skill.

- What can it be?

- A temple perhaps.

It seems to be carved out of solid rock.

Could be there is treasure in it.

Could be the castle of Melanthius!

Melanthius! Melanthius!

I will see if anyone is there.

- They'll kill us!

- Run for the wall!

They will not harm you now.

Have you been shipwrecked?

No, my ship is anchored safely.

I am Captain Sinbad.

Only those who were wrecked

have landed here before.

But the Casgar people

always found them first.

We seek the wise man

known as Melanthius.

Does he truly exist?

- Does he live on this island?

- Why do you seek him?

It is a matter of

great urgency and importance.

Go!

Go, I said!

This is Princess Farah

from the distant city of Charak.

I am Dione.

- Come.

- But Melanthius... does he exist?

Follow me.

Truly incredible!

A magnificent city.

But completely deserted.

Who built it all?

- The ancestors of the natives.

- What happened to them?

They became too civilised

and destroyed each other.

Is that where the savages live?

Those are

the tombs of their forefathers.

- And those buildings to the right?

- Tombs of kings.

There is someone there.

Is that the great Melanthius?

Yes, father... I will.

Melanthius will see you.

- How did you...?

- My father taught me.

He calls it "telepathia". A Greek word

for communication of the mind.

Come, follow me.

- Master Melanthius.

- You're a brave man, Captain Sinbad.

And a remarkable navigator

to have landed on Casgar safely.

Only for that have I agreed to see you.

Well, thank you... but I still

don't understand how you know who I am.

The mind is an extraordinary thing.

Thought is transferable.

It can travel through space,

even to the stars.

But the method needs time, patience

and a skilful daughter.

What have you got in there?

Tell me.

- It's a cage holding...

- Wait! Don't tell me.

It's an arboreal anthropoid

of the genus papio.

- No, it's a baboon!

- That's what I said, a baboon.

- What a dear little fellow.

- Careful!

He can be savage with everyone

but the princess.

As a species they are

aggressive and of low intelligence.

- He trusts only me.

- He looks so unhappy, poor creature.

Careful!

- It is the baboon about whom...

...you wish to see me. Yes, I know.

I suggest we continue below

in my laboratory, out of the sun.

You claim

it can write and play chess?

It, my brother, was a brilliant chess

player from the age of seven.

Dione, fetch me a mirror.

As a scientist and alchemist

I know that metals can be transformed, -

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