The Splinter in the Blind man's eye (español)

Capítulo 4 (inglés)

The mountain is enormous. The wind tears the skin of the impossibly small figure fighting its way upwards. His name is Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. He is not yet ten summers old, but he carries a burden as big as the mountain he braves. He is the son of Garmadon, the notorious Lord who returned from the Underworld and led an army of Skulkin in pursuit of the weapons which created this land. It turned out, however, that he was not really after the weapons after all. He was after the power they held when they were brought together, and he used a former disgraced warlord, the four-armed Skulkin general Samukai as a tool to force open a rift to a realm other than Ninjago. And then he just left. Lloyd has never met his father, but he knows of his legend, and in his dreams he has had conversations with him for years. At least he thinks it is dreams.... Most of the time. Some mornings when he woke up in his room in Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, he was convinced that his father had actually spoken to him. But he is not at Darkley's anymore. He is struggling his way up the Glacier Barrens and he is determined to become like his father. Someone who is in control of his own destiny.

Lloyd is not exactly sure why he is making his way up this mountain. Maybe it is because his mother had mentioned this place in one of the many letters she had been sending him over the years. He loved getting those letters. They were filled with adventure and new knowledge of the world. But they never held any of the answers he was so desperately hoping for and Lloyd always read them with resentment. Why was whatever she was doing so important? Why was he paying a price he did not understand?

So, here he was in the cold looking for answers and there was one right in front of him. As he brushed away the snow it became clear to him that he had found one of the legendary Serpentine tombs. It had been sitting there in the snow undisturbed for well over thirty years and now all he had to do was to pull the snake shaped handle and finally take control over his own destiny. But destiny has a way of making it hard on you, and moments later Lloyd found himself tumbling head first into darkness. His eyes had yet to fully adjust when he heard the hypnotic sizzling sound slowly creep up on him. It felt like a dream... or a nightmare? Whatever it was it would shape his destiny forever. For good or bad.

It would be dark soon. Lloyd shook away the thoughts of his younger self and looked towards the summit. It was only visible in fleeting moments when a generous hole in the clouds allowed
a bit of sky to escape through. How many hours had it been? It didn't matter much in this terrain. Lloyd started scanning the landscape for an outcropping were he might find some shelter and tuck in for the night. He looked back from where he had come. His footprints had already been swept away by the wind. The feeling of being followed had only returned to him a few times during his ascent and he was now convinced that it had only been his imagination.

From afar Clancee watched the cloaked figure stop and seek refuge from the wind behind a dune of snow. He had to keep close. There were no footprints to follow, almost like his target was a floating ghost or his footsteps had been swept away by a giant unseen mop. The sun was setting fast and Clancee knew
that he had the odds stacked against him. He could not lose sight of Lloyd for even a second or he may be lost to the darkness forever. He breathed a silent sigh of relief as he saw a faint golden glow. Lloyd had turned on a light and at least now there was something to keep both of them company in the darkness.
As Clancee sat down to watch the flicker of the golden glow, his thoughts returned to his friends and how they had found themselves back in Ninjago after their exile... or rather in a new
exile. On a Dark Island. A ghost who went by the name of Clouse had brought them there. Clancee had seen some strange things in his time, his former master had been a Djinn after all, but he
had never encountered a ghost before. An evil one at that with a strong will of his own and magical powers to boot. Clancee and the rest of the crew had been dumbstruck. 200 years and
then the first thing you encounter is a ghost who wants you to do his bidding no questions asked. Flintlocke immediately opposed the ghost's proposition. He was not about to make himself vulnerable by serving another master whose powers he did not
understand. But Clouse would have none of it and with a casual hand gesture he demonstrated just why it would be wise not to fight that which you don't understand. Any pirate's greatest fear is a watery grave, and as he magically lifted his up henchmen to be and slowly lowered them down into a watery grave with starfish nibbling at their feet, their fighting spirit quickly waned and the deal to work under Clouse was struck. There was no
promise of adventure and riches like in the glory days serving the mighty Nadakhan. Only labour and tasks which purpose was never explained. As Monkey Wretch set about to build machines which would be powered by a strange dark substance, the others
were given an unexpected surprise: The Misfortune's Keep. Clouse had somehow recovered it from a place called Gypsy's
Cove. It must have ended up there after the battle with Soto. Clancee had thought to himself, that Clouse could simply have told the crew that he had the ship and no other display of force
to persuade would have been necessary. After all, the crew's favourite shanty told everything about their feelings for that sturdy vessel. Clancee start humming it quietly to himself:

I'd trace all the ggg-goid that we have reaped

I'd trace all the ggg-goid that we have reaped

I'd trade all the ggg-gold that we have reaped.
for one more cold night on Misfortune's Keeeeeee....

There was a green flash and Clancee felt a sharp pain shoot up his spine as he was thrust backwards into the freezing snow. His head was buzzing. As he stared into one furious pair of glowing green eyes, he realized that he had been caught up in his memories and had bellowed out the ship's name in song.
WHO ARE YOU! WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?'

Lloyd's voice sounded different from when he had first encountered him on the Dark Island and Clancee did not recall him having those piercing green eyes.

'Pppppleeeaase! I-I-I mean you no harm!", Clancee gasped. Lloyd's demeanour changed immediately, and the green glow faded from his eyes. 'I know you! You! That snake guy! The one
who worked for Clouse! What are you doing in Ninjago!?! WE MADE A DEAL!' His eyes lit up again.

This was correct. After their defeat on the Dark Island there had been some debate as to what would happen next. It was clear to the Ninja's Master Wu that the scrappy crew had not been acting
on their own initiative and that Clouse had been pulling the strings. A deal had been struck: Clancee and his friends would go free... as long as they agreed to remain on the Dark Island. Yet here he
was on a snow-clad mountain side in Ninjago.

Clancee knew he had a lot of explaining to do.