The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 1: The Pendant of Life

Chapter 3: The Old Man and the Young Girl

Chapter 3

     The fog was beginning to roll in as the sun was going down over the town of Salem. The lights of the wharves, shops, and inns were slowly being lit as the dusk hours approached. The historic Derby Wharf had been around for years upon years. Completed in 1806, the Derby Wharf extends a half mile into Salem Harbor, punctuated by the historic Derby Wharf Light House. Many years ago, the three Salem wharves, of which Derby Wharf is the longest, were covered in warehouses, but many had long been lost to hurricanes, high tides, or just disassembled and moved further inland. The original warehouses were used to store tea, spices, and silks from around the world, but now the only warehouse left served as an orientation center for visiting tourists to the town.

     Sometimes the high tide would creep up and submerge Derby Wharf. There is an eleven foot difference between high tide and low tide, and during the storm seasons it could be even higher. The storm surge would swell the water levels high, over some of the breakers in the harbor, and swallow the wharves underwater.  When this occurred, and a ship sailing in with magical folk would arrive, the local wizard wharf master would cast a charm that would raise Derby Wharf above the water level, the wharf rising slowly.

     Jinx and Shade stood on the service road next to Derby Wharf. The wizard wharf master was raising the wharf out from below the sea, keeping his wand outstretched and concentrating on raising the wharf up.

     “This is so lame sauce,” Jinx complained. “Why are we babysitting? Don’t they have people to do this? What about those hermits in the International Magical Cooperation office? They don’t ever see sunlight, why can’t they do this?”

     “Because Master Wolf and Ms. Turan asked us to,” Shade said, watching the wharf rise and the water fall off and the wharf master cast a drying spell upon the concrete pathway that led to the light station at the end of the wharf. “And besides, if Master Wolf says to do it, we do it.”

     “Hey, I’m all for greeting foreigners and all, but c’mon! This is not why I signed up for this job.” Jinx pulled out a pack of Droobles gum and began to chew on it.

     “Think of it as an opportunity to expand your horizons, Jinxie,” Shade said, with a smile.

     “How about I expand your face?” Jinx said, balling her fist.

     Shade shook his head. “One of these days your big ol’ fists are not going to work on me.”

     Jinx grinned. “When that day comes, let me know.”

     Out on the harbor, and from below the sea level, a ship emerged, sails white and the mast high. It was a large clipper ship, wooden and brilliant, even in the dusky evening. The water around it rushed and capped white, and the ship’s sails took in the wind and began to approach the wharf.

     “I never get tired of seeing that,” Jinx said.

     “Me neither,” Shade agreed.

     Several men walked out to the wharf, and the ship dropped anchor. A few gangplanks were extended, and all sorts of men hustled and bustled about. Some were unloading bags and trunks, while others were loading boxes and trunks and barrels on.

     An old, hunched looking man, wearing strange purple and black robes, using a walking stick, walked slowly off the main gangplank, and was flanked by two men carrying a large trunk. He was short, of African descent, and wore a cute little smile, his gray hair tucked inside a funny looking hat. He wore a strange medallion around his neck, and his walking stick was carved from a strange substance that Shade thought looked like gnarled bone.