“You know the dragon’s name?” Arconn questioned, a look of surprise on his face.

“Yes,” said Alex.

“Then you . . . you are a dragon lord,” said Arconn, his surprise changing to wonder.

“A dragon lord?” Thrang repeated, looking at Alex, his expression changing from confusion to understanding. “Yes, of course. How stupid of me. Forgive me, Alex, I have been a fool.”

“There is no need for forgiveness,” said Alex. “Your feelings are understandable. But know that the dragon regrets what happened here.”

“Yes, I see that now,” said Thrang, looking away for a moment to dry his eyes. “We will leave on the Seekerwhen it arrives. We will take as much treasure as we can, but whatever we cannot gather will be left behind without regrets.”

The tension was broken now that Thrang had agreed to leave, and Alex’s friends all looked relieved. Barnabus quickly started preparing their meal, and Thrang walked slowly away from the campfire. Alex followed Thrang, wanting to reassure his friend that there were no hard feelings. He caught up with Thrang outside the dwarf archives.

Thrang led Alex down to the third level. Alex was amazed by the amount of treasure in the cavern. His friends had been busy sorting, but they hadn’t even started to store treasure in their bags.

“With your permission,” said Alex, bowing slightly to Thrang.

“Do what you can,” said Thrang, his voice weak. “Time has run out, and what remains here will remain forever.”

Alex wanted to comfort Thrang, but he didn’t know what more he could say or how he could say it. Thrang’s confidence had been shaken when Alex had commanded him to listen, but it had been broken when he saw the truth. It had been for the best, Alex was sure of that, but Thrang had lost face in his own eyes. Alex could see that Thrang doubted his own ability to lead the company, and that could be a problem.

With a few magic words and a command whispered into the top of his magic bag, Alex emptied the giant chamber of its treasure. The hoard glimmered for a moment in the torchlight, and then sped into Alex’s magic bag with a sound like a cracking whip.

When they returned to the surface, Alex saw that the rest of his friends had managed to store the treasure they’d gathered from the village in their own bags. Thrang said nothing, but simply returned to his seat by the fire and silently waited to leave the island.

***

The next morning they returned to the beach. Everyone seemed to be in a dark mood, and Alex knew there were doubts about Thrang’s ability to lead them on the rest of their adventure. If Thrang did not regain his confidence, it seemed likely that the adventure would end and they would divide the treasure and part ways. This was not acceptable to Alex, and he tried to think of a way to help Thrang get back his old confidence.

About an hour after they arrived on the beach, the Seekersailed into the harbor. Alex and his companions pushed their rowboat back to the water’s edge, climbed inside, and quickly made their way back to the ship. Bill Clinker and his crew greeted them happily, though they could tell something was wrong with the company. Bill, being quick to grasp what the problem was, asked Thrang for permission to get underway. Thrang didn’t speak but simply nodded, and Bill gave the orders for the crew to set sail.

“A moment, please,” said Alex, looking at each of his companions in turn. “I promised to cast a spell on this island, and I think you all should bear witness.”

They all agreed, though only Arconn seemed happy about it. As the Seekermade its way out of the harbor, Alex and his friends gathered on the raised stern of the ship. Alex waited until they were a few miles away from the island, and then turned and looked at Thrang.

“With your permission,” said Alex, bowing to Thrang.

“Yes,” said Thrang, slowly returning the bow. “Yes, of course.”

Alex stepped away from the others and raised his staff. Salinor had explained the spell to him, and he remembered the dragon’s voice as he quietly spoke the words. As he worked the magic, the sun seemed to dim as if a cloud had moved in front of it. A strange mist began to grow out of the sea, circling the island. Alex focused all of his thoughts on his task. He could feel Salinor’s magic joining his own as he wove the spell, and he knew that the island would be hidden forever.

Soon the island was hidden by a great cloud that sat on the surface of the water. Slowly Alex finished his work, binding the magic forever as he lowered his staff. He felt drained of strength, but oddly happy as he looked toward the island. The cloud remained where it was for a minute or two, and then blew away in the sea breeze. There was nothing but open water where the Isle of Bones had been.

“Impressive,” Arconn said, looking surprised. “I thought the cloud would remain to hide the island.”

“That would be a marker,” said Alex in a tired voice. “This way is better, as it leaves no trace.”

“You’ve done well,” said Thrang, smiling weakly. “And I suppose it’s for the best.”

Alex smiled and bowed once more to Thrang. The others all seemed impressed by Alex’s work, but they also wanted to get below deck. They still didn’t like sailing, and the ship was already starting to roll on the waves of the open sea. They made their way below, leaving only Alex and Arconn standing on the stern of the ship, watching the spot where the Isle of Bones had been.

As night fell, Arconn went down to check on the rest of the company. Alex remained on deck, looking across the open water. He wanted to talk to Thrang, but he didn’t want to do it in front of the rest of the company. He hoped that Thrang would shake off his doubts on his own, and he tried again to think of something he could say that would help. Then, to his surprise, Alex saw that Thrang was making his way across the deck toward him.

“Do you have any of that seasickness potion left?” Thrang asked, holding tightly to the railing of the ship.

“Of course,” said Alex with a smile. “Decided it might not taste as bad as you remember?”

“I can’t bear to remain below deck,” said Thrang, looking as troubled as Alex had ever seen him. “They all have doubts now—even Arconn.”

“I don’t,” said Alex. “And I’m not sure the others do either. I think perhaps you see your own doubt reflected in their faces.”

“Perhaps,” said Thrang. “But I have no idea what to do now.”

“We carry on, of course,” said Alex, handing a small bottle to Thrang. “You’ll want to sip that a little at a time.”

Thrang took a swallow of Alex’s potion.

“I’m a fool,” Thrang said. “I let my own foolish beliefs take over and cloud my judgment. I forgot what we were really after.”

“You made a mistake; all of us do,” said Alex. “The only thing you can do now is learn from it and try not to make the same mistake again.”

“You are very kind, Alex. You’ve tried to help me save face, but—”

“But nothing,” Alex interrupted. “You are the leader of this adventure, and you are the one who says where we go and when. You made a mistake. So what? Everyone makes mistakes.”

“You didn’t,” Thrang pointed out.

“I didn’t this time,” said Alex. “I’ve made mistakes before, and I’ll make them again. I just hope I don’t make the same mistakes over and over again. And when I do make a mistake, I hope that I’m the only one who has to pay for it.”

“You’ve changed a great deal since we first met,” said Thrang with a short laugh. “You seem so much older now. I suppose that’s your wizard training coming out.”

“I suppose it is,” said Alex. “I’ve never really thought about it, but I guess being a wizard has changed me quite a bit.”

“Yes, but you’re still the same friendly, trusting boy I met that day in Clutter’s shop,” said Thrang.

“And you’re still the confident and wise dwarf I met that day as well. You’ve had your confidence shaken a little, but you are still the same.”