The wyrym slept as it absorbed the magic, it dreamt of quorin and it saw the truth. Curled in the earth, it grew and changed.

Far away in another kingdom an orphan boy hurriedly dressed in his only set of clothes which he had hung over the pole in the cupboard he slept in. Today he was going to get a proper job at the docks, he had heard rumours that there was a lamp that would find whatever you wanted and he needed to find it.

He waved goodbye to everybody at the house where he had lived and worked, clutching his few belongings wrapped in a handkerchief and a greased paper parcel containing some food. He turned and strode away, ignoring the few tears that escaped his tight control.

The docks were half a days journey and when he arrived all the jobs were taken but this was expected.

Now he had to find a place to sleep so tomorrow he would be the first one to arrive. This became an impossible task as he discovered the cost of staying in the local tavern. The house mistress had only given him a few coppers when he left.

Then he found that a ship was looking for a boy, and lodging would of course be included. It didn't really matter to him whether he worked on land or sea and the merchant vessel seemed pretty respectable. He approached the person who seemed to be in charge, a large bear of a man with a thick blond beard.

"I heard you were looking for a boy. I can start straight away."

"Oh, who do we have here?"

"The name's Sam, sir."

"Age? Can you sew? Any good at cooking? What about scrubbing? Being ships boy is tough work. Run along if you can't take it, especially if you get sea sick." The large man grinned to another who was tying some crates to the deck.

"Thirteen, I can do all that and my father was a fisherman so I often went on his boat, you don't have to worry about sea sickness."

"What's going on here?" A tall, dark skinned man with a black goatee approached.

The huge bear like man bowed. "Sir, I think we just found our boy. On your approval of course."

"Ahh!" His sharp black eyes focused on Sam. "Show me your hands boy. "

Sam reluctantly brought out his heavily calloused hands, believing them to be dirty and ugly.

The man felt each callous and nodded. "You'll do."

Sam was shocked to be accepted so easily then he was grabbed by the bear and hugged. "Welcome aboard. Filbert will show you where you can put your stuff..." His eyebrow raised when he realised there was none. "Did you run away from home?"

"No sir, I'm an orphan." Sam looked down sadly.

He was sent off with a comforting pat.

It didn't take him long to settle down and he became indispensable to the crew. Months passed before they ran into pirates.

They boarded before anyone could react, late one evening. Sam had trained with the arms master at the house so his skill was enough to beat them back for a short time before he was captured.

The crates on deck were all of poor quality and below it was just dried fruits and other materials.

"This is not enough guys, we can't make a living like this." A pirate laughed.

"We need a new ships boy, let's take him too, he's got spirit."

The merchants watched as Sam was taken, unable to resist the pirates.

Soon Sam was working hard on a new ship. It wasn't that different from the merchant one, except they were even stricter with more rules. The pirates who had boarded his ship were actually punished for taking on poor goods, the ship had to unload early because of the weight.

They docked at the pirates base and Sam seemed to be the most valuable object they had stolen. He was taken with the crew to see the pirate king. Other crews joined them, entering a massive hall with a small table at the centre.

Sitting on a simple stool at the table, in brown cotton clothes, was a well built man with caramel coloured skin and long curly brown hair, tied in a pony tail. Everyone seemed to bow slightly towards him, without trying to show it.

Two small simple chests sat on the table with a sheet of parchment.

"These are my most valuable possessions, they are only valuable to me but one is missing. Whoever can return the lost chest will be rewarded with the pathfinder lamp. It will lead you to the treasure you most desire.
This is a map to the devil's cove, where the chest was lost, good luck."

Sam was shocked that he had a chance to get the lamp that had only been a rumour in his mind.

The man stood and walked away, leaving the objects on the table. Reverently, the second in command opened the chests. Each one was inscribed with a singlee word and held a simple object. Many left when they saw what was inside. Only eight remained, including Sam.

One box said love and held two polished wooden rings, the next said promise and held a simple carved wooden hairpin. A drawing of the the third chest on the map said son.

He listened to the others discussing a group effort, realising that simply dressed man had been the pirate king.

Soon Sam was tagging along with the small group, being slightly ignored. He had to do all the work on the small boat as this crew readied themselves to enter devil's cove.

One by one they rowed to shore only to return empty handed, covered in wounds. The cove was rumoured to be inhabited by deadly creatures which only the bravest could defeat. But each person seemed reluctant to share what the creature was like.

Only Sam remained, so finally they allowed him to row to shore. He couldn't see what the fuss was about. A pretty beach of white sand led to a run down cottage surrounded by date palms, coconut and mango trees. A garden filled with vegetables and herbs had gone wild nearby. He recognised them only because of his farm work.

The place felt nice, almost like home. The cottage was poorly repaired and empty so he continued on the path. He saw the dreaded creature at the top of the meadow. He smiled to himself and understood.

He went back to the garden and dug up some carrots and returned. The deadly creature was a goat with wickedly sharp horns. Luckily Sam knew that goats had a soft spot for carrots and a good scratch behind the ears.

Soon he had the chest and a friendly goat following him. Seeing the looks from the no longer friendly pirates, he decided to bring the goat with him, for protection. A few hours later he walked towards to hall of the pirate king, the goat by his side.

The second called the pirate king who smiled when he saw the goat. It stepped towards him and accepted the ear scratch happily.

It seemed that the chest had been a test for him.

"Welcome to my kingdom, the lamp is yours. Thanks to you, this is returned to me. You are now one of us and one day my successor." He grinned in a familiar way. "Go on, try it, wish to find your greatest desire."

Sam closed his eyes and thought of treasure but deep inside he wished to find his father. A spark lit the lamp and a blue flame jumped into the air, stretching straight through the pirate king.

Sam hurriedly looked behind him but the blue light stopped there. Sam frowned and looked up at the king.

"What did you wish for boy?"

"Can I look inside the chest?" Sam asked with hope.

Inside was a small stuffed toy with one button eye. Sam brought out his handkerchief and opened it up. Inside were a few coins and a button which was exactly the same as the button on the toy.

"Dad! I found you!"

"What, is it really you? I saw this doll and thought you didn't survive the storm. You were only five."

"I was taken to the doctor but when I woke up, I only had this button in my hand. I survived with help from many people but I have always searched for you, dad."

The pirate king laughed. "All this time I was looking to adopt a boy but instead I found my son!"

Far away the wyrym opened an eye as it emerged from the earth, no longer blind, ready to search for its next meal.