It was night again before the party set out for the cape. Partly because Dreadlilocks ended up having to sleep all afternoon after staying up all night, and partly because Azor refused to go out as long as the sun was visible in the sky.

So that half of the group stayed in the house, while Lucy and Pitch went out to gather supplies and information.

“…From what we’ve been told, the lighthouse shouldn’t be far from here,” said Pitch, leading the group out of the village in the evening. “We’ll just take the path up the cliff there, and then we should see it clear as day. Then, all we have to do is head towards it until we reach the house.”

“Isn’t it a little dangerous to walk up a cliff at night…?” Dreadli asked.

“You’ll be fine if you watch your step and use the lantern.” Pitch handed Dreadli an oil lamp. “You take this, and stay close to Miss Zellandine, who can no longer be trusted to hold things—”

“I can SO be trusted to hold things; Miss Margaret is just m-making a b-big deal out of a little accident!” Lucy retorted.

“’Little accident’? You broke dozens of glass pieces; you smashed that poor man’s livelihood into smithereens!”

“The lamp slipped; it c-could’ve happened to anybody! Besides, I paid him back! W-with the jewel from my crown, and my earrings…!”

“This is a small town; those won’t be worth anything until he can find someone to sell them to. I think a little scorn is the least you deserve for what you’ve done…”

Lucy cowered behind Dreadli, clutching her shoulders. “…You know, she was always this mean to me, even when we were kids,” she grumbled.

“I hardly ever spoke to you when we were ‘kids’…”

“Well, m-maybe I liked you better then…!”

“As entertaining as this is, there is an actual objective to consider at the moment,” said Azor, leaving the group behind. “Feel free to join me in reaching it, once you’ve finished your childish bickering…”

“Wait, Mr. Azor! You don’t have a lantern!” Dreadli called, hurrying to catch up with him.

“I don’t need one; I can see perfectly well in the dark,” he replied.

“Oh…because you have three eyes…”

“My number of eyes has nothing to do with it. And besides, I only have one.”

“One?? But on your face there’s at least two…unless your tail is actually…?”

“If you remain perfectly silent until we reach the lighthouse, I will explain it to you.”

Dreadlilocks accepted (and eventually failed) the challenge. Meanwhile, the group scaled the cliff and made their way out to the cape, where the lighthouse stood burning brightly with a mysterious green flame. Next to it was a little cabin, with a wooden rowboat propped up against the side.

No one was quite sure how late it was, but Pitch went up and knocked on the door anyway.

At first they didn’t hear anything. Then came the soft sounds of footsteps against wood. Furniture fell over; someone tripped over something and cursed a bit. Finally, the door opened.

A great white shark appeared in the doorway. He looked the group over. “…You’re a bit late, aren’tcha?” he said.