This is the second part of my previous story, Part One: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/865775381 Part Two of || The Emerald Ship || Noav looked up at the blue ghost-like girl. He was the most capable human she could find? Noah felt his heart skip a beat when a large snowy owl swept through the air and perched next to him. A silver necklace with an emerald pendant hung around the owl’s neck. “You’re the one who sent me this?” Noav asked. He held up the smooth stone with the ship engraved in it. It danced in the blue light. “Yes, Noav,” the girl replied. “I brought you here.” Noav stood up. “How do you know my name?” “The same way I know where you live.” It wasn’t the answer Noav was hoping for, but he nodded anyway. “What do I have to do?” Noav asked. The girl stepped closer to him. “Pay attention to what I tell you, Noav. Enter the righthand door. Never put the wrong key in the lock. Never drop the crystals. Most of all, never give up. The fate of Kiakara rests in your hands. My name is Esilona. Call my name if you require my help. Once you get to the last room, I will be freed. I’ll meet up with you then.” With that, the apparition of the girl vanished. The rain slowed and then stopped completely. A dark fog rolled in and enveloped the ship. Noav looked around the deck. The door leading to the front of the boat was the fancy engraved one with the gold keyhole. Other than that, there didn’t seem to be any way to access the lower decks. Noav suddenly caught sight of two doors leading to the deck opposite the fancy door. He remembered Esilona’s words. Enter the righthand door. Noav lifted the latch of the righthand door and stepped inside. The room was no bigger than a closet. It was lit by a dim lantern hanging from the ceiling by a chain. On the other side of the room was a door like the one Noav had just gone through. In the middle of the room was a table. On the table was a checkerboard. There were only two checkers. One was white and one was black. Noav stepped over to the table. The door slammed behind him, making him jump. His pulse rose. Noav took a deep breath and turned back to the table. He tried picking up the black checker. It stuck to the board. Why was the checker glued to the board? Noav tried moving the white checker. It stuck too. For a second, Noav just stood there. Then he looked around the room again. There was nothing but the lantern. Noav shook his head, confused. He stepped around the table and tried the knob to the new door. It turned, but when he started to open it it caught on something with a hard jerk. Noav noticed a chain with a lock on it. He peered around the room looking for a key. Noav gave up. The room held nothing but the table with the checkerboard. He turned and opened the door to the main deck. It stuck fast. Noav’s eyes widened. He pulled harder. The door didn’t open. So Noav was stuck in the checkerboard room. Noav turned back to the checkerboard. That had to be the way out. That or he was trapped. Once again, he tried to move the checkers. He pushed and pulled the black one every which way. It didn’t budge, but when he did the same thing with the white one he found that he could slide it in certain directions. To his astonishment, the black checker moved on its own. Noav made another move. The black checker did too. The black checker was inching towards Noav. Noav kept moving forward, not knowing what else to do. Suddenly, he found his white checker in a sticky situation. The black checker almost had him trapped. Noav made his move. The black checker jumped him! With clicks and grinding the checkers reset. Noav looked closer. The black checker was a king! Noav’s was only a normal checker. Noav suddenly knew what to do. He had to play until his checker was a king too. That turned out to be easier said than done. Three times in a row the black checker cornered his white one. Finally, he managed to escape one of the black checker’s traps. With a smile, Noav moved his piece forward for the final time. The white checker flipped over with a click. Now the crown side was face-up on both checkers. Noav looked expectantly at the board. Nothing happened. Noav felt his heart sink. What if he was trapped in this room forever? Then a sudden noise split the silence. The checkerboard clinked and clunked. Then the squares on the checkerboard flipped over one by one like a waterfall cascading across the board. One final clunk and the entire top half of the board flipped open on a hinge. There, resting on an indent with velvet lining, was a golden key. Noav lifted it with triumph. He was free! He stepped over to the locked door and prepared to insert the key into the lock. For a moment, he hesitated and looked back at the other door. He was going deeper into the ship now. What if he got stuck in another room and couldn’t get back out? Noav shook off his worries. He needed to go deeper. It was up to him to save Kiakara. He turned the key and opened the door.
