1. 1
1. A bad dream?
Througha spyglassthatseemedtobe ratherunusual a spyglassfromothersinthe world,anunknown
entitycouldnowsee whattheylongedforthemselvesmore thananythingelseinthe ‘Spirit’life:
A bunchof preciouscoinsthatwas,coinsthat floodedoutfroma numberof half brokensmall amphores
that were beingexhibitedinthe glassprotectedshelves,onthe secondwell guardedfloorof the
Archaiological Museum, the main‘jewel’of Iraklioncity,onthe Cretanislandof Greece.
-‘Me silverbeauties,ho!’The mysteriousmanexclaimedwithathickconfidentvoice.
-‘Swabboy!Ye withthe deadlightsonyerskull!’
-‘Aye Captain!’A youngskeletonstoppedscrubbingthe deckonaGalleonandran instantlytowardthe
man whohad calledhim.He heldtightthe roundglasseshe waswearinginfrontof his eye sockets,
fromtheirleftarm as he ran.
-‘Readme the lettersof thisbeauty…’ The Captainrequestedandhandedthe spyglasstothe educated
skeleton.‘It’sall Greektome.’ He commented.
-‘Made inTurkey.’The youngskeletonreadthe inscriptiononthe spyglassthroughhisglasses.
-‘Notthere ye swabber!Inthere!’The Captainshowedhimthe tinylens throughwhichhe hadbeen
observingbefore.
-‘Aye Captain!’The skeletonlookedthroughashe tookoff hisglasses,andputon a round lenson itsone
eye socketinstead.

2. 2
‘The Phalagari Hoard’:six hundredcoins,imidrachma,drachma,didrachma,tetradrachma.Theywere
foundbelowthe floorof alootedgrave inthe area of Phalagari,Phaistos. Non-CretanoriginsfromEast
Greece,the Aegeanislandsandcitiesof Asia.Theymayhave beenamilitaryorstate fund. Most were
issuedbyAlexander(postmortem)Cassander,the PtolemaicandSelencid Kingdoms,andothers.’
-‘Nowtell me about the gold…’HisCaptainrequested.
-“Bars and nuggetsof solidgold.Theywere depositedasraw materialsof significantvalue withother
preciousobjectsinpots,whichhadbeenburiedbelow the floorof atholostomb(14th
-13th
cent.BC)
Knossos-Tekescemetery,Geometricperiod,9th
centuryBC.”The boyread.“Grave jewelery.”He
continued. ‘Necklaces,earrings,ornamental bands,pinsforsecuringoneshair,goldenleaves.’The
educatedskeletonobservedashe movedthe spyglassaroundthe secondfloor.
-‘Tell me aboutthem.’
-‘Aye Captain.’“Decorative themesare drawnfromnature,the worldof animalsandbirds,andthe
Dionysiancycle involvingwingedNikes(Victories)andErotes.(Cupids)Some piecesof jeweleryare gilt,
while fromRomantimesonwardssemi preciousstonesare alsoused,suchasthe ring stonesdecorated
withmotifsfromnature andmythological scenes.Jeweleryfromtombsof the Hellenisticperiod.”The
unknownskeletonreadoutfromthe plaquesthathadbeenfastenedtightlyonthe walls.”‘Me see more
goldenearrings,pinsandringsatthe corridorCaptain.’He noticeda pairof earringsthatcarriedgolden
doves,andringswithprotrudingheadsatone of the longcorridors.
-‘Aye.’The mysteriousCaptainsaid. ‘Goldendoves’ye say.‘Whyputtheminjewelleryme wonders.All
thee knowtodo id poopthe worldanyplace thee sit.Matters not shouldthee be gold.Tisthe ONEform
I likesthemin!’He paused.Thenhisattentionwasdrawnbysome motionof the ratherbizarre kind.

3. 3
‘Jack tar! Are ye havingthe grog blossom? Bringme a clap of thunder,will ye?’He askedanother
skeletonwhoshowedupstaggering tohisfeetonthe deck,afterhavinglockedhimself accidentallyinto
the ship’s‘spirits’cabin.
-‘Aye Captain!’The drunkenskeletonrepliedandturnedaroundfacingthe ‘tweendecksladder. Ashe
was aboutto descendit,he trippedandfell overtothe lowerdeck.The noise made the Captainturnhis
headtowardthe hatch.
‘Ye are loadedtothe gunwalls,ye are…’He saidmostlytohimself. ‘Swingthe leadme lad…-hedirected
the swab boy- thentake a caulk.We go onsweettrade earlyinthe dawn. Ye swabberandPegLeg stay
on board.’
-‘Aye Captain!’
-‘Topman!Reef sales!
-‘Aye Captain!’The sailorwhowasincharge of the topsailsshoutedbacktohisCaptain.Thenhe started
shorteningthe sails,andtyingup a few.
-‘Bucko!Getthe sloopsreadywill ye?’
-‘Aye Captain!’Anotherskeletonreplied.
-‘Nowwhere’smyclapof thunders?’He askedagitatedforhisspiritsbeingdelayed.
-‘Here Captain!’Some bonyfingersappearedfromthe hatchandthe rest of the arm followed.The
fingerswere holdingabottle withthe Turkishinscription:‘yeni raki’. The skeletonstaggeredtowardhis
Captainwitha silkslingaroundhisneckthatwas danglinghistieduppistol inandout of hisrib cage.
The Captainspreadhishand and grabbedthe bottle.

4. 4
-‘Nowgive me yerpistol.’He requested.The skeleton pulled hissilkslingoverhisskull,andgave itaway.
The Captainheldthe bottle at hislefthand,andwithhisrighthand he heldthe pistol.‘A wenchthis
beautyis…’ He saidand he shotthe skeletononhisskull.The drunkensailorlandedontothe floorwith a
bighole on hisforehead. ‘Ye shouldthankyourCaptainfornotforcingye ‘walkthe plank’.A tinyprice to
pay thanfindingyerbones intothe fishes’teeth.Tonight,ye willlayrough. NOspiritswhen‘goingon
account’.’He saidand gulpeddownsome yeni raki fromthe bottle.‘Bucko!A ‘salmagundi salad’iswhat
the Captainneeds.’
-‘Aye Captain!’A thirdskeletonappearedfrombehindamainmast, andran downthe laddersata
secondhatch.
-‘Andbringme the rutters!!’The Captainshouted.‘The boat hasgone to the scurvy dogs.’He muttered
to himself.‘Me are a compassionate CaptainsaysI.Toosofta Captainfor the bonyjack tars I has
become saysI.Am I turningintoa wench?’ He wonderedandwalkeddownthe hatch’sladders.The
skeletonthatwas shotby hisCaptain,usedhisarmsto helphis self getupfromthe deckas he laid flat.
Thenhe touchedhisforeheadwithhisfingerstofeel how bigthe hole wasonhisskull.He gotup and
triedto balance onhisfeet, whenasmall greenglassball appearedonanotherskeleton’sfingers, who
happenedtopassby. Withina fewseconds,the glassball withthe twistingyellow andredflamesit
containedinitscenter,traveledinthe airat a straightroute,until ithitthe skeleton’sforehead.
-‘Hey!Thathurt!’ The shot skeletonshouted.Anotherglassball wasejectedinthe airandhitthe
staggeringskeleton.
-‘Sinkme! Thisismuchfun that is!’Hispeersaidwithenthusiasmandtargetedthe fracturedskull fora
thirdtime.‘A newgame I has justmade,saysI! ‘The glassball inthe hole!’callsitI!’He said andthrew
the nextglassball withitsinternal flame.The ball wentrightthroughthe hole,andstayedwithinhis
peer’sskull.

5. 5
-‘Shiverme timbers!It’sinthatis!’he jumpedinhisenthusiasmandpreparedthe fourthglassball while
the drunkensailorhadbeenstrugglingtofindhisbalance back.
The sternlightsof the Galleonturnedonas it wasgettingdarkaround the Cretanport of Iraklion
city.Some misthidthe shipfrom the people whowere close tothe ‘Kule’ Castle,the local tavernsand
the trails.The skeletonwhose postwasonthe deck’scrow’snest,keptsayingthe following:“Deadmen
tell notales…”while he waswatchingthe areaall around the port.The ‘quartermaster’ whowas
responsible forall mattersonthe ship,wasmakingtwolistsona papyrousinhiscabin.He wouldgive
any personwhowalkedinthe impressionthathe wassittinginthe air,writingwithhisnibpen,onan
invisible table.‘Booty’and‘punishments’were the twocategorieshe wrote.
-‘Now,whatpunishmentsshallIgive tomutineersasksI.
NumberOne: Upside downhangingforthe vulturestotake theirbonessaysI.’
Numbertwo:‘Pull theirgoldenteethandkeepthem…forthe CaptainsaysI.’Hisnibpenhesitatedon
the m’s lastleg.
Numberthree: Take awaytheircutlassand hat saysI.
Numberfour: Denythemthe use of yoghurtfortheirbonessaysI. Lack of calciumwill cause theirbones
to breaksays I.
Numberfive:‘Take awaytheirname saysI.’
Numbersix:‘ConnecttheirbonesinadifferentordersaysI.’
Numberseven: ‘Make apianoforte outof theirbonessaysI.’
Numbereight: ‘Take theirlegsoutandhitcannon ballsonthe deck as a new game says I.’

6. 6
Numbernine:‘Keeptheirjawforthe CaptainsaysI.’
Numberten:‘Take outtheirarms and use themto fishsaysI.’
Numbereleven:‘Take outtheirskullsandputthe blackcandlesinfordark nightssaysI.’
He wrote onthe ‘punishments’listandcontinuedwiththe ‘Booty’:
Numberone:‘All the bootywouldbe giventothe Captainsayshe.’Wasthe firstsentence.
Numbertwo:‘Whohas stolenwhat,mattersNOTsaysI.’
Numberthree:‘Wouldjacktarssteal fromthe loot,the same rules thatare statedon the mutineers’
punishmentswouldbe applied.The ship’squartermasterwouldnbe excusedatanycase saysI.’
Numberfour:‘Woulda jacktar returnwithNOloot,the pay thisskeletonwouldreceive,wouldbe given
to the quartermasterhimself,saysI.’
Numberfive:‘Shouldajacktar returnwitha ‘Metaxa’drink,the bottle wouldbe offeredtothe Captain
saysI.’ For a second time,the quartermaster’snibpengotstuckhesitantlyontothe letter‘o’,right
before he wrote towhomthe liquerwouldbe givento.
Numbersix:‘Shouldajacktar return with‘suvlaki meatpies’,theywouldbe offeredtothe
quartermasterforhisservicessaysI.’
Numberseven:‘Wouldajacktar stay behindduringtheirfree lance work,the crew wouldNOTbe
obligedtowaitforthemsays I.’
Numbereight:‘Wouldajacktar hide theirloot,NOpeerwouldgetpaidfortheirlootsaysI.’
Numbernine:‘Wouldafew jacktars hide theirloot,dropsof acidwouldbe usedon theirbones,until
theydisappearedsaysI.Note:Rightaftertheirloothasbeenuncovered.’

7. 7
Numberten:‘Wouldajack tar allowa‘child’tofollow themondeck,the worstof the punishments
wouldbe imposedonthem:Tobe exposedtothe child’sloudcriessaysI.’
-‘Whatdo ye thinkmy birdie?’The quartermasteraskedanowl withaneye patch, wholandedontohis
invisible desk. ‘Ye like me code of conductbucko?It isfairand square innit?Aye!That wouldbe me,the
fairquartermaster…’he commented,andwithhisbonyfingershe caressedhispet.
Inthe meanwhile,onthe deck, the drunkenskeletonwasnow beingchasedbyhissweettrade peer
whowas throwingglassballsathim,mostpossiblyforthe reasonthathisskull wasnow beingheldin
the handsof the jack tar who wasbeingbullied. The latterone randownsome ladders withinahatch.
He keptrunningpastthe cabins, until he came across a secondhatch. He ran downthose laddersand
foundhimself onthe lowerdeck.A fewcannonshadbeenplacedoneverysingle porthole,witharowof
cannonballswithinacase shot,rightnextto them.He pushedhispartner’sskull intoachainshot,and
aimed.
-‘Fire inthe hole!Yohoho!’He shoutedandleftthe cannondoitsjob.With a terrible noise,the skull was
ejectedinthe air,while hisskull lessownerranstill behindonthe upperdeck,bumpingintodoors.
A girl of about tenyearsof age,woke upfrom hersleep,screaming.She satontoherbedwithinher
decorative sheetsandduvetwiththe themeof ‘Pirates’,all sweatup.A youngladydressedinher
nightgown,bargedintoherroom.
-‘Anemona!Whathappenedmydear?’She askedwithworryinhereyes.
-‘Isaw a skull.A skull wasinthe air. It came from a ship.A big ship.’
-‘A dream...Mary motherof Jesus,Ithoughtthere was a burglarin the house.’She exhaledinrelief and
walkedtowardthe girl’sbed.She satonit softly.

8. 8
-‘Itis scary…soscary…’
-‘Iunderstand.Butitwas ONLY a dream.’
-‘Itfeltmore thanthat.’ The blondgirl replied.
-‘Theyalwaysdo.’The elderladyanswered.‘Now,trytorelax,take a few breaths,yourheartis racing.’
She noticedasshe feltthe girl’spulse onherwrist.‘Iam alwayshere.Shouldanythingoccur,Iam only
nextdoor.’
-‘Alright.’YoungAnemonareplied.
-‘Itseemstome thatyou may have tochange yourbedsheetmydear!Doesitlookfamiliar?’She
pointedata skull,andsmiled.
-‘Perhapsyouare right.’The girl smiledback.
-‘Have a goodnight’ssleepwiththe sweetestdreamsthistime.’
-‘Goodnight.’Anemonawished,andlaidbackonher pillow thatdepictedashark’sopenmouth,while
hercompanionwalkedoutof the room.
-‘Shiverme timbers!Who?Who?’The Captainturnedhisheadabove the table where he washavinghis
dinner,assoonas he heardthe cannon’sfire.Hishairwas redas the fire’s,hisbeardwasasred as his
hair’s,andhiseyeswere asangry as…’CorsairBarbarossa’s’…