Read The Ark of Dun Ruah, Book 1 for Free Online

robes,’ said Dot.
    â€˜There’s got to be a logical explanation for all this,’ said Simon, scratching his rusty head of hair. ‘If only I could figure it out. From what we’ve seen so far, this ship is run entirely by monks. They come up to the dining cabin at meal times and then they leave in their private elevator. The passengers have no access to the lower decks. And the monks are living down there hidden behind tinted portholes. It’s all a bit of a mystery.’
    â€˜I wonder why the passengers aren’t allowed into the lower parts of the ship,’ said Kerry. ‘Maybe the monk’s belong to an enclosed order. Or they could be criminals dressed up as monks and hiding a terrible secret. Those voices I heard in my dream last night were so real.’
    â€˜Well, your imagination is pretty lively today!’ said Simon. ‘But let’s not jump to conclusions until we find Pod.’
    â€˜Kerry isn’t the only one hearing voices,’ said Timmy. ‘Right now we are crossing the Sea of Sorrows. The seabirds we met on the ocean this morning told us all about the troubled waters. They said that the waters are enchanted and that many ships have disappeared around here. And we’ve been hearing voices coming from the sea too.’
    â€˜All right then – here are the facts,’ said Simon. ‘The sea is enchanted. Last night there was an almost extinct Giant Eagle on board scanning the upper decks. Poor old Pod is missing. And there’s a suspicious man in a grey, hooded cloak prowling around, who manages to disappear each time I try to catch up with him.’
    â€˜So what’s the connection?’ asked Kerry.
    â€˜Well, we saw how the Giant Eagle attacked the man with the grey cloak in Kilbeggin. And pretty savage it was too! We know that Pod was tormented by the same eagles. Now one of them is on this ship and he may still be after Pod. He might even have got to him already and hurt him. We’ve got to do a proper search for Pod. Let’s go back up and check the two top decks properly. Timmy and Dot, you search the rest of the ship and the seas around it. And keep an eye out for eagles. We’ll meet back here in an hour.’
    The little group of friends all went their separate ways, searching for Pod and asking everyone they met if they had seen him. An hour later they were all back on the top deck. And no one had any news.
    â€˜This isn’t like Pod not to turn up,’ said Kerry. ‘He always arrives exactly when he says he will. Something must have happened to him.’
    â€˜Maybe we’re overreacting,’ said Timmy. ‘It’s possible that he just nodded off to sleep somewhere.’
    â€˜Pod doesn’t nod off to sleep,’ said Dot. ‘He is very fussy about where he nests and he always sleeps with one eye open. No, I think something’s wrong. He’s been gone for hours. Maybe he flew in through one of those tinted portholes on the lower decks and got into trouble.’
    â€˜Well, I can hear the lunch bell’, said Simon, ‘and that means the dining room is open. I’m going to have a chat with the two cooks and see what’s going on around here. They might know something about what happened to Pod.’
    â€˜We’ll keep an eye out while you’re gone,’ called Timmy.
    When Kerry and Simon arrived at the dining cabin the three Frumpets were already fighting to get first place in the queue for lunch. They were stirring up a noisy racket. The cook’s voice could be heard over their cries.
    â€˜I’m going to ban you three from the dining cabin if you don’t behave yourselves right now and that means you will get absolutely nothing to eat for the entire voyage. Now get yourselves back down to the end of the line. You can wait until everyone else has been fed.’
    Looks of disappointment began to register on the Frumpets’ faces. Their