Dog was saddened to watch Clemiticus disappear into the crowd. His best friend gave him a quick wave, then ventured on to what he called his solo quest. The blue fairy guided the ex-swashbuckler’s way as they cut a path through the excited crowd.

Dog turned his round eyes up at a yawning young girl. The one they called Thea. A smile warmed Dog's face as he repeated his usual greeting.

“Good Morning!”

Thea wiped sleep from her eye and grumbled, “Yep, morning and stuff.”

Nuecus frowned at the girl, then brightened and snapped his fingers. “Before we make the horrible decision to set out on our wonderful excursion, how about an ugly pot of delicious brown?”

Thea’s eye lit up. Derrick who had taken up residence behind the driver’s seat grumbled a response. The dwarf's thoughts were obviously elsewhere. Before you could say ‘Oh Boy, Coffee!’ a wooden butler materialised behind them with a silver tray of steaming mugs of brown liquid.

“That was fast.” Thea commented and grabbed herself a mug.

Nuecus eyed the butler with suspicion and asked, “Who are you?”

The butter sighed and ignored the forgetful thaumaturge. Carefully he dished out the remaining mugs. To Dog’s joyous surprise, a mug was presented beneath his bubble. The butler examined the floating barrier and produced a long straw.

Dog looked down at the warm mixture, then sunk his flabby jaw around the straw and slurped.

His pupils danced as the power of caffeine lit up his world. Parts of his brain that were always asleep flashed on like a light and he could feel a tingling sensation on the ends of his flippers.

“Oh! Me likey!” Dog said with a grin as the others sipped their own brew. The smell was tantalizing and the taste only slightly bitter.

The butler disappeared back into the wagon. Derrick twisted the reins to direct the horses towards the garbage heap. The wagon rolled for only a short time before they detected it was close.

They could smell the pile of refuse before they saw it.

When the sight finally came into view, they saw hundreds of towering stacks of rubbish neatly piled within a sea of garbage. Derrick whistled as he eyed the treasures beyond. Thea held her nose tightly to block out the stench. Sounding odd, she asked, “Why are we here again?”

Derrick turned to the town planner with a cheeky grin.

“For treasure, of course!”

Thea examined Derrick's so-called treasure and visible cringed.

Dog turned his floaty bubble around to get a better look. There were hundreds of discarded human things in every direction. He wasn’t sure why they were thrown away or even why they were used in the first place.

“Ok!” said Derrick. “Thea, you take the whale and have a look around while Nuecus and I go looting.”

Dog looked up at Thea who shrugged. She leaped off the side of the wagon. Dog floated slowly behind, watching as the girl scooped up something small from the ground.

She ambled towards Dog and placed the little wooden item within his bubble, washing it.

“What’s that?” Dog asked, watching the girls’ strange behaviour while the wagon rolled away.

Thea dried the item and placed it over her nose.

“An old clothes peg,” Thea replied. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to go through this junk without it.”

Dog nodded happily. He didn’t quite understand the girl, but he knew the place was extra stinky.

“Alright Mr. floaty follow me,” she commanded as she moved between the towering stacks of garbage.

Most of the items looked broken and unloved. Occasionally Thea would pause and place her hands on a wooden plank or stone brick and said, “collect item.”

Dog was amazed at Thea’s vanishing magic trick. I wish I could use magic, Dog thought.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Again! Again!” Dog cheered.

Thea rolled her eyes and continued to search for base materials. Then her eyes chanced upon something she wasn’t expecting. Dog watched her closely as she stood still.

“Good morning?” asked Dog, clearly confused at the girl’s frozen reaction.

A smile like a sunrise lit her face as she burst out laughing.

“Look up there!” Thea pointed skywards. Dog looked up to see a white glowing object on the tallest scrap pile. “Can you float up there?”

The floating whale nodded and began his ascent when the glowing object vanished.

“Stop!” Thea shouted. “Come back!”

Dog descended back down to Thea and the object reappeared. The town planner scratched her chin in thought, then turned around to survey the area. Her eyes darted between the tops of the towers, then her eyebrows shot up in realisation.

“It’s a jumping puzzle!”

“What’s jumping?” Dog asked.

Thea waved away the question and spoke to herself, “There looks to be a way up to the top, and if you fly there, it resets.”

Dog shook his head in confusion. “What?”

Thea gave the whale a big smile.

“I have done a ton of these in some of my old games. They’re all like this.”

She jogged to her right and hauled herself on top of the shortest stack of garbage. The glowing object lay undisturbed and clearly visible. She and been right. The only way to reach the treasure was to climb.

“Hey! Mr. Floaty!”

“Yeah?” Dog replied.

“Stay down there and catch me if I fall, yeah?”

Dog frowned as he wiggled his flippers. “Um, sure?”

Thea hiked up her sleeves and eyed the second platform. It was an easy jump. She cleared the hurdle with little effort. Next, she had to climb up to the third platform. This time it was as tall as her own height.

Barely reaching it, she struggled as she pulled herself up and onto the third tower. Thea's hand went to her chest where she examined the special necklace Clemiticus had given her.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this,” she said through breaths. “If it weren’t for this baby!”

Dog smiled without understanding and said, “Pretty!”

Thea tucked the stat boosting necklace away under her shirt and examined the next obstacle. A long, narrow metal bar lay before her. It bridged towards another tall pillar of trash. Thea’s head twisted around.

“Ok this is the only way to the next jump.”

Thea held her arms out like a trapeze artist and slowly placed a foot on the metal bar. Thea tested the bridge, it was stable. She then let out a calming breath and moved steadily with her other foot. The metal bar didn’t budge under the young girl's weight.

Dog looked up to see the balancing town planner more than a dozen feet above him. Each careful step brought her closer to the safety of the other side.

“I…” Dog shouted as Thea flinched. “will catch you!”

Thea let out an exasperated sigh as she edged her way onto the fourth platform. Dog barely heard the girl mumble a few curse words under her breath.

“Good job!” Dog shouted.

Thea grunted in response and moved to her next and more dangerous jump. She swore as she approached the edge. Somehow, she would have to run and jump over a chasm to catch a ledge with her hands.

“I’m not sure if this was such a good idea!” Thea called out, clearly judging her life choices. “I don’t even know if the treasure is worth it.”

“But it’s shiny!” Dog pouted.

Thea waved off Dog's complaint and readied herself for the next leap of faith. With a little hop, she sprinted, then lunged into the open air.

Thump!

Her torso smashed into the side of the fifth tower, which shook with the unexpected weight. “Oh, shit!” Thea screamed and squirmed as the tower wobbled.

Dog eagerly swam under her, calling out, “I will catch you!”

Thea gritted her teeth and hauled herself up as the tower continued to sway.

“Bloody hell!” she yelled as her next jump was identical to the last. “Uh oh!”

Thea spared no time in lunging for the next jump, just in time for the tower to lean dangerously in the wrong direction. With another thump, Thea grasped the sixth ledge and strained with all of her might to get to its top.

Dog swam beside the tumbling tower as he followed Theas precarious path.

“Where did you go?” Dog asked.

Thea’s hand flopped over the side of the tower as she replied, “still here!” Thea waved.

“Gimmie a second!” Thea gasped. “To catch my breath.”

Dog nodded and stared up at the tall tower, still determined to catch her.

“Nearly there!” Thea called out. “One last metal bridge and the Treasure shall be ours!”

Dog eagerly watched as Thea repeated her balancing trick far above the ground. This time she would have to traverse another metal bar twice the length of the previous one. With careful strides, Thea slowly made her way over to the seventh tower.

As soon as her feet touched the surface of the final spire, the entire structure rumbled. Debris fell as Dog dodged a hailstorm of trash.

“Oh, damn!” Thea shouted as the flash of white expanded, then vanished. “Got it!”

Bing!

“Thea has obtained the item: Builders Guide to Turrets!” Fairy’s far away voice reported.

The metal bridge Thea had just traversed wobbled to one side and slid off the edge.

“Oh, we have a problem here!” Thea called out.

“I will catch you!”

“You know I was only joking about that, right?” Thea yelled in panic. “There is no way you can…”

A thunderous groan reverberated as the tower leaned dangerously over towards the previous platforms. Metal bars sent shock waves through the ground as they fell, while trash peppered the path around Dog.

Thea felt the towers weight surge to one side and was forced to surf a wave garbage.

Dog swam as fast as he could to dodge the crashing towers while Thea clutched her new treasure and swore helplessly. The main tower struck another, splitting the structure in two. Thea felt gravity vanish from under her feet as momentum carried her into the open air.

Screaming all the while, Thea tumbled through space as the world spun, plummeting towards a painful end. Thea closed her eyes and readied herself for the inevitable.

She cried out in shock.

Splash!

“I caught you! I caught you!” Dog shouted, absolutely delighted.

Thea opened her eyes to see a fountain of sea water surrounding her. Dog had indeed caught the young town planner with a spray from his blowhole.