Thea had been so excited to try out her first ever portal. As an avid gamer, she had enjoyed a plethora of games involving the concept. The experience, however, was far worse than what she could have ever imagined.p

“What the hell is this?” she shouted.

The skinny mage Junior clung to the ship behind her with his eyes closed. She could tell he was bad with motion sickness.

“Every portal is different!” he yelled. “The one I came through to get you guys was a sloppy mess of swamp water and muck!”

Thea would have almost preferred that compared to what they were currently traversing. Since forever, Thea had always been a rough and tumble tomboy kind of gal. So, the bright pink rainbow infested glitter-scape she was forced to endure was excruciating.

Apparently, the wormhole magic worked by slipping the participant between dimensions. Thea decided she didn’t like it one bit.

“I think I’m going to be sick!” Thea said, eyeing the fluffy clouds with smiley faces in disgust.

The ship soared through the landscape insanely fast as giant starry shapes fluttered by.

Where the hell is this place. Thea wondered. Some sort of hell?

“Oh, how delightfully awful!” shouted Nuecus. “I should get some samples!”

“No time, old man!” Rupert shouted as he turned the wheel, directing the ship upward.

Nuecus ignored him and ran to the side, attempting to catch anything sparkly that zipped past.

“There!” Rupert called out. “There’s the other side.”

Ahead was a rip in reality and a vision of Skull City beyond. Rupert turned the wheel towards it. Wind propelled them forwards as a gust of sparkles spiralled around them.

“Three, two,” counted Rupert. “And!”

They burst through the portal back into the world of Fanswald. Unfortunately, they were upside down.

“Turn us now!” Thea said, clutching a railing of the ship for dear life, spotting a few of the crew who clung to the ropes on the big red balloon.

Rupert yanked on the wheel and the ship rolled. A split-second later, gravity righted itself and the ship levelled out. Thea breathed a sigh of relief. They had arrived, and they were safe for now.

Under them was the sprawling city. Smoke rose from the west along the furthest edge of the outer wall. Voices screamed and water crashed as a tidal wave of dead creatures charged headlong into the defences.

“Holy undead catfish!” Nuecus shouted.

Thea nodded. The situation was dire.

A line of mages fired blindly into the mass of death. Each bolt of magic, a different colour, sent shock waves through the oncoming tide.

Yet, the enemy didn’t show any signs it was slowing down.

“Not good,” said Thea.

The defenders were playing a dangerous game that teetered on a knifes edge. Soon, the walls would fall and there would be nothing to stop the undead creatures from taking over the entire city.

“Rupert! Take us closer to the front!” Thea barked the order. Even though her stay in the city was brief, she wanted to protect it and its people.

The ship lurched forwards then swooped down. Thea held her nose. A foul stench had infected the air. A mixture of salt and dead fish was unfortunately familiar.

“No!” screamed a high-pitched voice. “What are you doing?”

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Thea looked between the mighty waves and spotted the bright orange Mercrab Emperor. He had returned, and on his shell stood a slender white figure. The god of death, Neander.

“Uh oh!” Nuecus said as he too spotted the perpetrator of the invasion. “What are we going to do now?”

Thea worked her jaw. She wasn’t too sure herself. What she really needed was a Clemiticus eureka moment, unfortunately that wasn’t her speciality. Her mind was too logical and structured to come up with something completely wacko.

Searching the walls, she could see a line of Soldier with heavy shields and spears at the ready.

“There!” Rupert called out. “The King’s down there.”

A flutter of relief filled Thea as she spotted the King swinging his sword at a nearby Merkin warrior. He sliced the monster in half, then kicked it back over the wall. Beside him was the head mage Jim, who shot an arcing lightning bolt through the waters, frying a host of undead barracuda.

“Quick take us down!” Thea shouted.

Rupert nodded and the sight of the defenders came close.

They had to help the mages any way they could. Nuecus pulled out a purple ring from his pocket and tossed a rock overboard through the ring. As it fell through the object the rock duplicated striking random fish far below.

“Hey!” Thea called out. A little thought had crossed her mind.

“Yes, smart young boy?” Nuecus replied.

Thea paused at the words.

Boy?

Shaking her head, she asked, “You got any more of those?”

The old thaumaturge looked down at what was in his hands.

“Oh, this?” he said cheerfully. “Only one in the entire filthy world!”

“That’s the thing that doubles Clemiticuses’ burgers, isn’t it?” she asked, feeling her excitement rise.

Nuecus nodded.

Thea laughed. “Can I borrow it?”

He tossed it as she snatched it from the air. She was now feeling giddy. The battle was a numbers game and when it came to numbers, ‘Team Thea’ was overpowered.

“Ok crew, I’m going to help the King for a bit!” she said confidently. “Junior!”

The young mage squeaked in response.

“One last question for you!” she said smiling, then asked, “Got any more of those samples?”

The young mage looked baffled, then glanced over at the rising almost infinite tide sweeping over the city. A look of understanding washed over him as he gave her an uneasy smile.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Thea nodded.

“Rupert,” she said. “Take Junior to the tower. He knows what to do. Grab what you can and meet us back here!”

The bandit leader nodded.

Thea then ran to the side and kicked over the rope ladder and descended, urging her body to move as fast as it could.

When her feet landed on the top of the wall, she ran towards the King.

He looked worn out from defending the wall but no less handsome.

“Ed!” she called out.

The King's expression brightened when he spotted her.

“Ah, Thea!” he shouted, “You have come!”

She nodded enthusiastically and gave him a warm smile.

“Did you miss me?” she asked.

Ed laughed. “Definitely!”

She was then distracted by the shape of a tall, square keep.

That would make a perfect location, she thought. Grinning at the King she gave the monarch a mischievous wink. Her Clemiticus style plan was coming along nicely.

“Ed. Follow me,” she said. “I’ll need an assistant!”

The King of Skull City nodded without hesitation and followed her as she ran towards the stone keep then ran up its stairs and onto its viewing platform. There, they could survey the battlefield unhindered. Soldiers followed the rear, blocking any assailant that would attack their King’s flank.

Thea ran a few calculations in her head, then said, “Summon item: Basic Basket.”

The King whistled as he watched a straw item appear out of nowhere.

“What’s that for?” asked the King.

Thea smiled.

“I got an important job for you,” she said. “Summon item: Derrick’s Whizz Bundle.”

The King watched in fascination as a black ball with a metal band and ring appeared in her hand. She treated the item with deep reverence and caution.

“Be very careful not to pull this thing here,” she said, pointing to the ring. “If you pull it. We will die.”

“Okay,” Ed said. “Note to self!”

“We only have one of those. So…” Thea trailed off as she bent over the basket and flipped Nuecuses’ purple ring over the black object, duplicating it once then twice.

After a brief moment, the straw container was full. Thea then cautiously placed the ring over the load, and squealed in delight as a second basket appeared beside it completely full.

“Ha! It works!” she said.

The King looked at her, confused.

“Ok! Your job is to make copies of the full basket. And my job,” she said cheerfully, commanding, “Summon turret: Slingshot Repeater!”

A large wooden slingshot crossbow hybrid flashed into existence. It was far larger than the previous sling turret with a larger firing capability, longer range and most importantly quicker reloading time. The only downside was that Thea had to manually aim the turret herself.

Thea laughed maniacally as she grabbed the first basket and placed it under the turret's loading arm. Pulling on a lever, the arm whirled into life, grabbing a single projectile and placing in behind the slingshot pouch. Thea aimed far into the distance as the arm pulled out the metallic pin and the launcher propelled the payload into the distance.

“Five, four three two…” Thea counted.

Splash!

“…And!”

Boom!

The King flinched as a grand explosion tore a forty-foot hole in the ranks of the undead fish.

Click. The sling reset as the arm dropped another bomb ready to be launched. The pin dropped, and the second fired. She turned to the King and gave the man a brilliant smile.

“This should help slow them down for a bit!”