Melly followed Kouskous through a narrow passage. Hedges towered above the party on both sides, keeping the path very private. Ahead a large wooden door blocked their way. It had been decorated with a iron anchor and had a thick ring handle. Kouskous turned and pushed the door open.

Melly walked through the threshold and was met with a wide-open space. The Beer Garden had dozens of massive wooden barrels spread under a giant pergola. Numerous fallen stools lay about the scene, surrounded by sleeping pirates. The place was a mess. Beautiful, but a mess.

“Well, I was wondering why I didn’t see any pirates on the way here,” commented Melly. “Hang on what time is it?”

“It’s midday,” supplied Derrick.

“They must’ve had a rager last night,” Clemiticus smirked.

“And I missed it,” Kouskous sighed.

Hundreds of discarded beer mugs lay unceremoniously strewn throughout the garden. A few pirates were using them as makeshift pillows. Melly thought back to the time she had passed out in the Moist Dragon. She knew just how terribly uncomfortable mugs were.

“The King will be with you shortly,” Kouskous said as he ushered them to an unoccupied barrel then shuffled towards the rear entrance of the mansion.

Derrick hummed with approval. “This place is great. Look how much beer they’ve got.”

“Beer they had,” replied Melly.

Clemiticus gasped. He looked genuinely impressed. “Look over there,” he said, pointing at a twisting stream that meandered through the garden. “Are those goldfish?”

Skittles tilted his head and ruffled his feathers.

“No way,” Dog said excitedly.

The miniature whale floated closer to the stream and watched the goldfish. A smile lit up his face, and the whale sang out as he turned towards the party. “He’s happy.”

“Dog found a friend,” said Melly. A smile reached each of their faces as the happy whale smiled back at them with pure joy.

Their smiles vanished as a flicker of red dove towards the stream and splashed down. The cheeky thief snatched its golden prize from the water and flew on top of the pergola.

Dog turned back around to look into the stream once more.

The whale's smile faded. “Oh, he’s gone away.”

The party froze, mesmerised by the sight of the red assassin dismembering the helpless fish. Luckily, Dog's attention remained on the empty stream.

Derrick turned to Melly and whispered, “I didn’t know parrots ate fish. I thought they ate crackers or something.”

Melly’s expression was strained as she whispered back. “Dad, they are omnivores.”

“Ah.”

“Mr Fishy was tired, so he went to… um, sleep in his fish house,” supplied Clemiticus.

“Ah, Ok,” Dog said, looking a little lonely.

“Pssst!” Kouskous signalled the party. His head had poked out between the doors of the mansion. “Get ready!”

“Get ready for what?” Melly asked.

A chorus of horns blasted and bells wrang.

“Ow!” Melly covered her ears. “What the heck?”

The Sleeping pirates jumped up in shock with a chorus of profanity.

The back doors of the mansion flew open, streamers fluttered, and a thin figure vaulted into the sunlight. With a twirl and a jump, the figure landed with a flourish, then bowed.

Kouskous clapped furiously with a nervous smile and gestured for the others to follow.

So they did, reluctantly.

“May I introduce the King of all Pirates!” Kouskous sung awkwardly.

The King's hat was enormous. It even put Clemiticus’ pirate bonnet to shame. The Pirate King tore the hat off and threw it towards Kouskous, revealing her face.

She was young, pretty, with a black ponytail and a mischievous grin.

“Hello,” she said confidently. “I’m Thea.”

Melly looked over to see Clemiticus' jaw drop. This was the first time she had seen the man dumbfounded. He stood up straight and swiftly walked towards the girl and held out an arm.

“Holy shit,” Clemiticus said. “Another player.”

“A what?” mumbled Melly.

Theas eyes lit up with amazement as she let out an involuntary squeal of joy. She shook Clemiticuses’ hand vigorously.

“OMG! Really? Great to meet ’cha,” she shouted excitedly. “Finally!”

Clemiticus and Thea looked up at each other’s names as they floated above.

“Clemiticus the splendiferous: level 12 Swashbuckler,” Thea read aloud. “Nice! A real pirate.”

“King Thea of the Pirates: level 23 town planner,” read Clemiticus. “What’s a town planner? Wow! How did you get so high?”

Clemiticuses’ other party members stared about in utter confusion as the two flung questions at each other.

Thea grinned. “I had three crappy options, so I chose town planner and I level based on the size of my town.”

“Wait! What’s with all the pirates, then?” Clemiticus asked.

“You get to choose a town theme, so I chose scallywags,” replied Thea, who then asked. “Where did you start?”

“Lobee village, you?”

“Right here.”

“Hang on…” Clemiticus looked deep in thought. “Does that mean you are a non-combat player?”

Thea sighed. “It does. The game won’t allow me to personally attack anything.”

“Really?”

Thea nodded and said, “Watch this!”

Thea walked towards Kouskous and held back her hand. She then swung her arm as hard as she could to slap him.

Bing!

A green light flashed above as a fairy appeared from thin air.

“Thea has failed to enter combat mode: To toggle this mode, please restart the game and enter the mode: Combat.” The fairy’s voice was much deeper than its blue counterpart.

“Hey, you got one too,” Clemiticus spoke, and pointed at the green creature. “Mine’s blue.”

“Oh, really?”

“Ahem,” Melly interrupted.

“Oh yeah, this is my party,” Clemiticus quickly pointed towards his friends. “This is Skittles, Melly, Dog and Derrick.”

“I know!” Thea grinned and pointed towards the space above their heads. “I can read Mr Swashbuckler.”

Clemiticus roared with laughter. “This is great. You can help us with our quest.”

Thea’s expression darkened. “You get quests? Not fair!”

“Hey, you get to build towns,” retorted Clemiticus.

Thea shrugged.

Clemiticus continued, “We need to travel east to…”

Thea squeaked.

“You, ok?” Clemiticus asked.

Melly was shocked to see the complete shift in the girl’s expression. Thea shared a look with Kouskous. Was it relief?

Thea turned back to Clemiticus once more. All playfulness gone. “Clemiticus. I have been stuck here on this shore for far too long with one goal. The game’s goal. The last level and my way home.”

Clemiticus looked apprehensive.

“The task is to free the seas of the curse that blocks the way east.”

“Does that mean what I think it means?” he asked.

Thea nodded. “You are my only hope...”