🇧🇷 Jack and the Rooftop Carnival of Brazil
They arrived in Rio just in time for Carnival.
Music filled the streets. People danced in feathered costumes, fireworks popped in the sky, and every corner seemed to burst with colour. Jack, Lenny, Ollie, and Imogen stood in awe, their marble pouch pulsing with excitement.
Bernard trotted ahead wearing a tiny carnival mask. “Don’t let the party distract you — the marble’s hidden high above. Rooftop level.”
Ollie stuffed another brigadeiro into his mouth. “So… no time for snacks?”
“Definitely no time for snacks,” Lenny muttered, pulling him along.
They zig-zagged through alleyways until they reached a crumbling stone stairwell behind an old samba theatre. Bernard barked, and Jack followed him up, higher and higher until they reached a rooftop covered in graffiti — colourful, detailed, and one mural in particular stood out.
A swirling golden sun with a single eye in its centre.
“It’s got to be here,” Jack said, and just then, the pouch began to glow.
Imogen pointed at the base of the mural. “There’s something carved into the tiles!”
They crouched down to read:
“Among the music, sun and beat,
Lies rhythm none can see or meet.
Tap the heart that holds the tune,
And lift the marble with the moon.”
“Tap the heart?” Ollie looked around. “Like… drum rhythm?”
Lenny grabbed a nearby empty oil drum. “It’s worth a try.”
He tapped in time with the music coming from the parade below. Slowly, the golden eye on the mural began to spin. A hatch popped open on the rooftop.
Inside, nestled within the concrete, was a marble glowing with vibrant reds, oranges, and golds — shimmering like fire in rhythm.
🔥 SPAZZY RAY
Jack picked it up. It pulsed with each beat from the street below.
Bernard grinned. “Spazzy Ray — full of energy, rhythm, and surprises. He can unleash sonic pulses to break illusions and reveal what’s hidden.”
“Useful,” Jack said, admiring the way the marble seemed to move even when still.
Pop!
It zipped into the pouch.
Then suddenly — BOOM!
A firework lit up the sky directly above them. In that moment, Jack looked down over Rio — the people, the sound, the joy — and knew this was only the beginning.
Imogen closed her notebook. “Where next?”
Bernard sniffed the marble pouch. “Miami.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “America?”
Bernard’s tail wagged. “And a marble surrounded by neon, art… and mystery.”
