A sizable group of people made their way through the dense rainforest, following their guide, a man with red hair and a thick red mustache, dressed in forest green colors. He spoke to the group with an English accent, "There, on your right, you’ll see the rare and lovely Hunter Fern, native to these parts. Note the vibrant, brilliantly colored leaves, in a bright rainbow pattern…very distinctive. Don’t get too close, however, because this species of fern can release a cloud of knockout gas, rendering its prey unconscious…not at all pleasant, yes…"

Near the back of the group, Muriel stood with Eustace and Courage. She commented, "I never knew something so beautiful could be so dangerous."

The entire tour so far made Courage nervous. Maybe it was just him, but it seemed like everything out here was nice to look at, but deadly to touch or go near. He decided not to stray off, and stuck close to the group the whole time.

Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a tiny map and unfurled it. According to the translation from the Jigsaw piece, there was supposed to be a place near here where the next piece was located. At least he hoped it was still there.

Eustace looked over at his map and said, "Are we goin’ the right way?"

Muriel walked alongside of him and said, "I think you’ve got the map upside down, Courage…" Courage grinned sheepishly, and turned the map right side up.

Slapping his forehead, Eustace said, "Stupid dog! Can’t you do anything right?"

"Now now, Eustace," Muriel reminded him. "It was an honest mistake. Besides, as long as we follow the tour group, we won’t get lost."

"What tour group?" Eustace asked. As they looked up from the map, they suddenly realized that they had been walking in a straight line and hadn’t been paying attention, as the tour group must have changed directions. Looking around, they couldn’t see any sign of them anywhere.

"Oh no!" Courage said to himself. "We’re lost?"

"Well, isn’t this a fine how-de-do!" Eustace said, a little upset. "Now where are we?"

Muriel looked worried, but she said optimistically, "Don’t worry, Eustace…we’ve got a map, after all. Courage, which way do we go?"

Scratching his head, Courage read over the map, and finally pointed in one direction. Eustace frowned, looking off into that section of the rainforest. "You’d better be right about this, ya stupid dog!" Together, the three of them headed off in that direction, pushing through the dense foliage, unaware that some eyes watched them carefully from the trees…

* * *

Hours passed, and there was still no sign of civilization anywhere. They only saw trees, and plants, and animals, and more trees. It was beginning to get very hot, as well. Courage wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to himself, "I hope we get to where we’re going really soon!"

"Oh my, it’s hot," Muriel said, fanning herself with her hand. "I could just fancy a spot of tea right about now…"

Eustace looked like he wasn’t bothered at all by the heat, even though Courage could see sweat rolling down the side of his head. He still looked impatient, though, as he said, "How much further is it?" Courage shrugged. He really didn’t have any clue if they were even heading in the right direction anymore. He glanced up at the canopy above, and silently wished he could at least see the sun through it well enough to orient himself.

As he looked above, however, something else caught his eye. Three dark shapes waited high up in the branches above him. They were watching intently…dressed in black, with red eyes that seemed to glow with a light of their own.

Courage shook fearfully, as he recognized them, "Ebon Shadows!" Before he could do anything else, he saw the three of them leap from tree to tree. Their motions were quick, and it looked like they didn’t even disturb so much as a single leaf on the branches. They had been high up before, but now they were jumping onto increasingly lower branches.

Courage knew they had to get out of there. He abruptly picked up both Eustace and Muriel and started running deeper into the forest. Behind him, he heard a few faint *swish* sounds as they continued jumping from tree to tree. He doubled his running speed, gritting his teeth…

Emerging from the foliage, he came to a screaming stop just in time before accidentally running off a ledge. Below the ledge, he could see a river winding its way through the rainforest. Behind him, the Shadows had landed on the ground, and were approaching them, swords drawn. Both Eustace and Muriel shouted in fright, and Courage hopped around anxiously, looking around for someplace to escape.

He finally spotted a fallen tree near the ledge, and kicked it off the side. It fell into the river and immediately started floating downstream. Taking a deep breath, he leapt out into the air, still carrying the other two with him.

Bullseye! He landed directly on the log, and carefully set Eustace and Muriel down onto it. All three of them grabbed hold as the current swept them away. The Shadows peered over the edge of the ledge where they had jumped from, and the one in the lead snapped his fingers in frustration.

"That was close," Muriel said. "I don’t know who those gentlemen were, or what they wanted, but they weren’t very nice at all."

"They were after my piece," Eustace shouted, "and my money! Well, they ain’t gettin’ it."

Muriel sighed in relief, "At least we’re safe now…"

Courage sighed as well. He froze, though, as he became aware of a faint roaring noise…not like an animal, but a soft, steady sound. Eustace must have heard it too, because he glanced around and said, "Eh? Wha…?"

As the sound grew louder, Courage glanced ahead and saw the source of it. The river was heading straight out into a waterfall. Shrieking, Courage quickly started paddling the log back towards the opposite direction. The pull of the waterfall was sill too powerful for him to paddle against, as they were pulled inexorably closer towards it.

Finally, he spotted an overhanging branch near the edge of the waterfall…he grabbed hold of it, and Muriel grabbed Courage’s other paw…Eustace hung onto Muriel’s other arm. The tree they were floating on washed over the edge of the waterfall, smashing into pieces on the rocks below. Courage, however, was trying desperately not to lose his grip with all the weight he was carrying.

Dry land wasn’t too far away, so he swung back and forth a few times, and managed to throw the old folks onto it safely. He scrambled up on top of the overhanging branch and crossed it, returning to the shore with the others. He plopped down on the ground and said, "Whew…"

"Is everyone all right?" Muriel asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Eustace grumbled. "But we still ain’t found where we’re goin’ yet…"

Muriel thought about that for a moment, and said, "Well, maybe we can see if anyone lives over there." She pointed off into the distance. Courage looked to where she was pointing, and there, over the side of the waterfall and far off in the distance, a temple sat amidst the trees. It was overgrown with moss and vines, but was still for the most part intact. The entire thing was shaped like a giant foot. Glancing back at the map, Courage identified it…"Templo del Pie".

* * *

It took a while for them to reach it…they had to scale down the ledge carefully and walk for another half-hour or so through the undergrowth, but eventually they approached the entrance. A large stone arch marked the way in, leading into the darkness of the temple. Eustace poked his head into it and shouted, "Hello? Anyone here?" His shout echoed, but there was no response.

"Perhaps they’re out right now," Muriel commented.

"Bahh," Eustace complained. He turned to Courage and said, "Go in there and see if anyone’s home."

Courage shook his head and whined, "No!"

Muriel gave him a reassuring look, however, and said, "It’s all right, Courage, we’ll be fine. Go on ahead."

Whimpering a little, Courage approached the entrance to the temple and said to himself, "Okay, I’ll do it…but I won’t like it…" He pulled a flashlight out of his backpack and, clicking it on, proceeded into the temple.

The place was filled with cobwebs…obviously, no one had set foot inside for years. Simple stone columns supported the ceiling, and even inside, plants and moss were growing between the cracks of the stone floor. Courage stepped carefully, shining his flashlight into every dark corner he saw. He thought he could hear rats and spiders scurrying around, and silently hoped that was all it was.

Turning a corner, he found himself in a corridor that was lit. There were a few high windows on the wall, with rays of light shining in. There wasn’t much light, but at least it was something. Still, he felt uneasy…his normally overactive sense of danger was screaming at him again. "There’s something wrong here…very wrong…"

Against his better judgement, he approached one of the rays of light shining in, and cautiously stuck his hand through it. As soon as he did, there was a soft *click* from the wall, like he had triggered something. Almost before he had time to react, a large stone hand swung out from the wall, ramming a huge pie into his face with a loud *SPLUT*.

Courage stood still for a few moments, before wiping the pie from his face. I’d better be more careful, he thought. Crawling low, he ducked under the rays of light and made his way past them. He had to squeeze very flat to make it by the last rays, but eventually he made it. Without hesitation, he proceeded further into the temple, "At least that’s over with…"

No sooner had these words come out of his mouth, though, then the section of the floor he was walking on caved in. He flailed his arms about in the air for a moment, yelling in surprise, and managed to keep himself from falling into the newly created hole by propping his arms and legs against opposite sides of it. Looking down, he saw a pool of water beneath him, with large, nasty-looking fish snapping huge sets of teeth in his direction. He scrambled a little and succeeded in pulling himself up and out of the hole.

Panting heavily, he stopped to catch his breath. That’s when he rose his flashlight and saw the next section ahead of him. There was a very wide ravine, far too wide to jump across. A single thick vine ran across the center of it, attached firmly to each side, like a tightrope. Clenching his teeth, he gingerly stepped out onto the vine…it held his weight, so he kept going across it. He held his arms out for balance. The darkness in the pit below stretched on for as far as the eye could see, the bottom nowhere in sight.

About halfway across, he thought to himself, Ok, you’re almost there, just keep going and don’t look down anymore! I mean it this time! As he started the rest of the way, he became aware of some movement ahead of him…a rat had wandered over to the edge of the vine and was standing there, staring at him. "Huh?" he said, surprised.

The rat blinked a few times at him, then suddenly reached down and grabbed hold of the vine. It started shaking it around…Courage shouted in alarm, his shouts echoing into the pit below, and he grabbed hold of the vine with all of his paws, clutching it as tightly as he could. The rat continued to bounce and shake the vine wildly, swinging him all over the place.

Courage still wouldn’t let go, though, and after a minute, the rat stopped shaking the vine. It scratched its head for a moment, then snapped its fingers. Baring a set of teeth, it started to nibble through the vine. Panicking, Courage started scuttling as quickly as he could down the vine, trying to reach the edge before he bit through.

The vine snapped, and Courage immediately leapt the rest of the way for the edge, shouting, "Aaaaaaughhh!" He landed right on top of the rat with a *THUD*. Catching his breath at the close call, Courage got up and dusted himself off. As he walked rather unsteadily further into the temple, the smashed rat grinned with a set of broken teeth and gave a little feeble chuckle, "Ah heh heh heh heeyyy…"

Entering the next room, Courage was amazed. It was a large chamber, with steps leading up to a stone pedestal on one end of the room. Statues and other carvings lined the walls. All of them held bows and arrows, with suction cups on the end instead of arrowheads. But what really drew his attention was the pedastal…for sitting on it, gleaming brightly in this gloomy setting, was a golden tablet…one of the Sumerian Jigsaw pieces!

"Yeah!" Courage exclaimed. He stepped forward, and blinked in surprise as the tile beneath his foot sank a few inches into the ground. There was a soft *click*, and suddenly, all the statues faced him and fired their arrows. Courage shrieked and raised his arms protectively, but they all hit him anyway. It all happened so fast…he stood there, shaking fearfully, covered with suction cup arrows. Opening one eye, he looked out at the statues, and saw new arrows automatically being loaded into place…but these had regular, sharp arrowheads on them.

Whimpering, Courage shook off the suction cup arrows and began to tentatively take a few steps out across the room. He stepped carefully around the panels on the ground, every so often taking a few worried glances at the statues, which seemed ready to shoot their arrows at any second. It was nerve-wracking. After a few more hops from safe spot to safe spot, he finally made it across the room and up the steps.

He stared up at the Jigsaw piece, smiling. After all that, he had made it! "Now, time to take this thing and get out of here…" He reached out and picked up the piece, and as he did, he realized that he had screwed up and made yet another mistake, even before the whole room started shaking. Pieces of rock began collapsing from the ceiling, and Courage, screaming like mad, jumped from the pedestal to avoid the falling debris.

As soon as he landed, he scurried as fast as he could across the room. As he ran over trigger after trigger, arrows began whizzing through the air right behind him. He barely made it out of the room, before the entire ceiling caved in, filling the room completely up with large chunks of rock. He reached the edge of the ravine he had crossed before, but now, there was no longer a vine to cross it with. He looked around for another way to cross, but there wasn’t any…and he saw that more of the temple was starting to collapse behind him.

Quickly, Courage reached into his backpack and pulled out his yo-yo. He cringed and said, "Ooh, I hope this works…" Swinging it around overhead, he threw the yo-yo, and it coiled around a piece of rock jutting out from the ceiling. Giving a howl that was more in fear than anything else, he swung across the ravine on the yo-yo string.

He landed on the other side and, with a small tug, pulled the yo-yo free. As he did this, he said to himself, puzzled, "That was easy…I wonder why it held my weight…" He didn’t have time to ponder over it for long, though, as the rest of the temple started to collapse. Running as fast as he can, and screaming the whole way, he charged down the last remaining corridors, doing a quick slide to pass underneath the light rays from earlier. With one last jump, he dove out of the temple entrance just as the last of it caved in.

Eustace and Muriel were still waiting outside, and were startled by Courage’s sudden appearance, followed by the collapse of the entire temple. As the dust settled, Eustace said, "Stupid dog, you weren’t supposed ta wreck the place!"

Still tired from the ordeal, Courage weakly raised the Jigsaw piece he recovered into the air. Eustace’s expression lit up when he saw it, and he cackled gleefully as he took it, "Heh heh heh heh! That’s two down!"

"Oh! Good dog, Courage!" Muriel said, patting him on the head. Courage smiled and let out a sigh of relief…at least it was over for now. Of course, they were still stuck in the middle of the South American rainforest, but…

The relative silence in the air was broken by the sound of a helicopter overhead. It descended and landed in a clearing right next to the temple. Several soldiers leaned out of the helicopter and waved for them to board. Courage recognized their uniforms as the same kind the Bureau 13 agent wore that he had met before. At least they’re helping us out of here, he thought optimistically.

The three of them boarded, and the helicopter took off. As it did, Courage heard a beeping noise coming from his backpack…reaching back into hit, he pulled the text pager out and read it, "I’ve finished the translation. You’ll find the third piece in France. I’ll give you more information once you get there."

One of the soldiers said to him, "Good job, dog…your mission is going smoothly, as planned. We’ve been authorized to take you to your next destination; where would that be?"

In an effort to illustrate, Courage put on a beret and took out a loaf of French bread in one hand, and a small blue, white, and red flag in the other. He waved it and hummed a few bars of "La Marseillaise." The soldier nodded, and gave the new destination to the pilot. Courage smiled...so far, this wasn't too bad, going after these artifact pieces. He just hoped the rest would be easier to get, although he had a sneaking suspicion that they probably wouldn't be...