The inconsistently quiet town of Wartwood is home to many different frogs, some young, some old, some honest, others, not so much, but it's a town where no matter how dire or hostile things get, everyone has each other's back. Wartwood most certainly isn't a perfect, ideal little slice of paradise; in fact, some would go as far as to call the people there somewhat unwelcoming. But to those that give the people of Wartwood enough time and patience and allow themselves to break through the societal barriers, there is a wonderful place to call home.
The small frog town of Wartwood sits just south of the heart of Amphibia, cradled by mountains and isolated from the newt kingdom of the north. It is a town with scars, but one that stands as proudly as its residents. One such resident is a young, pink, wide-eyed frog by the name of Sprig Plantar. Along with his sister, Polly, his grandfather, Hopediah "Hop Pop", and the frog of Hop Pop's dreams, the lovely Sylvia, Sprig takes care of the farm as Hop Pop begins to show his age.
Sprig has recently celebrated his 21st birthday, and nowadays, Hop Pop considers him the man of the house. Reluctant to take on the mantle of such a large responsibility, Sprig nevertheless accepts his role and does everything he can to be helpful and make his Hop Pop proud. Hop Pop believes it to be an important exercise for Sprig to be able to express that independence, but Sprig seems quite reluctant to have the burden.
In many aspects, he still considers himself a kid at heart. Sprig fancies himself a bit of a dreamer. He likes to open up his window at night and stare out into the vastness of the sky above and ponder hypotheticals. Lately, he wonders, where have the years gone? It felt like only yesterday that she left, as if years of his life had disappeared within the blink of an eye.
Sprig thinks about her every night as he lies in bed, the girl that fell from the sky and into his and his family's lives, the girl named Anne Boonchuy, the girl with one shoe and leaves in her hair, and who was just as much of a mess on the inside as she was on the outside, but undoubtedly a good person with a pure heart. Sprig misses Anne. Even though he's dedicated his heart to another, a spunky young frog named Ivy, a tomboy with a pension for nonsense and trouble, Sprig, at his young age, left a piece of his heart with Anne. He loved her; they all did.
But he can't help but wonder how the years have been to her on earth, what she's doing, how she's doing, how her friends, and how the Boonchuys, the people that would become like a second family to him, are doing. The long nights are restless. Sprig never fully forgot about Anne. Like all distant memories, the details may have blurred, but the core values remain vivid with beautiful clarity.
Sprig had felt strange when thinking about Anne ever since puberty struck him like a ball-peen hammer right around his twelfth birthday after she'd been gone from his life for an entire year. The puppy love feelings he felt toward Ivy in his youth had intensified, and in only a matter of time, she felt the same way toward him. But one thing he never counted on was feeling those feelings toward Anne. He feels uncomfortable with those feelings and largely hides them from Hop Pop and Polly, a secret he confides only in himself.
As Sprig finds himself drifting apart from his sister, Polly, he finds it uncanny that she had started to form friendships with several girls like herself: Rosemary, Lavender, and Ginger, the three younger sisters of Maddie Flour that she'd grown close to in school. Polly, even in her teen years, retains the sassiness of her youth, much to Sprig's chagrin for certain. It's quite often that Hop Pop has to cover his ears from their incessant bickering, but deep down, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Hop Pop, now hopelessly in-denial about approaching his eighties, tries to remind himself that it's not over yet. He refuses to back down from the hard labor, even as that labor gets more and more difficult for him to perform every day. Sprig and Polly constantly warn him that he'll inevitably suffer a heart attack if he keeps it up, but he firmly believes that the second he starts resting is the first of many that will lead to him resting permanently.
The Plantar family gathers in the living room. As Hop Pop squints through his reading glasses, trying to read off the long list of things Sprig needs to get on his journey to Newtopia, Sprig stands there patiently, tapping his foot while Polly, who stands hovering over Hop Pop (who still can't believe that she's taller than him now), folds her arms with a stoic expression of quickly waning patience. Hop Pop runs his finger down the list, partially forgetting what he's supposed to be doing when Sprig rolls his eyes and takes the list out of his hands.
Hop Pop: "Now, Sprig, yer gonna remember ta get all the stuff on that list, right?"
She approaches Sprig, resting her hand on his shoulder.
Sylvia: "Of course you are... Right, Sprig?"
Hop Pop looks up at Sprig with shriveled and dried-out lips and crow's feet nearly long enough to belong to one of the dreadful herons of the north and Sylvia folds her arms, shaking her head. Sprig merely smiles sideways at him, somewhat smugly, but genuinely kind.
Sprig: "Of course, Hop Pop. You can count on me."
Polly raises her brow and stares dead into Sprig's eyes, metaphorically punching the cheesy grin off his face with her expression of stoic, jaded cynicism.
Polly: "Just like how he could count on you when you managed to get a speeding ticket!"
Sprig raises his arms, flailing them into the air, the list in his hand making rustling noises as Hopediah follows the motion of his arms with his eyes.
Sprig: "I don't even know how a snail could get a speeding ticket!"
Sylvia performs a dismissive hand wave at Sprig.
Sylvia: "Oh, honey, you should see all Sadie's speeding tickets."
Hop Pop looks up at her, mouth agape, and then back at Sprig.
Hop Pop: "You DID pay that ticket off, right?"
Sprig cringes almost avoidantly, slightly backing away, knowing he'd been caught.
Hop Pop: "RIGHT?"
Sprig confesses.
Sprig: "I COULDN'T pay off the ticket! Bessie ate it!"
At this admission, Polly uses the opportunity to march right in front of Hop Pop, injecting herself into the front and center of attention as usual. She leans over to address Hop Pop face to face as Sprig leans over her shoulder, becoming wholly frustrated by her audacity. Hop Pop rues the day he became the shortest person in his own house.
Polly: "And yet you STILL put him in charge of the farm DESPITE the fact that I'M the one that built all these fancy robots and I've practically automated the entire cultivation process!"
Hop Pop finds himself becoming somewhat uncomfortable, backing away from the advancing Polly and loosening the ascot around his neck to let out the visible steam protruding from his nervousness. Remembering he's the force of ultimate authority in the house, he firmly plants his red feet and wags his skinny, wrinkly finger at his granddaughter in retaliation.
Hop Pop: "I put Sprig in charge of the decision-making on the farm because he's the most level-headed of the two of ya. You might have all that technical mumbo jumbo figured out in that big, pink brain of yer's, but Sprig's just... more mature than ya. I know this farm means a lot to ya, Polly, and that's why I need someone that will make wise decisions when I'm... no longer around."
Polly huffs and storms off. Hop Pop turns around and calls out to her.
Hop Pop: "I'm just lookin' out for the two of ya! I swear!"
Sylvia places her hand to her mouth.
Sylvia: "Oh my. Should I go up and have a word with her?"
Polly ignores them, storming up to her room where she proceeds to slam the door so loudly that they flinch, even from all the way downstairs. Sprig places his hand on his grandfather's shoulder. Hop Pop looks up at him, his eyes filled with uncertainty and despair. Sprig smiles down at him kindly.
Sprig: "No need. I think I understand what's wrong. Let me go talk to her."
Hop Pop turns around, grabbing Sprig by the arms, pleading with him desperately.
Hop Pop: "Please make her understand."
Sprig sighs, marching purposefully up the stairs, losing the gusto to tell Polly off by the time he's reached the top, finding it within both his heart and his mind the will to approach the situation with a more genteel solution than he was originally going to take. He opens the door and Polly is sunken into her pillow, wrapping her long, spaghetti-like arms around the marshmallow-like pillow propped up against her headrest and practically crushing it against her chest. She stares down at her bed with a scowl and a million thoughts racing through her mind at once.
Sprig enters the room, treading past a disembodied robotic frog head that follows him with its eye sensors. He approaches her apprehensively, as he would a temperamental wild animal before lowering himself down at the foot of her bed. He looks over to her and beneath her golden locks, she can feel his eyes bear down on her. She responds to him before he's even uttered a word.
Polly: "It's not fair! I made so many robots to run this farm and it practically runs itself now and I STILL don't get recognition for my hard work, and all because you're somehow the more 'mature' one!"
She turns over to address him, pointing accusingly, and Sprig can see clearly now just how upset she's gotten over this. Her eyes are red and dewy and she's an unkempt mess. Sprig almost regrets approaching her in this condition. He doesn't answer immediately but takes a second to form the proper answer. He looks around the room for a second and Polly stares at him as if trying to get a beat on his thought patterns. He then turns to her.
Sprig: "I know. And that's why I don't want to... no... why I can't do this alone."
Polly rubs her eyes, sitting up in her bed Indian style as he elaborates.
Polly: "Huh?"
Sprig turns himself sideways so that he's facing her directly and can speak to her in a more personal manner.
Sprig: "Hop Pop trusted me with running the farm and maybe the old me would use that as an opportunity to boss you around... but I don't want to be the one in charge and I most certainly don't want to be your 'boss'... but I'd definitely like to be your partner. You're right; you are smart, and all the innovations you've made on the farm, from that self-feeding plant-watering system to the cultivator bots that you've installed a timer on so they know just when to harvest each year, that stuff's incredible! And what have I done? Well, I talk to guys and use my cunning wit and my dazzling good looks to get good deals. I might be the face of Plantar's Farm, but you're the brains of the operation. So, what do you say? You wanna be my partner and help Hop Pop run everything together?"
Sprig extends his hand to her for a truce. She hesitates slightly but then takes his hand. Polly scoots over to Sprig on the end of his bed and leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She looks away in shame over her overreaction. Sprig pulls her close to him.
Polly: "I guess Hop Pop was right. Maybe you are the most mature of the two of us. I'm sorry I let something so stupid go to my head. I'd be honored to work alongside you."
Sprig springs from the bed with the energy of a spry young lad and stands before Polly with a long grin on his face.
Sprig: "That's great because I'm gonna be gone for the next few days and I'm gonna need you to keep things under control around here."
Polly cups her chin in thought, contemplating a request.
Polly: "You said Hop Pop was sending you to Newtopia for some convention or whatever, right?"
Sprig tilts his head at her as a curious dog would.
Sprig: "Yeah. Why?"
Polly rises from her bed.
Polly: "Could you pick up a batch of robot parts for me? I've been taking a few commissions on the side for people that want some of my robots."
Sprig: "Really? Who?"
Polly laughs.
Polly: "Well, for one, there's Mayor Toadie. He didn't want me to tell anyone, you know, customer/employee confidentiality and all that junk, but he told me Froderick has gotten pretty lazy lately, and he's contemplating replacing him with a robot."
Sprig grimaces slightly.
Sprig: "Yeesh! That sounds kinda harsh."
Polly shakes her head reassuringly.
Polly: "Oh no. He just wants to plant the fear of being replaced in hopes that Toadstool will step up his game."
Sprig places his hand on his chin in thought.
Sprig: "How devious AND manipulative."
She chuckles.
Polly: "Right. He's a real chip off the old block."
Sprig realizes how awkward the situation's gotten and that at this point he's just stalling. He rubs his arms and looks away as he makes an excuse to leave.
Sprig: "Anyway, I gotta go. Anything else you need before I head off?"
She smiles up at him.
Polly: "Just try to come back in one piece, okay? It's dangerous out there."
Sprig stands with his hands on his hips like a superhero.
Sprig: "Pfff. I'm a one-frog army. You know this."
She laughs again.
Polly: "Okay. Bye, Sprig."
Sprig leaves and heads downstairs. Hop Pop is basically frozen in place in anticipation.
Hop Pop: "Well, how did it go?"
Hop Pop shrugs, sweating with anticipation.
Sprig: "I talked some sense into her. So, is there anything else you need at all? Remember, once I leave, I'm gonna be gone for the next few days, and there will be no way of getting in contact with me."
Hop Pop: "Just leave a good impression. Try to sell everything you can, and TRY not to bring disaster back with ya."
Sprig laughs.
Sprig: "I can't make no promises on that last one."
Sylvia laughs at his rambunctiousness.
Hop Pop: "Sprig!"
Sprig raises his hands in surrender, laughing as he backs away.
Sprig: "Kidding! I'm kidding."
Sprig leaves through the front door, walking out to the snail pen. Hop Pop follows slowly. He enters the pen momentarily, returning while towing a tall, pale purple snail by his side. Sprig approaches her, talking to her like a baby.
Sprig: "Hey there, Bessie. Who's a good girl?"
Sprig cuddles the affectionate purple snail and she leans in for loving chin scratches. Hop Pop smiles in pride.
Hop Pop: "So what're ya thinkin', Sprig? Ready to take ol' Bessie out for one more spin?"
Sprig looks over to the fine young snail before him, a massive pink male snail with huge blue eyes and the tiniest bowtie, MicroAngelo. Of course, he's not so "micro" anymore. Sprig jokingly calls him "MacroAngelo" from time to time, noting that he's somehow outgrown Bessie. The snail quietly munches on some grass in solitude from the other rambunctious snail/sparrow hybrids. Joe flies up to Sprig, jerking his head around in curious bird-like motions and Sprig chuckles as he is nudged by the bird's head, his soft feathers tickling his face.
Sprig: "Sorry, Joe. I'm gonna need a big, strong snail to carry all this cargo with me. Hey, Hop Pop, you think MicroAngelo is ready to go on his maiden voyage?"
Hop Pop peers over to the young snail with the big blue eyes.
Hop Pop: "MicroAngelo? He's a fine, young snail, but don'tcha think Bessie would be a little more... reliable?"
Hop Pop shrugs convincingly, trying to coerce Sprig into a more favorable alternative.
Sprig: "This is a pretty big load I'm hauling all the way to Newtopia and MicroAngelo has both the size and youthful vigor to pull it off. That and I don't wanna tire ol' Bessie out."
He walks over to Bessie, who, rather than fuss or feel offended by Sprig's denial, is perfectly content with staying home as he cuddles and comforts her. Hop Pop merely shrugs. He's been trying to allow Sprig the independence he needs to feel as though he's in charge, but looks on at the deceptively docile MicroAngelo, knowing that he has a bit of a rambunctious side to him at times. He wants to know that Sprig can rely on him. Sprig strolls over to the massive MicroAngelo and the friendly snail lowers his head for cuddles. Sprig decides right then and there that that's the snail for the job.
The entire time that Sprig is loading the carriage with everything he'll need, MicroAngelo sits there, smiling and staring in curiosity. He's been out on the road before, but never with cargo, and never very far outside of Wartwood, so this is completely uncharted territory for him, but it's a job he'll inevitably have to learn to do. As Sprig runs through a few last-minute checks to see if the carriage and its components are secured, he removes his beanie and rubs the sweat from his brow.
Sprig: "Okay, all the cargo's on board."
Hop Pop raises his finger to Sprig, wishing to emphasize the importance of the trip.
Hop Pop: "Remember, Sprig, this is the home of the California avocados. Nobody grows 'em like we do."
Sprig raises his finger and brings up a good point.
Sprig: "Except for the Californians."
Hop Pop is completely caught off-guard. He folds his arms, admitting defeat.
Hop Pop: "Except for the Californians."
Sprig boards the carriage. He leans forward, peeking over the footboard at MicroAngelo with a smile.
Sprig: "Ready to go, boy?"
MicroAngelo turns his head backward, replying with excitement.
MicroAngelo: "Meep!"
Sprig takes the reins and MicroAngelo takes off at the breakneck speed of a whopping five miles an hour. Sprig takes off, humming jaunty jollies and merry tunes as he chimes in for MicroAngelo to join in whimsy. The first few hours prove to be quite fun, more than he initially thought they'd be considering he'd be traveling alone. Sprig continues to talk to MicroAngelo, and even though the snail can't communicate to Sprig his thoughts and words coherently and eloquently, he nevertheless responds with a chirpy and upbeat "meep".
Sprig knows the road all too well at this point, as he's traveled it many times, though never on his own. This is the first time Hop Pop has stepped down to allow him to drive and take care of business on his own. Hop Pop has surface-level faith in Sprig, but worries just as any parent would for their children or grandchildren, no matter how old they get. Sylvia stands by his side to help him maintain his faith as Sprig embarks on his long journey.
After about the sixth hour mark, Sprig's throat has grown sore from all the singing, and no matter how much he whets his whistle, no amount of moisture will return him to an audible or melodic state, so he ceases. MicroAngelo, in his boundless vigor, slithers on with the same unshakable grin and slight purr. The next several hours pass, and they've just made it out of The Ruins of Despair when Sprig decides to wrap things up for the night and tackle Quarreler's Pass in the morning.
He and MicroAngelo set up camp on the side of the road where Sprig continues to bond with his friend before nodding off to sleep. Sprig, reading the book to MicroAngelo, finds his eyelids becoming heavy and his vision blurring. The large snail nudges the pink frog awake, the book that was laying on top of his face sliding down into the dirt. As Sprig regains cognition, he retrieves his book and stumbles his way tiredly into the coach to rest.
Sprig: "Good night, MicroAngelo."
The kind snail follows Sprig with his eyes as he stumbles into the carriage.
MicroAngelo: "Meep."
Sprig rests on the couch inside the carriage, laying sprawled out with his hand flopped lazily on the floor. He's out like a light in a matter of seconds. When he awakens using the extremely outdated cell phone left to him by his dear friend Anne, he stumbles around, twisting in his blanket and falling on the floor.
Sprig: "I surrender!... Huh? Oh yeah, alarm clock."
He sets outside to awaken MicroAngelo from his deep sleep, feeding him a nice helping of morning snail chow, and off they set for Newtopia, past Quarreler's Pass. Sprig sure wishes at this point he had someone to argue with, anyone at all. MicroAngelo certainly won't argue with him, (he often does his best to avoid conflict), so Sprig resorts to arguing with himself. The snail just looks ahead, wondering if his driver had finally gone mad. Once passed the Quarreler's Pass, there's no need to quarrel anymore, so he stops, thank Frog. Sprig and MicroAngelo are somewhere between Quarreler's Pass and Ribbitvale at this point, a long stretch of empty road ahead.
Sprig: "You know, buddy, I thought for sure that this trip would be filled with all sorts of intense drama, danger, excitement, and chaos... but it turned out to be a pretty smooth ride, I must say."
MicroAngelo: "Meep!"
As Sprig tempts fate and MicroAngelo smiles cheerfully, something large and red whisks by. Sprig's eyes grow large. He darts his head around to try to catch a glimpse of the elusive threat.
Sprig: "What was that?! Did you see that?!"
MicroAngelo shivers cowardly.
MicroAngelo: "M-m-meep!"
Over their heads a massive creature leaps, landing right before them. A fierce, bright red scrabster, a creature looking like the cross between a scorpion, a lobster, and a crab, reaches its long, vice-like claw of death straight forward, ready to crunch Sprig's bones like twigs. MicroAngelo compresses himself into a ducking motion before retreating deep into his shell. Sprig dives to the side into a roll as the driver's seat is crushed into an accordion with the force of several tons.
Sprig attempts the hypnotic Plantar Family Hunting Dance but the scrabster is having none of it, swiping at Sprig with all its fury if he so much as thinks of becoming idle. He realizes he's at a severe disadvantage as his environment is wide-open and bereft of hazards. Using nothing but his wit and agility, Sprig attempts to lure the crustacean away from the carriage by baiting it. What Sprig doesn't account for is his own pride, as what starts as a fight quickly becomes a game to him, and a severe annoyance to the creature that merely sees him as food.
He leaps back and forth, mocking the animal as it swings and snaps, severing smaller trees and shrubbery, but nothing capable of falling that's heavy enough to break the thicker shell. Sprig, in his hubris, makes the mistake of teasing the creature by blowing raspberries and taking his eyes off it, allowing it ample time to trip Sprig with its long tail. As Sprig falls to the ground, the beast pins him with its large, fleshy claw. Sprig braces for punishment, closing his eyes.
Rather than the snap of his neck or the crunch of his bones, the next thing the sightless frog experiences is the loud "SHING" of an unsheathed sword, and the arm pinning him down losing the weight of the push. Disoriented, Sprig turns in place to witness a massive figure, adorned in a long, black cloak, brandishing a black sword with thorns.
The beast wails as it retaliates against its attacker and Sprig's defender. With unparalleled feats of agility, the large cloaked figure leaps out of the way, billowing through the air with the grace of a black tissue paper. The rescuer shows his girth and weight by switching mid-air to a massive black sledgehammer, coming down hard on the beast and completely destroying its shell.
The crustacean is desperate and initiates one more Hail Mary attack with all its might to crush the foolish intervener with its massive claw. Dropping the hammer, the cloaked figure catches the full-bearing weight of the claw in his only arm. The creature is astonished, as the force was enough to leave a small crater in the cracked earth where the hero stands. With all his might, the cloaked figure locks the claw in place underarm, causing the massive beast to struggle and writhe.
With a maniacal and barbaric yell, the cloaked figure screams into the heavens as he summons the strength to rip the claw clean off. The beast screeches bloody murder. The cloaked figure, drawing his hammer once more, brings silence with a massive, thunderous slam to the noggin. Several more just for good measure, and the assailant is as good as dead. Disoriented, Sprig rises from the ground. Woozily, he stumbles toward his hero. The cloaked figure, noticing as Sprig approaches, hobbles away toward the wilderness.
Sprig: "Hey, wait! Who are you?"
The cloaked one does not answer. He persists toward his destination. Sprig perseveres, abandoning the snail and the carriage on the road.
Sprig: "Hey! Wait up! I just want to thank you!"
The cloaked individual responds with a deep, raspy growl, barely audible.
Cloaked Man: "Go away."
Sprig notices the hammer he uses as a cane as he hobbles. He squints his eyes, but then it hits him and his eyes grow large when he realizes who just saved him.
Sprig: "King Andrias?"
The cloaked man stops. He turns around in place, revealing a half-blind figure with a long, gnarly, and unkempt beard.
King Andrias: "What?!"
Sprig flinches a bit at his unfriendliness.
Sprig: "I just wanted to thank you for saving my life."
King Andrias turns around, flailing the cape of his cloak as he continues home. Retreating through the woods, Sprig retrieves the snail and carriage. In a matter of a minute, Andrias, who walks home with a perpetual frown adorned on his face, winces when he notices the rolling wheels of the carriage and the slick, slimy noises of the snail leaving its trail behind him. He turns around, quite angry by Sprig's stubborn advance.
King Andrias: "What do you want?!"
Sprig steps down from the carriage, addressing him face to face as Andrias peers down at him with his pale blue eyes.
Sprig: "You live out here by yourself now, right?"
Andrias turns around and continues walking home.
King Andrias: "Yes."
Sprig follows.
Sprig: "I thought maybe you could use some company."
King Andrias looks over his shoulder.
King Andrias: "Company?"
Sprig rubs the back of his head nervously as he tries to invite himself over.
Sprig: "... Yeah. I assume you probably don't get very much out here."
King Andrias contemplates. He remembers the letter and cannot forget the words no matter how hard he tries. "Don't shut yourself away. Open your heart". He is quiet for a moment before speaking in a calm rasp.
King Andrias: "People do not take kindly to me. I'm not welcome in my own kingdom."
King Andrias and Sprig pull up to a rather large cabin that he had built himself. Sprig notices a very bare section of the forest where it's quite apparent that Andrias had felled some trees. The cabin, albeit somewhat crude and plain, is well-made with care. Andrias seems to have placed a lot of pride into making the home the best he could.
By happenstance, Sprig manages to eye the broken window, the graffiti along the side wall that spells out words he would never say around Hop Pop, and the rotten smell of eggs as shells rest at the bottom of the exterior wall of his home. Andrias approaches a large, oak door and turns the knob. He freezes, looking behind him shyly and nervously, slightly avoiding eye contact.
King Andrias: "Please don't touch anything."
Inside the cabin is dark and dimly lit by but a few quaint candles. It isn't much, just a kitchen area, a restroom, and a bed, the bare essentials. As King Andrias has only ever dined alone, he has but a single chair, a stump pulled straight from the ground and placed before a wooden table. Andrias sits, and Sprig, perfectly content with standing, does so. Sprig looks around for any key items of interest only to find that Andrias lives a very plain and sheltered life devoid of fun. He just sits at the table and stares off into space, almost like he isn't even there.
Sprig: "Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. It's no castle, but I guess not too many places are."
King Andrias is apparently not paying very much attention. He shakes his head as he returns to reality.
King Andrias: "Huh? What?"
Sprig frowns. It would seem Andrias isn't all there.
Sprig: "Never mind... So... how did you wind up here anyway? I thought you were imprisoned."
King Andrias thinks for a moment, nodding and blinking several times judgmentally looking back and forth between Sprig and the floor. He shrugs slightly.
King Andrias: "I was, initially. It took a few years, but they soon came to realize that I would pose no opposition to them. With good behavior, they gradually loosened their chain on me, eventually allowing me to live just outside of the kingdom. I just live out my days minding my own business and trying to fix what I had broken. Of course... not all damage can be mended."
Sprig leans on the wooden table, looking over at Andrias.
Sprig: "Now, uh, I don't want you to take this the wrong way or anything, but why did you rescue me? You didn't have to."
King Andrias just looks at Sprig like he has no idea what he's talking about. He doesn't respond immediately.
King Andrias: "I do this to honor someone that meant a lot to me, a fallen friend with a pure heart, a protector who would lay his life on the line for those around him. I had a lot of time to myself to think things through, and I'd realized, I wasn't a very good king. When you take the throne, you swear an oath to your people, to lead them, to guide them... to protect them. I hadn't done a very good job protecting my people. I know I did things I could never undo. People lost lives and I cannot bring them back. Families were separated that will never see each other again, and it's all my fault.
"But worst of all, I took sickening pleasure in it. I allowed myself to become so consumed with desire that I lost myself, lost what was important. I wanted to be a good king, but other things conflicted with that. Things that I desired more, things more... personal. I don't know why I'm telling you any of this."
Sprig stares down at the floor, trying to respond appropriately.
Sprig: "Maybe it's a good thing you're telling this to someone. I know that keeping things bottled up can only make you feel worse. For example, I used to feel a certain way about Anne. It wasn't something I felt while she was there, but something I started to feel as I grew older and more apart from her. I realized what a huge impact she had on my life and how she changed me as a person, how she made me a better person for having been around her. For a while, I thought I felt a certain way around her."
Sprig starts to glow a noticeably reddish pink and Andrias stares at him peculiarly.
King Andrias: "What do you mean 'a certain way'?"
Sprig waves him off.
Sprig: "Nah. It's stupid."
King Andrias observes him.
King Andrias: "I won't make fun of you. I promise."
Sprig looks between him and the ground, twiddling his fingers with uncertainty. He squints his eyes and forces himself to admit his embarrassing feelings.
Sprig: "I thought I loved Anne as more than just a friend!"
He gradually opens his eyes to find Andrias looking at him, almost sorry.
King Andrias: "I don't think that's stupid, to love someone that's different from you."
Sprig gestures erratically with his hands as he tries to explain himself. He paces back and forth and Andrias sits there motionless, finding Sprig almost exhausting as he follows the pacing frog back and forth with his eyes.
Sprig: "Yeah, but you see, I was already in a relationship—I still am, by the way— with Ivy. I don't think there's any way I'd be able to tell her. Still... it feels good to get that off my chest and tell it to someone... Anyone, really."
Sprig laughs awkwardly and Andrias just stares at him with the same pained look in his eyes.
King Andrias: "But still. Feelings are never disingenuous, only people. That young lady, she has that effect on people. I still remember, she was willing to forgive her friends, even after they did terrible things to her, even after they betrayed her trust. I never met anyone with that kind of compassion before... well... except for one."
Andrias clasps the pendant around his neck, the sole keepsake of Marcy Wu, his only gift. Sprig smiles kindly at Andrias, looking down and noticing his treasure.
Sprig: "I forgive you."
Andrias is completely taken aback. He squints and shrugs with genuine confusion.
King Andrias: "You forgive me? Why?"
Sprig leans on the table.
Sprig: "Maybe I just feel inspired, you know, to pay it forward, to show others that same kind of mercy and compassion that she did. Maybe I could make the world a better place that way."
King Andrias looks down at the floor. He shakes his head and looks right back at Sprig, analyzing him.
King Andrias: "But I tried to KILL you."
Sprig looks away from him, staring down at the table.
Sprig: "It seems like we all did things that day that we regret. Still, if she can forgive her friends for betraying her and for getting them stuck in our world, I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you."
Andrias stares at him.
Sprig: "What?"
King Andrias: "You look just like her."
Sprig leans over the table.
Sprig: "Just like who?"
Andrias smiles weakly.
King Andrias: "Someone very special to me."
He rises from his chair, leaning heavily on the hammer.
King Andrias: "Come outside. I want to show you something."
They head outside and outback, where Sprig spots something he hadn't before, a massive garden that he had somehow not noticed from the front end. Sprig's eyes become flying saucers as he beholds the tender, perfectly aligned field of what seemed like every plant imaginable. The garden, even though tended by a sole individual, puts Hop Pop's garden to shame. He and Sprig stare out into the green infinity with a sense of mutual pride and wonder.
King Andrias: "I spent my whole life as ruler knowing only how to take and destroy, and because of that, I lost my two dearest friends. Now, in their honor, I have made it my self-sworn duty to create and protect, just as they did. I do what I do in honor of them."
Sprig looks all over the field but notices one particular detail.
Sprig: "Hmm, no California avocados."
Andrias is caught off-guard. He does a double take and stares down at Sprig with a raised brow.
King Andrias: "I'm sorry, WHAT now?"
Sprig retrieves a California avocado from his side pouch, placing the bumpy brown fruit in King Andrias' hand. Andrias looks down at it.
Sprig: "This is a California avocado, something that was previously only grown on earth. We've been cultivating them on our farm. It's pretty simple. The seed can be found within and they're not that hard to grow."
Andrias tries to return the fruit and Sprig places his hand over it, further compounding the king.
Sprig: "Keep it. Think of it kinda as a gift, a thank you for saving my life. Now, I gotta get going."
King Andrias is quiet for a second as Sprig walks away.
King Andrias: "Thank you."
Sprig looks over his shoulder.
Sprig: "I'm heading into town for a farmer's convention. I'm looking to sell big and bring home some parts for Polly's robots. I'll check in on ya on the way back to see how things are shaping up. Til then, I'll see ya later."
Andrias just stands there with the avocado as Sprig leaves. Sprig assumes by default that a cultivator of such an impressive garden should have no trouble cultivating the tree that bares its eponymous fruit. Sprig heads back to MicroAngelo, who's been having a field day with the wild foliage in Andrias' front yard. Sprig approaches the snail. He has since calmed down from the stress of the battle and is ready to go. He rubs the side of the snail's face affectionately.
Sprig: "I hope you're ready to hit the road, buddy. Onward to Newtopia!"
Andrias approaches the carriage with a single request.
King Andrias: "Sprig, whatever you do, don't mention that you bumped into me. Okay?"
Sprig leans over the messed up footrest as he tries for dear life to get comfortable on the destroyed carriage seat.
Sprig: "Still got a beef with someone out there? I saw the trash... and the graffiti... and the eggs."
Andrias sighs.
King Andrias: "It's just, I've made a lot of enemies and I don't want to see them become YOUR enemies by association. Oh, and DEFINITELY don't mention me to Bartley, Branson, and Blair. Those guys are SUPER jealous that I got off on good behavior."
Sprig smiles and nods.
Sprig: "Okay. I'll remember not to say anything about meeting you."
With that, Sprig takes off, waving back to King Andrias as he stands at the side of the road, staring off into the distance. Sprig makes his way back through the forest and onto the main road. He takes the time to get a good look at the giant crustaceous creature that attacked him. The beast lay broken into shelled pieces and pummeled to a pulp. The local beasts have already begun to feast on its carcass. Sprig cringes in horror. For the entire rest of the trip, Sprig thinks about Andrias and just how sad it is that he lives alone and that nobody else wants to see him.
By the early morning of the next day, Sprig arrives at the gate to Newtopia. He feels as though he can breathe a sigh of relief now that he finally made it. Sprig readies his purse of sand dollars to pay for his expenses, including booking MicroAngelo at a local snail stable, the snail feels a sense of nostalgia toward his return to his birthplace, and Sprig removes the tools necessary to ready his stand for the farmer's convention. Lastly, he books a couple of nights at the Hemisphere Hotel where, for at least the first night, he sleeps like a baby.
When the time comes, Sprig sets up his stand in Coral Park and readies all the fresh fruits and vegetables, especially the California avocados, the hottest seller, organizing them in a neat and tidy manner. Sprig uses a couple of different artistic means of getting attention, such as utilizing some of the glitter he took from Anne's house years ago, as well as some of the neon markers that Hop Pop chastised him for sniffing and saying they "smelled funny". Sprig makes the brightest sign he can so he can stand out from the crowd.
The competition is mostly what he expects, young college newts from Newtopia University, mostly peers that are out to snub him for his rejection of their prestigious university, but also, for some reason, Monroe and his young nephew (not to be undone by Hopediah in having some sort of successor). Monroe and his nephew blow raspberries at Sprig from across the street, and Sprig, unable to control himself, simply can't resist doing the same back at him. The two see fit to approach him at his stand and bother him. Sprig folds his arms in disgust as he addresses his "rival".
Sprig: "Oh, hello Monroe and... Marlon."
Marlon: "You got a lotta nerve bringing those earth foods all the way to Newtopia to show off."
Monroe walks up just behind his snobby nephew, resting his arm proudly on the smug boy's shoulder.
Monroe: "Not like it matters. Marlon and I are gonna wipe the floor with you today."
Sprig rolls his eyes, scoffing at their rudeness.
Sprig: "Pff, yeah right. Here. Why don't you take one of these?"
Sprig pulls a pillow from hammerspace and hands it to the light blue frog. The older man looks at it, thoroughly confused.
Monroe: "A pillow? What am I supposed to do with a pillow?"
Sprig climbs on top of his stand, pointing at him mockingly with an insane grin on his face.
Sprig: "It's so you can try to beat me the only way you can, IN YOUR DREAMS!"
Monroe scowls at him.
Monroe: "Touche, Plantar. By the way, where's ol' Hopediah? Don't see him anywhere today."
Monroe pretends to shield his eyes and scouts far and yonder for his favorite rival. Sprig shrugs arrogantly.
Sprig: "He stayed home on the farm. Not like I need him to outsell you two."
Monroe and Marlon laugh.
Marlon: "The old man probably couldn't handle the trip anyway."
He hi-fives his uncle and backs away from the stand, where they begin blowing raspberries at each other again. Whenever he isn't accidentally spewing saliva on his customers, Sprig is selling pretty well. He seems to notice that he is especially popular with the older Newtopian women, the ones that like to bat their eyes at shy and prudish young men like Sprig and giggle with their backs turned when he turns hot pink.
One aspect of Sprig as a salesman that seems to make him infinitely more popular than Hopediah (to the point where Hop Pop is actually jealous of his own grandson) is that Sprig is, quite frankly, more charismatic, and as an actor at heart, Hop Pop finds that to be quite the personal assault. Sprig simply rolls his eyes and insists that Hop Pop just get over it.
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, Sprig sells a good eighty-five percent of his haul, a ratio that he finds himself quite proud of considering his history with Hop Pop of feeling lucky if they sold anything at all at previous attempts. Wrapping up at the end of the day, Sprig resides in his room at The Hemisphere Hotel and counts his sand dollars. The bag was so heavy when he got back that it had given him a cramp in his lower back and he had to double bag the purse for fear of it popping on him.
He contemplates the next day of purchasing a proper wallet. Midway through his second day at the stand, when Monroe and Marlon have finally dried out their tongues and exhausted the desire to mock their foes, Sprig finally sells off the last of his goods and he's able to wrap up early. He dismantles the stand and brushes his hands proudly at another hard day's work.
With a little time left over, Sprig takes the opportunity to browse the city alone, unhindered by the tiresome toll of Hop Pop along the safest and most boring routes imaginable. No. This time, he was gonna see Newtopia his way and see all the attractions he missed out on the first time when Anne and Polly got lost. He goes to travel to the Castle, realizing the entire thing still sits awkwardly. He tilts his head, tsk tsk tsking.
Sprig: "Thank Frog I never asked her to park the snail."
The castle had since become a tourist attraction, with people coming from all over just to see the once-beautiful castle now tilting in disgrace over the land, overgrown with vegetation, taken by the wild. Heading back into town, Sprig wants to check out some of his favorite things. Pulling his hood over his head as he walks into the arcade past a really old "banned" poster, Sprig tries in vain to convince the cashier that he's "most definitely not the silly pink frog sticking his green tongue out and dabbing in the picture".
Fortunately for him, the cashier simply doesn't care and lets him in anyway. Sprig goes to town on the arcades, even getting the high score on Terror Toad vs. The Road (a backward version of Frogger where the goal is to navigate a truck past a bunch of amphibians that want to smash it to pieces).
Late in the afternoon, Sprig decides he wants to use some of the extra money he got to get a nice seat at the late-night Colosseum Rumble Mania. Wave after wave of big buff dudes, big buff ladies, and massive, captive, and very angry animals enter the field. Sprig places bets on Priscilla, the champion of Cart Smash Rally, who decides to enter the competition as an extra side hustle. Her teenage daughter, Pearl cheers from the sidelines.
She makes it pretty far into the semi-finals, eventually being paired up with Yunan, who entered for the thrill of battle, and Sprig finds himself pretty split for who to root for between the two coolest warrior ladies he ever met. The battle winds up pretty neck and neck, with both fighters trading hard blows and losing some teeth, but Yunan manages to take the upper hand with agility over raw physical strength.
Priscilla: "You did it! You proved you still got it, Yun! Maybe an old bat like me should just call it a day on the brawls. Eh?"
Yunan offers a hand, and Priscilla grasps firmly.
Yunan: "Nonsense! You really gave me a run for my money. It's been a long time since I fought someone so worthy. It'd be a shame for this to be the one that makes you call it quits."
Priscilla rises from the ground, spitting a bloody tooth into the dirt before shaking gritty hands in grace with the victor, Yunan. Olivia whistles ecstatically from the stands as she runs up to greet her love with open arms.
Olivia: "That was incredible! And here I thought you'd grown soft on me."
Yunan: "Pff, me? Never! You realize you're talking to—."
They all interrupt her, chanting in a droll monotone, with deadpan looks on their faces, and tilting their heads back and forth, knowing exactly what she'll say.
All: "General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army."
Olivia: "Yes, we all know, dear."
Olivia places her arm on Yunan's shoulder and Yunan folds her arms in defeat.
Yunan: "Steal my thunder, why don'tcha?"
Sprig runs down from the stands.
Sprig: "I saw the whole thing! That fight was amazing. Maybe I should enter the arena someday."
Yunan folds her arms, smirking as she runs her eyes up and down the puny pink frog before her.
Yunan: "You think you got what it takes?"
Sprig places his hand on his chest, puffing it out in a declaration of his own machismo.
Sprig: "Of course, I did fight as part of The Resistance, after all."
Yunan takes his long, pink noodle arm, smirking.
Priscilla: "Better hit the gym, son."
Sprig yanks his arm away, blushing with embarrassment.
Sprig: "Okay, maybe I've gotten a little bit flabby."
They all laugh. On the way back into Hemisphere Hotel, Sprig curses slightly under his breath as the three he's supposed to avoid pass by, Bartley, Branson, and Blair. Each of them is bound in chains and is very much steamed by having to work alone. They are escorted by guards. Sprig wonders what they could have done to still be bound up so long after Andrias was set free. The truth is that they're their own worst enemies, and they tried to come up with cockamamie schemes to escape that Andrias simply passed up on.
All three of them continue to believe that the grunt work is beneath them and all three of them refuse to abandon their pride and embrace the simple life as a lenient punishment. They continue to dig themselves deeper graves with their hubris.
Bartley: "We could be knee-deep in a good book right now."
Branson: "Or successfully organizing files in a file cabinet."
Blair: "But instead, we're constantly sticking our hands in the dirt. I miss King Andrias."
Bartley and Branson: "Shut up, Blair!"
Bartley: "What did I tell you two? We don't speak of him anymore! Ever since he ratted us out on our escape plan, he might as well be dead to us!"
Branson: "Yeah! It's his fault we're still doing all this grunt work while he got off with a slap on the wrist!"
Blair: "Now, guys, you don't know he did that. We shouldn't place blame on him. Those guards just showed up when we were digging that tunnel. There's no way he'd rat out his best friends like that."
Branson: "You think he's our friend? He never wanted in on any of our ideas to get out of this. He just kept working like a dog. Pathetic!"
Bartley: "I'm a thinking man, not a grunt worker!"
Blair: "Me too! Oh well. What's the point of arguing with you guys anyway? You're just gonna tell me to—."
Bartley and Branson: "Shut up, Blair!"
Sprig continues to hear them arguing off into the distance and doesn't say anything. He just goes back to his room where he spends the rest of his night. He awakens early the next day to get a head start on the road home. He fetches MicroAngelo from the snail stable and makes his way down the road back to Wartwood with a considerable pot of profit.
The trip feels like some of the longest hours of his life. He's still keen on the idea of checking up on Andrias on the way back to Wartwood. Sprig approaches that part of the forest, noting that he'll be close when he finds the partially rotted giant crustacean carcass on the road. Incidentally, he does find that particular carcass, but what he doesn't count on is the loud shouting, clanging of metals, and screeches that can be heard from deeper into the forest.
Sprig: "What's that sound? It sounds like King Andrias is in trouble!"
Leaping from the carriage, Sprig enters the forest toward Andrias' cabin to behold quite the awful sight. Several giant scrabsters attack Andrias at his home as he valiantly attempts to fend them off. He looks tired and greatly overwhelmed. Sprig leaps into action, attempting to distract at least one of them so Andrias can focus his attacks on a single target. Andrias spots Sprig running toward him.
King Andrias: "Sprig!"
Sprig leaps on top of the one scrabster as it flails around.
Sprig: "I told you I'd be back!"
King Andrias points up at him, a dead serious look on his face before leaping out of the way of the massive claw thrust at him.
King Andrias: "Get it away from the farm!"
Sprig leaps from the creature and out into the trees to attempt to lead it out onto the open road.
Sprig: "Right-o!"
Sprig leaps between tree branches as the extremely angry giant animal behind him pulverizes the trees.
Sprig: "Something tells me these guys are pretty mad about their friend!"
Meanwhile, Andrias is stabbing the one giant monster in the eye with his sword, blinding it. He yells toward the wilderness.
King Andrias: "You think?!"
Standing on top of the creature and attempting to rip its arm off just like before, Andrias struggles with the beast. It flails and flings and smashes everything in its wake, alarming Andrias, as his house is very close. Andrias grabs the creature by the tail, attempting to wrestle it to the ground, but the more he attempts to control the beast, the more enraged it becomes, tossing Andrias around like a rag-doll and unleashing a fury so uncontrolled it levels the entire household with everything within. Andrias is in shock. To make matters worse, the candles and lanterns within ignite.
The fire grows at rapid speed with Andrias nearly helpless to do anything but watch as he attempts to dispatch the beast. Sprig, who's managed to lose the other beast, retrieves MicroAngelo and the carriage and arrives with haste. As the other massive beasts arrive on the scene to reunite, putting Sprig and Andrias at a massive disadvantage, Sprig makes the call that it's time to flee before the fire consumes everything.
Sprig: "There are too many of them! We have to get outta here!"
Andrias hesitates for a second, staring the beasts in the eyes with pure malice.
King Andrias: "But my home!"
Sprig and Andrias watch as the home collapses completely.
Sprig: "It's all gone now... Please!"
Closing his eyes in acceptance, Andrias grabs the back of the carriage and the beasts make chase as MicroAngelo pushes back toward the road as fast as his young snail body will carry them. The beasts follow for miles as Andrias clings to the back of the carriage, swinging his hammer every time the beasts get in close. Fortunately, they can't seem to keep up with the young snail and eventually begin trailing and ultimately falling off by the time they make it back to the bridge.
MicroAngelo slows down, wheezing from a loss of stamina and Sprig calls a stop. He hops out of the driver's seat, tending to the exhausted snail with food and water. Peering over the side of the carriage, Andrias quietly watches. He climbs to his foot, he removes himself from the back of the carriage. Sprig leaves the food and water on the ground for MicroAngelo to tend to the king only to realize he's leaving.
Sprig: "Hey! Where are you going?1"
Andrias keeps walking back in the other direction toward his old home.
King Andrias: "You've been far too kind to me, and I've proven to be nothing but a burden to you and your snail. I'll find a new place... somewhere... and start all over again."
Sprig appears desperate. He looks back and forth between the king and the carriage.
Sprig: "Please! Just let me help you. I have parts. I'm taking robot parts back home for Polly to make more robots. I have plenty of extras from the sales I made in Newtopia. Let me help you!"
King Andrias bites his lip. Words keep racing across his mind... her words... the ones he'd sworn to himself to embrace. The last thing he wants is to be a hypocrite.
King Andrias: "Fine... I will accompany you to your home."
Sprig becomes elated, hopping in place with joy.
King Andrias: "But... I will walk the rest of the way. I will not be a burden to you and your snail anymore. Should I fall behind, leave me. I know the road."
King Andrias avoids eye contact with Sprig, almost like he's unworthy of his gaze. Sprig insists otherwise.
Sprig: "It's not a burden."
King Andrias: "This idea is insane, you know. I'm not welcome in Newtopia and there's no doubt in my mind I won't be welcome in Wartwood."
Sprig shrugs nonchalantly.
Sprig: "To be honest, NOBODY is welcome in Wartwood when they first get there. They didn't welcome Anne or Marcy, or Sasha right away. Originally, Sasha was our enemy. But it's crazy how much things can change with patience."
Andrias closes his eyes and turns his head in shame.
King Andrias: "I don't deserve your forgiveness."
Sprig: "Enough of that!"
King Andrias is taken aback by Sprig's assertive attitude and the gall that he'd even speak to him in that manner, so much so that he flinches slightly.
Sprig: "My friend once said 'Everyone deserves a second chance.' It was Anne. Even after Sasha attacked and nearly killed her, even after tricking everyone and stealing the music box, she forgave her. Even after Marcy admitted to using the music box for her own selfish reasons in order to keep her friends together, even though she put their lives in peril and took them from their families, she forgave her.
"She had a positive impact on them, but it wasn't just them, she affected me too. She taught me a lesson that I've carried with me ever since. Everyone deserves a second chance... even someone like you. We've all made mistakes. If only there were more people like her out in the world."
King Andrias frowns widely, running his fingers through his long hair and sighing through his nostrils.
King Andrias: "Okay."
Sprig smiles, but then ponders.
Sprig: "Now it's just a matter of hiding you."
Andrias tries to lighten the mood with a joke, showing that he's not become all doom and gloom in his old age and isolation.
King Andrias: "I don't know if you can tell just by looking at me, but I've never been particularly good at hide and seek."
Sprig smirks and folds his arms.
Sprig: "I'll make it work."
Usually, on a trip, the road home feels shorter than the road out, and for Sprig, this proves to be true. Yet for Andrias, who wears a false smile for Sprig, the road feels long and arduous, like a trek across the eternal purgatorial plane on the divine step. Time seems to freeze as he anticipates the gazes of disappointment, disdain, anger, and betrayal.
The people of Wartwood were his people too. All of Amphibia was his, and he forsook them. He betrayed them, all for the glory and power of a machine, all for a reach toward the forbidden fruit of godhood, and for the will of a king lost in his visions of grandeur, a man who couldn't see that what was important was standing before him.
Ten years gone, the fragments of a dead era blown into the soft winds and caressed by the endless sea, the Leviathan era was nothing but a distant memory now. born from it a new world, a new beginning, for the people of Amphibia, all of them. One king fell, blown into the wind. Another king fell, left to die. But one hand reaches for him, to pick him up, to guide him into the new world, to be part of a new paradise, one without fear.
Sprig seems quite wary of crossing Quarreler's Pass with such a damaged individual with him, still quite superstitious about whether or not Quarreler's Pass actively generates negativity in people's personalities. That perception changes pretty quickly once he gets there, and the dead silence between them proves to be more unnerving than the livelihood of even the most toxic of exchanges.
It gets to the point where Sprig tries to instigate conversation only to be met with silence. He wonders if, in and of itself, that is some sort of internal quarrel. Internally, he finds himself becoming both meta and introspective on that front. The Ruins of Despair proves to be even more uncomfortable for Andrias, as he gets to witness firsthand the origins of his machinations for war, to behold the long and cruelly tyrannical history of the place, a graveyard for technological horrors. He finds himself grateful that they remain dormant now.
The closer they get to Wartwood, the deeper and heavier the butterflies in his stomach (the metaphorical ones) seem to stir and cause him internal distress. They cross through the large wooden gateway to Wartwood. Finally, home sweet home. Hop Pop, Sylvia, and Polly eagerly await the return of Sprig. Sprig still hasn't figured out just how to break the news to Hop Pop and the others, but insists that the straightforward approach seems to him to be the best method of handling the situation. It goes about as well as one would expect.
Hop Pop: "You WHAT?!"
Sprig cringes with a very uneasy expression on his face.
Sprig: "I brought King Andrias home with me after he saved my life and he lost his home to some scrabsters."
Sprig tries to shrug his action off as another act of candid tomfoolery. Hop Pop's eyes are huge, and the vein throbbing in his forehead protrudes menacingly at Sprig. He can't stop staring at it.
Hop Pop: "You brought home a madman that exploited us, tried to use us for galactic conquest, and tried to destroy us not once, but on MULTIPLE occasions?!"
Polly folds her arms, inserting her peanut-gallery opinions when nobody asked for them.
Polly: "This is a brand new level of stupid for you, Sprig."
Sylvia asserts herself at the front of the argument, standing between Sprig and the two frogs that are practically ready to strangle him.
Sylvia: "Now, hold on! Let's hear the young man out. Sprig, you said King Andrias 'saved' you from scrabsters. Care to elaborate?"
Sprig pleads as he makes his case.
Sprig: "Yes! Finally! I was attacked on the road by a giant scrabster; the first time it was one."
Hop Pop: "This happened more than ONCE?!"
Sylvia shushes him and signals for Sprig to proceed.
Sprig: "Please let me finish. I was blindsided by the beast, attacked while in the carriage, and left in a situation where if someone didn't act... I wouldn't be here right now. He leaped into battle and fought the scrabster and, honestly, did a killer job for someone with one arm, one leg, and poor eyesight. I thanked him and told him I'd go back to check on him on my way back from the farmer's market. When I returned, his house was attacked by three more scrabsters. They took down the whole house and the garden he'd been working on for years. I saw how much it devastated him. I... I couldn't just leave him alone out there!"
Hop Pop paces back and forth for a moment, biting his lip as he tries to think of the proper response. He sweats profusely, removing his handkerchief from his shirt pocket and dabbing the sweat from his brow.
Hop Pop: "Where is he now?"
Sprig: "He's sitting on the back of the carriage parked in the backyard. I tried not to let anyone see him, which is pretty difficult considering how huge he is."
Hop Pop marches outback. He looks positively confrontational. Sprig, Sylvia, and Polly look at each other in somewhat confusion and follow him out into the backyard, praying he doesn't do anything to provoke the king. Hop Pop approaches the massive, heavily damaged newt with zero fear in his eyes.
Hop Pop: "I don't know what kinda game yer playin', helpin' my grandson, playin' the long con, but lemme make one thing perfectly clear to you. This is MY farm and MY family. Yer on MY territory now, so there ain't a guard in sight that will spare you from my wrath if you hurt any of them!"
Andrias barely feels threatened by Hop Pop, but does feel the effect of his negative perception of him. He'd been anticipating it. King Andrias ponders, shaking his head.
King Andrias: "Yeah, that's pretty much the reaction I expected. Not very ideal, but not exactly unwarranted either."
Hop Pop performs a double take, caught off-guard by his apparent smugness. He shakes his head and resumes.
Hop Pop: "You might've gotten to Sprig, but you ain't foolin' me. Now, Sprig told me you saved him from some scrabsters."
Andrias folds his arms.
King Andrias: "Indeed I did. Sprig is a fine young man, smarter than I initially gave him credit for."
Hop Pop stands there muttering to the ground and cursing under his breath. He looks up at Andrias judgmentally through his upper brow, squinting in suspicion. Andrias finds the silence more nerve-wracking than his words.
Hop Pop: "Then that's final. You can stay... for now... and I am only permitting this out of gratitude for making sure my grandson got home safe."
King Andrias is surprised.
King Andrias: "Really?"
Hop Pop: "Yeah. I ain't got livin' arrangements or nothin' figured out for a big feller like yourself, no offense."
King Andrias: "None taken. And Hopediah, you don't need to worry about me. I can make my due just fine. You might as well pretend I'm not even here."
Hop Pop turns around and looks out toward town. He turns back to Andrias.
Hop Pop: "That's not gonna be easy."
Sprig, Polly, and Sylvia peer on at their inaudible conversation from the back door.
Sprig: "He took that better than I thought he would."
Polly looks up at him disapprovingly.
Polly: "I'd hate to know what you were expecting."
Sprig nervously looks away avoidantly, shrugging.
Sprig: "Yeah, about that. I kinda offered him a small token of gratitude."
Polly squints suspiciously.
Polly: "What kinda token?"
Sprig grins painfully.
Sprig: "Could you fix his broken limbs?"
Polly shakes her head, sneering in disgust.
Polly: "Me?!"
Sprig tries in vain to defend himself.
Sprig: "Yeah! Look, I sold all the crops I brought with me. Here's all the profit."
Sprig removes quite the impressive parcel of coins from his double-bagged purse, dumping them on the table. Hop Pop, who's since returned unannounced, ganders, quite impressed.
Hop Pop: "Jumpin' jackalopes, Sprig! Ya sure brought home a haul, didn'tcha?"
Polly tattles on Sprig, pointing at him like a brat.
Polly: "Hop Pop! Sprig promised King Andrias I'd repair his broken robot limbs!"
Hop Pop is far too busy counting the fruits of Sprig's labor to hear her.
Hop Pop: "Huh? What?"
Polly almost becomes as red in the face as he is.
Polly: "He wants me to fix Andrias' broken robot parts!"
Hop Pop looks at her, quite seriously.
Hop Pop: "Do it."
Polly: "What?!"
Hop Pop brushes the loaded coins back into the bag insisting he'll count it later and ties a knot.
Hop Pop: "The king and I had a little chat out back. He told me he'd been growin' his own garden out yonder. So I picked his brain a little bit, just to see what he knows, and Polly, the man knows his stuff about agriculture. There's quite a bit of green in that big ol' blue thumb of his, so if he's gonna be here, he's gonna be useful. Fix him up. Repair those missin' limbs and we'll see just how good of a farmer he is."
Polly throws a melodramatic temper tantrum and almost leaves the room in protest.
Polly: "I can't believe I'm being so exploited!"
Hop Pop: "If ya do it, I'll throw in tickets to that robot monster destruction battle arena show you wanted to see so badly."
He holds up a gnarly poster depicting the over-the-top destruction of robots with explosions and lots of mayhem. Polly snatches it out of his hand, salivating all over the poster.
Polly: "You DID remember!"
He laughs.
Hop Pop: "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
She runs up and hugs him.
Polly: "You're the best, Hop Pop!"
Hop Pop: "Hehe. Yeah, I know."
Polly releases her embrace, heading for the door, stopping in the doorway to loudly declare.
Polly: "I will make King Andrias the best limbs he ever had!"
She slams the door, leaving Hop Pop and Sprig to look at each other awkwardly. Polly takes the king's measurements and gets right to work on making the proper replacements for his lost appendages. It's late at night, and everyone had gone to bed. As Polly finishes her drawing, she rubs her red eyes and blows out the candle. As everyone settles in for a good night, they find themselves sleeping soundly, even with an ominous stranger in their presence. Ironically, the one that has the hardest time is Andrias himself. He simply stares up at where the moon would once be and wonders to himself... is it really over?
