Previously on Calamitous Intervention
After learning the crops needed to be protected from an intense storm outside, Luz helped the Plantars cover them up, but they all got sick in the process. The human pushed herself too hard, more than necessary to help the Plantars recover. She ignored her health and got sicker, so they took her to a mineral pond for treatment.
Later, they were at home, talking about the family shrub, when they suddenly ran out of glue. While Hop Pop was out to get some more, they discovered a secret passageway in the fireplace and learned some great Plantar secrets. They fought a pumpkin monster, found a training hall, found a room filled with an enormous collection of board games and puzzles, and found the exit where they had to play a game. In trying to blow it up, things backfired and the ceiling would've crushed them if it weren't for Luz's unknown spark of power that allowed them to escape.
Chapter Nineteen - Plantar's Last Stand / Toad Tax
The sun shone high in the sky, beaming down on the busy marketplace in Wartwood. It was the perfect time of year to be running a stand to sell produce and other fresh ingredients.
"Ah, the Wartwood Farmer's Market," Sprig began, "where salt of the earth frogs come to sell stuff and fill up on free samples." He was leaning on a stand with a sign labeled "Gentle Jon's Expensive Jellies", before reaching over and grabbing a jar of jam, popping it open with his knee, and causing it to fly and land in his mouth.
A large, muscular green frog with tattoos on his arms leaned over toward Sprig, his eyes narrowing. "That wasn't a sample," he growled.
Nervously, Sprig spat the jam back into the jar. "Now it's like nothing happened," he said, but Gentle Jon wasn't amused and raised his spiked club threateningly. Seeing this, Sprig set the jar down and reached into his pocket. "I-I can pay for that."
Nearby, Luz was brewing in the cauldron she brought to create more potions to ripen the tomatoes they were selling instantly. They'd grown popular among the locals, with enough demand to form a small line. Things had gotten much better ever since the human had created the new potion. Mrs. Croaker was next in line, approaching the stand.
"Good morning, Mrs. Croaker," Luz and Polly greeted as she reached down and grabbed a peanut-shaped yellow fruit with bumps from the basket. "I'll take this here gangly gourd, Hopediah," she said.
"Oh, I sense a batch of Croaker stew coming on," Hop Pop said, placing his arms on the counter and smiling. He looked down at the fruit and realized something was off. "Hmmm… Hang on there, Sadie. You don't want that one." He walked over and took the fruit, knocked on it, rubbed it on the side of his face to test the texture, then split it open to reveal a weird creature living in it. "Aha! It's a gourd maggot! These guys taste terrible."
It quickly crawled up and onto Luz, startling her. She tried to shake it off, but it didn't budge. "Uhhh… Is this thing dangerous?!"
As she was panicking, Hop Pop threw the rotten fruit away before grabbing a fresh one and handing it to Mrs. Croaker. "Here, take this one instead. It's maggot free."
"Classic Plantar honesty," Mrs. Croaker replied. "I've been buying from this stand since your father was running it. And y'all have never steered me wrong."
Luz smiled as she left, while Sprig and Polly looked bored. Sprig held the gourd maggot in his lap, which seemed harmless. "I like it when business owners actually treat their customers with respect," Luz said, impressed.
"That is the Plantar difference, Luz," Hop Pop told her. "You can't taste honesty. But if you could-"
"... it'd taste like a Plantar stand vegetable," Sprig and Polly finished with monotone voices, rolling their eyes, and the gourd maggot screeched shortly after.
"This stand is the heart and soul of our family," the old frog continued. "I don't know what I'd do if we ever lost it."
Just then, Toadie ran over to Hop Pop, handing him a scroll while yelling, "Bad news, everyone! Bad news! Gotta run away before you read it!" He then did a backward cartwheel, quickly hopping away while Hop Pop grumbled to himself, pulling out his reading glasses and opening the scroll to see what the fuss was about.
After he read it for a moment, his eyes widened as his glasses tilted downward. "Say what?! Mayor Toadstool is quadrupling the rent! And he wants it in three days?!"
Clearly, he was not the only one who disapproved of this change. Other business owners murmured among themselves, calling it outrageous. Hop Pop paced back and forth, slowly starting to panic. "At this rate, we'll lose the stand, even with the rising tomato sales! What are we gonna do?"
Hearing that Mayor Toadstool was behind this frustrated Luz, but it also wasn't surprising. The mayor was the type of person to pull stunts like this for his own personal gain, and she disliked people who took advantage of others like that. She quickly started brainstorming, coming up with a solution to the issue at hand.
As she came up with a surprisingly clever and genius plan, she approached Hop Pop to pitch her idea to him. "Well, what if we not only sell tomatoes, but also potions? I mean, I did bring my cauldron, and I could quickly brew up some to help people."
The old frog, with his head miserably buried into a basket of gourds, glanced at the human, finding this idea to be ridiculous. "What the-... Luz, we're a vegetable stand!"
"There's no harm in at least trying it," Luz nudged at him. "We'll sell vegetables too, but we kinda need this to stay afloat, at least until... well, if Mayor Toadstool changes it back."
The human hadn't mentioned this, but she was also getting low on potion bottles. Maddie had been the one to supply her with the glass bottles since her dad owns a business, but Luz didn't want to ask her for more. If this plan succeeds, they could buy more themselves.
Seeming to warm up to this idea a bit, Hop Pop got up and approached her. "Well, I suppose it's worth a shot. What kind of potions do you have right now?"
In response, she walked over to the cauldron and quickly brewed up a potion she found easy to make, yet effective. It was the potion that allowed her to see in the dark back when the basement flooded. Even just the green smoke coming from the cauldron seemed to pique the interest of some of the townsfolk.
After she finished, she scooped it up into a bottle and handed it to Hop Pop, who inspected it for a moment. "Huh, that's an interestin' color. What does it do?"
Once Luz explained the purpose of the potion to him, he decided it was their best option. "Well, it's worth a shot," he replied, walking toward the middle of the market. He cleared his throat before speaking, "New product! New product, everyone!" He raised the bottle into the air, the green contents swishing back and forth. "Here's a potion that lets you see in the dark!"
A crowd of people gathered around him, intrigued, while the old frog continued, "That's right! This here potion will allow you to see in the dark, so the days of fearing them night critters are over!"
Surprisingly, that was all it took for people to start literally tossing coppers at him. They underestimated how useful and convenient it could be for frogs to see during the night or in dark places. Hop Pop watched in surprise as coppers surrounded him on the ground. Luz's plan might just work.
Sprig and Polly cheered, rolling on the coins and tossing them around. The old frog quickly started picking up the coins, stashing them in his pockets. "Suffering swamp gas! We gotta step up production on this stuff! Fast!"
While working, Luz did notice how some of the other stand owners didn't look enthusiastic compared to the people surrounding their stand. She figured they were jealous, but she didn't mean any harm by doing what she did. She just wanted to keep her froggy family's stand going for the future.
As she took a brief break because it was lunchtime, she was getting some dirty looks from the other frogs running their stands. She felt the growing tension and became worried that things were going to further escalate.
She could hear one of them whisper to another, "That creature's taking all of our business!"
"What about us?" another one muttered.
"The Plantars are getting greedy!" another one said.
As she heard more of them getting increasingly irritated, she sat down, starting to feel anxious about what they would do. Was it her fault that they were feeling this way?
Before she could think about it any further, Hop Pop told her that lunch break was over, and that it was time to get back to work. Not wanting any more negative attention, she rushed over to the cauldron so she could create potions fast enough to keep up with the growing demand.
Once she started handing them out, Wally decided to make a huge mistake by drinking his during the daytime. His pupils contracted greatly as his eyes turned bloodshot. "I… think it's working."
The potions were very popular, but traffic began to die down once everybody was stocked up, so Luz knew she had to make other kinds of potions. With this in mind, she started producing healing potions, making sure to include labels warning people they could not cure sickness, and to drink them in moderation. She had learned that the hard way.
This decision seemed to do the trick, because an even larger crowd started forming around the stand. It was getting really difficult to keep up with the demands, and she was starting to feel overwhelmed. Luckily, Maddie saw what was happening and came over to help her, so the workload was lighter. It was quite a long day, and by nightfall, Luz and Maddie were exhausted.
The two sat next to each other, resting as they leaned against the stand. Meanwhile, Hop Pop walked over to a chart he made labeled "Save the STAND!", and used a marker to fill out the space going up to 80%, indicating how close they were to being able to pay the rent.
The old frog chuckled, before saying, "I know I doubted ya, Luz, but this is really working."
"All in a day's work," Luz replied, before yawning and standing up. "It actually got pretty fun at times. Hopefully, the demand for tomatoes will rise, though. I don't think I can do this every day."
"Well, the potions should last a lot of the townsfolk a while, so maybe tomorrow won't be so bad," Hop Pop assured her. "Besides, we're so close to saving the stand!"
Fortunately for Luz, the demand wasn't as overwhelming as before, but it still was pretty high. She didn't even need Maddie's help this time, but it still remained difficult to keep up with the demand.
The human panted, walking over to Hop Pop, who still seemed full of energy. "How is it, Hop Pop? Did we… did we reach the goal?"
"Yep," the old frog replied, showing her the chart from last night, now filled to the top. "We're home free! Thanks to these and the tomato sales, we have more than enough. We'll finish up for tonight and then get some much-needed rest."
Luz smiled, happy that all that work crafting those potions had paid off, and knowing she had helped her frog family yet again.
Out of nowhere, Mrs. Croaker stepped forward, approaching the stand. The setting sun caused her to cast a long shadow across the ground. "I'll take a bottle, Hopediah."
Hop Pop gasped, just now realizing she was pretty much the only resident they hadn't sold either potion to. "Sadie Croaker, the stand's oldest and most loyal customer."
"Usually, I find potions and the like to be a bunch of malarkey," Mrs. Croaker started, walking forward, "but if Hopediah Plantar says it works, then it must." She reached into her purse, pulling out a gold coin. "Been saving this gold farthing for a while now. Waiting for something special to spend it on. One bottle of that night potion, please."
Hop Pop smiled, accepting the coin and handing her one of the last bottles of the potions Luz had prepared. "Just don't drink that thing durin' the day, Sadie. Wally made that mistake and went blind for half a day."
As Sadie left, things went mostly quiet. Most of Wartwood had gotten a supply of potions to last them for at least the night. The few customers they got after that just wanted to buy some of their tomatoes. Seeing as the marketplace was empty after that, they packed up and decided to head home.
Before Luz knew it, it had already been another two nights since they had reached their goal. They continued to sell potions because there was still a demand for them, and it didn't hurt to make some extra funds for themselves.
Later that night at the Plantars' house, Hop Pop and Luz were counting the money they had saved since they started. They were at least thirty percent over the goal at this point, and things were going very well for them.
"Now, with all this precious money, the mayor can't do anything with our stand!" Hop Pop proudly stated. "I never thought I'd see the day."
However, by the next morning, the marketplace was unusually quiet. Usually, Luz was accustomed to seeing a dozen other stands occupied with vendors and customers, but there was definitely something going on behind the scenes.
"Normally, it's still busy right now," she noted. "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure about that myself," Hop Pop replied. "Today ain't a holiday, so your guess is as good as mine."
As they waited for any new customers, they saw Toadie approaching the stand, ready to collect their payment. From what Mayor Toadstool had said, he expected the Plantars to not even be close to that goal.
However, to his surprise, they had more than enough funds to pay the rent. "Well, I guess I'll be taking this," he said, defeated, grabbing a jar filled to the brim with copper coins. He stumbled back, finding it heavier than he expected, but started heading back to the City Hollow.
The Plantars and Luz watched on with pride, as they were now in the clear. Hop Pop nodded at Luz, proud of what she had accomplished.
As Toadie was hopping along, exiting the marketplace, he noticed a crowd in front of him heading toward it. "Huh?"
Unexpectedly, there was a mob of angry frogs heading toward him. They all had pitchforks, torches, and other weapons. Toadie braced himself, but they simply walked around him, not having any business with the mayor's assistant.
"Get the Plantars!" one of them yelled. When Toadie heard this, he knew he had to report this to the mayor.
Back in the marketplace, Luz felt that something wasn't right, so she decided to walk around a bit, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. As she approached the entrance to the marketplace, she noticed an angry mob approaching it. "What the?"
"There she is!" she heard one of them yelling. "She's the reason we're losing business!"
She gulped, taking a step back as they got closer and closer. Knowing they might harm her, she turned around and fled back to the stand.
Meanwhile, at the City Hollow, Mayor Toadstool was leaning back on his reclining chair, suspecting that Toadie would come back empty-handed, and he could shut down that stand as revenge for the humiliation they had put him through. He had made Luz famous, and ruining his reputation was how she had repaid him.
Instead, as he heard the door to his office opening, he turned with a smug grin, only for it to turn into shock as he saw Toadie walking in, struggling to carry the huge jar of copper coins he had collected. "I'm back, sir!" he announced.
The mayor couldn't believe what he was seeing. He refused to believe it. "Toadie, I told you to collect the rent from the Plantars!" he scolded.
"But this is from the Plantars, sir," Toadie assured him, setting the jar down on his desk. "I think they have even more than what we had asked for."
"That's blasphemy!" Mayor Toadstool yelled before groaning. "Well, fine. They got lucky this time, but next time, I will raise the rent even further!"
"Great idea, sir!" Toadie agreed, before he remembered something. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention I saw a mob heading toward the marketplace."
The mayor's expression immediately changed from uncertainty to intrigue. "A mob? What for?"
"I believe it's because of the Plantars, sir," his assistant replied. "I heard one of them yelling something about it."
Toadstool had a smug look on his face after he heard that. Standing up, he replied, "Well, looks like a golden opportunity. If the Plantars have made that much profit, then the other stand owners must be outraged!"
Back in the marketplace, as Luz headed back to the stand, the Plantars were there to greet her but stayed silent, noticing her face looked very concerned and tense, and her body slightly slumping forward.
"What's wrong, Luz?" Sprig asked, before looking over her shoulder and seeing the mob walking up to their stand. "Uh, Hop Pop?"
"Yeah, I see them," Hop Pop replied, alarmed. "What do they possibly want, anyway?"
As the mob got closer to them, Hop Pop recognized many of the faces in the crowd. They were former customers and fellow vendors at the marketplace. Seeing this, the empty market today made lots of sense now.
"We can't even afford our stands anymore!" someone yelled in the crowd, as another one added, "How could you stay afloat, but not us?!"
Luz started visibly panicking as the crowd did not slow down and was rapidly approaching their stand. She was very concerned about what they would do to her and the stand, but she already had a gut feeling it wouldn't be pretty.
As they all surrounded the stand, the human started to fear the worst and instinctively placed a hand on one of her potions. Just then, Mayor Toadstool and Toadie came running through the entrance, panting as they made it just in time.
When the mayor heard the people yelling at the Plantars, he had a sinister grin on his face. If he could get the other people on his side again, then it'd prove to be even better than his original plan. While he was thinking of something to say, one frog noticed him and called out to him.
"Hey, it's the mayor!" one of them yelled. "He's the one responsible for the increased rent!"
Toadstool began to sweat, knowing he had to say something quickly. Otherwise, they would all turn on him. "Simmer down, everybody!" he said. "The Plantars have lied to you!"
"Yeah, right!" another frog yelled, unconvinced by his words. "You're a fraud!"
At this point, the mob was now focused on Mayor Toadstool, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. "The Plantars are the enemies! They're backstabbing, lying cheaters!" he continued. "They forced me to raise the rent to kill their competition! They knew they would be the ones on top in the first place!"
The protesters were surprised at this, but realized he could've been right. It seemed strange to them that the Plantars suddenly started selling potions the day the rent was raised, just to stay afloat. They had manipulated everybody for their own personal gain, according to the mayor.
Despite Mayor Toadstool's untrustworthiness, the mob couldn't help but be convinced by his lies. Their emotions had impacted their rationality and judgment, and they didn't think twice before turning on the Plantars.
As they drew closer, ready to destroy the stand, Hop Pop knew he had to put an end to this. He hopped over the counter and stood in front of the stand, getting in the way of the crowd. "Wait!" he yelled, stunning the others. Luz was surprised at the old frog's bravery, despite the spotlight being all on them.
"I know y'all are very upset and frustrated about all this, but you shouldn't take all your anger out on us!" Hop Pop pleaded. "I mean, it's not our fault for staying in business. It's the mayor's fault! He's the one you should be going after!"
Seeing as the mob didn't seem convinced, Luz stepped in. "Wait! Think about it! He's already very seedy, and something isn't right about him! And it makes sense that he would be greedy enough to raise the rents for no reason! I know people did the same thing back in my world!"
Unfortunately for Luz and Hop Pop, it would take more than just an emotional speech to change the crowd's minds instantly.
"Why would he do something like that?" one of them replied. "That creature must've manipulated us into hating him after it got famous!"
Mayor Toadstool confidently stepped forward, taking advantage of their gullibility. "That's right, folks! I'm not the one to blame here, and I'm totally not a scammy toad!"
Seeing as everybody was against them now, Luz felt her heart and motivation sinking. She didn't know what to do now, or how to convince the people otherwise. What could she do? At any moment, they were going to destroy the stand, but she couldn't just let them do that. On the other hand, she would've liked to avoid any kind of conflict in the first place, but that was clearly out of the question now.
Then Mayor Toadstool said, "Besides, it's not my fault that I can barely do anything with all the rent money I get."
Silence immediately followed, and he knew that he had messed up. They all looked at him with confused expressions as Luz whistled out loud. "Yikes, my dude," she muttered.
"That's strange," Hop Pop sarcastically replied. "Our rent money wasn't doin' enough for ya, so you raised the taxes?"
"Wait, n-no!" the mayor protested. "I was just sayin' that I can't afford those fancy furniture and gold fountains anymore!"
That last sentence was the final nail in the coffin. Everybody now realized that he was the one manipulating them and going so low as to accuse the Plantars to save his own reputation. They knew he wasn't the most trustworthy person, but they didn't know he was this petty and greedy.
As they started walking toward him menacingly, Mayor Toadstool was sweating buckets. "Uhh… Toadie, we're outta here!"
He ran off, with the angry mob chasing after him. The Plantars, especially Luz, watched this happen with disbelief. Had it not been for the mayor accidentally outing himself, things could've been a lot worse for them by now.
After Luz recovered from her shock, she asked, "Uhh… Is everybody alright?"
"I think so, yeah," Sprig replied, watching as the crowd faded into the distance. Hop Pop walked up to Luz, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, thanks to you, we were able to pay the stand's rent and have even made some extra profit."
"I'm just ready to sleep this whole day off," Luz muttered. She was getting really tired of the way Mayor Toadstool had been treating everybody, and figured that there were way better options for mayors than him. She knew toads treated frogs as inferior to them, but this was worse than she expected.
Still, she knew that at least they had accomplished their goal, and they would remain in business for the foreseeable future, just as long as Mayor Toadstool didn't raise the rent again. If he did, he would have to answer to her.
After losing the crowd, Mayor Toadstool was panting hard as he finally made his way back to the City Hollow. He knew that his reputation was sunk, and he had to act fast if he wanted to keep his money.
"Sir, what do you plan on doing now?" Toadie curiously asked, following him into his office. A sinister grin appeared on Toadstool's face as he now had an idea to get revenge on the people. "I have the perfect plan, Toadie. I was planning on doing this regardless, but I have even more reason to do it."
He turned toward his assistant while sitting down in his chair. "We're gonna need some outside help…" The mayor clasped his hands together, knowing this couldn't possibly fail.
It had been days since the whole potion fiasco had happened. Thankfully, Mayor Toadstool hadn't raised the taxes further, so they could remain in business. Luz didn't mind selling potions more often, but she knew she had to prepare things better if she didn't want to overwork herself.
Today, they were shopping at the Grub 'n Go, since it was that time of week again. Since things were better for them financially, Hop Pop was fine with buying some candy. As they were strolling through the store, with Hop Pop pushing a wagon/shopping cart that had some semblance of a bug, he noticed there was a sale going on. "Oh! Pill bugs are on sale," he said.
"Ooh, mind if I get some Cricket Crisps?" Luz asks him, feeling her stomach rumbling. "I skipped breakfast to work on a new potion, and now I regret it."
"Okay, kiddo," Hop Pop replied, figuring she wouldn't get into any trouble since they were at the store. "See ya outside." He then casually shoved every single pill bug on the shelf into his cart, taking advantage of the twenty percent off sale going on.
Luz happily strolled along the aisles, closely looking at the products on the shelves, until she found a rectangular box with the label "Cricket Crisps". While the concept sounded gross, they were surprisingly tasty. Amphibia's bugs are definitely tastier than the ones in her world.
As she was reaching to grab the box, however, Wally suddenly snatched the box with his tongue, and Luz flinched, but decided to brush it off as she went to grab the last one, but the frog snatched that one too, and her shoulders slumped. "Wally, please let me have just one!"
"Ya snooze, ya lose, scarecrow!" Wally teased, before grabbing the last bag of beetle jerky and hopping away, laughing. Luz frowned, but knew it wasn't worth fretting over. Before she could leave, however, a cart bumped into her from behind.
"Hey, move your big behind, scarecrow!" Mrs. Croaker demanded, pushing the cart into her multiple times. "Croaker needs her cookies!" Luz quickly backed away as the old frog shook her fist with her pet Archie barking.
With her good mood ruined, she was ready to leave the store. She almost felt like she was back at school again. Unfortunately, she didn't look where she was going and slipped into a puddle, falling flat on her face. Seeing this, frogs around the store surrounded her, mocking her clumsiness.
"Hey! Didn't you see the sign, scarecrow?" the janitor teased, before they all laughed. Felicia was the only one who wasn't laughing, feeling a little bad for Luz because she knew her better than most. Luz felt tears welling up in her eyes. Feeling overwhelmed, she ran out of the store, tired of constantly being treated as a punching bag by the town, with today's events being the last straw. Was it because of what happened at the potion stand? Did they know what she had accidentally caused?
"So did you get those cricket crisps you–" Sprig started, but trailed off as he saw Luz's expression. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I… I don't wanna talk about it," Luz muttered, and Sprig frowned at this but knew asking more would only make it worse. Hop Pop also noticed this and decided to lighten things up. "Well, how's about we have some pill bug pancakes to cheer ya up?"
Luz nodded, still hungry since she hadn't gotten the snack she wanted. As they started heading out of town, the human noticed someone sculpting a statue of Mayor Toadstool kissing a tadpole on the cheek. She shook her head at this, knowing it was just to paint their mayor in a better light.
"Well, that statue's new," Hop Pop said, also noticing it.
"And tasteless," Sprig added, grimacing. Out of nowhere, Bessie halted, making them all flinch as she chirped in alarm. Luz hopped down from the wagon and went up to her, petting her to calm her down. "What's wrong, Bessie?"
She looked behind her to where Bessie was looking and noticed a large silhouette approaching the town from a distance. Upon closer inspection, there were three bulky figures approaching them on a wagon pulled by an enormous spider. As they approached, some of the townspeople ran away from them, clearly afraid of them.
Luz realized they weren't frogs, but toads like Mayor Toadstool. The one in the front had red skin with a lighter, orange underbelly. Alongside him were two other toads–one with green skin and dark green, braided hair, and another covered in old, grease-stained armor.
The red one cracked his neck, grunting before saying, "Nothing like cracking your neck after a long drive. Ain't that right?"
Next to them, the front door of the City Hollow opened to reveal Mayor Toadstool and his assistant Toadie. "Oh, good, you're here!" the mayor said, approaching them. "Toadie, give them the list."
"Are they the mayor's buddies or something?" Luz asked, and Hop Pop nodded. "You could say that. They're toads from Toad Tower. They rule over the entire valley."
Luz winced, having read about it weeks ago. It was a huge, ominous tower deep in the swamp, and the toads, the warriors of the valley, were stationed there. "Well, hopefully, they aren't here to do anything bad," she said.
"They always come for a reason," Hop Pop replied. "They can be a rough sort. It's probably for the best that we all stay clear of—Oh, dang it. Sprig!"
They all watched as Sprig casually approached the toads. The red one handed out some clubs to the other two, which instantly raised a red flag for Luz, but Sprig either didn't notice or didn't care. "Hey, guys!" he called out. "So, you're from Toad Tower?"
"Sure are, runt," the leader simply replied, not wanting anything to do with the people from Wartwood. Sprig laughed at this. "My name's Sprig, actually," the frog boy corrected.
"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure," the toad muttered, before turning around and noticing Luz sitting on the wagon. "Whoa! What is that?!" All three toads approached the wagon. "It's some kind of gangly new critter I've never seen before."
"I wonder what it tastes like," the green-skinned toad added, and Luz hopped off the wagon, taking a step back. "Uh–"
"Whoa, whoa!" Sprig interrupted, pulling out his slingshot and aiming it threateningly at the toads. "She is not for eating!"
"Wait, let's just-" Luz tried to defuse the growing tensions, but the green-skinned one cut her off, pulling out a spiked wooden club. "Is that a challenge?!" they laughed, before charging toward Sprig.
They swung their weapon at the frog, who was barely able to hop out of the way. Seeing this, Luz felt her legs move on their own, charging toward the toad to protect her friend. Pulling out a potion, she tossed it at the toad, which caused a burst of wind to launch them back. They fell on their back while the leader laughed at this, finding whatever she used impressive.
"Whoa, that was awesome!" the green-skinned one said with a grin, which was definitely not the reaction Luz was expecting, but at least they weren't angry.
"Well met, creature!" the leader added, commending the human. "I don't know what you are, but you've got fire!" They walked off, satisfied as they went back to preparing to do whatever the mayor had assigned them. Luz watched on, having a gut feeling that something was up with them, but decided to drop it for now.
Sprig crossed his arms, grumbling. Whether he was jealous or not, Luz couldn't tell. Hop Pop strolled over with Polly on his head, knowing the coast was clear now. "Okay, kids, that's enough flirtin' with death. Let's head home."
Sprig scoffed before turning around and walking back to the cart. "Finally. Come on, Luz."
Luz was about to join them, but hesitated. She glanced back toward the toads, who were still preparing. Something about them rubbed the human the wrong way, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Actually, I wanna find out what they're doing," she told the others. "Something isn't right here."
"That's not a good idea, Luz," Hop Pop replied, concerned. "Toads are trained warriors. If they catch you, there's no tellin' what they will do."
"You don't need to worry about me, Hop Pop," Luz assured him. "I'll be okay. I have an invisibility potion, remember? Plus, I can defend myself if needed."
"Well, alright," Hop Pop muttered, still unsure about her plans. "Just be careful, though. Those toads ain't merciful, ya hear?"
"Plus, they're smelly," Sprig added. "Not to mention creepy." He pointed to the toad covered in armor, who was raspily breathing. It unsettled the both of them.
"I'm eating your pancakes!" Polly said as they headed off. With that, Luz began approaching the toads, but stopped before they noticed her. She was hesitant to confront them directly, since it had only been less than a minute since they had fought.
It wasn't long before the leader noticed her presence and approached her along with Fens. "I figured you were with those frogs," the leader said.
"Well, I was, but I wanted to ask for—" Luz began, but she was cut off.
"Name's Bog," the red-skinned toad interrupted, shoving a small crate filled with weapons in her hands, much to her surprise. "The silent one there is Mire." He pointed to the creepy armored toad. "And Fens here you already met." He gestured to the green-skinned toad they had fought earlier. Fens shot her a finger gun. "Those were some sick magic skills," Fens said.
"Thanks. Uh, those are some pretty cool names," Luz admitted. "My name's Luz. Luz Noceda. So, what brings you fine gentle… toads here?"
"Every year, this town sends taxes to the tower," Bog explained, spinning an axe and looking at himself in the blade's reflection. "Well, this year, they came up short. So, the Mayor gave us this list of frogs who didn't pay, and we're just here to collect. Say, we could use someone like you."
"Wait, me?" Luz was genuinely confused at this, not really seeing herself fitting into their group. "How come?"
"You've got inside knowledge of this town," Bog elaborated. "It'll make the whole job go a lot smoother." He spun a badge with his finger before holding it out and offering it to her. Luz was surprised at how open he was to accepting a creature he'd never seen into the trio, but she knew that she definitely wouldn't accept it.
"Well, I appreciate the offer, but—" she started before Bog cut her off. "You know, the best part of wearing this badge is how everyone in this town will have to treat you with respect," he added.
"Thanks, but I'll pass," Luz said, handing the crate back to Bog, who was less than pleased. "I'd prefer to gain respect the right way."
"Fine, then prance along with your goody-two-shoes way of thinking, creature," Bog grumbled. "Oh, well. What a waste."
Meanwhile, back at the Plantar house, Sprig and Hop Pop were competing in a game of Flipwart, which is, in a way, Amphibia's equivalent to Chess. Much to Sprig's dismay, Hop Pop had won the game, knocking out one of Sprig's smaller pieces with his own. "Got yer last frog! Woo!"
Sprig crossed his arms, unamused, as Hop Pop swayed his hips back and forth, taunting him. "You lose! Oh, yeah!"
Before the frog boy could get angry, Luz opened the front door and walked in, whistling as she waved to the others. "I'm back! What'd I miss?"
"Oh, there ya are," Hop Pop greeted, walking up to her. "So, how'd it go?"
"That guy offered for me to join his gang, but I declined," the human explained, pacing back and forth. "They claim to be tax collectors, here to follow some sketchy list Mayor Toadstool gave them. Why would they have so many weapons for a job like that?"
"That's no surprise, knowing how violent toads can get," Hop Pop replied, still not too into the idea of Luz spying on them. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"After I grab some potions, I'm outta here," the human explained. "If they are as violent as you say, I don't think they'd make very good tax collectors."
Sprig pondered her plan as she headed into the basement, knowing she might get into trouble. He knew he'd have to at least try to stop her from going. Messing with toads with Toad Tower was the same as asking for a death sentence.
As Luz finished her duties, she bounded toward the door, waving to the others. Before she could leave, Sprig hopped in the way, surprising her. "Luz, I really don't think you should do this," he pleaded. "What if they catch you? I know you've got potions, but I don't know if they're good enough against them."
The human kneeled down, placing her hand on the top of his head. "I'll be fine," she assured. "If things get bad, I'll come back."
As Sprig watched her get back up and leave, he realized he probably should follow her in case she got into any trouble. "I'm gonna go follow Luz and watch over her," he told the others, before hopping up onto the couch and opening the windows.
"That's all well and good, but can you at least use the front door?" Hop Pop replied, but Sprig narrowed his eyes.
"No," he replied, before crawling out of the window like a spider.
Minutes later, Luz was going around Wartwood, trying to find the toads, until, luckily, she found them just in time as they were pulling up to Wally's house in their wagon. She hid behind a bush as she saw the sinister grins on the toads' faces.
"Alright, first one on the list," Bog muttered, pulling up the list the mayor had provided earlier and reading it through, ensuring they were at the right house. They approached the front door of the small shack Wally lived in and kicked it right off its hinges.
Of course, this alarmed Wally, who was in the middle of taking a bath in what looked to be an old, moldy, carved-out fruit. He yelped, before saying, "Jumping June bugs! What's all this about?"
Bog laughed at the sight before him, before holding up the list for the teal frog to see. "This list here says you haven't paid your taxes."
"Rubbish!" Wally replied, crossing his arms as strange bug-like chickens flew around him. "I may live in squalor, but I always pay my taxes."
"The mayor's list says otherwise," the toad countered. "And since you haven't paid, we'll be taking your stuff."
The frog whimpered in fear as Fens approached him. Reluctantly, Wally gave up the brush he was using to scrub himself, which the toad took with no hesitation. Luz was appalled to see how much they were abusing their power. The only evidence of Wally not paying his taxes was some shoddy list the mayor had cooked up, which was far from trustworthy.
She watched as the tax collectors basically dismantled the teal frog's belongings, taking everything valuable he owned, even the cricket crisps he had denied the human earlier. After they packed everything they could get their hands on, they cheerfully headed out.
"Now, who wants to race to the next house?" Bog offered, before laughing as the toads took off with Wally's belongings, much to the frog's utter dismay. As Fens followed the other two, she suddenly tripped on something, falling and hitting Mire, which knocked him down too.
"Fens, I don't need you to slow down our job with your clumsiness!" Bog yelled at her. "Get it together!"
Fens looked back to where she had tripped, but nothing was there. "Yeah, got it," she muttered, getting back up and picking up the things she had dropped. She felt as if something was missing, but didn't have time to search for it.
Mire, who also got back up, noticed something that looked to be floating, and was confused until it quickly disappeared. He figured the fall had made him hallucinate, so he and Fens quickly followed Bog.
Wally, in his house, was sulking in his bath. It had taken him a long time to create this living space, and the toads had just ruined it. Suddenly, Luz materialized out of thin air, scaring him.
"The heck did you come from?!" Wally said, taken aback by her appearance. Once Luz was sure the toads had left, she walked over to him, handing him his accordion back, alongside a smaller bag of items she had managed to snatch. "Here, I got these back, at least."
As it turned out, Luz had been the one to trip Fens and snatch a couple of Wally's belongings back while they were disoriented. She left the house shortly after to follow the toads, while Wally just sat there in disbelief, before managing a smile. "Thanks," he muttered.
From a distance, Sprig was watching Luz follow the toads while remaining out of sight with his binoculars. "That's weird," he muttered. "Wally always pays his taxes…"
From behind him, he heard a familiar voice, which startled him. "Come on," the voice whispered.
In a panic, the frog boy hopped into the bushes. The voice belonged to none other than Mayor Toadstool, who peeked from behind a tree to make sure nobody was where Sprig was just at.
"Come on, Toadie, while the townsfolk are preoccupied," the mayor ordered, walking forward while holding a tiny bag in one hand and walking with his cane in the other. Behind him followed Toadie, who was panting as he carried a large bag filled with something unknown. "Coming, sir," he whispered back.
Sprig watched them pass by while hiding below a bush, glad he hadn't been noticed. Right as he was wondering what was in the bags, a copper coin fell out on the ground in front of him, revealing the two were carrying bags filled with coins.
He reached out and grabbed the coin, studying it closely. "A copper coin? The mayor? A hole? In the bag? Hmm…"
Sprig rose from the bushes right after the mayor and Toadie left his sight. He peered behind him to see the wagon passing by, and couldn't see Luz anywhere, until…
"Sprig?" a voice spoke beside him, making him jump in surprise. He stumbled back before realizing who it was. "Luz?"
The human quietly approached him, looking back and forth between him and the wagon. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Did you follow me?"
"Well, kinda…" he admitted. "Did you also see what just happened?"
Luz tilted her head, confused. "You mean the toads stealing Wally's stuff?"
"Well, that, and Mayor Toadstool… Plus, his assistant," Sprig replied, which intrigued her.
"Wait, you saw them here?" Luz said. "What were they doing?"
"I think they were carrying huge bags of copper coins," Sprig explained, which troubled the human. She tapped her chin, thinking of how to handle this situation, until she came up with an idea. "Okay, we're gonna have to split up," she told him.
"Guess I'm gonna follow those two?" he asked, and she nodded. "Yeah, find out what they're up to," she told him, before pulling out a potion and handing it to him. "Here, just in case. It's a wind potion."
"Thanks," he replied, putting it away. "So, what are you planning to do?"
"I'm gonna keep following them," she explained. "I'm pretty sure the mayor is lying about who owes money, and is just using the list as an excuse to let the toads take what they want from the town."
"Well, we better get going before we lose who we're after," Sprig said, and she nodded in agreement. "Good luck, Sprig."
As they separated, Luz ran after the wagon to catch up to it, being as inconspicuous as possible. As she watched where the wagon was headed, she realized the only noteworthy place in that direction was…
Her eyes widened, realizing she needed to find a way to get there first. She racked her brain, trying to think of something quickly. Thinking of a way to use potions, she came up with a dangerous and risky idea, but it was the only one that came to mind at the moment.
Pulling out a wind potion, she crouched down and prepared herself. If she could aim it just right, she would land there at least a few minutes before the toads did. "Well, this is either genius or really, really stupid," she muttered, before jumping as high as she could right before throwing the wind potion down at her feet.
Immediately, a tremendous burst of wind sent her flying high in the air, above the trees. She screamed as she soared through the air in an upward arc, unable to control where she was heading. She quickly flew above the wagon and toward the destination.
As she saw Felicia's Tea Shop up ahead, she feared she would crash into the building. If she did, she was pretty much dead–in more ways than one. Luckily, her fears quickly vanished as she landed in a pile of tall grass close to the shop. The quick impact hurt quite a bit, but at least she didn't break anything. She'd definitely have a lot of bruises later, though.
After Luz recovered, she ran toward the shop, quickly entering through the front door. Felicia noticed her, having a confused expression as she saw her covered in grass, dirt, and a few dead bugs. "Oh, my. Something wrong, Luz?"
Hearing the name, Ivy also entered the dining room, seeing the condition Luz was in. Before she could say anything, the human replied, "Quick, hide your stuff! The toads are almost here!"
"As in those tax collectors?" Felicia said, growing a bit concerned. "I've heard what those brutes have done to many residents over the years. What business would they have with us?"
"They're gonna take your stuff 'cause you apparently didn't pay your taxes!" Luz told her while handing her a vase she picked up from near the entrance.
"Hey! You're dirtyin' my family heirloom!" Felicia complained, but Ivy cut in. "Mom, there are not gonna be any vases left if we don't hide them!"
Reluctantly, Felicia started helping them stash away some of their valuables, and just in time, too. From the window, they could see the wagon pulling up. Luz hopped out of a window in the back right as they were entering. Thankfully, she wasn't noticed.
It wasn't long before they started to ransack the place. The Sundews could do nothing about it as they watched Fens rip a barrel of tea from its stand, causing part of the wall to break due to her carelessness. As he ran off, a trail of tea spilled across the ground as Felicia watched in disgust. "Oh, how horrid!" she said.
Mire also took some teacups and plates, but they, thankfully, weren't the more valuable ones Felicia possessed, and she was thankful that Luz had warned them beforehand.
Unfortunately, some toads caught on and were suspicious as they kept searching the house. Fens glared at Felicia, who was sweating.
"Well, well, something tells me you're holding out on us!" Fens growled, walking up to the newt. "Where do you keep the real treasures?"
"W-well, I could perhaps offer you a free 10% off coupon?" Felicia suggested. The toads stared at her for a brief moment, before Fens scoffed, and walked off. "Let's dip. These fools don't have anything valuable," she said.
The next destination was Loggle's, who Luz didn't want to risk her life again by intervening in their business. She could only watch in dismay as the toads heartlessly took everything precious to Loggle. Seeing this, Luz went invisible again, sneaking up to Fens and trying to trip her again.
However, the toad noticed something was off, pulled out her spiked club, and swung it in Luz's direction, almost hitting her. The human covered her mouth to not make any noise, stumbling back.
"I know you're there!" Fens yelled, her eyes darting around. "Fight me face-to-face, you cowardly snake!"
Luz stood completely still, not knowing what to do, until Bog turned around and glared at Fens. "Oh, for the love of–... FENS! I'm getting fed up with your frolicking around! Get a move on!"
"But, I swear, there was somebody—" Fens started, but Bog waved his hand. "I ain't got time for your excuses! March!"
Fens looked back, right where Luz was standing, which frightened the human, but the toad reluctantly left, grumbling to herself.
After that, they headed to Mrs. Croaker's. As they barged through the front door, Sadie was having none of it and ordered her pet spider, Archie, to attack them. However, all the toads had to do was watch as Mire roared, scaring the spider, which crawled back and hid behind its bed, shaking in fear.
Once again, they had completely ransacked a home. As Luz was about to trip Fens once again, which she knew was incredibly risky, the toad finally caught onto her and felt her presence next to her. Quickly, Fens grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in the human's direction, which caught her off guard.
Luz stumbled back, now semi-visible, and tripped over a branch, falling on her butt. This caused the invisibility potion to wear off, revealing her true form. Fens growled, marching up to her and grabbing her by the collar.
"So, you were the one tripping me!" the toad growled, slamming the human to the ground, which made her yelp. "You think you're real funny, creature? Refusing to join us and then having the gall to mess with our job?!"
Fens punched the ground right next to Luz's face, which made her whimper in fear. "You're lucky I'm in a hurry," the toad said, picking the human up and throwing her into a mud puddle. "Stay out of our business, brat."
Luz groaned as she got up, covered in mud and with a slightly sore back. At this point, she was getting a bit tired, but she pushed on pursuing the tax collectors. It was getting cloudy outside, and she knew it might rain soon.
As she was listening in on what the toads were saying, her heart immediately skipped a beat when Bog read who the next name on the list was.
"Next name on the list is… some nut named Hopediah Plantar," he muttered. At this point, she knew that she couldn't just stand by any longer. She had to protect her second family.
Meanwhile, in the middle of Wartwood's plaza and the center of the town, there were curtains surrounding the statue, with a sign labeled "MAINTENANCE" hung in front of them. The streets were completely empty because of the whole toad situation.
The only ones there were Toadie and Mayor Toadstool–the former of whom carried another bag of copper coins toward the statue. Upon going through the curtains, it was revealed that Mayor Toadstool had been pouring copper coins into a hidden compartment on the statue's backside.
"It's flawless, Toadie. The perfect plan," the mayor said, casually tossing the empty bag onto his assistant's face. "Who would think to look for the missing taxes in plain sight?"
"Masterstroke, sir," Toadie enthusiastically agreed.
"Quickly now," Mayor Toadstool ordered, closing the hidden compartment. "Let's skedaddle before anyone notices–"
Suddenly, Sprig opened the curtains from outside, pointing at the two and catching them in the act. "The taxes!" he yelled. "You fiends! Everyone's gonna be furious when they find out about this!"
The mayor was initially surprised, realizing his reputation would go down the toilet, but quickly erased those fears once he came up with a plan. "Well, then it's a good thing you'll never get to tell them," he replied, implying they might do something terrible to him to protect Toadstool's reputation. The mayor yelled, lunging forward to grab Sprig, but the frog boy hopped out of the way, landed on Toadie's head, and leaped over the curtains, taunting them. "Well, ya gotta catch me first!" he said, before blowing a raspberry at them.
"HEY!" Toadstool yelled, trying to follow him, but he got caught up in the curtains, causing them all to fall. Shoving the curtain off of him, he ordered, "Get after him!"
He started hopping toward Sprig to the best of his ability to catch him, with Toadie following closely behind.
As Luz did her best to keep up with the wagon, she heard a bit of thunder from above, confirming her earlier theory. The toads seemed to notice, too, as the wagon sped up, now faster than she could keep up with.
As the toads arrived at the Plantars' house, she ran and ran as fast as she could to get there. By the time she did, she was tired out. She grabbed a bottle of water she was carrying on her and took a long drink before continuing onward, now filled with more energy.
As she finally approached the entrance, Hop Pop, with Polly on his head, was standing in front of the house, blocking the toads from going any further. "Like I said, I already paid my dang taxes!" he told them. "You can't come in here, and that's final!"
"I don't like your tone, frog," Bog growled threateningly. "Or did you forget who you're talking to?"
As Luz walked forward at a quick pace, she knew for certain that Hop Pop had definitely paid his taxes, so it was clear to her now that Mayor Toadstool had created a fake list. Hop Pop made her watch as he did his taxes, so she knew.
"Well, the list don't lie!" Bog told Hop Pop before rubbing his hands together. "Now, what should we start with?"
"Well, how about that thing?" Fens suggested, pointing to Bessie, who curiously looked up at them and chirped, not knowing what was happening.
"You stay away from her!" Hop Pop yelled, with Polly adding, "I'll bite your face off!"
Ignoring their threats, knowing they couldn't take all three of them on, Bog replied to Fens, "Good choice. That snail should cover everything. Mire, Fens, move out."
Seeing them approach Bessie, who was getting increasingly scared, Luz snapped and yelled at them from behind. "ENOUGH!"
"Luz?!" Hop Pop's eyes widened when he saw who was behind the toads. He was worried if she had gotten caught, or worse, but she seemed fine. Bog, Fens, and Mire turned around to face her, having confused expressions on their faces.
The human walked forward, pulling out a few potions and holding them threateningly. "Leave Bessie alone!" she demanded. "I've seen what you guys have done to other people, and it's terrible! Mayor Toadstool created a fake list!"
Lightning thundered above, illuminating the landscape for a very brief moment before rain started falling. Bog glared at her, baring his teeth. "A creature like you has no place here," he said in a menacing tone. "We toads don't appreciate being spied on and ordered by you lowlifes. I also heard you were messing with Fens over here. You should have minded your own business, and now you're gonna get hurt!"
Luz walked around him, the two not breaking contact for even a moment as she stood next to Hop Pop and Polly, standing her ground. They stared at each other for a moment, with Luz getting increasingly scared deep down, but couldn't show it.
As tensions rose, some of Wartwood's residents gathered around the property, watching in awe as Luz (seemingly) fearlessly stood up to the brutes that had pushed them around for so long.
"She's brave," Loggle muttered.
"What did she just say?" Mrs. Croaker whispered, holding her pet Archie.
"You all have been treating these frogs like they are inferior to you," Luz continued, which ticked Bog off even more.
"That's because they are inferior!" Bog yelled, not afraid to admit it.
"Of course, that's how you feel, because you're nothing but big-boned bullies!" she blurted out, and the townsfolk gasped, all of them impressed at her courage and tenacity.
Bog briefly showed a surprised expression before he scowled and snapped his fingers. Before Luz could do anything, Fens shoved her to the muddy ground from behind, before stepping on her back. She grunted, unable to move.
"Luz!" Hop Pop yelled in horror, before he pulled out his pitchfork, and Polly pulled out a shovel. Together, they were about to charge forward, but Mire reached out and grabbed them, holding them up with his hands. They tried to struggle against his grasp, but it was futile.
Bog tsked as he walked up to her with his hands behind his back, before saying, "How disappointing. You had potential, creature, but you were foolish. Perhaps I should make an example for your friends." He pulled out a large mallet and raised it above his head, prepared to crush her with it.
Fens cackled, eager to see the aftermath. "You're about to be a pill bug pancake, you little brat!" he said.
Luz grunted, before reaching over to her waist and grabbing a potion. Fens noticed what she was doing, but it was too late. The human rolled out of the way, resulting in Fens's foot being crushed by the mallet. She howled in pain as Luz leaped back and tossed the potion to the ground, creating a large barrier of green fire that separated them.
Lighting crackled above as the fire quickly died down. Fens charged forward, yelling, and swung her spiked club at Luz, who dodged it, while trying to fend her off. She ducked under another swing, before grabbing her last wind potion and slamming it against Fens, causing a burst of wind that sent them both in separate directions.
Luz let out a yelp as she felt pain in her hand. Looking down, she saw shards of glass from the bottle embedded in her hand. She tried to remove some of them, but couldn't get them all.
Bog yelled, charging at her, and she barely managed to avoid it. She could feel the wind force just from that attack, and knew it could've been fatal if it hit her. He laughed, knowing it was only a matter of time until her luck ran out.
Just then, a potion hit his face from the side, causing him to flinch. He grunted, and Luz took the chance to gain some distance between them. When she glanced at where the potion came from, she saw Maddie. The sorceress had saved her.
Bog growled in pain, the side of his face streaming a little. Maddie had thrown a basic potion that, upon contact, caused a chemical reaction that resulted in him getting a second-degree burn. As Luz watched, she didn't realize Fens was approaching her from the side. When she noticed her, it was too late. She struck her arm with her spiked club, and she screamed in pain, falling to her knees as blood trickled down her arm. The two toads towered over her with their weapons, preparing to finish her off.
"Sorry, creature, it's just business," Bog said, raising his mallet. But before he could swing it, a ball of mud hit his face, making him groan. "What the?!"
"You leave her ALONE!" Sprig yelled, hopping out of the forest. Behind him followed the residents of Wartwood, including Wally, whose torso was wrapped in a towel. "Yeah! You leave our Luz alone!" he yelled.
"She's one of us!" Felicia added, and everybody surrounded the toads, greatly outnumbering them.
"If you got a problem with her, you got a problem with all of us!" Mrs. Croaker said, ready to throw down with her fists. As everybody pulled out their weapons, the toads realized they would've stood no chance against this many frogs at once. Reluctantly, they dropped their weapons.
The grating on Mire's helmet opened, revealing his face. His appearance was something nobody was expecting, as from how he'd acted until now, he was the most intimidating. He screeched nervously before releasing Hop Pop and Polly, dropping them to the ground.
Without hesitation, they ran toward Luz to check up on her, with Sprig getting there first. "Luz!" he went up to her, concerned about her injury. Polly hopped up onto her head as Hop Pop approached from behind. Despite the intense pain the human was in, she couldn't help but smile at their affection. The townsfolk had previously treated her like dirt, but now they fought for her. They stood up to their oppressors just to save her. Despite the rough day she'd been through, she was happy to know she'd won them over.
"Sprig, where were you?" she asked in a weary voice, still feeling the pain in her arm. "Did you figure out what Ma-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Mayor Toadstool came running from the bushes, panting, with Toadie following him. "Oh, boy. Gotta cut back on them cricket nuggets…" Toadie, who was also exhausted, ended up face planting in the mud.
"Arrest that toad!" Sprig yelled, pointing at them accusingly. "He stole the town's money and was keeping it all for himself!"
The townsfolk gasped, as the rain started to die down. It took a while, but to prove his point, Sprig led them all to the center of the town where the statue was. He turned toward Bog, holding out his hands. "May I?"
The toad dropped the mallet in his hands, and the frog boy immediately realized it was a mistake, because he could hardly pick it up. "I think… you should do the honors…"
Taking the mallet back, Bog swung it toward the statue's backside, shattering it and causing bunches of copper coins to spill out. He watched in horror as he realized that this whole time Luz was right about the fake list. His pride had been broken, and it was all the mayor's fault.
Bog growled at the mayor, who knew he was busted. Toadstool backed away, knowing he had to find a way out of there. "People, I needed to get all the extra money somehow !" he said. "I needed to make up the difference for the increased rents! Do you have any idea how much it costs to buy your love?"
Unsurprisingly, the people weren't impressed. A fruit splattered against the tree next to him, just missing him. Realizing things were about to get worse, he added, "Uh... And as mayor, I hereby pardon myself of any wrongdoing! Thank you. Good day!"
As he started to run off, Sprig pulled out the wind potion from before, figuring the mayor deserved some karma. He threw it as hard as he could, and it hit the mayor's back, causing a burst of wind to send him flying sky-high. He yelled as he plummeted toward the forest.
Later that same day, Luz, now with an arm cast, was helping unload the previously stolen belongings of the townsfolk. As she struggled to lift a grandfather clock from the back of the wagon, the Plantars quickly hurried over to help her before she could hurt herself.
As they got the last item off the wagon, Maddie walked over and poured a bit of a healing potion on Luz's cast. "Here, that'll speed up the healing process," she said.
As the human was about to thank her, Bog walked over, smirking. "You've got a lot of nerve, creature. I'll give you that," he said. "You act like you're on even footing with us, but deep down, you're filled with nothing but fear and weakness."
He chuckled, walking toward the wagon where Fens and Mire were waiting. "We'll be back, Luz, and we won't be alone," he finished, grabbing a bag filled with copper coins the mayor had stolen, and climbing aboard.
"We aren't afraid of you!" Hop Pop yelled, shaking his fist as the wagon started moving again.
"Yeah! Big-boned bullies!" Wally added, as they all jeered at the toads, who were less than pleased, but left the town.
As the sounds of the crowd faded, Fens asked, "So, are we gonna tell the captain about that creature we found?"
"Oh, we're gonna tell the captain everything ," Bog replied, knowing his captain would have a field day with this new information, especially after he had already found one of them .
Now that the toads were gone, Wally said, "Three cheers for Luz, defender of Wartwood!"
"Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!" they all cheered, and Luz felt so happy knowing they finally accepted her. She teared up a bit, knowing things were going to get better for her in this world. "Thank you, all of you. I'm glad we can all get along now."
A brief period of silence followed suit, before Sprig said, "Let's sign her cast!" The townsfolk all cheered at this, and many hands shot up.
"I'm going first!" Polly yelled. "Out of the way, you plebes!"
"Oi! I can't write!" Wally added, before laughing.
"Dinner's on me!" Felicia said, and Luz felt her stomach rumbling and her strength fading. After a day of pain, near-death experiences, and being covered in mud, she was ready to call it quits for now.
"That's great. I'm starving," she muttered. That night, Felicia kept her promise and treated the Plantars to a full dinner at her teashop. It was delicious, of course. Luz hadn't actually tried many other things on the menu, but it was an enjoyable experience, nonetheless.
As she ate, she couldn't help but be reminded of that burst of power she had back when they had found the secret passageway in the house. She hadn't felt that during the fight with the toads, but she wondered if she could eventually control it, assuming it wasn't just a side effect of one of her potions.
To Be Continued in Chapter Twenty
Sorry for the super long wait, everybody! The power was out for days recently, and it was tough for me. My co-writer and I have taken a mid-season break before continuing. This doesn't mean the chapters will come out quite as often as before, but I assure you that this story will be completed.
The second half of Plantar's Last Stand actually went through multiple iterations. Originally, it was about Luz making a mistake with her potion and causing the townsfolk to become savage, but the newer version is better. I still have the writing for the old version, so maybe I could post that section in the Discord.
Special thanks to ChampionElCid for helping revise this chapter, RobTheWrecker, (my co-writer), for helping me, as usual! And thanks to you for reading this chapter and supporting us!
~ Scruffy