Hey everyone, hope everyone is doing well. I do apologize with the long month wait. But after some decent organization with my schedule, I've come down to a way to continue with my story and work on other projects at the same time. I may not be able to match my illustrations and animations with the same literature. But I'm not going to stop until the story is finished. Don't give up on reading the story. So without further adieu, here's the next chapter of Loyalty Among Worlds.
After the dangerous flight to Frog Valley, Dyllan, Clipper, and the Tormaks wake up the very next morning. Clipper's wing was splintered and bandaged and was glowing a light green aura. Before they went to sleep, Tint helped Cronaxx keep Clipper's wing straight, while Dyllan used his magic training to heal his wing.
"Heilen, heilen, heilen."
Dyllan took his first steps on his quest to find his best friends. Ever since the spirits told him about his friends, who are also stuck in Amphibia, he's never felt more ambitious than ever in his life to find them. But only one question remains: Where are they specifically? Before long, the four travelers hiked on the open road.
Dyllan keeps looking back on Clipper's wing still feeling sorry for what he did. Cronaxx saw this and just smiled. "It'll be okay," he said. "Take this as an important lesson to remember in the future. It'll shape you not only to being a better wizard, but a better person."
Dyllan sighed and smiled warmly. "Okay Cronaxx," he said. "I'll remember." He then frowns as he scratches his head. "It's just another one of those uncomfortable memories I don't like."
"Another?" Tint asked. "Do you have more memories like this one?"
"Yes," replied Dyllan. "But I don't want to talk about it."
Tint nodded his head "It's okay," he said. "I don't like to talk about bad memories either."
"In my experience," said Cronaxx. "They are only memories. The only thing that makes them good or bad, is how you look at them."
"Uncle," groaned Tint. "We don't need any more of your wise words of wisdom. A lot of people just don't understand them."
"And I'll bet the frogs in these valleys won't understand what you're saying either," said Dyllan.
"Oh, that reminds me," said Cronaxx. "Dyllan, as I said before, the frogs in Amphibia are well known for being small minded and paranoid. So the moment they see you, they'll start screaming and everyone will panic. So we need to keep you out of sight." He climbs up on Dyllan's cloak and pulls his hood over his head. Then, Dyllan pulls his cape over his body to hide his human body.
Dyllan recoiled slightly. "You didn't have to do that," he said. "I'm only thirteen. I can dress myself."
"True," said Cronaxx. "But you are a creature no one on this planet has ever seen before." After a few more minutes, Cronaxx smiled warmly. "We're arriving at our first stop."
The four magical travelers climb up a hill to a sign that says, 'Lily Paddington dead ahead.' Once they reach the top, they see a landscape of a large shallow lake with small huts on top of lily pads.
The frogs of the village were waking up to the rising sun. They left their huts adorned in special hats, some in overalls and shirts. But most of the male frogs came out with vests leaving most of their moist skin exposed. Some of their bodies reflect the suns rays, that some of them reflect on Dyllan's eyes.
'Ugh, I wish I had my sunglasses,' he thought.
Before the trio could go a step further into town, Dyllan removed his shoes and packed them in his bag, so he wouldn't get them wet. And Clipper kept a fair distance from the village by hiding in the tree line. At first Clipper didn't want to leave Dyllan's side, but Cronaxx assured him they'll be back before the end of the day.
Dyllan looked around the village and saw them harvesting their crops and carrying them in baskets. He smiled at how well the frogs work well together. "This is incredible," he said.
"How so?" Tint asked. "They're just harvesting crops."
"Yeah," said Dyllan. "But they're harvesting rice." Tint and Cronaxx turned with curiosity. They never knew a human would know what the frogs in Lily Paddington did for a living. "I remember seeing something like this in my history class. It was during Ancient China, I saw an illustration of this during one of their many dynasties. They plant strands of grass in the water, then during the harvest season, they cut the surviving weeds and plant them again."
"You must know your history quite well," said Cronaxx.
"Not all my history," replied Dyllan. "The best I could get that class is a B-. I only like the pictures and illustrations from our textbooks."
The trio kept walking across the village, trying to plan their next move. Their walk takes them to the center of the valley, where some of the shops were open to the public. The shops sold wagons, food, tools, and decorations for houses. Dyllan watched carefully as one of the customers gives the shop clerk a single copper coin in exchange for what they purchased.
"You guys use coins as currency here?" he asked. "I thought you guys trade items."
"We do," replied Cronaxx. "Salamanders are the only amphibians in the community who trade items for other resources. We don't believe in currency, because we don't have any intent of cheating others out of there hard work."
"What?" cried the frog. "You said it was one copper coin per flower last year!"
"Sorry pal," replied the clerk. "The mayor of Wartwood was insistent on increasing the value of our products."
The frog just pulled out the exact amount for the store clerk. "You're just lucky I'm a frequent customer," they said.
The two frogs went their separate ways in disappointment. Cronaxx shook his head, confirming his statement. "See what I mean?" Tint and Dyllan were upset seeing the frog upset. "On the island, we melt the copper just for the component in our alchemy tables. But on the mainland, this kind of currency is a basic necessity."
Dyllan sighed, "Just like back home."
"What do you mean?" asked Tint.
"Back home," said Dyllan. "We also have money as a basic necessity. We use small green papers called dollars, and coins such as quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. You can't get anything on Earth for just one penny. Even countries around the world use different currencies. In Germany they call their money euros."
"All this talk about currency is giving me a headache," said Tint.
"Well you better get used to it," said Cronaxx. "If we are to get anywhere across the valley, we're going to need money to get supplies. That means we've got to get jobs."
Dyllan groaned in frustration. Not because he would have to get his hands dirty. But because of how long it would take to obtain a job, and the additional time it would take to get them paid. So the trio split up from town to look for work.
Dyllan passes a smith shop just at the edge of town. A dark orange brownish toad slammed his hammer on a piece of hot metal. He was wearing your typical blacksmith attire, that consists of a dark grey undershirt with a blacksmith apron with an 'S' on the front, red pants and brown boots. Seeing the metal being pounded made Dyllan stare in awe, until.
"Are you looking for something to purchase? Or are you just passing by?" asked the toad.
"I'm looking for a job," replied Dyllan, "Do you have any open positions?"
"I don't, sorry," replied the Toad. "This is a family business. And we're capable of handling things." He takes the hot metal piece and drops it in the water to cool off. As he bellows the flames of his furnace, he turns to the house and shouts. "Kids! Where are the leather straps?"
Just then, a green frog came out with a box. He was wearing dark brown pants with brown overalls, a light tanned shirt with his sleeves rolled up. Under his newsboy cap, he had light blonde hair. As he leapt to the forge, he trips on one of his leaps and spills the straps.
Following behind him is a purple newt with black grey bushy hair that reaches all the way down to her back, tied up in a ponytail. She also wore a light tan shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue overall pants and brown work boots. With her arms crossed with displease, she picks up the straps and gives them to the toad.
"Here you go," she said.
The orange toad smiled at the newt, then turned his attention to the frog with drooped his eyes halfway at the frog. "Next time, be careful where you jump," said the toad.
The frog dusts himself off as he got back up. "You betcha, pops!" He turns back to the hut as he hopped away. The toad shook his head with a small smile on his face.
"Those are your kids?" Dyllan asked.
"Yeah," replied the toad. "So what?"
"Nothing," replied Dyllan as he walked away slowly. As he walked back to find the Tormaks he started thinking. 'How can he just take in a frog and a newt and call them his children?' he thought. Never in his mind would he believe that a frog, a newt, and a toad would live together like a normal family. Then again, what is normal to him in Amphibia.
Somewhere in another spot of town, Cronaxx finds the local Paddington Library. He enters through the front door revealing shelves stacked with books, and the locals reading quietly at tables. The shelves included ladders that roll across for readers to reach top shelves. And the best part about the library, is that the frogs are quiet.
Cronaxx approaches the front desk and waves hello to the librarian. The librarian was an old purple frog with white hair, wearing reading glasses, a dark blueish grey dress, and brown slippers. She waves back and offers Cronaxx a chance to go in.
But before Cronaxx could accept, the frog lady grabs him by the arm and points to the rule board above her head. The only rule that mattered, the only one that is highlighted in red. 'Do NOT make a sound.' Cronaxx nodded in agreement.
Then, he saw a tadpole get up and accidentally stepped on a loose floorboard. The purple frog hears this and leaps in to grab the kid. She whispers in a demonic tone. "Not one sound!" Then she leaps through the open roof with multiple holes and leaves the kid by the side of the building. She comes back with everyone so scared, they all looked the other way. Cronaxx knew he had to be careful and to obey the rule if he was ever going to find resources to travel across Frog Valley.
He searched high and low looking for records on employed businesses across the valley. And most of the records he found could be located in Wartwood. So he dug into this backpack, and pulled out his map of Frog Valley. He points to Lily Paddington located on the northwest side. Then he points to Wartwood, located in the southeast.
Then, he hears a sneeze as an adult frog was about to fall from the top of a ladder. Knowing it could be loud, Cronaxx had to act quickly and quietly as possible. He gets up on his feet, with his walking stick in hand. He reaches out to the frog that slips and falls. Then Cronaxx whispers, "Levios."
The magical aura from his hand began to glow and catch the frog from mid air. He slowly lowers his hand, allowing the frog to sigh in relief. But little did he realize that the sigh was loud enough for the librarian to hear. The librarian jumped in, grabbed the frog, and leapt out of the library. Cronaxx was considered lucky his whispered spell didn't make too much noise.
Tint kept wandering the streets, watching the frogs hard at work with their fields. Every time he sees them pull the weeds out from the water made him feel edgy. The pulls become unbearable to witness. The pulling started to slow down time, and Tint growled under his breath. Once the weed was pulled out he screamed and raced back into the town.
In one of the ally ways, Tint found cover and sighed with relief. He started to wonder if there was any other way to make money off the village. 'How are we going to get money and continue our travels?' he thought. 'Getting a regular job is just going to take as long as we were on the island.' Then, he thought to what Dyllan was probably thinking right now. 'How is he going to cope with being stuck here? He's probably going to complain, complain, complain until he gets what he wants.' Agitated with the situation, his fists tighten until a swirling flaming aura surrounded them. 'There's got to be a better way.'
"Step right up, step right up!"
Tint's frustration was suddenly replaced with curiosity. He turned out of the ally to find a dark orange frog standing in front of the table with three coconut bowls in front of him. The frog was wearing a black tuxedo with a maroon fez and an eyepatch.
"Take a chance, and get rich quick! Find the coin in one of these bowls, and double your winnings!" He spots a small green tadpole with a beanie hat with a copper coin in his stubby little hand. "Hey kid. Wanna turn your copper coin into two?" The tadpole comes up and places his coin on the table. The frog grins with delight. "Do you have what it takes to win kid?"
With a spin and a whoosh, the frog kept a watchful eye on the kid. He didn't even bother to look at the bowls himself. Tint watched with delight, seeing him shuffle the bowls. But all that changed in an instant. His smile went to a frown.
As soon as the frog was done shuffling, the tadpole selected the bowl he thought was the one with the coin. But it was revealed to be empty, and the frog laughed. "HA! Thanks for the coin chump!" The tadpole hopped away sadly away. That's when Tint stepped in. Tint knew he had to keep his temper in check, because he knew there's one way to beat his game.
"Excuse me," said Tint. "Mind if I take a crack at getting the kid's coin back?" The tadpole stopped in his tracks as he heard Tint's remark. "I've got a feeling you swindled him."
"What?" the frog gasped. "Well I never, how can you accuse me about this without any proof? I'm just a simple frog trying to entertain people."
"Okay," said Tint. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind showing me you're legit?"
"Sure," said the frog. "Tell you what. I'll play one of my coins for you in exchange to see how legit this game is."
Tint smiled, "Alright."
So the frog puts his coin down and puts the other coin under one of his bowls. With a spin and a swoosh, the frog shuffled his bowls across the table. Tint kept a close watch on the bowls to make sure he's legit. But little does the frog know was that he was watching something else other than the bowls.
Once the frog stopped shuffling, Tint points to the middle bowl to reveal a copper coin. "See, you've got a good eye," said the frog. "Definitely better than the one over my eyepatch." Then, the frog grins. "Tell you what. Now that you won the friendly game, I'll give you a fair chance to win the kid's coin back." He points to the table. "Place your bet, and take your chance."
Tint grins and places his copper coin on the table. He watches with keen eyes as the frog spins and swooshes the bowls. And in a split second, he saw something the tadpole didn't see. The frog did a special last minute trick. He slightly opens the bowl and makes the coin fly right into his sleeve. Tint smiled knowing he would do that and with his hands behind his back, he points to the ground with his magical finger and caused the coin to slide back in the bowl.
As the frog stopped shuffling the bowls, Tint's pupils flashed for a split second and pointed to the bowl with the coin under it. The frog chuckles, "Ha ha. So sorry kiddo, looks like-" But to his surprise, when he lifted up the bowl, the coin was under it. "WHAT!?" He was in a state of shock, his eyepatch opened, revealing his other eye to be working.
"Ha! I won!" Tint takes his winnings and gives the coin back to the tadpole. The frog wouldn't stand for it so he stepped up to the salamander.
"Alright wise guy," he said. He grabs Tint by his neckerchief. "How did you do it?! No one ever beats me!" As he shakes down Tint, he just kept smiling.
"A magician never reveals his secrets," he said. "But if you really want to con people, I suggest you wear tight clothing."
Then as the frog lifted up Tint as high as he could, he started hearing coins jingle and splashing in the water below them. Then, the crowds surrounding the frog booed at him. This made him drop Tint and gather up all the coins he swindled out of the village. Tint watched with delight that the tables have turned on the con artist.
Then, a couple of frog police came up to the scene. "That's him!" "Grab him!"
"Ahh! It's the cops!" cried the frog. He grabs all the coins he could carry and raced out of the town. In the chaos of his undoing, he spilled a trail of coins until he could only cary a handful. During the chase, Tint conjures a light so bright a rainbow appeared out of his hand. He shoots the light into the frog's eye, causing him to loose almost the rest of his swindled coins.
He sprints his way to the edge of town until he spots a blue frog man tending a large snail. "Frog Soos! Gun it!" Frog Soos got in the back of his wagon, and the two make a daring escape.
"Hang on, Mr Ponds!" cried Frog Soos as they raced into the forests, losing the cops.
The crowd was pleased seeing Tint standing up to the con artist. "That was a cool magic trick you did," said the tadpole.
Tint smiled at the boy. "You know what they say," said Tint. "The difference between a con man and a magician, is that magicians are honest." He points to the copper coin. "Can I see that for a moment?"
The tadpole gives it to him and he performs a coin trick. "Like when I say, I can make a coin disappear..." He does so with the wave of his hands. "...And then, I can turn one coin..." He reaches behind the kids ear and pulls out two more coins. "...Into two." He gives them to the tadpole and leaps for joy.
"That was incredible," said a pollywog. "Can you do more tricks?"
That question gave Tint a wonderful idea. "I'll need to get some things together. But I'll perform the best magic show you'll ever see before days end, by the village square." So he rushed across town to find Dyllan and Cronaxx. A few of the children cheered him on in excitement.
On the other side of the village, Dyllan was tending to Clipper's wound, checking for any progress. He removed the bandages only to see little progress being made. Clipper started wondering if he was ever going to fly again. And so did Dyllan.
Cronaxx came back with a couple books in his hand. "Your still lack patience Dyllan," he said. "Maybe some time away from your objective might do you some good." He offers him a book called 'Croaker and the Fly.' Dyllan wasn't sure he wanted to read just yet.
"I don't know," he said. "I'm just worried about Clipper's wing."
"I told you," said Cronaxx. "It's going to take time for Clipper to heal his wing. The more you fuss about it, the longer it's going to take." He taps on the book. "Just give it a try."
Dyllan sighed in defeat, "Alright," He stares down at the book and wondered with curiosity. "Hey Cronaxx. The title of this book looks oddly familiar."
"Have you read this book?" asked Cronaxx.
"Not exactly," replied Dyllan. "We talked about a book that sounded like this in school. Apparently, it was on the subject of banned books."
"How could a book get banned?" asked Cronaxx.
"Only if it caused someone to hurt people very badly," replied Dyllan. He looks down at the book and starts to wonder. "Then again, it wouldn't hurt to know what caused them to lash out."
But before he could turn one page, Tint came up with the copper coins in his hand. "Hey guys!" he called out. "I think I found a way to make easy money."
Dyllan was happy to hear. But Cronaxx was concerned. On one end it was good to have a chance to make money. But on the other end...
"What is it Tint?" Dyllan asked.
"What if I perform magic tricks and entertain the children of the town? I already made an arrangement that I can perform in the center of town where everyone can see me."
Cronaxx was shocked, and wan't impressed with Tint's impulsiveness. He shook his head with disappointment. "Tint, how many times do I have to tell you? Magic is not child's play!" He grips his walking stick and slams it to the ground. "And do I have to remind you that we are supposed to be keeping on a low profile?"
Dyllan however liked the idea the moment he heard magic tricks. "Actually Cronaxx, that's not such a bad idea." Cronaxx turned to Dyllan with a surprised look on his face. "Sasha always told me: If you're good at something, you never do it for free. I think a once in a lifetime magic show is just the ticket we need to get our supplies."
"It's not going to end well," said Cronaxx. "What if something goes wrong?"
"It's just a magic show Cronaxx," replied Dyllan. "What could go wrong?" He walks over to Tint and the two have a discussion. Cronaxx just sighed in defeat and tended to Clipper.
"So what's going to happen in the magic show?" Dyllan asked.
"I'm going to make some small easy tricks to wow the children," replied Tint. "Then, I'm going to step up my game and make illusions, like duplications, hallucinations, and shoot fireballs from my hands. And finally, for the grand finale, I'll ask for a volunteer and magically turn them into you."
At that moment, Dyllan stopped in his tracks. His legs started to shake, his armpits started to sweat, and he covered his face with his hood. "Y-y-you mean... I-I gotta... be up there?" he asked. "On stage?!"
"That's the point," replied Tint. "Now come on!" He grabs Dyllan by the arm and the two race off to the center of town.
As the sun reached around 5 o'clock and the frogs of Lily Paddington came in the center of town. Including the librarian, the blacksmith, and his children. Tint was so surprised that they were able to come together at their local outdoor stage.
The two magicians were standing behind the curtains backstage. Tint and Dyllan took a peek from the closed curtain. Tint was impressed with how big the crowd is. Dyllan, however, was nervous.
"Look, Tint," he stuttered. "You should just do your tricks yourself. You don't need to use me to show how good you are."
But Tint wouldn't listen, "Dyllan, do you want to explore all of Amphibia without supplies? You wouldn't last an entire day. I'm doing this for us. I thought you were all in when you agreed with me."
"That was before you were going to present me to the entire village," replied Dyllan. "I will not have myself parading in a crowd full of strangers!"
Tint scoffed at Dyllan's backlash. "Well at least I'm still doing this for you, and my uncle. Now stop being so scared and just stay back here until the grand finale."
Dyllan groaned in defeat as the curtain started to open up. Tint kept his composure and walked out into the spotlight. The spotlight just happens to be a large lightning bug with a built in visor on its butt. Tint walked out on stage and made a statement to the crowd.
"Lillies and Gentle-Frogs, I am the Tint Tulini, the mightiest magician to behold your very eyes. As we journey in the mystical wonders of the skills of the salamander, just be aware, you will be blown away."
A portion of the crowd awed with wonder while the rest of the adults were a little curious. So Tint began with a basic coin trick. He takes out a coin and begins a few hand tricks. Only the little tadpoles were enjoying the show.
But some impatient adults were concerned. "This is magic?" "Those are just basic coin flips." "Lame!" Tint kept his composure and took a deep breath. With a flick of his wrist, he turned his one coin into three, stacking them on top of each other. The three coins turned to six and then Tint turned them all into one big copper coin for everyone to see.
Some of the crowd started getting impressed with his skills. Dyllan himself watched with delight, despite knowing what he plans on doing with him. He gets edgy as Tint announces his next trick.
"Now be amazed for the next surprising act. If one act is not enough..." Tint reaches down to his feet, and with his hands glowing faintly, he pulls up his shadow to make a duplicate of himself. That's when the crowds started getting mighty impressed. Even the librarian was enjoying the display of magic. The crowd started giving Tint copper coins in front of him. Tint's duplicate picks up the coins and puts them in a small sack he pulled out of his back pocket.
Then, Tint's hands start to glow a bright flaming aura. "And now," he announced. "Time for an enchanting performance." He conjures up a fireball, which turned into three, and he started juggling. The crowd starts cheering with delight. Some give off gentle applause, and smiles all around. Then, Tint splits the fireballs and juggled them with two hands like a fire dancer.
Watching Tint juggle and dance with his fire magic even enchanted Dyllan. His mind was going numb watching the flames dance in the air. The only thing he could focus on was the flames, it made his surroundings go dark. All he could see was the glowing flame, soon it formed into a flaming female figure dancing.
As the flaming woman kept dancing, a distant echo in Dyllan's head was calling his name. "Dyllan... Dyllan... Dyllan!"
"Dyllan!" Dyllan's mind is suddenly snapped back into reality. He turns around to the voice, revealing to be Cronaxx with a stern look on his face. "I can't just sit by while you two make fools of yourselves. This all has to end now."
"I never thought I say this, but I agree," said Dyllan. "Tint was going to present me to the audience, and I'm not ready to show myself. Let's make a like a disappearing act and vanish out of thin air." Cronaxx nodded and led Dyllan away.
They use the shadows to sneak past the crowd and stay out of their line of sight. Once they reached the edge of the stadium, Dyllan sighed with relief. "I didn't think Tint was going to parade me on the stage in front of a crowd full of strangers."
"That's my nephew for you," said Cronaxx. "Once he gets on board with something, he sticks to thinking it's a good idea, and then something goes wrong."
"It reminds me of something that traumatized me," said Dyllan. "The main character of a story was paraded on stage, thinking he was the winner of some big competition. But it wasn't until he started getting ridiculed and laughed at, that he realized he was wrong."
"And now!" Tint announced. "The moment you've all been waiting for, The Grand Finale!" Tint swirls his hands in the air and summons a magic box. "From the most mysterious lands of the Salamander Isles, I give you the Cabinet of Creation!"
The crowd marveled at the box and Tint grinned knowing his trick could wow them. "For the grand finale to work, I will need a volunteer from the audience." The crowd of children started raising their hands up, giving Tint a tough time to choose.
Eventually, he chose a small pollywog with a stuffed toy. He takes her by the hand and places her into the box. He gives the box a twirl and says, "With a swirl and a chant, I will transform this pretty pollywog into a creature that no one has ever seen before!"
He chants in salamander tongue, "Shiftugaratia, Shiftugaratia, Shiftugaratia." The box twirls as he lifts it up with his magic. The aura changes color from a beautiful flaming glow to as purple as the neckerchief around his neck.
Little did he know that Croanxx was also using his magic to teleport the small girl in the back of the crowd. The small girl chuckled softly, and Cronaxx signaled her to keep quiet. Dyllan kept his distance, refusing to make contact with the volunteer. He didn't want to scare her with his appearance.
On the stage, the box started to slow down and touch the ground as the aura disappeared. Tint grinned as the frogs started to pull out more copper coins from their pockets. "And now, may I present to you, a creature from another world!" And just when he opened the box, the crowd gasped to see the box completely empty. Even Tint was surprised.
"My baby!" cried the mother. "Where's my baby!?"
"You didn't say this was a disappearing act," called out the attendants. "We've seen those tricks before."
"I want my money back!"
Tint grew anxious knowing his finale was about to flop. He turned to see that Dyllan wasn't backstage, and that made him more upset than mad. He saw the crowds starting to pile up, getting ready to climb onstage.
Dyllan watched with pity, seeing Tint about to get pummeled by the crowd. Cronaxx was worried, knowing that the crowd is not pleased.
"The crowd isn't going to let up unless they see this creature," said Dyllan.
"Then maybe it's time to show them one," replied Cronaxx.
"Wait, you're not suggesting I'm going up there are you?" asked Dyllan.
"Technically no," replied Cronaxx. He creates a swirl of magic and it surrounds Dyllan which creates a puff of smoke on stage. "Sim Sala Maris," The crowd slows down to see what's going on. Then a large puff bursts from the box, knocking the front audience down.
Tint regains visual sight of the stage and see's Dyllan in front of him, still bearing his hood over his face. But the crowd could see the rest of his body. His arms and legs as thin as twigs, stomping on the ground like a mindless zombie. The crowd gasped in awe with what they see before their eyes.
Dyllan, who was behind the crowd, acted like a puppet on strings to make them believe it moves. Tint smiled at the Dyllan duplicate. 'Now how was that so hard?' he thought. "There you have it folks, a creature from another world!"
The crowd cheered with thunderous applause, throwing Tint their copper coins for him to pick up. And the volunteer pollywog appeared right next to her mother, and the mother hugged her with relief.
Dyllan and Cronaxx kept up with the act, wondering if Dyllan's worst fears would come true. And he was right. Dyllan watched from behind as a chubby frog with a rotten tomato was getting ready to throw it at the illusion.
"You think that thing is hideous now? Get a load of this." The frog ready's his aim, then throws it at the illusion, hitting it directly in the face. Luckily for Dyllan, he didn't feel the tomato from where he was standing thanks to Cronaxx's magic.
The crowd was at first shocked by the action of the frog, but the one who's most shocked was Tint. Dyllan tried to warn him of being out in the open, but he wouldn't listen. He did this to his own friend.
"Now that's hideous!" shouted the frog.
"Greatly atrocious," said another attendee. That same attendee thew a chicken egg at the illusion.
And that second pelt turned into another one as frogs started taunting the illusion. Even though Dyllan was relieved at not being pelted by fruits and eggs, he was still hurt that they would call him a stupid ugly creature. Cronaxx patted on his hand and whispered in his ear.
"Remember what I said days ago, 'People fear what they don't understand.'"
Dyllan nodded and kept his eyes closed, riding out all the ridicule he hears from the residence. Then he could feel tears pour down his face from all the 'treatment' he's receiving.
Tint however was trying to calm them down. "People, please. Stop it. Don't hurt him!" But the crowds were laughing and jeering so much they couldn't hear his pleas. Tint started to get peeved with the crowd ignoring him.
Then, the illusion of Dyllan started kneeling down like he wanted all of this to stop. His kneeling covered his entire body with his cloak, but the frogs kept pelting him. Tint tried again to get their attention. "Hey! He's down! Leave him alone!" All there pelting, teasing, and jeering did little with Tint's pleas.
Tint tried to stand in front of Dyllan, but he slipped on a rotten tomato and started to boil with rage. Not wanting to let his friend get hurt anymore, he slowly got back on his feet. Just as another tomato was thrown and hit him in the face, Tint's hands started to glow a dark orange.
Smoke clouds filled the sky, and some of the crowd took notice. But the pelters were lost in their own worlds teasing Dyllan. Tint's eyes then glowed bright that his pupils faded. In the mix of the chaos, Cronaxx took Dyllan and the two took cover behind a building. The winds started to pick up, surrounding Tint. Then with a burst of anger, Tint shouted with the impending boom.
"I SAID STOP!"
The shout from the salamander knocked all the attendants off their seats, and smoke cleared to reveal the stadium, now turned into a big crater. As the sun set on the town, Tint was exhausted form all the magic he performed and the big outburst that he created. Dyllan and Cronaxx were safe from harms way and decided it was time to leave Lily Paddington. Dyllan picked up the tired yellow spotted salamander and they made their way to the edge of the village.
As they walked away, the crowd started to regain consciousness, and jeered at the fleeing salamanders and their strange companion. The crowd began to chase them down, Dyllan picked up Cronaxx and ran as fast as he could. He whistled to Clipper for help, and the dragonfly comes in and carries them out of the village. Still unable to fly, Clipper uses his legs to race them out of the village. When the frogs spotted the dragonfly jumping to their rescue, they rushed back to their homes in fear.
With the sun set from the sky, and the red moon taking its place, Dyllan, Clipper, and the Tormaks set up camp in the forests south of Lily Paddington. Clipper was sleeping while clinging on a tree. Dyllan rolled out his sleeping mat, and Cronaxx refreshed the campfire with some more wood. Tint was just watching the fire with guilt riding on his face.
"Dyllan, Uncle, I'm sorry," he said. "If I didn't go over the top with the grand finale, Dyllan wouldn't have been humiliated like that. I just wanted to make my mark on the world, and show them what I can do."
"What do you mean?" asked Dyllan.
"Ever since I learned I could perform magic, I wanted to be the best wizard I could be. And with my uncle being the best wizard in all of Amphibia, I thought I could make my mark overnight." Tint sulks closely to the fire. "Now I've ruined my chance. I've lost most of the money we've made, and we're probably banished from the town." Tint pulls out a small sack filled with copper coins. "But most of all, I hurt the only friend I've made in my life." He throws the coins away into a thicket in sadness.
"Hey," said Dyllan. He takes his hand and places it on Tint's shoulder. "It's alright, you didn't hurt me that much." He grins and turns to Cronaxx who is also smiling. "At least that what you think you did."
"What are you talking about?" Tint asked.
And so, Cronaxx and Dyllan explained their little trick to the mighty magician himself. Tint was baffled at first, which made Cronaxx smirk and shake his head. Back in Lily Paddington, the frogs were left to clean up the mess the trio made. Within the mess, they find a stuffed puppet in the middle of what was left of the stage.
"A puppet!" Tint cried. "You used an illusion spell on a puppet to make it look like Dyllan?"
"Better than using smoke and mirrors," laughed Dyllan.
"Dyllan," said Tint. "Again, I'm sorry I almost dragged you into humiliation."
"It's okay," said Dyllan. "I don't even belong here. And besides, it's not a total failure."
"What do you mean?" Tint asked.
"There was no sign of my friends there, so they have to be somewhere else," replied Dyllan.
"Luckily, there's another city not far from here," said Cronaxx. He pulls out the map of Frog Valley and points to the village south of Lily Paddington. "Bog Bottom is our next stop, so let's get some shut eye. We leave first thing in the morning." Tint and Dyllan nod in agreement. "And let's not worry too much about the supplies..." He goes back into the thicket and gets the sack of copper coins. "We only need the basic essentials."
The group settle around the diminished campfire, Dyllan watched as the fire slowly died out, the embers were fading away, and the smoke climbed up into the trees. He takes out his photo of him and his friends and whispers, "I'm not giving up girls. I'm very close to finding you. And I will, no matter what." He puts his photo back in his pocket and drifts off to sleep.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, because there will to be more original chapters to come. Much more than my last draft. Anyway, I forgot to mention. The titles of my chapters have a hidden message, just like in the Owl House. Stick around to find out what the message is. Be sure to subscribe to my Deviantart page or my Account for early access to my gallery, and for support. Until next time, Keep on Truckin'!