Ahoy Everyone! Just wanted to bring you the latest chapter I've been working on. Hope you enjoy reading it.
After escaping the angry mob from Bog Bottom, Dyllan, Tint, and Cronaxx continue crawling through the secret passageway out of the village. The tunnels grow hot and damp the further they crawl. Despite judging the potluck, and tasting all the food they were presented, Dyllan and Tint are growing tired and weary from all the crawling.
Cronaxx looks back at them and says, "Don't worry you two, we should be nearing the end soon enough."
"That's what you said the last time," groaned Tint. "We need rest pronto."
Then, out of nowhere, Dyllan's insides growl. He clenches his shirt below his stomach, realizing what's going on. "Cronaxx, I gotta stop for a moment," he said. "But you guys keep going."
"Why?" asked Tint. "What's wrong?"
"Let's just say nature's calling me," groaned Dyllan. He pants and sweats, hoping his cramps would stop.
Tint perks up, realizing what he's talking about. He goes ahead of Cronaxx and drags him by his arm. "Come on Uncle! The faster we crawl, the further we get away from Dyllan's business!" Cronaxx couldn't think with the sudden urgency, but Dyllan stays behind and groans.
Tint and Cronaxx crawl as fast as they can, hearing Dyllan's groans in the distance. The further they crawl, the quieter the groans. And then, the groans finally stop. Tint and Cronaxx are concerned over their human companion.
"Dyllan?" Tint called out. "Are you okay?"
Dyllan is then seen crawling back to the salamanders with a relieving look on his face. "I feel so much better now."
"I hope that anguish is behind you now," said Cronaxx.
"Believe me, it is," said Dyllan. "Now I just need to get rid of all my Bog Bottom smells and I'll be good as new."
"Hopefully whatever's on the other side of this cave, there will be someone who could help us clean up," said Cronaxx. "Let's keep going."
The three keep crawling through the tunnels, all the while Dyllan constantly turns back at the other end. Tint catches wind at his friend's concerning look on his face. "Are you okay Dyllan?" he asked. "Pesto said he's going to be fine."
"It's not that," replied Dyllan. "I'm just worried about Clipper. I mean, what was I thinking? Trying to tell a dragonfly where we're going? How can he possibly understand me? And how can he find us with a broken wing?"
"Dragonflies are tougher than you think," replied Cronaxx. "Even if he doesn't know where we're going, he'll find out how to steer clear from danger. Don't think about it too much."
Dyllan still can't help but wonder what's come of Clipper. But he has to keep going for his sake, and for his best friends. He's only two villages away from finding them in Frog Valley. All he can do is hope he will find them in the next village, wherever they're going.
"Hey Cronaxx," said Dyllan. "I know that you said the frogs in the valley mostly keep to themselves. But I've seen a few newts and a toad since we've arrived in the valley. Why is that?"
"They've probably settled down a few hundred years back," replied Cronaxx. "Times were different, maybe even better when we all lived on the same soil."
"What do you think drove them apart?" asked Dyllan.
"Who knows," replied Tint. "Greed, power, pride, you name it."
"Let's just say things got complicated and leave it at that," said Cronaxx. "It's ancient history, even I don't know what drove them apart."
The three continue to crawl through the tunnel, then they see a light at the other end. The three pick up the pace and make it to the other side. They climb out and they see the sunrise, touching a mountain. Cronaxx takes out the map and trails his finger northwest of Bog Bottom. Then points to a village called Swamp Shiro.
"We've traveled a fair distance from Bog Bottom," said Cronaxx.
"We have?" asked Dyllan.
Cronaxx points to the mountain, "That mountain stands in the center of Frog Valley. We've actually crawled under Toad Tower, and they never even noticed."
"Wow," said Tint. "We certainly did travel far, huh Dyllan?" Tint turns to see Dyllan laying on his side, resting his head on his backpack. "Dyllan?"
"Let him rest Tint," said Cronaxx. "We've had quite a hike across the valley." Then, he yawns as well. "I suppose a few hours of sleep couldn't hurt. Better get some rest Tint." He takes out his bed mat and gets some shut eye.
"I suppose some time to rest my brain would be beneficial," yawned Tint. He takes out his bed roll and gets some shut eye, turning away from the sun.
After a few hours of sleep, Dyllan wakes up feeling as musky as his hygiene. He finds a pool of water in an underground hole and decides to jump in and cleans himself up. Without any bars of soap around to help him with his scrubbing, he takes a couple of rocks to carefully scrapes off any dirt or mud sticking onto him. Eventually, he finishes scrubbing with a few faint scratch marks on his arms. Once he's done, he climbs out of the hole.
"I miss using soap," he said.
He returns to the salamanders who are starting to wake up. Tint arches his back like a cat, and Cronaxx pops his spine back in place with a bend and a twist. He sighs in relief, grabbing his walking stick.
"Alright boys," he said with a smile. "Let's get a move on." He rolls up his bed mat and starts making walking away from the mountain.
"What about Clipper?" Dyllan asked. "Shouldn't we wait for him?"
"He'll be fine Dyllan," said Tint. "Like Uncle said, he's tougher than he looks."
Dyllan looks to the tower on the mountain, still worrying about Clipper's whereabouts. But he knows he has to keep going and find his best friends. After walking a couple miles, the trio find themselves at the edge of another village on the map. The sign says, 'Welcome to Swamp Shiro.'
Swamp Shiro is another village that consists of living near the edge of the mountain pass. The peaks are covered with mushrooms homes, shops, and stables filled with large snails. Their source of water consists of a waterfall falling from the side of the mountain pass. Their food source comes from bugs attempting to settle on the cliff sides.
The frogs exiting their homes are dressed in robes, and croak to each other instead of talking. One frog comes out of their hut with a basket of mushrooms and pours it down the waterfall. The mushrooms flow down to the bottom of a dark hole as black as night.
A couple of pollywogs play together smiling and laughing. But as they were, the waterfall stops flowing and the two pollywogs are taken back into their huts. Shortly after, the waterfall starts flowing again.
"So this is Swamp Shire?" Dyllan asked.
"Swamp Shiro," corrected Cronaxx. "And yes it is."
"Why are these frogs communicating by croaks?" Tint asked.
"They must be a secluded community," replied Cronaxx.
"Ooo, just like the monks," said Dyllan.
"What are these monks?" asked Tint.
"There are tales of monks back at my home world," replied Dyllan. "They are a secluded group of people who look after themselves high in the mountains. They live in monasteries, devoted to their religious cause, but they are also kind and welcoming to wandering travelers. There are also legends of a place called Shangri La: The monastery of all monasteries. A place secluded high in the mountains, no one could ever find it."
"There are also ancient rumors that Shangri La also buried the secret to eternal life, where the sick can be cured and the wounded can be healed. But those were just stories to put children to sleep. If that place ever existed, it would've been found already."
"Wow," said Tint. "That place does sound like paradise."
"From my experience," said Cronaxx. "Paradise is whatever you make of it."
The trio cross the village limits and Cronaxx starts waving his hands around. Tint responds back, waving his hands too. Dyllan is confused with what's going on. He doesn't know what they are doing so he just shakes his head in response.
They hear a croak from above, a frog hand signaling them to come into the hut. This frog is wearing a dark green robe with a circular gold belt buckle with a frog's foot for an emblem. Dyllan decides to take the frog's advice and enter the hut. Tint and Cronaxx follow him after.
Inside the hut, it shows nothing more than the size of a studio apartment. There is a cooking corner, a couch and a couple chairs in the other, a bed mat on the other side of the hut, and sand all over the ground.
"What brings you to Swamp Shiro travelers?" whispered the frog. "And please respond quietly."
"We're here because we had reason to believe that there are strange creatures spotted in Amphibia," replied Cronaxx in a quiet tone. "Have you seen anything strange around here?"
The frog just shakes his head no. "Not exactly," he whispered. "Feel free to look around as long as you follow the rules: Rule number one, don't disrupt these sacred grounds. Remain silent outside the hut, only use sign language or croak in morse code. Rule number two, stick together and keep a handful of mushrooms with you at all times. And rule number three, never go down the dark hole."
"What's in the dark hole?" whispered Tint.
"Not even I know what's down there," replied the frog. "For your own safety, and for the sake of the village, do not go down there. Or our village's supply of water will be gone forever."
"That would explain why the water stopped flowing for a moment," whispered Cronaxx.
"Just follow those rules, and you'll be fine," said the frog. "By the way, my name is Leap."
The two salamanders wave goodbye and they exit the hut. Dyllan sighes and takes out a piece of paper to write down.
"Is something bothering you traveler?" asked Leap.
"I don't know sign language," whispered Dyllan. "The rest of the day is going to be frustrating."
"You could try writing to others," replied Leap. "They'll understand, and it works just as well."
Dyllan smiles, "Thanks for the help Leap."
"Anything for an outsider," he replied.
Dyllan takes his leave from Leap's hut and finds Cronaxx and Tint communicating though sign language. Dyllan gives them a note that says, 'I don't know sign language.' But the salamanders are confused. They try to decipher the note, shining it over sunlight, sprinkling it with water, but all it did was ruin the note.
Dyllan pounds on the ground out of frustration. Then he takes out one of Cronaxx's books in hopes to try and communicate using the words inside. Only to reveal that on the pages are a lot of scribbles and gibberish. That's when Dyllan realizes that the literature in Amphibia is completely different from the literature he learns from school.
Cronaxx is upset that Dyllan is trying extremely hard to communicate with them. So he takes him to another secluded cave to talk quietly. "What's wrong Dyllan?" whispered Cronaxx.
"I don't know anything about sign language," whispered Dyllan. "And I sure as heck don't know anything about Amphibia writing." Dyllan crawls up into a ball and breathes heavily in frustration.
Cronaxx places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a heartwarming smile. "Remember my student: Experience isn't something you learn overnight." He takes out his book and gives it to Dyllan. "I could try teaching you the basic sign language gestures while we're here, or we can teach each other our literatures. And I think you would be great at teaching us yours, considering you're the only one who knows this."
Dyllan uncurls himself and takes out another piece of paper and pencil with a smile. "Okay Cronaxx. I think I know a great way we can learn both our languages in just a couple hours."
While Dyllan gives Cronaxx a lesson in English literature, Tint goes exploring across the village in hopes he may find Dyllan's friends. 'It's the least I could do for him since he's having a rough time,' he thought.
As he walks around, the waterfall starts losing its flow very slowly. The two yellow pollywogs from earlier took notice, grabs a bowl of mushrooms, and throws them down the dark hole. The hole suddenly groans a dark tone, shaking the village. And in doing so, the waterfall loses its flow much faster.
Tint walks up to the kids and communicates with them in sign language. 'What's going on?'
'We're just providing the monster some food,' replied the girl pollywog.
The boy pollywog nudges the girl and stands in front of her. 'Forgive my sister,' he signaled. 'She's got a big imagination.'
'What monster?' asked Tint.
'For almost three weeks, the monster is disrupting our waterfall,' replied the girl. 'So by feeding it mushrooms, it calms down and allows the water to keep flowing.'
'Please tell me you're not buying any of this?' asked the boy.
'I think that might be possible,' replied Tint. He leaves the kids to catch up with Dyllan and Cronaxx.
'Great job Reggie,' signaled the boy. 'Now we have two amphibians in this village who believe in monsters.'
'Like he said, Marky,' signaled Reggie. 'Anything is possible.'
Back in the cave, Dyllan writes down the letters of his alphabet over the scribbles and inscriptions that Cronaxx wrote. "So these inscriptions match the same as the letters above them?" he asked.
Cronaxx nods in response. "That sounds correct," he whispered. "Only one way to find out." He writes a word in Amphibian language on parchment paper. Dyllan takes his translation sheet and memorizes the symbols in the word. He keeps looking back and forth trying to match the symbols in the letters. Shortly after, he spelled it out.
"Is the word: Read?" asked Dyllan.
Cronaxx nodded yes in response. "You're off to a great start," he whispered. "Let's try another word."
Before Cronaxx can write another word, Tint rushes into the cave. "Dyllan!" he whispered. "I think we may have a lead!"
"A lead on what?" asked Dyllan.
"Your friends," replied Tint. "One of the kids say that there's a monster in the bottom of the hole. If there's something moaning down in that hole, then they might be stuck down there."
The idea that his friends might be close by make Dyllan really excited and happy. He packs up his stuff and ventures his way into the village's dark hole. But Cronaxx stops him right as he steps out of the cave.
"Hold it right there, Dyllan," he whispered. "We have no idea what's down there."
"Are you insane Cronaxx!?" whispered Dyllan. "What if my friends are starving down there? Living on mushrooms is not good for our health. I have to go down there!"
"Dyllan, we were told not to go down there," whispered Cronaxx. "We agreed to the rules."
"Uncle," whispered Tint. "We came here to find his friends. Even if it means breaking a few rules, we have to check every nook and cranny in every village."
"We've already caused enough trouble the last two villages," whispered Cronaxx. "We've caught a lucky break with them inviting us here. The least we could do is follow their rules. We are not going down that dark hole, and that is final."
Just as he finishes his statement, the ground starts to rumble. Then, the waterfall loses its flow. Everyone starts exiting their huts to see the waterfall has stopped flowing. They try feeding the hole with more mushrooms, but nothing happens. The moans keep groaning, and, the waterfall does nothing.
Everyone is afraid and confused, they start bringing out their jugs and buckets to preserve as much water as possible. The frogs are croaking, and signaling, 'The water has stopped!' 'It can't be.' 'What will we do without our water?' Even the kids race back into their huts. Leaps jumps in the center of the village to try to calm everyone down.
While everyone is looking at Leap, Tint looks up to the cliff, wondering what happened to the water. Without any more noise being made, he hears some rocks falling above. That's when Tint comes up with an idea. He walks over to Dyllan and he whispers in his ear.
"I'm going to climb up that cliff to see what the problem is. My climb will get everyone's attention. While they're distracted, you go down that hole and see if your friends are there. Just wait for my signal, got it?"
Dyllan looks down at the dark hole, then looks back at Tint. "Okay," he whispered.
So while the frogs are looking at their leader, Dyllan quietly shimmy's over to the dark hole. Only Cronaxx is keeping an eye on him. He slowly shakes his head no, trying to appeal to Dyllan's sneaky decision.
Tint grabs a few tools from his Uncle's backpack and stuffs them in his. Then, he starts climbing up the cliffside to investigate the missing water. He uses his climbing tools to get a stronger grip on the cliffs. But the tools he is using make plenty of noise.
That noise grabs the frogs attention, including Cronaxx. They try signaling him to come down, but he doesn't see them. They try croaking to get his attention, but he ignores them. Cronaxx tries using a light spell to get his attention, but Tint just keeps climbing.
While Tint climbs up the cliff, Dyllan uses this distraction to climb down into the dark hole. But without any tools or rope to rappel down, Dyllan is risking his own safety. His foot steps onto a wet rock, which causes him to slip and fall the rest of the way down. He keeps his arms over his head to reduce the chance of getting a concussion. But he slams to the ground on his side, causing him to groan in pain.
Dyllan gets up slowly, trying to fight the pain. But the fall hurts more than just his side. His leg and arm are bruised and cut very badly. So Dyllan takes the Staff of Lerrad and closes his eyes. "Heilen," he groans. He touches his side with the crystal and the pain starts to vanish. He gets up taking a deep breath of relief and raises his staff in the air. "Licht!" An orb of light appears and the dark hole isn't so dark anymore.
Inside the hole, Dyllan finds a large pool of water with stalactites and stalagmites all over the cave. Dyllan watches his step, making sure he doesn't slip again. He slowly circles the pool of water, trying to find his friends.
"Hello?" he whispered. "Hello? Anyone there?" He looks to his left, "Anne?" He looks to his right, "Sasha?" He looks behind countless rocks, "Marcy?"
Then, he hears the groaning noises. And because he's in the dark hole, the groans are very loud. He turns his head to the pool of water, and sees the center bubbling like crazy. He covers his staff with his cloak and hides from plain sight. He can only peek from his hiding spot to see what is making all that noise. While he is peeking, he sees a batch of mushrooms falling from the village above.
The source of the groans come from a giant monster who pulls its way out of the water. Without any light to shine in the cave, Dyllan trembles in fear. It's only until the monster reaches the light of the hole to partially reveal itself. Dyllan can see glowing blue eyes, and its skin reveals to be partially covered with light brown moss. And on its head are antlers that are covered with dead moss. It devours the mushrooms like it is very hungry, and then it groans, shaking the cave's walls. Dyllan pokes his head out to get a better look, trying not to scare it or intimidate it.
But the creature darts its eyes the moment it smells Dyllan. It turns to shine its eyes on him, scaring Dyllan back into hiding. The heavy stomps of the monster's feet grow louder and louder. Dyllan curlls himself into a ball, waiting for it to catch him. He hears a loud thump, then silence.
Dyllan opens his eyes to see the creature sitting right in front of him, just staring at him. Dyllan uncurls himself, relaxing his legs. The creature copies him, relaxing its legs too. It reaches out to Dyllan with a mushroom in its hand and offers it to him. Dyllan is most surprised.
"Uhh... thank you?" he said. He bites into the mushroom and the creature sighs.
"You're covered in moss, aren't you?" he asked.
The creature gets up and groans at the hole above him. That's when Dyllan realizes something. "If I remember correctly in science class. It's that moss needs water and light to grow big and strong." He takes out his staff from his cape and casts another light spell. Remembering Cronaxx's advice, he has to perform the spell from the heart.
"Litch!" he announced. The walls echoe his spell and a new orb of light shines bright across the cave. The moss creature is so pleased, it gives Dyllan a hug.
Though disgusted by the feeling of nearly dried moss, Dyllan hugs the moss creature back with respect. And he watches as the moss magically grew back into a green texture in just a few minutes. Which makes the moss creature moist and stronger than before.
The moss creature lets Dyllan go then looks back up to the hole. It groans again, but this time it's in a sad tone. Dyllan listens to it very closely. "You're trapped in here aren't you?" he asked. The moss creature looks back at Dyllan with a tired look on its face. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to get you out."
Back on the cliffside, Tint reaches the top of the waterfall to find the source of the problem. He finds the passageway of the river being blocked by lose rocks. And every time the monster groans, more rocks fall off and block the water flow. Now knowing what the problem is, Tint needs to come up with a solution.
The villagers grow anxious, wondering what the salamander is doing. Cronaxx shrugs and looks around to find Dyllan missing. He rolls his eyes with annoyance. Then, they see a rope being thrown down at them. Tint pops his head out and signals them, 'Come on up! I need some help here.'
The frogs and Cronaxx climb up the rope and find Tint carefully lifting rocks, unblocking the water. The frogs are surprised, especially the ones who once believed that the monster in the dark hole is responsible for their water shortage.
So without making a single noise, they pull out as many rocks as they can. The work is slow, but the more rocks they pull out, the more water resumes floating again. Then, they hear a noise coming from below.
"Litch!"
The frogs start freezing in fear, for they know that the legend beneath the village is awake. But Reggie signals a plan.
'If we can keep moving the rocks blocking the water, we can flush out the beast.'
'It's the only way to make sure it doesn't bother our water supply anymore,' signaled Marky.
Reggie smirks at her brother, 'And I thought you didn't believe in monsters.'
'Yeah so what if there is,' signaled Marky. 'If the flow of water is powerful enough, we can flush it out of our village.'
Just when Marky finishes signaling to her sister, he yanks out a rock just below the waterline. The frog's action causes the water to start spewing out from under the rocks. Then, the rocks blocking the water start shaking.
With no time to signal, Cronaxx shouts, "RUN!"
The frogs' reaction time is slow since this is the first time they hear someone's voice. But then, they follow Cronaxx and climb to higher ground, away from the water. Eventually, the wall of rocks collapses and water gushes across the dried creeks. The rushing water bring the waterfall back to the village, along with rocks and boulders being carried by the currents.
Dyllan and the moss creature see the water coming in fast, they get out of the way just in time. The water flow comes down and the rocks hit the cavern walls on the opposite side of where they are standing. With so much strength from the rocks and the gushing waters, the cave wall collapses leaving a big opening for the two.
With so much water gushing down the cliff, the frogs can barely hear themselves climbing down. So Leaps hoots and hollers, knowing that it's safe to talk and cheer. But since the flows drown out the noise, they keep using sign language.
Leap takes a knee, and comforts Reggie and Marky. 'It's alright kids,' he said. 'We're safe to talk again.'
"Thanks Dad," said Marky using his own voice.
Reggie smiles and signals, 'Thank you, Dad.'
At the bottom of the village, Dyllan and the moss creature leave the caves and into the now misty forest. The moss creature hums at the human, symbolizing its happiness. Dyllan smiles and nods, knowing that the creature is free to be itself. The creature looks ahead at the valley of mists and takes its first steps into the unknown. Dyllan waves goodbye, "Good luck to you, gentle moss man."
Just as he watches the moss man disappear into the mist, he hears a familiar buzzing noise coming from the sky. He looks up to see Clipper flying high in the sky.
"Clipper!" Dyllan called out. "You found me!" Clipper lands close by and nuzzles his head on Dyllan. Dyllan takes a look at his wing to make sure there isn't any further damage. Dyllan smiles to see that nothing's changed with Clipper's injury. He is lucky he is able to fly at all.
"Looks like you're able to fly on your own," he said. "but let's keep your flying to a minimum." He pats on Clipper's head and the two make their way back to the village.
The frogs of Swamp Shiro are overjoyed with seeing how powerful the flow of water has become. They are even more happy that they don't have to worry about waking the 'monster' below the village anymore. The kids begin running around playing tag, and the adults keep using sign language. Tint sits quietly outside Leap's hut alongside Cronaxx. Dyllan comes up shortly after, and sits down next to Tint.
"You disobeyed me," said Cronaxx. He points to Dyllan. "You broke one of the important rules of the village and went down in the dark hole without us." Then, he points to Tint. "And you. You went along with his plan by distracting the village."
"After all I've done for you two..." Tint and Dyllan wait for Cronaxx to finish his lecture. "You two went through great lengths, and saved this village from fear."
The two students are shocked to hear Cronaxx say that. He smiles at them and bows, and so do the rest of the village. Dyllan and Tint smile at them, and then at each other.
"Your students have saved the village's water supply," said Leaps. "And perhaps many other villages as well."
Reggie uses sign language to communicate with the others, but Dyllan is still confused. "What is she saying? Doesn't she know she can talk again?"
"Sorry, she can't," replied Leap. "She's deaf."
"Oh," said Dyllan, completely embarrassed.
"But she is saying that the frogs in Wartwood are happy to know that the water is flowing again. That means there will be more fish, more fresh water to drink, and more moisture for their farms."
"Can I apologize to her?" asked Dyllan.
"Sure, just do what I do," replied Leaps. He points to himself, then draws a circle on his chest with his finger.
Dyllan repeats the gesture in front of Reggie, realizing that he's signaling, 'I'm sorry.'
Reggie smiles and signals, 'You're okay. You'll get the hang of ASL someday.'
Dyllan nods and Cronaxx taps his shoulder, "You'll get the hang of it someday. I believe that's what she said."
"And it is strange," said Leaps. He walks over and removes Dyllan's hood, showing his face to the village. "We've never seen any creature like you before."
Dyllan at first is shocked, he tries to cover his head again, but it is too late. He braces for another angry mob to chase him and the Tormaks out. But nothing happens. The frogs take a look, smile at the creature, then go about their business.
"You're not going to chase us out?" Tint asked.
"Of course not," said Leap. "I told you, our village always welcomes outsiders."
"I really appreciate it Leap," said Cronaxx. "But I think it's time for us to get a move on."
"The only reason we came here," said Dyllan. "Is to find my friends in Frog Valley." He takes out his photo of him and his friends and shows it to Leaps. "Have you seen any of these girls?"
Leaps shakes his head, "I'm sorry, I haven't. But I do hope you will find them one day."
Dyllan nods with a sad look on his face, "Thank you Leap. I hope that with the monster gone, you and your village can live in peace."
"Yeah, so what was in that dark hole Dyllan?" Tint asked. "And how did you manage to fight off the monster?"
"Remember what Cronaxx told me when I first got here?" asked Dyllan. "Be good to nature, and nature will be good to you. And when we got free from the cave, I saw it disappear into the forest."
"And it's like Nightoum said," said Cronaxx. "There is no monster more dangerous than a lack of compassion."
"Right," said Tint. "Anyway, what did you see down there Dyllan?"
"Would you believe me if I said it was a giant moss man?" asked Dyllan.
"It might be possible," said Leap. "Life works in mysterious ways. But until I see one, I wouldn't be so sure if it's real."
"It's okay," said Cronaxx. "Sometimes it's best to leave nature as it is: A home to all living things."
"Alright," said Dyllan. He readjusts his backpack and turns to the pathway leading outside of Swamp Shiro. "I think it's time we continue our quest. Ready to go Clipper?" The dragonfly paces in place out of joy and looks to the road ahead.
"Guess this means we're heading to the last known village in Frog Valley," said Tint. He takes out the map and points at the last village south of Swamp Shiro. "And that's Wartwood."
"Exactly," said Cronaxx. "It was good to see you Leaps. And thanks for everything."
"The pleasure was all ours," said Leaps. "Anyway, I know the quickest way to get to Wartwood. Just follow the path of sand all the way down south, then once you reach the main road, turn left. The path will take you straight to the village."
"Thanks again Leap," said Dyllan. "Come on guys. Let's go!"
The frogs of Swamp Shire wave goodbye as the human, the dragonfly, and the Tormaks take the sand path to the road to Wartwood. Leap, and his children return home to find his wife holding a newly hatched pollywog. His wife has purple skin, blonde hair, and is dressed almost the same as Leaps. The little green pollywog starts crying, which makes the woman frog smile.
"Eve," said Leaps. "How is he doing?"
Eve smiles, "I'm just so happy he can cry as loud as he wants."
The rest of the family smile. 'Us too,' signaled Reggie.
Back on the sand path, the Tormaks, Dyllan, and Clipper are on their way to the next, and possibly the last village left on the map. Dyllan sighes with relief and excitement, wondering what's going to happen next.
By the time they get to the road that leads to Wartwood, the sun sets over the valley. The stars sparkle over the sky and the red moon shines bright. The Tormaks set up camp by an open field nearby and take the time to get some sleep. Dyllan is the only one left still wide awake.
He takes out his photo of his best friends and smiles. "I've traveled to almost every village in Frog Valley," he whispered. "But there's only one village left: Wartwood. I know I've had bad luck trying to find you. But I'm not giving up. Not when I'm this close. So please just hang in there a little longer. I'm coming for you all."
Unable to fall asleep, Dyllan takes the time to learn how to read Amphibian literature. And a few sign language signals if he's still not sleepy. After about ten to twenty minutes, Dyllan's eyes start drooping and yawns. He grows tired from learning, and falls asleep on his bed mat.
Oh Boy! I can't wait! Now Dyllan and the Tormaks are on their way to Wartwood! It's only a matter of time before they find Dyllan's friends! Until the time comes, be ready. Because I'm working real hard to make sure the next chapter is worth reading! But until then, Keep on Truckin'!