Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 47: The First Temple

It was sunrise by the time the giant sparrow landed. Flying all the way from Newtopia to Wartwood took several hours but it was much faster than traveling by land.

"Ahh! A monster bird ridden by a pile of books!" a familiar old man screamed. "Wait, huh?"

Marcy emerged from the book fort. "Hiya, Plantar family."

"Wow I'm surprised we didn't lose a single book." Drake said as he emerged.

"Marcy! Drake!" the three Plantar children exclaimed at once.

Marcy hopped off Joe Sparrow but fell on her face. She quickly shielded herself from some of the books that were falling off the giant sparrow. Drake on the other hand, climbed down the other side, landing on his feet.

Marcy got up and brushed herself off while Joe Sparrow walked away. "Good news, everyone. I finished my preparations for the- what...? Is this your house? It's so rustic and cute. When was it built? Third century? No. No. Second. Yes, of course. Okay, when it was af-"

Anne snapped her fingers, pulling her back into reality. "Hey, hey, Marbles. Big news?"

"Oh, right. We finished our prep. We're ready for the first temple." Marcy announced.

"I even got a new sword." Drake unsheathed the blade to show off.

"No way! Awesome." The three friends high fived.

"I just need to see the music box then it's go-time gang." Marcy started punching in the air excitedly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Anne and the Plantars just stared at her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah-ya!" Marcy stopped when she noticed the looks, she was getting. "Sorry. Long flight. A lot of pent-up energy."

"The flight wasn't that long. It's only been a few hours." Drake said.

"Like I said, a lot of pent-up energy. Anyway, music box." Marcy held up her hand.

Anne started digging into her backpack.

"Good thing they didn't show up a few days ago. Am I right?" Sprig nudged Polly.

"What happened a few days ago?" Drake asked.

"Oh uh, nothing. Don't worry about it." Polly smiled.

"Seems everyone is keeping secrets from me these days." Drake muttered to himself.

Anne pulled the music box out of her backpack and handed it to Marcy. "Here you go."

Marcy prepared herself, cracking her fingers before taking the music box. "Okay, if my studies are correct then..." she started pressing a series of buttons built into the music box. The music box played a short tune, and the gems came out. Marcy picked up one of them, once she took it the other gems retreated back into the box. She held it out for Hop Pop. "There you go, bud."

"Oh, uh, I better not." Hop Pop declined the offer.

Anne quickly snatched the box. "It's nothing! Don't worry about it." she quickly placed the box back into her backpack.

Marcy accepted the explanation. "Well, we've got a big journey ahead. I'll explain everything on the way. Come on, Joe. Joe? Joe Sparrow!"

The giant sparrow was dancing in front of Bessie the snail. It looked to be some kind of mating dance. Bessie just blushed and looked away.

"Leave that snail alone!" Marcy demanded.

"I don't know... I thought it was pretty cool." Drake followed her.

Everyone ignored him and started climbing onto the giant snail. It was a rather cramped space. Anne, Sprig, Polly, and Marcy were barely able to fit into the saddle. Drake volunteered to stand in front of the group, not quite secured but as long as the ride wasn't too bumpy, he would be fine. He didn't really want to fight over the remaining space.