Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 48: New Wartwood

"First day in Wartwood!" Marcy yelled as she ran around the Plantar family household.

"Huh?" Drake woke up. He was still in the Plantar's attic, sleeping on a bedroll. It wasn't the best place to sleep but still comfortable enough. He got up and climbed down from the attic where he found Marcy running into the basement excitedly.

Hop Pop was already in the kitchen. "She seems rather excited." he commented.

"Yeah, when Marcy gets excited, nothing will slow her down." Drake said as he sat down at a table.

"Alright... well, breakfast is ready." Hop Pop grabbed some bug pancakes and placed them onto the table.

Drake grabbed a fork and knife and started to eat. In the past, he would have refused to eat what he considered as unacceptable food. However, his time in Amphibia had definitely changed his perspective on eating.

"So Hop Pop, did anything happen while I was in Newtopia? Anything new?" Drake asked before putting a piece into his mouth.

"Well, aside from the music box incident with Anne, nothing really. Been really quiet these past few days." Hop Pop answered as he finished setting up the table.

"That's surprising. From what I understand, Toad Tower protected the valley from all sorts of dangers. Now that it's in ruins and the toads have been scattered, I would've expected the roads to become extremely dangerous or for bandits to suddenly rise up and fill the power vacuum." Drake replied.

"Hmm... now that you mention it, there haven't been any visitors from the other towns. Even the postal service seems to have shut down." Hop Pop noted.

Drake finished his breakfast. "Well, thanks for the food. I'm going to take a walk around Wartwood. See if I can find Marcy." Drake then stood up and walked out of the house.

As Drake walked around the town, he expected to hear screams from the frog townsfolk, yet it was extremely quiet. In fact, the townsfolk seemed to leave him alone save for a few tadpoles who seemed to be whispering about him.

"Hey, that's the guy from Toad Tower."

"The friendly monster who got us out?"

"Yeah, him. He's back."

"What's he wearing?"

"I don't know but it looks pretty cool."

The reactions were extremely strange to Drake. Based on his past experiences with the town, the townsfolk didn't really like outsiders. Especially not humans. Everything was so different, for a moment Drake wasn't sure he was actually in Wartwood. Still, he pressed on, hoping to find Marcy.

It was already afternoon by the time he found her. Marcy was sitting near a fountain, in front of a statue of Wartwood's founder. She looked dejected. Anne was there as well. Apparently, she was also looking for Marcy and had barely beaten him to her.

"Hey Mar-Mar. How's your first day in Wartwood going?" Anne asked as she approached.

Marcy looked up at Anne. "Oh, great. Did you know this entire town was built on top of a swamp that never sinks? That's because the designers knew how heavy to make everything."

"That's a cool fact. What else you learn?" Anne asked.

"I also learned that small communities like this don't take kindly to strangers, which means I don't have a chance." Marcy sat back down.

Anne placed a hand on Marcy's shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course they'll accept you."

"The people here are a lot nicer than last I saw them. I think you'll be fine." Drake added.