The Legend of The Crystals

[Twisted Tails]

On to the next chapter =)


Chapter Nine

Movin’ Right Along or I’m On My Way (Take Your Pick)

Flowers as far as the eye can see greeted Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter the moment they left the city. It was a huge difference to Jamais Dormir Ville for there was only a very small amount of flowers in the park. Kermit took out the map as the smell of the wide variety of flowers penetrated their noses.
“If we continue south, we’ll come to the capital of Fleurdelune”, he said. After a three second pause he added: “Wait a minute, I thought Jamais Dormir Ville was the capital.”
“Jamais Dormir Ville is the biggest city, but Cœur de Fleur is capital”, Miss Piggy explained. Kermit mumbled “oh” as he put the map away. According to the map, Cœur de Fleur was not very far away but he knew it would be a long way walking. It might even take several days.
More and more flowers appeared as they walked further down the road. It was certainly no place for somebody with pollen allergy. Good thing none of the three travelers were allergic. Otherwise the journey would be unbearable. The journey was quiet; they met no one along the way.
“Hey, did any of you notice we didn’t get a description of Lesauvage’s appearance in the last chapter?”, Walter suddenly remarked.
“Now that you mention it”, said Kermit thoughtfully. “The author did forget to let Francois or Lara describe him.”
“And how are we going to recognize him then?”, wondered Miss Piggy. Somebody cleared their throat behind them. Turning around, they saw it was the author. She had her arms crossed and she glared dangerously at them.
“Ah, on with the story!”, Kermit declared, his arms flailing. The author nodded with satisfaction and disappeared. So they continued their trek through the stars… pardon, flowers. They never stopped, except to get a bite to eat from the supplies they had gotten alongside a bag where they stored the food and drinks. Nothing interesting happened, although there was a small incident where Kermit and Walter had to restrain Miss Piggy from eating it all up. It was only when they told her they would starve if she ate everything now, she stopped fighting. That, and Kermit had to promise to take her out for dinner someday. But other than that, it was just a quiet journey. When night fell, they rested underneath a tree. One of them would stand watch for an hour until the next one would relieve them. Then again, none of them could sleep well that night as various nocturnal animals somewhere in the distance disturbed the silence, though none came near Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter. At daybreak, they continued their journey.

On the second day, the journey through the flowery wonderland was not so different than the day before. None of them had any idea how to feel about this. For one, they were relieved that so far nothing dangerous had happened but they also felt uneasy because nothing had happened. On their way to Jamais Dormir Ville, Kermit and Walter had been attacked by a Dronte at about every step. This time, however, it was like the Destroyers were avoiding them. The lack of attacks or anything actually made the journey boring, which did not help the still tired party of three. If anything, it made them feel more tired.
In the late evening, they sat among the flowers. The sun had started to set and they had decided to call it a day. None of them could sleep, despite feeling so incredibly tired and having aching feet.
“Walter, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?”, Kermit asked. He thought that if they could not sleep, they may as well pass time by hearing more about Walter as well as Miss Piggy.
“There’s actually nothing much and nothing interesting”, said Walter, playing lazily with a flower.
“Ah, come on, Walter.”
“Kermie”, said Miss Piggy before Walter could answer, “why don’t vous tell more about yourself and your life on Muppet Island?”
She stifled a yawn as she looked expectantly at him with her big blue but also tired eyes.
“Didn’t I already tell you?”
“Vous told us about the attack but not about anything before that.”
“Well, I suppose I could. Then you can talk about yourself, Walter. And you, too, Miss Piggy.”
Walter nodded and said “okay”. Miss Piggy, however, did not look keen of the idea of telling about her past.
“Well, my family has lived on Muppet Island for ages. I think my ancestors came to the island about two hundred years ago”, Kermit started, pausing to have a good yawn. “I have hundreds of siblings. You know, being a frog you have a great number of siblings. Everyone moved away when they became adults, except me. I stayed. One of my brothers came with his wife and his son, Robin, back to the island. Robin has stayed with me since then but his parents have left just a short while later to go on an expedition. We spent a lot of time together and he found many friends. We liked sitting around a campfire with friends and tell stories and play music. It was actually a nice and peaceful life.”
“You have a nephew? I bet he is just as adorable as you are”, said Miss Piggy, leaning her head against Kermit’s arm. Kermit stared at her.
“Ah, yeah, well… what was I going to say?”
Miss Piggy had now started snuggling up to him. Kermit looked at Walter, hoping Walter would have an answer. But he just shrugged.
“Maybe I should start talking about me, like you wanted”, said Walter, whereupon Kermit nodded. “It’s nothing exciting, really. I was born and grew up in Little Town and attended Sapientia. I graduated a few years ago but couldn’t find a job. So, since then, I’ve been doing odd jobs before I met you. And, well, you know the rest.”
Walter finished the last sentence in a meek voice. He was aware his life was everything but interesting. Little Town was just a sleepy village, where nothing ever happens. It was only known as the town closest to Sapientia, the famous school for mages.
“I know it’s not much”, said Walter. “But I could tell you more about Sapientia if you want me to.”
Kermit nodded. Walter took a deep breath and started talking:
“Sapientia is one of the four most renowned schools in the world. It specializes in magic and was founded by Lord Hyne Ardito over five hundred years ago. At first, it was only for fire, water, thunder, wind and healing magic, as you can see by the crest. He added the other kinds later. Lord Hyne Ardito was very gifted in magic but also in non-magic combat. His school Virtute specializes in this. Dominus is a combination of both. Ultima is kinda the same, only it’s the elite. Only the best of the best can attend Ultima.”
“Wait a minute, I thought Ultima was one of the most powerful spells in existence”, said Kermit, a little confused.
“He named it after the spell”, explained Walter.
“Oh.”
There was a pause where Kermit and Walter both looked up to the stars. Miss Piggy was still snuggled up to Kermit, her eyes now closed.
“Miss Piggy, it’s your turn now”, said Walter after a few minutes. But Miss Piggy did not react, not even when he tried to shake her awake.
“I think she’s asleep”, Kermit said quietly.
“You better go to sleep, too. I’ll stand watch”, said Walter.
“Yeah, okay”, Kermit agreed. He lay down, closed his eyes and fell asleep. Walter, meanwhile, stayed awake to keep watch. He was tired but he fought off sleep. Somebody had to make sure nothing was going to attack them while they slept and he volunteered to do so for an hour until either Kermit or Miss Piggy relieved him. But for now, his two companions were fast asleep and dreaming. Sleep… Walter would just love to go sleep now. But no, he had to stay awake, as he reminded himself time and time again. It was hard because there was no disturbance. The night was peaceful and warm, with a breeze drifting sometimes. It was kind of like a warm day in a shadowy place, perfect for a nap. Walter could feel his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier…
The early morning sun shone brightly and warmly on Walter’s face, waking him up. He could not remember falling asleep. He looked around and smiled when he saw that Miss Piggy was still snuggled up to Kermit. Indeed, she looked like she had a good night’s sleep by using the frog as a pillow and he seemed to have slept through the night, too. It was quite a cute sight, in Walter’s opinion. His eyes widened when he realized that neither of them had stood watch. He screamed in terror, causing Kermit and Miss Piggy to wake up. The frog bolted upright in shock, causing the pig to fall hard on the ground with a loud thud.
“Ow! Watch it!”, she exclaimed angrily while Kermit asked:
“What’s going on?”
Walter ignored them as he looked through his things. Kermit decided, and advised Miss Piggy, to do the same. He found that none of his things, which consisted of his banjo, a little bag, the money bag and the bag of supplies, were missing. Miss Piggy did not miss anything from her possessions, either. Walter calmed down when he heard this.
“Walter, what’s going on?”, asked Kermit.
“I, um, I was kind of afraid that some of our things were stolen…”, his friend replied meekly.
“Why?”
“Because I, er, fell asleep on guard duty…”
“You WHAT!?”, Miss Piggy exclaimed, making Walter flinch.
“Calm down”, said Kermit, putting a hand gently on her shoulder. “I don’t blame for falling asleep. We were all tired last night; it could have happened to anyone. And anyway, nothing was stolen, right?”
“Right”, grunted Miss Piggy.

Shortly afterwards, the group continued their journey and, as before, it was rather uneventful. Kermit took out his banjo around midday. He had no idea why he did this; maybe it was just too quiet for his taste.
“What are you going to play, Kermie?”, asked an interested Miss Piggy.
“I… I don’t really know. Something about being on a journey, I guess”, replied Kermit, holding his banjo close to him. “Well, the author has given me a choice. Either Movin’ Right Along or I’m On My Way.”
“Not really a lot of to choose from”, commented Walter. The sentence barely left his mouth when a couple of Goblins and two Drontes appeared. Walter summoned his weapon while one Goblin hit him. It barely hurt him; it was actually more annoying than anything else. He retaliated with several chimes of his bell, defeating it a short while later. Nearby, Kermit and Miss Piggy fought together to get rid of the Drontes. One of them bit Kermit in the shoulder; Miss Piggy got it off with a quick karate-chop. Kermit put it to sleep while Walter ran over to them to help them. Together, he and Miss Piggy defeated the Dronte. Right after it vanished in a dark cloud, a Goblin attacked Miss Piggy from behind with a knife. She cried out in pain and wheeled around, trying to kick it but barely missing it. It cackled maliciously at her. She growled angrily and used her karate-chop on it. This time, she hit it in the stomach, sending it flying and hitting a few more Goblins. They landed among the flowers and, when they got back on their feet, they walked in a slightly dizzy way. Notes, chimes and a powerful karate-chop defeated those Goblins in a matter of minutes. The remaining Dronte dashed towards them, its fangs bared and ready to slash any of them with its claws. Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter jumped out of the way, though it still managed to scratch Walter’s arm. He tripped over his own feet when he took a step backwards to avoid another attack and landed where the Goblins lay just moments before. Kermit, meanwhile, played Shadows In The Night to blind the Destroyer while Miss Piggy stood behind him, concentrating hard. Then she attacked the Dronte with particularly powerful kicks and karate-chops, just like she did in the catacombs of Jamais Dormir Ville. Her attack left the Destroyer severely weakened and, in his blinded status, none of its attacks hit them. Instead of Kermit’s leg, it bit – and ate – a flower; instead of scratching across Miss Piggy’s chest, it scratched air. The three Muppets actually stood on the sidelines, Kermit still playing, and watched it stagger before Walter defeated it with a chime.
“Well, at least something happened”, he commented, attempting to sound like he found it all amusing. He got something out of his pocket. “I found it over there.”
He indicated to the spot he had fallen down and where, before that, the Goblins lay. Both Kermit and Miss Piggy looked at his palm, seeing circular golden coins.
“It’s Munny”, Kermit stated, confused at seeing the currency used all over the world in the palm of Walter’s hand. “But how -?”
“Maybe the Goblins dropped it when they vanished?”, said Walter. “But at least we don’t have to worry about money anymore.”
“I guess”, replied his froggy friend while he added the Munny into the money bag.

They walked down the path for the next two days, only stopping to rest twice a day. Unlike before, however, it was less boring now. Destroyers regularly attacked them, so that at the end of the day, they felt so exhausted it took only a matter of seconds before they were fast asleep. For some reason, they were never attacked while sleeping. Of course, no one was complaining. It was not like they desired to be wounded or ripped apart in their sleep. With every battle, they felt themselves becoming stronger. They needed less time to take down a Dronte. The occasional Lupus was not so hard to defeat anymore and the Goblins vanished faster than gateau, waffles, pies, ice cream and donuts served to Miss Piggy.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”, grunted Miss Piggy angrily. The author gulped in fear and hurried to retype the comparison.
The Goblins vanished fast than one could say “Boom Shakalaka”.
“That’s better”, said Miss Piggy approvingly.
“Could you please stop breaking the fourth wall?”, said Walter.
“You broke it first and then Kermie. It was my turn now”, Miss Piggy retorted.
“Good grief”, mumbled Kermit.
Anyway, the three Muppets continued their journey until they arrived at a farm some time in the evening. Cows grazed calmly on the fenced field, a dog chased birds until it spotted Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter. It ran to them with a wag of its tail and yipped playfully.
“Angelo!”, a female voice called. The dog ran to its owner. Just as she was about to pick the dog up, it ran back to the three Muppets.
“Oh, bonjour”, said the owner who had followed the dog. “Je suis Charlotte. Puis-je vous aider?”
Kermit and Walter looked at each other in confusion. They had not understood a word she had said, except “Charlotte”. She apparently noticed their confusion; for she now spoke in a language they could understand:
“Hello. I am Charlotte. Can I help you?”
Charlotte was a Whatnot with lavender skin. Her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had large brown eyes and pink lips.
“Hi ho, I’m Kermit The Frog. And this Walter and this is Miss Piggy.”
Walter raised his hand in greeting while the lady pig said “bonjour”.
“You look like you had a long journey”, said Charlotte. “Come in my house and rest. You can sleep in the guest room.”
They followed her into the house, with Angelo trotting after them. They were led into a hall; the walls were decorated with a single photograph of Charlotte on arm around a horse and a male Whatnot standing next to her, his arm around her waist. Underneath the picture were a small table and a telephone and on the opposite wall were coat hooks. Charlotte entered a room to the right. She was talking to someone, who seemed to not speak her native language because Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter could understand every word she said.
“Could you please prepare more spaghetti, dearie? We have guests.”
To the astonishment of Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter, they heard the answer in clucks. Angelo followed his owner into the room and, a minute later, Charlotte reappeared.
“Have a seat, dinner will be ready soon”, she said. “I’ll be right back.”
She left them a split second before they entered the room, which turned out to be the kitchen. The wallpapers were in a pleasant shade of yellow, the furniture had a sturdy, rustically look. In a corner was Angelo, eating meat from his bowl. The sitting area was small and cozy. A chicken fluttered in front of the stove, somehow preparing dinner. Neither Kermit nor Miss Piggy nor Walter said a word as they watched the chicken, trying to figure out how she managed to cook. It was only when Charlotte entered the kitchen, they stopped watching the chicken.
“The poor dear was quite in a shock when I first met her”, Charlotte said. “She almost drowned in the ocean after her home had been attacked. She’s feeling better now but she misses her home.”
“How do you know all this?, asked Miss Piggy curiously.
“She told me all this”, the Whatnot replied. “I learned Chickenish since I was eight years old”, she added upon seeing her guests’ questioning looks. The chicken clucked something and Charlotte stood up from her seat. She then carried three plates and the chicken carried two plates and they set them on the table.
“Bon appétit”, said Charlotte but Kermit barely heard her. He had now gotten a good look at the chicken and this sure was one chicken he knew. And the way she looked at him, it as clear she recognized him, too.
“Camilla?”
“Bawk?”
Miss Piggy, Walter and Charlotte looked up from their spaghetti Bolognese.
“You know each other?”, asked the Whatnot, looking interested at Kermit and Camilla.
“We lived on the same island. Though I didn’t know she could cook”, said Kermit as Camilla clucked animatedly. Charlotte was the only one who did not look puzzled.
“To make it short, she says she’s glad to see you alive and she asks about the others”, translated Charlotte. Camilla clucked again. “And if Gonzo is alright.”
“I’m glad to see you, too”, said Kermit, managing a little smile. “But I haven’t found the others yet.”
Camilla clucked in disappointment.
“But we’ll”, he gestured at himself, Miss Piggy and Walter, “find them.”
And so, he told his poultry friend what he had happened to him since the attack on Muppet Island. When he was done, Camilla told him how she as found and how she helped out on the farm, with a translation from Charlotte.

After dinner, Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter were led to the guest room by Charlotte. The small room had two beds, a couch, a drawer, a desk and a chair. A nightgown had been laid out for Miss Piggy. Charlotte bid them a good night and left.
“Miss Piggy, you can sleep in one of the beds”, said both male Muppets at once. They had a feeling she would use her karate-chop them if they would not let her sleep in a bed.
“Thank vous”, said Miss Piggy sweetly, taking the nightgown. Her two companions quickly left the room while she changed and did not return until she gave the word. When Kermit and Walter reentered the guest room, Miss Piggy had already gotten comfortable in the bed beneath the window. The question of who should sleep in the other bed was solved by a round of paper-rock-scissors, which Kermit lost by using scissor while Walter used rock. Having no night clothes, they both had to strip down to their underwear.
“Nice pants, Kermie”, Miss Piggy commented, giggling. Kermit blushed. Walter laughed at the sight of his heart print pants. Kermit made a crunched face as he climbed on the couch and pulled the blanket over him.
“Just let the chapter end.”

Wow! This is great! Charlotte, found, Camilla the chicken! Walter, Kermit, and Miss Piggy fight the Destroyers & Drontes. You go Muppets! You're doing wonderful, Yuna! Post more when you have the time. Thanks!

 

[Yuna Leonhart]

Chapter Ten

Pixie Problem

Charlotte was already out taking care of her cows and chickens by the time Kermit awoke. Quietly, as to not to wake his friends, he got up, took his clothes and left the room. Once outside he tried to remember which door led to the guest bathroom; he knew Charlotte had mentioned it once last night but he did not seem to remember. He decided to try the door at the end of the hall. He approached the door and read a sign:

Guest Bathroom​

Well, that was easy. Kermit opened the door and entered a tiny bathroom. The walls were white, painted with shapes of dolphins, fish, starfish and an octopus in different shades of green and blue. His eyes fell in the fluffy pink towels and he made a crunched face.
“Very funny”, he commented, looking directly at the author. She stuck her tongue out before she and the audience left him alone.

Charlotte sighed as she looked at her crops. Just a few weeks ago, everything was fine. Her crops had grown well, had gotten plenty of sunshine and plenty of water. But not anymore. She used the water from the river to water her crops. It was said the stream water had magical properties. She even used to believe it but now she started to doubt it was true. For a few weeks now, the water actually damages her crops and she had started using piped water – well, she had to water her crops somehow. Unfortunately, the contaminated water from the river had let some of her crops wither. Something had to be done soon.
“Bawk bawk?”
“Oh Camilla, it’s just hopeless”, sighed Charlotte in defeat. Angelo walked up to her and whimpered. Smiling slightly, she picked her pet up and held him close to her. If she would not be so busy with her on the farm, she would go out and investigate the cause of the problem. It was not only the problem with the water. Around the same time her watery problems started, she had been attacked by strange creatures. It was not like she could not defend herself but it was still tedious. She needed help but who could she ask? An idea struck her. Her three guests looked like they could handle something like this. Yes, she would ask them for their help when they were awake. Oh, how she hoped they would help her. But she had a feeling that they would help her.
“Come on, Cammie, let’s get the cows outside”, said Charlotte. Camilla clucked in response and followed the Whatnot to the cow barn. Halfway they were joined by Kermit, dressed in his clothes.
“Morning, Kermit. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah thank you.”
“I’m glad.”
They entered the barn where Charlotte kept about ten cows and a bull. With Camilla’s help, Charlotte moved her cattle out to the field. It was a pleasant day to be outside. Fluffy clouds speckled the clear blue sky. The cattle started to graze or to lie lazily in the grass the moment they were on the field. Charlotte watched her cattle with a fond smile for a moment.
“Did you have breakfast yet?”, she asked Kermit.
“Not yet”, he replied just as his tummy rumbled. Charlotte chuckled at this.
“Well, it’s almost time for lunch anyway. Let’s go back inside.”
Once inside the house, they saw Walter coming downstairs. He was already dressed in his clothes, too.
“Hi, Walter. Where’s Miss Piggy?”
“She just went to the bathroom, Kermit. I think it’s gonna take a while until she comes out.”
Walter followed them into the kitchen. He and Kermit sat down in the sitting area while Camilla and Charlotte prepared lunch.
“Upset stomach?”, asked Charlotte, mincing mushrooms.
“No, she’s getting dressed.”
Not another word was spoken while both female Muppets prepared lunch. Miss Piggy appeared in the kitchen by the time it was ready and immediately took a seat next to Kermit. A moment later they were all served a soup where vegetables and mushrooms were the main ingredients. Although Kermit noticed that there were flies in his helping.
“Er, what is this?”, asked Walter, studying the soup closely.
“Mushroom solyanka”, Charlotte replied. Kermit experimentally tasted a small spoonful. It tasted spicy and sour; he found it did not taste bad but he would not declare it as his favorite.
“I have a favor to ask of you”, said Charlotte straightforwardly. Without waiting for an answer she continued: “The stream water I used to water my crop had become contaminated. I kindly ask you to investigate the problem.”
Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter looked flabbergasted at each other. Her sudden request had left them speechless. Charlotte leaned forward and looked at them with pleading eyes:
“Please.”
“Well, uh, I guess it can’t hurt to investigate”, said Kermit.
“Oh thank you!”, Charlotte gave Kermit a peck on his head. Miss Piggy was seething, which did not go unnoticed by Charlotte.

After lunch they were shown the state of Charlotte’s crops. Most of them still looked healthy but the dead crops stuck out like a sore thumb. These brown plants were a sorry sight on this otherwise small but idyllic farm. There were empty spaces where Charlotte obviously had cut down some dead plants. She held a large scythe in her hands to get rid of more dead crops. As Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter took a look at the plants, they cast wary looks at the scythe. No matter how friendly and sweet Charlotte looked, she looked dangerous with that scythe. As long as she held it in her hands, no one would even think of crossing her. But she seemed blissfully unaware of how intimidating she looked. One would think she was holding a memento from a long lost lover close to her heart, the way she looked at the three Muppets.
“I’ve stopped using the stream water but as you can see it didn’t help much”, said Charlotte. “More and more crops are dying. If this goes on, I’ll have no crops to ship and therefore no source of income. Well, except cow’s milk.”
“And you think by getting rid of the water problem, everything will be alright?”, asked Kermit, examining one still healthy looking plant, which started to show signs of dying, closely.
“Well, the river is said to be magical. I believe that by getting rid of the problem, the river will be back to what it was before and will heal my crops”, replied Charlotte in a way that would suggest she was considering the possibility that she might have miscalculated an arithmetic problem. But no one dared to say something about this or even give each other a doubtful glance. Her scythe scared them too much. But Charlotte seemed, once again, to be unaware of their fear.
“I better show you the river”, she said and turned away from her crops. She walked slowly to allow Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter to catch up with her. She held her scythe close to her while they were walking, as if she was trying to protect herself. The reason why became apparent soon. A single Goblin appeared in front of them, brandishing a knife and cackling madly. Kermit and Walter summoned their weapons and Miss Piggy got ready to attack it, but Charlotte just groaned and dispatched the Goblin with a quick movement with her scythe.
“Really, this creature is a nuisance”, she said, turning around to look at the others. “What?”, she added genuinely confused as she saw their apprehensive faces. She received no verbal answer but Kermit pointed at her scythe.
“Oh”, she said quietly, comprehension dawning on her face. Charlotte assured them that they will not have to fear her scythe. It did put their minds to ease, if only a little.
The Muppets continued walking until they had left the fence enclosing the farm property far behind them and were once again in the flowery wonderland. Now and again, a Goblin would appear but it was defeated by Charlotte before it could do as much as cackle. The ease with that she defeated the Destroyer still unsettled Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter but at least they did not fear she would raise her scythe against anymore. As they continued walking through the flower field, they noticed the flowers looking less and less bright. Flowers that bore the sight of not having been watered for just a few days appeared. The farther they walked the more wilted they looked until they saw flowers that looked like someone had tried to plant and grow them in a desert and had neglected to water them. These happened to be, ironically, closest to the river. Although it would be a stretch to call whatever it was that was in there ‘water’. An unpleasant odor, something like rotten eggs, unwashed socks and fish, was in the air. The water was murky brown and looked viscous.
“Oh dear, it’s gotten worse”, said Charlotte, barely audible. She had a hand over her mouth and her eyes had widened with shock. “And to think the water used to be so crystal clear that the river was called Crystal River. Better hurry. This way’s”, she pointed to the west, “the head of the river. I think if you, Kermit, as the Bard and you, Miss Piggy, as the Songstress combine your abilities, it would make it easier to solve the problem.”
“But I’m a Monk”, Miss Piggy corrected her.
“I assumed you were a Songstress, given how you’re dressed. But I’ve got to get back to the farm. Good luck you all.”
Thus, the lavender-colored Whatnot departed, her scythe held in front of her, looking almost like the Grim Reaper, just without the hood. Kermit and Walter considered Miss Piggy and agreed silently she looked more like a Songstress than a Monk.
The three Muppets set off to the west the moment Charlotte had left. The dead flowers were a worse sight than the almost flowerless park in Jamais Dormir Ville. At least there were healthy plants. But what was that contaminating the water that left the plants in such a state? Did the water really have magical properties? If so, could it be that it was possibly tainted by some kind of creature? But would they be able to get rid of the problem? And why did Kermit so readily agreed to help Charlotte out?
“Because she made goo-goo eyes at him, that’s why”, grumbled Miss Piggy to herself. The walk was not very long. After an hour walking they came across a grove. Even though it was summer, the trees were devoid of any leaves. They were gnarled and had a creepy air around them. It was not unlike the kind of trees one would find on the propriety of a haunted mansion or at a graveyard. Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter looked at each other; it was apparent that none of them found this sight encouraging. Gathering all of their courage together, they took each other’s hands and entered the grove.

Maybe it was just their imagination but the trees looked creepier and deader inside the grove. Even though there were no leaves to shield the sunlight, it was darker than outside of the grove, almost as dark as the night. An owl was watching them from a hollow tree. Every sound that emitted from the grove sounded ten times louder than normal. It was like they were walking into their own doom; nothing gave them a glimmer of hope. They could almost watch the grove becoming deader and deader by the minute. The river ended right in the middle of the grove, surrounded by a stone circle. A large tree, the largest of all, stood in the center of the stone circle, right there where the river ended. Right beneath the treetop was a hole from where a faint golden glow emanated. There was something about this glow that was not from this world but it also gave a sense of being on the brink of death. Mesmerized, they approached the tree until they heard a tinkle. Two silver lights appeared in front of them, slowly taking the shape of two small, winged humanoid beings. The lights disappeared and the tinkle stopped as two identical pixies revealed themselves.
“What the hey?”, said Kermit astounded.
“Who are you? You have no purpose here!”, said the pixie on the left-hand side. She and her companion both had black hair cascading down their backs, and leaf green eyes. They were dressed on white gowns with silver trims.
“Begone!”, said the other pixie. Both had the same facial expression; it was a defiant look, though there was some concern hidden in their eyes.
“Um, we’re not here to harm you”, Kermit spoke. “We’re here because of the river.”
“What do you want with the river? Everything in this grove is already dying or polluted! We don’t need you to make it worse!”, shouted the first pixie.
“We’re not here to pollute the river, we want to help you”, explained Walter. The pixies raised their thin eyebrows before huddling together and whispering in hushed tones. One flew up to the large tree after a few minutes while the other kept an eye on the three Muppets. The minutes passed in absolute silence as they waited for the pixie to come back down.
“What did she say, Pomona?”, asked the pixie who remained with the Muppets.
“She said we have to trust them, Olive”, said Pomona. Olive sighed:
“I hope we can trust her judgment… Okay then!”, she said those two last words loudly, directing them at the three Muppets.
“Listen, the Queen of the Pixie Grove, Holly”, she indicated at the large tree, “has been poisoned by two cloaked figures.”
“Did one of them have a container around this area?”, asked Miss Piggy, motioning to the area above her heart. “Diamond-shaped, filled with black and blood red liquid?”
“Yeah, and we don’t know whether it was male or female”, said Olive. She raised her eyebrows. “How did you know that?”
“I’ve seen him or her just a few days ago. In Jamais Dormir Ville”, replied Miss Piggy. Pomona suddenly started to flutter up and down in excitement, so fast she resembled a bouncy ball.
“He or she talked about something happening there!”, she said, almost bursting with excitement. “Something about a mission there!”
Olive, who had a pondering look on her face, nodded slowly. Pomona continued talking:
“The taller one, obviously a male, judging from his voice, said the mission isn’t really important. They’d sooner or later find the four Crystals and their Superior can rule over the world without any problems.”
“Then he poisoned her nectar supply and they disappeared. Holly came back from her patrol not long afterwards. She drank from the poisoned nectar before we had a chance to warn. Since then, the grove and the river are dying. And plants close to the river or watered by the river are dying, too”, said Olive in a grave voice. Suddenly, she and Pomona fluttered so close to Kermit’s face they almost touched his non-existent nose. He backed away in surprise as the two pixies looked sternly at him and his two friends.
“You three find a cure for her!”, they said together. “Or else…”
But they never heard what else. The pixies engulfed them into silver light and for a while, the light was the only thing they saw. When it disappeared, they found themselves outside of the grove. It was already dark outside. Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter were puzzled. Surely they had not been inside the grove that long. At least they knew what was wrong and who was responsible – more or less. Still, the information was not very helpful in finding out how to solve the problem. If they did not know what kind of poison it was or what kind of antidote they would need, how did the pixies expect them to help? Perhaps they had to consult their pillows, if they had any, before they think of a solution.

 

[Twisted Tails]

Chapter Ten

Pixie Problem

Charlotte was already out taking care of her cows and chickens by the time Kermit awoke. Quietly, as to not to wake his friends, he got up, took his clothes and left the room. Once outside he tried to remember which door led to the guest bathroom; he knew Charlotte had mentioned it once last night but he did not seem to remember. He decided to try the door at the end of the hall. He approached the door and read a sign:

Guest Bathroom​

Well, that was easy. Kermit opened the door and entered a tiny bathroom. The walls were white, painted with shapes of dolphins, fish, starfish and an octopus in different shades of green and blue. His eyes fell in the fluffy pink towels and he made a crunched face.
“Very funny”, he commented, looking directly at the author. She stuck her tongue out before she and the audience left him alone.

Charlotte sighed as she looked at her crops. Just a few weeks ago, everything was fine. Her crops had grown well, had gotten plenty of sunshine and plenty of water. But not anymore. She used the water from the river to water her crops. It was said the stream water had magical properties. She even used to believe it but now she started to doubt it was true. For a few weeks now, the water actually damages her crops and she had started using piped water – well, she had to water her crops somehow. Unfortunately, the contaminated water from the river had let some of her crops wither. Something had to be done soon.
“Bawk bawk?”
“Oh Camilla, it’s just hopeless”, sighed Charlotte in defeat. Angelo walked up to her and whimpered. Smiling slightly, she picked her pet up and held him close to her. If she would not be so busy with her on the farm, she would go out and investigate the cause of the problem. It was not only the problem with the water. Around the same time her watery problems started, she had been attacked by strange creatures. It was not like she could not defend herself but it was still tedious. She needed help but who could she ask? An idea struck her. Her three guests looked like they could handle something like this. Yes, she would ask them for their help when they were awake. Oh, how she hoped they would help her. But she had a feeling that they would help her.
“Come on, Cammie, let’s get the cows outside”, said Charlotte. Camilla clucked in response and followed the Whatnot to the cow barn. Halfway they were joined by Kermit, dressed in his clothes.
“Morning, Kermit. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah thank you.”
“I’m glad.”
They entered the barn where Charlotte kept about ten cows and a bull. With Camilla’s help, Charlotte moved her cattle out to the field. It was a pleasant day to be outside. Fluffy clouds speckled the clear blue sky. The cattle started to graze or to lie lazily in the grass the moment they were on the field. Charlotte watched her cattle with a fond smile for a moment.
“Did you have breakfast yet?”, she asked Kermit.
“Not yet”, he replied just as his tummy rumbled. Charlotte chuckled at this.
“Well, it’s almost time for lunch anyway. Let’s go back inside.”
Once inside the house, they saw Walter coming downstairs. He was already dressed in his clothes, too.
“Hi, Walter. Where’s Miss Piggy?”
“She just went to the bathroom, Kermit. I think it’s gonna take a while until she comes out.”
Walter followed them into the kitchen. He and Kermit sat down in the sitting area while Camilla and Charlotte prepared lunch.
“Upset stomach?”, asked Charlotte, mincing mushrooms.
“No, she’s getting dressed.”
Not another word was spoken while both female Muppets prepared lunch. Miss Piggy appeared in the kitchen by the time it was ready and immediately took a seat next to Kermit. A moment later they were all served a soup where vegetables and mushrooms were the main ingredients. Although Kermit noticed that there were flies in his helping.
“Er, what is this?”, asked Walter, studying the soup closely.
“Mushroom solyanka”, Charlotte replied. Kermit experimentally tasted a small spoonful. It tasted spicy and sour; he found it did not taste bad but he would not declare it as his favorite.
“I have a favor to ask of you”, said Charlotte straightforwardly. Without waiting for an answer she continued: “The stream water I used to water my crop had become contaminated. I kindly ask you to investigate the problem.”
Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter looked flabbergasted at each other. Her sudden request had left them speechless. Charlotte leaned forward and looked at them with pleading eyes:
“Please.”
“Well, uh, I guess it can’t hurt to investigate”, said Kermit.
“Oh thank you!”, Charlotte gave Kermit a peck on his head. Miss Piggy was seething, which did not go unnoticed by Charlotte.

After lunch they were shown the state of Charlotte’s crops. Most of them still looked healthy but the dead crops stuck out like a sore thumb. These brown plants were a sorry sight on this otherwise small but idyllic farm. There were empty spaces where Charlotte obviously had cut down some dead plants. She held a large scythe in her hands to get rid of more dead crops. As Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter took a look at the plants, they cast wary looks at the scythe. No matter how friendly and sweet Charlotte looked, she looked dangerous with that scythe. As long as she held it in her hands, no one would even think of crossing her. But she seemed blissfully unaware of how intimidating she looked. One would think she was holding a memento from a long lost lover close to her heart, the way she looked at the three Muppets.
“I’ve stopped using the stream water but as you can see it didn’t help much”, said Charlotte. “More and more crops are dying. If this goes on, I’ll have no crops to ship and therefore no source of income. Well, except cow’s milk.”
“And you think by getting rid of the water problem, everything will be alright?”, asked Kermit, examining one still healthy looking plant, which started to show signs of dying, closely.
“Well, the river is said to be magical. I believe that by getting rid of the problem, the river will be back to what it was before and will heal my crops”, replied Charlotte in a way that would suggest she was considering the possibility that she might have miscalculated an arithmetic problem. But no one dared to say something about this or even give each other a doubtful glance. Her scythe scared them too much. But Charlotte seemed, once again, to be unaware of their fear.
“I better show you the river”, she said and turned away from her crops. She walked slowly to allow Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter to catch up with her. She held her scythe close to her while they were walking, as if she was trying to protect herself. The reason why became apparent soon. A single Goblin appeared in front of them, brandishing a knife and cackling madly. Kermit and Walter summoned their weapons and Miss Piggy got ready to attack it, but Charlotte just groaned and dispatched the Goblin with a quick movement with her scythe.
“Really, this creature is a nuisance”, she said, turning around to look at the others. “What?”, she added genuinely confused as she saw their apprehensive faces. She received no verbal answer but Kermit pointed at her scythe.
“Oh”, she said quietly, comprehension dawning on her face. Charlotte assured them that they will not have to fear her scythe. It did put their minds to ease, if only a little.
The Muppets continued walking until they had left the fence enclosing the farm property far behind them and were once again in the flowery wonderland. Now and again, a Goblin would appear but it was defeated by Charlotte before it could do as much as cackle. The ease with that she defeated the Destroyer still unsettled Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter but at least they did not fear she would raise her scythe against anymore. As they continued walking through the flower field, they noticed the flowers looking less and less bright. Flowers that bore the sight of not having been watered for just a few days appeared. The farther they walked the more wilted they looked until they saw flowers that looked like someone had tried to plant and grow them in a desert and had neglected to water them. These happened to be, ironically, closest to the river. Although it would be a stretch to call whatever it was that was in there ‘water’. An unpleasant odor, something like rotten eggs, unwashed socks and fish, was in the air. The water was murky brown and looked viscous.
“Oh dear, it’s gotten worse”, said Charlotte, barely audible. She had a hand over her mouth and her eyes had widened with shock. “And to think the water used to be so crystal clear that the river was called Crystal River. Better hurry. This way’s”, she pointed to the west, “the head of the river. I think if you, Kermit, as the Bard and you, Miss Piggy, as the Songstress combine your abilities, it would make it easier to solve the problem.”
“But I’m a Monk”, Miss Piggy corrected her.
“I assumed you were a Songstress, given how you’re dressed. But I’ve got to get back to the farm. Good luck you all.”
Thus, the lavender-colored Whatnot departed, her scythe held in front of her, looking almost like the Grim Reaper, just without the hood. Kermit and Walter considered Miss Piggy and agreed silently she looked more like a Songstress than a Monk.
The three Muppets set off to the west the moment Charlotte had left. The dead flowers were a worse sight than the almost flowerless park in Jamais Dormir Ville. At least there were healthy plants. But what was that contaminating the water that left the plants in such a state? Did the water really have magical properties? If so, could it be that it was possibly tainted by some kind of creature? But would they be able to get rid of the problem? And why did Kermit so readily agreed to help Charlotte out?
“Because she made goo-goo eyes at him, that’s why”, grumbled Miss Piggy to herself. The walk was not very long. After an hour walking they came across a grove. Even though it was summer, the trees were devoid of any leaves. They were gnarled and had a creepy air around them. It was not unlike the kind of trees one would find on the propriety of a haunted mansion or at a graveyard. Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter looked at each other; it was apparent that none of them found this sight encouraging. Gathering all of their courage together, they took each other’s hands and entered the grove.

Maybe it was just their imagination but the trees looked creepier and deader inside the grove. Even though there were no leaves to shield the sunlight, it was darker than outside of the grove, almost as dark as the night. An owl was watching them from a hollow tree. Every sound that emitted from the grove sounded ten times louder than normal. It was like they were walking into their own doom; nothing gave them a glimmer of hope. They could almost watch the grove becoming deader and deader by the minute. The river ended right in the middle of the grove, surrounded by a stone circle. A large tree, the largest of all, stood in the center of the stone circle, right there where the river ended. Right beneath the treetop was a hole from where a faint golden glow emanated. There was something about this glow that was not from this world but it also gave a sense of being on the brink of death. Mesmerized, they approached the tree until they heard a tinkle. Two silver lights appeared in front of them, slowly taking the shape of two small, winged humanoid beings. The lights disappeared and the tinkle stopped as two identical pixies revealed themselves.
“What the hey?”, said Kermit astounded.
“Who are you? You have no purpose here!”, said the pixie on the left-hand side. She and her companion both had black hair cascading down their backs, and leaf green eyes. They were dressed on white gowns with silver trims.
“Begone!”, said the other pixie. Both had the same facial expression; it was a defiant look, though there was some concern hidden in their eyes.
“Um, we’re not here to harm you”, Kermit spoke. “We’re here because of the river.”
“What do you want with the river? Everything in this grove is already dying or polluted! We don’t need you to make it worse!”, shouted the first pixie.
“We’re not here to pollute the river, we want to help you”, explained Walter. The pixies raised their thin eyebrows before huddling together and whispering in hushed tones. One flew up to the large tree after a few minutes while the other kept an eye on the three Muppets. The minutes passed in absolute silence as they waited for the pixie to come back down.
“What did she say, Pomona?”, asked the pixie who remained with the Muppets.
“She said we have to trust them, Olive”, said Pomona. Olive sighed:
“I hope we can trust her judgment… Okay then!”, she said those two last words loudly, directing them at the three Muppets.
“Listen, the Queen of the Pixie Grove, Holly”, she indicated at the large tree, “has been poisoned by two cloaked figures.”
“Did one of them have a container around this area?”, asked Miss Piggy, motioning to the area above her heart. “Diamond-shaped, filled with black and blood red liquid?”
“Yeah, and we don’t know whether it was male or female”, said Olive. She raised her eyebrows. “How did you know that?”
“I’ve seen him or her just a few days ago. In Jamais Dormir Ville”, replied Miss Piggy. Pomona suddenly started to flutter up and down in excitement, so fast she resembled a bouncy ball.
“He or she talked about something happening there!”, she said, almost bursting with excitement. “Something about a mission there!”
Olive, who had a pondering look on her face, nodded slowly. Pomona continued talking:
“The taller one, obviously a male, judging from his voice, said the mission isn’t really important. They’d sooner or later find the four Crystals and their Superior can rule over the world without any problems.”
“Then he poisoned her nectar supply and they disappeared. Holly came back from her patrol not long afterwards. She drank from the poisoned nectar before we had a chance to warn. Since then, the grove and the river are dying. And plants close to the river or watered by the river are dying, too”, said Olive in a grave voice. Suddenly, she and Pomona fluttered so close to Kermit’s face they almost touched his non-existent nose. He backed away in surprise as the two pixies looked sternly at him and his two friends.
“You three find a cure for her!”, they said together. “Or else…”
But they never heard what else. The pixies engulfed them into silver light and for a while, the light was the only thing they saw. When it disappeared, they found themselves outside of the grove. It was already dark outside. Kermit, Miss Piggy and Walter were puzzled. Surely they had not been inside the grove that long. At least they knew what was wrong and who was responsible – more or less. Still, the information was not very helpful in finding out how to solve the problem. If they did not know what kind of poison it was or what kind of antidote they would need, how did the pixies expect them to help? Perhaps they had to consult their pillows, if they had any, before they think of a solution.

Ewww! I don't like this at all. I can't smeel it much and the flower'sare dying? Oh dear! If the silly creatures didn't poison the water, then who do you suppose is trying to either making us sick or the monsters sick. A fairy drank the poisoned nectared water? This is terrible! Oh please, author, I want to know who is behind this scheme for damaging our water.

Ahem! I am going to say, More Please!