Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 16: Bizarre Bazaar

Drake and Nyx were sitting in a small cave. The same cave where Drake had found Anne then subsequently separated. The weather in Amphibia was definitely strange. Winter had lasted only a single day. Not only that, but the snow melted just as quickly as it arrived. Luckily there weren't any problems during the winter and Drake was able to survive by eating green and red berries Nyx had showed him. That was almost a week ago however, now Drake was back in slightly familiar territory. It was late at night outside and the only source of warmth was the small fire Drake had built.

Drake was admiring the egg he got from Bog Bottom. It was beautifully decorated, that much was certain, but he wasn't sure why Nyx wanted him to grab it. How exactly does this help us? he thought.

Drake looked up and saw Nyx stretching and yawning. Once she was done, she came up to him.

"You know Nyx. I was here with Anne right before we got separated. I hope she's doing alright." Drake had been going through what happened at Bog Bottom over and over in his head. The way the revolutionary spoke, it was as though Sasha was alive and well. Probably prosperous though Drake still didn't understand who the enemy was in their eyes. She did say she would find him later, so it was probably better to find Anne then wait it out.

Drake looked back at the egg still wondering what to do with it. Suddenly, Nyx smacked it out of his hand. It fell on the floor, shattering into small pieces.

Drake looked at the pieces then looked up at her. "Why did you do that?"

Then he noticed movement. A small creature emerged from the broken shell. It got up and started running.

"What is that?" Drake muttered to himself. He noticed Nyx chasing after it and got up to join the pursuit.

They chased the tiny creature through the woods. Eventually it disappeared into a tiny hole in the ground. Drake looked down the hole, it was extremely deep. It would take a while to dig it up and continue the pursuit but during that time, it may have other exits. There was no way to catch it. Then, nearby mushrooms began to glow orange. It illuminated a small path that led to a large doorway made of leaves. At the top of the doorway was that same hourglass symbol.

Drake walked up to the leaf door and pushed it aside revealing some kind of bazaar with stands. There was a large variety of goods being sold such as food, even skins. He noticed a masked pickpocket going around stealing from distracted customers. The most notable people were the extremely tall, robed guards patrolling the paths. He noticed those robed guards had tails indicating they were actually newts underneath that uniform. There was a giant hourglass that could be seen from anywhere within the bazaar. No doubt when the hourglass empties, the bazaar will close down.

Seeing how shady the atmosphere was, Drake guessed this place was mainly a place for criminals to fence goods that were likely illegally obtained. Even if it wasn't, the place itself looked incredibly dangerous. Drake turned around and was about to head back but Nyx stopped him.

"Seriously? Another adventure? Is that why you wanted me to grab that egg?" Drake asked as he looked down on her.

Nyx just narrowed her eyes.

"Nyx, can't you just trust me on this one. I have a bad feeling about this place." Drake pleaded.

Nyx started pushing him in.

"Alright, fine but stay close to me. I don't want to lose track of you in this place." Drake adjusted his cloak. He made sure it was extremely tight and concealing. Any pickpocket that wanted to steal from him would first have to remove his cloak. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to cover up Nyx with and she was too large to carry around the whole time. All they could do was walk together and hope not to get separated. Drake took his first few steps into this strange place.