Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 38: Newtopia Castle

"Come on Drake! Everyone else is already out!" Hop Pop said standing at the door.

"Where are we going?" Drake asked.

"Just walking around Newtopia. Seeing the sights." Hop Pop answered.

"Actually, Hop Pop, I think I'm going to go to the castle today. Take walk around there. There's actually a couple of things I'd like to ask them." Drake said.

"Alright suit yourself." Hop Pop left Drake alone in the hotel room.

After a few minutes of lounging around, Drake was able to get himself out of the hotel room and out onto the street before making his way to the castle. Luckily for him, it was still within walking distance even though it took him a few hours to get there. Once he made it to the castle, he met a familiar newt.

"Good morning, Lady Olivia." Drake said politely.

"Good morning Drake, I'm afraid King Andrias is not yet ready to announce his findings." Lady Olivia replied.

"Oh, I'm not actually here for that." Drake said trying and failing to sound formal. "I was actually hoping to ask a couple of unrelated questions."

"Oh, well that's different. Go on inside but do take care where you tread. Some sections of the castle are off limits. King Andrias and Master Marcy are probably in the castle library, it's to your left shortly after entering the third floor." Lady Olivia explained.

"Thank you, Lady Olivia." Drake walked inside, surprised he was allowed to just walk around the castle unsupervised. He took the opportunity to walk around while still attempting to stay out of trouble. As he explored the castle, he noticed there weren't a lot of guards patrolling the interior. He heard voices coming from somewhere down the hallway.

"It looks like the ancient Amphibian runes are a lot like letters." Marcy explained.

Sounded like there was a major breakthrough. Drake followed the sounds of the voices eventually reaching what looked to be a library. Marcy and King Andrias were sitting at a large table reading a massive book. "Hello?" Drake called out hesitantly not sure if he wanted to interrupt them while they're in the middle of their research.

Marcy looked up. "Drake!" she exclaimed, happy to see him. She got up and rushed over to hug him.

"Drake, you're here rather early. I hope Newtopia has been treating you well." King Andrias said.

"The city is beautiful. I've never seen anything like it." Drake answered still hugging Marcy.

"I am glad you enjoyed the sights. However, I feel you didn't come here just to compliment the city." King Andrias said.

"I was wondering how the research was coming along." Drake said.

Marcy broke the hug. "I've been studying ancient Amphibian runes. You would not believe how similar they are to English. It's like the same exact words but written differently."

"Are you able to translate it?" Drake asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah, in fact, I just finished as a matter of fact." Marcy explained.

Drake pulled out his phone. "Perfect timing then, I was wondering if either of you could explain what this is. I think it's written in those ancient Amphibian runes you mentioned"

Drake flipped the images until he found what he was looking for. It was the one he took back in the Royal Family tomb. There were two objects in the image. One was a silhouette of a giant newt, the other was some kind of black sphere with what looked to be at least ten glowing eyes. Upon closer inspection, Drake noticed the silhouette of the giant newt matched King Andrias rather well, although not perfectly. It was as if the two had the same body type.