Chater 11: Appearing On A Dock Near A Talking Frog.

My chapter titles are on point.

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Sitting in the grove of elevated flowers and grass, Gale stared at the glowing green card before him. How had he not noticed it? The card was right before his eyes….

It was dark green, so it wasn't as "rare" as the Rashomon, but it seemed to be better than the Ten Rings. This card, instead of showing a symbol of sorts, just showcased what seemed to be a grass-covered park surrounded by trees and stone benches….

Gale sat there in the grass, feeling the breeze tousling his hair. He would come back to get it later, now was not the time. Staring at the card for another good minute, he finally stood up, yawning.

He would figure this out later, for now, he had to bring back the thyme to the Hog's Head. Jumping down from the ogre's fist, he landed gracefully on the grass, his sandals crunching against the dirt.

Grabbing the basket, he shot off back through the woods. Darting through leaves and branches, he scared away any nearby wildlife as he went, jumping over streams and ducking beneath fallen trees.

Swinging over a branch, his heart was beating loudly, and his mind was filled with excitement. Running past a small herd of deer, Gale carried the basket along his arm swinging back and forth.

Bursting into the clearing, he broke down into a stroll, walking down the cobblestone streets. Passing through an alley, Gale greeted a few of the neighbors before entering through the back of the Hog's Head.

Slowly stepping inside, the wooden door creaked open. Closing the copper knob behind him slowly, the young teen stepped inside the kitchen, the smell of something burnt heavy in the air.

Walking across the rough marble tiles, he looked down at the slightly yellowing stone, which was mostly chipped around the edges. Sandals and feet long dried, he walked out of the kitchen, and into the main tavern. It was a lot more bustling than before, with countless customers, all talking among themselves with utmost secrecy, save a few of the locals, who laughed and cheered together.

Putting the basket on the wooden counter, Gale approached Aberforth, who grunted in appreciation. The old man reached his wrinkled fingers into his dirty apron, tossing Gale a few sickles, nodding.

"I'll be out for a while, do you need anything?" Gale asked, flicking a glinting silver coin into the air.

"No need, go do whatever." Shaking him away, Aberforth turned back to the counter, greeting a customer.

Few Minutes Later….

Gale walked back over the muddy stream, the small wooden bridge connecting both sides shaking, their rope ends fraying and straining quite heavily. The atmosphere was very much the same, the chirping of birds and the constant rustling of leaves.

Stepping down the path, he walked up to the stone fist, once again hoisting himself up the side of the rock face, settling himself in the pile of plant life. Parting a long clove of grass, he examined the card once more, narrowing his eyes.

Should he do it? This was a Dark-Green card…. Not a Light-Purple, so this should be easier, right? In the end, the anticipation was too much. It was right before him, and he was better prepared and trained than before.....

Gritting his teeth and fists, Gale smirked, countless thoughts and questions filtering through his mind.

Gale shrugged his shoulders, and crushed the card, deep green sparks flying about as he let the distortion take over…..

*Crash!*

"Urk!" Gale landed on the ground with a grunt in pain. Standing up, he found himself on hard rocky ground. The first thing he noticed as he opened his eyes, was a shower of sea spray and water, drenching his face in mist. Turning, his eyes widened as he stared out into the distance.

Standing on an algae-covered stone pillar, he looked out over the ocean, those choppy grey waves constantly cascading about, white froth spitting into the air. A few lone seagulls cawed miserably, jumping about nearby, and the sky was equally grey and depressing, with the Sun completely hidden from view.

*Skreee!*

*Skreee!*

*Splash!*

He seemed to be on a dock, border lining some ocean…. From his point of view, he could see countless extended wooden walkways extending across the open water, with waves constantly dragging past them. Barnacles were embedded into the side and pillars of almost every structure near the water, and a few random cargo carts were stacked neatly to the side. And then, Gale turned his head up, widening his eyes at the gloomy scenery before him.

Above him, was a giant sprawling city. It was covered in a faint sea haze and seemed to be in some disrepair.

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

Partially makeshift buildings made of concrete, wood, and brick stood there, with flashing neon signs and pulleys chugging about. Gale watched in fascination as on the side of a wall, a few men heaved about a rope, causing a giant pair of copper gears to grind together, lighting a giant torch.

Falling apart and crooked, a flickering old sign that glowed a faint orange read:

"Old Billy's Oil Supremacy!"

Another, hanging from the side of an old red cargo container displayed a green bottle pouring liquid into a foaming beer tankard. A caption, flashing in white and red said:

"The Terse Nanny: Fine Beer and Salad."

To the side, a pair of giant clocks ticked on at a fast rate, bells clanging and faint saxophone music playing in the distance.

Smoke was constantly rising into the air and the city seemed straight out of a steampunk novel, with all those gears and mechanisms. It was, in Gale's opinion, quite a satisfying sight.

Walking forwards, he turned his attention to a wooden shed, or at least, that was what he thought it was. The small building was barely bigger than him and didn't even possess a roof. It might have just been a square wall made of rotting wooden planks for all anyone knew.

Something compelled Gale to walk inside, which he did, ducking down over the "doorway", which was a large hole in the wall. Stepping through, he found himself once again, on a creaking floorboard. It made sense though, they were in fact, on a gloomy old dock in the middle of who knew where.

The interior was very drab and bare, with the only items being a small wooden crate and an empty tin can sitting on the side. But what caught his attention, were the words spray-painted on the side of the wall. The words were slightly droopy and were slightly fading, but they were still legible.

[Pretty lucky, getting three Cards that weren't blue, in a row.]

[We will give you some context….]

[Steal the key from the Toad King...]

[You'll know it when you see it.]

[Hint: Head to the tallest, snottiest building in the city.]

[After you're done, head back to the docks, you will know how to get out….. ]

The words disappeared as soon as he read the last word, fading into droplets of paint that flew away with the sea spray.

"Toad King?" Gale muttered, ducking back outside, stretching his arms. Snapping his fingers, the Rashomon became a thicker wooly black overcoat, making the cold of the sea feel a little less chilling.

He walked up a cracked stone walkway, eyes down as he went, in fear of drawing attention to himself.

"Ho, ho, ho…. A young human child out here by the docks?" Suddenly, he flinched as a gnarly inhumane chuckle could be heard from his right. Turning, Gale settled his eyes on the speaker, who was sitting down on the side of the stairway, smoking a fancy cigar.

He froze in place, out of shock, and fear, before realization dawned over him… Maybe this "Toad King", was a toad? You see, to the side, a giant frog sat there. The frog was lanky and humanoid, sitting on its two web-like feet and holding the cigar in his slimy "hands".

The animal wore a dirty beige trench coat that was caked with mud and dried blood, and a pair of navy blue overalls, with one of the straps, cut loose. Its face was the strange thing though, with a genuine grey beard and mustache and gaunt yellow eyes filled with depression.

"Hello." Gale nodded uneasily to the frog, and the frog tilted his head, nodding back.

"What's with you? Act as you've never seen a frog like me before?" The creature chortled letting out another ring of smoke into the already polluted air.

"Nah, just been sort of out of it recently." Shrugging, Gale replied, lying between his teeth. His heart was beating abnormally fast and his brain, trying to process the whole situation.

"Kids these days… What were you doing, drinking kvass on the dock? You boys are all daredevils, I say, we wouldn't dare go even a mile o' that dock in my day. Gosh, be darned." The frog lamented nostalgically about the good old days which Gale took in with some interest. The only non-humans he had met were a Goblin, and half-giant, the latter being indirect of course.

He met the goblin at the Hog's Head on a fine Thursday night. The Goblin was a nasty little fellow, toxic around the edges, not to mention extremely rude. But being the excellent worker he was, Gale did not roast the jerk into oblivion, instead, he had just continued with his cleaning duties.

Though, in his head, he wished for the hook-nosed snot to die fifteen times over…..

Wring the critter's neck.

"Nah, just off to get something my Pa lost." Kicking a nearby rock, Gale blatantly lied once again.

"Heh. Well, I won't push. No longer part of the guard. Not my problem." The old Frog waved him away, so with a wave, Gale was off, and into this city, which he did not know the name of. Information first. Maybe find a cafe or something?

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How did this one turn out? Was it fine? Please tell me of any grammatical mistakes or spelling errors, please. Thanks for reading~