Star and Marco vs Evil Book 3

III

Buff Frog sat behind a small desk in a small room of a small house in a small Monster village in the far outskirts of the Monster Kingdom. He watched as a small terran set up a giant white sheet of some strange material, after placing two small devices on Buff Frog's desk. Mewni had enough technology that Buff Frog recognized an electronic projection setup, and guessed that the machine hooked-up to the projector was one of Earth's computing machines, like Marco and Janna had.

The man fired up the computing machine, a photo of the Jaggy Mountains projecting onto the screen. "Mister Bulgolyubov ..." the man began.

"Please, call me Buff Frog."

"Yes, Mister Frog. I completed my surveys of the mountains surrounding New Septarsis. As requested, I determined the makeup of the rock strata, and identified the best, safest, places to dig tunnels through each mountain. I used an outside firm to provide ground penetrating radar imaging and to dig core samples. The firm signed a non-disclosure agreement, and were given just enough information to do their jobs, and no more, as required."

The man hit a button on a remote device, changing the projection to a colored wireframe of the mountains. It showed the various rock types by composition and strength, and projected tunnels through the mountains.

"As agreed, I also identified the weakest parts of the mountains. In particular, I identified where drilling could so weaken various strata that, if mined, a danger of landslides into the city exists." The geologist projected them onto the screen.

"I have provided various estimates of the effort and cost to drill through the various types of rock in the mountains, surveys, time frames, and so on, in electronic form. As requested, I have also brought the equipment necessary to view and use them; the devices on your desk will be left behind."

The man smiled at Buff Frog. "I thank you for this opportunity to work for you, Mister Frog. It has been a thrilling adventure of a lifetime, to visit another planet and be given the opportunity to study the rock, mountains and mineral resources found here."

Buff Frog stood. "Was pleasure. As agreed, your payment." He gestured to a large bag near the door. "Much apologies that it is so heavy, but we do not have ability to exchange Mewmin currency for Earth monies; it contains various metals and gems that humans consider valuable. I am told by friend that exchanging them for money will incur fees, so he researched amount needed to cover such fees and I have increased your payment to be compensating."

"Thank you, sir." The geologist walked over to the bag, attempting to lift it and failing. He tried a second time, lifting with his legs, grunting with the effort as he successfully lifted the bag.

Buff Frog came out from behind the desk, using his dimensional scissors to open a portal. He offered his hand to the man, who enthusiastically shook it.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the man said, then stepped through the portal.

After the portal closed, Buff Frog walked to a window, peeking through the blinds and looking out into the village. He maintained an office here in order to work in secret as he laid his plans. After a few minutes of contemplation, Buff Frog returned to his desk, pressing a button on the intercom. Outside the office was a small entryway and waiting room, manned by a combination secretary and guard, provided at great cost via contract with the Assassins Guild. "Minerva, please ask Rasticore to meet with me at his earliest inconvenience."

Buff Frog's heart was not joyous now that he had the information he needed to move forward, but heavy with the burden of what he must do. He sighed, sad, too, at what he had just done.

— OoOoO — 1 — OoOoO —

The geologist stepped out of the dimensional portal, not onto terra firma, but splashing into a swamp. He could smell the fetid stench of dampness and decay, and the water was highly acidic, already eating away at his clothes and the skin underneath. Before he could move, he felt something hard grab him on both sides. He looked down, seeing branches curling around him, like massive, wooden, hands. He dropped the bag containing his payment into the swamp, clutching at the branches, trying to dislodge them.