Calamitous Intervention

Croakdown

Chapter Thirty-Five - Croakdown

As soon as Luz, Sprig, Maddie, and Stringbean took in the sight of Wartwood, they froze, unable to believe what they were seeing. A whole crowd of toads surrounded the entire perimeter of the town like a massive, unclimbable wall, not letting anybody in or out.

"Wh—What's going on?" Sprig asked, stunned, realizing that their day was far from over.

Luz didn't respond as she saw Toad Tower's toads presumably locking down the whole town. Was everybody okay? Did... did the toads do something to them? Was this revenge after what happened on Tax Day?

"They're back," Luz said finally in a grave tone, feeling her nails digging into her palm as her fist clenched. "Everyone's in danger! Hop Pop! Polly! Ivy! I can't—"

Right as she was about to rush forward recklessly, Maddie grabbed her arm to pull her back. "Luz, calm down. You can't just charge in. We need a plan."

Taking a deep breath, Luz realized that the young sorceress was right. They needed to get back into Wartwood somehow, but it was surrounded, and they would be spotted immediately if they tried anything. However, she realized that she had the perfect plan to get inside.

Petting Stringbean, who purred, Luz spoke. "Okay, let's go from above. Kill-a-moths flying around won't be too out of the ordinary, and they won't be able to see the riders from below."

"Maybe, but a kill-a-moth going into Wartwood isn't exactly subtle," Sprig spoke up as the three hopped onto Stringbean's back.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of that," Luz replied, pulling out a small spell from her pouch as Stringbean rushed forward and took off from the ground, shot up into the air, and approached the town.

"Wow, this is pretty comfy," Sprig admitted, enjoying Stringbean's soft fur as Luz threw down the spell, and a brief cloud engulfed them before they suddenly became invisible. Below, the toads guarding the edges of Wartwood remained none the wiser as Stringbean dove toward City Hollow.

Suddenly, they flickered in and out of view briefly, and Luz winced. "Crap. Quick, behind that building!" she instructed, redirecting the kill-a-moth before the spell could wear off. "I wish I made more of these invisibility spells. Using only one of these isn't reliable."

They landed behind the building just in time for the spell to wear off, making them visible again. Taking in her surroundings, Luz realized that she was behind the spa that she, Maddie, Polly, and Ivy had all been to that time ago. It briefly reminded her how much she wanted to do that again.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Luz peered around the corner, watching as a small squad of toads walked by, chatting animatedly. "Okay, Hop Pop should be in City Hollow," she whispered. "We're not too far away. We just have to—"

Out of nowhere, Stringbean hissed, and they instantly spun around out of concern to see her backing away from a stray cucumber on the ground. Unfortunately, the hissing caught the toads' attention, and they approached to investigate.

"Stringbean!" Luz whisper-yelled exasperatedly and ran toward a nearby alleyway, gesturing for the others to follow her. "Hurry!"

Sprig and Maddie, shrugging at each other, followed her, with Stringbean on their trail. By the time the toads had rounded the corner, the children were already just barely out of sight. One toad scratched his head in confusion. "I swear I heard something..." he murmured uncertainly.

Luz peeked around the corner to watch the toads walk away, letting out a soft sigh of relief, while Maddie looked concerned.

"No offense, Luz, but this isn't exactly one of your most well-thought-out plans," the young sorceress commented. "We're bound to get caught, eventually."