The Long Night

A terrible storm had been brewing for a while now out towards The Toadstools. Warrior #11321, a humble Dwarf, lived alone with his trusty companion Aurora, one of the last Battle Penguins. In preparation for the oncoming storm, Erim set the bedroom fireplace with fresh wood and battened down the hatches. Both him and Aurora settled down for sleep, unaware that the long night that followed would not be forgotten for many years to come.

Aurora had a small bed at the bottom of Erim's, so they were close in case of danger. As a battle penguin, she took protecting Erim very seriously. Despite all the thunder, lightning and raging winds, the two managed to fall asleep under the warm glow of the fireplace.

Halfway through the night, something woke Erim. He looked down and saw that Aurora was missing! A green luminescent glow filled the room and had replaced the warm orange of the fireplace. It was coming from downstairs. Panicked, he jumped out of bed and called out for Aurora but heard no response. He slowly crept out of his room and headed downstairs to see the front door was open, the glow now almost blinding. As his eyes adjusted he saw what looked like a penguin silhouette surrounded by other smaller silhouettes, maybe half the size. Erim then heard a low, growling ribbit that echoed throughout the house.

Eyes now fully adjusted, Erim could see Aurora surrounded by dozens of frogs! While their backs were turned, Erim crept downstairs to shut the door and deal with the intruders. Just as it was closing, suddenly all the frogs and Aurora turned to face him. He could now see where the light was coming from… these weren't just regular frogs, they were lightbulb frogs, and they had put Arora in a trance!

Ribbits gathering in volume, Erim quickly ran back upstairs. He remembered reading about lightbulb frogs previously. Fire might just be enough to snap Aurora out of the trance and together they would be able to shoo away these pesky intruders. He grabbed a torch from the fireplace and rushed back downstairs. Seconds before he returned, the ribbits and luminescent glow that had filled the house faded away. There were now no frogs to be seen! Aurora was on the ground, it seemed like she had just awoken from a deep sleep. Confused, she rushed over to Erim, who explained what had just happened. They proceeded to stand guard by the entrance - they weren't getting any more sleep that night!

Morning came and as the storm had cleared it was peaceful in The Toadstools once more. To this day, the lightbulb frogs have not returned, Erim, confused about what he saw that fateful night, will never forget the sound of that ribbit. Occasionally he can still hear ribbits at night. Did the frogs ever truly leave or was it all in his head?

Story by Doodler

Art by Ozzzmabro

Entered by: 0xb38B…b680 and preserved on chain (see transaction)