2. A Salamanderous Situation

We come down to the beginning of Darrel's adventure in the world of Amphibia. But before we could, I would like to turn our attention to Darrel's amphibian surrogate family, the Salamanders. If Anne's got frogs, Sasha's got toads, and Marcy has the newts, then why can't there be salamanders in this story? Well here we go, enjoy the chapter and be prepared for what comes next.

Chapter 1: A 'Salamanderous' Situation

Somewhere outside a mysterious, but beautiful marshland, a strange creature woke up ready for a new day. Out of nowhere, small items began to float close to the creature while he waved his hands. This creature is shown to be a fire spotted salamander, wearing a red t-shirt with a purple scarf and black pants. His name is Tint Tormak, and he has the skills of a mage. Well a mage-in-training. He walks outside to see his mentor reading an ancient scroll.

His mentor is seen wearing a green robe with a light blue cap. He's an old Axolotl salamander with a scar coming from his left eye. His left pupil however glows, helping him see again. Tint's mentor is none other than his Great Uncle Cronaxx. "Good morning, Tint." Tint yawns, "Good morning, Uncle Cronaxx."

Cronaxx closes his scroll and walks up to Tint. "Are we closer to finding it yet?" Tint asked. "Indeed we are," replied Cronaxx. He rolls out the scroll in front of Tint. The scroll reveals a staff with a red gemstone, implanted in a few mushrooms. "The Eternal Staff, the staff of all the magical abilities, known to the greatest of all wizards. Only a pure heart can hear the staff's call, and pull it out of hibernation."

Tint stares down on the staff and says, "Remind me again, why are we trying to find this staff? You told me I have enough power as it is." "I did," replied Cronaxx. "We are searching for the staff for educational purposes. To learn of the staff's location, and the powers we can sense within it." Cronaxx could see that Tint was a little annoyed. Carrying the responsibility of magic powers can really take a toll on the young salamander.

Cronaxx decided to comfort his nephew, "I'm sorry you feel this way, but you know something? I remember a small little hatchling who always admired his Great Uncle's magic tricks. Then one day, he told him that when he grew up, he wanted to be just like him." Tint smiled because he remembered that he was the hatchling. "Can we take a break and get some lunch?" Cronaxx nodded, "Sure, nephew."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the wilderness of the marshlands, a mysterious figure overshadowed a moss covered tree. The creature licking on the moss, reveals to be Darrel. He uses a crafted spear to pick fruits off of trees. Darrel is shown to have his jeans ripped up as shorts, his school uniform is dirty from surviving for three days, and his hair caught two sticks making him look like a deer.

Darrel was scared and didn't know what to do. He was stuck in a strange new world and he got separated from Sasha, Anne and Marcy. He thought back to what his parents used to tell him. "If you ever get upset, the best thing to do is to walk it off." So to calm his nerves, Darrel walks out to an open field. He was fascinated to see glowing fireflies flying around him, and the moon shining bright red.

"Okay, I can't give up," he said. "Not right now. If I'm ever going to find out how to get home, I'm going to need to find help." He takes out two photos, one with him and his girlfriend Sasha, and another with Anne, Sasha, and Marcy in a group shot. "Hang in there girls. If you're out there somewhere, I'll find you. And when I do, we'll find a way to get back home." He stuffs his photos in his backpack and walks into the forest.

When the Salamanders left the nearby village, they looked more cautious than before. Cronaxx and Tint have been told by the villagers that a strange monster has been spotted in the wilderness. One of the villagers almost got a glance at the creature. He described it to be a deer with small antlers, but standing on its hind legs. Limbs the size of twigs but with strength of a herring. Tint and Cronaxx took the warning seriously and made their way to the edge of the forest.

Darrel takes the time to hunt for more food. As he travels through the forest, he finds a glowing fruit on top of a tree. Rather than starving for another day, or licking more moss, he proceeds to climb up and reach out for the fruit. As he grabs the fruit, he feels something very hot on his back. "Is it just me, or does something smell good?" Darrel turns to see fire close to his back. He lets go of the branch and falls out of the tree and into the mud face first.

He resurfaced to take a breath, only to see Tint in a fighting stance. "Stand down, Creature!" He begins to cast fireballs in his hands, surprising Darrel. "I don't mean anymore harm." Darrel gasped, "You can talk?! And you can make fire?!" Tint squints his eyes in intimidation. "Guess we're both full of surprises," he said.

Darrel got to his knees and tried to calm Tint down. "Woah woah woah. It's okay, I don't mean any harm. I'm just lost, and I need help." Tint opened up his eyes. Something in his mind told him he was telling the truth. "You promise?" Tint asked. "Of course, I promise," Darrel replied.

Tint unclenched his fists to make the flames disappear. "Well then, since you're not hurting anyone, you should know that you almost hurt yourself." He pointed to the fruit and said, "That fruit up there is highly poisonous. One bite from that thing could have paralyzed you for life." Darrel looked up in shock realizing he almost made a mistake. "Thank goodness," he said. Darrel's stomach growls loud enough for Tint to hear. "Okay, so you got anything else to eat? Aside from bugs?" Tint ran out to a clearing just as Darrel got up from the mud. "Sure do, follow me."

As much as Darrel was weirded out by a talking lizard, he needed all the help he could get. Along the way, Darrel and Tint found a lot of mushrooms, and Darrel scarfed them down like a wolf. Tint laughs at Darrel's hungry behavior. "What's so funny?" Darrel asked. "You have a funny way of being hungry." Tint replied. He mocks Darrel's hungry habits, which makes Darrel laugh too.

"You may be a strange creature, but you're alright," said Darrel. "You're a strange fellow to me too," said Tint. "But like I said, we're both full of surprises. So, what's your name?" Seeing that he can get along with a strange creature as well, Darrel decided to be honest and trust him by answering his question.

Darrel smiled and said, "My name is Darrel. Darrel Loyalität." Tint points to himself and says, "I'm Tint Tormak, I'm a fire salamander." "Guess that explains the fire from your hands," said Darrel. "But, where I'm from, fire salamanders don't spew actual fire." "That's because other fire salamanders can't unless they are wizards in training."

Hearing Tint say that he is practicing actual magic made Darrel jump up with excitement. "You're a wizard?! Are you on a dangerous mystical quest right now?" Tint gave off a maybe kind of look. "Not exactly. My great uncle and I are just looking for an artifact. So it's more like a treasure hunt instead of a quest."

Darrel shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, amazing either way." The two walk back into the forest, wanting to know more about themselves. "So what are you, and where did you come from?" Tint asked. "I'm a human being," replied Darrel. He reaches out his hand and says, "And I come from another world!" His statement echoes into the trees.

"Do you have any idea how you got here?" Tint asked. "I do, but it's a long story," replied Darrel. "I would like to explain this to your uncle too. I'll tell you what, I'll help you find what you're looking for. And if you and your uncle let me stay, I'll gladly help you out, so long as you help me get back home."

Seeing that Darrel is begging for help made Tint somewhat responsible since he found him alone. Darrel reaches his hand out and asks him, "Do we have a deal?" Tint shakes his hand and replies, "Deal." The two continue to walk through the forest, in an effort to locate the staff. "You know what, Tint? I think this could be the beginning of a wonderful friendship. If you want it too, of course." Tint nodded, "Yeah, I think starting to be friends with you would be a great chapter of this story."

And with that, Darrel's loneliness comes to an end. He has met Tint the Salamander, and the two prepare themselves for what's coming next.