Return to Toad Town

Mario fought off another wave of nausea as he and the twins returned to Merlon’s home. What was it about their transportation spells that made him so dizzy?

“Ah, welcome back, you three?” Merlon smiled, “Make any progress?”

“Better than that, we had a full-on breakthrough!” Merlee shouted enthusiastically as she approached his table, “Mario now has the ability to use his Third Eye to its fullest potential!”

“Splendid!” Merlon hugged her, “I’m very proud of you two.”

Merlee was silent for a moment, “Thanks, grandpa.”

“Feeling better?” Merluvlee said gently to Mario. He nodded.

“Now, before you two go running off,” Merlon said as he released Merlee from his embrace, “I have something to tell you.”

“I guess I’ll be going then,” Mario said, not wanting to intrude on a family moment.

“Now hold on, this concerns you too, Mario,” Merlon said, and Mario stopped halfway to the door, “I was concerned for your collective safety, so I performed some clairvoyant and postcognitive spells to determine what you three were up to. I didn’t see everything, but I saw enough to take a gander.”

“You don’t mean…,” Merlee held a hand to her mouth, her sentiments echoed in Merluvlee muttering an “oh no.”

“I just want the two of you to know that I’m glad that the two of you finally found a partner that you can confide in before the best years of your life passed you by,” Merlon finished.

The room fell silent as the twins and Mario took in what Merlon just said. Merlee shook her head, “But…, wait. What about the taboo?”

“Hm?”

“The sex taboo?” Merlee asked, “The one that our Tribe follows to preserve the magic in our bloodline?”

“Oh, that silly superstition!” Merlon chuckled, “Don’t tell me you’ve been taking that seriously this whole time!”

“Silly superstition?” Merluvlee gasped, “Father told us it was a rule that all Tribe members had to follow!”

“Ah, that explains a few things.” Merlon stroked his bushy mustache, “Your father’s beliefs had always skewed more towards traditionalism. While it is true that marrying inside the Tribe to preserve the bloodline is a value held by our people, it was never an explicit rule. Why, if it were, then my Merlon friend from Flipside would’ve never been able to marry that lovely cook Saffron!”

“Only the Tribe of Darkness ever took it that seriously,” Merlon gently touched Merlee’s shoulder, who was currently pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger.

“It seems we must have a discussion with our dear old father,” Merlee grumbled.

“Yes, about bending the truth to suit one’s own beliefs,” Merluvlee agreed in cold anger.

Mario just stood there, smiling nervously and feeling a little bit like a third wheel.

“So, yes, don’t feel like you have to sneak about and hide your relationship with Mario,” Merlon told them all, “That includes you as well, my friend. Any time you want to be with my granddaughters, you don’t have to hide it from anyone, least of all me.”

The twins turned to look at him, a twisted glint in their eyes. “Oh trust us,” Merlee smiled, the expression echoed by her sister, who finished the sentence, “We’re going to be having a lot more fun with him from now on.”

“Ladies, please,” Mario told them, “I have a Banquet to get to.”

“But you’ll be seeing us later, right?” Merluvlee asked, clearing taking more pleasure out of Mario’s apparent distress than what would probably be deemed necessary.

“Oh, yes, to pick up your potion, right?” Merlee closed the distance between them, and Mario laughed nervously. He looked at Merlon, who simply shrugged and laughed.

“Yeah, I’ll definitely be seeing you lovely ladies later,” Mario told them.

“Good,” they said, backing off. “Now if you’ll excuse us,” Merlee stuck her elbow out and Merluvlee placed her arm through its crook, “We have a family meeting to get too,” the twin finished. With a vortex of spacetime, they were gone.

“Woof,” Mario sighed, “They’re a handful sometimes.”

“Imagine how difficult it was with them as teenagers,” Merlon laughed again, “Potential suitors had to beat them off with a stick.”

“Well, I gotta be going,” Mario told him, “I’ll be seeing you around, Merlon.”

“I’ll be here,” Merlon announced as he turned back to the crystal ball set on his table, casting spells in an attempt to clear the fog within it.

Mario exited the house, and found Vidyhyne lounging in midair. For once, she wasn’t trying to get in his face or flirting with him. Rather, she was frowning with a distant expression set on her face. Mario quickly glanced around, and seeing that there was no one around, tried to get the sex goddess’s attention.

“Hey, Vide. You good?” Mario asked.

Vide startled, and looked at Mario like he’d just popped out of thin air. She smiled slightly at him, “I’m doing alright, I suppose, but I’m more concerned about you. How’s your head?”

“I had a splitting migraine earlier, but it’s better now,” Mario told her, “...I almost saw it, didn’t I? Your true form?”

“You remember?” A look of worry crossed Vide’s face and she reached for the book at her hip.

“I remember the encounter,” Mario held up a hand to stop her, “But not how you looked. Was that your doing?”

Vide sighed in relief, “Yes. I’m sorry, but it was for your own protection. If I had left the memory alone, your mind would’ve unraveled. Honestly, I should’ve known better. It’s just that you were going to be gone for a while, and I wanted to get comfortable before watching the show. Letting my hair down and putting on pajamas, so to speak.”

“I made you feel uncomfortable,” Mario summarized, “I should be the one apologizing.”

“It’s not that,” Vide laughed, “I’m the patron goddess of voyeurs, remember? The idea of being watched, of having a peeping tom see me or someone else is what I exist for. It’s just that…, I don’t want to lose you to such a stupid mistake. You’re honestly one of the most fascinating owners I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and you’ve only had the Tome for a full twenty-four hours now!”

“Has it really only been that long?” Mario asked, “I feel like I’ve had enough sex to last me a week.”

“Ha!” Vide laughed, “And you’re only just getting started, right?”

“Yep,” Mario agreed. He looked at Vide, still looking apologetic. “You really feel that bad about it?”

Vide looked away, telling him that she was without saying it out loud.

“Alright, then if you feel like that, then how about you make it up to me, then?” Mario suggested.

Vide looked at him, surprised, “What do you mean?”