Top!

Hmm. This isn't good. I'm going to go stuff myself full of doughnuts and attempt to forget the murder I just witnessed.

Dolphin says "mgpr." Mug purr? Magpie?

Tippity top!

Part 3 ~

The CBers had all been...put to bed, shall we say. The assistant rushed them through dinner, spoke a few words at Will's funeral, and pushed everyone up the stairs to their beds. She had told them she'd had some business with The Farmer. Upon entering their bedrooms, however, they found a note on each of their floors. They read,

Meet me in the hallway. Something needs to be done. We know this farm is different, but not just in the way of how it keeps all these weird animals. The people are strange. The assistant is odd. They're all hiding something. Let's demand some answers, tonight. It's time for our confrontation.

~Poetic Panda

The CBers were surprised by how much they had changed since arriving at the farm. They were amazed at how little they were willing to trust, amazed at how cautious they'd become, and most of all, they were amazed at how frightened they grew at a simple note. How could anyone be sure there weren't traps set for them outside their doors? No, there couldn't have been traps. Could there have been? There was no time to ponder. An AE from each room settled for looking out into the dim hallway. They heard nothing...And noticed no traps...And smelled nothing...And felt nothing...

As soon as they finished their thorough checking of the hallway, they motioned for the others to follow out. They met up at the center of the interconnecting hallways that joined their rooms, and soon realized that the note had indeed been left by Panda, and not some bloodthirsty murderer.

"Is everyone here?" she whispered softly, nodding slightly as she mentally counted heads. Satisfied, she stood straighter and began a hushed speech. "So, has anyone noticed the odd unconnecting clues we've uncovered? Like, we never found out how the assistant survived the quicksand. And what kind of normal people can wrangle dragons? Who knows anything about that kind of stuff?! There's obviously one more piece to this puzzle. I think, if given more relaxed circumstances, we could've respected the farm's privacy and left its secrets alone. But I've been thinking, and I'm not going to say my idea yet, but I know that we just can't defeat the murderer without knowing everything about this place. If the murderer hears the secrets, that's okay. It's worth the rest of us knowing, at least. Plus, I have a hunch that the murderer knows the secrets already. Who's with me?"

Quiet cheers from the CBers rose, joined by the soft and squeaky CAPTCHA jubilees, and the diverse AE whisper-shouts. Poetic Panda cut through the throng, leading the way down the narrow stairs and straight into the dining room. There they saw the Farmer's Assistant wolfing down a turkey sandwich, stressed eyes glued to the long table. All it took was an expectant 'ahem' from a certain Panda to cause her to jerk her head up and jump from her chair. Almost guiltily she looked from CBer to AE to CAPTCHA, locking eyes with each before muttering,

"Okay, I know what you want. I agree with your terms, and I agree that the time for truth is now."

The others, anxious but excited to hear the truth, eagerly trailed the assistant into the hallway that hid her bedroom. She took a left at the end of the hallway, beginning a climb up old, dusty oak stairs. At the faraway top of the stairs, there was an oaken door with an old brass knob. It seemed to be transported directly from times of old. When the assistant finished the climb, Moonfrost and Rosemary, who happened to be at the front of the line, glimpsed an old room, well furnished, as the assistant swiftly entered the room and closed the door. They heard soft voices, male and female, conversing through the splintery door. The darkness, the Chatterboxers noticed, seemed to cloak the walls, masking it in a veil of illusion. When Spyro leaned against it, he felt sure he breifly saw smooth quartz walls glimmer in and out of view. 

Suddenly the door swung inwards once more. "The Farmer will see you," the assistant said, speaking in normal tones. And the CBers trotted into the moonlit room, seconds away from discovery. 

Top!

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The Farmer's room was just as it had seemed from the outside, although there was a peculiar feeling to it. Turgon cradled his egg closer as he filed through the door. Moonfrost stood a little taller, and Over the Rainbow walked a little slower as everyone crowded into the small space. Amazingly, there was room for everybuggy! The Farmer's assistant stood by a wire-frame bed in the back corner of the room next to an old-fashioned desk, and before the CBers in the center of the bedroom was the Farmer. 

He had brown, thinning hair, and looked to be in his fifties. His face portrayed few wrinkles, and though it held no visible emotion, the CBers could see through his eyes: fret, warmth, and wisdom older than his time. He smiled invitingly and spoke in a semi-deep voice,

"Please, take a seat. I understand I have some explaining to do."

The CBers turned to take a look behind them and saw, to their surprise, that another lomg, dusty bed was behind them! They hadn't even seen it there when they'd come in. After taking a seat in the creaky, rusted bed, the CBers looked attentively up at the Farmer, prepared for the secrets to be revealed. He began with a cough. (Moonfrost half knew what to expect; all the books she'd ever read had some sort of super old guy who's immortal.)

"Ahem. Ah-ah-em. Hrrrm. Ah-hrm. Hrm. Excuse me, everyone. I'm having winter allergies. Why don't I start at the beginning?

"A long time ago, maybe, say,  a couple hundred thousand years ago--" Moonfrost sat back with a satisfied smile to herself-- 

"Ahh, I see. You all were expecting this," the Farmer interrupted himself. Moon looked from CBer to CBer. Sure enough, each one had that 'I was right' face on.

"I have heard you all read a lot. My assistant tells me you were probably suspecting this."

Gee, he doesn't even call his assistant by name! Rosemary thought, taken aback.

"Ahem. Back to my story. I was just noticing the looks on everyone's faces. So, I was a seasoned warrior, just a few thousand years old, and I noticed how magical creatures were plundering the mortals. I thought to myself, 'I really have to do something before everybody goes to war!' It was then I founded the farm.I formed a powerful, magical barrier around it that would keep mortals out and magical beings in. It's that simple. I invited beings to stay here with me, and I kept all the dying species alive. As you can see, the farm is still here today. The barrier is disguised as an electric fence, and all the magical creatures are thriving. Some of the more intelligent creatures have taken on a human shape, and work for me." 

The farmer paused to set the information digest. Each CBer had a sober look on their face, as did each AE and CAPTCHA. The farmer coughed, then continued.

"So, it happens that we got bored and lonely, and the magical creatures began to long for human interaction again. Therefore, I invited you all."

"And I'm glad he did, 'cause now I've grown a soft spot for you nestlings!" The assistant said, putting on a mushy face while gazing at her 'nestlings'. The AEs grimaced, looking away in embarrassment. The farmer smiled. ***Love music turns on***Lalalalalalala***Happiness***

"Okeeeeeeeyyy..." Spyro cut in. "Let's just get to the point. You're magical and so is your farm. Cool. We are your entertainment. Nice. Anything else that's been cut straight from a book that we should know?"

"Of course," the farmer replied, deep brown eyes twinkling. "You may want to know that I'm a centaur in human form. I'll show you my true form at the end of our meeting; it will reveal a lot more than what I look like. For now, I think that's sufficient information for your cause. I'll answer any questions you have, but later. Right now, we need to discuss ideas. I see that I can't stay in my room much longer. I'll be at breakfast tomorrow, to discuss more with you. Turgon, I'll tell you more about your egg tomorrow, too. You should sleep with it tonight, keep it warm. 

"This concludes our meeting. Now I'll show you mine and the assistant's true forms..." 

With a flash of light, the room the CBers were in transformed, as did the man and woman there with them.

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Is this part too slow? I hope not. I've been stretching the same day out for a while. Not on purpose; it's just that this is a biiiiiiiggg day for the CBers. Everything will get back to normal on the next day!