14B - Starborn Valley
It's now 3:29 PM, and Mario and friends are approaching the entrance to Starborn Valley, a small place with three buildings inhabited by multiple Star Kids like Twink, except they were raised here before being summoned to the Star Road.
"This may not sound true, but what if all the Star Kids here are Twink's brothers and sisters?" Luigi asked.
"That's possible. But there's a chance they're not related to Twink at all," Mario replied while looking around the village. "They do look cute, though." Before the group could go and talk with some of the Star Kids, Luigi noticed a Shaman wizard with a similar appearance to Merlon standing outside the middle building.
"There's Merle over there," Luigi said, prompting everyone to approach Merle.
"Hello, Merle," Mario greeted Merle. "If you don't know already, I'm Mario, and this is my brother Luigi and our friend Bombette."
"Well, thank you all for coming over," Merle thanked the group. He spoke with an Irish accent.
"What is it with you and your relatives talking as if you're from the United Kingdom?" Mario asked.
"What do you mean?" Merle asked.
"It's another land located in another world," Mario explained. "Your father has a similar accent, but it's British instead of your Irish version."
"Ah. I see. How strange of you to think of us from that United Kingdom land or whatever it is," Merle said. "Anyway, let's go into my house. I cannot concentrate out here in the cold."
Merle led Mario and friends into his house's living room and had them sit on the couch next to the fireplace.
"Oh, that feels good," Mario sighed to himself as the fire slowly warmed him, Luigi, and Bombette up.
"Now, Mario, Luigi, and Bombette, you must heed well what I'm about to tell you," Merle began. "This frozen area is called Starborn Valley. It is named this because it is here that Stars are born and raised before rising to the sky. But now, ever since Bowser stole the Star Rod from the Star Road, the power of that place has weakened, and Star Kids have found themselves unable to rise up into the sky."
"I sent a Ninji to my father, Merlon, hoping that I could coax you to come here, for I have found out where the last Star Spirit is. It came to me in a dream. A vision of the last Star Spirit begging me for help," Merle went on. "If my vision speaks truly, then the last Star Spirit is being held atop Shiver Mountain, which lies to the north. Up top sits the Crystal Palace. The Star Spirit waits there. The Crystal Palace was originally built to honor the Stars, but as time passed, it slowly faded from the memories of local people. And now, no one can remember how to reach the palace. There is a way, though, and it involves items that have been passed down in these lands."
"Such as what?" Luigi asked.
"Let's start with a scarf I have in my winter clothing chest." Merle quickly went to a chest near the front door and selected an orange scarf before giving it to Mario. "This scarf has been passed down through many generations in Starborn Valley. I wish I knew how to use it, but I do not. According to the legends, you must use this and another item that has been passed down in Shiver City if you hope to open the way to the Crystal Palace. Sadly, that's all I know."
"If things remain as they are, Star Kids will never again be able to rise to the Star Road. Such a fate would be awful," Merle continued. "Please. You must help them before expelling Bowser from the sky."
"Thank you, Merle," Mario thanked Merle. "We'll do what we can."
"Brilliant, Mario. Before you go, I have something else that explains the importance of the Crystal Palace. There is supposed to be a small shrine somewhere along the path to the Crystal Palace. A legend has been handed down in this valley regarding the shrine's secret, "Truth lies not only in the eyes. Sometimes, even walls may lie.'"
"It is confusing, yes, but you must find this shrine and solve its mystery to reach the Crystal Palace. Never forget it," Merle reminded the group.
"All right-y. Thanks again," Mario said before leading Luigi and Bombette out of Merle's house on their way back to Shiver City; Luigi left the magic wand on Merle's winter clothing chest before leaving. There were no enemies standing in the way this time, as they were defeated earlier.
After another eight minutes, the group saw a fork in the path with one branching off to the right. It led to six snowmen in front of a giant wall; they each bore their respective orange scarfs and blue bucket hats. However, the snowman on the far right lacked a bucket hat while the third snowman from the left lacked a scarf.
"Hmm... I understand why we need the scarf and a bucket from Shiver City," Luigi remarked. While looking at the snowmen, Mario slowly became anxious because he realized how rude he was at Herringway and the mayor's wife.
"Uh, Luigi?" Mario asked as he, Luigi, and Bombette started off toward Shiver City. "I need to do something before we find the bucket."
"What's wrong, bro?"
"I need to apologize to Herringway and the mayor's wife."
"Why? I thought we were over that," Luigi said.
"No. I have to do it," Mario responded. He felt his anxiety grow bigger, giving him a minor headache.
"No, you don't. Forget it, Mario," Luigi argued. At the same time, Mario teared up.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT STOPPING ME!" Mario screamed before running ahead, letting a bunch of tears roll down his face.
"Don't! Mario, get back here!" But Mario didn't listen to Luigi and barged through the archway and stopped to think where Herringway's house was. After determining it was the second building from the archway, he kicked opened the door, finding Herringway taking notes on his desk.
"Herringway!" Mario cried, startling Herringway.
"Hey! What are you doing, Mario?!" Herringway exclaimed. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"I don't care! I'm sorry I accused you of that stupid murder mystery or whatever that cop made up!"
"It doesn't matter anymore. That-"
"STOP! IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL YOU FORGIVE ME!"
"Okay. I accept your apology. Jeezums," Herringway gave in. "Are you happy now?"
"NO! THE MAYOR'S WIFE NEEDS ME TOO!" Mario suddenly ran out of Herringway's house toward the mayor's home. By that time, Luigi and Bombette arrived in Shiver City and saw Herringway's front door open.
"What did Mario do?" Bombette questioned while Herringway shut his door.
"I didn't tell you this, but Mario has anxiety and temper problems and blows his stack when things don't go the way he wants them too," Luigi sighed. "I'm really sorry."
Meanwhile, Mario continued to storm toward the mayor's house and found the door locked. Not wanting to be patient and wait for someone to open the door, he pounded it three times before busting it down, startling the mayor.
"What the heck?! Who broke the door?!" the mayor shouted. He rushed to the living room to see Mario panting before collapsing to his knees, sobbing harder than when Jr. Troopa injured his ears. "Mario? Why did you-"
But Mario interrupted the mayor, "D-don't...ask... W-where's y-your...w-wife...?"
"What is wrong with you?" the mayor asked. "You can't break my door just to come and ask for help."
"I-it's...n-not h-help..." Mario whimpered. "I-I w-want...to s-see h-her... I-I w-was rude...to h-her..."
"All right. Do you want me to get my wife?"
"P-please..." While the mayor went upstairs to find his wife, Mario looked at the door; the hinges were ripped clean and there were a few dents on the door. Mario carried the broken door and set it against the doorway.
"I know Mario's crazy, but come on. He feels bad about yelling at you," the mayor said to his wife while going back to the living room. Mario had dropped to his knees again.
At the same time, Luigi and Bombette tiptoed to the mayor's house and peeked through a small opening in the doorway.
"I knew Mario was gonna break the door..." Luigi whispered with concern.
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M CRAZY?!" Mario yelled at the mayor and his wife. "I WANTED TO APOLOGIZE FOR BEING RUDE, MA'AM!"
"Calm down, Mario. Take a seat, please." The wife sat Mario on a couch next to the fireplace while the mayor gave him a tissue box.
"First off, you're gonna lose your voice screaming like that," the wife said.
"I-I'm...s-sorry...f-for breaking th-the door...a-and b-being r-rude..." Mario cried. "I-I'm a...h-horrible p-person...!"
"No, you're not." The wife laid her flipper on Mario's shoulder. "I understand you did it because I declared who the murderer was when the policeman was trying to work things out one by one."
"I-I'll p-pay for...the d-door..." Mario said before blowing his nose.
"I appreciate you wanting to help fix the door, but don't worry about it. My husband has the money to buy a new one."
"O-okay..."
"Do you want some water while you're here?" the wife asked.
"N-no... I g-got w-what...I wanted..." Mario replied.
"All right. Suit yourself. But next time, don't barge into someone's house like that just to make amends."
"I-I'm sorry... I c-can't c-control...my t-temper..." Mario slowly got up and walked out of the house, making sure the door stayed within the doorway.
"You got that out of your system?" Luigi asked.
"Yes... I'll pay for the door after we save Princess Peach..." Mario answered; he had calmed down a small bit.
"You're so lucky the cops didn't arrest you. I had to talk to the chief and explain why you were freaking out. You don't want to go to jail for breaking and entering, Mario." Luigi proceeded to go into the mayor's house as he still needed the bucket for the snowman beyond the city.
"Well, hello, Luigi," the mayor greeted Luigi. "I assume you and Mario made it to Starborn Valley? Did you see Merle?"
"Yes, we did," Luigi replied. "Merle said something about an item that was passed down in Shiver City."
"Hmm..." The mayor mulled it over before remembering what Luigi was talking about. "Oh, right! There was something like that. Just a minute, I think I've got it somewhere." Within a half-minute, the mayor searched his storage closet and found a blue bucket in the back of the closet.
"Aha! There we go." The mayor took the bucket and gave it to Luigi. "This bucket has been passed down through the years in Shiver City. As Merle must have told you, there's a legend associated with it. If you use this and the orange scarf together, the way to the Crystal Palace will open."
"Who knows what all that means, though?" the mayor went on. "I don't have the slightest clue as to how to use them together. It sounds like those Star Kids in Starborn Valley are in trouble. I hope you do your best for the little tykes. They're just kids. Best of luck to you!"
"Thanks, Mayor. I'm really sorry Mario barged into your house," Luigi said.
"It's all good, Luigi. I understand why Mario was upset." Luigi walked out of the house before leading Mario and Bombette out of Shiver City. What will happen when they put the scarf and bucket on the snowmen that lacked one of each?
