17

"What are you picking up on, Luigi?" Mario asked in a curious tone. "Do you see something that looks important?"

"I think so." Luigi said. "But I also think I saw this before. Can you hand me the book?"

"Sure." Mario replied.

Luigi took the Crystal Star book from Mario and flipped through the pages until he reached the section on the star buried in Sarasaland.

"Ah! Here we go! Just as I suspected!" Luigi said. "There is a section that mentions of a riddle buried in this pyramid that has the same picture notations as the hieroglyphics we're reading on the wall! It corresponds perfectly to what we see here!"

"What does the riddle say?" Mario asked.

"It says: To find the four keys to the dreaded red star, one must look to the points of great importance. One can find these points with a keen eye in each of the main cardinal directions from this point."

"What do you suppose that means?" Mario asked.

"It mentions the main cardinal directions in the riddle." Luigi said. "In other words, we need to look for the keys directly north, east, south, and west from here."

"I wish I had a compass." Mario said.

"We don't need one." Luigi replied. "The pyramid itself can serve as a useful compass. When the sun rises, we can easily determine our directions. After all, it does rise in the east, does it not?"

"True." Mario said. "But what about the part of the riddle that mentions 'One can find these points with a keen eye'?" Mario asked.

"That simply means we need to look very closely to our surroundings." Luigi said. "Unless..."

"Unless, what?" Mario asked.

"Let me think for minute..." Luigi asked. "I think that might have a different meaning."

"What do you mean?" Mario asked.

"There are other sites around these pyramids that aren't too far away from here that do in fact lie squarely around the pyramid and they do correspond to directions of a compass. There's an underground cave just north of the pyramid in the hillside. To the south, where we came from, there's a small entrance that leads down into the labyrinths below. To the east, there's the neighboring pyramid and to the west is the other neighboring pyramid and the ancient temples just beyond it."

"So, what you're telling me is that we have to locate fours key to open a door to what I assume is the next Crystal Star?" Mario asked.

"Unfortunately, that means we are indeed stuck in another wild goose chase!" Luigi said. "And since the star is red, I assume that we are after the Ruby Crystal Star."

"Mamma mia!" Mario said. "We should probably head out right now. The fire is almost gone and I don't want to be stuck in the dark and get caught by any wretched Koopas."

"Well, let's go." Luigi said.

The brothers climbed their way up the slanted hallway and emerged outside under the moon, which was now starting to make its way into the west. There was also a slight desert breeze coming from the same direction.

"I say we should follow the direction of the wind towards the temples." Mario said.

"What made you decide to go into the wind?" Luigi asked.

"Nothing." Mario said. "Maybe the wind was a signal that we should search in the temples first? I don't know! I'm just a little loopy from being up almost all night!" Mario said.

"I see." Luigi said, yawning. "I know how you feel. But of course, we can't just fall asleep anywhere! We have to get to that second star before Bowser does."

"No duh!" Mario said. "I've only heard that statement and similar statements a million times already!"

"Well, excuse me!" Luigi said.

"Sorry, Luigi. I'm really tired." Mario said.

And cranky! Luigi thought.

The brothers slowly climbed back down the pyramid and made their way back to the ground where they started heading towards the west. The temples were about two miles away and the brothers had no other way of reaching them besides on their tired feet. Luigi suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Luigi! What are you doing?! Get up!" Mario said.

"My feet are blistered, I can feel it!" Luigi said. "It hurts so badly!"

"My feet are blistered too." Mario said. "You don't see me collapsing on the ground, do you? Now come on, brother! It's not even day time yet! That's when we should start worrying!"

Mario helped his brother back onto his feet and they continued their seemingly long trek across the sand towards the ancient temples that guarded the west end of the ancient pyramid site. Indeed, the walk proved to be very challenging, since time to them seemed to be in slow motion under their intoxicating exhaustion.

The pyramids were now once again giant monolithic structures in the distance as Mario and Luigi approached the ancient temples. The giant ancient pillars before them were covered with ancient inscriptions thousands of years old. There were long and eerie shadows being casted under the bright moonlight. Luigi began to shiver at the foreboding sight.

"Something about this place doesn't feel right, Mario." Luigi said.

"Not again." Mario said. "What doesn't feel right?"

"Bowser's troops are probably searching for us in there!" Luigi said. "I don't want to risk being discovered here!"

"I don't either, but we didn't come a full two miles out here for nothing!" Mario said. "We need to find those four keys. Let's go."

"Okay." Luigi said.

The brothers entered the ancient temple and started weaving through the tall pillars, staying in the shadows to stay clear from any possible danger. Mario suddenly froze and Luigi bumped into him.

"Why did you stop?" Luigi asked.

"Let's stay quiet." Mario whispered. "I think I heard footsteps."

Just as that was said, the brothers immediately turned around after hearing the mysterious footstep noises. Strangely there was no one seen making them. The brothers began to shiver.

"Let's keep going before we get caught!" Luigi whispered.

The brothers were about to take their next steps when the heard the footsteps again. This time, they were much closer.

"I think its coming from behind this pillar!" Mario whispered.

The brothers slowly peeked around the pillar, but they were dismayed when they once again discovered no one standing where the noise was coming from. It was now completely quiet as Mario and Luigi slowly turned around. Not even the rustling wind was heard making any sounds. It was too quiet. When the brothers turned around, they screamed at the sight of a Hammer Brother. Their hearts were now racing out of control.

"SURPRISE!" said the Hammer Brother, throwing a deadly sharp hammer at Mario and Luigi, almost hitting one of them in the head! Luckily, they managed to dodge it with an extra surge of adrenaline running through their bodies. They ran behind the next pillar to prepare themselves for another battle.

Yikes! The brothers seemed to have walked into a trap! Now, they have to prepare for another deadly battle against Bowser's 'minions' and find four keys to gain access to the second crystal star! Ugh! How could it get any worse? Easy...it is still just the beginning of the epic quest...there's still plenty of things to come...

The temple idea was actually an inspiration I gained from looking at photographs of the Temple of Karnak in Egypt. Although the temple itself is not located anywhere near the Pyramids in Giza, I still thought it would be cool to include a similar temple in Sarasaland, and of course change it to fit into Mario environment.

This will definitely be a cliff-hanger for the next chapter. I might not update until after Christmas, but who knows, I might. If I don't, then I'll see all of you afterwards. Happy holidays everyone! :)

saturn95