Tim sighed, the only five coins he had was supposed to be his lunch money. But he couldn't miss a good story like this. He grudgingly handed over another five coins.
"In order to increase its already formidable power the demon created Crystal Stars to hold the essence of the heavens."
He was caught up in the story again. Seven shining stars, each a different color. Diamond, Emerald, Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Garnet, and Crystal. But they were the demons, and the demon's only… the star treasure of its hoard. They outshone all of the rest of the treasures it held.
"One of these stars was placed in each country to exert the demon's influence."
They were scattered throughout the land, each with a fierce beauty. They gave off terrible feelings. They spread fear of the demon.
"One of these castles built to contain these stars still stands near Petal Meadows"
Tim knew the tale ended there, and was now out of money.
"Five more coins and I shall continue the tale" the storyteller said.
"Sorry," Tim replied "I'm out of money" he got up, then turned back to the storyteller, "I will be back though! I promise!" and with that the young Toad was off.
After safely getting off the roof Tim decided what to do now. He had no money to go get lunch, and wasn't really hungry either. He also had no place to go get more money.
But the young Toad's mind was filled with tales of ancient cities and demons. It got him thinking. 'What if the tales are actually real, and there is a city beneath my feet?' he thought, and then got an idea "I'll go ask Jenny" he said to himself, and then went to go find her.
Jenny was a Goomba, and one of Tim's few friends. She had great knowledge of Rougeport and its surrounding areas, not to mention a good idea of how to deal with the baddies.
Tim found her at the Inn, talking to a few people. He waited until she was done (which took quite some time) and then went over to her.
"Hi Jenny!" he said
"Oh, hi Tim" she replied
He started to ask her about the city that might be beneath their feet, then thought better of it. There was something else the old storyteller had said, something about Petal Meadows. "Do you know how to get to Petal Meadows?" he asked instead.
Jenny stared at Tim with an odd expression as she processed the question he just asked.
"Yeah" she said after a moment "there's a warp pipe leading to it somewhere down in Rougeport Sewers. I can help you find it if you want."
"Can you? That would be great!"
Tim was really excited about the entire thing, and followed Jenny eagerly as she led him to a warp pipe. "This goes down to the sewers" she explained "you go first."
Tim didn't even notice how nervous Jenny was about the entire idea of going down to the sewers, and hopped in the warp pipe. He found himself in the sewers quickly, only to realize that the sewers weren't really the sewers. It looked like something that could have once been a great city.
"I don't come down here often" Jenny said from behind him "but umm, if you want the pipe to Petal Meadows, it's over there." She pointed the direction to go in.
"Thanks!" Tim said, heading off in that direction. He continued through the sewers, trying to imagine what it would have all looked like as the city it once was. After heading through an archway, he found a room that had something of a lake in it.
He spotted the warp pipe across the water and a few platforms leading to it. Finding that there was no other way to reach it, Tim hopped across the platforms to the pipe and jumped in.
Tim found himself in a flowery meadow, with a few trees behind him. 'Can't be far' he thought, starting forward. Before long, he spotted it out in the distance. A large castle. A grin spread across his face.