Mallow I: A Two Man Treasure Hunt
It is mid-afternoon up in the cloudy land of…well, Nimbus Land. The populace is busy running left and right frantically to try and enter the stores for some rather unknown reason. The store keepers had to rush to establish lines in order to at least subdue some of the chaos, but the rushing voices of the populace meant that their efforts were all in vain. What would drive the people to such chaos? It was the middle of summer after all, so its not like the Plit version of Christmas was happening, so one had to wonder just what was bringing the Nimbusians to stumble over each other in an attempt to pillage the stores.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY, I NEED TO ACQUIRE A PRESENT FOR PRINCE MALLOW!" A random male Nimbusian shouted out through the crowd of his people. Another Nimbusian punted the exclaiming man out of the store and said with his puffy fist raised "BACK OFF, I SHALL BE THE ONE TO IMPRESS OUR PRINCE!"
The two cries that could be heard amidst this endless chaos allowed one to discern the true meaning behind all that was happening. Mallow, the Nimbusian prince, had a birthday coming up in a few days, and the royal family tradition dictated that the one who gave the prince the greatest gift of all would receive a reasonable favor of their choice. The chaos seen doesn't just lie within Nimbus Land though. Many citizens have chosen to broaden their horizons for a gift, and have taken the buses down to the surface of Plit to seek out something more valuable to the prince.
The reason the people were so desperate to give Mallow a great gift to win his favor was because they knew how kindly the young prince was, and that he would surely grant their desires if they humbly asked upon winning the honor. However, the crown prince himself had differing thoughts regarding the whole ordeal as he stood on the balcony on the top floor of the palace and overlooked the chaos.
The young Nimbusian, with his usual striped pants and bubbly exterior, sighed and said to himself in a melancholy tone of voice "Geez, why do we still have to carry on this tradition? This is honestly one of the most stressful times of the year for me since I came back to Nimbus Land."
Backing away from the golden gilded railing and letting out another tired sigh, tried to make himself feel more optimistic about the whole matter by saying with a smile on his face "Well, at least once a few days pass everything can go back to normal…Though it would be kind of nice if I could do something to take my mind off of all this until then."
Mallow goes into the crimson clothed palace that has pillars wrapped in wreathes and vines and immediately comes across his father, a larger Nimbusian in both height and weight with a small mustache above his lips and a more royal looking outfit. "Ah, son, I'm surprised to see you up here. Do you see the people rushing out there to try and acquire you a gift?" The King says in a jolly good tone of voice.
Mallow nervously rubs the back of his head upon hearing his dad out, saying to him in an honest voice "Is this really necessary dad? I mean if the people want to give me a gift that's fine, but why do they have to do it just to be rewarded a favor in return?"
"Well I do suppose the tradition is a bit silly when you think about it for a while, but it would be rude to dishonor the ways of our ancestors, wouldn't you agree son?" The King tries to rationalize the tradition with Mallow, who merely shrugs his shoulders and says in response "I suppose so…"
The King, not wanting to see his son feel a bit of reluctance towards what was happening, said to him as he walked up beside him and extended his right arm out towards the balcony "Follow me son, I want to explain something to you."
Turning around and following his father to the edge of the balcony, Mallow watches as he extends his hand out towards the chaos and says quietly to his son "Look at how they are trying so hard to acquire a gift for you. If you were a terrible prince, not even your people would follow this tradition, but because you have been so kind to them ever since you returned they want to show that very same level of kindness for each and every one of your birthdays."
As the King mentions this, one could hear a lone Nimbusian exclaiming to another "HEY JERK, GET OUT OF MY WAY BEFORE I PUSH YOU OFF THE EDGE OF NIMBUS LAND."
The King pauses for a few moments upon realizing how quickly his words have been contradicted, and says in a rather dulled tone of voice as he lowers his arm "…Well, not everyone likely feels that way, but a vast majority is better then a vocal minority."
"Well I understand what you are getting at dad, but I just think this type of chaos is really unnecessary for a birthday. Especially with the whole 'Prince's favor' catch." Mallow says honestly to his father.
The King turns around and starts to walk off not long after Mallow said that, offering a little bit of empathy towards his son by mentioning to him "At the very least, know that this will all be over again in a few days."
The King thus leaves this part of the palace, while Mallow stands in place and thinks to himself with an annoyed slant of his eyebrows "…It really can't end soon enough."
Mallow thus decides to take a stroll through the palace in an attempt to clear his mind of any negative thoughts for the time being, though it takes him quite a few minutes of walking before he can get away from the echoes of the chaos outdoors. A few servants wish him well, but Mallow can only say a light "Thanks" in response before he leaves their sight.
Once the Nimbusian prince arrives at the very end of the hallway leading to his room, he pauses and thinks to himself "Wait, why am I even heading to my room?" and starts to turn around to head off to another part of the palace.
As he travels, Mallow folds his arms in front of his chest and thinks over his options "There's no way I'll be able to leave the palace while this chaos is going on, which really sucks considering how a dip in the Hot Springs might help ease my nerves."
The Nimbusian prince's thoughts soon go towards that of his friends in the Mushroom Kingdom, and he wondered how they have been doing ever since the whole reality-bending alien incident a few months back. "If the buses weren't so preoccupied then I'd try and find a way to invite one of them up, but at the same time I wouldn't want to have them trifle with all the commotion."
"Hmmm?" A random servant who just so happened to be walking up to Mallow as he traveled down the hallway overhears his prince's words and says to him "You wish to see one of your friends, young prince?"
Mallow lifts his head up and looks at the well-dressed servant in a tuxedo and says to him "Yeah, but I can't get down to the surface in this commotion and they can't come up here for the same reason."
"Well that's rather curious, because there is someone standing outside the palace entrance waiting for you to come see him. He said something along the lines of 'having descended from the stars' to visit an old friend." The servant's words clue Mallow in on just which friend has showed up to visit, and with a smile immediately perking up on his face the prince says to his servant "Can you take me to the front of the palace to meet him?"
"Absolutely, young prince." The servant nods his head politely and turns around, guiding Mallow to the front of the palace in a matter of minutes. Standing between two guards while in the middle of a conversation with them is a small wooden doll with recognizable blue clothing and a rather empty stare that is more the fault of the doll's design rather than that of the person itself.
Rushing ahead of the servant after briefly thanking him, Mallow exclaims to his friend "Hey Geno, how are you doing?!" He was greatly enthusiastic about the fact that he wouldn't have to worry about the crowd for the time being and can focus on his friend, and the doll quickly looks away from the two guards with a flicker of surprise and is just as quick to smile.
"Ah, glad to see that you are here Mallow. How are you doing?" Geno is quick to open up with a question that mimics that of his friend, which causes the cloud prince to chuckle as he stops just a few feet from the doll.
"Hehehe, I'm faring well. But you know I asked you first, so come on Geno, spill what you've been up to since the last time I saw you." Mallow politely asks his friend to mention how he has been and grins happily.
Geno responds by folding his arms in front of his chest and calmly mentioning "Well I've recently been allowed to descend back onto Plit once more, but other than that nothing really interesting has happened on my end."
"Well that's good to hear." Mallow says in response, happy to know that Geno is doing well. With a wave of his right hand towards the palace, the cloud prince proceeds to say "Come on in. We'll barely be able to hear each other if we stick this close to the chaos."
Geno turns his head back towards the crowd of Nimbusians tripping over each other, and says in a nonchalant voice "What is up with that anyways? Seems rather unnatural for Nimbus Land to be this chaotic."
"Oh, I'll explain it to you on the way to the dining room Geno. Don't worry about it for now." Thus Mallow and Geno leave the front entrance of the palace as a couple citizens notice the prince and quickly try to rush out of the crowd in order to grab his attention, only to be blocked by the guards almost instantly.
The two figures travel the palace, all the while Mallow explains to Geno the Nimbusian royal tradition, which earns a raised eyebrow from the star herald as the cloud prince agrees that the whole thing is rather silly. But the issue isn't loomed on for too long, as eventually the two of them make it to the dining hall, which is lined with dozens of chairs around the circumference of an oval-shaped fancy wooden table. But for the sake of convenience, Mallow seated Geno down on the closest chair near the entrance and sat on the one off to the right of him.
"So what brings you down from Star Haven, Geno?" Mallow asks as she lays his hands along the sleek surface of the table. The doll blinks twice and looks at his friend, saying to him with his head barely poking up past the edge of the table from where he currently sits "I've actually come down here with an offer for you and only you."
"Lay it on me Geno, I could really use a change of pace with all the chaos that has been going on lately." Mallow is ready to accept the offer of his friend even before everything has been said.
"Well I'm glad to hear your enthusiasm Mallow. You see, while I was busy observing the planet in Star Haven, I came across something rather interesting in the archives. Buried deep within the crust of Plit is a massive citadel that the old people of Rogueport used as a sort of secret grounds for all of their collected loot, such as gold, silver, sapphire, and even simpler treasures such as the first hammer used to build a house in town or the first stitched rug. Even when old Rogueport was buried underground, the citadel remained untouched, and according to what I found out there is still a way into the citadel. All the treasure there should be intact too, thanks to a spell cast by an old-time Magikoopa that would keep the entire place ageless."
Geno's history making explanation on this Golden Citadel buried underneath the planet's surface made Mallow's eyes widen in excitement, and he is quick to discern the motives of his friend as he says to him "Ah, so you want me to come along with you on a simple adventure to find this citadel, right?"
"That's correct, in some capacity. I already know of the entrance to the citadel, but I would like a friend to come with me. Though if I must be honest, I was actually hoping we could make a group effort out of this and have a little fun adventure after all the other stressful events we dealt with lately. However, Driad is off doing something, Luigi is in Sarassaland, and I couldn't figure out where Mario is. And naturally, Gemini and Alpha wouldn't want to join along since they got their own affairs to deal with." Geno explains his reasoning behind coming to Mallow, and the cloud prince smiles in response.
"So it'll just be the two of us? Sounds perfectly fine to me, it'll be just like old times. But I have to ask you something before we go Geno." Mallow nods his head out of approval of the trip, and the star herald looks directly at him and asks "What is it?"
"What do you plan to do with the treasure?" Mallow asks with innocent sincerity.
"Nothing really, I just want us to go on an adventure as a means of relieving some stress that has been on our minds recently. If you want to pick up something in this citadel, then that's perfectly fine, but I really don't have a use for any treasure." Geno makes his view on the treasure in the citadel known, and Mallow chuckles at the remark before saying himself "Well that's fine, I don't really need gold or silver or anything else there anyways."
"Then lets us not waste any time in heading off." Geno removes himself from the seat post-haste after making that declaration, and Mallow says after a moment of remembrance "Oh wait! How are we going to get past the crowd?"
The star herald waves beside his body and says to the cloud prince as Mallow gets out of his chair and walks to him "I think you are forgetting what type of magic I am capable of using. Stand close beside me and lets head on down to the surface." Once Mallow is close by, Geno summons forth a pillar of starry light that carries the two figures through the ceiling of the palace and teleports them swiftly to their destination…
Next Time: A Few Meager Trials