Chapter 11 Merlon's Fortune Hut

Ludwig giggled to himself as he watched the cooligans and penguins interact with one another. The former seemed intent on sliding across every surface imaginable, while the latter just wanted to live their lives without getting interrupted by such a rude and nasty polar baddie. This, of course, caused the biggest rift between two species in the history of the Mushroom World. Watching these two types of arctic birds fight with each other was somehow much more entertaining to Ludwig than any type of television show.

To make it even better, his siblings seemed to agree with him. "Oh yeah, baby!" Larry exclaimed. He pressed his nose and hands against the glass, staring at the birds with such an intense (and hilarious) gaze. "These birds are really going at it!" He laughed as he saw a penguin slap a cooligan in the beak. "My word; it's like watching a wrestling match, except nothing is scripted!"

"Honestly, I just think these little guys are pretty cute," Lemmy chimed in. He stepped closer to the glass, wearing a furrowed brow as he did. "Oh, I hope they don't kill each other…"

"Yeah, we didn't pay twenty coins per person to see dead animals," Morton said with absolutely no emotion in his voice whatsoever.

Larry burst out laughing, sounding like some sort of killer clown. "Honestly, if I had known we would see those, I would have paid even more." He pressed his nose against the glass again, his eyes wickedly gleaming. "Decapitate each other and enjoy doing it!" He said, his voice low, raspy, and rumbly enough to cause alarm bells to go off in Ludwig's head.

"Okay okay, I think that's enough," Iggy said, pulling Larry away from the tank despite the youngest's glares and physical acts of protest. "We have more places to go than the aquarium after all."

"We do?" Ludwig, Lemmy, and Morton asked in unison.

"Of course! Toad Town and the Mushroom Kingdom in general are now open to us in ways that they hadn't been before! And I sure as heckle plan to take advantage of that."

Ludwig and Lemmy exchanged a look. Honestly, Ludwig wasn't one hundred percent certain if he wanted to see more; all he wanted to do right at this moment was crawl in bed and try to sleep his worries away. Forget seeing sights, forget befriending Toads; he just really wanted to have an excuse to not worry about his new form and the demon who gave it to him.

However… well, everyone else looked excited. Lemmy's eyes glowed, and Morton actually grinned. Even Larry looked pretty eager to do something else despite how attached he had gotten to the Arctic Bird Cage Match earlier. Was it really Ludwig's right to take that away from them? Sure, he was in the process of worrying himself to death, but did he really need to brush that off on his siblings?

"Very well." Ludwig took a step forward. "Take us wherever you like, Iggy."

"With pleasure, dear brother." Iggy gestured for the others to follow him. "Come on; there is a certain place that I've come across through reading that I think would be perfect."

With that, they made their way to the aquarium's exit. They came across Wendy right before exiting, but she declined to come with them because she had stuff to do ("There's something I need to prepare for" were her exact words). So, it was only the five guys. Iggy led the little pack, giggling and talking to himself as he did. When they actually exited the aquarium, and after Ludwig's eyes adjusted to the light outside, he took in the sights of Toad Town. He hadn't really paid attention to it while they were going to the aquarium, but now? Now that he actually saw it?

He loved it. There was something so quaint about Toad Town, an authenticity that nothing could really replicate. The architecture of the Toad houses was simple, but they were also pleasing to the eyes. The roads also looked appealing; unlike in the Koopa Kingdom, they were layered with brick blocks. Question mark boxes floated along the perimeter of said roads, just begging for someone to tap on them and claim their prizes. But honestly, those details were nothing next to the colors. They popped! Like, REALLY popped! They played with the Koopaling's eyes, soothing him, energizing him, and revitalizing him all at the same time. None of the towns in the Koopa Kingdom compared to this. The only town that even came close was Sparksville. That place had inspired him to paint, but this? THIS took that desire and cranked it up to an eleven. Ludwig smiled to himself, trying to capture the images in his mind for reference later, similar to what he did while on dates with Aria in Sparksville .

That last thought made him come to a complete halt, all while his heart felt like it was constricting. Aria… How was she doing? Was she aware of what happened to him and his siblings? What was happening to her back in the Koopa Kingdom? What was happening to Bowser back in the Koopa Kingdom? Was the Shadow Seeker causing them to suffer? What plans did such a dastardly devil have in mind for a Kingdom as powerful as the Koopa Kingdom? Even with all the power said kingdom had in its possession, did it really stand a chance against a demon who could see the future?

"Ludwig, come on!"

Ludwig did a double take, looking up to see Lemmy waiting for him in the middle of the road. "Coming!" Deciding to save all these questions for later, Ludwig ran to catch up with his brothers. He mostly focused on their destination for the rest of their walk, wondering what it was in this wide wide Mushroom Town that had caught Iggy's interest.

"Well!" Iggy exclaimed while coming to a halt. "We have arrived!"

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, studying the house the five of them had stopped in front of. Constructed from blue brick, with a roof that made it look like a teepee on the top, the house definitely stood out amongst the ones in Toad Town as being one of the odder ones. However, its appearance wasn't the oddest thing to Ludwig. No, that honor belonged to the sign resting above the door.

"Merlon's Fortune Hut?" he asked with a rising eyebrow.

"Exactly!" Iggy grinned while looking at the entrance. "It received wonderful reviews on the travel site I looked at!"

The four others exchanged looks before giving Iggy the most incredulous faces one could muster. "Dude… you're taking us to a fortune teller?" Larry asked.

"I thought you didn't like those sorts of things?" Lemmy said. "I thought you considered them to be baloney!"

Iggy blinked while raising his own eyebrow. "Excuse me? When have I ever said that?" He looked back at the Fortune Hut. "Have you guys forgotten that this is a world where magic exists?" He snickered. "I don't see how you could, considering we've been cursed by it."

Ludwig shook his head while approaching Iggy. "Iggy, you are familiar that most of the people who proclaim to know the future are charlatans, right? Even in a world where magic exists, there are some things that a mortal is not capable of doing."

Iggy laughed. "That's… that's…. Oh wait, you're serious." Iggy gave Ludwig an inquisitive look. "Ludwig, this isn't too out of the ordinary. There are plenty of fortune tellers who exist in the Koopa Kingdom and are completely accurate! Besides, didn't you say that the Shadow Seeker who cursed us has the ability to see the future? Why is someone else having the same ability so unbelievable to you?" Ludwig opened his mouth to say something, but Iggy just as quickly shut him down. "Look, I just want us to try this just this one time. After that, we never have to come back; we can dismiss Mr. Merlon as being the worst charlatan in the world if that is what you desire. Right now, I just feel that this could be an interesting experience."

"I…" Ludwig struggled to speak, with absolutely no words popping up in his mind or on the tip of his tongue. He looked back at the other Koopalings before sighing. "Okay, fine. We can give it a try. But only this one time!"

Iggy beamed. "Many thanks are owed to you, dear brother." He went over to open the door, gesturing to his siblings to enter. "Come on; one after the other."

Ludwig was the first to enter the Fortune Hut. The thing that initially stuck out to him was the smell; it smelled eerily similar to a bag of Earl Gray Tea. However, once he got used to it, he found that the look and structure of the Fortune Hut were also rather eye-catching. The walls were dark blue and had silky curtains covering both them and the parts of the pyramid-like ceiling they all connected to. A skylight was right in the center of said ceiling, letting sunlight flow into and brighten up the room. Directly underneath this skylight was a table, and on that table was a crystal ball. This struck Ludwig as odd, mostly because it reminded him of a memory sphere, an instrument to observe the past. The idea of such a similar-looking object telling the future was just… peculiar.

"Ah," a low but somehow very melodic voice said from one side of the room. As the other Koopalings filtered into the hut, they all turned to see who had made such a sound. The culprit was a little man in a cloak. What species he was exactly Ludwig couldn't say for sure, as the cloak cast an unnatural shadow over his face, covering it completely in darkness. This sight just sent chills up and down Ludwig's arms. The only features of this man's face that were even remotely visible were his mustache, which was snow white and stretched to the floor, and his eyes. They glowed with a yellow light, which was not a color anyone wanted to associate with someone's eyes.

Ludwig hadn't even been read his fortune yet and he was already freaked out.

"It is a pleasure to see you," the strange man said. He walked from the side of the room over to the table and crystal ball. "I am Merlon, as you could probably have guessed from the sign outside." He chuckled, probably smiling too (again, the shadow made it impossible to tell). "Something tells me you guys are here to learn about your future?"

"Why yes! Yes we are!" Iggy giggled to himself. "Oh this is so exciting; my tummy's tingling!"

Ludwig just sighed. He saw Larry roll his eyes while Morton just shook his head. The only person aside from Iggy who looked like they were even remotely anticipating this event was Lemmy, and even then, he still looked a little cautious.

"Well, who am I to deny such fine young gentlemen like yourselves service?" Merlon cleared his throat, getting in closer to his crystal ball. "Gather round, gather round; the future waits for no one."

Ludwig resisted the urge to give Iggy a look and approached the table. Lemmy, Larry, Morton, and Iggy gathered around too, with all five Koopalings keeping their eyes on the crystal ball. Ludwig wasn't really anticipating anything, so when Merlon waved his hand over the ball and caused it to glow, he was actually taken by surprise.

"Okay then." Merlon continued waving his hands around the ball, which had a blue light Ludwig theorized was more harmful than any technological device. "I see… I see…" he leaned closer to the ball, squinting at it. It took a minute, but he eventually did a double-take. "Oh."

"Oh?" Ludwig asked. "What do you mean 'oh;' can you not see anything?"

"Oh no; I can see something." His brow furrowed, an expression that was somehow visible despite everything. "Your… the future that you guys have in store is… bizarre."

Ludwig's stomach flip flopped. "How bizarre?"

"Well… I see darkness. Lots of darkness. There's… there's something laughing. It's… it's voice is low, but… oh, it's so wicked! The creature who's in possession of it looks ready to devour. Tear. Decimate."

Ludwig felt a lump grow in his throat. Lemmy reached out his hand to take hold of Ludwig's, which he gladly allowed. Doing so made him realize how damp Lemmy's hands were, therefore causing his heart rate to speed up.

"I… I also see flashes of light. Fireballs, perhaps? I can't say for sure. And… and fighting. Yes, fighting. Something big is on the line here, as multiple people are giving it their all." He hesitated. "But… I can't say for sure if that's it's all for naught or not."

Ludwig felt as if he was going to throw up. He looked at his siblings, especially Iggy. All of them looked freaked out. Even Iggy looked like he wanted to retreat into his currently non-existent shell.

"That's… thank you." Iggy adjusted his glasses and stood up straight. "We… we are very thankful; the information you have given to us is beyond invaluable." He gestured to the others. "Come on guys; we should probably get going…"

"Wait!" Merlon exclaimed. "I see something else!"

All the Koopalings halted. Despite his dread, Ludwig stepped closer to Merlon. The old man's eyes squinted harder than they ever had before.

"There's… there's someone approaching. Running, I believe. They… they are looking for you!"

Ludwig let out a little gasp. What did that mean?

"They… they are worried. So worried. They are hoping to know your whereabouts." Merlon leaned closer. "They're getting closer. And closer. And…"

Knock knock knock.

Ludwig shrieked. Shivering, he turned toward the door, as did the other Koopalings. Maybe it was just because of their fortune, but Ludwig shook like a maraca and sweat like a pig while looking at it.

"Who… who's…?"

Before he could finish, the door opened, practically slamming against the wall in the process. Two people entered the room, both looking scared and worried.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Luigi exclaimed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Mario asked, an accusatory tone present in his voice.

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat. Oh boy, this might not end well.