Mario and Luigi

The Shaman of Shadows

Area 3: Windmill Ridge

3-2: Cloud Bridge Caper

*Cloud Bridge*

Luigi stared out into the chaotic sky and the ruined Cloud Bridge. The wind tossed around random blocks and debris while lightning jumped between platforms.

"Well, here I go!" Luigi said, swallowing nervously.

With a powerful long jump, he leaped onto the closest Cloud Block he could reach and grabbed its edge. He looked down and was spooked, so he quickly pulled himself up.

Once on the bridge, Luigi darted off.

After dodging debris and besting a few more ghosts, Luigi came to a strong-looking wizard with a short ash-colored beard and mustache. He wore a steeple hat and had green robes like Merlair. He seemed troubled but not by the storm.

Luigi approached him, and the greeting spooked the both of them. They shouted in unison but quickly regained their composure.

The wizard cleared his throat, "Ahem! Sorry about that, you shocked me! What's a fellow like you doing out here? It's dangerous, you know!"

"I'm Luigi, and I have to get to the islet at the end of this bridge," Luigi explained.

"Oh? Why is that? The Cloud Bridge is horrendously damaged! It would be foolish to cross it as it is now!" He said with distress. "Well, it would be foolish for anyone else, that is! Many in this village believe me to be the 'Green Thunder'! ...But I have my doubts..." he finished as he lowered his head.

Mario appeared and it gave the wizard a fright, "That's funny, my bro here has been called, 'The Green Thunder' since we got here!"

"Oh, a spirit is... guiding you?" the wizard asked.

"Yep, ever since we woke Merloom up, he cursed me, so I've been guiding my bro so we can take him down!" Mario explained.

The wizard grew excited, "You are the ones who freed Merloom?! Then tell me, sir, do you use any fire magic?"

Mario nodded enthusiastically, "Mm-hmm!"

"I see, then that settles things! I've never been 'guided by a Red Flame' as the prophecy foretells, hence the doubt, but you two match perfectly!" the wizard claimed. "I'm not the Green Thunder after all! You are! I'm so glad that's cleared up! Honestly, though, no one expected the Green Thunder and the Red Flame to be foreigners! If you humans can use such powerful magic now, then I can't wait to leave Mage Land and see the rest of the world!"

"What were you trying to do out here exactly?" Luigi asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, I was trying to cross the bridge, but as you can see, such a task is beyond even me!" the wizard stated. "I may be skilled, but flight is difficult to achieve. Normally, floating is all we Aeromancers teach and are taught. Powerful flight requires some more 'physical' attributes. Especially for weather like this!"

"My bro and I have used power-ups to fly in the past! Is there something here that we can use to fly?" Luigi asked hopefully.

The Wizard thought hard momentarily, "Ah, the eight Red Coins! On this bridge, exist eight hidden Red Coins that can open a special pathway when you get to the islet on the other side! Spend those coins at the Windmill Fort's door, and it will open a hidden cache! Hopefully, there will be something in there that you can use! The only dilemma left now is how to cross the bridge in the first place!"

"Not to worry, we're parkour experts! We traverse places like this all the time!" Mario claimed with ease.

Luigi nodded in agreement, "Oh, yeah!"

"Hmm, I don't know what parkour is, but it would appear you two already know what you're doing! Well then, I better not keep you then! Be safe and save us all, Green Thunder!" the Wizard said cheerfully. "Oh, by the way, my name is Merleen!"

"Thanks, we'll have this wrapped up in a jiffy!" Mario claimed as he vanished into Luigi's shadow.

With renewed confidence, the Mario Brothers began making their way through the bridge-turned-obstacle course. They came to a small cache of coins floating on a stranded platform and Luigi searched carefully. Luckily, one of the coins turned out to be red.

As Luigi went to leave the platform he noticed it was a bit to far to jump to anything else. Mario appeared and noticed something, "Hey, Weeg, look! Twister elementals!" he said as he pointed out the spherical wind spirits dancing below the bridge. "We can use the air streams these guys create to give us a boost!"

"Good eye, bro!" Luigi said as he prepared himself. Mario vanished, and Luigi leaped into the nearest air stream created by the wind spirit. He managed to ride through many other streams until he set foot on the bridge. In those air streams, he found two more red coins.

Luigi continued to use the Twisters to his advantage. He used them to reach other platforms to dodge lightning, falling debris, and ghost attacks. One after the other, he snagged each red coin until, finally, he had all eight in his hands. Greaper appeared, "Great work, Mr. Green. Red Coins differ in purpose according to culture, but are fairly common throughout most lands."

"They are often tied to something special!" Boo followed. "That wizard said something about an alternate entrance into the fort. I wonder what's inside! I can't wait!"

"Don't look now, but we're almost there!" Dry Bones added with an excited rattle.

Dry Bones pointed out a fortress emerging from the dark clouds. The blades of the windmill spun wildly and gleamed with an eerie light. Luigi pocketed the red coins and the Three Musty Fears retreated. He darted off and made his way effortlessly through the remaining obstacles, finding another Hint Block, and landing on the islet with a hard stomp.

Luigi made it past the few disheveled homes and began inspecting the Windmill. Of course, the main entrance was easily accessed from the front. Then, something caught his eye. A red door high up could be seen behind the spinning blades. He noticed he would have to climb the windmill from the outside to reach the platform behind the blades.

He made his way up the side of the cylindrical building one brick at a time. The wind threatened to push him off several times, but after circling the tower and carefully jumping from brick to brick, he finally reached the second floor. He snuck behind the spinning blades and used the red coins to open the door. The door closed with a mighty slam after he entered.

The room was dark so he used his Thunderhand. As the room lit up, it wowed Luigi. It was a magical room that was far larger inside than what could be contained inside the building. Coins were littered throughout the room so Luigi took the time to scoop up all the treasure he could. After doin so, he was led to the back of the room where a yellow switch stood. Luigi approached with a smile and gave it a stomp.

A loud rumble could be heard, "I wonder what that unlocked...," Mario said as he appeared.

Greaper appeared as the room grew dark, "Whatever it was, this magical room has fulfilled its purpose and is collapsing! Let's get out of here!"

Luigi hastily left the room, and as he closed the door behind him, it had vanished. Then, suddenly, eight red streams of light scattered themselves over the bridge. "Bye-bye," Luigi said comically.

"The red coins fulfilled their purpose, so they returned to their place on the bridge, awaiting a new purpose," Greaper claimed.

"For now, let's see if we can find a new block!" Boo urged.

"Yeah, but maybe we should shut this windmill down first?" Dry Bones said, concerned.

Luigi brought his attention back to the windmill and the task at hand. The Fears vanished, and Luigi returned to the ground. He entered the fort and found it to be a mechanical mess. Gears and shafts spun wildly, and some were electrified. Mario appeared, "Ugh, I'm having Tick-Tock Clock flashbacks!"

"No problem, bro, I just have to find a way to turn this off. I'm sure there's a Switch somewhere!" Luigi said confidently.

"Good thinking, Weeg! I'll bet a year's worth of pasta it's near the top!" Mario claimed.

Mario vanished, and Luigi began his ascent. He hopped aboard a horizontal gear, then to a platform higher up. This platform led upwards to more gears. He boarded another one, and several ghosts appeared. Carefully, he avoided the lightning bolts that flashed across the gears and disposed of the ghosts. He then boarded a vertical gear and immediately jumped to another platform. This platform could morph between a flight of stairs or a slide. At the top, a Twister danced around. Being careful with the timing, Luigi scaled the flight of stairs before they changed and hopped into the Twister. He was then propelled to the next set of gears.

Luigi now stood on another large gear, and he could see the windmill outside. As he inspected the area, he noticed a bright red switch on a large block. He had to scale another flight of shifting stairs to get to it, though. This set of stairs switched forms much quicker. With carefully placed jumps, Luigi made it to the red switch. However, before he could stomp it, it levitated into the air as an enemy Boo's cackle echoed. "Drat!" Luigi hissed.

The Boo taunted, "My name is Booford! I'm going to be a top engineer someday!"

Luigi followed the Boo, and the struggle ensued. He dodged the electricity and managed to hit Booford with his Thunderhand. Thankfully, the Poltergust made short work of him as he complained. The switch fell to the ground, and Luigi gave it a stomp. The windmill suddenly lost power, and after a while, it came to a full stop.

Greaper appeared, "Good! One down, two to go!"

"That red switch must have been a kill switch!" Mario said. "Which means this windmill will stay down until someone comes to turn it back on the manual way!"

"Which doesn't seem likely, given the state of the bridge!" Boo claimed.

"Hopefully, the next two won't be as dizzying!" Dry Bones said with a stumble.

*Outside*

Once outside, Luigi noticed the weather cleared up a little outside. The wind was still stirring and thunder still rumbled but it was a little better than before.

"Okay, let's find the next bridge, Luigi!" Mario urged.

"Okie dokie!" Luigi agreed.

Luigi inspected the small islet village until he came to another shrine-like area connected to another bridge. Before he could take it, a yellow block with an '!' on it could be seen. "Hey, I haven't seen this block yet!" Luigi said as he happily bashed it.

What appeared was a welcome sight, "Can it be?!" Mario gasped. "It is, it's a Cape Feather!"

Luigi's eyes sparkled with delight as he grabbed the feather and transformed. With a puff of smoke, Luigi now donned a pure white cape. "Nice, it's been a long time since we last used these!"

"It's all white now!" Mario claimed.

"Ah, it changed?" Greaper asked rhetorically. "The power-up must have been altered by your brother's personality! A change in mindset, perhaps?"

Luigi winked, "What can I say? I can't stay in my brother's shadow forever!"

The party let out a collective moan.

*End of Chapter*