Mario & Luigi

The Shaman of Shadows

Area 3: Windmill Ridge

3-4: Windmill Bridge has Fallen Down!

Worry took root in Luigi's gut as he wondered how he would get across with almost no bridge. "This is terrible! How am I supposed to get across?" Luigi said puzzled.

"No problem, Weeg!" Mario reassured. "It's a good thing we found the Cape Feathers!"

"Yeah, but can I make it all the way in one jump? The flight power ends after a short while! I'll end up falling into the ocean!" Luigi reminded.

"Let's walk and see if we can't think of something," Greaper said.

"Yeah, there's bound to be a solution somewhere!" Boo followed.

"There might be another maintenance wizard around! Let's take a look!" Dry Bones added with a rattle.

Luigi nodded and began walking down the remaining portion of the bridge. He quickly reached the end of the cloud blocks and saw only the bridge's skeleton left behind. He sat down and thought deeply about the situation. After some time passed he heard footsteps behind him. Luigi turned to see that it was Merlear.

Merlear waved and Luigi faced him. He walked to meet Merlear who was in a good mood despite the situation. "Hello again! I came as soon as I saw the power go out on the other bridge!" he said as he paused and turned his gaze to the empty space behind him. He made an astonished whistle, "Wow, this one is gone completely!"

"Ah, about that!" Luigi began. "You wouldn't have any better ways to cross this one would you?"

Merlear thought about it for a moment and then an idea came to him as he snapped his fingers, "I got it! You have the Cape Feather so that should make this rather simple! You might think levitation would be something only Aeromancers would be taught but that isn't the case! One exercise we are taught when levitating is floating through a series of several magical rings that resemble gears. These rings will give you a boost when you fly through them, so you'll stay afloat!"

"Really? That sounds interesting!" Luigi said with a smile.

"Let me show you!" Merlear said as he cast a spell. The spell conjured bright green rings that made a path through the air where the bridge was.

Luigi was impressed, "Wow, so all I do is fly through all of them?"

"Certainly, you'll be given a boost to your flight if you do!" Merlear explained. "It isn't THAT tight though. You can miss a few as you are wearing the most powerful flight power-up other than a P-Wing, after all."

"A P-Wing would come in handy right now...," Luigi mused out loud.

"I would be surprised if you found one in Mage Land!" Merlear chuckled. "Ahem, either way, this spell will only work once. I would have to recast it to help you back, but I have no way of knowing when you'll be victorious as my crystal ball can only reach so far, so I hope you have a way back..."

"No problem, I have a way to return!" Luigi said, referring to his Warp Whistle.

"Splendid! Well then, once again, good luck to you!" Merlear said as he adjusted his bag and cloak.

"Luigi will get it done!" Luigi said with a thumbs-up.

Merlear waved him off as he broke out into a strong dash on what was left of the bridge. With a mighty jump, Luigi took off into the sky and received a powerful charge from the first ring he flew through. "WAHOO!"

Luigi flew through the air like a Bullet Bill. He navigated the dangerous sky and avoided lightning strikes as he hit a second ring. With another boost, he continued with a roll through a coin trail. Luigi bobbed and weaved as Ghosts tried to punch him out of the air, and Peepas tried to grab him.

Luigi zoomed passed the ghosts and taunted them. He passed through a third ring, and the wind picked up as rain began to fall. He could feel the pushback as he continued. More Ghosts showed up and began performing formations. Luigi read their moves and managed to dodge them one by one.

After dodging the oncoming threats, Luigi noticed a chunk of the bridge emerge from the darkness. He decided to land to rest for a moment. He bashed some blocks for their contents, and while he did so, he quickly noticed he wandered into an ambush. Ghosts surrounded him and readied themselves one by one, they dive-bombed him with lunges. Luigi avoided them haphazardly as he couldn't afford to lose his cape. He countered with his Thunderhand when he was able and carefully let the Poltergust suck them up. Luigi then looked around cautiously to make sure his attackers were defeated. With that, he made another run for it and took off.

Back in the air, he entered another ring and followed a coin trail. The rain was heavier now. Lightning strikes were more frequent, but he managed to avoid them. Ghosts and Peepas now hid behind clouds to attempt sneak attacks. Luigi narrowly dodged them as they giggled and taunted him. He entered another ring to recharge his momentum, and he sped past a lightning bolt as he did so. Several more electrical Peepas spooked him from behind the clouds. The shock of being surprised almost knocked him out of the sky, but luckily, he ran through another ring and regained his composure.

However, Luigi's boost was short-lived as a cackling Ghost sucker-punched him out of the sky. Below him was another portion of the bridge. It wasn't very sturdy, though. He luckily landed on it but lost his cape in the process. The bridge portion felt like it would give way at any time. Before he could regain his breath, another ambush began.

"Oh, no!" Luigi moaned.

This round had cultists interfering as they emerged from the shadows. Battered but not beaten, Luigi fought through the ambush, one ghost and cultist at a time. Finally, Luigi was able to catch his breath. He took a moment to inspect the bridge, and the underside had a few platforms left over where he was able to find a cluster of blocks. He found a Hint Block and, luckily, another Cape Feather.

"Thank the stars!" Luigi sighed with relief as his cape was restored.

"That was close!" Mario said with a shudder. "I know you're exhausted, Weeg, but just hang in there, we're almost there!"

Greaper emerged, "Yes, he's correct! I can see the islet just ahead!"

"Once we set foot on the islet we're golden!" Boo added.

Dry Bones appeared with a bandana on his head, "Go Mr. Green!" he cheered as he waved a flag.

Luigi blushed as his spirit was renewed. He made his way back up to the bridge and flew off through another ring. The wind and rain were so strong that Luigi had to shield his eyes with his arms. The Ghosts attacked more desperately as they knew this was their last chance to interfere with Luigi's journey. He made sure to dodge every ghost and lightning bolt while still flying through the rings. Finally, the last ring was in sight, and the islet was just beyond it. Two Peepas appeared and headed straight for him to give him a monstrous hug, but he spun through them and into the ring. The ring gave him the last boost he needed to reach the islet, and he began his descent.

Luigi stumbled clumsily for a bit, but he made it to the islet, and he breathed deeply with relief. "Way to go, Weeg! Now let's get in there and shut the rest of this operation down! This Conductor is bound to be quite miffed after we shut him off!" Mario said.

"You betcha!" Luigi agreed.

Luigi regained his composure and dashed to the Windmill Fort. Like the others before it, it was going wild and haywire. He needed to time his approach to the door as it occasionally sparked with lightning. With a quick dash, he opened the door and slammed it behind him.

Inside, Luigi inspected the fort. It was in bad shape. Above him, a platform spun wildly. Gears and shafts sped up and slowed randomly. Luigi performed a high jump to a platform that was fixed in place. It was followed by many other identical platforms malfunctioning and sliding in and out of the wall. He had to time his jumps properly to land on each escalating platform so he would not fall back to base level.

He made it to the platform safely, but it wasn't long before a group of Peepas showed up. The Peepas maneuvered around Luigi like a roulette. Faster and faster, they shuffled until one decided to break off and dive at him. Luigi countered with his Thunderhand and defeated the Peepa, only for the others to quickly follow suit. He leaped over the attack, and they mistakenly lunged under him in a single file line. Luigi gave the Peepas a grin as the ghosts piled up as they crashed. He then chuckled as he disposed of them with the Poltergust. The Poltergust gave him a friendly wink after it was done.

Luigi moved on and noticed more escalating platforms. As he timed his jumps, he came to the top and crossed over to a set of gears. He crossed over to the other side of the building and jumped to a set of platforms that moved like a Ferris Wheel. They were succeeded by others who moved to other patterns, but Luigi managed.

The top floor awaited him and this platform was made entirely of metal. Luigi inspected the platform and saw four Twister elementals dancing around. Just then, he saw a spark. A flash of lightning, and he jumped. He descended slowly with his cape, and as he did so, he saw that the metal floor was electrified for a brief moment.

Luigi was relieved, "Whew, that was close!"

"Be careful, Weeg!" Mario echoed.

As Mario's voice vanished, a Boo appeared to confront them. The Boo cackled, "I'm Boonda and I'll be fixing this windmill!"

Boonda performed as well as any other Boo. It was fast, and dodging it was difficult, along with the lightning bolts that lit the room. Luigi dodged and flew into the Twisters to stay off the platform while it was electrified. Boonda missed Luigi with a dive, and Luigi stunned him. The Poltergust began sucking him up, but Luigi had to cut the connection and dodge another lightning bolt. To Boonda's frustration, Luigi repeated this multiple times until he vanished into the Poltergust.

The red kill Switch appeared, sitting comfortably nearby. Luigi raced over to it, and pushed it. The Twister elementals vanished, and the Windmill died down until it went silent. Luigi danced with joy. "Yahoo!" he shouted.

Mario appeared, "Wahoo! Way to go, bro! Now that the Conductor has been cut off, so we can unplug him and his plans!"

"That will be the hard part!" Greaper added nervously.

"It's too bad we couldn't figure out more about him!" Boo said with a sigh.

"We know that he can use both wind and lightning, and that's what we've been dealing with so far!" Dry Bones added with a chuckle.

"I suppose we'll figure it out from all those Hint Blocks later," Greaper said. "Speaking of which. Should we make a quick pit stop and take five before we meet this Conductor?"

"I think so, we have a moment to get our bearings!" Luigi agreed.

With that, Luigi took the Warp Whistle from his pocket and returned to the Village of Ghosts.

*Village of Ghosts*

Once Luigi returned to the village, he paid a visit to Merlicity. Merlicity greeted him, "Oh, well, if it isn't my favorite customer! What do you need?" she asked warmly.

Luigi saw something that piqued his interest, "Oh, is that a Mega Glove? I'll take that!"

"Very wise choice! A Mega Glove gives the wearer the strength of a giant! With someone like you, who uses the Thunderhand, I'll bet even the Conductor won't expect a boost of power like that!" Merlicity claimed with a wink as Luigi handed her the necessary Wizard Coins.

Luigi exchanged his gloves, and he felt like a brand new man. "These will certainly come in 'handy'!" Luigi joked.

Merlicity giggled and waved him off as he left the store with a gesture of thanks.

Luigi paid a visit to the others as well. Gadd was happy to see him, "Oyamaa! Luigi, how is the hunt? It feels like the weather has improved! The spooky howling made by the wind has finally stopped! My equipment nearly went out a few times. This bad weather has made my machines a little finicky, so progress has been slow on deciphering those Hint Block messages. I'll keep at it though, so don't you worry!"

"Okie dokie!" Luigi said as he dismissed himself.

He approached Merlon, "Ah, Luigi, I feel the weather has calmed down but the storm has not yet passed. I suppose this means you are ready to confront the wizard responsible?"

"Yeah, the villagers called him, 'The Conductor'. Apparently, he's been using the windmills to collect energy and create this storm," Luigi claimed.

Merlessa was determined, "I urge you to be cautious. Electromancers can be very deadly when they are all juiced up!"

"They said he's good at wind magic too!" Luigi pointed out.

"One for offense and the other for defense, no doubt!" Merlon mused out loud.

"A true master of both those schools can interchange offense and defense with both of them, so don't think each element is mutually exclusive to either one!" Merlessa claimed with a warning. "His lightning can be powerful for attacking or defending if they are well enough learned!"

"Gotcha, I'll keep that in mind!" Luigi said as he headed for the door.

"Good luck to you, Luigi!" the two said simultaneously.

Luigi left the house and stared up at the sky. The storm had died down a little, but the sky was still very dark. Luigi took a deep breath and used the Warp Whistle, returning him to the Village of Storms.

*End of Chapter*