Mario and Luigi

The Shaman of Shadows

Area 1: The Living Thicket

1-1: The Sleeping Village

The Feasting Swamp was very quiet. It was void of the natural ambiance one might expect from a river. Luigi grew nervous as the boat flowed gently down the polluted river. The Ferryman noticed Luigi's general discomfort. He decided to ease Luigi with chitchat.

"So you must be curious about Mage Land," began the Ferryman.

"Actually, I am," Luigi said with interest. "I've never heard of Mage Land before."

The Ferryman seemed lost in nostalgia as he sighed, "Mage Land is an old place. As far back as I can remember our land has always floated in the sky above the ocean. This means Mage Land can move around the world. In the ancient world, we were never in the same place for very long. One would need magic of some kind to access Mage Land."

Luigi gasped with child-like interest.

"However, Merloom cursed our home and it was cast into a world of darkness. Only now, upon Merloom's return, Mage Land has returned from the void," he said as he looked skyward. "And as you can see, Merloom's curse still looms over us."

Luigi felt a tad melancholic from the story, "What is Merloom trying to do?" he asked curiously.

"Merloom threatens to plunge the entire world into darkness," the Ferryman explained. "You must stop that from happening!" he finished with a chuckle.

As the Ferryman finished, a decrepit wooden dock appeared among the willows. "Ah, here we are, The Living Thicket! Your first stop will be at the Village of the Druids!"

"What's a druid?" Luigi asked as the boat came to a dock.

"You will find out soon enough. Those three spirits will elaborate further as you progress!" the Ferryman said confidently.

Appearing from Luigi's shadow, the Three Musty Fears emerged, freaking him out a little. "As we told you, we will act as tour guides!" said Greaper.

"Yeah, it'll be like visiting a museum!" Boo said stretching his face.

"This is more than that, Boo, we got a job to do!" Dry Bones said seriously.

"Well then, shall we begin?" Greaper asked as pleasantly as a ghost could.

With that, The Three Musty Fears hid within Luigi's shadow. He then nodded and walked up to the bamboo portcullis and opened it with caution. "We'll stay within your shadow, so just call if you need our advice!" echoed Greaper.

Luigi dismissed them as he walked into town, "Hello...?" he said nervously.

Luigi took a moment to take in the scenery. The place was cursed just as he expected. The grass was dead and nearly absent altogether, tree houses filled the village but had no leaves, instead what replaced them filled Luigi with worry. "Fuzzies, better be careful not to touch those!" he thought. Any other plant had been drained of life. The village was filled with poisonous mushrooms and the white puffy dandelion-like 'Fuzzies'.

Greaper emerged from Luigi's shadow, eager to explain something. "Ah, you asked earlier what a Druid was? A Druid is a class of wizards that, for the most part, centers their style of magic around nature. Plants and animals are the tools of their trade. Their highest level spells, however, draw power from the phases of the sun and moon and even the alignment of stars and planets!" he explained.

"Oh, so, they are a lot like astronomers, only magical!" Luigi responded with a smile.

"Eh, sort of...," Greaper shrugged.

Greaper then returned and Luigi entered into a three-way intersection. "Everything in this town is too quiet! It's freaking me out!" Luigi thought. The intersection had a closed bamboo gate with a lock in front of him and two dirt pathways that went left or right. They seemed to lead into the town on both sides and circle it. The gate, however, seemed to bar his path into the town square.

As Luigi was busy, lost in his thoughts, he was spooked by a call from Gadd. "Hello? Luigi? I said I would explain a few things about the Poltergust when I gave it to you. Well, this is as good a time as any, I suppose. As I said earlier, this Poltergust is completely autonomous! Go ahead, activate it!"

Luigi pressed the button near the handle and it came to life. The hose extended and the nozzle acted on its own. A pair of digital eyes appeared and it 'sniffed' around as if looking for spirits. The nozzle had brushes that spun quietly. Luigi laughed as he was mesmerized by the whimsical machine. It looked back at him and the eyes gave a smiling gesture.

"Oyamaa! With this automated version, you don't even have to use your hands! That nozzle will latch onto the nearest ghost and its brushes will draw it right in!" Gadd explained. The Poltergust did not find any spirits and it retracted into a dormant state until it sensed something. "Since you have a free hand now, you can put up your dukes and fight back against all these strange 'puppets' that are wandering Mage Land."

"How do you know they're puppets?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Merlessa informed me, that long ago, Merloom was skilled in shadow puppetry. That means many of the ghosts here need to be stripped of their physical vessels in order to be captured!" Gadd explained.

"Okie dokie!" replied Luigi. He placed his IHaunt away and after taking a calming breath he heard the sound of something in the distance. "Do I hear music?" he thought curiously. He looked every which way but could not pinpoint the location of the noise. He began to check around the village. As he took a left and went down a dirt path that took him to what seemed to be the trade district of the town. Then suddenly, a noise came from a hut not too far from where Luigi was walking. A little druid girl walked out in a strange state. Luigi sighed in relief, "Oh, it's just a little girl," he said out loud. "Hello, little Bambina!" he said as he approached the green-robed girl.

"Tee hee!" the girl laughed strangely as she moved erratically with her eyes seemingly closed.

Luigi outstretched his hand in a friendly manner, "Hello, I'm a visitor from...!" he said as he was cut off, due to the little girl biting down on his hand. "Yeeow! SUFFERIN' SPAGHETTI! Why did you do that? Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!" he said as he recoiled, rubbing his hand.

"Tee hee!" giggled the little girl as her eyes were still completely closed.

Boo appeared and pointed to a cloth overhang to Luigi's left, "Get away from her Mr. Green, she's bewitched!"

"Uh oh! You're right, she looks like she's sleepwalking!" Luigi replied.

The little girl rushed Luigi in an attempt to shove him but he jumped to avoid her. However, as he did so, he jumped head first into a Fuzzy. The fuzzy exploded as Luigi moaned. Luckily, he made it to the tree houses. He grabbed hold of a nearby bridge and was trying to fight off the dizzy spell brought on by the fuzzy. If he moved now, he'd just fall back down again.

As the dizziness began to fade, following the little girl, came a whole crowd of villagers under the same spell as they filled the village. "Are you okay, Mister Green? You need to watch out for those fuzzies!" Dry Bones stated. Luigi shook off the dizziness.

The villagers now filled the pathways, "Wow, there certainly is a lot of them!" Boo said looking around as if something else had his attention. "Do you hear something weird? Because I do, and I find it annoying! Anyway, let's get to higher ground so these druids don't sink their teeth into you again!"

"Okie dokie! You don't have to tell me twice!" Luigi replied as Boo vanished back into his shadow. Luigi continued forth as he jumped across the street to a wooden platform that encircled a tree. These platforms were connected with vine and plank bridges. As Luigi stepped on these bridges he noticed they were weak and had some steps that fell if he stayed on one for too long.

Luigi came to a stop as the first form of resistance Mage Land had to offer emerged. A cultist from before had appeared before him. "I'm ready for you this time you pest!" Luigi said as he charged the cultist with his Thunderhand. Luigi landed a combo consisting of a right and left hook followed by a kick. The cultist's body exploded into black confetti and a ghost took its place. The Poltergust reacted and immediately sucked up the wizard's spirit. "Yeah! That wasn't so tough!" he cheered.

As Luigi progressed he was met with all sorts of critters. He mostly punched and stomped out other cultists and the Poltergust sucked up ghosts he was already familiar with.

"I have to figure out what's making the druids act so strange!" Luigi said. Suddenly, an Orange Ghost appeared before him with a powerful screech. Luigi screamed and lost his footing. He fell from the treetops but still managed to save himself from hitting the ground. As soon as Luigi landed, the druids noticed and dashed towards him to attack him. "Wah!" Luigi screamed as the druids made a dog pile on him and were biting and scratching him. Luigi gathered enough strength to throw them off and run through the village hoping to find a way back up.

Luigi managed to find some breathing room and used his High Jump to get back to the treetops. Greaper came forth irately, "Okay, that noise is getting ridiculous, WHAT IS THAT?!" he complained angrily.

Luigi placed his hand to his ear and listened for a few moments, "It sounds like a Music Box!" he deduced.

"Ah, of course, a Music Box!" Greaper realized. "That explains the druid's sleepwalking!"

"It must be some kind of lullaby!" Luigi determined.

"Music Boxes will have unexpected effects on wizards!" Greaper mentioned.

"Why is that?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Wizards use vocal incantations that connect their spirits to the spirit world, allowing them to use their spells. Music uses vocalization as well but it's much more effective as it uses notes as well as words. It creates a more complex harmony in spirit. Let me explain further. A Music Box can play a song that travels through the air and disrupt spells. Depending on what kind of song is played a different effect will take place. Now, not all music can do this to a wizard, but this type of Music Box is made as an Anti-Magic device. The notes can drown out a wizard's incantation or place a special effect on them. So unless we smash it, these people will remain under its lull."

"So Merloom just wants to torment his own people even in their dreams?" Luigi asked rhetorically.

"So, how do we go about searching for it?" Greaper asked puzzled.

Luigi scanned the village for a 'good' place to store a Music Box where everyone could hear it. Then something caught his eye, "Hey, that tall tree at the center of town looks like a good place to look!"

"Good thinking, let's get a move on!" Greaper said as he vanished.

Luigi continued on the trail until he came to a dead end. At this dead end stood a giant pillar of stone that was surrounded by a strange ring of larger stones. The pillar in the center had a small hole in it. Luigi noticed a few druids around and decided to jump down to the shrine as soon as it was clear. Once it was, Luigi jumped down to investigate and found a small stone no larger than a lump of charcoal. It had a primitive 'Sun' engraving on it. The druids noticed what Luigi had done and began heading towards him. "Wah!" Luigi screamed as he performed a High Jump to get back to the treetops. Only this time he whacked his head on a Hidden Block that spewed out copious amounts of Coins, a Gold Bar, and a Ruby. Luigi rubbed his head as he regained his senses. The Poltergust eagerly sucked up all the treasure. Satisfied, Luigi High Jumped again and made his way back to the large bamboo gate near the entrance to the village.

The Three Musty Fears reappeared as Luigi came to the gate. He turned to them, "Hey, that's a nice trinket you got there!" Greaper noticed.

"Do you know what that is?" Boo asked.

Luigi shrugged, "Not really, but I think it's important!" he replied.

"It's a Rune Stone!" Dry Bones rattled.

"Rune Stones are ordinary stones that have magical sigils carved into them!" Greaper explained. "Look, that lock on the bamboo gate... It has two indentations that are shaped like that stone. Since there are two I don't think I have to tell you that you need another stone to open that gate, so hop to it Mister Green, your destiny awaits!"

Luigi took the right path this time and he noticed this area had some platforms that were tied to vines that acted like scales when stepped on them. Luigi easily scaled the treacherous jumps until he came to a Hint Block that resembled a blue speaker box. "Hey, I remember these from Dinosaur Land!" he said as he hit the Hint Block. What came from it quickly gave Luigi chills. It was nothing but strange growling and a lot of whispering and static. It sent chills down his spine. Then suddenly, the iHaunt went off in his pocket.

It was Gadd with a call, "Luigi, what was that just now? Your iHaunt picked up something strange!"

"I hit a Hint Block but it gave me a lot of strange noises instead of directions!" Luigi said nervously.

"Oh, well it seems even the Hint Blocks have a secret!" Gadd started with eagerness. "Have you ever heard of EVP? It stands for 'Electronic Voice Phenomenon'! That Hint Block has a recording on it that spirits are trying to tell you! I believe we'll learn more about this land and our enemy if you hit more of those Hint Blocks and let the iHaunt pick up their messages. I'll try to decipher them here! When you return I'll have this message decoded!" he said as he ended the call. Luigi shivered at having to hit those cursed Hint Blocks but figured it was for the best.

Similar to last time, Luigi made his way to a dead end and another shrine was located. Luigi waited for the druids to spread out and he made his move. Luigi quickly grabbed the rune stone in the hole and High Jumped back to higher ground. He noticed this stone had a carving of the moon on it. Luigi fought his way back as expected and finally returned with the stone.

Luigi then placed the stone in the lock next to its counterpart and it fell off with an audible 'thud'. The gate then began to open to him. Luigi swallowed hard as he made his way past the gate.

He trekked down a slowly elevating trail fighting off the resistance and avoiding fuzzies. Until finally, he made it to the center of the village and looked skyward at the large thick tree and the large stone pillar shrine around it. Another Hint Block greeted him before all else though. He hit it and let his iHaunt record its eerie message.

Now it was time to find that pesky Music Box. Luigi dispatched the light resistance in the area so he could find some peace while he searched for it. The music it played made it hard to track it down as it somehow made itself hard to pinpoint. He then noticed that he could climb the large tree as there was a small platform located up top. It was snugly fit in between two large branches. He then scaled the large tree with every bit of his jumping skill. Once at the top, he noticed a telescope was all that was up there. "That's disappointing, where could it possibly be?" Luigi asked himself out loud. Then he got an idea, he decided to shine the Poltergust's Dark-Light Device around, and sure enough, a hidden object next to the telescope began to manifest back into the physical world. Now its music could clearly be heard. Luigi then smashed it with his brother's hammer and the music stopped.

As Luigi climbed back down, the druids approached and began crowding around him. This time though, they were fully awake and in control of themselves. "Oh, thank goodness!" Luigi sighed with relief.

He was then approached by what appeared to be their chief. "Thank you, stranger, our curse has been lifted! We can't thank you enough!" he said gratefully.

"Who placed that Music Box up there?" Luigi asked hoping for a clue.

The druid leader seemed shaken, "It was a wicked druid that follows the Shaman of Shadows," he started shivering. "We call her... 'The Rag Hag'. She hides deep within the Living Thicket in an abandoned greenhouse! She sits deep inside sewing her seeds of corruption that now curse this land!"

Luigi gulped, "Well, I guess I have to go to the greenhouse then...," he said reluctantly.

The chief then realized something as he got a good look at Luigi, "You're going after her? Then that means you're the Green Thunder! The one from the prophecy! Even though we know you can defeat her, we still urge you to be careful around her! She grows many poisonous mushrooms and cursed plants in there!"

"Thank you for the advice!" Luigi said trying to abate his fear.

The friendly druids pointed Luigi to the exit behind the large tree. This exit took him directly into the Living Thicket itself. Needless to say, it was dark, gloomy, and cursed. Luigi received much thanks and praise before he left.

The Three Musty Fears appeared before Luigi outside town just before he entered the forest. "Nice job, Mister Green," Greaper congratulated.

"Yeah, but we're just getting started!" Boo followed.

"Let's find out more about this, 'Rag Hag' as we make our way to her. She may have some secrets we can exploit!" Dry Bones chattered.

"Let's go!" Luigi said as he entered the forest.

*End of Chapter*