porcupo

> You are a Porcupo, a hedgehog-like creature living in the Mushroom Kingdom.

You have lived here for as long as you can remember and have never left your home. However, now's the day that you finally strike out on your own.

> You've longed for adventure ever since you were a little Porcupo, and now that you've grown, it's time to heed that calling. You bid your family bittersweet adieu, and head out into the wide world.

The first thing you notice is how hot it is. The sun beats down mercilessly upon you, and the heat makes you feel like you've aged a decade in just a few days. You're sure glad that you have your long quills to shield you from the worst of the sun's rays.

> Living in a desert has its disadvantages, but you wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
But that's beside the point. You're out here to discover new things!

As you wander through the endless sands, you discover a small oasis a few hours west of your home. You decide to make that your first stopping place.
As you take in the sight of the little oasis, a sound causes you to look up.

> You see a Monty Mole soaring through the sky at high speed, screaming its head off as it comes crashing down, landing with a loud splash into the little pond in front of you. Your eyes widen as it flails about, before it pulls itself out of the water, soaking wet and tired.

"Are you alright?" you ask.
The Monty Mole lets out a surprised yelp, before nodding and replying, "Yeah, I think so."
You stare at it, a little surprised by its sudden appearance.

> Suddenly you recognize the mole. "Montague! Is that you?" you exclaim. "What were you doing in the sky? That seems a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

Montague nods in agreement. "I needed water, and thought flying was the most efficient way to get here," he explains, pointing to the oasis. "You've never seen a flying Monty Mole before, have you?"

> You stare at him in disbelief. "You launched yourself into the sky just to get some water? That's got to be the most hair-brained scheme you've come up with yet," you say.
"Hey, it got me here, didn't it?" he says. "Besides, it was faster than walking."

"Sure, sure," you say, shaking your head. You can't tell if he's being serious or not, so you just decide to move on.
"Well, I'm off to explore more of this wondrous new world," you say, turning to leave.

> "Wait! Hold on! Let me come with you!" Montague says, stopping you.
"Why?"
"Um... I kinda didn't plan how to make the return trip home," he says sheepishly.

"That's even more dangerous than flying, Monty," you say. "I hope you're prepared to stay out here a really long time."
"That's why I'm coming with you," he says.

> You sigh and wait for him to fill a canteen with water, before heading out across the desert, making your your way back to Montague's village, the Mole Hole.

It's a long walk, and you're very thirsty by the time you get there.
Upon arriving in the village, you're greeted warmly by Montague's family, who are very glad to see him again. His father, mother, sister and even his pet scorpion are all relieved that he's returned.

> After a short rest, you decide to continue your journey, but Montague stops you again.
"Hold on, before you go, I wanna show you somethin'," he says.

"Can't it wait until morning? I'm exhausted," you ask.
"No, now."
"Very well," you sigh, resigned to some kind of foolishness.

> Montague leads you through a back tunnel of his family's cozy little burrow, and pop out into the evening air. You follow him well beyond the village and back out to another part of desert, trying to keep up with the speedy little mole.
"Wait'll you see this!" he says excitedly. "You know how I've been trying to find any cool ancient ruins out here?"

"Yes?"
"I found one!" he says, suddenly stopping and waving his claws around. "It was buried under a whole bunch of sand, but I dug it up. It's an old temple."

> "What kind of temple?" you say, a little concerned about what kind of potentially dangerous thing the mole's gone and discovered.
"I dunno, I haven't looked inside yet, but it's got all these cool carvings all over the outside. They're spectacular!"

You don't respond, and just continue walking alongside him.
"What's wrong? Don't you believe me?" Montague says, offended. "I found it, honest!"
"Yes, I know you did. Don't get so defensive. I'm just a little wary, that's all."

> "Alright, c'mon, let's go!" he says, skittering off into the distance.

You follow him into the darkness, and soon you see before you a magnificent ancient ruin. Great pillars surround a massive stone chamber, where crumbling statues of strange beasts stand, covered in sand but still imposing.

> And directly above the great entrance, you see a massive stone depiction of a Tweeter, it's empty eyes and long curved beak staring down at you ominously.
"Wow, you weren't kidding," you say, impressed.
"I know right?" Montague says.

"I can't believe nobody else had found this place before. This is soooo cool!"
"I still don't know about going in there."
"What, you're afraid of ghosts?" Montague says, laughing nervously.

> "No... but something about this place gives me the creeps."
"Aw, c'mon, it's just a bunch of carved rocks and stuff. The people who made this place are long gone. Come on, let's check it out!"
Montague runs past you and disappears through the massive front door, leaving you to slowly follow him yet again. Being a Porcupo, you're not exactly a speedster.

You follow the little mole into the great, eerie chamber of the ancient ruin.
You find him standing in front of a row of pillars, staring at their engraved symbols, each with a strange name written beneath it in an unknown language.
"What are you doing?" you ask.
"I'm trying to translate these," he says.

> You look at the strange pictographs carved into the base of the pillars. You don't recognize it as any alphabet currently known to Mushroom World.
"You're not going to translate anything just staring at it," you say.

"Maybe not, but I need to do something," he says, his claws twiddling nervously, "...or I'm going to go crazy. C'mon, I'll race you to the next room!"
With that, Montague takes off, sprinting towards the next room.

> You sigh and follow him deeper into the temple. You carefully crawl through several hallways, looking up at inaccessible doorways and stairs. It makes you wish you could climb and jump like the Mario Brothers can. At least you're good at digging.
Eventually the hall opens up to a huge chamber.

You stand on your hind legs and stare around in awe. There's a huge ceremonial altar in the center of the room, with five stone steps leading up to it.

> At the top of the steps and behind the altar is another massive statue of the same creepy-looking Tweeter you saw outside. The huge bird-like creature stares down at you, giving you a serious case of the shivers.
Montague stares up at the thing, his tiny little mole eyes goggling.

"It's... huge!" he says.
"Yeah... and creepy," you say.
"I wonder if it can talk."

> "It better not talk!" you exclaim.

"C'mon, I bet there's a treasure chamber behind the altar," he says, pointing to a door in the wall. "I wonder what's behind door number one..."

> "Monty, please, it's getting late. Let's go home and we'll get some archaeologists to explore this place tomorrow."

He doesn't respond. Instead, he steps up to the altar, and grabs the handle of the door behind it. He pushes it open, revealing a short, dark hallway.
"After you," he says, motioning for you to enter.

> Your eyes narrow. "Monty, you know I can't climb up there."
Montague shrugs his almost non-existent shoulders. "More treasure for me then!"

he says, laughing, and quickly heads down the hall.
You watch him disappear into the darkness, hoping he returns... alive. You shudder at thought of him getting lost in the place.

> "Hey, there's some weird lantern thingy on a staff in here!" you hear him shout. "It's still lit and everything!"

He comes back out a few moments later holding the lantern, the light from it illuminating his triumphant expression.
"Ha ha! I've never seen a treasure chamber like this! There's all these strange looking statues, and piles of gold and silver coins! It's like a fairy tale!"

> You stare at the strange lantern in the mole's paw. The light casts an eery, yellowish-green through the whole chamber.
"You sure you should have moved that thing?" you say. "Maybe you should put it back where you found it."
Montague glances at it. "What, this old thing? It's just a weird lamp," he says.
"Yeah, but thing is still lit. Nobody's been here for centuries. Isn't that a bit odd to you?"

The mole shrugs. "Maybe the ghost of some old emperor just likes to look at it every once in awhile."
You continue to stare at the strange lantern. Something about it makes you feel uneasy...

> "Look, I'll put out the fire," he says. "That'll prove it's just a regular old lantern."
He holds it in both paws and prepares to blow.

"NO! Bad Monty! Bad!" you exclaim, but it's too late. The flame in the lantern quickly goes out, plunging the room into complete darkness.
Suddenly, a booming voice echoes throughout the room.
"WHAT HAST THOU DONE?"
The words reverberate off the walls, and you jump so hard you knock over Montague.

> You look up and see the formerly empty eye sockets of the Tweeter statue begin to glow, big, round, shining lights the same eery yellow-green as the lantern.

"It... it talks!" you say. "It's alive!"
"It's a ghost!" Montague yells.
Suddenly, the statue steps forward, walking towards you. "Thou art the one who has taken my lantern's light. Thy deed shall be undone, and so will thee, thief!" it booms.

> "He did it!" Montague says, pointing at you.
"Monty! Seriously??" you shout.

The statue spreads its mighty wings, and the ground shakes as it towers above you. "Do not attempt to run, lest I be forced to punish thee severely!" it growls.
Montague stares at the thing for a moment, before his eyes dart to the side, spotting the way you came. A look of terror appears on his face.

"Hide!" he commands, and you comply.
You leap into a nearby crack and burrow as deep as you can, digging through the dirt. You lie still in the tiny tunnel, trying not to breathe.

> You hear the sound of heavy crashing and thumping above you, the giant statue roaring in fury as it attempts to claw through the stone floor of the temple and reach you. Luckily for you, even its huge talons can't hope to tear through solid rock.
You lie there, trembling, until eventually your hear the Tweeter's thundering footsteps fade away into the distance.

You wait a bit longer, just in case, but eventually you take the opportunity to dig back up and take a look at your surroundings.

> Montague lies at the far end of the chamber, bruised but otherwise unharmed.
"I messed up," he mutters.
You decide not to chide him. "Where did the statue go?" you say, breathing hard.
"It flew away!"

You look around the room for the lantern. The mole had left it behind when he ran. You spot it on the floor, and nudge it upright.
"Let's get out of here," you say.

> Montague looks at the now-dim lantern and shakes his head. "All that fuss over a little lamp. I wonder what it means."
"All I know is that you shouldn't have messed with it," you say.
"Yeah, I know. My bad."

You're not exactly sure what happened, but you're too relieved that the ghost statue thing isn't after you anymore to really care. Still, you feel a little bad that Montague got in trouble.
"Hey, don't worry about it," you say.

> You crawl out of the temple a little wearily, and see that the sun has set. Not too far away you see a Koopa Troopa with a big white mustache and a pith helmet, gazing up in awe at the massive stone architecture.
"Egad!" he mutters.

"What gigantic, wondrous structures! I read about this place in an old book, but didn't think I'd actually get to see it!"
"You a tourist, mister?" you ask.

> "I am most definitely not, young lad!" he says, his mustache wiggling as he speaks. "I am Kolorado, intrepid explorer and discoverer of lost treasure!" He tips his helmet as he introduces himself.

"You the one who found Dry Dry Ruins?" you ask.
The old turtle smiles proudly. "I've found several lost ancient temples, but that's a different story. Tell me, are you and your friend stranded out here?"

> "We're here to explore the temple I discovered, thank you very much," Montague says, a little annoyed.
"My word! You found this place?" Kolorado exclaims, intrigued.
"Dug up the sand myself," the mole says, proudly displaying his claws.
"Did you happen to see that great beast flying out of it a moment ago?" the Koopa asks.

"There was a flying creature of some kind, a bird I think. Flew out of there like a shot."
"Yeah, we kinda just ran into that," you say.
"Indeed!" Kolorado says, astonished. "To think, an entire temple of undiscovered ancient halls and treasures right beneath us! What luck!"

> "You don't seem very concerned about the giant bird," you remark.
"Oh? Should I be?" Kolorado asks, his interest piqued.
"I don't know. A heaping big statue coming to life seems pretty important," you say. "Especially one with glowing eyes."
"Fascinating," Kolorado says. "I do hope it comes back. Sounds like a ripping yarn!"

"Can't say I'm fond of flying beasts," Montague says. "I'll stick to digging."

> "What manner of beast was it?" Kolorado asks.
"It was a huge Tweeter," you explain. "Got real upset when we snuffed out his lantern for some reason."
Kolorado's eyes widen in shock.

"A Tweeter?!?"
"Sure looked like one," you say.
"Good gracious!" the explorer says. "I read about this in an old tome! A long, long time ago, there were a whole slew of birds like that in this very desert! They were gentle, peaceable creatures, except when they got angry, then there was no stopping them. They'd flap their wings so hard, they could cause a sandstorm!"

> "That giant one wasn't so gentle," you say.
"No indeed! What you saw was their god!" Kolorado goes on.

"A harbinger of storms, if you will. The sand howling, the sky blackening, all that rot. To think, I actually saw it! This is indeed a tale worth telling!"

> "Is it bad we blew out its lantern?" Montague asks nervously.
"Oh yes, very bad," Kolorado says, not at all concerned. "That was the only thing keeping the Tweeter god asleep. You've probably brought about the end of days, or some such thing."

"End of days?" you ask.
"Yes, yes," Kolorado says. "You've seen those dreadful movies where the world plunges into an ice age or something, have you not? Well, this is a lot more exciting than that ends up going."

> "Darkness, terrific winds and pounding hailstorms! Smog!" he continues, waving his arms about excitedly. "It will be glorious!"

"Uh, yeah," you say. "Not sure if that's a good thing."
"You're not afraid of this god of storms coming back, are you?" Kolorado asks.
"Of course we are!" you say.
"Good! Because it's going to be searching for you, and I guarantee it will find you!"

> "Swell," Montague says sarcastically.
"But don't worry, there is a way to stop it and lull the dreadful beast to a peaceful slumber once more!" the Koopa says. "I read about in another book! Here, let me exposit more!"

Kolorado shuffles to his pack and pulls out a little brown book. Opening it to a marked page, he begins to read.
"On page eighty-four, it says to use an item called a blessed tinder box. It's used to lure a flying beast to you by way of a powerful scent."

> He turns the page. "Unfortunately, the tinder box is sealed behind a door that can only be unlocked by placing six ancient treasures in their niches. Luckily for you, one of these treasures is that lantern you found, eh wot?"

"So... we just need to find the other five?" you ask.
"Yes! On the bottom of the page there's a list of all the treasures. The lantern is the first, so just go through the list until you've gathered all six!"

> Kolorado smiles at you. "Sounds like you've just stumbled on an adventure! Oh how I envy you!"
Suddenly you feel overwhelmed. You're just a lowly little Porcupo, not Mario or Yoshi. What do you know about going on adventures?
And yet, isn't this what you wanted?

To be independent, to do things for yourself?
You feel torn between staying here and going on this quest.