#15: Koopa Keep
By Emerson Kluge

After a few, final brick steps the eye-patched Koopa Trooper stopped, breathing heavily. He leaned against the wall and rested his hand on the lip of a person-sized brass pipe, corroded green with age.

Luigi and Daisy stood at the mouth and listened, feeling the warm draft that flowed through, carrying with it the odor of burn and rot.

"This will lead you to the basement," the bartender said, drawing his arm across his brow. "There's a couple of turns but only one path will go through." He pushed off and headed toward the stairs. "Thank you for letting me help."

"You're not going to take us all the way there?" asked Luigi an eyebrow raised in concern.

The bartender paused at the first step. "I severed there too long..." He swallowed and his brow knit. "I can't go back. What I... no..." He breathed heavily and swallowed again then buried his face in his palm. "I'm sorry. I just can't."

Luigi looked at Daisy and she nodded imperceptibly.

"Thank you then," said Luigi.

The Bartender hurriedly descended the stairs.

After a few further dark cavern and tunnels, Luigi and Daisy emerged behind a stack of iron boxes into a high-ceilinged dungeon. A few torches flickered in the distance, dimly illuminating the goods stacked tall against the walls.

"Right from his warehouse into theirs," remarked Daisy, passing her gaze around.

"It looks like he's preparing for something." Luigi approached a stack of crates. "Most of these look new." He flipped the latch and opened the nearest box.

Inside lay small, square waxed-paper pouches, each bulging slightly.

Luigi's eyes widened in surprise and he exhibited a pack to Daisy.

She approached as Luigi tore it open and dabbed his finger in the contents. He moistened his lower lip and dabbed on the white powder. Feeling no numbness he tasted it.

"Mushroom powder?" asked Daisy after a prolonged silence.

"Yes." Luigi nodded.

The fungus-derived drug was a powerful aid in combat, increasing the user's strength, speed and cognition to where no one unaided could possibly match.

"There's..." Daisy started, looking down the rows. The same metal crates filled almost the entire row.

"A lot," finished Luigi. He tossed the mushroom powder back in the crate and closed the lid.

They crept through the quiet warehouse with only the low breath of moving air and the intermittent sound of clanking metal emanating from darkened doorways and halls.

Spiral stairs led them up to many other torch-lit level and only after climbing for quite some time did they see something other than a flickering yellow glow from above. The tower stairs ended at the top level overlooking the keep. Dark, pendulous clouds loomed high overhead, stretching toward the horizon.

Luigi crept to the tower's edge, peering between the ramparts and observed the castle. "Come look," he said.

Daisy shuffled beside him. The castle - normally crawling with Koopa Troopers - lay virtually deserted. All windows and doors on the outside wall sat bricked-up, the stone bridge over the moat lay smashed and the draw-bridges were missing.

Luigi brushed his mustache in contemplation.

"Couldn't Mario just fly in?" asked Daisy?

"He'd have to find some way, first," replied Luigi. "But there's Kamek." He pointed. Bowser strolled across the inner-moat bridge accompanied by his chief wizard. "So probably not. We're going to have to let him in."

"So how do we let him in if there's no bridges? We could take him through the tunnel."

"Too slow." Luigi concluded. "He'll need to go straight in when he arrives. That means a bridge. We're going to build one." Luigi scanned down the front of the castle.

"Build one?" Daisy turned to look in puzzlement.

"Yes," answered Luigi. "Right over the moat there."

"With what?"

Luigi smiled. "Bob-ombs."