Part 1: A Rogue's Welcome

Chapter 1: The Letter

Ahem, today, I'm going to tell you the story of the thousand-year door. Perhaps you have already heard the tale… or think you have. Indeed, the tale is an old one. But its details - namely those relating to the hero - are inaccurate. It has been said that it was Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom who received the magical map, gathered together a band of heroes, retrieved the artifacts known as the Crystal Stars, and rescued the fair Princess Peach from the clutches of a nefarious group known as the X-nauts, but that is not true. Rather, the hero was a youth from another land - an ordinary boy who, by extraordinary chance, found himself drawn into this adventure. An adventure that started with a letter…

…

Parakarry was the Mushroom Kingdom's most beloved mail carrier, and the post office was very proud of its most esteemed employee, for he had been a companion in one of Mario's many adventures to maintain peace within the kingdom. Certainly he exemplified the qualities that the post office prized most highly: courage, resilience, dedication, loyalty, tenacity, and dignity to name but a few.

There was, however, one quality he possessed that the post office overlooked - or rather turned a blind eye to - and that was clumsiness. A quality to note because it is what propelled this adventure, though ironically enough, when Parakarry came in to work that day, his boss, Old Parcell, began to stress most particularly to him that he had special deliveries to make today and cautioned him to be extra diligent.

"Lots of important letters today and we're counting on you to deliver them all with the high standards our office is known for."

"Of course, of course," Parakarry had said while hurriedly gathering his gear.

"Though we treat every letter with the highest regards and ensure it is delivered promptly and safely, these letters are particularly special and thus require special care."

"Uh uh, uh huh, yep," Parakarry had agreed, slinging the bag over his shoulder, grunting in surprise at how heavy it was.

"Remember Parakarry," Old Parcell had said, adopting his most authoritarian voice, "you are our most trusted carrier; you represent the best mail carrying service in the kingdom."

"Right, sir. I'll remember that, sir. Goodbye, sir!" and he had left, taking with him all the important deliveries, including our letter of interest.

That letter sat under two layers of envelopes close to the wall of the bag. When Parakarry reached into the bag and pulled out a letter he knew was addressed to a Sheek in Dry Dry Outpost, it rode upward on a swell of correspondence. The top layer, already precariously perched on top of the bag, started to slide off. Parakarry noticed and reacted quickly to catch them. The movement tipped his bag, bringing the lower layers of letters to the surface as they all attempted to abandon the vessel, but this dutiful post carrier stopped all of them. That is, all of them except for that one letter. It slipped unnoticed to the side of the mail parakoopa's hand and tumbled into the air.

Unnoticed by the Mushroom Kingdom's most beloved mail parakoopa, the letter found itself in the hands of the whimsical wind, an entity well known for the mischief it played on the unsuspecting. Catching the letter by its folds, the wind blew the envelope out like a paper balloon and in this way it carried it across the arid sands, swooping up and down and twisting around and around like a graceful albatoss. On this impromptu sightseeing tour, the envelope would become a little brittle and gritty, but not for long as the yellow sands became rocky mountains where the wind loved to play, gusting and whooshing around the crags and peaks. Carefree as the wind was, it seemed the letter would be dashed against the rocks with one careless slip yet somehow that letter escaped that fate and it was carried into the rolling green plains where the quaint little Mushroom Kingdom lay nestled in its folds.

Farther north it traveled where frost rode the currents. Made brittle by sand it was now made crisp by the cold, crystal patterns forming around its edges like beautiful calligraphy. Down below, a penguin spotted it in passing and followed its journey across the white skies until it was little more than a pale dot, a curious expression on his innocent face.

And now the wind carried this letter across a great sea, with its hands growing moist above the water. The crisp letter now grew crusty with salt, its fibers becoming bleached. From the blue waters below, bright red cheep cheeps leaped into the air and attempted to chomp the strange paper balloon out of the sky, but the mischievous wind always pulled it out of reach just before they could. And on the letter flew.

Then the winds shifted, turning toward a great landmass in the distance. The letter tumbled in the air as it was pushed faster and faster, as though the wind was eager to reach this land. Before long, it was tumbling over white beaches and then through green forests. Then it was great plains that witnessed this letter's journey of a thousand miles.

But the journey was coming to a close, the destination was approaching quickly. Within sight was the boy who would be drawn into this extraordinary adventure. He of course was unaware of fate approaching.

His name was Matthew.

Matthew was an ordinary boy. A fourteen-year-old who went to an ordinary school and did ordinary things. He was not extraordinary in any way - at least he never thought so. The only thing that might have distinguished him from everyone else was his glasses… and perhaps his vivid imagination. "His head's always in the clouds," his mother would say. "He tells such creative stories," his teachers would tell you. For you see, Matthew was a dreamer. He could do it most anywhere. But his favorite place was up in the oak tree that grew in his backyard, and this was where he was at this moment, just as he usually was. He had no way of knowing today would be different than all the other days - so much different.

For this was where the letter dropped. As Matthew gazed at the sky, dreaming of faraway places, that paper balloon letter fell from out of the blue and struck him right in the forehead.

"Ow!" Matthew exclaimed. That hurt! Felt like a branch walloped him. He rubbed the sore.

Then the sound of the letter plopping into his lap caught his attention. His eyes widened in surprise and he stared for a moment or two. Then his curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up.

"A letter," he said. "That's weird. Where'd it come from?" He looked up at the sky but it gave him no answer. So he turned back to the letter and studied it. From the looks of it, it had a rough journey. The envelope was brittle and torn in places, and the ink on the address was smeared in spots and faded in others.

Matthew gave the address a closer look. He could barely make out the first three letters on the top line, M-A-R.

"Maybe I can find out who it's for if I read the letter inside," Matthew said to himself. Then he thought, "But what if it's a private letter? It wouldn't be right for me to just read it." Then he had an idea. "I'll take it to the post office. Maybe they'll know who it's supposed to go to."

It was a good idea. He started to stand. Then something else plopped onto his lap. He looked down and got a second surprise: a folded piece of brown and heavy parchment, the sort of material that might be used for old treasure maps.

Matthew couldn't resist! He tried to stop himself; after all, it wasn't his, and what were the odds that a letter would have a treasure map in it? But he unfolded it anyway. And when it was open, he gasped.

It was a treasure map! All squiggle lines and arrows, reference points and legends, hangman trees and skull rocks! It even smelled like a treasure map, like mildew and salt. This wasn't something you came across every day! How could he pass up the opportunity to explore it? Yet somehow he managed to control himself enough to ask, "Who would send a treasure map in a letter? And for who?"

It was a perplexing conundrum. But it was only the beginning, for as Matthew was pondering this mystery, the map began to shine. The ink that the map was written with started to glow in an array of mesmerizing colors. Even as he watched, it grew brighter and brighter until it hurt too much to look at. Matthew closed his eyes. There was a rush of wind, a falling sensation… and then he heard the sound of waves lapping against the sides of a ship.