Super Mario Odyssey (Fan Novelization)

Chapter 14: Racing Through Ice and Snow

It took the entire night to get to Shiveria. Mario was shaken awake by the Odyssey's landing sequence. His hat friend was already up, pacing about. After the young man had finished his morning routine, Cappy spoke up. "We should head out soon. Just be careful - remember, this is a land of ice and snow, so whatever you do, don't touch the water, or you'll freeze and die. You got that?"

"Yes, yes. Let's go." 

As soon as they headed out, the plumber instantly realized the mistake both of them had made. Snow whirled around them like a storm, and an icy mist clouded his vision. On top of it all, the entire Kingdom, in terms of temperature, was far worse than Tostarena, or even Knucklotec's underground chambers. Perhaps the ice deity would have been more in his element in the Snow Kingdom. The ice practically burned against his body - he had long realized that his simple overalls and long-sleeved shirt wouldn't cut it in this weather. Still, he pushed on.

As he stumbled down a path from the Odyssey, Mario continued on as best he could. And then he fell. The end of their little path happened to be a cliff that abruptly dropped the two of them down to a lower area. Thankfully, he found himself still on solid ground.

With the mountain behind them blocking some of the snow, the young man made his way through the snow, avoiding the edge of the frosty lake. Finally, he came to the edge of another hill, this one much smaller. Hoisting himself up, he consulted Cappy on their next step.

"It says that the Shiverians live underground," the Bonneter replied. "Maybe if we look around for an opening..." The cap then found himself tossed at a nearby snowbank, knocking the icy layer out of the way. 

Without the snow, Mario could see a deep hole in the ground - a neat circular one, lined with bricks, previously hidden under a layer of the fluffy ice. A warm glow came up from underneath. "I think this is it." Without warning, he took the plunge, soaring into the depths below.

Several long seconds later, the young man hit solid ground again, sending a cloud of snowflakes up in the air. A couple of frantic squeaks and grunts sounded around him. When the flurry settled, the noises were revealed to have come from some incredibly portly and fluffy seal-like creatures, all dressed in fluffy hats, jackets and scarves that was just overkill on top of their natural insulation.

"Eep! Ohh, my apologies. You gave us all quite a scare.... By the way, you're not with the green beast that came here earlier, were you?" the one to his left moaned. 

"No. No way. Why would you even think that?" Cappy snapped. When he saw how terrified they were, his tone softened. "What did he do this time?"

"Well..." The seal to his right spoke up. "First, he sealed up our race track, so now we can't even do our annual Snow Bowl. Four locks - none of which we can open. And you know about our special Frost-Frosted Cake, right? For the race prize? That... that monster took the whole thing. Didn't even leave a crumb for us - or a word of thanks. And the Elder spent two whole days working on it, without any sleep whatsoever! Ohh... no races and no cake. This is the worst!"

"The cake is big, though. Really big... I think they wouldn't be able to get it away that fast. Maybe they're still here, and we can get it back," a third one said. "I hope they aren't very efficient when it comes to dessert transport..."

"But even then, there's the matter of all the locks. Could... could you unlock them for us, mister Adventurer?" the first Shiverian asked, its bright black eyes shining in the light.

"Oh, uh... yes, of course!" the hat above him replied before Mario got a chance to say anything. "Sorry, but I don't think I could ever deny them anything. They're just so cute!"