(Since today is the day after Columbus Day, I decided to update this blog. Because Christopher Columbus sailed to America and all that.)
(You thought we were done? HA HA HA HA HA LOLOLOLZ!!!! XD Not on your life! We're not even halfway done! Well, Agnes is almost done, just had to wait for the summer update that makes it much easier to get around Cool Ranch and makes the final dungeon much easier. But for you bloggers, ha, get real. This is only the first third done, and there's more! Enjoy!)
"I need to find one called Tonka," I said. "I need his help."
Eagle Caller shook his head sadly. "Tonka have bad habit of running around with men with masks. In his youth, he traveled with horse in black. Now he serve as second to chicken in blue, the Free Ranger. You will find him in Santa Pollo Skyway. Find silver canoe with figurehead of horse. That is the vessel of the Free Ranger."
"Okay, good to know," I said. (You didn't think there was no Lone Ranger reference, yah? ^_^)
We found the ship... but there was sort of a bunch of black ships with pirate flags that had duck faces blocking the way.
"Captain my captain!" gasped Old Scratch. "Them be Darkmoor Ships!"
"Oh great!" I yelled, recalling the terrible things I had heard about that place. "Battle stations! We need to fight our way through!"
I hate undead with a fiery passion. No offense to Old Scratch. The skeleton cowboys were tough.
Ships exploded left and right.
(Actually, that was Agnes getting another nautical level.) Soon we were able to board the Silver Stallion.
We boarded the Silver Stallion, only to find trouble; a strange black duck-man with a glowing aura was commanding Riverclaw guards to tear up the ship. Can't have that!
I brought some of the guards down but for some reason, that duck was surrounded by a magical shield that our weapons couldn't scratch. I extinguished some of the ghostly flames lest they burned down the ship.
(The goal in the first part of this battle is to destroy four ghostly flames. Then it changes when the duck vanishes to defeating all enemies, as usual.)
The duck eventually laughed and teleported away with a Bison Warrior. I scowled. He had Tonka!
We quickly dispatched the Riverclaws he had left behind.
"You look pretty... cursed," I said flippantly.
"And so can I and I, Old Scratch," I sighed.
Sarah groaned. "This is a disaster, that duck took our only lead to the original..."
I silenced her with a gesture. "I know, I know. Come on, let's get him and his ship to the Bison Village. I'm sure the healers there can do something."
I explained what had happened.
"We will do what we can," said Dancing Stars. "Where is Tonka? He was with him."
"Kidnapped by some evil magic duck," I said.
"I can heal the Free Ranger, he is good friend to us Bison," said Dancing Stars. "But I will need ingredients." I sighed as he told me what was needed.
I got a pigeon when I left - it was from LaFitte. I decided to see what she wanted AFTER a much needed wardrobe change.
Seems she wanted to advance my training. Good with me.
"Go to Jonah Town and talk to my old master, Aquilo Santelli," said LaFitte. "He needs a little pep talk after certain things happened. Let's see if you can convince him to teach again."
This peeked my curiosity.
Turned out he had some skeletons in his closet....
BIG skeletons.
I shook my head. "Sorry, buddy, but you have to get through ME to destroy this guy."
"No, you will not fight this battle alone, Pirate," said Aquilo. "I will aid you!"
He quickly got brought down by his rival. Wow. p_p
Looked like it was up to me to pick up the pieces. (Aquilo tends to run into the thick of it and gets defeated if you can't heal him or guard him.)
"That's right," I said. "Schools are overrated. Your pupil, Morgan LaFitte, taught me well."
"Ah, so my pupil is now a teacher," said Aquilo. He patted my shoulder. "Tell her she has trained a fine student and I will continue my teaching. Now, let me teach you what I know...."
(After talking to Morgan LaFitte after this battle, you will gain the Shadowdance power, which is what Fan gains after her first promotion. It boosts Critical hit rates by 50% for three turns, great now that the update has made it so that double-attack abilities trigger on a critical.)
With that done, I gathered the ingredients for Dancing Stars' salve - some roots that Black Storm Raiders had in their cargo holds... ugh...
I also managed to rescue a gunsmith after I was asked by that pelican in Skull Island(sorry, don't remember the name, he was the musketeer trainer) to help Captain Avery acquire some pearl-lined pistols. I got the pistols eventually, the smith had been forced to make two sets by some goons, and reminded Captain Avery that "turnabout is fair play."
"Still remembering you saddling me with a lame raft from long ago because you
upheld the letter of the agreement, sir," I said. "It's
your turn. You only asked for ONE set of guns, there was nothing about having two sets. A friend of mine could use these beauties."
He laughed. "I see, upholding me to the LETTER of my arrangement, you are learning! Very well, the second set is yours."
(Yep, that pelican guy's side-quest ends up with you having a pair of shooty guns which are decent... if you are a Musketeer. Needless to say, Chris, my Musketeer[who I need to update once I get the money to re-purchase time on this account] will be getting these early thanks to the Shared Bank. ^_^)
"Thank goodness," I sighed. "He knew what happened to Tonka."
"There is another who could locate that evil duck," said Dancing Stars. "Our guardian, Thunderbird. She rests in Elder's Bluff. Go to the totem and pray to it, and you shall summon her. Ask her about this evil duck and Tonka."
We did, but this lightning spirit was not very happy. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"The Spirit World shudders," she hissed.
"The Totem Spirits rage against each other, and the Bison Tribe is to blame!"
"I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation," I said. "Let me talk to the Bisons and find out what has been going on and why the Spirits are angry." Yet another thing delaying me from finding Captain Blood. I was going to destroy this roadblock!
We found a kind Bison back at the village and I nodded. "Yes, I am she. My name is Agnes. I need your help with the Spirit World." I explained what Thunderbird told me.
He sighed and shook his beard. "It is as I feared. Three Scars, one of our tribe, betrayed us and started his own tribe. He prayed to the Totem Spirits for their power and then abused it, using them against us. If you would tame the spirits again, speak to my brother, Sun Dancer. He can tell you more."
Sun Dancer, who was standing besides him, spoke. "A great vision quest precedes you. You must speak to Brother Owl, Sister Snake and Brother Wolf. Listen to their woes and appease them, and then maybe Thunderbird can aid you."
"Oi," said Fan. "Those sounds like frog-eating nasties!"
I nodded. "Let's find Brother Owl first - owls are said to be wise and maybe he will be the most agreeable. Sun Dancer, can you tell us how to summon him?"
"Speak to my brother, Raven Eyes," said Sun Dancer. "He will aid you."
Raven Eyes nodded. "Brother Owl is a mighty spirit, old and wise. He had taught our ancestral medicine men their songs, and made the Headdress of the Winds, the birthright of the chief. The flute that calls him was stolen by the Red Sash Gang. Bring it to me. I must make a special rattle from the tails of Stingtail scorpions as well. Hunt them for me in the great Arroyo Grande canyon."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll be back in two shakes."
I vented my rage of all things Red Sash and scorpion. The flute was found on the first ship and the scorpions were reluctant to drop their tails but I got them easy enough.
(The scorpion tails took forever as you need the green scorpions, the Stingtails, which only have one per battle with regular scorpions. So it takes five battles MINIMUM. :( )
Raven Eyes made the rattle and directed us to Gold Creek, to a lake on the top of a hill. I rode up to there and held out the items. It was tough shaking a rattle AND playing a flute, but hey, "Multi-Tasker" is my middle name. :p
Wow, that was one BIG owl with glowy eyes. "Brother Owl?" I said.
"Greetings, Pirate," hooted the owl.
"I have been watching you. I know your reason for being here." He sighed.
"Three Scars asked to borrow the Headdress of Winds, and I let him... but he tore it into pieces and gave it to the Queen Hornet as fealty! If you would seek mine succor, you must help me create a new Headdress."
"I understand," I said angrily. "Anything to speed this up. What do you need?"
"The stinger of Queen Hornet, and feathers from the Black Storm Raiders to reweave a new Headdress," said Brother Owl.
"Done and done," I said. "Let's go, men. We've got ships to blow up and hornets to swat."
We located Queen Hornet in a cave below the lake(and helped out a couple of people, one of them being a weasel gambler who actually joined my crew - nice, I don't mind a poker night now and then) and we brought down more rogue bison to get their headdresses to make Brother Owl's.
(I think only the Swashbuckler gets the Weasel Gambler companion if you cure him of hornet venom, but I haven't gotten to this point with my other pirates yet. Also, I missed out on saying that if you do one quest involving killing scorpions and you're a Witch Doctor, you get one as a companion!)
"I shall take these feathers and make a fine Headdress," said Brother Owl as I handed the feathers to him. His eyes glowed and the feathers formed into a beautiful headdress. I was amazed.
"Take this back to Raven Eyes as a sign that Brother Owl watches over his people once again." He vanished.
I picked up the headdress and carefully stowed it in my pack. "Let's go."
A bit later I gave the Headdress of the Winds to Raven Eyes. "The winds sing of joy, Ghost Tamer! Brother Owl smiles on us again and you have restored the chief's birthright. I will take this to Dancing Stars to ensure it is safe."
"Good," I said. "So... who next?"
"Your vision quest continues," said Raven Eyes. "Sister Snake has mighty medicine - she is a spirit of destiny. Her bite is deadly, yet she dies each year and sheds her skin to rise reborn."
I shook my head. I knew about snakes shedding their skins when they grew out of them - to these superstitious Bison, it looked like rebirth. "Okay, so how do we find her?"
"To call her, hunt the Sky Snakes of Big Sky to find a Perfect Sky Snake Egg to offer her," said Raven Eyes. "Then go to the Isla Des Los Muetros and place it in the waterfall where the rainbow shines. She will come."
"Guess we're going snake-wrangling," I laughed.
I won't bore you with the hunt for snakes - it took a while but we got the Perfect Sky Snake Egg and turned our sails to Santa Pollo Skyway and the Isle of the Dead.
(There is a side-quest involving the gypsies here which, if you complete it, will grant you a horse fencer companion.)
We also helped a few people out along the way, destroying bandits and wicked giant hornets. I had to get treated for wasp sting too many times, though. *sigh*
We did some jobs for the Three Ami--- I mean, Dos Amigos Y Uno, and sang for an invisible swordsman... what sort of weird stuff was I getting into?!
(Yes, I have watched The Three Amigos movie when I was younger, it was very a hilarious take on what happens when three friends start a mariachi band and end up in a poor Mexican village which is waiting for heroes. ^_^ Also, the blades SUCK. If I didn't farm the Bazaar for better stuff, this might have been useful at my level. As is, I sold them ASAP. Sorry, Invisible Swordsman, if the blades had better attack, I might consider it because of the power you get with them.)
"Captain my Captain," said Old Scratch. "I must ask you a favor. Can we speak in a tavern?"
"Sure," I said. "I need a stiff drink."
(Yep, guess who hit the level for their first promotion quest!)
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"My old teacher, Papa Legbones, disappeared a long time ago," said the skeletal shaman. "But I have had a vision of him in trouble. Please, let us go find him."
"Sure thing," I said. "We'll scour the Spiral to find him!"
We found the place Papa Legbones lived, but there was nobody here. "Uh, I don't think it'll..."
"Work." I shrugged as evil spirits rose up.
(I apologize for the HUD displaying, you need good timing to turn it off as you shrug to get the shot.)
Living or dead, nothing can withstand my dance of death!
"Yeah, I sense foul play," I said. "Maybe Vadima would know. She's pretty good at this stuff."
We hurried back to Skull Island and Vadima called upon the ghost of Old Scratch's master, only to find chilling news... someone had stolen a powerful relic called the Eye of the Snake. "Well, we could go back to the Isle of the Dead and ask her," I said.
We took the ship to the island and placed the perfect Sky Snake Egg in the waterfall. I was shocked at the size of the rattlesnake that appeared, this was Sister Snake.
"Sister Snake, we have two matters," I said.
"I know why you are here, Pirate," hissed the snake.
"You sssseek two matters. For that of Old Ssscratch, you must create a ssserpent rattle to sssummon me into the Bissson village. Ssseek Raven Eyesss to ask hissss aid. The other matter..." She hissed angrily.
"Three Scarsss sssought my venom, and I granted it... but he abusssed it and corrupted my ssson! Go and ssslay my ssson and take the fangsss from him assss punishment and then I will be appeasssed."
I felt bad for having to kill a child but I nodded. "We'll do those things, thanks."
We managed to find the rogue Sky Snake and defeat him, ripping his fangs from his lifeless corpse.
(You don't kill the Sky Snake if you are a Witchdoctor - you recruit him! ^_^)
Raven Eyes helped us out by making a Serpent Rattle which we did a ritual on...
To bring Sister Snake to the village.
"So," I said. "We seek the Serpent Eye."
"I know where it issss, being it my most holy relic," she said.
"A Raven warlock called Skreech has it. You will find his cave in Boot Hill."
A raven, huh?
"I heard about you birdbrains from my wizard friend, Grace," I said sourly. "And you know what?"
"You should have
stayed there, you stupid crow!"
Me and Sarah made him taste cold steel and ripped the Serpent Eye from his corpse. Grace told me about the Ravens and the Coven and how they had tried to encase all of us in an ice age. I was
not amused by these stupid crow-wizards.
(Skreech isn't too hard but he is a Witch Doctor so be wary.)
"And the Eye is here," I said. I gave it to Old Scratch. "Let's go back to the village and wrap it up."
We returned there and Sister Snake appeared.
"Old Ssscratch, I entrusssst you with the Serpent Eye, but you do know that there isss a price... your ssservitude and your hand."
I was stunned. Was Sister Snake asking him to MARRY her? My mind reeled.
He placed the glowing gem in his right eye socket and I looked away to avoid retching.
I was a bit surprised that Old Scratch had been serving someone else. I opened my mouth but shut it - I decided it would be best if Old Scratch let me know about his former master when he was ready.
"Captain," said Old Scratch. "We are done here, let us go to a tavern. That battle surely made you desire to have a drink."
"Yep," I said. "Ginger ale on the rocks!"
"Captain my Captain," said Old Scratch, smiling as best he could for a skeleton. "I thank ye. You put my old master to rest and allowed me to serve a better spirit. I will remain with you as thanks." His clothes glowed and magical runes formed around them.
"I hope you do," I said, grinning.
(And with that, Old Scratch becomes a Mojo Master. He has one more quest to go but we won't get it for a few levels. Next time, we go back to the main story!)
[To be continued...]
