Volume 1, Final Chapter: The Monkey with the Golden Guns, er, Bananas

(We welcome you to the final chapter of the first volume of Agne's adventures! For those of you who read my Wizard101 blogs, I apologize for not updating them, especially the Eggnog Factory! I have let the accounts for those blogs run out of time so I can't continue questing there until I get the money to buy more game cards. Sorry. I will try to refresh the account for Sierra Fairyfriend sometime in July, but I'll be very busy doing a job career workshop each weekday morning, so I won't have as much time to play games[since I have to go to bed early as the workshop starts at 8:30 AM] and the time has to be devoted to either Pirate101 or Wizard101, so either Agnes or Sierra will suffer. But I will try to continue updating one of those blogs regularly. Until then, enjoy more Agnes! ^_^)

Having got the request to recover the Monquistador Gortez from the Isle of Doom, I set out with my crew and we landed on the docks of the beach. Our first destination was the worker's camp where th miners were settled. Sure enough, the sugar-coating continued as I met with Foreman Salazar, who told me that the Water Moles who had been "hired" to help with the mining revolted when they uncoverded some ancient ruins under the mountains. I gave him the rations that the provisioner had given me and set out to find out the skinny of this revolt.

As usual, some of them had to be put down but they spoke of a Mole Shaman called Haku who was leading the revolt. They had also taken some prisoners and a Mole called Mogatu had the key to the cells. I also helped supply food to the camp by collecting avocados, spring water(which I filtered to ensure no diseases - my parents had taken me camping quite a few times and I learned a few tips) and bananas growing on the trees. I decided, much to Sarah's chagrin, to let old Ratbeard head up the party - he was quite a strong fighter and could take a lot of punishment now that he was a pirate commander.

The tunnels were crawling with spiders and hulking undead zombies in the upper areas and violent water moles in the lower tunnels. I carefully kept to the edges of the paths while letting less clever pirates duke it out with the denizens. (There is also a side-quest to collect three items for an archeologist monkey on the beach. A rubbing of this giant stone head is one of them.)

 

We located Mogatu and found he was using his troops as a wall to block any attacks - for some reason magic prevented us from attacking him when the moles formed a wall. Ratbeard proceeded to break the wall by taking out one of the moles forming the wall and then Mogatu rushed in and was quickly cut down by my crew. We picked up the key and searched for the jail cells.

 

We found the cells but they were not unguarded - Fan Flanders nearly got knocked out because some of the guards surrounded her while she was unlocking one of the jail cells, but luckily the trapped moles became untrapped and aided us in mopping up the guards. They agreed to distract the revolters while we hunted down their leader and took him out.

 

Haku was located and put down but as he fell, he chanted a ritual spell and summoned an... Aztecosaur mummy. Gawd, I hate those guys after what they did to Fan back in the Pyramid of Fire! This one was much tougher but we eventually got rid of it and the moles helping it. Haku was pushed against a wall with my blade to his throat and he surrendered and agreed to make peace with the foreman. Stupid Water Moles, thinking they could do what they wanted.

 

With that out of the way, we  reported to the Foreman and he told us that a group of people had disappeared into the Dark Jungle. It looked like we were going to have to rescue more monkeys, but the sooner we got that out of the way, the sooner we could find Gortez, subdue him, and bring him back to Puerto Mico. The jungle was evil - poison-skinned Troggies lurked around the trees and giant living treants stomped throught he woods.


An old tree called Bonyan asked us to help recover stuff from the treants, which we did. We also located the survivors and attempted to explore further, but I got horribly stung by bees. Luckily my skin was tough or I would have died on the spot from their poison. There was no way to progress.

The leader of the survivors told us that one of their people, Criado, had disappeared while investigating the Troggies. We hunted down a ton of the Troggies to find out what happened, and it turned out he was being sacrificed!

 

The first thing I did was order everyone to douse the fires before they roasted Criado, then we ganged up on the Troggies. Sadly, Fan croaked[sic] because the stupid Chief Ah-Ah used a spell of Hoodoo that poisoned her and the poison was too much. I took out the jerkwad myself.

(Yeah, this is a dangerous fight because of the fact that Chief Ah-Ah can use a power that poisons and causes damage over time. Be careful. Also, poor Fan got wiped out AGAIN. I am so sorry, Fan. :( Also, if you defeat this freak 25 times, you unlock a Troggy Chief companion in the Crown Shop.)

With Criado saved, we took him back to the survivors and he told us that we needed to create a salve out of Troggy skin poison and nectar from the crimson lotuses, and that would work as an insect repellent and drive the flesh-eating bees away. So we killed a ton of Troggies to get their poison and harvested lotus nectar. Old Scratch mixed up the salve.

"Ew," said Sarah, holding her nose as I applied the salve to her clothes. "Now we'll all smell like Old Scratch!" I laughed as I rubbed it into my jerkin. I did admit that having an undead skeleton around did make it hard on the nose, but I doubt that the skeletal shaman had THAT much decaying flesh on his bones. Still, I would have to find a way to create a salve for Scratch to wear that would make him stink less. But that was beyond the point right now, we had to get to Gortez.

At least the bees also hated the stench of the salve and fled the instant we drew near.

We found ourselves outside of the jungle and in some more ancient ruins, where a friendly Troggy told us about how Gortez had enlightened everyone. Yep, we were getting close.

Then I gasped and my eyes hardened angrily as I saw new trouble...

"The Armada!" said Sarah.

Yes, those clockworks had somehow invaded the island and were running amok(or rather, marching stiffly amok) - I hadn't forgotten the cold faceless mask of Deacon and his clockwork ilk. And now they were rummaging about on this place!

We found some insane Monquistan soldiers who told us that we were not worthy to meet Gortez. They told us to go into the plundered tunnels by the elevator crane and take out the clockworks. There was a Water Mole called Omba who also asked us to locate his brother, Womba.

We proceeded into the tunnels and found that the Armada was excavating the ruins for some reason. We delved deep into the tunnels, taking out clockwork soldiers as we went. They were far more powerful than what we had been fighting - they had no nerves and thus felt no pain, so they didn't suffer as much damage from wounds as fleshy creatures. They had tough metal skins and their joints were strong so they could swing impossibly hard with their weapons and shoot very well with the spark guns, but we eventually brought down enough to bring out their leader.

"You, you are the one Deacon spoke of, Agnes Thatcher," said the captain. "Go, take her alive and kill of her crew!"

Ratbeard wasn't having any of it, though, as he plowed through the soldiers with his mighty blade. I slipped into the shadows and took out vital parts of the captain's mechanical body with my daggers.

Eventually, the captain collapsed, his energy drained. "Well, looks like we can break them if we beat them down enough," guffawed Ratbeard. "Let's go tell those monkeys we did their work."

I nodded and then uttered something that impressed the rat but bothered everyone else. A very salty word. "Har, ye're becoming a true pirate wench, Captain!" laughed Ratbeard. "Saying that."

"I won't stop until every member of the Armada is a pile of junk," I snarled. I quickly told everyone why I was angry - I told them that the Armada had captured me and Deacon had been shipping me himself until I was rescued by Boochbeard and his Monquistan first mate. Gaspard also told those who had joined late about how my parents' ship was sunk by the Armada.

"Well Captain," said Bonnie. "That explains a lot. Don't worry, we'll help ya."

Before we left, I pressed on and located Womba, then we reported our successes to the monkey guards and they gave us a Mojo Potion as a reward. (Yay, second Mojo Potion! ^_^) Omba was pleased that his brother was going to stay in the tunnels and fight the clockworks.

I decided that a new outfit befitted me. (Yep, Agnes has now hit Level 15. The coat was something I had Eloise stitch - it's the same outfit as she was wearing only with a different look. I wanted something to match her new cowboy hat. ^_^)

 

 

Before we returned to the Isle of Doom, I had to do a few things - first, I had to rescue Simon Smith's daughter from some scurvy dogs as part of a test from Madame LaFitte, who then taught me how to counterattack when someone tried to get the jump on me. (And since Agne is now Level 15, she got her first class quest, which involved rescuing someone in the Flotsam Skyway. As a reward, she gets her first epic talent, First Strike. This is a nice talent that makes it so you get a free hit when an enemy gets to you.)

 

 

 

And then Sarah called me aside and told me she was ready to become a swashbuckler like me, and we went to collect her father's sword. Of course, we spent a full month on the high seas boarding Rojo Monquistan ships and taking them out to get four cannons - for some reason the Rojo were paranoid and ended up smashing their own cannons after boarding us over and over, so it took a long time to get the required amount. Luckily, a couple of fellow swashbucklers aided me and we eventually got the goods. We gave them to Nicodemus and he led us all over Flotsam, fighting rats until we got the heirloom sword from Mick Dagger.

After me and Sarah celebrated her promotion to Swashbuckler, I took her clothes shopping and gave her a lovely hat to replace her head bandanna. As mom always told me, the clothes make the girl. 6_^

(Yes, WORSE QUEST EVER! The drop rates for the cannons are INSANELY LOW. It took 20 battles and we ended up having to get boarded because it's impossible to sink the ships with what we have, they kept dropping the ship to yellow every time. Gah! *snarl* I like to thank Stormy Andrew Nichols [who had a high-level Swash with some Cool Ranch companions and he told me a lot of neat things and was fun to chat with] and Loyal Robert De Bouff for helping in taking down all those Rojos. There were actually a lot more steps to the quest, but I forgot about them and didn't post the screenshots because all I can remember is FIGHTING ANNOYING ROJOS OVER AND OVER AGAIN AD NAUSEUM!!! GAAAAH!!!)

We headed into the Valley of the Gold Monkey, where those two met us. They told me I would have to face some tests before I could see Gortez. The first test was a strong-arm match with Ordaz, their mightiest warrior. However, I knew that strength wasn't the key of all battles - I slipped into the shadows and watched as Ordaz pummeled a powder barrel and hurt himself and then proceeded to sneak attack him until he collapsed from wounds. (Yeah, that was weird - Ordaz's AI made him destroy an explosive barrel, which is rather dumb. :p)

 

Then I got a carrier parrot with a postcard from this Cool Ranch I was hearing about, which said that Admiral Harry was free to train there. It sounded like a rugged bandito place. (Yep, the ostrich pet had hit Level 25, which is when you unlock the third set of training exercises! Of course, I had none of the gear I needed to do any of them except the Horse Roping. Sheesh!)

Anyways, I was then sent to collect spider eggs, which wasn't too hard, as long as you avoid the spiders that laid the eggs, ick! I hate spiders.

The final test was to go to a crystal cave and touch the crystals to hear the spirits. I shook my head and entered the cave, deciding I would have to fake it, when...

"Agnes..."

I gasped. "M-Mom?"

"Agnes, hear us!"

"DAD?!" I cried. "Mom! Dad!"

"It's your parents!" said Gaspard in shock. "Their voices are coming from the crystals!"

"So, those are your parents," said Sarah.

I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes - any child would recognize their parent's voices even if they only heard them as a baby fresh from the womb, it was a bond that could not be broken.

"Agnes, we are speaking to you from the hereafter..." "Find the city of El Dorado... our graves..."

The city of El Dorado, the fabled City of Gold which was the greatest legend of pirates ever, said to house so much treasure and history that people have obsessed over it forever. "Mom! Dad! Tell me what to do! Please!"

"You will know... when you find the key..." "We love you and are watching you..."

I bit back tears. I was not going to cry, not here...

Then I felt Bonnie's hand on my shoulder. "'Tis okay, Captain... we'll leave ye alone. Everyone should have a good cry now and then." Then I was left alone... and fell to my knees, sobbing.

"It's been nine years..." I sobbed, recalling the day when my caretaker was visited by one of my parents' crew...

"I'm sorry, but I was told to find Agnes and bring here to Major MacGee in Marleybone."
 
"What? Say it ain't so! Her parents... what happened?"

"The Armada happened. We were surrounded and only me and Gaspard escaped thanks to Captain Thatcher... they..."

"No! She's in the study, if she finds out they're... then she'll never be happy again!"

"I'm so sorry, I wouldn't wish this on any child... but..."

I breathed heavily and got up, wiping my eyes. I clenched my fists. "I'll find El Dorado, I swear. And then I'll make those metal monsters pay!" (I actually said something saltier but I don't want to get in trouble for scarring them minds of the young kiddies, now. 6_^)

After reuniting with my crew, I reported my success and the monkey nearby verified that I had heard spirits. The main monkey opened the gate and let us into the main area, where a giant pyramid rose up. "Time to get this mission done," I said. "Then we can get to more... important matters."

I marched into the pyramid's chamber and found what I was looking for. "Big ugly gorilla with a big ego problem? Check. You must be Gortez."

He snorted. "You think you can make me dance like an organ grinder? I beg to differ. Those people I once laid loyalty too didn't realize the true nature of the gold monkey. I am the Gold Monkey. I am not going back to those people."

"Sorry," I said, whipping out my daggers as the others drew their weapons. "As much as I'd love to leave you be and let you act like a god here, your people in Monquista really need you back home, so I have to bring you back, even if I have to drag your unconscious corpse back to Puetro Mico!"

We fought off the crazy monkey soldiers but we didn't know how to get Gortez down - and we were not able to climb up the pillar and fight him... but then I noticed something familiar...

There were four pillars surrounding Gortez. I went over and found a button which I stabbed.

This caused the pillar to rotate and a mirror on the top reflected sunlight into Gortez's eyes, which made him flinch. "Everyone!" I commanded. "Head to the other pillars and hit them, it's just like what happened in the Troggy Shrine in the Temple of Gloom!"

"I get it," said Bonnie. "If we hit the pillars, then..."

"We'll shine light into Gortez's eyes and he'll have to come down or risk blindness," I said, smirking.

Fan, Sarah and Gaspard rushed to the other pillars. The monkey soldiers tried to block the way but Gaspard kept them busy while me and the other girls hit the pillars. Gortez screamed in pain as the light shone into his eyes and he leapt down, pulling out a giant axe. "You are just like those Bishops, telling us not to throw bananas because it was unseemly," roared Gortez. "Now you will pay!"

I was thinking he meant something a little more disgusting than bananas, but you know how it is. (Yeah, for those of you who don't get it, monkeys are stereotypically known for throwing their own feces at things. But this is a E-rated game so they could say poo-poo. ;p) Gaspard immediately slammed the big ape with his halberd and we ganged up on him, ignoring the other soldiers.

Eventually, I wounded Gortez with a single lash of my blades cutting some nerves in his belly. "Argh, I cannot take anymore!" groaned the big gorilla as he collapsed. "I surrender."

 

We were victorous and Ratbeard clapped him in irons. "You have defeated our god," said the crazed soldiers. "We... have nothing left."

"No," said Gortez. "You must stay here and keep fighting the vicious clockwork men. Captain, it is me you want and not..."

I held up my hand to silence him. "Peace, Gortez. I have no intention of bringing all your troops back. Bishop Hildago did not tell me to recover everyone, just you. As I said, I wanted to not have to bring you back to them, but at the least, I can let your 'subjects' live here and fight the Armada, who are my enemy as well - the more we strike blows against those metal creeps, the better. If you promise to come quietly, we'll heal your wounds and leave your people in peace."

Gortez snorted and dropped his axe in an act of surrender. "You are an honorable pirate, Captain Agnes. I will remember this."

One of the crazed monkeys, however, leapt on me and begged me to join the crew. I could feel the disgust but I knew this crazy monkey was going to follow us anyways, so I nodded and let him on.

(Yep, another companion is given, this crazy Monquistador who is pretty good with the crossbow. Don't plan on using him though - I have to draw the line somewhere. He'll be busy farming tomes since he's three levels higher than Agnes. Also, if you defeat Gortez's doppleganger here 24 more times, you get a badge and unlock his twin brother, Gornado, in the Crown Shop. Of course, you have to do all those steps to get to the fight, so I am not having it. :( )

To make matters even worse, it seemed like there was a turnover - both the Governor I spoke to AND Bishop Hidalgo had been sent to some onyx mines as punishment for treason and the new governor wasn't having it. She immediately ordered us to send Gortez straight to Monquista itself and hand the gorilla to the Crown.

"Oh great," said Fan. "We need a Windstone to leave Skull Island! Where can we get one?"

I mused. My parents showed me their Windstones so I knew which was which. "We need a Violet Windstone, that is the one we need to open the Stormgate that will lead us to the Windlanes in the Outer Dark that goes to Monquista. I think I know where we can get one... those Marleybonian ships didn't pop out of nowhere, they had a Windstone. We'll plunder them until we get one... and if it's not the right Windstone, we'll just go to that world and see if we can't get a Violet one there."

Luckily for us, it seemed that one of the Marleybone skiffs had a Violet Windstone in their stores. It was quickly installed into my compass. Time for us to go to Monquista and deliver our prisoner.

The gate opened and I took one last look back at the globe which surrounded Skull Island as we flew into the Outer Dark. I wiped a tear from my eyes and looked over Ratbeard... I had enjoyed my time there, for what it was worth, but it was time to strike out to a new world and continue my adventures.

Once I had delivered Gortez safely to his people, I would explore Monquista and see what plunder was to be had there... I saw the various worlds floating by - the mystical Krokotopia, the quaint Marleybone, the vicious Dragonspyre... my heart raced as I felt my blood pump hard. The Spiral was an amazing universe and I wanted to explore it all!

Little did I know that I would have that chance. My adventures were just beginning.

(Well, that's it for the first part. Agnes is now in Monquista - but she's farther now than this story says, as I have been playing her religiously. I also have a couple of new pirates in the works which I show below but I will try to get Agnes's second volume of her story, her time in Monquista, completed before the paid time runs out for her. I could subscribe but I am terrible with keeping up monthly payments. Once I win the lottery or get a job, I'll work on getting a year's sub. :p Ciao for now, and stay tuned for the next part of Agne's life story! Cheers! ^_^)

MY OTHER PIRATES:

Lazy Chris Grant: Level 13 Musketeer, has just gotten the Captain's Gunn's Heir badge. His parents were lost at sea and thus he has Loyal Jack, the pirate dog, from the Presidio quest. He did not get Tricky Vinny. He is also my avatar in Pirate101. :) He got a permanent puma mount from the Tribal Pack after two buys.

Lily Devereaux, Level 4 Witch Doctor, named after a character in peasant007's Sims 2 Legacy, who is also a witch. I've been having her farm Fin Dorsal in the ToG to try to get an orchid chameleon, but no such luck sadly. Also, her clothes are not what you see here as I got better gear for her from Fin. Also, she is riding the Garnet Ankylosaur, Agnes has the jade one.