Captain Avery told me that Hooktail(not the dragon, but a monkey sailor in Puerto Mico) would know how to get to Valencia. I went back there and found the monkey with a bronze hook in place of his tail and relayed Avery's message. He was not amused by Avery's apology(I didn't question as to what Avery was apologizing to Hooktail for) or my desire to visit the home of the Armada.
"If you want my help," he said. "You will destroy the wharf rats who took off with my tail!"
"No problem," I said, smirking. "We'll be back in two shakes of a... well, you get the idea."
It actually took twenty shakes as the wharf rafts took FOREVER to defeat - their ships were far superior to ours. I began cussing at the lack of a better vessel and apologizing to my dead parents for berating the fine gift they gave me from the grave. (Also, the game began glitching like crazy and some of the people who joined in broadside battles ended up glitching under the ship.)
Eventually, we returned triumphantly and reported our success to Hooktail, who was still not amused. "You would have to go through the Avernus Skyway and that, my friends is death. Even if you could survive, you can't go through - the Armada has blockaded all Stormgates to Avernus..."
"There is one way," said his friend.
"No! Not that!" gasped Hooktail.
"You could go through Monquista!" said the friend. "You will need papers though, our people have blockaded the Stormgate there..."
"No prob," said Fan, polishing her blade with a smirk. "We 'ave friends in high places, right Cap'n?"
I smiled and nodded. Queen Eleanor would be able to pull some strings.
"Very well," said the friend. "You will need an Indigo Windstone. There is said to be one hidden in the Scurvy Dog hideout near the Monquistan Stormgate."
We headed to the last place we had yet to visit in Skull Island. We located a smelly pile of bananas and marked the spot then reported back to Marquis Mark, who rewarded us handsomely. "The bananas may be nothing but fertilizer now," he said. "But at least I can salvage my profit. Say hi to your mother for me, okay?"
I was a little stunned - did he know my parents? Probably, from my childhood I knew they dealt with trade for all sorts of worlds, so Monquista probably wasn't exempt from their smuggling racket.
(If you don't know what that "say hi to your mother" references, you were before the late '80s. ^_^)
We returned to the Scurvy Dog Hideout and beat up some of the, well, scurvy dogs until we got a key which opened a door in the hull of the wrecked ship in the center of the island...
And ran into trouble. Big jaws of sharp teeth trouble. Yep, REAL sharks were scary. But a glimmering purple-blue crystal behind that shark was our goal and I silently led the group in an attack on the shark and his kin.
(El Tiburon, the shark... he's not that tough if you are at least Level 16 and have good skills. Agnes has been using her Practice Points to invest in Privateer skills so she can get Elusive 2 at Level 32. She's also got a Sneak Attack and Weapon Mastery from the Shrimpy Garnet necklace she got from the Master long ago. I'm still trying to see if anything is worth replacing it, but no luck so far.)
Once the shark was dead, we dug up the Windstone and installed it to my compass. We could now use the Skylane to Avernus. "Well, I guess it is okay," muttered Hooktail.
"Thank you my friend," said the other Monquistan. "You will be able to go to Avernus with that Windstone. By the way, your current ship will be no match for the Armada vessels in Valencia. Take mine, the Rosa Florentia."
I gasped. "Are you okay with giving away your ship?"
The Monquistan smiled. "I can acquire another ship, but I've seen the damage your vessel has suffered. It's a fine ship but the Armada will eat you alive with it. I have sailed the Rosa through many a storm in that world and it has not failed me yet. Consider it a thank-you gift for helping my people sort out their political differences." He winked.
I was in awe at the mighty vessel I had acquired, flying my flag. Silent Roberto's crew had done their part to fit my flag to the sails. I shook my head and whispered a thank you, then ported onto the ship. It was time to move out and head back to Monquista.
(Yep, you get your third free ship now, the Monquistan Frigate. Ships have a designation and you can only equip some ship items to a ship of that designation. Agnes can buy and equip Monquistan ship parts to the Rosa Floretina. It also has twice as much fuel reserves as the Amber Rainbow and twice as much health, meaning the boats on Tradeswind Skyway are no longer a big threat to us.)
Needless to say, the trip back was as easy as pie as we were already near the Stormgate to Monquista. Queen Eleanor bowed. "When I saw the frigate with the Monquistan design, I was worried that the Royal Army was arriving to suppress us, but then I saw the crescent moon flag and smiled, as I knew it was you my friend. I wish I could converse with you, but sadly my duties in helping stage the coup keep me from making pleasant acquaintance with you. Please speak to Gortez, he will handle any affairs you wish to address."
I bowed back to her. "Of course, your Majesty. I know you are not yet on the throne so you need to focus on overthrowing the current tyrant."
Gortez was civil. I was surprised how civil he was considering how his time in the Isle of Doom had changed him, but he was returning to his former glory as a Monquistador finely.
"Thank you for helping, senor Gortez," I said. My father warned me that the Monquistans were very accustomed to their language and addressing them in the correct title would get me brownie points. "Is there a way you can convince her Majesty to pull strings for travel papers through Avernus?"
"That is no problem, she will definitely do this for you, even though Avernus is no place for a sane man." He chuckled. "But then again, you are neither sane nor a man, so I won't discourage you. However, those papers will take some time, considering how many things she has to do."
"I see," I muttered. "Oh well, I guess I could explore the land some more, take in the culture..."
"Blow up some ships?" asked Gortez. "Forgive me for inquiring this, Agnes, but we could use your aid. We have the military thanks to La Mancha's banana hoard and status thanks to your efforts to secure the Monkey's Paw, but sadly our navy is lacking..."
"And you need someone to even the odds by taking out half of the Royal Navy, eh?" I said, cracking my knuckles with an evil smile. "A friend of a friend of Avery's gave me that shiny new Monkey Ship, and you gave me a great excuse to break it in into broadside combat. Just make sure you have the papers ready when I return, si?"
And we blew some ships up. I was on Cloud 9 as the former Navy ships which we fled from long ago were putty in our hands with this! I made sure to upgrade her parts with the stuff that was sold at St. Bonobo's Abbey so she could save us a lot of boarding incidents. I wasn't reckless, though - when a second Navy Ship came forward to challenge us at one point, I turned tail and fled.
Queen Eleanor had the papers for us when we returned after destroying our quota of navy ships. "I owe you much again," she said, smiling. "Now that their numbers are reduced, the Royal Navy will have to regroup at the city, and that will be our time to move and overthrow the Aristocracy! You will always be welcomed here in Monquista."
"Thanks, but I have places to be, maps to find," I said, smiling as I shook her hand. "Later."
She tried to warn me away from Avernus, but there was no stopping this ship. The naval guards looked over the papers and let us through, muttering about our doom...
And I saw why. Avernus Skyway was in Dragonspyre. I heard tales of that accursed place, about a mad warlock who tried to awaken the Dragon Titan there. It was a dead world filled with undead abominations and draconian horrors. I shook my head. No wonder us pirates hated magic - the things it did to people was unforgivable at times.
I ordered the ship to stay on the Windlane until we reached the Stormgate to Valencia. There was no point in picking on the undead dragons that swarmed the skyway - as long as we remained in the lane, they dare not attack us. The place was terrifying to be sure, but it had a dark beauty about it.
We eventually sailed through the Stormgate and left that cursed world behind as I saw the clockwork world ahead. I knew in my heart that this was Valencia... we were entering the lion's den, so to speak, and we had to be VERY careful - even with my new ship, there was no telling what could happen and one reckless move could mean I would be joining my parents in death. I made sure that wasn't going to happen. "Onward," I said into the dark aether of the Outer Lanes of the Spiral.
(To be continued...)
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