Finding the Gold Monkey and Gortez

Loveable Melody Morgan met her crew on her ship, The Queen’s Dawn, and sailed to the Isle of Doom. It looked quite ancient and the pirates were awed by the building structures. The captain found a chest up the stairs on the way in and plundered it. Moving on through the tunnel she heard a tiny “Roar”. “What was that?” she remarked. Bonnie Anne pointed to the fern and said that it came from the bushes. Coaxing the critter out, it started purring and it seemed to be a ginger-colored tiger. Melody put a collar on it and became the Captain’s new pet. “Lady Fluffy is gonna need some training before I take her into the jungle,” she mentioned to the crew. Sending her off for that training, she let Lord Bentley, her Ancient Bunnis Maximus follow her around and said, “I’m sure these two will become great friends.”

Now back to the business at hand. The crew had to talk to Foreman Salazar. Greeting him the  Foreman thanked them for coming and said, “We’ve been so long without good food, we were about to eat our clothes!” He went on to welcome the Captain to the Isle of Doom, “It’s a lovely place if you can avoid the brain-eating parasites. Don’t drink the water.”

Loveable Melody asked if he knew where to find Gortez. 

The foreman replied, “You came to find Gortez? We used to send search parties looking for him, but now we have other problems. Our Water Mole laborers are revolting!”

“They don’t look that ugly to me,” said Bonnie Anne

“No, I mean they are in revolt – they’re attacking us! As soon as we broke into the tombs under the ruined temple, all our workers turned on us! Can you help us? Punish these rebels and defeat Haku, their leader, and I’ll tell you what I know of Gortez.” (What Lurks Beneath: Defeat Rebel Water Moles)

The crew got together to discuss this wondering if Salazar “would” tell them what they needed to know after they helped him. “I am hoping these monkeys are honest to their word. Guess ye shall find out,” said Ensign Emmett. The Captain said, “Ok you have a deal, Salazar! And you best stick to the deal.”

Going up the hill they saw the Water Mole Rebels and Melody ran in to give them a smack. Her crew for this trip would be Bonnie Anne, Lucky Jack Russell, and Ensign Emmett. Her pet, Lord Bentley followed along too!

One of the Rebels went directly after Lucky Jack and he made a quick dodge and Lord Bentley headbutted the agitator with his horn. Ouch, that had to hurt the rebel because he went running! Melody followed up with her Grape Shot and hit two of them. Ensign Emmett made sure everyone stayed healthy. One more round and they had the 4 rebels under control. The head Water Mole angrily said, “You may be able to defeat us, but you will NEVER be able to defeat Haku! While Haku stands, our revolt continues.” (What Lurks Beneath: Find Haku)

Traveling over the bridge south around some more Water Moles to the east, the crew continued over a boulder bridge through another Water Mole camp. Sneaking north through the camp, they found the ramps to the Flooded tunnels.

Once in the tunnels, Melody opened her map to see where Haku was hiding. “X marks the spot, let’s be careful and head for that spot,” the Captain said pointing at the X. Loveable Melody, Bonnie Anne, Nanu Nanu, Ensign Emmett, and Bunnis Maximus went through the big rock doors to find the whole area full of water with an ancient statue of an Aztecosaur Lord straight in front of them. Haku, between the crew and the statue, stated, “You are too late to help the Monkey Lords! Soon the Old Ones will rise!

Melody, summoning a Mark of Death and her crew lined up to get Haku. Fighting through the water moles to get to him. Nanu Nanu bravely cleared the way for the others to get to Haku. Lord Bentley, Melody’s pet, attacked the others also making way to Haku.  Injuring the Spirit Caller (Haku) with an epic attack, summoned the Aztecosaur Mummy, “Rise, ancient one. Rise and help us!” 

The first thing the mummy did was to attack the Captain. She was ready and shot back with her Brass ‘N’ Blunders and took out some explosive barrels around the Aztecosaur. Bonnie Anne added a Burst Fire, and Nanu Nanu finished him off with a strike of his spear!  Knowing the crew would need some healing, Ensign Emmett healed them with a Refresh. The Spell was broken! Haku came to his senses, very tired, and said, “The Old Ones… they poisoned my mind. Made me do… terrible things. I am free now – I thank you! I must make peace with the Monkey Lords.”

The Captain, upon leaving Haku, found another chest and pilfered it, holding the treasure in the bag to split with her crew. “We must get back and tell Foreman Salazar that Haku is back to normal and the rebels won’t attack,” she ordered. 

Once back at the camp where the Foreman was, she talked to him. He kept his promise and said, “You’ve done it! I will give you gold for this, out of my personal share. I will also help you on your dark mission.” Shaking hands with Loveable Melody he continued, “Gortez… I met him once. I don’t know what has happened to him. There are, I think, things in these jungles that apes were not meant to disturb.”

Bonnie questioned, “Like the Gold Monkey?” The crew shook their heads in unison.

Salazar looked at them, “The Gold Monkey? It is a statue of solid gold, taller than a tree. An amazing find! But I hear that it is a curse – it may be Gortez’s Doom. I can put you on the path his army took, nothing more. There is an outpost up the trail – talk to Criado there. He’ll know where Gortez is. Oh – and be careful,” he added. Something about Troggy country. And the Troggies, don’t let their looks fool you. They are not kind to trespassers. (Troggy Troubles: Explore Criado’s Campsite).

It didn’t take long to learn about the troggies. As soon as Loveable Melody and her crew entered the dark forest, Lucky Jack Russell said, “Hey beware and stay far away from them!” They all scooted around the Troggy so they wouldn’t be aggravated.  Moving over a bridge nearby, they found Criado’s Campsite and it was trashed. Ratbeard surmised, “Looks like the Troggies made short work o’ this place. Best look for signs of survivors, and where they might’ve gone.”  (Troggy Troubles: Look for Signs of Survivors). 

Looking around Bonnie Anne found something, “What’s this? There’s a message carved on the stone! Here’s what it says: Troggies destroyed outpost. Fleeing to the cave southeast of here. Send Help. – C.”

Ensign Emmett interjected, “That’s it then! Criado left us this note, let’s go and find that Cave.” The Captain agreed and said, “Time to go southeast and see where the cave is.” (Troggy Troubles: Criado’s Whereabouts)

Carefully sneaking around more Troggies and Treants, the crew found the cave and entered it. (Troggy Troubles: Talk to Ramos)

Ramos excitedly exclaimed, “You have found us! We are saved!” He looked around the Captain and asked, “There is only you? You are not here to rescue us? This is bad. Very bad. We are doomed for certain. The Troggies will eat us all!!!!”

Melody tried to calm him down, “Hold on, you are safe here. Don’t worry, but we are here to find Gortez? Do you know where he went?”

“Gortez? He’s east of here, but the way is blocked. Swarms of bees let no one pass. We are trapped here – between the bees and the Troggies. Criado said he knew a way to pass the bees, but he is gone – the frog devils took him,” Ramos replied. “Criado may yet live – if you hurry to the Troggy village, you might save him. And if you scatter the Troggies, that will be a boon to us.” (Rumble in the Jungle: Defeat Troggies)

The Captain and Crew went to scatter Troggies for Ramos, but what he didn’t say was it would be a fight to shake them up! Loveable Melody went to shoo them away and they attacked her. Lucky Jack Russell turned around and smacked on a Troggy. Nanu Nanu, her other companion jumped up and took out another one. It was great teamwork. 

After scaring them away, Bonnie Anne caught a glimpse of Troggy footprints heading to a cave. There was also a little set of boot prints among them. The crew went to follow the footprints. (Rumble in the Jungle: Rescue Criado)

The crew went into the cave. It was beautiful with waterfalls and ponds, seeming to be such a peaceful place! Well, their minds changed rather quickly when they heard Criado yelling, “Help! Save me from these fiends, before I roast alive!” 

Lucky Jack Russell yelled at the crew to put the fires out before “Criado’s Cooked!” Criado also added that until the fires were out, the Troggies would keep on coming. 

Plan of attack – Going left to right, Lucky Jack smothered the first fire, Nanu Nanu doused the second, Bonnie Anne extinguished the third, and Loveable Melody watered down the last one. Now it was time to stop the Troggy High Chief. Every time the crew hit him, he would suck the energy out of the other Troggies and be in complete health again! The Captain yelled, “Get the other troggies first, then we can stop the Chief! That plan worked well and they were successful at saving Criado.

Criado in a thankful mood remarked, “You have saved me from a fate worse than death, stranger! How can I repay you?”

Melody said, “We seek the Gold Monkey and Gortez.”

“You seek the Gold Monkey? It is an amazing thing: a great beacon, big as a tree, made of polished gold, shining in the heart of darkness. You must pass the swarms of bees. Subdue Troggies and take the poison that coats their skin, and mix it with Crimson Lotus flowers. The paste you make will drive the bees away and once you are past them you can look for Gortez’s messenger in the ruins beyond. I suggest you don’t go and turn back…”

The crew remarked, “That sure sounds like a stinky situation.”The Captain nodded and thought about it… Ok, let’s go get the Troggy Poison first.” (Rumble in the Jungle: Defeat Troggies and Collect Troggy Poison)

Running down the hill from the cave, Bonnie Anne accidentally ran into some Troggy Warriors and the Captain ran in to help her, “You found what we needed. Let’s get that Poison!” These critters didn’t want to give up their poison. The crew fought with 8 of them to get enough to make the paste. Loveable Melody told the crew to take a break and she would go collect the flowers with her new pet, Lady Fluffy, and meet the crew at the pathway with the bees.

One of the crew reminded the Captian that putting on this paste of Troggy poison and Crimson Lotus will repel the bees. Ensign Emmett growled, “How horrid! Still, if we must, we must. I’ve smelled worse, I suppose…” Bonnie Anne made a joke of it and answered, “Well, I definitely smelled worse in our cabins! Remember the time the Captain made chili?” They all laughed and ran past the bees. 

Entering the Ancient Ruins, Loveable Melody ordered the crew to wash up in the Life Fountain and organize their bags. They were going to adventure around a bit before talking to Hopper and starting the search for the Golden Monkey and Gortez. (Rumble in the Jungle: Talk to Hopper).

Hopefully, Loveable Melody will see you in Pirate101 as she finds Gortez in the Ancient Ruins!

Humble Misty (aka @GmaFoley)