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). 

Hopper greeted Melody’s crew, “Don’t be afraid man! I’m on your side. Gortez…he enlarged my mind, man! I wish I had words. He said you’d come to take him away. I hope that isn’t true. I mean, look around you, man! He’s fighting a war. Not against my people – he dealt with my people. No – the Hollow Men are here and in strength.”

The Captain stopped Hopper and asked, “The Hollow Men? What, who are they?” Bonnie Anne pointed over to the water, “Captain, I think he means them!”

Hopper said, “The Hollow Men? Gears and wires, masks that walk like men. They’re looking for something, man. I don’t know what, but they’re pillaging this place.”

“So where did yee say Gortez is Hopper and what does Gold Monkey look like? ” asked the Loveable Melody. 

Hopper answered, “Gortez, he’s waiting for you at the Temple, man. Go to the gate, they’ll let you in. The Gold Monkey? I can’t describe it. You need to see it.” (Rumble In the Jungle: Talk to Aguirre)

The crew moved over to the gate and Aguirre stoped them telling the pirates to stop where they were! The Captain asked, “We are looking for Gortez. Do you know where we can find him?” and Aguirre says, “Gold Monkey? No thanks, we’ve already got one!” Bonnie Anne looked puzzled, “Where is Gortez not the Gold Monkey?”

“I told ‘em we already got one!” The other monkey, Balboa, laughed.

Aguirre added, “Oh you seek Gortez? No. You are not ready. Gortez is a warrior, a warrior poet in the classic sense. All his children are warriors. What are you?” 

Omba, the water mole at the gate, explained that if they wanted to see Gortez, maybe they should help prove his cause was theirs. “Go smash those soulless Clockworks, destroy their Captain and you can pass.” Aguirre finished Omba’s sentence, “Their Captain is inside the pyramid, meddling with things that should be left alone. Use their Elevator machine to enter the tunnels. Go!” The monkey pointed toward the crane. (Welcome to the Jungle: Use Elevator Crane)

Moving into the dark entrance, the crew snuck around some of the armadas and moved into the cave-looking entrance into a dusty tunnel. (Welcome to the Jungle: Defeat Armada Troops)

The pirates searched for the troops and found them in the shafts. Melody had Bonnie Anne, Lucky Jack Russell, and Ensign Emmett went with her this trip. They all worked together and took on four of these armadas. They were a bit tougher than the Captain expected, she used her Grape Shot, Bonnie used a Scatterblast, Luck Jack went up and pasted an armada with his epic strike and Emmett used his epic strike too! The Armada kept coming! Ensign Emmett managed to Return fire when they attacked and Bonnie quickly drew on another. The next round the pirates tried again and Lucky Jack said, “The heck with this Capt’n I’ll take this one out!” Melody was grateful for her crew’s fast actions.

They didn’t seem to get enough down the first set and had to try again. The crew needed to defeat 6 of the Armada troop. A new strategy appeared this time. The captain called out a Mark of Death and each crew member took a separate armada. This time the battle was short and Lucky Jack Russell finished the armada trooper off. After defeating the Troops, Loveable Melody and her crew went to Investigate some mysterious things (Welcome to the Jungle: Investigate Mysterious Things).

The crew kept to the edges of the passageway to an open area. Once in a dusty cave-type dome, they were caught by Captain Optimus Caerulus who yelled, “Intruder! You will identify yourself and surrender! Comply or be terminated!” (Welcome to the Jungle: Defeat Captain Optimus Caerulus)

Captain Melody, Bonnie Anne, and Lucky Jack were surrounded by these metal men and had to fight them back. There was also another pirate named Orion Lanyard and his crew that followed them in to help. 

They all moved up together and took the Armada out one by one.

Optimus Caerulus stated, “You have not complied. You have not won. We do…not..tire… and they fell over onto the ground. “Well, they breaks down though, if ye hits ‘em hard enough. C’mon Cap’n let’s get back to the crazy monkeys,” one of the crew said. Loveable Melody thanked Captain Orion and his crew for the help. The pirates went their separate ways but found themselves together again to talk to Aguirre, the monkey (Welcome to the Jungle: Talk to Aguirre).

When approaching the monkey, Aguirre said, “You are worthy. But are you ready?”

The captain shook her head, “Yes.”

“Prepare yourself, hairless one, for you are about to behold the glory of the Gold Monkey! I will meet you within,” Aguirre stated (The Heart of Darkness: Find Gortez). (Rite of Passage: Talk to Aguirre)

Both Captains, Orion Lanyard and Loveable Melody told their crews they would meet them inside. Meeting inside with Aguire and their pirates, Aguirre greeted them, “Behold the realm of Gortez the Mighty! He is the master of all your eyes can see, and we are all his children.” They needed to be tested for the Rite of Passage and the first step was to challenge Ordaz to see if he thought they were worthy enough to talk to Gortez. Alone – no crew! (Rite of Passage: Defeat Ordaz)

The two captains looked at each other and shook their heads – “We can do this” and went in to meet Ordaz. The two saw barrels of explosives surrounding Ordaz. Melody yelled to Orion, “I will drop firebombs on Ordaz and the barrels, you go in and attack!” Orion, the buccaneer, followed the instructions, and Ordaz was defeated. Ordaz exclaimed, “Never has Ordaz been defeated like this. You are mighty warriors!”

“Now let’s go back and see if Aguirre will let us in yet,” remarked Orion. (Rite of Passage: Talk to Aguirre)

Well, Aguirre seems to be a tough cookie but says, “You are triumphant! You both are the first non-Monkeys to survive. You are a warrior, like Gortez. But he is much more.” The monkey goes on to explain that Gortez provides for them and through him, the jungle sustains them.  “You must prove yourself a provider as well. Cross the river and go into the lairs of the Spiders. Bring me back their precious Eggs. Are you afraid? You should be.” (Rite of Passage: Collect Spider Eggs)

Captain Orion laughed and ran to collect the eggs. Captain Melody ran after him and found that after collecting 3 out of the 8 spider eggs, the momma spider attacked him, he yelled to his comrade to collect the eggs and he is fine with his crew fighting the Spiders.  Melody collected the rest of the eggs and Orion was done with the skirmish about the same time. They both took the eggs back to Aguirre. (Rite of Passage: Talk to Aguirre)

Being very amazed, Aguirre said, “You did it! You actually brought back some eggs. Amazing!”

The Captain said, getting a bit frustrated, “What did you expect? We have done what you asked, “Can we go to Gortez now?”

“Now listen! Gortez is also our teacher. He hears voices and tells us what the spirits tell him. You must hear the spirits too. Go to the Cave of Many Voices, and touch the glowing stones. Return to me when you have heard the spirit voices,” Aguirre ordered, laughing under his breath knowing they would fail. (Rite of Passage: Touch Crystal)

Off to this cave with huge purple crystals in a cavern. The pirate touched a stone and it spoke to her, “Daughter..hear me! Hear us! Find us! Find our grave! We are waiting for you!” Melody stepped back and gasped.

Lucky Jack Russel intervened and said, “I’d know those voices anywhere! It’s your parents, Captain – listen!”

The privateer listened further. It whispered, “Shining City… El Dorado! The Key to El Dorado! Find us! We are waiting… Go to the – “ (Rite of Passage: Talk to Aguirre)

Very shook up, Melody composed herself and went back to Aguirre. He asked her, “You have returned. Did the spirit speak to you?”

They said, “Yes.”

“They did? Really? Impossible!” exclaimed the monkey in shock.

Balboa, the other monkey stated, “It is true! I followed the stranger to the cave, and heard the echoing voices!”

“This is… Amazing. You have proven yourself. I can think of no more tests. You are ready now to go to the Temple. Remember, you do not talk to Gortez: you listen to him,” Aguirre instructed. (Rite of Passage: Talk to Gortez)

Both Captains recovered from their experience in the cave and prepared to go in to talk to Gortez. They were stopped at the stairs and they could see Gortez, glowing gold on top of a column. He had a lot to say to them as they just listened:

“You’re here. Are you an Assassin?”

The two Captains shook their heads no and didn’t speak, as instructed.

“No. I’ll tell you what you are. You’re an organ grinder, sent by circus clowns, to make me do a dance. I refuse. The simpering fools at home, those tamed lapdogs – they’ve no right to judge me. They have no idea what I’ve found here. They’d refuse to see it.”

Sitting smugly on his throne, continued, “Look around you. The creatures that built these temples shattered mountains to raise their perfect pyramids. They drew gold down from the stars. They lived like Titans, and now they’re gone. But the trees remain. The jungle beat them – it will destroy us all unless we become one with it. The trees spoke to me and showed me the way. When I saw this place, shining gold burning like fire. I knew who I was. I found the Gold Monkey. The fools in Puerto Mico think the Gold Monkey is another priceless toy for them to steal. They are wrong – the Gold Monkey is me! They want to stop me, but they are too good to make the trip themselves. Cowards! I will send them an answer, your broken bones! Children!” (Rite of Passage: Defeat Gortez)

The crew got together knowing there was going to be a big fight. Bonnie Anne yelled, “It’s just like the Troggy Shrine, remember? They might sink the throne if we press the keystones!”

Lucky Jack took the back left stone, and Orion’s Bull Ronin took the back right stone. Melody yelled that she would take the far corner left stone and Orion took the last one in the far right corner! They all had to fight together through the Crazy Monquistadors to get to the stones. Once they all got to their stones and pushed hard the mirrors shined brightly onto Gortez’s throne. He Screamed, “Yarrrgh! The Aural, The Aural!” and jumped down to the ground.

After jumping to the ground he reminded the invaders that he had trained his warriors to set villages on fire, but the Bishops won’t let them throw bananas because it is unseemly! Gortez lets them do whatever they want here!

“Get ready for a fight,” the Captains yelled in unison! “Get Gortez and the rest will fold!” Bonnie Anne was the closest to Gortez and he attacked her, but she shot back and took him off guard. Orion and the others converged on Gortez, fighting the Monquistadors to get to him. Lucky Jack and Kobe Yojimbo, the Bull Ronin, attacked the monkeys so the others could move to fight Gortez. There was a great struggle but they all made it through with only a few bumps and bruises. “Arrr, we’ve got ‘im, cap’n. “Now let’s clap ‘im in irons and take ‘im back to Puerto Mico,” Ratbeard said with a sigh of relief.

Aguirre sadly spoke up, “You have beaten… he who could not be beaten. Hope is beaten. We… are lost. Death is all that is left for us.”

“No! Stay here, my children. Fight on against the Hollow Men! Pirate, your mission was to take me, not my soldiers. Leave them in peace. I beg you.” Gortez pleaded.

The Captains eased Gortez by telling him they would agree to his plea if he came peacefully back with them. As he did. [The Heart of Darkness: Defeat Gortez]

The crews parted ways, Loveable Melody would not soon forget her time with Orion Landyard and his crew. Telling him that she could only hope to come across him and his crew on the skyways again! (The Heart of Darkness: Talk to Majordomo)

The crew got on the Queen’s Dawn at the dock and sailed to Puerto Mico. They moved into the palace and talked to Majordomo and were sent to talk directly to Governor Duarte. (The Heart of Darkness: Talk To Governor Duarte)

The conversation went like this – The Governor questioned the Captain, “And you are?”

Loveable Melody explained about finding Gortez,  had him in chains on their ship, and wanted to know where she wanted him.

Governor Duarte shook her head, denying everything, and said, “You’ve gone where? You’ve done what? Gortez in Chains? A treaty with Skull Island? I have no idea what you’re talking about! My predecessor, Governor Medina, was a traitor to the Crown. He is now working in the Obsidian Mines of Orryx. Whatever arrangement you had with my predecessor vanished with him. I have no knowledge of these… matters and take no responsibility. If Gortez has… Transgressed, it is not my place to deal with him. Gortez must go to the Royal Court in Monquista City to answer for his… deeds.  I’m afraid I can’t spare any ships – you will take him. My Majordomo will make the necessary arrangements. I bid you good day.” (Hear No Evil, See No Evil: Talk to Majordomo)

The crew was in shock and not knowing what to do, they went downstairs to talk to the Majordomo. On the way, Bonnie Anne mentioned how tired she was and wanted the crew to go to the tavern to discuss this. “Let’s talk to Majordomo and then we will secure Gortez in the ship’s brig and take a long break to discuss our next actions,” Loveable Melody suggested to her pirate gang.

Majordomo scolded the pirates saying, “My, you’ve caused quite the stir. Here, these travel permits will allow you to pass the blockade into Monquista. You have a Windstone, I presume? Windstones allow a ship to pass through a Stormgate and Sail to other worlds. Does your ship have one?”

The Captain looked at Majordomo with a questioning look and said, “No.”

Majordomo responded very disappointedly, “I should have known. Never fear – our skies are plagued by privateers from Marleybone. Attack them, and you can win a Violet Windstone. Once you have the stone, proceed directly to the stormgate and sail through it to Monquista. When you arrive at court, do not mention my name.” (Hear No Evil, See No Evil: Gather Windstone from Marleybone Ships)

The crew grumbled and walked out the door. “Why can’t anything go smoothly… Let’s take the day off and meet in the tavern. Lucky Jack, go make sure Gortez is locked down with a few bananas,” the Captain ordered. Bonnie Anne replied, “I’ll go with him Capt’n, and then meet you later.”

Finding Bonnie Anne in the tavern cellar, the crew started coming in and they decided to take a break and fight those ships on another day and then travel to take Gortez to Monquista. 

Keep an eye out to see what happens on Captain Loveable Melody’s next adventure in Pirate101. I suspect they will find more tunnels or caves when they take Gortez back to Monquista City!

Humble Misty (aka @GmaFoley)