My friends, it’s been too long since I did a Pirate101 post! Last you saw my pirate, I had successfully piloted Stupendor-X. After a predictable betrayal from Monkey King, my quest to obtain all the turtle balls continued after my crew used the Crown of Command on him. Unpleasant for the furry guy, but necessary considering the circumstances. Surprisingly though, Monkey King isn’t all that bad. He helped (willingly or not) me and my crew with our turtle ball journey. With his aid, we were able to outsmart Friar Sand and get to the bottom of Dragon Prince’s curse. Once that was done, all we needed was one last turtle ball.

Because no pirate’s quest is ever simple, the last turtle ball would be the most difficult to reach. It was being held in Hamakala Temple – the lair of the evil demon god of the ninja pigs. But since when did an evil god stop Virtuous Vanessa and her merry band of adventurers from continuing on? Never! Once that evil demon was dealt with, it was time for the moment we had been waiting for … the summoning of the GREAT TURTLE.

It’s Turtle Time!

Unfortunately, just walking up to Cao Tzu was out of the question. After all, people with unwavering dedication aren’t always of pure heart. Corrupted hearts can be just as resourceful. As a result, my crew would need to pass a test to prove our worthiness. In order to speak to Cao Tzu, my crew would need to defeat 5 elemental guardians: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each elemental guardian presented a challenge, but my favorite battle had to be the metal guardian. I love trying to figure out puzzles and completing battle objectives other than “defeat all enemies.”

They say when one gate closes, another opens.

Luckily, we were able to prove ourselves in battle and were granted access to Cao Tzu. Time to get some questions answered!

Cao Tzu revealed that Marco Pollo was once his student. Pollo was fascinated by Astrology and used the knowledge he learned in the Celestial Shrine to hide a secret within his map. According to Cao Tzu, the map contains symbols that reveal the path to Shangri-La, City of the Immortals. Pollo nicknamed it El Dorado. The symbols reveal where and when the next gate to Shangri-La will open, but we would need all of the map pieces to figure it out. After Cao Tzu hinted that Avery had map news for us, we traveled back to Skull Island to see what we could find out.

A pirate’s work is never over!

It turns out that Avery’s attempt to find Catbeard hit a dead end. However, nobody checked his “secret” hideout cave. Knowing that time was of the essence, my crew sailed there to see if we could contact him. Unfortunately, things were getting worse and worse by the minute. After a restocking encounter with the Redcoats, Catbeard was declared an enemy of the crown, transported to Marleybone, and then locked up. My compass was now pointing towards Marleybone … but first I’d need a Yellow Windstone.

*I’m actually quite a bit past where I’ve left this post off, but I plan on continuing to document my Pirate101 adventures in future posts!*