Hundreds of years ago, Jamaa had its first full-scale war against its enemy nation, the phantoms. The phantoms lived in the Underworld, a series of underground caves that spanned underneath the entirety of Jamaa, including its oceans.
Back then, the phantoms were much more advanced than how they were now - they could walk on their tentacles like legs and grab things with their tentacles like arms. The phantoms spent years chewing away at the ceilings of the Underworld and tunnelling up onto the surface, where they planned to launch a devastating strike against Jamaa.
The first tunnel was dug through the tallest mountain in the land. When they made it to the top, the phantoms built an outpost filled with phantom pods at the top of it, which Jammers now know as the notorious Phantom Hive. The second tunnel was dug through the floor of the ocean and onto a small islet in the middle of the sea which remained uncharted for many years. From there, the phantoms built a small military base and began launching armed warships into the oceans towards Jamaa.
When word reached the government that phantoms were attacking, they travelled to other settlements and recruited the alphas into their ranks. The alphas each worked to maintain Jamaa's safety during the war, but they couldn't do it alone. Sir Gilbert and his brother Captain Melville drafted over 1,200 land animals and formed the Royal Jamaasian Navy and Military Strikeforce. But they soon learnt that land and naval forces were not enough. In a desperate attempt to save the land, 800 underwater animals stepped up to form an underwater alliance to fight off the phantom warships, and the alphas gladly accepted them.
After months of nonstop war, countless lives taken, and hundreds of phantom warships sunk, the battle finally ended and the phantoms were cornered back into the Underworld (though some of them managed to stick around in the outskirts).
Although the majority of the phantom warships fell into the dark abyss of the ocean, never to be seen again, one of the king ships of the fleet, the
Menace, fell into the dip that is Kani Cove. Ever since it sank, the
Menace has been radiating an unusual green aura like that of ectoplasm, and it was welcomed as an attraction for tourists to view through a lookout based in Crystal Sands. However, certain Jammers visiting the observatory have reported hearing mysterious, blood-curdling screams coming from the inside of the ship, and some are even saying that the ghost of the great phantom general that sailed the
Menace into battle, Captain Prestigio, has come back for his revenge.
---------------------------------------------
"Alright soldiers, listen up!" Captain Kalei's voice boomed throughout the camp. The group of soldiers in front of her straightened up and saluted in a synchronised manner, and you do the same. "Everyone here knows about the first Jamaasian war, of course." She said, answered by a murmur of agreement. "In that war, hundreds of phantom warships sank in Jamaa's oceans, but those are not what we're talking about. Tell me, does "the
Menace" ring a bell?" She asked, answered by a unanimous gasp of horror from the soldiers. "Mhm, I thought so."
"Our soldiers are about to go up against a great challenge. The Ilikua outpost that we raided recently was not the end of it. The turtles are hiding something - something big. A stronghold that they are using as their base of operations. We need to destroy it before they can do something major to Jamaa. This will be no easy feat." The Romantian captain announced.
"Kalei is right," Brutus says. "Admiral Venicia's scouts are on their way to search for the main base, but we have no updates from them as of now. While they are investigating, we need to prepare for battle. The
Menace was presumably stocked with phantom weaponry and gear when it sank during the war. If we manage to find some of it, I believe we can use some of it for our upcoming battle."
There was a stretch of eerie silence among the soldiers until a Stygian soldier in the back row spoke up.
"Um, Cap'n, does this mean, uh, we will be going inside the
Menace itself?"
"Yes, it does indeed."
There was a gasp of shock and a sudden outbreak of chatter.
"Stop worrying, you have all proven you are able soldiers. We don't recruit soldiers if we don't think they are adequate. You have liberated the Horseshoe Crossing of phantom sludge, you have raided an Ilikua outpost, I think you can handle some old phantom ship that doesn't even have anything dangerous in it."
"But, Captain, what about Captain Prestigio?"
"That's just an old myth. What are you, a bunch of babies? No. Even if that old spirit is around, we can kick him out of his ship with ease. Now who's ready?"
Unlike usual, there was a slight hint of hesitation in the soldiers' cheer of "excitement". You could tell that you were not the only one hindered by the thought of a spirit hiding out. But you gave yourself a rousing pep talk in your mind. You had been to the whirlpearl clam many times, you had run into the spirit there before, you can do anything!
"Let's go, then!" With that, the captains led you and the other soldiers out of camp.
~~
The captains posed next to the ship's entrance, which had been broken down. Just like the legends had told, there was an unusual green aura glowing from the ship's belly. You lift your weapon, ready to fight.
"That won't be necessary." Captain Brutus says, glancing at you as you lower it. "There's nothing harmful in there, we won't need our weapons. Just go inside and take anything that you think you need."
With that, the captains swam inside the opening to the ship, followed by the troop of soldiers. You decide to follow them, and peer inside the ship. You see piles upon piles of ancient artefacts, storage crates, closed chests, trunks with clothing spilling out of them, and large structures with white cloths over them. You can see several doors near the end of the ship's belly, which presumably lead to other chambers. You swim inside and open your satchel, ready to start gathering materials.
~~
Quest Stats
Goal: Explore the ship and gather items
Reward: 25XP, 500 Gems
