Monkeying Around

I've been talking to a few players lately about quests, storylines and puzzles that span more than one area. There are rumours of secrets and unsolved mysteries involving interlinked multiple areas throughout the game. Figuring these out can be made easier by working with others. Sometimes just knowing which areas to look in can be the start. One time consuming puzzle is the Eight Monkeys. Basically it involves finding eight different monkeys spread out over the Southern Mountain Range, Wastelands and Ockwater Fens areas. Once you've found them you can connect them to make Eight Monkeys:

Object 'eight monkeys' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 43 armor, weight 2.
Locations it can be worn:  hold
Special properties:  none
This armor has a gold value of 1750213.
Armor class is 14 of 14.
Affects hp by 30.
Affects mana by 55.
Affects strength by 2.
Affects constitution by 1.
Affects hit roll by 4.
Affects damage roll by 3.
Affects moves by 5.

Here's my breakdown on each of the monkeys:

Amythyst Monkey
This monkey can be found in the Southern Mountain Range on the merchant. He usually hangs around in the valley near Edel and can be found using "where merchant". He may say he is out of stok and on his way home. If this happens just follow him and wait. To get this one you need to buy it off him as follows:

On An Enormous Foothill
Exits: north south west [northeast] southwest
A dwarven merchant looks tired from crossing the mountains.
An old mule solemnly follows his master, pulling his cart.
The mule lets out a tired noise.

>list
A merchant whispers to you 'I have an amythyst monkey. Yes, with 'y's, it's foreign. give me 150000 coins and it's yours.'
A merchant whispers to you 'And just forget where you got it from, okay? It's worth more than that, I want to be rid of it.'
A merchant whispers to you 'I don't like doing business outside of my established cities, but I also don't want to end up stuck with jewels and attracting bandits in the mountains.'

>list
A merchant whispers to you 'Just give me the 150000 coins and I'll give you the carving.  Or let's just walk away.'

>give 150000 coins mer
You give 150,000 coins to a merchant.
A merchant thanks you heartily.
A merchant gives you an amythyst monkey.

Coral Monkey
This monkey is incorrectly labelled on rodpedia as being from the Southern Mountain Range when in fact is from the Wastelands. To find it you need to search in the following room:

A Wind Torn Beach
Twisted, stunted trees line the beach, their tortured roots extending into
the waves as if seeking relief in the cool waters of the sea. Fluttering in the gusts of wind that blow in from the ocean, grey spanish moss dangles from the branches, enveloping the almost barren limbs in a funeral shroud.
Exits: west down northeast
A black tarantula scuttles quickly over burning sands.

>search
You begin your search...

Your search reveals a coral monkey!

Gypsum Monkey
The gypsum monkey involves a little work in the Wastelands and interacting with Ratboy within the Southern Mountain Range:

The Shelter At The End Of The Alley
Exits: north
A short table stands here
(Hide) A ruffian hangs around at the back of the shelter, trying to carve crystal with a small mining pick.
A shrewd, grey haired dwarf stands here, as if he's expecting you.
Kurt looks you over appraisingly.

Ratboy picks away at his chunk of glass, trying to carve it into something.
A crack is heard from the chunk of glass.  A swearword is heard from Ratboy.

>say glass
You say 'glass'
Ratboy tells you 'Yeah? It is the worst. You can't carve glass without a furnace. I wish I still had some of the soft crystals from the golden sands left.'

Golden Sands
This low spot is nestled amongst the fringes of the foothills. Lots of sand has accumulated in this hollow, blown in from the desert to the south and scoured from the hillsides by even more blowing sand. The sand has a very deep shine to it, yellow like gold and it sparkles brightly in the light.
Exits: north northeast southwest

>search
You begin your search...

Your search reveals a gypsum crystal!

>g cry
You get a gypsum crystal.

>give gyps ratb
You give a gypsum crystal to Ratboy.
Ratboy tells you 'Hey, this is a nice soft crystal. I can use this! Thanks.'

Ratboy tells you 'Come back in a couple hours and I'll give you the crystal back.'

The Shelter At The End Of The Alley
Exits: north
A short table stands here
A shrewd, grey haired dwarf stands here, as if he's expecting you.
A ruffian hangs around at the back of the shelter, trying to carve crystal with a small mining pick.
Ratboy tells you 'Thanks for that crystal. It's way better than trying to carve glass.'

Ratboy picks away at his chunk of glass, trying to carve it into something.
A crack is heard from the chunk of glass.  A swearword is heard from Ratboy.

Ratboy picks away at his chunk of glass, trying to carve it into something.

Ratboy tells you 'Thanks for that crystal. I enjoyed carving it, but I'm done with it now. Have it back, it's a monkey.'
Ratboy gives you a gypsum monkey. 

Jade Monkey
The jade monkey is bought off the mob Fidalstix in Southern Mountain Range who also does part of the Mystic Armor of Nidaros quest. The hard part is waiting around to get Fidalstix to turn up though you can get him to come sooner:

The Pick And Payload Common Room
This room is quite large. There is more than enough space here for the common room to comfortably hold a full house on a busy night with every one of the thirty bunks occupied and no one feeling crowded. The bunks run the length of the walls in this upstairs room of The Pick and Payload Inn, the place is kept immaculately clean and the beds look to be quite comfortable for a safe night's sleep.
Exits: down
An injured adventurer is here in town resting and recuperating.
A brightly dressed gnomish merchant is staying here while in town.
A gnome man is in town, away from the mines for the day.
Fidalstix smiles at you.
The adventurer looks up at you, but seems only vaguely aware.

>list
[Lv Price] Item
[20 580365] Jade monkey.
[13 144842] The rhodium ring.

>gold
You have 1,164,871 gold pieces on hand.

>buy jade
You buy jade monkey.

Quartz Monkey
This monkey is actually the first of the eight monkeys I ever stumbled across. This is one is literally found in the Southern Mountain Range with a min-story to go with it:

Inside The Run Down Shack
This structure barely qualifies as a shack. Bits and pieces of trash are poorly hammered to cracked strips and timbers, all of which would collapse were it not leaning against the cliff face outside, plainly visible through the cracks in the walls. The shack sits in the low trough against the cliff  face and what is left of the rotting floor is very damp. An unkempt bed rests on stone blocks in one corner and a crooked square table stands with the help of the wall. It is possible that this is someone's home.
Exits: north
An old ranger stands very still here.
Begbee looks up at you, seeming a little surprised.
Begbee thinks, 'Hmmmm.'
Begbee says 'I don't often have visitors...'
Begbee says 'Are you lost or is there reason for this intrusion?'

>say cress
You say 'cress'
Begbee looks a little shocked.
Begbee wonders 'Oh, you know Cress. Tell her her daddy would love to see her soon, wouldya?'

A Low Spot On The Canyon Rim
This natural low area on the canyon rim provides a beautiful view of the canyon stretching far to the southeast and the canyon floor below. A small fire has been built here and still smolders warmly. The rim trail follows the higher parts of the rim, passing this spot by. The east wall of this depression has a slight overhang of the sandstone at the very top, providing a tiny space of shelter, just enough for one person vertically.
Exits: north
(Glowing) A fire has burnt down to a bed of hot coals here.
(Hide) A young girl hangs by her feet in the shelter of the overhang.

>say begbee
You say 'begbee'
Cress says 'Yes, he is my father. He gave me something but I've... I think it fell into the canyon. I search for it every night but I think it's...'
Cress looks very sad.

The Northwest Corner Of The Enormous Canyon
The canyon floor is rather flat here, devoid of the hoodoos and other rock formations that fill this canyon with wonder. The high canyon walls are extremely crumbly and climbing here would be impossible. The balancing rock formation to the southeast looks precarious as if it ought to topple to the east into a nearby hoodoo at any moment.
Exits: east south

>search
You begin your search...

Your search reveals a quartz monkey!

>give monkey cress
You give a quartz monkey to Cress.
Cress says to you, 'That's it. That's the little monkey! It's not broken, it's perfect.'
Cress looks both happy and very sad at the same time.
Cress says to you, 'Thank you for showing me. I'm glad I didn't break it. You keep it, though.'
Cress gives you a quartz monkey.
Cress says to you, 'Take good care of that, I can't keep it, it makes me sad.'

Ruby Monkey
This little monkey is quite a tricky guy to find. For starters it involves being the only monkey you need to go to Ockwater Fens as part of and secondly it uses an item to make it which already has other uses - a roughly cut ruby. Once you have this item you need to sell the ruby to Roovin as follows:

A Small Cavern
This cavern of rocks is drier than the tunnels and only has a little mud on the floor, tracked in by the feet of previous visitors. The rocks are very old, cracked and are veined with a dull ore. The ceiling doesn't drip and some of the rocks have smooth, flat tops. This would be a comfortable place to rest and dry out before venturing back into the mud of the tunnels that lead in all directions getting nowhere. This is the definitive 'dead end' proving that there is nothing of interest beyond these tunnels.
Exits: northwest
A large, granite-like lizard blends into the stone floor.
(Hide) (Red Aura) A lizardman scout watches from the weeds.
A lizardman scout watches you.

>sear
You begin your search...

Your search reveals a roughly cut ruby!

>g rub
You get a roughly cut ruby.

The Smelterer's Shop
The glow of intensely hot fire escapes the furnace to the south and reddens the room brightly. The heat in here is incredible despite the wide open door, window and hole cut through the ceiling. The furnace is enormous and fronted by a closed grate while it melts the metals out of the ore-rich rocks brought to the smelterer by the miners. The bustle of Looris Street goes on just outside the door as merchants and miners go about their business in the town of Edel.
Exits: west
The smelterer seems not to notice the heat.

>list
You can't buy anything here.

>sell ruby

>You sell a roughly cut ruby for 94000 gold pieces.
Roovin the smelterer smiles happily.

>list
[Lv Price] Item
[12 665770] A ruby monkey.

>buy ruby
You buy a ruby monkey.

Sugilite Monkey
To get the sugilite monkey you first want to have a chat to A'grenre, the cleric in Edel:

You say 'flowers'
A'grenre says 'The garden looks beautiful, and I can harvest the important flowers for various potions.'

>say crocus
You say 'crocus'
A'grenre nods in agreement with you.
A'grenre says to you, 'They have properties important in curative spells.'

You can find purple crocus flowers in the rooms "The Edge Of The Quiet Valley" and "Along The Valley Low Road". Just search in both of these rooms. Once you have the purple crocus flowers head back to A'grenre and give him the flowers. Most of the time he will do the following:

 >give crocus a
You give a purple crocus to A'grenre.
A'grenre thanks you heartily.
A'grenre gives you a potion of purple crocus extract.

This potion isn't too bad:

Object 'a potion of purple crocus extract' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 2 potion, weight 1.
Special properties:  magic
This potion has a gold value of 800.
Level 33 spell(s) of:
  'cure critical'  'heal'  'refresh'

But occasionally (about 1 in 10 times) you will get a sugilite monkey instead:

>give croc cleric
You give a purple crocus to A'grenre.
A'grenre gives you a sugilite monkey. 

Turquoise Monkey
The turquoise monkey is also from Southern Mountain Range with a little quest to it from Ormwell. He sends you off to find a small wooden cup. Once you give it to him you get the monkey:

Lost Amongst The Foothills
The foothills look the same in all directions, rolling endlessly toward the distant horizon of mountain peaks. The dry, rocky ground supports no plant life and there is no sign of any sort of a trail. The terrain makes for difficult traveling and the lack of landmarks makes it seem all the more futile. Perhaps something awaits just beyond the next foothill, something other than another hill, or perhaps not.
Exits: north east south west northeast northwest southeast southwest
A pool of cold mountain water has collected here.
A crudely carved cup has been left here.

This halfling ranger slumps over his walking staff, nearly dead from thirst. He must have been stuck here for a long time.

Ormwel is in perfect health.

Ormwel is using:
<held>               a curved staff

>give cup orm
You give a small wooden cup to Ormwel.
Ormwel examines a small wooden cup.
Ormwel eagerly drinks from a small wooden cup.
Ormwel thanks you heartily.
Ormwel utters the words, 'fly'.
You rise into the currents of air...
Ormwel says to you, 'Here, keep the treasure I found. I owe you my life, but thi
s is what I have to give you.'
Ormwel gives you a turquoise monkey.
Ormwel gives you a small wooden cup.

Once you find all of the monkeys you can link them up by wearing the right combination of monkeys - coral & ruby, gypsum & quartz, sugilite & amythyst and turquoise &  jade. These make red, green, white and purple monkeys. These can then be combined to make purple and red monkeys as well as green and white monkeys. Finally combining them makes the eight monkeys.

The eight monkeys is the best hold item in the game that I know of for its level, however by the time you reach level 50 there are plenty of better options. Part of the challenge is it needs you to get items from multiple areas with some of them having multiple uses, or being made by mobs with multiple uses. Add in a few low pop rates on some items and others taking time to complete and you can see why it is not the most common knowledge.

Overall though it makes me wonder "What secrets are still hidden out there?", "What mobs and items have other uses I don't know about?" and "How many other areas are linked together with items from one area being used in a completely different area?"