Happy Pirate Legend Birthday!

After many days & nights full of mayhem & shenanigans, I reached the rank of Pirate Legend. I say rank as it takes more than just a title to make you a legend on the seas, something I feel I reached long ago. I've had so many great memories on the sea and plan to have many more.

I chose to enter the hideout for the first time through my favorite tavern, The Snake Pit, and with my regular scallywag by my side. Reaching this landmark is definitely a highlight and to do so on my birthday as well made it just that little bit more special.

The Battle For Shark Fin Camp

Some days you just want to cruise the open water, soak up the sun and breathe in the fresh sea air. Well today was one of those days. We were in no rush, stopping at the odd island to complete a quest, only cashing in if an Outpost was on route. Life was good!

As I looked aimlessly at the crisp blue sky I could see clouds forming in the distance, one in particularly caught my eye. This cloud formed into the shape of a skull and the eyes glowed bright green. We all stared at it for a short time before deciding to sail over to check it out. Little did we know, our cruisy day was about to take a sharp turn.

The skull was above Shark Fin Camp in The Wilds; a dark, unforgiving region of the world. As we approached the camp we could see two sloops locked in battle with a galleon. And by the time we’d made it to the camp both sloops had been sunk leaving us to take on the galleon ourselves.

Both ships were crewed by seasoned pirates and the battle was long. The two sloops returned to state their claim but were sent to the depths with ease, but unfortunately we were not far behind them.

We licked our wounds, regrouped and, after obtaining a new ship, headed back to the fort. On returning a second galleon had arrived and was trading blows with the first. The sloops had also returned and all hell was unfolding all around us. Even though all the ships were locked in battle, occasionally crew members from each ship would go ashore and tackle the waves of skeletons streaming out of the main building.

Eventually the sound of cannon fire ceased and the smoke began to clear. We scouted the horizon and were relieved to see that we were the last ship still afloat. Knowing it wouldn’t be long before the ships started returning we started laying into the skellies. By the time the skellie captain showed up we could see ships approaching from the south. As the captain fell to his doom we knew there wasn’t enough time to load the booty so returned to our ship with the key and set sail.

The second galleon was the first to return and was soon hot on our tail. While we tried to come up with a strategy to shake them off our discussion was silenced by a loud ear piercing groan. We looked back to see the huge tentacles of the kraken emerging from the sea and wrap around the galleon. We turned our ship around and, while staying out of the krakens reach, opened fire on the ship. It wasn’t long before the ship was be dragged to the depths.

We didn’t have time to celebrate as the first galleon was coming into view and was giving chase. It wasn’t long before a sloop joined the chase and we knew it wouldn’t be easy to shake them both off. We worked tirelessly through the night not wanting the give the chasing ships any opportunity to close the gap.

By day break the sloop had lost interest but the galleon was still on our tail, however we’d managed to put more distance between them. Using the surrounding islands we managed to put even more distance between us to the point we could no longer see them. We decided to use this time wisely and headed to the nearest outpost. We gave our ship a new lick of paint and changed our sails.

We felt it would be good to lay low for a while, do some quests and restock our ship. During this time we never saw the galleon, it was nice to drop our guard for a bit and relax. Several days passed and many quest completed, then we got a quest taking us back to The Wilds. “Well since we’re heading that way we may as well grab the loot from the fort” I remember one of my crew saying. As the fort came into view, so did a silhouette of a galleon. Surely it’s just a ship questing in the area and not the same one that chased us. As it came into view we could confirm it was the same galleon, the first we encounter at the fort.

We decided to continue questing, occasionally sailing close to the fort to see their reaction. Each time they’d sail between us and the fort then turn their cannons on us. This went on for a few days before we decided enough was enough, if we want the loot we’re going to have to fight for it. We sailed over to Dagger Tooth Outpost to cash in the haul we’d accrued from our quests and then headed towards the fort.

As the two ships circled, we unloading volley after volley of cannonballs at each other. Crew members boarded each other’s ships to causing havoc on deck. We lost our rhythm and soon the water was flowing in faster than we could bail. As our ship started slipping below the surface we looked over to see their ship doing the same.

We started searching for the fort key but were interrupted by the other crew and the battle continued in the water. While dodging bullets, and sharks, we continued to look for the key. Then I heard Pasha Entreri “guys, I think …” I quickly cut him off so the other crew wouldn’t hear with “you have the squirrel?” A confused Pasha Entreri then replied with “sure yeah, I have the squirrel.”

We were close to Sunken Grove island so Pasha Entreri made his way there while the rest of us took care of the other crew. Not long after they were vanquished we too were heading to the Ferry of the Damned thanks to some hungry sharks. On arrival back to the land of the living we boarded our replacement ship and set sail for Sunken Grove where Pasha Entreri was hiding with the key squirrel.

While sailing to Sunken Grove a new skull cloud formed over the fort signalling the skellies had returned to defend their treasure. As we docked at the island to pick up Pasha Entreri and the squirrel, I looked towards the fort to see two galleons locked in battle. One was the first we had encountered but the other was new.

As we approached Shark Fin Camp both galleons began sinking, finally a bit of luck. Before bringing the squirrel ashore we scouted the island for any stragglers. I found a member of the new galleon hiding in a watchtower waiting for his crew to return. We offered a truce in exchange for some of the loot, the extra pair of hands would be useful when loading our ship. He agreed and with time ticking till the galleons returned, we needed to get things done quickly, I yelled to my crew “were good to go, get the squirrel in the hole!“

We all ran to the treasure room door and when it dropped open the skeleton cloud remained, along with the wave of skellies. We managed to get everything onto our ship just as the first galleon was coming into sight. We dropped sails and headed for Dagger Tooth Outpost along with our extra crew member. Hopefully our new friend’s crew would be able to catch up with us to help dispatch the chasing galleon.

As we pulled into Dagger Tooth we could our friend’s galleon in the distance but it was too far to aid us at the moment. We decided to do a quick drop off and three of the crew grabbed the highest value items (fort skull, fort chest & villainous skull). Our extra crewmate grabbed himself some exotic spices and we headed ashore to cash in. The chasing galleon fired some crew to intercept us but they were too late, we’d managed to deliver our loot before they arrived.

With just the one crewmate manning the ship we quickly headed to the nearby mermaid to return to our ship. As I was about to use the mermaid I stopped, what happened to our new friend and how do we get him back on our ship? As I turned round I saw him chatting to the other crew. I quickly hid in a bush to try’n hear what was going on. As there was no easy way for him to get back on our ship his crew decided to team up with the first galleon to hunt us down. I returned to my ship and informed my crew of the new alliance.

We decided to do another drive by drop off at Galleons Grave before heading south to Ancient Spire. With the two galleons now chasing us I looked over to the west to see a storm approaching. If we could keep the wind in our sails maybe, just maybe, we could get past the storm putting it between us and the galleons. The crew rushed to their roles, three on sails and one at the helm. We skimmed the front of the storm and then watched as it moved between us and our pursuers.

As we pulled into Ancient Spire and started unloading our haul, we kept one eye on the storm waiting for two ships to materialise. However, only one emerged. We presumed the other must have met their fate in the storm. With our loot now cashed in, and the pressure off, we decided to let our ship sail unmanned towards Plunder Outpost.

We headed up to The Unicorn for a well-deserved grog and watched as our ship sailed away. The remaining galleon continued to give chase but with no one at the helm, our ship started to veer off course. They were soon alongside and as they opened fire our ship sailed right into theirs. I’m not sure what actually went on over there but both ships ended up sinking. We couldn’t believe what was happening; did they just get sunk by an unmanned ship?

We celebrated well into the night as I don’t think any of us have ever had to work so hard to claim the rewards from a fort battle. This was one epic adventure that we’ll talk about for a long time and I still refer to the key as the squirrel occasionally.

Two of our crew decided it was time for a break but myself and Pasha Entreri started wondering if we had actually gathered everything. We grabbed a new ship and sailed back to Shark Fin Camp. The skull cloud was still active and the fort full of skellies. We headed straight to the treasure room and discovered we left a couple of trinkets behind. We grabbed them and sailed to Dagger Tooth to cash them in.

On arrival at the Outpost we noticed a galleon had arrived to take on the fort. We thought it would be fun to go and offer our help in taking down the skellies in return we’d only take a small cut of the treasure. Yes we laughed out loud saying this. Unfortunately as we approached the fort we were greeted by the galleon crew and told not to bother. Apparently there was an issue and the treasure room didn’t populate any loot. We both left in different direction but our ship was full of laughter as we knew the real reason the room was bare.

The tale of two Villainous Skulls

Chapter One: Making Friends

While cruising the seas on my own I happened upon a marooned pirate guarding some booty on Crook’s Hollow. From a distance I could see the glow from a villainous skull which he’d tried to hide behind a couple of chests and a gun power barrel … wait a gun powder barrel!

I lined up a shot and was ready to pull the trigger; this was going to be easy, too easy. I took my finger of the trigger and decided to engage. Turned out his crew had lost their ship and were on their way back to collect their loot. I was about to tell him his mistake and the position he’d put himself in with the gun powder barrel but some skellies showed up and sent him to the ferry.

I did a quick scout of the horizon spotting two galleons and a sloop. Not knowing which galleon was his and a sloop closing in on the island I decided to hide his villainous skull. If I’d had the time I would’ve moved it all but with the sloop arriving at the island and a galleon fast approaching I jumped on my ship and took off.

I hid the skull on a nearby island and returned to Crook’s Hollow. The marooned pirate had returned with his crew and understandably were a bit hostile, their villainous skull was missing. After a short volley a cannonballs I managed to make contact and a member of the crew boarded my sloop. Now I was thinking, if these guys are jerks then I’ll just return to the skull and cash it in myself.

Thankfully jerks they were not. So I sailed over to Barnacle Cay where I’d hid the skull for them to retrieve. On arriving at the island we noticed the sloop had followed us over. I slipped the skull onto their ship without the other sloop noticing. We had a few drinks, played music and partook in some shenanigans while I explained what I did. If I hadn’t moved the skull surely the other sloop would have taken it as it was visible from afar due to the glow and it being at night.

In the far distance a skull appeared in the sky and as this crew had yet to tackle a skellie fort we agreed to team up to take it down. On route we cleared out a shipwreck and cashed in all our booty at Sanctuary Outpost.

We worked as one to clear the waves and vanquished the skeleton captain. I let them have the privilege of unlocking the door and we agreed to just grab whatever we could instead of wasting time divvying up the loot. Like all first timers they were distracted by the skeleton chest while I swooped on the fortress skull. It was clear they didn’t know the value of the items. After I’d grabbed a few high value items I decided to let them have a couple too.

We sailed back to Sanctuary Outpost to cash in our haul and celebrate with a few tankards of Grog. It was now I decided to tell them my jerk move, swiping the skull along with the other high value items. They didn’t care and were just happy to have completed the raid learning some tips along the way. After a few more grogs and much laughter they welcomed me to their crew before heading off on their next voyage.

Chapter Two: Payback

Still buzzing from our Skellie Fort victory I helped my new crew resupply their, our ship before heading out on our next voyage. We accepted a contract from the Gold Hoarders and made our way to our first destination, Sunken Grove. As we loaded our 2 Marauders chests on board a sloop pulled up alongside our galleon. They seemed friendly enough and Capt. Fluffmuffin (can’t remember his name but sounded like this) boarded our ship and joined us in a drink & some dancing. Little did we know, his crewmate had snuck aboard and pinched one of our chests. By the time we realised their sloop was well gone and nothing we could do about it.

We didn’t dwell on our loss for long and set off to our next destination. Our voyage was full of shenanigans, laughter and lots of treasure. The (in game) days past rather quickly and our gold grew just as fast. We soon found ourselves heading towards a familiar island, Crook’s Hollow. As we approached the island we reminisced on how we first met, not knowing this stop would once again give us another memorable moment.

As we searched the island for our next dig spot we came across a sloop docked on the far side of the island. We made contact and the crew were happy for use to join them for a drink aboard their ship. While two of use downed some grog with the sloop crew the other two located our treasure and returned it to our ship.

We let them know we’d finished collecting our booty from the island and were heading off to our next destination. As my crewmate ran back to our ship I advised I’d take the longer route along the beach in case there was something washed up along the shore. The sloop crew also headed off into the island in search of their treasure.

About half way down the beach I doubled back to the sloop. During my drunken state I’d stumbled to their lower deck and noticed I nice glow hidden in the corner. I’d directed my crew to sail along the south of the island as they set sail away from Crook’s Hollow. As they brought the ship around I boarded the sloop, grabbed the Villainous Skull and swam out to meet my ship. As it sailed past I grabbed the ladder and placed the skull in the captain’s cabin.

One of my crew seen me run into the cabin and asked what I had. I asked if any of my crew recognised the names of the sloop crew, but they didn’t jog anyone’s memory. “Well lucky for you guys I recognised one, Capt. Fluffmuffin.” Yes it was the same crew who relieved us of a Marauders Chest way back at the start of our voyage. I decided to return the favour by relieving them of something far more valuable.

As we sailed to Plunder Outpost to end our voyage and cash in our haul the sea turned black. Oh great, the Kraken! But by now we were a well-oiled machined and dealt with the kraken with ease. Soon we were celebrating in the Drowned Rat Tavern and looking back at how this epic voyage begun and how it could so easily not have happened.

From a chance meeting at Crook’s Hollow we went on an amazing adventure; we lined our pockets with loads of gold, defeated a Skellie Captain at a Fort, got revenge on a sneaky sloop, took down the kraken and shared lots of laughter along the way.

Two galleons & a sloop meet at a fort

As we approached Keel Haul Fort to take on the skellies we noticed a galleon already docked and engaged in battle with those bony foes. We docked on the opposite side of the island and as I headed ashore to try’n form an alliance, Stacky A stayed with the ship as it was in need of repair due to the heavy cannon fire on our approach.

After taking down some skellies a pirate from the galleon shot me in the back sending me to the Ferry. It wasn’t long before he joined me there and sharply asked us to leave. I told him we just wanted to help and weren’t interested in the loot before returning to the land of the living.

It wasn’t long before I was back on the Ferry and again joined by a crew member from the galleon. He asked why we wouldn’t leave and once more I said we just wanted to help. He told me his crew would just keep killing us until we left. “Well we’re going to stay and fight” I told him which he responded with “well good luck with that!”

On returning to my ship we raised anchor and sailed around to their galleon. We opened fire and put several holes in their hull before I fired myself across to take down the crew. I quickly dispatched one before heading down below to take care or the pirate repairing the ship. The remaining two crew members were on the island but frantically swimming back to their ship.

The galleon was slowly sinking as they both boarded but with two against one I didn’t stand a chance. Meanwhile, Stacky A had acquired a gunpowder barrel and had swam under their ship. BOOM! The damage from the blast was enough to finish of the galleon and send it to the depths. Unfortunately our sloop had run aground and was soon following the galleon to the seabed.

Once we had a new ship we set sail back to Keel Haul Fort to continue the battle. The galleon had already arrived so we dock once again on the other side. I decided to give the galleon crew another chance to crew up and started to head over to their ship. As I ran across the island I heard the sound of cannons being fired. A second galleon had turned up and was tearing into the first galleon which was soon sinking to the depths again.

I was able to make contact with the second galleon and we formed an alliance to take down the fort. Working together we made light work of the waves of skellies and soon had to key for the vault door. Unfortunately the first galleon had returned in search of revenge. The captain of the second galleon decided to flee with the key and return later to collect the booty.

A full day (in game) passed and the first galleon was still giving chase. The captain of the second galleon has tried all his tricks to out run the chasing ship but to no avail. Stacky A and I tried to pitch our suggestions but they were not taken on and our presence on the ship was starting to feel un-welcomed.

While trying to think up a new plan, the captain of our ship made a directional mistake and soon the first galleon was alongside and opened fire. During the chaos I decided to take matters into my own hands. I grabbed the fort key and jumped overboard. It was a bit of a swim but I managed to make it to Sailor’s Knot Stronghold. I hid the key on the island and made my way to a waiting mermaid just of the shore.

On retuning to my sloop I made chase for the two galleons and it wasn’t long before I’d found them. I member of the second galleon jumped overboard as I tailed them and she climbed about my ship. We pulled away and went to collect the key while her ship distracted the chasing galleon. We collected the key but as we headed towards the fort to collect the booty they turned on us. Apparently their captain wasn’t too pleased with my plan.

Stacky A was still on the galleon but not for long, a blunderbuss to the back sent her to the Ferry. Unfortunately for them their crewmate on our sloop wasn’t as accurate and they, rather than me, were heading to the Ferry. It was clear our alliance was over.

The second galleon had managed to shake off the first galleon and were now on our tail. They caught up with us just north of Cannon Cove and boarded our ship. As we passed Lonely Isle two of them jumped ashore with the key and Stacky A gave chase. As I tried my best to keep our ship afloat while they peppered our sloop with cannonballs, their captain made his second directional mistake. He steered his ship right into some rocks.

As the galleon sunk to the depths two of their crewmates were left marooned on Lonely Isle alongside Stacky A and the fort key. I don’t think they knew what island they were on as they wanted us to come back for them in our sloop.  After which they would be able to determine the island and get their galleon to come get them. Playing dumb, Stacky A couldn’t remember what island they were on and when some skeletons finished off one of their crewmates she quickly grabbed the fort key then dropped it somewhere else on the island while the other crew member was occupied with another skellie. When asked what happened to the key Stacky A just said their other crewmate had it before he died. After that, Stacky A was finished off by a skellie herself, leaving their lone crew member on the island. We hoped the crew member wouldn’t find the key or that the Galleon would be able to re-locate the island.

I patched up our ship as Stacky A respawned and we returned to Lonely Isle. No one was on the island when we got there and after a bit of searching we grabbed the key, which had remained hidden in the sand.  With the key in our possession, we made a beeline for Keel Haul Fort. As we pulled up at the fort we scanned the horizon for ships, the coast was clear. We quickly loaded all the treasure onto our ship and made our way to Sanctuary Outpost for a well-earned payday.

As we sat in The George & Kraken enjoy a nice tankard of grog I couldn’t get the words from the first galleon out of my head “well good luck with that!” We both laughed and thought how things could have been so different if they’d just accepted our help.

Run Away ... Boom!

I was coming to an end of a long voyage with my partner in crime, Stacky A. Our ship was full of treasure and our destination Galleons Grave. We could see the outpost in the distance and I could already taste the grog on my lips. This was a hefty haul and one worth celebrating.

As we pulled up to dock a galleon appeared from behind a nearby island. We knew we wouldn’t be able to unload before they would be on us so decided to cash in what we could then head to another outpost. We headed west hoping they’d dock at Galleons Grave leaving us to safely finish cashing in at Dagger Tooth. This was not to be and they gave chase.

As we sailed passed Dagger Tooth we both grabbed an item and jumped overboard leaving our ship to sail on its own. After cashing in we called on the trusty merfolk to return us to our ship.

No matter what we tried they kept gaining on us. I decided to try’n board their ship by jumping of the back of our sloop and grabbing their ladder as they sailed past, success! I quickly scrambled up the ladder and dropped their anchor before a quick trip to the Ferry of the Damned. I managed to repeat this but on my third attempt they’re grown wiser and shot me while trying to board.

We were now heading to Sanctuary Outpost but knew they’d be on us before we reached the island. With Stacky A at the wheel I decided to give boarding them another try but as I made it on deck they opened fire. This time however I managed to escape down below. It wasn’t long before they found me but long enough for me to notice a large supply of gunpowder barrels.

After another trip to the ferry I was back on my ship and thinking up a plan on how to utilise those barrels. They had been chasing us for almost 2 days (in game) and the only way we’d be able to cash in all our loot is if we could get them off out tail.

We’ll before we could come up with a plan they were right beside us and opened fire, boom … BOOOOM!

When they opened fire our ships were so close that one of their gunpowder barrels exploded causing a chain reaction through their galleon. Their attention was quickly taken away from us and to repairing their ship. Unfortunately for them the damage was too great and their ship was soon making its way to the depths. Our ship was also heavily damaged but the 2 of us managed to plug the holes quickly and keep our sloop afloat.

With them now out of the way we were able to dock at the outpost and unload all our treasure in peace. We finally got to relax in the tavern with a grog knowing if it wasn’t for their small oversight things could have ended differently.

Tip of the day: Choose where you store your gunpowder barrels wisely.

Time To Be More Pirate!

It’s been over a year since I first arrived in the Sea of Thieves and what a year it’s been. I’ve spent a large portion of this time exploring the world and campaigning for snakes to be reintroduced to Snake Island. Well the snakes have arrived and it’s time to focus on being more pirate.

I’ll be using this site to log my more memorable voyages along with the shenanigans I get up, hope you enjoy.