I was about to set sail, when I noticed a sloop tangling with a skelly galleon. I went over to help, only to have both the sloop and galleon turn on me. I sailed away, letting the sloop fend for itself. The galleon sank, at which point the sloop came after me. I turned tail and fled, heading towards a legend of the veil fort. The sloop doing the quest turned on me as well, prompting me to flee once more.
As I left the fort, the two ships started attacking one another, and I started planning how to get my hands on the loot. I raided a nearby sea fort, claiming its gunpowder barrels and loot. I sailed over to an island between the fort and the nearest outpost, presenting myself as a target for the victor at the fort. I even managed to acquire a stronghold gunpowder barrel at the island from a skeleton captain's quest.
Sure enough, the victorious ship gave chase as I neared them. I proceeded to go up to my crow's nest to get my stronghold gunpowder barrel, raising my alliance flag so as to allay the suspicions of the other sloop. Unfortunately, I was a little too eager to put my plan into action, and did not pay much attention to the wind. While I had been retrieving my gunpowder barrel, the direction of the wind had changed, allowing my opponents (they were a duo sloop) to gain on me.
I lost some speed when maneuvering around the outpost, and my adversaries managed to get close enough to fire a few cannonballs. I sailed around a rock, intending to lure them after me, whilst also blocking their line of fire. I then intended to start dropping loot into the water, which would hopefully distract the members of the sloop, while I swam the gunpowder barrel onto their ship.
Alas, probability had plans that differed from my own. As I passed the sloop, one of the last cannonballs they fired struck my stronghold gunpowder barrel, reducing my plans to little more than smoke. Moral of the story: Gunpowder barrels and overconfidence do not mix. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining experience, and that's what matters.
