This tale begins much like any other - queuing up for a game with some other players I'd just met - this was right when the coin counting issues were happening, so we couldn't get any voyages. We decide we'll sail around and sink a couple ships or some other piratey fun.
What happens though is we see it - The Skull Cloud. The Skeleton Fort is new to the whole crew, so we take off towards it.
As we arrive we see another Galleon, the crew - a little bloodthirsty takes off towards it, while I get shot off the ship from a skeleton manning a fort cannon. I swim to land and hear the other crew taking on the skeletons. We decide to be friendly and join them in the ensuing battle.
We take on wave after wave of skeleton baddies - a sloop joins the island and I die rather suddenly - I figure it was another pirate who wasn't quite in on it yet, but I respawn and rejoin the fight. I see a red name and am a little confused - despite watching the videos - "Oh, does it color the names of pirates who kill you red?" But then I notice it's the Skeleton Captain! I aim at him and watch as he.. slowly walks into the sky? Moving farther and farther away? I alert the rest of the crew that he's spawned and taken the second star straight off till morning - but he soon winds up back on the island.
As I'm shooting from afar and my best mate is toe to toe with him, our galleon sails off in the other direction! I tell him what's happening and he dies to the Captain, certain to respawn on our ship sailing far away.
However, we (myself and the other crew) soon defeat the Captain. We open the treasure room and marvel at the spoils that await - a Stronghold Chest, a Castaway Chest, several trinkets, and four exploding barrels.
Piece by piece we remove all the treasure out of the stronghold and place it on the island - including (and this bit is important): the exploding barrels.
At this point I've not heard anything over voice comms from my crew and check the list - all but one person (whose name at this point I don't recognize) has logged off! I'm stranded.
We're all talking about what to do - they suggest I could join their crew, and as they're talking they all gather right in front of the exploding barrels, backs turned to me - huge mistake.
I back off quietly up the boardwalk, and fire at them - BAM! "OH MY GOD" Entire crew is dead.
BUT, their ship is parked right off the island. Oh c**p, I've no ship, I can't steal theirs since they'll just respawn - what am I gonna do? With no ship I've no map, no idea where we are.
So here's what I do - I grab the Stronghold chest and hide it under a tower in the tall grass. I note the cardinal direction of the tower in relation to the island, and then I board the sloop anchored off the island. The owner is nowhere to be seen, so I raise anchor, take cannonballs, and head towards the Galleon, taking a moment to look at the map and make a temporarily mental note of the island I'm on and the coordinate it's located at.
Meanwhile, their crew is spawning back in and realize the chest is missing - and the Sloop's owner announces that I've stolen his ship.
I load up the cannon as I approach and fire as many shots into as I can before I die - at least a couple in sweet spots below the waterline. I die, rather suddenly - I suspect from the sloop owner spawning back on. Then - I respawn.
I'm crewless on an island out in the middle of nowhere. Island was at 5U and now I'm at something like 10U. I raise anchor, set the sails, and head off.
It takes a long time, and eventually a full crew of random people join me. No mics. I explain where we're headed, what I've just done, and how rich our spoils that await us will be. Unfortunately, one of the new mates turns out to be a troll - dropping anchor, not once but twice as we're finally nearing the island. I ask the crew to lock him in the brig - but it appears I'm on my own. As I'm raising anchor he takes the helm and starts turning away from the island - I decide I've had enough of that andjump off into the water - still a decent swim away.
Through sheer luck, I encounter no sharks on my way to the island - and also through sheer luck, the Galleon embarks. Oh this is perfect, I think. I do some basic reconnaissance on the island. Looks like the owner of the sloop patched it up, it's got lots of water but I empty it all out. I look around to make sure nobody else is on the island, before grabbing the hidden chest and taking off for the second nearest outpost, in the hopes that the Galleon crew went to the nearest.
I see a Galleon in the distance and I'm worried that the sloop's owner joined the crew - and that THAT's the Galleon, waiting any moment for the sloop owner to hitch a mermaid and shoot me in the back. I switch out to a blunderbuss and wait. I've already got very little wind in my sails, and I realize I'm heading towards a storm. Not wanting to risk it, I change course to the nearest outpost - thinking that perhaps the Galleon hadn't noticed me.
I appear to be in luck as the Galleon doesn't follow and I make it all the way to the outpost. I'm not taking any more chances though and jump off the ship as it nears land - after all, it's not my Sloop! Who cares if it sinks?
I can't believe how well things are going. I move inland to start to look for the gold hoarders - but then I see it - sails! I hide the chest behind the equipment building and start snooping around - It's them! The crew!
One of them is standing right by the Gold Hoarders - looks like he's picking up supplies for their ship. I hide behind some grass and he starts to head my way. I do my best to stay out of line of sight - and either he doesn't see me or he doesn't care that I'm here and he runs off back towards their ship.
Knowing now where the Gold Hoarders are, I go back to the building, grab the chest, peek out and make a bee-line - redeeming it without any shots fired!
And that, mates, is how - without the help of any crew - I made off with the largest heist I've ever fathomed in this game.
My sincerest apologies to the crew I backstabbed - but I had to be more pirate.
Navarr
PokeSensei
Captain of the HNoMS Spise
