There be many a' foe' patrolling the Sea of Thieves, and few friends.
Aye pirates we all be, true, but there be no code against friendship. This log holds a fine tale, of friendship prevailing over enemies. Nay, dare I say villains! For these dastardly doolalies were nothing less.
Me Helmsman, Chris, and I, though eagerly awaitin' our boson and Quartermaster, set sail after a quiet evenin' at Plunder Outpost spent in good company. A Sloop crew had finished counting their spoils there, and we shared a grog to celebrate 'afore they left for more adventures of their own.
As dawn approached, a rumor was whispered our way, of gold aplenty to the North. Aye 'tis a hardy and difficult task to pilot a Galleon just the two of us, but a trip to the outhouse and being left handed is a Herculean task I perform daily!
Did I mention I lost my left hand to a Kraken, and am left with naught but a sharp hook?
Nevermind, we weighed anchor and set course North. But a foul storm of ten thousand thunderin' typhoons descended upon us, and our course was blown eastward, towards an unkempt hive of undead underlings and their tyraniccal Captain!
Left with the choice of braving a storm just the two of us, abandoning our quest, or facing the Fort, we chose the most interesting option.
And by the Pirate lords beard, my Helmsman earned his keep on this day. Never have I seen such a manouver, surely a lesser pilot would have sheared his own ship in half!
We approached with the wind beckoning us towards the shallows and rocks surrounding the Fortress, but my Helmsman pushed on, and we worked hard to trim the sails just right, lest we crash and join the unholy ranks of undead curs.
Nigh a shipslength was left between us and the rocks when Helmsman Chris called for the anchor, and down it went.
A perfect landing!
Nestled between two fortress gun towers we were, the skeletons could do nothing but taste our iron! Both Stern and Bow perfectly aligned with the towers, providing ample cover from all angles.
It was roughly here that I realized we were now 2 pirates against roughly an army, and/or a horde of heavily armed undead.
Perhaps not my finest moment as a Captain to pit a pair of swords and pistols against 100 skeletons.
The Ferryman agreed with this sentiment after my second visit. Or was it third?
Regardless! A cruel twist of fate, the blasted undead were no longer our concern. A Galleon, bright Green with golden accents were descending upon us rapidly. Fortunately we'd not bothered to slay the skeletons manning the gun towers, and so, an absurd scenario played out before us. Living and dead working together to sink a common foe!
Fought tooth and nail we did! 2 pirates, and untold undead gunners showered this accursed green monstrosity of a ship with iron and lead. Time and time again they passed us by, each time taking twice the hits they could deal to us.
Arr the crew of the Unsinkable II may not be the best and brightest, prettiest nor most well groomed of pirates, but by the Krakens eye, we fight to the end, and we give it all!
And our ship earned her namesake on this day, for even though we was bucketing from the mid deck on more than one occassion, still she floated! Defiant to the end, like her crew, refusing to submit.
Alas though, the villainous Galleon got the best of us.
A lone boarder knocked me overboard, leaving Chris to fend for his, and his ships life.
In this moment, I grasped the only chance I believed we had, and began to swim towards the fiendiesh foes Galleon.
By the time I reached their ladder, our ship was sailing off, no doubt more boarders had weighed our anchor and set our ship on a collision course towards hitherto nearby rock formations. I ascended the ladder, and surveyed our nemesis' ship. A lone pirate remained sporting a detestable hat and ugly beard. A swift delivery of lead through my blunderbuss fixed both those issues in a flash however!
But my situation was hopeless. My ship was long gone, only the sea Gods would know what happened to my Helmsman, and I was left alone, surrounded by foes.
In my infamous infinite Captain's wisdom, I decided a nap was in good order.
Using what precious time I had before the contemptuous crew returned, I snuck behind their Captain's quarters, and laid down on the balcony, well out of sight.
I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure what my next move would be here. 4 of them, 1 of me. My ship gone, crewmate, gone, banana count diminishing, pants chafing my.. coral reef. The sounds of battle raging was all I had for company. The enemy pirates making quick work of the skeletons.
At one point I believed salvation was at hand! A sloop arrived, and began firing relentlessly upon the Galleon, and a hardy fight they put up.
But alas, they sailed off. I presume, my vantage point was quite limited from my hiding spot.
Who knows how much time passed. Oddly enough, the silence was what awoke me. The dastardly doolalies had destroyed the undead pirate Captain, and swiftly began loading their spoils. Very swiftly. Too swiftly in fact... Almost as soon as they started loading their plunder, they raised anchor.
Before I knew it, with the sun setting after a long day's fightin', The Unsinkable II swooped in! Chris had survived, somehow! Sails billowing, and cannons roaring, he perforated these pirates from stern to bow!
I knew my time was now; And I ran onto the deck, blasted a gunner straight to the Ferryman's ship. Let loose their anchor, surely this would aid my ship's efforts. Another vehement villain raced up from below deck, no doubt struggling to hold their rickety boat together, attempting to catch the anchor. But my bullets were faster! Another passenger for the Ferry.
Now, as they were but sitting ducks at the mercy of the mighty Unsinkable II, I set about to finish the job. The last remnants of these scurvy ridden landlubbers were busy below deck, desperate to hold the flow of water back. The first man I saw put up a fight at least, but I prevailed. Before the last one could be slain, their ship was well and truly sunk.
I raced to escaped the hold lest I get caught in the undertow, alongside the very last villainous pirate. A brief battle ensued, but he perished as well.
Their ship sunk, and loot spilling into the sea, I finally had the chance to see my Helmsman again, and his tale was as fine as mine! He'd killed both boarders in a heated fight, but alas our ship still hit rocks. Took him half a day to get her seaworthy again at a nearby outpost. Upon his return journey to my rescue, who did he encounter but the friendly sloop crew we first met at Plunder Outpost! Indeed this was the same sloop who'd tussled with this Galleon before the Fort fell. And eager were they, to join us in a fine act of revenge.
And revenge was swift and merciless!
Our new comrades helped us load our newfound wealth, and we set course for the nearest outpost.
Though, as we were getting underway, I noticed our haul was rather... Light. 'Twas but a few chests of gold, cursed skulls and some silks and sugar. A crate of each.
Hardly the fortune of an undead dread Pirate captain.
I ordered Chris to bank hard to Port, and one of our newfound crewmates fired me via cannon straight back to the Fort as they sailed on to the Outpost.
My suspicions were correct; Those confounded doolalies of pirates had left a good chunk of the treasure behind! They'd even abandonded many of the most valuable trinkets!
Extra treasure, no fuss. As our shiny new crew began to sell the first haul, I prepared the second one. A bit more modest sure, but there was almost 5,000 gold coins worth of items left behind!
Before I knew it, all of us had returned to Plunder Outpost, richer and merrier!
On this day, friendship and faith prevailed against the darkest, and meanest of pirates. And so long as the Unsinkable II sails, friendship shall prevail again, come what may!
Captain Tundra
PS; The sharks have started to gnaw incessantly on the keel of late though, I fear we may need to repair the hull if they keep this up...
