Share your Cursed Sails Tavern Tales!

  • There’s panic at the Outposts as banners are appearing throughout the three regions of the Sea of Thieves – banners that are calling you out! Every pirate worth their salt is being challenged to battle at sea, as the dead make war on the living in grim galleons that wield curses against the unwary.

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  • Well, lets just say a megalodon, 2 AI ships and 4 ships, one of which were traitors all at the same time is a nightmare and an amazing time.

  • Tale of dumb luck:

    Went to battle, skeletons failed to spawn on the ships. Since no one was there to repair, they sunk after two shots and waiting for them to fill with water. killed captain, got the loot, as we were loading, the whole thing started over again.. rinse, repeat, made a crazy amount of loot before running out of cannonballs finally..

  • Driven back to the sea by the mysterious circumstances plaguing our once peaceful outposts, Gran, SingeBeard, and I, better known as "Cap'n", set our sails to the East of Marauder's Arch.

    Our maiden brigantine, a new golden lion fixed gloriously to its bow, cut the waves like a ravenous beast on the hunt for its cursed prey. The sky above our sails grew as murky as the sea beneath our hull, whispering the desirable melancholy that only The Wilds hold.

    The hunt was afoot.

    A bark came from SingeBeard that churned our bellies. "I see sails ahead. Off the port. Two galleons and a sloop." The light of his spyglass glinted with anticipation. "It looks like they may be fighting."

    "Fighting each other? Are they pirates or skeletons, man?" I asked, pulling hard the helm to our port side.

    "Can't tell from here," came the reply from Gran, who was now standing beside her fellow seaman on the bow. "Straighten her out. You're on course." The song of the sea had now changed to something far more threatening than anything The Wilds could offer.

    This was a song of the dead.

    Without warning, the sea beside our vessel burst open, giving birth to a monster built of splintered wood and unholy wrath. Cannons loosed their hate upon us, calling for our demise as scorn was cast from glowing eyes of gurgling skellies.

    "THEY'RE HERE!" I bellowed from the helm. "PORT SIDE! FIRE THE CANNONS! FIRE! FIRE!" Just in time did we answer their volley, wretched planks and bones showering onto our valiant deck.

    And so began the battle for The Wilds. Sloop and Seamen. Brigantine and Bosuns. Galleon and Gunners. All hands were clasp to wheel and weapon, fighting for days on end. Sloop and galleon fell to the might of the accursed sails, and faithfully our brigantine gained crewman after crewman. Even the terrible might of the Megalodon came biting into the fray.

    The triumphant return of the galleon kept the tide roaring in our favor. Out of cannonballs, our unrelenting brigantine fired crewman after crewman onto the decks of our enemies, ceasing the blighted cannons and cutting a path to victory through their broken bones.

    Then appeared from the very depths of the locker itself the damned captain in his unhallowed horror. This was it! This was their flagship. Smoke spewed from his maw like the very cannons we fired. The clang of cutless and blow of blunderbuss accompanied our shouting and shooting in an orchestra of determined destruction.

    Then the seas grew still. A previously unnoticed heaviness began to lift from us as the cursed galleon sank. Anchors were dropped and music poured forth from every gallant buccaneer until the sight of floating treasure abruptly ended one celebration for another.

    Docking at Galleon's Grave, the treasure was joyfully carried by each bully and bucko until a fond farewell bid each sailor back onto the waves for whatever adventure awaited them next.

    Aye. A pirate's life for me!

  • Best update thus far!

    Got home from a late night of drinking and trivia, logged on, and BOOM! I'm on a galleon crew about to attack the skellie ships!

    We partnered with another galleon to take them down and share the spoils!

    By the end of the night, I had purchased all the hunter gear, weapons and ship/sail skins.

    Now I just need those doubloon only items unlocked.... heh heh heh

  • After discovering the horrible occurrences brought about by merchant greed, I set my protector of the wilds sails towards the cursed crews that were wreaking havoc... Upon arrival, I notice that my galleon, The Passing Fancy, isn't the first dog to the fight... There were 2 Brigs and a sloop already allied and completely engrossed in combat... With the wind in our sails, we swooped in to aid our fellow pirates in taking out the undead menace. "Man the port-side cannons!!" I shouted, "open fire when they present broadside!!!".. with a glorious ring of cannon fire, our volley strikes with devastating results... With the additional fire power provided by The Fancy, the cursed Captain and his crews of scurvy miscreants was sent back to it's watery grave... At this point, all crews started to get excited about our sudden abundance of cursed Captain chests and skulls, feeling a new tension in our once strong alliance... After a few minutes of discussion and exchanges, we all proceeded to the galleon grave Outpost... Much to the surprise of my crew and I, the entire fleet sailed true to it's word, staying together until they had each sold everything on board. Once finished, we shared a grog and disbanded... After returning to my ship, I climbed the tower to wave as my new friends sailed off into the horizon. And once they we're officially out of sight, I sold the skeleton chest I had managed to stash on my ship during the initial excitement... Remember lads and lasses, Fortune always favors the bold. Happy sailing

  • @honestgr1ft3r

    Aye. A good tale, indeed.

  • No one had enough guts to help us to protect the Shores of Plenty at a critical moment. So, my crew and I went in the deep sea to find the legendary Megalodon. We tamed her and brought her back to fight on our side against the evil Skeleton fleet. It was a hard fight but at the end of the day the victory was our.

  • Having an armada of a galleon, brig & 3 sloops with the same sails looks pretty cool.

    https://i.imgur.com/TbKMVl9.jpg

    galleon looking for a way in without causing friendly fire amongst the small ships swarming around the skelly ship

    https://i.imgur.com/WQzoYmp.jpg

  • We set sail mid day after the challenge from the Cursed Helm. For hours our brows sweated and our backs ached as we loaded our ship with everything we could. We made haste to sail the waters as dusk fell upon us. Making three alliances along the way the gratification of sheer confidence was firm and strong, nothing could stop us now! We were a war band, 30 kegs deep in powder, a sailing war monger ready to send those infernal dead back to where they crawled from. As we neared our destination we were immediately caught off guard by the first ship. Barreling out of the water, sails at full billow and cannons ablaze, the first mighty sailing fortress of the cursed helm wasted no time in peppering us with cannon fire. All hands on deck, we took aim and returned fire with every inch of strength we had, our allies took to the starboard side and shredded away at the monstrous hull. We fought nonstop until she was sunk, but that was only the beginning of what we thought would be a victory. A storm was tailing us, moving in swiftly and showing no signs of changing course, we took action and prepared for the worst that was yet to come. One man below deck to bail and cannons loaded, ready for the next two wretched hulls of the damned to burst out of the water. The next two ships rose out of the depths, one side swiping our port side allie. We lost them in a matter of minutes as the dead showed no mercy towards them. It was just us now, one galleon and one brigitine versus a colossal storm and two ships of plague. We fought side by side, the ships circled us like buzzards ready for the kill. They blasted through our last allie, they were rendered defenseless as the storm claimed them in favor of the damned. It was just us now, going around in wild circles we could hardly see to save our own hides. The two ships reared to our stern and unleashed their unholy fury upon us. Ghoulish Green cannon balls whipped by us, a few managed to hit our sides. The ship began to pitch and yar, rocking with the storm's power. The creaking grew louder, the sails raised and our anchor dropped without the guide of a man's hand! The riggen had come to life, our own ship! Turned against us! That little speck of time was just enough for the ships to mercilessly obliterate our ship. The raging storm carried on over us and in one last ditch attempt, we manged to scourge a few barrels to blow one ship up but to our misfortune a bolt of lightning hit one of the barrels and ignited them all. We were now easy prey as our ship filled up with water. Four men weren't enough to stop the damage and fight. The skeleton ships were at an advantage and they took deep ruthless pleasure in destroying us. Our ship sank, claimed by the sea. The Cursed Helm took what be deemed theirs along with a soured victory. Though we vowed, it was not the end. It was not the end until we sunk every last ship and sent those rancid creatures back to the crushing depths of Davy Jones Locker.

  • Based loosely on real in game events..

    THE EBONFIRE CHRONICLES

    Volume 1
    Facing the Damned

    "That's odd," Jatazi said as she steadied her telescope to counteract the rocking of the ship. "The lights are on but nobody's home."

    "Go dark," said Manix quickly as he choked out the flame of the lantern at the stern. Jatazi followed suit with the two lanterns at the bow and the ship faded into the shadows of the large jagged rocks that protruded up from the shallows of Galleon's Grave.

    The island outpost had an impressive silhouette in the moonlight. Two massive boulders reached out from the sea as if they were the arms of some giant stone golem capturing a galleon, rotted by the years, within its clutches. Jatazi had always wondered how the wreck managed to find itself upon such heights. They called this part of the seas the Wilds. She didn't know why for certain but always noticed that the weather was more unstable and predatory up here. The wind was colder and faster and storms would often trap unsuspecting and unprepared ships, tearing them apart like some wild animal on the hunt. The storms got so bad here that there were legends of massive tidal waves called white squalls within the region, some of which were rumored to reach hundreds of feet high. She thought perhaps that is how the unfortunate galleon found its way up so high on the island. Manix, on the other hand, was convinced that the wreck was nothing more than the result of plate tectonics and an unlucky crew caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. Though Jatazi did notice that Manix was always more alert to the horizon when they neared Galleon's Grave.

    "There is a storm brewing to the west," Manix grimaced. "Lets just sell these chests and head back to the Ancients. I'd rather test my luck with krakens and megalodons than a storm any day. Help me raise the sails... Jatazi?"

    Jatazi waved a dismissive hand as she continued to look through her telescope. She leaned forward with a squint. "There's someone on the southern dock!" she whispered forcefully, just loud enough for Manix to hear her from the other side of the ship.

    Manix stretched for his eye of reach sniper rifle. "Hostile?" he asked.

    "No," replied Jatazi. "A woman I think. She is waving her arms to us. She seems in distress!"

    "Stay on high alert. Check for powder kegs in the water. It may be a trap." Manix cautioned as he rotated the helm towards the southern dock. The water was still around the outpost which was usually alive with the sound of hammers, forges and peddlers. Now it seemed as if there was some bubble of abjuration surrounding its borders and creating a vacuum of eerie silence within.

    "Ey! O'er here! Mayday! O'er here!" the stranger called from the docks, breaking that uneasy silence as the ship approached. "Mayday! O'er..."

    "We hear you!" Manix interrupted with a hint of annoyance, worried that the yelling might beckon something unnatural from the depths.

    "Let me see your hands!" Jatazi demanded to the stranger with the point of a her pistol as the ship approached.

    The woman on the docks did not seem eager to pick a fight or give the crew of the approaching ship any reason to doubt her intentions. She complied instantly with her arms out and upwards with her palms open and clearly visible.

    Manix lassoed a rope to the nearest dock post and expertly tied a sailors knot to secure the ship. He looked west to the darkening clouds on the horizon and tossed a second rope to another post just to be safe. On a usual day, the hawkers and peddlers would rush to the docks to help secure any inbound vessel with the hopes of acquiring a tip or a contract with the crew, but this was no usual day and the only person in sight was the strange woman on the dock with her arms raised high in the air at the end of Jatazi's barrel.

    "What's your name?" Jatazi questioned with a feigned gruffness to her voice.

    "They call me Face," the woman responded without hesitation.

    Manix thought it was an odd name for a woman, though he also thought he could guess why. As he inspected the stranger he noticed that she was very similar in build and age to Jatazi. Both were slender but curved in just the right parts. Both had similar fashion sense. Both even seemed to have similar hair in the darkness of night. The similarities were so significant that Manix became nervous that he might catch himself playfully approaching the wrong woman from behind. Jatazi wouldn't be happy with him if that happened. Fortunately for Manix there was one major difference between the women. While Jatazi's face was tan, smooth and youthful, Face's was pale, rough and scarred. It was as if the stranger was born with twenty years of hardship already upon her.

    "What happened here? Talk fast!" Jatazi demanded, slightly irritated that her attempts to intimidate the stranger seemed to be failing. Either that or the barrel of Jatazi's pistol was the least of the fears to the woman on the dock had at that particular moment. The thought made Jatazi want to shiver. She resisted that urge.

    "Skeletons. They came from the ground as they always done," Face started her account in horrific reflection. "Ey've gotten bold. I've not seen 'em at an outpost b'fore. 'Ere must 'ave been a hundred so! Started with Madame Oksana, that Order of Souls lady. Bound 'em all I tell yah! E'ryone 'ere... 'cept me! Lucky I'm as fit as a fiddle! Able to hide meself in a barrel! 'Ey all went aboard these ghastly lookin' galleons what appeared from the deeps and went north! Sank me sloop along the way, 'em b******s! A whole armada of 'em. Nine at the least!" She calmed down slightly. "I was able to free the merchants when things were settled. 'Ey all done boarded 'emselves up in 'eir huts. It wasn't long at all 'fore another galleon dressed in the sails of legends went rushin' after 'em. Payin' no mind to me or the others 'ere." Face nodded to her right pocket, daring not to remove her hands from above her head. "'Ey left a note."

    Jatazi stepped up onto the dock, steady and sure her aim didn't falter from her target. She reached her free hand into Face's pocket, removed a parchment, and handed it back to Manix.

    "The Crew of the Dancing Demon," Manix read gruffly, "challenge ye to The Final Stand of the Wilds. Be east of Marauder's Arch before daybreak or Galleon's Grave will be destroyed."

    "Marauder's Arch is just north of here. No more than six grids away," Jatazi added. "That must be where that galleon of legends went!" She looked to Manix for approval. "We should help them!" she finished.

    Manix's face tensed. He looked west to the growing storm and paused in a long silence. "Well," he finally said. "I don't like it one bit, but we need this outpost if we're to continue on out here on the Sea of Thieves. It seems to me as if we don't have a choice. The ship is stocked well enough so long as we get there before the storm and that galleon of legends should help us make short work of it. Those undead may have the numbers but their brains have decayed just as much as their guts. Jatazi, grab what supplies you can from the island and I will ready the ship. Be quick about it."

    Jatazi paused. "What about her?" she asked while motioning to Face.

    "What about her?" Manix repeated. "I see no ship here aside from the wreck that towers above us. She is stranded, and a stranded pirate is a poor pirate, and no one finds themselves upon the Sea of Thieves unless they are a pirate to some extent. She has no choice either. Not because she is staring down the barrel of your gun, but because this outpost is as much a part of her livelihood as it is ours." Manix paused and squinted his eyes upon Face. "Or have I misjudged you?"

    Face gulped nervously when she realized just exactly what the helmsman of the moonlit brigantine was asking of her. "Ya've not misjudged, nay." She responded after some time.

    Manix stroked his dread-locked beard for a moment, smiled grimly, and straightened the posture of his already broad and well built figure. "Good. These brigantines are designed to be sailed by a crew of three anyway. Welcome aboard the Fiddler's Green. I'm Manix Ebonfire."

    Jatazi lowered her pistol slowly and glared with uncertainty at the stranger known now to her as Face. "I'm Jatazi Ebonfire. Why don't you help me gather supplies before we set sail?"

    Face nodded with a forced smile and the two made their way up the dock to the supply barrels which neighbored the deathly quiet and boarded up buildings of Galleon's Grave.

    ...

    "Set sails to starboard!" Manix commanded.The Fiddler's Green sliced through the waters as Jatazi and Face heaved and hulled at the heavy ropes and angled the sails to catch the easterly winds. The brigantine moved swiftly. It wouldn't be long before they reached Marauder's Arch.

    Manix and Jatazi were focused on the horizon in an unnerving silence. It is something the two of them had always practiced before a pending battle. They felt the meditation helped them mentally prepare. The silence would cleanse their souls of demons and come to terms with their potential demise.

    Face wanted nothing to do with this dismaying tradition. She broke that silence. "So the two of ya related?"

    "Eww!" Jatazi blurted out with a nervous chuckle. "We're engaged." She explained.

    "Ya done took his surname though," Face stated mockingly with a hint of inquiry. "Bonfire was it?"

    "Ebonfire," Manix corrected coldly. "And if you know of any friendly officiates on the Sea of Thieves by all means point us their way. After so long we just decided to skip the ceremony and share the name."

    "Ya be a captain, are ya not?" Face asked Manix. "I kin tell by the way you handle this 'ere ship, ya be a captain. Just done and officiate ya'selfs. I 'ear all captains have power to do 'at kinda thing." The woman smirked.

    "The ancients don't like it when you take matters into your own hands like that," Jatazi protested in superstition. "And most other captains would just as well kill us before joining us in ceremony. No, the surname is as far I dare take it until we find ourselves in less hostile tidings."

    "Either way 'ere, Manix," Face started. "Ya got ya'self a good lookin' one 'ere, an' stylish to boot! I wish I could look 'at good in a hat like 'at." The woman reached out for Jatazi's triangle hat which was black and adorned with the teeth of some giant sea creature.

    Jatazi pulled away. A long silence had found its way back to the ship.

    "But not much be lookin' good on me head on account of me knocker," Face continued in an effort break the returning tension. "If only I could at least change me hair color. I'm sure 'at would done an help loads!"

    Jatazi smiled faintly. As weary as she was of this new companion she confessed to herself that she felt more at ease with the distraction of conversation compared to the normal ritual rumination. "I have some hair dyes in the cargo hold. I picked them up just the other day," Jatazi said as she walked over to the stairs and disappeared below deck. "It won't have time to dry but we can get it started while we travel. I think a vibrant red would do nicely! What do you think?" Jatazi shouted from below.

    "Aye 'at would do nicely me thinks," replied Face from above with a smile, although she could guess that Jatazi's gesture was not of trust and friendship as much as it was to take their mind off of the daunting dangers ahead.

    The ship got quiet once more. Lightning flashed to the west. A soft thunder rolled a few seconds later. The waves slowly became more choppy. The lightning became consistent enough to help illuminate the deck as Jastazi wove the dye into Face's hair. Jatazi's knack for these sort of things proved on point once again. The rose red dye, though still dark and wet, had already taken at least ten years off of Face.

    Face broke the silence again. "Why ya call it the Fiddler's Green?" she asked. "Looks to be purple to me. I saw it in the lightnin'."

    "All of our ships are called the Fiddler's Green." Jatazi explained. "The first one actually was green and we used to paint the others but after you sink so many you grow more attached to the name and less attached to the ship."

    Face got noticeably nervous. "Jus' 'ow many ship 'ave the two ya sunk?" she asked.

    "More than we dare recall," Jatazi answered.

    "It's the Sea of Thieves," Manix added. "There will always be another ship."

    "But whats it mean? Fiddler's Green?" Face pushed.

    "It's a sea shanty from another realm about a sort of seafarer's afterlife called the Fiddler's Green. I'll sing it for you if we survive this." Manix promised.

    "You don't want that," Jatazi interjected. "Manix can work magic with a hurdy gurdy but his voice is not for sh..." Thunder interrupted her. This time louder than before. This time not thunder at all... Cannon fire! More volleys sound from ahead. Jatazi raised her telescope. "Sails!" she shouted. "Three sets! One of legends and the other two are something I've not seen before! Hell on the high seas! Load the cannons! Ready your weapons!"

    ...

    ‘We're in the thick of it now,’ Manix thought to himself as the bottom of the Fiddler's Green smacked into the waves of the now churning sea. They had entered the wake of the battle. Before them was a massive galleon with a hull as black as the night sky and sails decorated with the slightly luminescent teal blue symbol of Athena's Fortune, a mark reserved for only the most notorious of pirates. Parallel to the galleon's port side was another massive ship which looked as if its hull was constructed with no more than mere scrap planks with torn canopies for sails. It had no natural business being afloat. It had no natural business being able to turn and quicken as swiftly as what was being witnessed at that very moment. No, there was nothing natural about this ship at all. A second abomination of a ship was further out to port. Its silhouette shown grotesquely in the flashes of encroaching lightning, patiently waiting and toying with its prey. Manix remembered that Face had mentioned nine ships within the skeletal armada. Though he had heard many songs and tales of legendary pirates, he could not believe that the lone galleon of Athena had already sunk seven ships in the short time it had taken the Fiddler's Green to arrive. Within seconds the nearest of the ghost ships made a sharp pinwheel to starboard and rammed hulls with the galleon of Athena. A few shots were exchanged moments later. Manix noticed the encounter was so far less chaotic than he had anticipated. He didn't know yet what to make of it but knew that something was off.

    "What flag on the Athena, Jatazi?" Manix beckoned.

    "The Jolly Roger!" Jatazi replied with her telescope fixed on the mainmast of the legendary ship.

    "S**t!" Manix cursed, remembering all of the times he had encountered hostility from other crews flying that same flag. "Face, raise the mainsail! Jatazi, to the crow's nest and raise the pendant of alliance!" He was hopeful that this extraordinary situation would be enough to negotiate cooperation with the legendary crew. Manix banked the brigantine to starboard away from the battle, patiently waiting for the galleon to respond with their own pendant of alliance.

    Unfortunately patience was a luxury they did not rightfully own. The second cursed ship hastened with demonic speed to intercept the Fiddler's Green.

    "Incoming!" Jatazi screamed. "Rotate to port! Cannons ready on starboard!"

    Manix twisted the helm desperately to the left but it was too late. The cursed ship was too fast and already upon them with cannon fire, expertly aimed at the hull of the ship.

    "I'm on it!" Face called, already half way down the stairs with a hammer and nails in hand.

    "How are we looking down there?" Manix yelled down to Face.

    "Many a hole!" Face responded over the racket of her hammering. "Lucky 'ey all be minor! Barely a fish tank of water down 'ere! We be done an' patched up soon!"

    They didn't have soon to wait. The cursed ship pivoted to face the Fiddler's Green head on and quickened. Manix knew that they could not outrun the sorcery of their foe. Their only chance was being able to match their ability to rotate. He developed a plan. He knew they only had one shot.

    "Face, whatever isn't patched yet we will need to let sit! Cannons to starboard! Jatazi, cut the mainsail and toss the anchor!" Manix commanded as the steering finally locked to the left. He shoved the butt of his eye of reach into the crossbars of the helm and railing of the ship, wrenching the wheel and locking it in place. He hurried to a free cannon.

    Jatazi unsheathed her sword, and with one slash each, severed the thick ropes which held the mainsail in a neatly rolled and folded position upon the mast. She quickly turned to the center of the deck and released the locking mechanism which held up the anchor. The sails billowed with the strengthening winds and, like a well oiled machine, the Fiddler's Green locked anchor with the seafloor and corkscrewed. The sudden change of momentum would have sent the crew out of their boots if not for their years of experience.

    "Fire!" Manix screamed while lighting the fuse of his cannon. Face followed his lead. Volley after volley roared and precisely punctured the lower hull of the ghostly galleon which rushed for them. The shadow of the cursed ship's approaching figurehead loomed over the deck of the Fiddler's Green. It was the skull of an open mouthed kraken ready to devour the brigantine whole. "Prepare for impact! Jatazi! Board them as they..." The brilliantly crafted purple coated wood of the brigantine crunched deafeningly under the pressure of the cursed ship's bow. The force of the impact sent Manix tumbling down the stairs below deck. He looked around frantically for Jatazi and Face. No one. He called out for them. Nothing. The water began to leak in. He had to repair the ship.

    Face felt a sudden blow to the sternum. A jouster had struck her square on. However the jouster's horse was a ship and its lance was its bow. A sudden cold wetness overtook her as she was swallowed by the sea. She looked up through the deeps to see the moonlight turned rose red by a stain within the water. She heard more cannon fire, muffled by viscosity of her inevitable grave. I hope the Fiddler's Green welcomes me when I arrive, Face thought to herself while closing her eyes in acceptance. All pirates could predict that the sea would be their final resting place. What none of them could predict is how... or when. Face felt a hardness to her back pushing her upwards to the surface. She instinctively latched onto the oxygen bound barrel which had just discarded its cargo of cannonballs and could now make use of its natural buoyancy. Face gasped for air and saw the carnage surrounding her. Planks and splinters circled her like sharks on the hunt. Face thought back to the red tainting of the sea and patted herself down in search of wounds. Her stomach ached from the blow of the impact. It was certainly bruised, perhaps a fractured rib, but nothing more serious than that. She slicked back her hair which was obstructing her view. Her hands were red with hair dye and she couldn't help but cackle with relief. Finally gathering herself, Face strained to see above the waves and searched for any signs of life. Somehow the Fiddler's Green was still afloat!

    Jatazi held on tightly to the ladder of the cursed ship. She heard the unison marching of clanking bones fade into the cargo hold. The deck was clear. Now was her chance. Jatazi hoisted herself up the ladder, readied her sword, and charged into the underbelly of the ship. The undead crew, focused on repairing the damage inflicted by the Fiddler's Green, could not have expected how fast and skilled the young human was with a sword. It wasn't long before the hold of the ship was carpeted in bones. The water raised swiftly and it was soon time for Jatazi to leave that wreck of a ship to the sea. She ran above deck to spot the Fiddler's Green, miraculously just barely above water and within a swimmer's reach. A waterlogged Face was climbing the ladder back aboard the brigantine and the sound of Manix hammering echoed within its hull. What's more, she noticed, the galleon of legends had also been victorious and now sailed the pendant of an accepted alliance! Jatazi couldn't help but smile, but that smile was nothing if not short lived.

    The ghastly wail of a demonic conch-shell resonated through the air. Lightning struck the open seas with a crack of thunder. The pitch black clouds and frigid rain rushed in like a swarm of locusts. The water bubbled and glowed green.

    "Man overboard!" someone cried from the newly allied galleon. Their masts rocked like a pendulum as another ship from the undead armada suddenly surfaced from underneath.

    The waves stirred violently and Jatazi knew she could no longer swim back to the brigantine, but as the ship she stood on continued to sink she knew she had to try. The sea raged around her. It swallowed her up and spat her out to its own sadistic delight. With every stroke forward she move a body's length back. Exhaustion overtook her. Her muscles cramped and slowed with the lactic acid being released within. Another soul was condemned to the depths. Another soul was rejected. The green glow from the abyss blinded Jatazi and she soon found herself on the deck of yet another cursed galleon! However this one was different. As she laid upon the deck, Jatazi had expected the skeletal crew to attack her. They did not. Instead they loaded green glowing cannonballs in the cannons as the ship turned to target the Fiddler's Green. Her temples ached suddenly and intensely. She turned to see a blackend skeleton dressed in a black coat and matching hat with smouldering green fiery eyes. A guttural voice penetrated her mind. ‘Welcome aboard the Dancing Demon, Jatazi Ebonfire.’

    Manix ducked instinctively as more cannon fire hit the hull of the ship around him. He groaned as he realized he was stuck in an open door prison beneath the deck of the Fiddler’s Green. His freedom was conditioned solely to the mercy of the merciless enemy cannons. He had to keep the brigantine afloat, but something was wrong. A green aura enveloped the interior of the cargo hold. Manix’s muscles twitched and spasmed as if being controlled by another mind. He fell to the floor and the water quickly inched above his head.

    Face discovered a horrific scene below the deck of the Fiddler’s Green. Manix flopped around the floor in a dance like seizure, gasping for air and coughing whenever he flopped above the water. She secured the bulky man under his armpits and tugged him halfway up the stairs, distancing his head from the water. Just as she was about to resume Manix’s patchwork, the loud crack of splintering wood sounded again. The wind was so strong that it dragged the brigantine, ripping the anchor through the seafloor like a knife through butter, and crashed it fiercely into a nearby protruding rock. The hull of the brigantine chasmed and was illuminated with a mixture of lightning blue and unnatural green.

    Manix came to just in time. He and Face rushed up to the deck and leaped upon the stone reckoning of the Fiddler’s Green, almost slipping off the edge of the rain soaked rock. The fractured ship caught the downward tide, pulled away from the rock, and sank slowly into the abyss. The shadow of the Dancing Demon dominated over them mockingly.

    They heard an explosion from behind, ten times the volume of a cannon blast. A bright yellow flash lit up the cloud veiled night sky and reflected upon the endless onslaught of raindrops. The galleon of legends ignited its foe into a blazing inferno.

    Manix searched the seas frantically to no avail. Jatazi was nowhere to be seen. He called out for her. No response. Suddenly a scream of terror escaped the Dancing Demon. Jatazi needed help. The green lit galleon rotated and set sail to attack the crew of legends. Manix and Face took advantage of the Dancing Demon’s close passing proximity and leapt for the ladder with arms locked incase one of them were to fall. The galleon of Athena began to rotate in the distance facing its cannon to the lead vessel of the undead fleet. Manix was careful not to cling to hope, a caution of his that proved to be well warranted. Instead of setting their cannons ablaze, the legendary galleon retired the pendant of their alliance and set sail in retreat to the east. He heard Jatazi scream once more. Without a second thought, Manix and Face quickly summited the ladder with blades drawn.

    Face turned to the bow and tried to hold off the demonic crew. Her path worked to bottleneck the animated skeletons on the stairs leading below deck so that they could only advance in waves of one or two at a time. She knew she couldn’t handle them all and clung to the hope that Manix and Jatazi would soon come to her aid.

    Manix saw Jatazi on her knees near the helm. The captain of the Dancing Demon towered over her with his boney fingers clutching Jatazi’s head. Jatazi was muttering some chant or incantation in a voice not her own. The skeletal captain’s green eyes glowed brighter. Manix charged forward and dashed up the stairs with the rage of a berserker and tackled the demon away from his mate. The black skeleton threw its attacker off of it with the force of ten men. Manix rolled and caught himself upon the rails of the vessel. The skeletal captain approached him slowly.

    Jatazi snapped out of her trance, performed quickdraw with her pistol, pulled the trigger, and prayed that the gun wasn’t too waterlogged to function. Both her prayers and aim proved to be true. The bullet zipped through the rain and slugged the cursed captain in the back of its skull. The black skeleton stammered, just long enough for both Manix and Jatazi to set their swords upon it, carving and thinning its boney frame slice by slice until its form came completely undone. The rest of the cursed crew exploded in a chaos of boney shrapnel as if they were bound the fate of their captain.

    The crew of the fallen Fiddler’s Green collapsed upon the ghost ship to catch their breath. It seemed all at once the storm had let up and the first morning’s light glistened upon the eastern horizon. The sea bubbled once more. The three companions grasped each other’s arms in support. The Dancing Demon turned with a mind of its own and began to plummet back down to the abyss of the Wilds to wait for a new captain. Manix, Jatazi and Face dove overboard and swam for a nearby protruding rock, still adorned with some scattered remains of the Fiddler’s Green. The three of them laid there in the rising warmth of the sun.

    Manix reached for Jatazi’s hand and looked to Face with an exhausted smile. He sang off key but, in that moment, none of them cared. “Wrap me up in me oilskins and jumpers. No more on the docks I’ll be seen. Just tell me ol’ shipmates, I’m taking a trip, mates, and I’ll see you someday in Fiddler’s Green.”

    “What will we do now?” asked Face.

    Manix looked east to the silhouette of that farce of a legendary galleon. “It’s the Sea of Thieves,” he said. “There will always be another ship.”

  • @scoobywrx555 that sloop, though!!!! Jeez look at that side, it's obliterated!!!!

  • Well, my first experience from Cursed Sails consisted of my brig team of 3 trying to fight a skelly ship by ourselves. Lets just say that didnt work out too well. So, learning from our mistakes, we decided to sail up to Golden Sands and see if we could figure out what was causing these ships to appear? Upon our arrival, there was another full Brig crew there, so we decided to test out this new alliance system. As we sat in Golden Sands testing out what we can and can't do, and figuring out this quest, another brig crew rolls up and automatically joins our alliance. We were more than happy to welcome some more people, so we welcomed them with music and grog. After one merry jam session together, a 4th Brig AND a Sloop show up at the same time, leaving us with 5 total ships with a total of 13 pirates. suprisingly, there were no bullets shot throughout the entirety of our gathering, only trying to get 13 people in an Xbox Live party... And failing... and giving up to just use game chat. One member of a Brig said, "Let's try to recruit more ships!" And so we did. 5 ships all repping different sails, hulls, and experience within the Sea of Thieves just sailing around enjoying themselves. We ended up docking at Dagger Tooth's unreasonably large dock and had another very large band. Then, a pirate suggested that we instead go fight a skelly ship. Why not? with 5 ships what could stand a chance? We decided to meet at Marauder's Arch on the 20th to take on the crew of the Dancing Demon. As we arrived, we sailed to the east of it and heard the terrifying sound of a ship spawning and it appearing in front of us. The skeleton crew did not last long against all of us. We then all headed back to Dagger Tooth to sell and that is where our journey ended. It is by far my favorite experience I've ever had on a video game and I'd like to thank Rare for making such a unique game. While sailing around with all those wonderful "Pirates" we kept chanting "Sea of Friends". In that moment, I actually believed one update changed the entire community. That was until I joined another server in a solo sloop and was sunk by a Gal within 10 minutes.

  • i startet with camapign it was pretty cool. at my first stop on crecent i got gunpowdered by another crew, on the second day i found an alliance we did a battle in the wilds we battled us as well for the loot after the cpt as defeatet :D...yesterday i had 4 ship fleet we did the sharkbait raid i had to leave came back later they did already the sharkbait raid but promised me we will do it again...we had 3 hrs to do it. so i asked them 3 times will we really do it....in the last hour we stand on plunder an they start lazy talkin what we wanna do we should wait for the wilds,n i decided i do a childish aktion^^ i gunpowdered our galleon ,was full off supllies nearly 300cannonballs,end of story they reportet me 10 xbox live reports.
    i guess for trolling,but is it not piratestyle?;)(they waste my time for hours with mercahnt voyages) if a pirate angry...my problem is i want this new stuff i cant resist the grind, n today i cant do the sharkbait cause i have no time

  • @khaleesibot @CaptainPheebs

    So... here goes... bit long but... gather round ye scallywags! I have a tale to tell!


    The Ballad of Katt and Captain Pheebs

    A ballad of Katt and CaptainPheebs
    The latter a Legend 'pon the Seas
    Of their fateful voyage and sad demise
    A day they failed to win their prize.

    A plan was hatched at Golden Sands
    To voyage north east to Wilder lands
    And there to challenge the Cursed Fleet
    To force the skeletons to retreat.

    A well stocked sloop sat at the dock
    We checked the time upon the clock
    Raised the anchor and sallied forth
    Bowsprit pointed towards the north.

    A fort we spied upon the horiz'n
    A handy spot to find supplies in
    Explosive kegs, 'balls and planks
    We piled 'em high on the gold sandbanks.

    But mayhap what transpired next
    To the twenty barrels in our crow's nest
    Should ha' made us pause and consider our luck
    As the whole lot exploded when lightning struck!

    Yet we voyaged on though the skies grew dark
    Swiftly past the familiar landmarks
    Hidden Spring and Kraken Watchtower
    Black Sand Atoll and the seas grew dour...

    Nary a ship did we behold
    To share in this adventure bold
    Alone, alone when we spied the place
    Of Skeleton ships held in the seas embrace

    The calamitous, terrible fanfare sounded
    Up from the depths their galleons bounded!
    Skeletons cackled and cannons fired
    Our annihilation their one desire.



    Determined, we, to survive the onslaught
    Inflict some damage before we were caught
    By the ominous touch of infernal cannonballs
    And forced to dance like bedeviled ragdolls.



    They span and turned like ships possessed
    Pheebs grabbed a keg and at her behest
    I steered our sloop into the path
    Of the treacherous skeletons' mighty wrath

    Oh, but she tried her very damn'dest!
    Yet into the waves was where she landed...
    The sloop now turned and unable to hide
    From a full on skeleton ship broadside!


    Pheebs actually managed to board the skellie ships a couple of times #artisticlicence


    We danced and patched and fired and fought
    Twas hard to think it were all fer naught
    And while our spirits ebbed and fell
    A sloop appeared on the ghastly swell!

    Allies we thought and rais'd our pennant!
    Now for a chance to finish this fey hunt!
    With one still fighting while the other repair'd
    'Twould not be long 'til the spoils were shared!

    Alas they had other things in mind,
    They boarded and slashed us from behind
    When their ship went down to Davy Jones
    Trying to take our sloop for their own.

    But a pistol shot soon had that sorted
    A trip to the Ferry and they were thwarted.
    Our uneasy alliance hung by a thread
    We weren't best pleased at being misled.


    https://i.pinimg.com/564x/73/9b/7a/739b7a1e5004d73e8506faa230737812.jpg
    The sloop stayed and fought valiantly alongside us


    The hours fled by and we fought on
    Four skeleton ships were sunk and gone
    Again and again we returned to the fray
    Restocking our barrels along the way


    https://i.pinimg.com/564x/b4/18/d3/b418d309e8df2c150eb274dc88aa74cf.jpg
    Waiting for Captain Pheebs to return


    When the last ships rose from the murky depths
    We seriously doubted our chance of success
    Our stores were bare and the sloop barely floating
    This crew overcome by a sense of foreboding



    We'd given our all, over and over
    While a victory would have given us closure
    We'll sail again to set this right.
    A pirate would ne'er give up the fight!


  • @katttruewalker
    hands you his pen You're the true writer here... I am so honored to have read such a ballad/poem.

  • @eredhar
    Pssht, thank you for those very kind words!
    I don't write often and it has to be about something that inspires - Sea of Thieves is the perfect world for stories and poems of all kinds :)

  • @katttruewalker I made a little "movie" about Cursed Sails. I hope you like it!

  • @manix-ebonfire jeez, you pretty much just made a book

  • The Tales of Fatbeard and Hit crew up til now!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVqm7pV0j-E&t=666s

  • Athena's Revenge:

    I joined a crew as they were collecting supplies for one of the skelly ships. They were in an alliance with a brig and both had previously been fighting the skelly ships but needed to restock.
    We both collected resources and headed back to restart the fight. Our ship charged in, unloading barrels into it. I had noticed the brig suspiciously keeping its distance. Once we charged, they charged...
    At us!
    With a flurry of wild sword swings and borderline aggressive vocals we were quickly killed and sunk.
    What was that about we wondered. As they had the bonecrusher ship I suspected it was all a ruse for some pvp action.
    They continued to fight the skelly ships alone. But they failed, sunk.
    Had Athena cursed them? She didn't grant them the strategic warfare that two ships would have completed the mission in time. And she certainly didn't grant them the wisdom that even in the alliance they could have earned all 100% of the loot value...

  • Story time!

    Me and my crew of three on a brigitine had the most cherishable moment happen to us. We sunk the fleet of the Enslaving chain using only buckets of water! We ran out of supplies mid fight and thought we were done for. We bailed like madmen as we got hammered with cannon fire. We ended up sinking the entire last two waves of ships by throwing water at the ships whenever they got close and snagging wood and cannonballs whenever we could which was slim because without all three of us hauling water we would've sunk and we had enough of the run around from sinking during our first go with the enslaving chain as the megaladon decided to join in and cause problems, so failing wasn't in the cards for us. Our ship sank on the last round and we boarded the last ship that was still afloat and just straight up sank it by throwing water at it nonstop since it was at a standstill to our favor. We have officially called ourselves, "The Three Bucketeers"

    We claimed no treasure, forget the treasure! The accommodation and sheer pleasure from that was enough for us to say it was a good day on the waves!

  • The cursed sails have been calling me... Capt. HonestGr1ft3r doesn't back down from a challenge, and the skeleton scourge won't subside, so I do what any skilled Corsair would do, accept my letter of marque and sail around, night and day, responding with brutal measures wherever these cursed vessels make their presence known...

    Having been a treasure diver by trade since launch, I have become accustomed to open water defense and combat tactics, having had to defend my haul on countless occasions. Knowing my way around a ship, inside and out, had provided me with keen insight as to the most delecate sections of these large ships. Knowledge that has proven Paramount with every single one of the 75 plus cursed crews I've faced down...See, I've become a sort of ferry into the fray, as it were. Helping crew after crew seek their Fame and Fortune, The Passing Fancy has become a highly recognizable staple, sailing endless meters, in search of others who've got a desire to lend sail in defense of the seas. But this time, I had no idea what I was sailing this new crew into...

    Pulling up to an abandoned fort, i cracked a small joke to lighten the hearts of the 3 fine pirates in my newly acquired crew, "A powder barrel to the bottom deck will put her in a watery grave faster than me ex wife, so let's see if we can find one or two!!". There was an intense uproar from the deck as the crew prepared to go ashore. As I went below deck to check inventory on the ship, I could hear the unmistakable sounds of my first mates favorite shanty "... She took the captains favorite dog, she took everything but the sails and hull, but the siren didn't get his balls, oh my dear Cap'n!!!!" His voice trailed off as he swam to shore...

    "That makes 7 boom barrels!! we could almost sink an island now" my first mate hollered out, as he comes aboard with another large red barrel. After we situated the final barrel in the crows nest, we all met downstairs for a drink while we formulated our plan of attack. There was a strange calm about the crew, everyone was focused and relaxed. "Ya know," my cannoneer said, breaking the silence, "I haven't seen any Meg's in over a week. Seems strange, I mean with all the cursed ships sinking folks, and all". "Yeah" chimed my first mate, "these Waters have been lousy with 'em since Wanda waged war on the merchants! It's a good thing we don't pay for supplies, all the planks and cannonballs we've gone through!". Laughter again rolled through the crew as they all tried to tally up what we would have spent on munitions and ship repair if we didn't loot those 3 shipwrecks. I continued looking through our open contracts, getting them marked, and getting the rest of our voyage planned. Tomorrow's fight would be just like every fight before, it'd be over before dusk and we'd set sail again the following morning. Or so I thought...
    Fully stocked and well rested, we
    started towards sharkbait cove. From the helm, I could see the outline of a galleon West of us, sails pinned awaiting the arrival of another vessel prepped and fully kitted for combat... "We're friendly, we're friendly" they shouted across the waves. Before we could respond with an alliance flag, the first ship of the cursed fleet erupted from the waves on our port side..

    "fire low and get them bleeding," I shouted, "anything to slow them down so we can get on board and get the loot!!". With that command, the port-side cannons erupted, sending a volley clean through the skeleton hull. My crew continued to unload on its Target, putting 27 of 30 rounds into them with deadly force. The Skeletons on Deck started to answer back with 4 traditional rounds, not missing their mark once. "We're taking some damage down here, but she'll hold up just fine." I could hear my men quick at work to repair the Fancy as I steered her next to cursed ship. My mate was heading up to grab a barrel to finish the crippled vessel, but noticed a new threat...

    "We've got a damned Meg, and I don't think she aims to let us leave", screamed my mate. It was obvious that he was feeling uneasy, and that's no small feat. "We've taken at least 2 dozen of those infernal beasts, we're not going to let this one Sully a perfect record!!" I said in reply, trying to steel his reserve... After a brief moment, I hear my spotter shout "she's coming in for a bite, right behind us!!! BRACE FOR IMPA-...".

    Before he could finish, the giant shark slammed into the rear, knocking my first mate into the water. "Assessment?!" I barked from the helm. " There are 4 holes and a lot of water pouring in Captain, I need a hand!!", My cannoneer yelled from below deck... As I made my way towards the stairs, I saw the Skeletons lining up their next shots. They had us dead to rights and all I could do was shout incoming...

    With machine like precision, the second volley struck our already crippled ship. Normally, this crew could have handled 2 living crews along with the shark, and come away victor every time, but these damned curses had us feeling as if we had consumed an entire grog barrel with each one. We were suddenly in serious trouble and the three of us were helpless to defend.
    BOOM
    3 seconds go by, and another blast rings out.
    BOOM

    Sobering up just in time to start bailing and patching back up before we sank, I start asking for status reports from all the crew.. "finished bailing" one replied, "prepping cannons" responded the second. My first mate suddenly appeared on deck, with the tell tale green glow of the ferryman around him. The deafening sounds of battle had completely subsided, so I ran to the side of the ship to see the giant shark laying on it's side, slumped over, and the skeleton ship dropping nose first beneath the waves.

    See, my first mate had swam across to the friendly galleon, and together had concocted a plan to save The Passing Fancy, who was caught in the fray. Taking a powder barrel from their ship, he jumped right into the open jaws of that Meg and self ignited the barrel, killing the large shark on impact. There second blast that we had heard was the other ship boarding the skeleton boat and putting a barrel in her belly. Now that we had the break we needed, The day might still be ours...

    The battle raged on for the next 3 days. The waters west of sharkbait were plagued by the sounds of gunfire, cannons, and cutlass' ringing out over the salty air. By the end, both friendly vessels were beat up and broken, but we were alive. It was time to strike a deal with our new friends and cash in our well earned haul...

    T'was a fight I won't soon be forgetting, The day The Fancy's luck almost ran out...

  • Bereft of a beautiful plumage!

    haha love Salty's cheeky chatter, the parrot that has ceased to be and misses having rests.
    Though he looks like he's resting unless Rare you've nailed poor Salty to that barrel! :o ;)

    https://i.imgur.com/nRPBuTU.jpg

  • @balbasuar ...I was inspired. Lol

  • My Greatest Act of Piracy Yet - They had no idea...


    Ahoy Fo'Rum!

    Here's a tale I have to tell because I just couldn't believe we got away with this.

    Typically, I'm rather approachable on the Sea of Thieves I'm more a wait and see how others react before deciding to open fire or not. I try to be as helpful as I can to anyone I see and offer my assistance where necessary but there has been the odd time here and there where my crew at the time convince me otherwise.

    This is one of those times...

    To lay down the groundwork, we were on a Galleon, I was accompanied by two friends @M0D3Rn and @Jangles87 and we attempted (and failed due to time) to solo the Shores of Plenty ships. Before failing miserably we opened the final slot on our crew and was greeted by @Morus666 who was seaworthy and a welcome addition to the crew.

    Defeated by our first attempt we decided to cruise on down to the Ancient Isles and try our hand at that instead with a lot more time on our side.

    Well turns out we found the rest of the server there, without a word of a lie 3 Galleons (plus ours) and 2 brigs. We all Allianced up and got to work.

    It. Was. Chaos

    Unfortunately the added weight of everyone in one place had some no-so-good effects on the server lag... we all battled, not only with skeleton ships, Pffft. they are nothing, its the lag you have to look out for, puts up a real challenge haha

    Long story cut short, we took on the ships and had Meg pop up for the party, we took in turns sinking ships and my Galleon with a final few cannonballs took down the Captain's vessel.

    We rolled our Galleon above the sinking spot and began diving over to collect the bounty for our allianced server with full intentions to split with all involved.

    Then the Meg attacked us...

    As I called out to a passing Galleon (within Speaking Trumpet range) I pleaded to them that they assist us as the treasure was still below us, they just kept on sailing past towards Plunder Outpost.

    My crew did an amazing job bringing everything aboard while I took out the Meg (good riddance) we then took off, but this is where things got interesting we noticed that our Alliance was huddled around Plunder Outpost, but we continued North to Golden Sands.

    As we made our way we started talking about how excited the Alliance will be once we start cashing in as they only dropped an odd item here and there.

    ... I don't know who it was that suggested it but we then started to discuss... a mutiny.

    "Why should we give them any of this, they all left us in the dust with the Meg when we asked for help?" someone exclaimed.

    "Yeah!" - said the others.

    "Okay, lets do this." I said, "But before we leave the alliance we will cash in this singular Foul Bounty Skull to give to the Alliance" I continued.

    The crew laughed.

    So that's what we did, we rolled up, our Alliance still down by Plunders, we cashed in our Foul Bounty Skull and then left the Alliance. Continuing to keep the gold to ourselves. As we just finished our last cash-in the very same Galleon we asked for help dropped anchor beside us and questioned "You finished cashing in boys?"

    Everyone paused a moment, I was waiting to see if my crew mates would lie or fess up. We decided to lie, "nah man, we only had the foul skull, we thought you guys had it all?"

    I followed up with: "Yeah, we just came up this way because we have an active voyage this way and then decided we were about to log off..."

    They totally bought it

    Here is a video of the reactions to the other crew as we lied, (unfortunately you can't hear myself or my crew because Xbox DVR didn't pick any of it up...)

    My favourite part is that while we were coming up with excuses (oh it must have been the lag maybe it bugged out type thing) the delayed cash-in fanfare continued on our screen the entire time.

    Sorry guys... next time I promise to share.

  • @khaleesibot
    *- Names have been changed to protect the "innocent."

    Honor Among Thieves


    My crew aboard The Devil's Masquerade, we'd just finished the Battle for the Wilds. We were members of an Alliance of three ships, but only one ship - our Galleon - survived the fray, and only one other crew, the members of an ill-fated Brigantine, remained in the alliance.

    The captain of that brig, Shakers, was still in the water at the end, gathering up the loot from his wrecked Brigantine. We welcomed him aboard, telling him that we'd split all the loot 50/50 - so that everyone in the alliance received the same amount in the end... going so far as to divide it there on the deck. After reuniting him with his crew and a new ship at Dagger Tooth outpost - keeping our word and splitting the loot, both crews decided to head for the next battle at The Shores of Plenty just NW of Smuggler's Bay. We made arrangements to meet them there, after re-stocking. Unfortunately, one of our crew had to take a leave - we bid him farewell and hoped to pick up another crew member on the way.

    As we finished loading the final gunpowder kegs and cannonballs aboard at Keel Haul Fort our desire was met and a pirate asked to come aboard our ship for the next battle. He was dressed in fine, glowing attire - that of a Legend, and he had the swagger to match. He said his name was Deets - he looked to have the confidence and experience we needed, so we welcomed him aboard.

    Just as we set out to meet our alliance, Deets chimed in with - less a suggestion and more a directive: that we keep the alliance to the end, then break it, sink the other crews and take the loot for ourselves. Our immediate response - almost as one - was "No." That just wasn't going to happen. His directive having been quickly voted down, Deets' darker side emerged.

    "This isn't Sea of Friends, it's Sea of Thieves," he shouted - including several other turns of phrase unrepeatable here. "No wonder you all look like scrubs!" After insulting us he went silent for a moment. We thought the moment had passed and we were getting close to where we knew the battle would take place - Shaker's Brigantine far off our starboard, making its way to the rally point.

    Then, I noticed Deets climbing the main mast to the crow's nest. I assured him that we had plenty of gunpowder kegs to- thud... thud. The gunpowder kegs were dropping to the deck. I moved from the helm, asking him what he was doing. As I reached the main deck, all of the gunpowder kegs went off. As the light went from my eyes, and amid the confused cries of my crewmates, I shouted, "Brig him! Brig Deets now!"

    I returned from The Ferry of the Damned to find my crew repairing and Deets dancing smugly in the brig. He kept going on about "Sea of Friends, Sea of Sisters", so we tuned him out, finished repairs and headed to Sailor's Bounty to see if we could find more gunpowder kegs. Then we heard the battle start and realized the depth of Deets' treachery. While up in the crow's nest before we could stop him, he had our ship leave the alliance. Quickly, we gathered up what we could, rejoined the alliance (with hasty explanations of the mutiny over the speaking trumpet) and took to the fight - now an active crew of three instead of four. It made the battle more difficult for us, but Deets' clearly couldn't be trusted.

    In the midst of the battle, my first mate chimed up with a suggestion - that we fight the battle, make sure the other crews get the loot and then leave the alliance before they turned it in. This, to ensure that Deets, who so badly wanted all the gold, got nothing but the achievement we could not also deny him. It was unanimous. So, we continued to fight hard and, with the help of a new addition to the alliance - a solo sloop captain, we overcame the skeleton ships and protected the Shores of Plenty. Being closest, and naturally, wary of our new alliance member, we gathered the loot aboard our ship. We let everyone know our intention and gained confidence in the sloop who, having fought valiantly, was thankful to have survived and was content with our arrangement for the spoils. So, the exchanges were made at Sanctuary Outpost and, despite protestations from the other crews, we left the alliance, getting none of the gold or reputation for the battle.

    One by one, my crew departed and, finally, it was just me and Deets. I set the Galleon sailing into open waters toward the Needle Spire and went down to have a chat with the Legend in the brig. He boasted that he didn't need the gold and, again, started on about it being "Sea of Thieves, not Sea of Friends", but I stopped him there.

    Have you ever heard the adage, "There is honor among thieves?" "What?!", he replied. I went on...

    "It's about professional courtesy. We were never going to break that alliance and here's why - here's what you don't know. After the Battle for the Wilds, with Shakers aboard our ship, another Brigantine had set out from Galleon's Grave to try to take our spoils. We had less than a handful of cannonballs left and no gunpowder barrels and were little match for a stocked Brigantine. After spending the last of our cannonballs warding them off, they hadn't sunk and were lining up to follow.

    "At this time, Shakers, said 'Meet my crew at Dagger Tooth, I'll see you there!' and sword lunged off the ship toward the Brigantine behind us. And, heading toward Dagger Tooth, we watched as that Brig ended up swerving off and crashing into a rock. Now, I'd be lying if the thought didn't cross our minds to just turn in all the loot and give Shakers and his crew only 50% of everything - we are pirates, after all. But, he did something for us - he helped to defend that loot and was willing to risk the chance of betrayal in order it to defend it. So, ya see, Deets... we are thieves, but we were never going to break that alliance because there is honor among thieves - a thing you seem to lack. For you - a new member of the crew, not knowing its history - insulted, sabotaged and betrayed us when a vote didn't go your way. There is no honor in that. And, so, I leave you with only that which we couldn't deny you - the empty achievement granted, but unearned, in a brig."

    I walked away, went to the helm, adjusted our course, jumped off at the nearest island; and as The Devil's Masquerade made her way toward the horizon with that rogue caged in her belly, I scuttled her.

  • @bran-the-ent beautiful the seas be needing more like you I try to keep alliences and never fire a cannon first but there be a lot of salt in the sea

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