As the closest thing to a legitimate business venture of all the Trading Companies, newcomers are often surprised to find pirates and the Merchant Alliance working together rather than at each other’s throats. Well, Senior Trader Mollie is a wise woman who knows that if anyone’s likely to make it across the Sea of Thieves in one piece, it’s a pirate.

Mollie’s quite a bit stricter than the other Company heads, mind you. You can deliver your chests to any old Gold Hoarder, but the goods the Merchant Alliance pay you to transport must be collected from a particular point on the map and then delivered to a specific recipient who’ll hand over the gold. These Cargo Runs also need to be completed within a certain amount of time to earn the full reward, and the cargo needs to arrive in good condition – you’ll lose part of your payment if you arrive with dried-up plants, soggy cloth or broken bottles in your hold.

Commissions are also available to purchase from the Merchant Alliance, who expect pirates to provide any goods listed out in their Trade Good Ledger, not just deliver them on time. The ledger might require you to procure general supplies, Gunpowder Barrels or even wild animals that need to be found and brought aboard ship, though the Merchants will provide any special containers or cages that might be needed.

When it comes to animals, chickens are the most polite passengers and will look after themselves once caught. Pigs, on the other hand, need to be fed regularly or they’ll perish without leaving so much as a ham sandwich behind, and snakes will attack anyone who gets close if they’re not properly mesmerised (though this does make them handy for guarding valuables).

Empty animal cages can be found out there in the world when you’re not on a Voyage too. If you do snag any critters on your travels, Merchant Alliance representatives will accept them as stock along with gems, Gunpowder Barrels and Collector’s Chests, and they’re always happy to buy both fully stocked Supply Crates and Trade Good Crates full of rare tea, spices and so on. Yes, even the ghostly ones. It’s probably market forces, or supply and demand, or something.

Over time, the Merchant Alliance have started offering additional Voyages to help them discover the fate of Merchant deliveries that never arrived. These Lost Shipment Voyages will see you follow the route of a missing crew, finding clues to their disappearance and where their journey came to an abrupt end. Once you find the ship, your goal is to retrieve its Cargo Manifest and return it to the Merchant Alliance. If you also found the key to the Captain’s cabin along the way, the goods inside are yours for the taking. Might as well finish the job they started, right?

Ever the pioneering businesswoman, Mollie has also expanded the Merchant Alliance’s business ventures with Trade Routes. These allow enterprising Emissaries to buy surplus Commodity Crates at one Outpost and sell them at another Outpost where they’re highly sought-after. Be sure to check the Merchant Inventory at an Outpost to find out what’s hot and where the demand lies before you plan your route and start trading. The market is a fickle beast!

Further reading: Company Spotlight – The Merchant Alliance