So last night started out like many others. I was out sailing with one of my best mates @QueenPucci, just tooling around. Got into some PvP during a ship battle, and over all just kind of out looking to sink skelly ships, when another best mate @x-crowheart-x messaged asking if we wanted to join him and @x-wolfstryder-x in doing a quick Glided Athena. Knowing that they were close to PLA10, and having saved ours to try and help them get across that finish line, we jumped at the chance.
We ended up on a server with two other galleons (maybe even a third illusive one), a brig and a sloop. It was kind of a strange night. I dropped my gilded down first and we set sail to Lone Cove to get started. Along the way, we see a brig traveling a parallel path to lone cove. Hmmm, are they there to start trouble or are they doing their own gilded. So we sail around to the opposite side of the island as them, partly because we figured our skellies would be in the cave, and partly to give us space to gauge these pirates.
I cannoned myself over to their side of the island and simply waved at them. Trying to talk to them, but getting text stating they could not hear me (later finding out they were on external coms using discord). Well, they set about doing their thing and we did ours. And after a while it became apparent they too were on a gilded. Most if not all of our interactions were tentative, but nothing aggressive. About half way through doing everything at the island we end up joining an alliance with them.
Finishing the island we set sail to Crooks and wouldn't you know it, Karen decides she wants a piece of our galleon. So, we battle, but karen wraps a tentacle across our stairs, and three tentacles start to suck at myself, crow and wolf. Queen is down below deck repairing. Up until this point we were doing quite well. But with karen tasting all three of us, and queen stuck below deck unable to bail water, we were surely doomed. During this time, our new allies sailed over, just outside of the ink, and cannoned over to our ship. Were they here to help, or take advantage of our dilemma. They tried valiantly to help us get that tentacle off the stairs, but to no avail. That tentacle was invincible. No matter how many times we shot the head, it would not release its grip. And sadly, our galleon met its watery grave. Queen and Wolf managed to stay alive and get all of our loot onto the rowboat, while Crow and I sailed our new shiny galleon to collect them.
Now having established that our new allies were honorable, we sailed over to crooks with them to work together to get that island done. And the rest of that gilded went astonishingly well. Once we had turned in the last of the loot gained that day, our allies, which by now we had convinced to join our party chat, said they were heading to bed.
Well, we had gotten Crow across the line to PLA10, but needed to do more for Wolf. So, we dropped another and sailed away. Two of our allies, we will call them SoccerMom and Jumanji, sailed with us on our galleon. Helping us here and there along the way. Not really working on their own quest, just more or less enjoying the ride and time together.
Along the way, we ended up getting two other galleons to join our alliance. One of which seemed very very shifty. So we kept our eyes out. But other than an occasional Meg or Skelly ship, our second gilded went fairly well and fast. But somehow, Wolf was still not over the top. This time, since our new friends were still hanging out, we convinced them to drop a christmas gilded athena one of them had been holding onto, afraid to lose it as he normally sails solo. Having one more gilded on us, we dropped one two. And again, we sailed about doing our athenas together.
Things went smoothly all the way up until the very last island. That shifty galleon was close by and clearly sailing in a manor suggesting they were trying to be sneaky. Our athena chests were on plunder valley while our brigs were on wanderers. So we were close together. The shifty galleon, by now seeing we were waiting and ready for them, started to head towards our brig mates. So we sailed along to help defend the brig if needed. The brig, having finished digging their ahtena chests set sail towards us. After a bit of sailing around, it was very clear now that the shifty galleon was now an enemy galleon. So the brig joined up with our galleon where the chests were loaded onto the galleon (the galleon already having all other loot on board to this point) while wolf and I jumped overboard to "greet" these shifty pirates with a special "gift". As we board their ship, they wildly swing their swords, setting off our gift and sending 4 of us to the ferry. When wolf and I got back, crow had positioned our galleon to keep close tabs on the enemy ship. The brig, all but abandoned sitting next to our ship.
Watching as the enemy galleon maintained its distance we see an opportunity to head back to plunder and collect the athena chests there.
The galleon, having been fully tempted, heads to the brig where two of our ship mates are still hiding. Our mates manage to board the galleon, and kill their crew off. A couple of times. Even dropping their anchor. All in an effort to simply buy us a bit more time, and boy were they successful. So successful that the galleon crew, having had enough, left the game. So, we collected our last athenas and headed off to sell our goods. And thankfully, we were able to get wolf over the top.
All in all, what a funtastic night it was indeed. But for me, while making new friends is always amazing, being able to help our Wolf and Crow and get them over the top was by far the best part. So congrats to some of me best mates in @x-crowheart-x and @x-wolfstryder-x for what was a fun ride finishing the race to PLA10. May the winds billow yer sails and the waves bring adventures for many years to come. WTG Mates.