The Full Compendium of Mark The Attuned, The Lion

Chapter 9: Hired To Find Another Shroudbreaker?

Yarr. An interesting adventure it has been! I have been having much trouble completing the quest of that ghost in the painting. I have too much trouble alone so far methinks. I went to the tavern and had me a grog, thinking that perhaps I could get a crewmate. Indeed, I was approached by a man with a dreadlocked beard of ginger, dressed darkly, with an eyepatch and a hook for a hand to boot. He was gruff and explained the situation. Wishing to get to the Shores of Gold, and knowing through word of mouth that I had procured a Shroudbreaker myself, he sought me out for aid. The deal was a split of all treasure 50/50. Short, simple to the point offer. Of course I took it!

He called himself Cap'n' Ranga. More of a saltwater man than I, he was used to the roughness of the sea and told me he had killed multiple men and made a reputation as a looter. I had actually heard word of his adventures at sea with his brother, an adventurer far more crude than e'en himself. Soon enough after looking for an uncharted island once more, we indeed found it - with another ship parked!

We already had the alliance flag running, as was on the Bilge Rat vessel I was still riding in. They signaled to join us, and I convened with them, swimming over. They were initially quite friendly, and I explained that I had already procured such a treasure once before. They were old adventurers with bad eyes, but a beautiful ship. In the end, I agreed to also aid these two in their quest to find a Shroudbreaker, thinking perhaps we could all cash in the rewards. And so we sailed off then to where the sunken log told us to go. The scurvy dog Ranga, clearly used to swimmin', found the chest. However, this is when the mateys turned on us!

We loaded the chest onto our vessel - a crab totem within, unlike the one I had seen myself before. They tried to steal it from us! Immediately, my mate began to shoot at them with his pistol. Dove into the water, killing the man, giving me flashbacks of when I too made a mans lungs waterlogged with a shank. E'en his sword is gilded like mine.

The other man began firing his cannons, and I sailed us off! Ranga bravely fired, and the chase went on long as we got caught in a dreaded storm! It spun the compass all round, but this mattered little to me as I got us out. It put some distance between them and I, but Ranga told me to steer round, for we cannot have them tail us to where we are taking the totem! And, as we manned cannons and steered, indeed we completely sank their vessel! The cap'n I threw in the brig, but later found shot by Ranga. Merciless lad.

Then we got to the island. Swam deep into its depths into a crab cave, where the totem once more functioned as a key. Who were these natives, why did they build these strange keys?

The same puzzle presented itself which I quickly solved, not an issue whatsoever this time round, leading to the excitement of Ranga. This one had no treasure store however! On the bright side, a skeletal crew made their way ashore to challenge us whom we completely slaughtered and took the skulls of! Yoho! As we sailed away, the remaining crew in a galleon chased us. Shot after shot after shot we fired, barely surviving as a lowly sloop. Eventually as we engaged and shot heavily, Ranga jumped aboard their ship and slaughtered them. I could hear bones shatter, gunshots, many many sword slashes... And then the boat capsized a flaming wreck, as I see Ranga, the sea dog he is, jump off the front of the capsizing boat, swim back to ours, and off we sailed to cash in. Some fine skulls we got, around 10,000 worth of loot, and a Shroudbreaker for Ranga! As we sailed back into port, a job certainly well done, he said that he'd like to show me his own sloop and adventure around more perhaps - Had I earned a friend on the deadly seas? Ranga and I could be cap'n's of the fearsome sea itself, starting our own faction one day! Who knows?