Mercia’s Journals
What is the Devil’s Shroud
Finally, a balmy day, and a chance to document my research before it all spills out of my head and overboard. Ramsey has been thinking again, and that usually means I’m the one due for a headache. He called for me late last night… “Mercia. How might we stay safe in the Devil’s Shroud?” I just stared at him. We all know how dangerous that fog is. It surrounds the Sea of Thieves, but it ebbs and flows. Sometimes it swallows whole islands for months or even years at a time. Sail into that mist, and you’ll start to choke. The deck beneath your feet will splinter. The Shroud feasts on ships and sailors alike. Being me, of course I told Ramsey I’d find a way. I’ve left my notes tucked away at Ancient Spire. I’ll see what I can learn. Uncharted Island (N13)An Ancient Clue?
Did you ever walk into a room thinking about something so hard, you couldn’t see it right in front of you? The truth is like that, sometimes. While filling my tankard below deck, I happened to glance down at the map table. Ancient Spire. In the Ancient Isles. The truth… I’ve asked to set course for Devil’s Ridge, nearby. If I’m right, the key to breaching the Shroud has been in front of me all along. We like to think of ourselves as being the first to find a way of reaching the Sea of Thieves, but that isn’t the truth. Not one bit… Ancient Spire OutpostComings and Goings
The First Ones. The Lost Tribes. The Ancients. Whatever you call them, they lived here, in what we now know as the Sea of Thieves. Signs of their civilisation can be found all over the place, even on islands that were once claimed by the Devil’s Shroud. They built temples, altars — places that were important to them. They couldn’t simply pack up and leave when the fog drew in… I’ll need to cross-reference some of my oldest notes, stashed away back at Thieves’ Haven. Our first hideout! How nostalgic. Devil's RidgeThe Shroud Breaker
It exists! Proof lies in some of the most obscure places (Ramsey won’t let me write down where) but the relic’s real enough. As near as I can tell, they used artefact like a beacon to protect their homes and places of worship from the Shroud’s effects. At other times, it was taken to a vault to recover its powers. When I told Ramsey, he replied “Ah, so it’s a shroud breaker, then!” All of this seems to have inspired him. We’re making for Plunder Outpost on Ramsey’s orders, to see a man about a map… Thieves' HavenThe Shores of Gold?
Well. This escalated quickly. Ramsey remembered the drunken ramblings of some old salt who’d sailed too close to the Devil’s Shroud. The old man claimed he’d glimpsed a glittering island… One where the very ground was made of gems and precious metals. It sounds impossible, but as Ramsey likes to say, that’s just another way of describing something we haven’t seen yet. At first light, we’ll be setting out to find that Shroudbreaker. If these Shores of Gold are real, it’s the only way we’ll reach them. I should get to my bunk and try for sleep. From now on, Ramsey’s voyage journal can tell our story… Plunder Outpost
