Skeleton Ships

Within the Sea of Thieves are cursed skeleton ships that sail the waters like any ship would. These
ships were brought into being by the tampering of two shopkeepers from golden sands. Wanda the
Weaponsmith and Salty the Shopkeeper discovered the location of a cursed cannon that was originally
from the Ferry of the Damned but was stolen by the skeleton lord Captain Flameheart to mount on his
ship, The Burning Blade. Wanda (and Salty) raised it from the depths and melted it down, attempting
to create cursed cannonballs from the cursed iron so she could make more money from her shop.
Once she had created her first cursed cannonball, one that dropped the anchor of any ship it hit, she
applied for permission to sell it but was turned down flat by we of the Order of Souls, whom knew the
danger. Bitter at this, she left her shop in charge of her sister Wonda, who wasn’t too pleased. She
retired to a cave on Wanderer’s Refuge to work on them, noting her discoveries in several journals.
But the cursed cannon began to affect her and Salty, altering their moods and making them angry. The
cannon cursed them both with a terrible curse, transforming them into skeletons. Wanda used Salty to
bear the brunt of the curse, which changed him into a skeletal parrot that now lives on Crescent Isle.
Wanda however, managed to slow the curse down, but not before she ended up with a skeletal arm.
Eventually, driven insane by the cannon’s curse, she became a skeleton lord, calling herself Captain
Warsmith and sailing off to join Captain Flameheart. While she was a skeleton, she spread the curse
to ships, making them able to sail although they are somewhat damaged. Once she had a ship and
crew, she waged war on the Sea of Thieves, firing cannonballs that cursed pirates with drunkenness,
made them tired, forced them to dance and many other things. During the night, skeletons set up
warning poles on outposts across all the regions, challenging pirate crews to battle with small fleets of
cursed ships. When the pirates arrived at the specified spot at the designated time, skeleton ships
would burst from below the waves and attack them. Eventually though, Captain Warsmith and her
ships were defeated by the living crews and she fled, scattering her supply of cursed cannonballs
across the land. To this day, living pirates still find them and use them on their counterparts. The curse
kept spreading though so even after Captain Warsmith had fled, the skeleton ships still roamed the
Sea of Thieves. At first, the magic in the ship meddled with the clouds above the ship, creating a
facsimile of a ship sailing, notifying pirates of their location. Eventually though, the skeletons figured
out how to reduce that, and it no longer appears. The ships and their crews roam the seas, adventuring
across the land like any pirates but be warned, they are still skeletons and will attack the living
without mercy. While the Kraken is yet to attack one, the Megalodons don’t seem to be as picky.
There have been several reports of one of the Megalodons interfering with a battle between living and
dead ships. Caught in the crossfire, they flee rather quickly, but at least they distract the skeleton
cannoneers from their original task. Once the skeleton ships have been defeated, they will sink
beneath the waves, torn to pieces by cannon shot. The skeletons release the treasures they have
accumulated from ships they have sunk over time and the lucky pirates can make a bit of profit from
the battle. The curse aboard the ship seems to affect the treasure also, forming Skeleton Captain’s
Chests that contain more gold when opened by the Gold Hoarders. The skull of the captain is also
more valuable to the Order of Souls due to their time spent sailing the seas and accumulating
knowledge after death. there is even sometimes crates of bone dust aboard, seemingly the remains of
the crew who fell in previous battles with the living. These are worth quite a bit to the Merchant
Alliance for some reason. Even the Bilge Rats are happy when you sink a cursed skeleton ship,
rewarding the crews who do with prestige and special Bilge Rat coins.

Venator Animarum, Master of the Order