Talk to Zalpfer, and don’t ask what the invention was, offer to take him into your crew.

Go and talk at length to everyone, and take the English letter of marque from the governor, Morton. There’s no need to grovel to Morton, and he’ll give you a letter to deliver to Brin, the governor at Tendales. Go to the tavern first, you’ll now find Pete Dalton, who’ll tell the first tale to cause you to wonder about Morton. Worth experience and reputation. You’ll also find Christopher Claystone, who is already drunk. Buy him a drink, and he’ll give you another reason to wonder about Morton. More experience. Talk to Roberto Gorrando. He’ll tell you to talk to Adriano Montefi on El Caimano for a better glass.

In the next port, say, Tendales, Zalpfer leaves you, but gives you the plans for a paddle-boat. Hang on to them, you can sell them. It’s the Tendales shipyard that will buy them. There has been some conjecture that much later someone will have more of a use for them and maybe so, but that hasn’t been verified by anybody. [However, this may be part of the quest to find the pirate Ropeflake, so hold off selling these plans until after that quest is concluded.]

In Tendales, Governor Brin takes the letter, and asks you to deliver wheat to Dead Island. William Shakesbeer tells you that the ports of Spain and France are closed due to war in Europe with England (which will shape the conduct of this walkthrough, visiting English and Pirate ports, but refusing to get involved with quests in Spanish and French ports. If you listened to the story of a good optician at El Camiano, ignore it), of good cruising in the waters north and east of Highrock, and of the Pirate ports at Skullshores which are open to you (you have to follow his directions to get there, it’s not on your map yet.

Before you leave Tendales, visit the tavern, where Andrew Shoo offers himself as a Bosun (+1 Boarding, +3 Grappling). Adam Mullen is also there as a Purser (+3 Commerce).

At Dead Island you meet a Eugene Huckster walking the streets in a yellow coat. If you let him examine your medallion, as you should, he’ll tell you your father was a pirate, and that a man who knew him is alive, with a scar on his cheek. Nigel Fester in the store will offer you a quest to take linen to the store on Tendales, to Mr. Offut, in return for chocolate back. In the tavern you meet Mr. Stergen, who takes the wheat, and praises Brin. You get the idea Morton is not at all popular. When you see Jacob Ashton, don’t talk to him until you’re back with Fester’s chocolate – Ashton wants to hire you to escort him to Highrock. David Murray’s in the tavern, and tells you a tale of those condemned frigates of Morton’s. You can hire him as a rank 2 Gunner, +1 Gunlaying, +1 reloading. Outside is the priest, from whom you can buy $100 +1 reputation indulgences. Carl, a gate guard, tells you where all the French islands are.

Back at Tendales Governor Brin is extremely grateful, to the tune of $2000, and you can tell from your possible answers that you can get a ship quest (you miss sea battles). Wait until the Ashton quest is done…

Back at Dead Island store to drop off the chocolate, and then to the tavern to see Ashton, who wants escort to Highrock, then Itkal, both legs gain you $800.

In Highrock, Ashton is in the tavern.

You have to find Ashton walking the streets of Itkal to get your money and reputation. You see in the streets a piratical looking fellow, Irvine Godson, who asks if you are privateer, then doesn’t talk to you…

At Tendales, Governor Brin gives you the quest of the pirate between Tendales and Highrock. The only lead he can give you is to consult the local tavern, where… The barkeep, Thomas Hancock, tells you a local merchant, Marcus, had a run-in with the pirate Ropeflake (!?!), and is sick in his back room. You have an epiphany and go to Highrock…

And talk to the merchant, who tells you (only if you did the Zalpfer quest as above) that there is a Doctor Alumnus in town wandering the streets. He bears a remarkable likeness to Zalpfer… While you’re at it, why not go and confront Morton on the sad state of the frigates? Don’t be concerned that he gets all spun up… And you can come back later and follow up on the conversation option you had to ask for a mission.

You give the medicine to Thomas Hancock, barkeep in Tendales, who says he’ll give it to Marcus. You can come back in a few days to ask him about Ropeflake.

This gives you time to go back to Samuel Mortons, and find out what mission he may have for you. Turns out he wants you to escort a ship to Tendales, and it MUST get there. Hmmm…

You meet Lemuel Humm, Hmmm, the captain of the ship Mortons wanted you to escort to Tendales. Talking to him, he tells you he fears the passengers were bad news. He also gives you $2000. You talk to Marcus, who’s feeling well enough to drink in the tavern, and find out that Ropeflake has a corvette, "Chance", operating out of El Camiano. You go to Brin to tell him about the 50 rogues that you and Humm brought, and head on out to El Camiano.

At El Camiano you find the corvette "Chance". Hopefully, it won’t be like once where I had to fight not only the "Chance", but 4 Spanish ships I couldn’t outrun (in my CORVETTE!?!) as well! Interestingly, as I was coming back to Tendales, I encountered as I was approaching port the Pirate brig "Cuttlefish". I had taken the "Chance" by boarding, and fortune enabled me to take "Cuttlefish" this way as well. Good thing, too, because it came with Beltrop’s Note!!! The letter is to a pirate named Hugo, and told him to get Sharp, who’s escorting the ship "Bristol". I think that this should have happened when you were escorting Humm. Hmmm, sometimes it pays to board, sometimes to sink the other ship. Maybe if you board, but don’t take, the ships....

In Tendales Brin rewards you with $5000 upon hearing of Ropeflake’s demise. Being a little dense, you decide to set sail for Highrock to try to get a mission from Mortons.

You see Dr. Alumnus, but decide to pass him up for now on the way to the tavern to wet your whistle. You have a conversation with Jeremy Windem, the barkeep, who tells you the officer you spoke with earlier in the Highrock tavern was taken away by soldiers, who said he was in "big trouble". It doesn’t really occur to you, apparently, that Mortons is the "Big Trouble", with a capitol ‘T’. Going to "Mr. ‘T’", he gives you and IMMEDIATE mission to protect Itkal from the Spanish.

There was just one ship, a Shnyava. You will defeat this ship, but no matter how hard you try, you will find when you talk to the shopkeep on Itkal that the Spaniards have despoiled the place.

When you report to Mortons, you can lie or tell the truth. A lie will probably not advance the story line. The truth will get a diatribe from him. You can call him out to a duel, but you will lose your English letter of Marque. You would be better off just to suck it up, knowing that he’s just setting you up, and he’ll eventually get his. Go see Doctor Alumnus. Now, you have to talk to the good doctor TWICE, the second time he has more to offer. He asks you to find and bring an herb from a Pablo Loco. Here you encounter point b) above, for it turns out that Pablo is at Shark Island.

The first thing you do at Shark Island (extreme bottom left of the map) is talk to folks walking about. You note that Pablo is the peasant in the lighter brown vest. Raymond Ebilin is a thoroughly piratical looking man who presents himself as a first mate, with +2 sailing skill. Note that selling captures ships is lucrative, and a first mate allows you to take ships you board. Now, quest wise, it’s something of a clue that you’ve been brought here. For neatness, though, let’s do the Pablo Loco quest before you talk in the tavern to pick up more quests. He wants you to go to Dead Island to get an exotic wood for a new boat.

Go to Fester’s Store on Dead Island, the wood costs you $1500. Mmmph.

Back to Shark Island, where Pablo immediately gives you the herb. Back to Highrock.

You deliver the herb to the doctor, who tells you your new doctor, Dick Oakenwood, is in the tavern. On to Shark Island…

In the tavern you see Hugo Lumbermill, James Callow, as well as English and French agents, the barkeep Tommy Barkhead, and Olaf Ulsson (The Swede, and the agent for The Brotherhood). Hugo is the second fellow in, in a blue coat and tricorne hat. He will only deal with you if you’re a Spanish privateer, and since we’re not in the Spanish walkthrough, he’s irrelevant. James Callow is an entirely different matter, and wants you to take a cursed idol to the Pirate ‘governor’, Desmond Ray Beltrop, on Gray Sails. Go to Graysails…

Ignoring any other people at Gray Sails until after everybody’s met at Shark Island, go straight to the grounded ship’s gangplank and up to Beltrop. When you give him the idol, you have to say it’s from you (not a friend), and you want the choice of ships they may have taken, otherwise, he’ll think you’re tricking him. When he offers you a Spanish Galleon, you can say it’s a ship for a fat merchant, not a privateer, and leave. He has the idol, you know the way back to Shark Island.

At Shark Island, Callow does not agree to join you as he had said, but he does give you $2,500 for your trouble. Tommy Barkhead does not have anything to say, but Olaf has a lot to say about your father when he gets down to business. If you follow his story to it’s end, he tells you of three men who might know something about your fathers’ demise, and the only one available is Maurikio (!?! I’d love to get a job helping Akella with their adaptation to Western language) Camentata, who is a tavern keeper on Costa Sinistra, and is good with a blade. This pops Costa Sinistra up on your map, and is as good a hint as any that that’s where you need to go.

Now, there is one, huge, problem with all this (perhaps, see spoiler, next paragraph). Costa Sinistra is protected by a fort, and I don’t know any way to get past the fort into the town to talk to the tavern keeper. If you blow up the fort, you get worthwhile money and experience, but you only get to talk to the governor to demand money. Satisfying, but not conducive to talking to Maurikio Camentata. So, regretfully, go to Gray Sails to the tavern, to see the Spanish agent, to buy forgiveness.

SPOILER: You can save yourself all that heartache by just not doing this part, since in the end you will not find a key person, because this is part of the Pirate campaign. Do it only if you’re dying of curiosity.

On Gray Sails, in the tavern, you meet Dreyfus the Fuse, a master gunner (+ 3 Gunlaying). $5,000 and 10 reputation points after the Spanish Agent, you’re on your way.

You see Camentata, the barkeep in the tavern on Costa Sinistra, and he sends you with a note to see Lorenzo Avido on Granda Avilia to bring back some wine. There’s a man in there who wants escort to another Spanish town, but that must be part of the Spanish quest. On to Granda Avilia, the den of the hated Spanish.

Lorenzo Avido is in the store, a few steps forward and to the right. The deal for the wine is quickly concluded by following the first conversation string. Back to Camentata.

It costs you 1000 gold, but you get a long tale and half of the map to your father’s treasure. Back to Shark Island.

Passing by Dead Island for 10 confessions to the priest to build back the reputation, you go on to Shark Island. Perhaps then you can lose the hated letter of marque of the Spanish with the English agent and get the proper letter! Olaf tells you that Beltrop may fit the description of the scarred man in your father’s tale, and that he has no idea where the other half of the map may be. He sends you to Beltrop, and says you should come back to him to tell him what you found out.

In the tavern at Gray Sails is a Jaque Dullarse, a carpenter, +2 repair. There’s a middle road to take with Beltrop. Push to little, and you find out nothing. Too much, and you get a nice death movie. Back to Olaf.

On the island is an Alex Bigot who wants to join his ship to your fleet, and a Pegleg Berquist who knew your father. You think Pegleg may know more than he’s saying, but he did say your father had raided quite a treasure, and that he buried is somewhere to the South, around reefs.

Olaf thinks that Beltrop is hiding information from you, and you’ll have to intimidate it out of him. How… Well, in the meantime, he gives you a mission to kill Julio Nederedas on the "San Miguel" off Granda Avilia. You’ll then go to "Tricky Marcus", on Tel-Kerrat for $1000. This is the connection that won’t happen because it’s part of the Pirate campaign! If you want the treasure, you can’t be a privateer, you have to be a pirate.

Remember Adriano Montefi on El Caimano? Now, this is tricky. Adriano wants crystals from Lorenzo Avido. Avido is on Granda Avilia, where you have a date with the "San Miguel". It is well that both you and the "Miguel" are flying Spanish colors. You can go on into Avilia, get the crystals, and then go back to your ship. You’ll be in the harbor, perhaps right next to the "Miguel", and under the fort, all of you flying Spanish colors. I’d load with bombs and position myself for a getaway before I pounded the "Miguel". Then to El Camiano for your glass, and then Tel-Kerrat.

If you go to the store on Tel-Kerrat and gossip with the owner, you hear of Peter Ordo. You meet on the streets a Galien Braciaux, who will sell you a nice dagger. I couldn’t find "Tricky Marcus", but Ordo was worth talking to, and spoke more of a threat to Brin. The next step is to go to Gray Sails to confront Beltrop, and to rescue a girl Alicia for Ordo. Better stop by Dead Island for a little confession…

Rescuing Alicia was no problem, but Beltrop had nothing to say. Perhaps now is time to see the English Agent? I stopped by Shark Island to see the British agent and fly the English Cross again. He"ll tell you to go see Mortons to get your letter. Guess what? Go on your way to Tel-Kerrat.

At Tel-Kerrat Ordo joins you, and his girlfriend had a letter from Mortons to Beltrop spelling out a scheme to murder Brin and wipe out a fleet. You have to get to Brin, perhaps by way of Dead Island to see the Priest. Tendales would also be a good place to upgrade to a bigger warship.

Brin responds well to the letter, and gives you a letter to deliver to the Admiral Gritstone who visits Highrock.

With a little convincing, Gritstone arrests Mortons and sends you to Chaktcha to stop the enemy fleet.

You should be hit with the fleet early upon arriving at Chaktcha. The word on the ‘Net is that you should utterly sink the ships, don’t capture any of them! Back to Highrock.

Wow! Gritstone is most eager to have you back, and he flatters you with an opportunity to take Costa Sinistra for England! This will prevent the Spanish, who are building a shipyard on the island, from being ready for a war.

This is a straight-up fort assault, with perhaps a ship or two as well. Just try to curb your mercenary appetites, and remember what you’re there for! In the vanquished city, you’ll find a citizen who represents the populace.

When you get back to Highrock, the Admiral makes you a Baron (with new clothes to match), and sends you out to look for French guns mounted on some kind of deck (ship? Barge?). Interestingly, if you take the time to look around the city, you’ll find a stranger who looks like a pirate, who tells you to go see Olaf at Shark Island. If you go to the tavern and talk to Jeremy the barkeep, you’ll find that Doctor Alumnus is dead, of a mixture of herbs and refined gold, in the search for immortality.

On Shark Island you may have to ask Olaf a few times before he finally comes through with something useful. It might be and invitation to join the Brotherhood (kind of a Pirates version of a Letter of Marque), but he does say that he’s been thinking of a plan to use your half of a treasure map to lure Beltrop to the tavern at Shark Island, but he’s not finished the plan yet.

You go off first, logically, to tour all the French Islands and the newly British Costa Sinistra. Nada. I’ll not lie to ye, laddie, it’s time to consult N. Ter Nette, your friend (and not the first time in this history, either), who points you in the direction of Dead Island.

Laurence Norton in the tavern at Dead Island (How did N. Nette know that?) tells you a tale that opens Omory Island.

Go there, and no one on the island knows anything. So, sure of yourself, you… Blast the fort! Again, remember what you are there for, and say you want the guns, not the loot (If you just want loot, be a pirate and forget about the story line). You get to take the island for England.

At Highrock, Admiral Gritstone tells you England is at war with Spain, and your assignment is to take Isla Ballena. He also tells you that a pirate, Pete Ordo, is raising cain about the Archipelago. He and his two ships must be taken out.

After Isla Balena, if you intend to look for Pete, now is the time to do it (try Tel-Kerrat, Eustache Heaumont, Storekeep, knows a stranger), for when you next see Admiral Gritstone, you will not have the chance. You’ll see the end movie for the English.