The Legend
The legend of Bramwell’s buried treasure goes back over 80 years…
Bramwell Nightwind was a notorious pirate and captain of the Crimson Squid. He and his crew had developed a violent but profitable reputative that caused most other vessels to give theirs a wide birth. Those that sailed with Bramwell knew there’d be bloody work expected, but that it would be richly rewarded.
His last known expedition was deep in the jungles of Shaundor where they raided a Pantherian city. So great was the score of gold and jewels that it couldn’t all fit aboard the Crimson Squid. So Bramwell took a handful of his most trusted men and together they buried the remaining treasure somewhere near the coastline.
Bramwell sailed off, but would never return to collect the remaining plunder. The heavy-laden Crimson Squid was caught in a violent storm and sank east of Camijaa with all hands lost. However, stories have persisted to this day that one crewmember survived: Renwick Rapids. And before his death, Renwick drew a map to the location of the buried treasure. The whereabouts of this treasure map have remained a mystery to this day.
The Full Story
Unbeknownst to Bramwell and his crew, as they left the raided Pantherian city its shamans cursed the stolen treasure with a Dark Omen known as Osceta. The amount of plunder necessitated some of it to be left behind.
Delighting in first terrifying its victims, Osceta slowly began picking off crewmen as they stopped at small island villages in the Bay of Aur. One such island was Cutthroat Crossing (see also the “Terror Plague“). Their grisly deaths struck fear into the sailors’ hearts. They tried in vain to reach the shores of Camijaa, hoping that this would save them. It would not.
During a violent storm, and within sight of Camajaa’s shores, the heavy-laden Crimson Squid sank beneath the waves, taking the lives of everyone aboard. Everyone, that is, except for First Mate Renwick Rapids and one other. For Bramwell had stolen more than just treasure from the Pantherian city. His men had also taken tribeswomen as slaves. Renwick had managed to save not just his life, but the life of one of the tribeswomen. Together they swam and reached the shores of Camijaa.
The dark spirit was not finished, though, and Renwick realized it was still hounding him. He brought the tribeswoman to his family village in Camijaa, but the villagers would not receive her as one of their own. Renwick was remorseful for what he’d done and, in a final act of selflessness, married the tribeswoman. As a result, she received all the rights of his family, allowing her to be safe and accepted by the villagers.
Renwick prepared to meet his fate and went out to face Osceta… But the Dark Omen left him. Evidently, in marrying the tribeswoman, she not only became a member of his family but he also became a member of hers. In the curse’s eyes, being a member of her tribe made Renwick a legitimate inheritor of the treasure rather than a thief of it.
The two lived long happy lives together. Although Renwick possessed a map to the whereabouts of the remaining cursed treasure, he would never go back for it. He didn’t want to tempt the curse nor upend the good life and second chance he’d been given. Upon his death, his possessions would be distributed and scattered, including the treasure map. Over the course of time, it would eventually be found in some washed up wreckage by the marooned sailor, Timbers McGrady.
Osceta would return to the remaining cursed treasure near the Shaundor coastline. Resting and waiting for anyone unfortunate enough to dig up the ill begotten plunder.
As for Bal-Rathi’s Compass, they were aware of the legends surrounding Osceta. Had the Crimson Squid reached Camijaa, it could’ve harkened a plague upon the land. They thought danger had been averted when the vessel sank before reaching the island nation. However, they later became aware that some of the cursed treasure still existed and, what was worse, was being rediscovered. They set to work to prevent a potential wave of devastation and death across the Insula Sea. They learned of Timbers McGrady, and made the difficult decision that he needed to be eliminated. To let the knowledge of the buried treasure, and the threat of a deadly plaque, die with him. That didn’t go as planned (see the “Bal-Rathi Campaign Season 1“).
