Following the Pirate Lord

From the start, you’ll be greeted by the great Pirate Lord, who will guide you through some basics and give you equipment to use along the way. Follow his instructions and the on screen prompts until he tells you to go explore. At this point, you can talk to him if you’re ready to sail through the shroud and end the tale, or you can do as he says and get to exploring! There’s a lot to discover on Old Sailor Isle, and rewards to be earned too.

Rewards

Completing the sail through the shroud to end your journey will unlock the Pirate Lord’s Jacket, which you’ll find in the clothing chest on your ship.

Completing ALL the Maiden Voyage commendations will unlock the Magpie’s Fortune Sails, which you can equip to your ship at the Shipwright’s chest on any outpost. To do this, you’ll need to discover Ten Hidden Journals and complete several more tutorial activities, discussed below.

There’s also a stash of coin locked in the hold of the Magpie’s Fortune ship wreckage- you can find the location of the key in the spoiler section of this guide!

Activities for Commendations

There are a few bonus activities to complete to earn commendations- you’ll need to do all these to unlock those Magpie’s Fortune Sails

1 — Fishing

After you’ve done The Pirate Lord’s tutorial to get your sailor equipment, you can cast the fishing rod into the sea. On screen prompts will walk you through catching a fish, and doing so will unlock this commendation

2 — Cooking Meat

Put any meat on the campfire stove near the beach, whether it be a chicken you’ve slain, fish you wrangled, or meat you found in a nearby barrel

3 — Rowing the Rowboat

On the second island (over the bridge), work your way down through the tunnels until you find the rowboat in the alcove. Climb aboard, grab the oars, and follow the on screen tutorial until the commendation unlocks.

4 — Firing a cannon from the top of the Ship

Atop the front half of the Magpie’s Wing wreckage is a cannon. Find cannon balls in one of the barrels nearby, and fire from this cannon to earn a commendation

5 — Finding the Pirate Lord’s Secret Stash

The hold in the rear half of the Magpie’s Fortune wreckage is locked and the key is hidden somewhere on the island. There’s a valuable stash inside, so you’ll want to find this (key location revealed in the Spoiler Section below)

Spoiler Section

The rest of this guide gives the exact locations of the hidden journals and Key. Stop reading now if you want to find these on your own!

Hidden Journals

Laying out of sight across the island are 10 journals left behind seemingly by the Pirate Lord. They’ll explain more details about the Sea of Thieves to you new players, and contain some juicy lore for veterans to enjoy. If you’re having trouble finding those last few journals, we’ve got you covered:

Regarding Merfolk — Before journeying inland, look across the bay from your sloop. There’s a shipwreck on this end of the beach, and if you swim into the captain’s quarters the journal is underwater in the corner

— Before journeying inland, look across the bay from your sloop. There’s a shipwreck on this end of the beach, and if you swim into the captain’s quarters the journal is underwater in the corner The Sea of The Damned — Found in the cave behind the waterfall of the first pond you see as you travel inland

— Found in the cave behind the waterfall of the first pond you see as you travel inland They Gave it A Name — Found by the wheel of the Magpie’s Fortune wreckage

— Found by the wheel of the Magpie’s Fortune wreckage Lost Secrets — Found by climbing up into the Crow’s Nest behind the wheel of the Magpie’s Fortune

— Found by climbing up into the Crow’s Nest behind the wheel of the Magpie’s Fortune So Near and Yet… — Found leaning against a smashed barrel in the front half of the Magpie’s Fortune wreckage.

— Found leaning against a smashed barrel in the front half of the Magpie’s Fortune wreckage. Lords of the Sea — At the bridge between the islands, there’s a ladder down to a rock at the water’s edge; it’s hidden in the vines on this rock

— At the bridge between the islands, there’s a ladder down to a rock at the water’s edge; it’s hidden in the vines on this rock Making Camp — After crossing the bridge across the island, follow the path to the closed wooden door. Use the lever on the wall to enter the door, and find this journal by the camp fire

— After crossing the bridge across the island, follow the path to the closed wooden door. Use the lever on the wall to enter the door, and find this journal by the camp fire A Ship That Fits — Continue down this path. After lowering a draw bridge and opening a gate with a pulley, you’ll open up into the area with The Rowboat. Climb the ladder in the corner of this cave to find the journal behind the metal fence.

— Continue down this path. After lowering a draw bridge and opening a gate with a pulley, you’ll open up into the area with The Rowboat. Climb the ladder in the corner of this cave to find the journal behind the metal fence. Paintings From the Past — Back at the entrance door activated by a lever, continue up the hill path. Climb the rocks on the right side of the path to reach a stool and crates on the rock ledge, with the journal.

— Back at the entrance door activated by a lever, continue up the hill path. Climb the rocks on the right side of the path to reach a stool and crates on the rock ledge, with the journal. My Secret Plan — Found inside the Magpie’s Fortune’s locked hold, which you need a key to open

The Hidden Key

As a journal mentions, the key fell out of the Pirate Lord’s pocket when he was grabbing spring water from high up… find the small pond at the very top of the first island (with the Magpie’s Fortune wreckage, walk across the downed mast). Inside this pond is the key, though it does not glow like most treasure and is half buried in the sand and obscured by grass- it’s very hard to spot, but it’s there! Now use it to open the hold and discover the prize inside.