The Shrine of Flooded Embrace is a tall rocky spire, topped with an upturned, coral-encrusted shipwreck. The primary entrance to the Shrine is through interacting with the door in the Captain’s Cabin of the wreck and heading down into the inner chamber. There are multiple small side exits around the outside of the Shrine for quick access to the outside. These may come in handy when collecting the scattered treasure hidden amongst the debris around the outside of the Shrine.
Almost the entirety of the inside of the Shrine is flooded (hence the name), so invading Crews must take on a constant stream of Sirens as they attempt to gather TreasureItems into Sunken Merfolk Statues. Undersea vents discharging air bubbles can be utilised by pirates to take a breath when exploring underwater areas. After emerging from the upturned shipwreck at the top, pirates will swim straight into the Shrine’s large and only chamber. This is full of sunken shipwrecks and wooden debris that the Sirens have dragged down from sailors on the surface. Part of the way down there is a small air-filled room to catch a breather and restock. If lead to the Shrine by a Secret of the Sea parchment from a Coral Message in a Bottle, crews can find a Breath of the Sea resting on the pedestal at the very bottom of the chamber.
Journals
There are 5 journals scattered throughout the Shrine, written Duke.
1. Shrine of Flooded Embrace
(By some yellow coral in the hull of the shipwreck you entered through.)
Now that I’ve improved my penmanship, I can start recording the discoveries I made below the waves. I’ve always wanted to know more about the merfolk, where they came from, why they do what they do for us pirates. I never thought for a single moment that I’d come across a whole species I had never seen nor heard of before. From what I have discovered in the Shrine of Flooded Embrace, I pray we never see their like again.
2. The Sirens
(Behind an interactable door in the ceiling, on the level below the South of the wreck.)
They were known as the Sirens and they had a king and queen. The king was murdered by the Ancients and the queen’s rage was a thing to behold. She cursed the Ancients and they became ill. I haven’t been able to discover exactly what happened, but it sounds unpleasant. But even this didn’t satisfy the Sea Queen. She wanted to find a way to punish those who had wronged her, for all eternity. Her desire for revenge led her to explore the forbidden powers of her people, searching for the perfect punishment.
3. Mermaid Gems
(In the air-filled room to the southwest, among some orange spike coral opposite the Sunken Merfolk Statue.)
Any pirate worth their salt has come across a Mermaid Gem or two in their time. But did you ever stop to wonder if they were more than just trinkets you can sell to the Companies for gold and reputation? Yes, you find them in Mermaid Statues, but have you ever seen one anywhere else? Well, I have...
4. Siren Gems
(On a piece of blue coral atop the flipped hull of a shipwreck found below the southwest room of the previous journal.)
These seemingly harmless gems have a much darker side… The Sea Queen used them to imprison those from the world above. She bound their souls inside Mermaid Statues and the power of the gems transformed them into something else. She called these new creatures Ocean Crawlers and they were her army, a way to take the fight to the land dwellers. As well as corrupting and changing the poor souls inside, this process corrupted the gems too. These corrupted gems became known as Siren Gems.
5. A Great Battle
(By some blue coral to the right of the Breath of the Sea pedestal on the bottom level.)
As I explored the shipwrecks and delved ever deeper, I came to realise that a huge battle must have taken place here. Ships crashed right through the Shrine, which would surely have sent the Sirens into a fury. Each side must have sought to destroy the other. No sane captain would have sacrificed this many ships without a good cause. It would have taken two powerful captains to command such a battle Who could have had such a commanding presence?
To save pirates from needing to take their new-found treasure all the way back up the surface, up to 20 loot pieces can be stored in friendly Mermaid Statues found along the way. Any Coral Treasure Chests filled with three loot items count as a single loot item, saving up space for the other Treasure items to be stored in the statues. Any Treasure left with the statues can be redeemed back on the surface from a friendly mermaid with a shell, emitting purple smoke. When interacted with, any treasure collected will float up to the surface and the mermaid depart.
Trivia
The path into the Shrine of Flooded Embrace was created when a Galleon crashed into the Shrine as it sank during a massive battle on the ocean's surface[1].
