As part of the cut-throat pirate band, Arrr, he has been bringing terror to an ocean or wilderness near you for over a year now. But benind the robe, is he truly a cold-hearted killer or just a pussycat with an eyepatch? I was invited aboard his flagship, The Trinsic Main, to find out…

I join the ship a little offshore from the docks at Trinsic, having been picked up there in a jolly boat rowed by four muscular crew members who do not appear to have washed in weeks (a fact that I diplomatically neglect to mention). As I struggle up the side of the vessel, an imposing gargoyle-built galleon with an impressive array of cannon to port and starboard and a smaller bow chaser up front, I am struck by the rather shabby state of the crew. Many are standing around half asleep, still others mumbling incoherently on the deck with empty bottles by their side.

“They get the job done,” said a rough voice to my right, “and drinking during battle is not permitted.”

Turning around, I see a tall, black-robed figure standing by the mizzenmast. He has long, auburn hair and a carefully manicured goatee. I would judge his age to be early thirties; the weather-beaten and slightly scarred visage belongs to someone a good deal older, but the piercing blue eyes have an unmistakable quality of youth. On his head he is wearing the traditional cap of a pirate officer, around his waist the not-so-customary ninja belt. And much to my surprise, he appears to be barefoot.

My host introduces himself with a somewhat perfunctory bow, and I am swiftly guided beneath decks to the captain’s quarters, a relatively spacious room but one that is surprisingly spartan in decoration. There is a sturdy wooden table aft, a small bed against a side wall, and several stout metal chests. But pretty much everything on display seems purely functional: maps, tools, weapons, armour and various accoutrements, but no pictures, prizes or mementos are to be seen. The only exception appears to be a number of stacked crates in the corner, and from one of these the captain pulls out a pair of bottles, handing one to me together with a plain glass.

Once again, he correctly reads the look on my face. “I am certainly no deco man,” he laughs. “In fact, I think the only thing that I collect these days is murder counts!” Then, after a brief pause, “Oh, and the plans for an orc ship. Still working on that.”

He seats himself at the far side of the table and gestures for me to take the opposing one. I take a moment to pour the contents of the bottle, a seemingly fine merlot, into the glass and then set myself down and ready my writing slope. And so, on to the interview….

You have been in these lands for over a year now. What brought you here to begin with?
I came here with two companions, Grace and ISpredum, to find new and exciting adventures.

What land did you used to inhabit?
I came from Great Lakes.

Do you still travel back there?
Some of our time is spent on Great Lakes. But Siege is our home.

And before you came to Sosaria?
I lived in a place known as Oklahoma.

Is there anything about Siege that you wished was NOT different to Great Lakes?
Siege has not disappointed me, and it shouldn’t be anywhere near the same as the other lands.

What is it about the pirate life that appeals to you?
Killing people, things like that! Pirating is the best. Also, pirates have a code of honor and we try to follow it.

Have you always been a pirate?
I have not always been a pirate. My first love was necromancy. But one faithful day I turned to piracy. It’s a long story…

You are, of course, a leading member of the pirate guild, Arrr. What exactly is your role within the guild?
My role…hmm. I am a Captain in Arrr. I am in charge of new pirates and PR control as much as possible. *laughs*

Who are your closest pirate friends?
Parium the Black, Bo, Kano, Jickler to name a few, and of course my good friend Spred who went rouge.

What made him go “rogue”? Are the two of you still on speaking terms?
Well, to answer you second question first, yes, we are still real good friends and we speak everyday. And for your first question, well the pirate way isn’t for everyone. It’s a hard life.

What has been your greatest haul as a pirate?
Ah…well that is a hard one. Hmm…have to say that one day we were hunting boats on the seas and we ran across an unmanned ship that had crates of fish and some assorted nice items.

Who supplies the ammo for your ship?
As of late we have been using looted ammo. But if supplies were needed then Victim is the man!

What sort of fighting methods do you mostly employ?
I am a death striker: swords, tact, ninja, bush, stealth, hide, a little parry, plus zero-skill spellweaving. I haven’t changed anything since I came to Siege. Oh, and I run a bokuto.

A bokuto? No cutlass then?
Oh sure, I would enjoy using the classic cutlass. But, alas, such a weapon is not quite what the modern pirate can use to be able to hold up against our foes.

Do you use the best equipment you can get hold of, or do you just equip whatever is to hand?
For the most part I run Shame/Wrong/Covetous loot. But since we left factions I have been wearing good suits.

Ah yes, factions. Arrr recently withdrew from all that. What lead to this decision?
Well, as everyone knows, there was a big war between SCUM & FSP not too long ago. I know all the SCUM people, but my pirates were being targeted due to being in Minax. So to calm the storm, we left factions.

Were you happy with the decision, and how has it affected your life?
Yes, I am happy we did, but it changed our lives. No MI, faction arties or runes. But due to a good amount of us pirates liking factions, we will be returning once the storm has calmed.

What are your thoughts on the removal of factions and the possible replacement?
Well the removal of factions is hard to grasp. We have a kind of broke system but I feel that it can be improved. And as far as the replacement, from what I’ve seen it’s geared toward other lands, not Siege. So we kind of got left out.

Speaking of changes, are there any general ones that you would particularly like to see the Gods make?
As a pirate, more pirate stuff! And maybe a change to SOS loot. But generally, improvements rather than changes.

The captain drains his glass and reaches over to one of the crates to retrieve a second bottle. I decide to bring up a potentially delicate subject…

You are often reported as being less than sober. Would you consider yourself an alcoholic?
Nay. As a pirate, rum is my main source of sustenance. Without it I’d be a very dull pirate.

What is your favourite drink?
RUM!!! All day, although I’ll make these exceptions for landlubbers. *laughs* Actually, before I took up the pirate life I preferred Crown Royal and tequila. [OOC I rarely drink in real life!]

Can you remember a particularly embarrassing incident that occurred whilst you were drunk?
*laughs* One time when I was younger, we had bought a checker board that you use shots on. You get jumped, you got to drink. Well a friend of mine decided it would be a good idea to play with Captain Morgan Tattoo. So okay, I like rum, but this was wrong! Anyway, I’d had pancakes a few hours earlier and by about halfway through the game and I wasn’t feeling too good. I got jumped and I remember saying “my brain is too scared to drink”. Five seconds later I emptied my system all over the checker board. My friends laughed for months after that.

Do you spend much time obtaining booty from monsters?
That’s a complicated question. I am not well equipped to fight monsters, so I tend to just act as a guard for my guildmates.

What has been your greatest memory from your time here on Siege?
I would think my greatest memory would be one of our numerous victories defending Minax base against the Shadow Lords. We had lured them into the base then blocked off the entrance. And then us pirates jumped out and cleansed the base. I’m sure there are more details involved but with so many battles it’s hard to keep them straight.

And the worst?
*sighs* I would have to say the event at the Labyrinth. Well, going to it. We were headed there to lend support. Well as we know the SL crowd isn’t the most honorable and as we were on our way out of Umbra we were waylaid by more then six of them. Wasn’t my proudest moment.

So would you say SL are your biggest enemies at present?
Yeah, but there are a few other targets that I wouldn’t mind fighting, but they hide way too much. Parker Swift is on the list as well as Starr, although I got my sweet revenge against him. *laughs* But I will get Parker and his buddy Blade Runner one of these days!

How easy is it for you to find fights?
Well, I imagine I could find fights easily just by saying where I am. I know tons of people that would like a go at Captain Sureno. But I’m a PK, so I hunt people, which is a challenge due to people hiding and not hunting. But I find them.

What are your thoughts on the current state of Siege?
I enjoy Siege. The slow weeks, the busy weeks. I would like to see more people try and give Siege a go. But they run into the griefer PKs and tend to leave. I just wish they would stick it out. But I know how discouraging it can be to be killed over and over before you are able to fight back.

Was that something you experienced when you arrived?
Bo was the first one to PK us on Siege. I was never griefed here, but was elsewhere in the far past and I’ve witnessed how some of the newer PKs, and some of the old ones too, just don’t have compassion or honor. At least that’s how I feel.

And is that reflected in your looting policy?
Well, victims don’t get looted, enemies do. That is just how I do it. I feel that if I kill a victim then I don’t need their armor. But enemies are a different story. I don’t need armor, but they don’t either.

Do you find this relaxed looting policy conflicting with some of your guildmates, though? I mean, you may not loot people but they would, so those people would loot you because of what your associates had done?
No, I got out everyday expecting to loose what I have. And as for my guildmates, well they are pirates and I’ll follow the way the wind blows them. It has never bothered me.

Your wife, Grace, is also in your guild. Does she embrace the pirate lifestyle?
Grace, oh Grace! Yes, Grace is in our guild and she is a pirate. She’s not really a sea pirate as she hates boats, but she lives the lifestyle and she likes to fight.

Do you sail together?
I have to force her to sail when I need her, but she would rather hunt.

So the two of you don’t live together on the ship?
No, she has a castle on Ice Island and I either live there with her or here on board. I also have a small place on the island of Moonglow, but I don’t keep anything there. It’s a guild outpost.

Have you taken citizenship in any town?
I am and always will be a Trinsic native and am loyal to Trinsic.

Will you likely be voting for Kelmo as governor there?
I most likely will be voting Kelmo.

Your wife is often referenced with a degree of lust by your fellow pirates, particularly in references to melons. Does this concern you?
Well, its a good thing she’s my wife! But no, we pirates all have a love for “melons” and I’m not the jealous type.

Are there any Sureno juniors in your lives at present?
We have three little ones: ten-year old daughter, eight-year old daughter, and Sureno Jr., my seven-year old boy. He is presently learning his craft on the seas of Catskills.

Do you think Sureno Jr. will ever be joining you aboard The Trinsic Main?
Maybe next summer we will have him sailing with us. He has more training to do before he ventures off into Siege, but I would soon like him to join us.

As the captain flushes down the last contents of his second bottle, a more distant expression seems to come over his face. Up above, I hear seven bells ring out on the forenoon, and I decide that I should take my leave before the chaos of the change of watch begins. Time for one last question…

Have you had any thoughts about leaving Sosaria?
I was in Sosaria from 2000 to 2003 and then left due to other commitments. I came back in 2010 and brought Grace with me and we’ve been here ever since. We will only leave again once Grace has had enough.

I thank the captain for his time as I pack away my writing equipment, and he rises and bows in an alcohol-induced, theatrical fashion. I make my way out of the cabin, and as I’m helped down to the jolly boat and we make our way back to shore, I catch a glimpse of Sureno barking orders from the quarterdeck and see sailors scurrying to make the vessel ready for sea. I wonder which laden fancy will be feeling the wrath of the sea thieves next?

Still, I reflect, there are undoubtedly far worse people that could make you walk the plank…