Guide to Buried Treasure

 is a common book in Salt. It can be bought from merchant for 40 Gold.

Source

 * Merchant

Author

 * Cass the Explorer

Text
With as many pirates that nest in this area of the world, there is no shortage of buried treasure. I prefer a life of peace and exploration over battle and pillaging, but I don't mind snagging the occasional cache that a local pirate thinks is well hidden.

On that note, you may wonder why pirates bury their treasure, and why it is sometimes so haphazardly hidden. My theory is they are hiding it from members of their own pirate gang as much as anyone else. I expect that the treasure hidden mostly belongs to pirates other than the one that did the hiding. They scoop up a stash while the others aren't looking, then quickly bury it and take note of the location so that one day they can come back and claim it once their band is disbanded in one of the many piratey ways that occurs.

WHERE TO LOOK

Although it may be the case that some pirates hide their treasures elsewhere, I almost always find them on what I call desert islands. These are the islands with very sandy soil throughout. I suppose it makes sense, given that dig sites in the sandy soil would be much less obvious, and thus a favorite among treasure hiders.

On these desert islands, there are a few common ways that I have noticed that pirates like to conceal their beloved loot. The most dim-witted of them bury it in the sand, and mark the location with an obvious red X.

Others do the same, except they take the time to place a plant on top of the spot. To spot these, keep an eye out for a plant that is rare or not native to the desert islands.

I have also seen a placement of charred stones in the shape of an X upon a mound of sand with treasure buried beneath. The black stones contrast well with the light sand, so these are sometimes not any more difficult to spot than the red X.

Lastly, some bury their chest with all but an edge of it underneath the sand. These can be difficult to spot, especially if the island is particularly dense in foliage.