I still remember the week Season of Plunder dropped its fourth chapter, and even now, in 2026, I can feel the salty static of the H.E.L.M. air. I was a younger Guardian then, less cynical, more willing to chase every treasure map fragment across the solar system. But Week 4 of Sails of the Shipstealer was different. It was the week we learned that Eramis was not the only one hunting the darkness relics, and that Mithrax had been hiding something from all of us. Have you ever trusted a friend so completely that the first crack in their story feels like a personal betrayal? That was Week 4 for me. ⚔️
I began, as always, by traveling to the H.E.L.M. and speaking to Eido at the Star Chart. She was bright, eager, and worried. A new artifact had surfaced, another darkness relic, and the race was on. If you played during that season, you know the rhythm: start the Expedition Playlist, dig up buried treasure, and hope RNG sent you somewhere useful. I needed at least five map fragments to construct a treasure map, which meant a round or two of Ketchcrash first. Was it tedious? Sometimes. Was it also weirdly meditative? Absolutely. There was something satisfying about cracking Fallen skulls and then calmly digging up treasure while the Drifter made jokes over comms. 🏴☠️
Here is the rough loop I followed that week:
| Step | What I Did |
|---|---|
| 1 | Spoke to Eido at the Star Chart 🗺️ |
| 2 | Ran Expedition Playlist and Ketchcrash for map fragments 🏴☠️ |
| 3 | Defeated 50 combatants on Europa ❄️ |
| 4 | Hunted Alaaks, the Beast Tamer 🐺 |
| 5 | Visited Ether Tank Holoprojector and spoke with Mithrax 💬 |
| 6 | Collected a rare good reward from The Spider 🕷️ |
The quest also asked me to defeat 50 combatants on Europa. I got lucky. The Expedition Playlist sent me to Europa, and I spent the next twenty minutes farming Vex and Fallen alike. If you were not lucky, you had to fly to Europa separately, which was fine. Europa in 2022 was still a frozen mystery to me, and even now in 2026 I sometimes load into Beyond and remember how cold it felt the first time. But I digress. The real target was Alaaks, the Beast Tamer.
Alaaks was a Fallen pirate captain who controlled Cabal War Beasts. I remember dropping into their hideout, expecting the usual waves of enemies, only to find something strange. Every enemy before the boss encounter had already been defeated. Someone had been there first. Who? That question hung over the entire mission. I fought Alaaks, dodged War Beasts, and claimed the fourth darkness relic. But the victory felt hollow. If Eramis was not the only one searching, then who else was? And why did it feel like we were always one step behind? 💎
After the fight, I visited the Ether Tank Holoprojector in the Eliksni Quarter and spoke with Mithrax. That conversation hit harder than any boss. He admitted he had not been completely honest with everyone about his past and the relics. I stood there, listening to a Kell who had fought beside us, and I wondered: how well do we ever really know our allies? Mithrax promised to explain, but we had to wait until next week. Waiting is a cruel mechanic, isn't it? Bungie knew exactly what it was doing.
As a consolation, I spoke to The Spider. For once, he actually gave me a good reward. I remember laughing out loud. After weeks of stingy drops, the old crime lord finally came through. It was a small mercy, but in Destiny 2, small mercies keep you logging in.
Looking back from 2026, Season of Plunder Week 4 feels like a time capsule. The seasonal model has changed, the sandbox has shifted, and the H.E.L.M. is no longer the bustling hub it once was. But the story beats still matter. Sails of the Shipstealer was not just about loot. It was about trust, hidden histories, and the uncomfortable truth that our enemies might be racing toward the same finish line. Would I play it again? In a heartbeat. Would I complain about map fragments? Absolutely. Some things never change, even in 2026.