Revision - alexandre exquemelin - Windrose Wiki

Alexandre Exquemelin is the wandering traveler whose seven journal notes lead the player to buried treasure chests across the archipelago. Players find his journals scattered at Traveller's Camps on different islands, each note pointing to a dig site marked by a leaning dead white tree with a red rag tied around the trunk. Reading the note triggers the buried treasure mechanic and adds a marker to the player's map.

The Journal Trail

Exquemelin left seven journal notes total at Traveller's Camps spread across the launch archipelago. Each note is a short first-person passage describing a place Exquemelin visited, ending with directions to the buried treasure he hid there. The notes can be read in any order, but the early notes (on the starting island and the second island) are easier to act on because the player is more likely to have a Shovel by the time they encounter them.

Discovery Stage	Notes Found	Locations
Starting island	1 to 2 notes	Traveller's Camp on the starting island
Coastal Jungle (other islands)	Additional notes	Traveller's Camps on jungle islands
Foothills	More notes	Traveller's Camps on Foothills islands
Cursed Swamps	Final notes	Traveller's Camps on swamp islands

Buried Treasure Mechanic

When the player reads an Exquemelin journal note:

The note text describes the location of a buried chest on the same island
A map marker appears at the dig site
The player travels to the dig site and looks for a leaning dead white tree with a red rag tied around the trunk
With a Shovel equipped, press X to enter Dig mode and excavate at the base of the tree
The chest contains rewards specific to that note (often Tumbaga Ingots, Silver Ingots, weapon plans, or unique items like the Rapier of a Thousand Cuts)

Rewards

Rewards from Exquemelin's journal trail vary by note. Common rewards include:

Rapier of a Thousand Cuts (the famous bleed rapier, obtained from a red-rag-tree dig tied to a different Traveller's Camp note; specific chest contents vary)
Tumbaga Ingots for ascending Rare weapons to Epic
Silver Ingots and Gold Ingots for jewellery crafting
Weapon and armor plans for crafting at the Weaponsmith and Armor Workshop
Faction reputation items (Letters of Favor) tied to the journal's faction connection

Historical Reference

The character is named after the real Alexandre Exquemelin (1645 to 1707), a French-Dutch surgeon and writer who served with the Brethren of the Coast as a buccaneer. His 1678 book De Americaensche Zee-Roovers ("The American Sea Rovers," later translated as The Buccaneers of America) is the primary historical source for what we know about Caribbean piracy in the 17th century, including detailed accounts of Henry Morgan and other historical pirates.

Windrose's Exquemelin retains the role of chronicler-traveler. Where the historical Exquemelin documented pirates for posterity, the Windrose version literally buries treasure and leaves journals for future adventurers to find. The reference is a specific thank-you to historical pirate scholarship and gives the buried treasure system a thematically appropriate framing.

Tracking Your Progress

There is no in-game checklist of which Exquemelin journals you have found versus missed. Players track this manually or by consulting community treasure-location guides. Each Traveller's Camp visited should be searched for journal notes; multiple journals can exist at separate Traveller's Camps on the same island.

The seven notes together form the Traveler's Journal Collection, a discovery set that completes when you have read all seven, so finding every note also closes out that collection entry.

Tips

Craft the Shovel early (3 Copper Ingots + 10 Wood at the Workbench) so you can act on journal notes immediately
Bring camp supplies to remote Traveller's Camps so you can set up a Bonfire and Tent before searching
The dead white tree with red rag is the visual confirmation marker; the dig site is at the base of the tree
Skeletons sometimes appear near dig sites as a secondary visual cue
Save journal locations on your map even if you cannot dig immediately; you can return after crafting the Shovel

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