"Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" is one of the first treasure-hunting side quests you'll encounter in Windrose's Early Access. It introduces the game's curio and digging mechanics, but the lack of clear instructions at the dig site trips up a lot of players. The quest rewards are solid for the early game, though the fight that follows can catch you off guard if you're underprepared.
Quick answer: Craft a Shovel, travel to the blue map marker, and dig at the exact center of the four skeletons arranged in a square to unearth the chest.
Starting the quest — finding the Blurry Sketch of the Island
The quest begins when you loot a curio called the Blurry Sketch of the Island from a shipwreck along the eastern coast of the starting island. Once you pick it up, open your Journal with J and read the curio entry. A blue quest marker will appear on your map, pointing you toward the treasure's location.
Crafting a Shovel before you go
You cannot complete this quest without a Shovel, and the game never explicitly tells you that. Many players arrive at the marked location, see the skeletons, and find nothing to interact with — the missing piece is the Shovel.
To unlock the Shovel recipe, smelt a Copper Ore into a Copper Bar at your Furnace, then pick up the Copper Bar. This unlocks several new crafting recipes at your Workbench, including the Shovel. Craft it before heading to the quest location.
Digging up the treasure chest
When you reach the blue map marker, you'll find four skeletons arranged in a rough square on the ground. The treasure is buried at the precise midpoint between all four skeletons — right in the center of the formation. If your dig isn't registering, reposition yourself so you're standing as close to the geometric center as possible, which also lines up with the star icon on the map.
Once you dig in the correct spot, a chest will appear on the ground. Interact with it to trigger the combat encounter.
Fighting the four Drowned enemies
Opening the chest causes the four skeletons to reanimate as Drowned — level 2 melee enemies. Each one is individually weak, but fighting all four simultaneously is genuinely difficult this early in the game, especially if you haven't picked up decent gear yet. The Drowned primarily attack in melee range, though they also throw rocks at a distance.
| Enemy | Level | Attack Type | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drowned | 2 | Melee + Throw Rock | 4 |
Combat tips for the Drowned fight
Stack two food buffs before engaging to raise your maximum HP. The extra health pool makes a real difference when you're getting hit by multiple enemies at once.
Bring Healing Potions if you have them. Completing the early quest "Twist of Fancy" rewards 10 Healing Potions, which are extremely useful here.
Keep moving in a wide circle around the group. This helps you dodge the rocks they throw and prevents all four from surrounding you at once. When a Drowned charges toward you — you'll see it speed up and flail its arms — you can land an attack as it reaches you to stagger it and interrupt the charge.
Stick to a hit-and-run rhythm. Land one or two strikes, then immediately back away. Trying to block against four enemies at once is not effective at this stage of the game.
Rewards for completing the quest
After all four Drowned are dead, interact with the chest a second time to collect the loot.
| Reward | Amount |
|---|---|
| XP | 50 |
| Silver Ingots | 4 |
| Guineas | 5 |
Guineas function as a trading currency you can spend with smugglers, while Silver Ingots are a valuable crafting material at this point in the game. The 50 XP is a nice early boost as well.
The "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" quest is a solid introduction to how Windrose handles its treasure-hunting curio system. Future curio quests follow a similar pattern — loot a clue, mark a location, bring the right tools, and deal with whatever guards the prize — so getting comfortable with the loop here pays off as you explore further islands.