20

Kurda pointed with her sabre at the rock sticking up in the distance, framed purple by the setting sun. “Vot is dat island called?”

Plugg Firetail had already seen it; he did not even turn to look at Peace Island. “That ain’t no island, ’tis nought but a big rock stickin’ up out o’ the main. A big lump o’ stone, that’s all.”

The ferret Princess kept her sword pointed at the object. “You vill sail over dere. I vant to see it, yarr!”

Slitfang was on duty as steersbeast. Plugg gave him a look. “Keep ’er steady on course, I’m the Cap’n o’ the Seascab.” He turned his attention back to Kurda.

“Yore daddy didn’t say nothin’ about stoppin’ ter look at rocks. My job is t’get ye to Mossflower country an’ catch those runaways if’n we spots ’em. Now, why don’t yer let me gerron wid me job. Go an’ lissen t’the crew entertainin’ themselves on the fo’c’sle ’ead. Run along now, there’s a good liddle missy!”

The Pure Ferret’s eyes blazed scarlet in the setting sunrays. “Von day I cut out your insolent tongue, Freebooter.”

Seething with rage, she strode off to the forecastle of the big ship.

Plugg grinned at Slitfang. “That proud liddle beauty frightens me t’death. Hawhawhaw!”

Prince Bladd was seated amidst the crew. Tazzin and Grubbage had their paws around his shoulders, teaching him an old Freebooter ditty:

“Ho ’tis nice t’be a villain, wot all honest creatures fears,

An’ terrorise the beasts for miles around.

Their scringin’ wails fer mercy is music to me ears,

Aye us bad ’uns loves to ’ear that mournful sound!”

A weasel twiddled the last two words on a one-string fiddle as the Freebooter crew echoed them soulfully: “Mawhawhawhawnful soooound!”

A searat with a ribbon-braided beard took the next verse.

“Lissen, mate, I’m tellin’ you, we’re a dirty desperate crew,

Each wid a cloud o’ flies around ’is ’ead.

Filthy Fox an’ Fatty Ferret an’ old Stinky Weasel, too,

We’re enough to fill an ’onest soul with dread! Wihhihith derrrread!”

He threw his paw affectionately around another searat.

“Lookit my old matey ’ere, we all calls ’im Ripper Rat,

Wid no tail, one eye, an”arf a greasy ear,

Burnt down ’is granpa’s ’ouse, now wot do ye think o’ that,

Just because ’is granny called ’im ’er sweet dear!

Sweeeheet deeeeear!”

Ripper smiled bashfully. Pointing at another crewbeast, he sang:

“Now you take this bully ’ere, Scummy Stoat’s ’is given name,

’E’s never ’ad a bath, ’e’s proud ter say,

’Til one day far out at sea, ’e fell in the watery main,

An’ the fishes all jumped out an’ ran away!

Rahaaan awaaaaay!”

Grubbage wiped away a tear and blew his snout on Prince Bladd’s embroidered sleeve. “Ain’t it luvverly? That’s me favourite ditty. Though I can’t ’elp sheddin’ a tear at the verse where old Scummy fell overboard, it breaks me ’eart, mate, every time!”

Kurda did not like what she saw. The Riftgard soldier rats were mingling with Plugg’s crew in a free and easy manner. She called their captain to her. “Riftun, get de guards down der maindeck. You vill tell dem to stay avay from de Freebooters. Make dem see to their uniforms an’ keep de spears sharp an’ polished!”

Keeping his expression blank, Riftun saluted with his spear. “I’ll see to it right away, yore ’ighness!”

Watching from the stern deck, Plugg nodded approvingly. “Now, there’s a maid after me own ’eart. It ain’t good manners t’make shipmates o’ those Riftgard rats, especially when we’re gonna slay ’em later on. Not nice, Slitfang, I don’t ’old wid false’ood.”

The steersbeast chuckled. “Yore a real gentlefox, Cap’n!”

The vast dark bulk of the Seascab plowed on into the night.

Next day was well advanced when Triss and Shogg took their leave of Peace Island. Bistort waited patiently by as they made their farewells to newfound friends.

Welfo stood paw in paw with Urtica, tears shining in her eyes. “Say you’ll come back one day, please!”

Triss was lost for words, but Shogg replied, “We’d be lyin’ if we did, you know that, mate. But no matter where we goes, you’ll be in our thoughts, you’n’Urtica. So both of ye, ’ave a good’n’appy life, an’ remember us fondly, that’s the best thing for all. Goodbye, friends!”

Bistort caught the otter’s glance and nodded. “Come now, else ’twill be dark ere you reach your ship.” He strode off swiftly, and they followed him without a backward look.

A long meandering fault in the rock ran from the crater rim down to their vessel, which lay hidden in a secret cove. There were pegs, a long rope and some rough steps at intervals. Bistort left them on the rim.

“Thy craft lies ready. I wish to thank thee for bringing Welfo to our island. She will be a wife to my son and a daughter to Downyrose and myself. Mayhap the seas will carry ye back this way one day, who knows? Speak no more now, but go. Let good fortune attend thee and may thy desires be fulfilled, the earth needs good creatures like thee.”

No sooner had they cast off than the small craft was swept out into a swiftly running sea, even without the aid of a sail. Triss took the tiller as Shogg unfurled the sail and trimmed up the ropes. The sea made little noise. There were no crests of white foam on the grey-green waves, which moved with an alarming speed and smoothness. When Triss looked back, Peace Island was far away and rapidly diminishing below the horizon.

There was little time for talk or reflection as they hurtled along with the massive oily swells. Shogg relieved the squirrelmaid at the tiller, allowing her to prepare some food for them both. Triss glanced anxiously at the towering green walls of water as the ketch scudded from valley to peak of each one. There was hardly any wind, yet the current was running faster.

She enquired cautiously of her friend, “Are we still on course, Shogg?”

Staring dead ahead and clenching the tiller tight, the otter replied, “Can’t say, matey, we’ve even lost sight o’ the island to use as a point. I reckon we’ll do well just to stay alive in waters like these. Better reef in our sail, Triss, afore a wind springs up. It might come from the wrong direction, an’ these waves’d swamp us.”

There was no sign of the high seas abating as darkness fell. It was going to be a long and sleepless night. Taking a crust of bread and a flagon of water, Triss stationed herself in the bows, keeping a lookout for anything at all that lay ahead. She found herself gazing over desolate watery wastes every time they rose on the waveswell.

Shogg manoeuvred the tiller, hoping against hope that Triss might sight land. Dark cloud masses, muddy purple and smoky cream, began obscuring the stars as they boiled up over the horizon ahead. There was no hint of a breeze. Then suddenly an earth-shattering boom crashed overhead and lightning ripped the heavens into fleeting brightness.

Shogg roared at Triss, “Get back ’ere with me, there’s a big storm brewin’!”

The wind came then, howling out of nowhere. It soaked Triss, whipping water over the bows as she retreated to the stern and grabbed the tiller with Shogg.

Squinting their eyes against the blinding rain, they huddled together, awed by the mighty forces of nature. Every moment Shogg expected one of the mountainous waves to crash down on the tiny craft, but miraculously it stayed afloat, still whipping onward over the storm-rent deeps.

Triss dashed water from her eyes, pointing ahead. “What’s that?”

Shogg saw it also. “A light, it’s a light!”

Seaspray washed into the squirrelmaid’s mouth as she shouted to make herself heard. “Is it land, Shogg?”

Prince Bladd lay in his bunk, a blanket wrapped about his head as he wailed in terror, “Der shtorm, it vill sink de boat! Help me!”

At that same moment, Kurda staggered across the deck, holding on to Captain Riftun’s spearhaft as he went ahead of her. They barged into Plugg’s cabin, where the fox was swilling grog with Tazzin and Grubbage. He looked up.

“Aharr, ’tis the lovely Princess ’erself. Wot can ole Cap’n Plugg do for ye on such a pleasant night, me dearie?”

Kurda was shaken by the sudden storm, but she would not let the Freebooter see her fear. “Is der ship in danger? Vill de shtorm sink us?”

Plugg, grog slopping down his chin, grinned crookedly. “Nah, it wouldn’t dare sink a ship carryin’ a prince an’ a princess, specially one who’s as good wid a sword as you!”

Riftun banged his spear angrily on the table. “Watch yore mouth, Plugg. Is there a safe cabin aboard, one where Princess Kurda can ride out the storm?”

Plugg gestured upward with his grog beaker. “Aye, there’s one above this on the stern peak, comfy liddle berth. I usually sleep there meself, but ’er ’igh royalness can ’ave it fer the night. Best cabin on the ole Seascab, still as a rock an’ safe as ’ouses!”

Kurda rapped out imperiously. “It vill do for der night. Captain Riftun, you vill take me dere!”

A mixture of wind, rain and seaspray whooshed into the cabin as Riftun opened the door. He was slammed back against the bulkhead, Kurda with him.

Plugg roared at them, “Gerrout an’ shut that door!”

The pair departed, with the rat captain struggling to close the door behind them. In the silence that followed, the silver fox hooted with laughter.

“Aharrharrharr! Still as a rock an’ safe as ’ouses? Hawhawhaw! She’ll spend the night goin’ up an’ down like a toad in a bucket. I’ll teach the snotnosed liddle whelp t’stand there givin’ Plugg Firetail orders. Hawhawhaw!”

Grubbage, as usual, had not heard his captain properly. But he joined in the laughter, pretending he had. “Heeheehee! A frog an’ a fly take borders. I like that ’un, Cap’n. Heeheehee!”

Out on deck, Kurda and Riftun negotiated the small set of stairs to the stern peak, their heads bowed against the storm’s onslaught. Immediately after they gained the top deck, Kurda knew that Plugg was playing one of his wicked jests on her. The Seascab was rolling wildly, plunging up and down like a madbeast in its death throes. The Princess was flung against the stern rail, where she clung grimly for dear life. Riftun slithered and skated about on the seaslick deck, then dug his spear point in the timbers and hauled himself to her side. Thunder rumbled out of the distance and banged overhead in a loud explosion. A sheet of lightning followed. Kurda was bent over the rail, facing the sea. In the brief illumination from the lightning flash, she screeched, “There dey are, there dey aaaaaare!”

Not half a boatlength away and slightly astern of the Seascab was the small stolen vessel, with Shogg and Triss, soaked to the skin, clinging to the tiller. The small, light craft was rapidly overhauling the huge Freebooter ship. Kurda saw the pair look up, their faces showing clearly in the lights from Plugg’s rear cabin window. She seized Riftun’s paw.

“Get one of dem mitt your spear, de streamdog. I vant de other von alive. T’row, kill der streamdog!”

Shogg and Triss were horror-stricken. The light they had been sailing for was a huge Freebooter ship, with their archenemies, Kurda and Riftun, aboard. Frozen with shock, they sat staring up at the mad-eyed Princess urging her captain to slay Shogg. Riftun raised his spear, grinning cruelly down at them. It was a throw he could hardly miss. He brought the weapon back over his shoulder for a stronger cast. Bang! Craaaaaack! A bolt of lightning struck the iron spearblade.

Hurling the tiller to port, Shogg sent the little craft skipping nimbly by, narrowly missing the Seascab’s stern. Kurda did not know what had happened for a moment, as she had been watching Shogg, waiting for the spear to strike him. Turning, she saw the rat Captain lying rigid on the deck, every hair on his body standing up like a needle. His paw was welded to the smoking and shattered spear, rain sizzling as it spattered on the momentarily red-hot iron blade. Riftun was dead as a doornail.

The beautifully built little ship, which Agarnu had commissioned for his royal offspring, flashed by and was swallowed up into the gale-torn night.

Plugg shielded his grog from the wetness that blew in as the cabin door slammed open again. “Was you born in a field? Shut that clatterin’ door!”

Looking anything but regal, the saturated Pure Ferret left Grubbage to struggle with the door as she staggered into the cabin, flailing her paws like a windmill.

“Mine ship, I haff seen mine ship, mitt two slaves in it, sailing by . . . out dere!”

The Freebooter fox took a gulp of grog and belched. “Well, ain’t that a turnip fer the ship’s log. Where’s ole pastyface Riftun, swimmin’ after it?”

Kurda ignored the fox’s heavy-pawed sarcasm. “Riftun is slayed by der lightnink, he vos stricken! Mine ship is getting avay, you vill catch her!”

Plugg shrugged noncommittally. “I never took to that Riftun, ’e was a snootynosed rat. Don’t worry about yore pretty liddle ship. If’n she’s still afloat by mornin’, we’ll run ’er down all right. Just one other thing, missy, if’n ye ain’t got double the value o’ that ship, well, ’tis mine. Yore pa said I gets double the value of any booty we bring back. So if I sails back inter Riftgard with ’er in tow, ye can kiss yore ship goodbye. She’ll be sailin’ under Plugg’s colours!”

Kurda did not have her sabre to paw. She stood in front of the Freebooter, shaking with murderous rage. “If I had not left my sabre in der cabin, you vould be a deadbeast now, seascum!”

Plugg winked at Slitfang and smiled sweetly. “Ain’t she the one, mate. Pity ye didn’t bring yore sword out on deck—the lightnin’ would’ve struck you, me pretty one. That might’ve brightened yore night up, aharrharr!”

The Princess stamped her paw as she poured forth venom. “You stupid mudbrained slug, von day I vill haff your head on a spike, den ve see how you laugh, yarr! I vill tell mein father how I vas treated by you. De only double revard he vill give is to haff you chopped in two halves!”

Plugg tossed his empty grog flagon aside and got another. “Tch tch, naughty naughty! A bargain’s a bargain when anybeast makes it wid Plugg Firetail, missie, ye’ll soon find that out. Well now, ye can stand stampin’ yer liddle paw there as much as ye like. There ain’t a thing t’be done ’til this storm blows over an’ we got daylight enough t’see wot we’re chasin’. So you toddle off now, to that there snug liddle cabin I let you ’ave fer the night.”

Kurda curled her lip and scowled at him. “I go back to mine own cabin, but first I vill choose a Ratguard to attend me. I do not trust you, yarr!”

Plugg turned to his messmates, speaking with mock sincerity. “D’you lot ’ear that? She don’t trust dear old Plugg! That’s ’ow you never got t’be a princess, Grubbage, by puttin’ yore trust in me.”

Grubbage nodded sagely. “Aye, a rusty flea, Cap’n, that’s me. Shall I show the Princess back to ’er cabin?”

Kurda pushed Grubbage roughly aside. “I find my own vay!” She strode regally from the cabin, with the raucous laughter of Plugg and his cronies ringing in her ears.