FOUR SEASONS LATER:

As time went by, Rico grew into a fearless fighter. Living in the pirate world makes a beast tough, and the nineteen-season-old rat had a natural skill at paw-to-paw combat. He had been promoted to First Mate when he saved Captain Bloodfur's life in a raid on a woodlander ship.

Blue-Eyes also fared well, although perhaps not quite as much as Rico. The weasel had grown tall and lean. Although he wasn't as well known for his fighting prowess as Rico, the weasel proved to be a fearsome fighter with his long, razor-sharp rapier.

The Deathwake had set a course south as the summer season slowly turned to fall. It had been a good season for plundering and they were looking forward to resting on a warm, preferably peaceful, island.

There was a sudden shout from the crow nest, and almost the entire crew came stampeding to the deck when they heard the call: "ship sighted dead ahead!"

Rico clambered through the crowd of searats and corsairs until he could finally get a good view of the vessel. It appeared to be some kind of merchant ship. With only one square mast, and by the slow way it was moving, the rat could tell that it wouldn't be long before The Deathwake caught up to her.

"Watch'ya think, Blue-Eyes?" Rico asked, flashing his friend a confident grin, "Does tha' look like easy pickings t' ye?"

"Sure does," the tall weasel grinned, brushing the tip of his rapier's blade with his paw, "Looks like it'll be easier than catching fish in a barrel."

"Hmm…" Rico said, tightening his grip on his axe's handle. He had dyed his weapon a crimson red. "Let's just 'ope they're not as slippery as fish. I wonder what our great capt'n's strategy is fer this one."

Blue-Eyes shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out."

The weasel's words would soon prove correct as orders were snapped out for the crew to grab their weapons and to prepare the grappling hooks. It was going to be yet another frontal assault; Bloodfur's favorite kind.

They strapped on every bit of canvas, and waited as the distance between the two vessels slowly closed.

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There was the sound of a creature screaming out a battle-cry, and Rico spun around and smashed his red, double-bladed axe into a mouse's head. The world around him consisted of bloody, screaming beasts, desperately trying to kill or not be killed.

Blue-Eyes' rapier thrusted and jabbed like a blur, dropping a large otter to the deck, his paws holding his stomach where the weasel's blade had ripped his guts to shreds.

The merchant ship hadn't been quite as easy a prey as they had first thought. When the Deathwake had finally outpaced it and drew up alongside it the searats were finally able to take a glance at their victim's crew. They were woodlanders. At first it was mostly mice, with a scattering of otters armed with longbows. However, as the corsairs tied the ships together using the grappling hooks, a large, well-armed company of massive sea otters had charged up from the bottom deck. If both sides had the same number of beasts, the searats would've had their tails cut off and handed to them. However, experience and numbers rapidly turned the tide in favor of the freebooters.

Rico and Blue-Eyes had been among the first wave of attackers, and now they both fought back to back as they were surrounded by the desperate woodlanders.

"Watch yer back, Blue-Eyes!" Rico called out, kicking a bleeding mouse in the face as the woodlander tried to crawl back to his footpaws.

Blue-Eyes was slightly too slow, and he spat out a curse (Yet, somehow in his typically dignified way) as a spear tip cut his shoulder. Grabbing the spear with one paw, he used the other to thrust his sword straight through the woodlander's throat.

The woodlanders around them suddenly started to drop like flies as Captain Bloodfur sent a company of archers up the Deathwake's masts. Arrow after arrow fell on the otters and the mice, severely thinning their ranks.

"Come on, boys!" Captain Bloodfur roared out as he led a fresh wave of attackers onto the woodlander vessel, "Show 'em why we are th' most feared crew on the western seas!"

Rico and Blue-Eyes managed to steal a quick breather as their fellow searats crashed down on the last groups of fighting otters and mice.

"Well, tha' probably felt good," Rico grinned, pointing a claw at Blue-Eyes' shoulder.

The weasel spat on the deck, grinning, "It felt great," he said sarcastically. Raising his rapier, he pretended to take a step forward, "Here, I can give you one just like it if you want."

"No, no, I'm good," Rico replied. The rat wearily sat down on the deck and dropped his heavy blood-stained axe. He and Blue-Eyes watched as the last of their foes were chased down into the bottom decks where most of them surrendered, knowing that there was no escape.

Blue-Eyes ripped a piece of cloth off the shirt of a dead mouse to clean his blade. "We'll probably have a good party tonight."

Rico chuckled, "Either that, or they'll all be busy snorin'."

Blue-Eyes' voice dropped a few notches as the weasel sat down beside his friend. "You know, I hear that the island we're heading to is going to be a pretty nice layout. There is even a small castle and a bunch of taverns in the surrounding village!"

Rico's face became serious. "An' what about it?"

Blue-Eyes threw his arms out wide. "Well, for starters, the island sounds big enough that if we decided to stay, the crew would never find us – if they even bothered looking, that is. Just think about it, we could hide out there for a while, maybe steal a few bags of gold, and then hire a ship to take us to the mainland! We could be free to wander wherever we choose without a captain or first mate to tell us otherwise!"

"Hmm… Maybe…" Rico agreed reluctantly. He could never understand Blue-Eyes' need to leave the life of a sailor. Being a raider wasn't that bad for Rico. Maybe in time, if he kept postponing Blue-Eyes' wild plans, his friend would finally decide that it would be better for them to stay.

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the sound of many beasts shouting out in anger and shock.

"What th' fur is going on?" Rico wondered aloud, standing up and grabbing his axe. "Let's go an' find out."

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When Captain Bloodfur had led the charge down into the bottom decks of the ship, mopping up the last bits of woodlander resistance, he had been severely wounded. Some of the searats said that it was "a knife in the dark", and others said that it was "one of those cursed otters". However, the fact still remained that Bloodfur was close to death, although none dared to say this too loudly.

What had started out as a glorious victory turned into a grim silence as the crew of the Deathwake milled about outside of the captain's cabin, where only his most trusted right-claw-beasts were allowed to enter.

Inside the cabin, Captain Bloodfur lay stretched out on his bed. His once mighty body was reduced to a bloody, gasping mess. He was covered with many wounds, yet this had not stopped him. It took a spear deep into his back before he had finally collapsed.

The large rat looked around at the faces surrounding him. Bloodfur's second mate, a tall and female rat called Deathpaw, stood impassively to his left, silently observing as Beckler the healer fox tried to relieve his master of his pain.

"'Ere, Capt'n," the fox said, passing Bloodfur a foul concoction made from poppy-seeds and such other withered herbs as the pirates had been able to scrounge up or steal. "drink this, it'll make th' pain go away for now."

Once the rat captain had swallowed the vile substance, he leaned his head on his pillows and gazed up at the cabin ceiling. "'Ow long 'ave I got?" he asked.

Beckler pretended to look confused. "What do y' mean, Capt'n?"

"You know full well what I mean," Bloodfur coughed. The vermin wiped his mouth with his paw, and when he looked down at it, saw blood. "I know I'm dyin', don't try t' deny it. That blade did it's foul work. Now, I'll ask one more time 'n' I don't want t' hear another lie. 'Ow long do I got t' live?"

Beckler sighed. "Probably only a couple of hours at th' most."

The rat nodded. "Never ran from a thing in my life. I'm not going t' start fearin' anything now. Deathpaw?" He jerked his head to the first mate. "Fetch Rico."

The female rat bowed, then left. She returned a while later with Rico and Blue-Eyes.

Rico saluted with his red axe. "Ye wanted t' see me?" he asked.

Bloodfur nodded. "Aye. But first…" He waved his paw for the others to leave the room. Once they were gone, he looked up at Rico.

"Being me First Mate, the duty of me ship will fall onto ye. Ye now that, right?"

Rico had never truly believed that he would actually be handed the title of captain. He was glad for it though. Starting a mutiny was normally a bloody affair, and he wasn't sure if he'd dare to start one to claim possession of the vessel.

"Aye."

"Then listen carefully. If ye sink or crash any part of me lovely ship, my ghost'll haunt ye t' the day ye die."

"I understand."

"Hmm. Ye'd better." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm a goner anyway, so I'm going t' let ye in on a little secret. One that'll help ye as captain. 'However, ye must never breathe a word o' this t' anybeast. Do ye swear?"

"I swear," Rico said eagerly. "What's the secret?"

"My name wasn't always Bloodfur." He leaned his head back, smiling as memories of the past came back to him. "I was like ye once. A worthless no-good who could never 'ope t' rise above th' rest of th' rabble. But then me luck changed when the ship I was on was attacked by a captain who called himself Bloodfur the Terrible."

He held up a paw as Rico opened his mouth. "No questions 'til I'm done. Anyhow, so me 'n' th' rest of th' crew were taken prisoner. We was given th' choice t' join Bloodfur's crew, or t' spend th' rest of our lives as slaves. I took th' first option. Like ye, I fought and clawed me way up th' ranks until I was made second mate. Me and Bloodfur got along well. With his reputation, 'n' my brutal tactics, every beast up and down the coast would tremble when they heard of Bloodfur and his fearsome crew of bloodthirsty raiders.

"Then one day, we sailed t' a big ol' island far t' th' south. Th' captain brought me 'n' a few of th' lads with him to the center of it. It was then that he told me what he planned t' do. He was gettin' old, 'n' had wanted t' live long enough fer his fur t' turn grey. He gave me his name, his ship, his crew, 'n' his reputation. T' this day, I've tried me best t' make sure that the name Captain Bloodfur would live forever in th' names of infamy."

He coughed weakly before continuing. "An' seasons later, here I am; Old, fat, an' slowly bleedin' t' death. Oh well. It happens t' everybeast I suppose." He looked up at Rico. "T' make sure that the legend lives on, I'm passin' the name of Bloodfur t' ye, Rico. A fearsome reputation is a treasure that many strive fer, but few get."

The dying rat handed Rico his red horned helmet.

"Thank ye." Rico dipped his head in a small bow. "I'll do my best."

"Good." He waved his paw dismissively. "Alright now. Leave me be. Tell that fox healer that he can come back in, but keep everybeast else out. I'd rather not die with a bunch of filthy wastrels staring at me, waitin' fer me t' finally die."

"Aye, Capt'n. I'll take good care of your ship."

With that, Rico left the cabin.