Two stoats stood in front of the figurehead of the corsair ship, Lady Artemis. One stoat was Solomon the Terrible, Lady Artemis's captain, one of the most-feared pirates ever to sail the western sea. The other was his eleven-year-old firstborn son, Badrang. Today was his birthday. "Ah, Badrang, son, you know I won't be around forever." Solomon was saying in his Salamandastron brogue. Badrang nodded. "I know, and then I'll be captain of the Lady Artemis and the crew and all the treasure will belong to me." He looked dreamy, all the while knowing that his father's would be impossible shoes to fill, when the time came. "What about Malwyze?" Badrang glanced anxiously at his three-year-old little brother, playing with his toy sword on the main deck while a crewbeast kept him entertained with st