Back at World's End, Chumley and Thoris were met at the dock early in the morning by a former, now reformed pirate, named Orange Willum.

Willum was a feline of some undetermined type, tall, lanky, and listing to starboard, with hair spikes protruding from his overly bright orange fur like small volcanic eruptions. He was missing his right fang and his grin was lop-sided, but friendly. Chumley went over to him and gave him a tight hug which the retired buccaneer returned heartily.

"As ah live and breath, me old mate Willy. You're lookin' quite fierce, you are. Thank ya for comin'."

Willum smiled broadly and clapped Chumley on the back.
"Well Blacky, or is it Guvner Bilgespike now? Guv, I thinks...yeah, suits ya. Well Guv, I was in the pub testin' the local brews when I heard aboutin' your chums. What kind of a shipmate would I be if'n I didn't lend a paw?"

Chumley smiled and motioned to Thoris.
"This is me pal, Thoris, 'e's a good bloke, 'e is"

Willum reached out his paw and the weasel shook it.
"Pleased to meet cha, Thoris, I be Willum Marsh Crookfang known ta some as Orange Willum, but ye can calls me Willy."

Thoris's eyes widened.
"The Orange Willum? The Terror of the Theas?" he asked.

Willum chuckled and threw his arm over the weasel's shoulder.
"Aye, I been called a lot worse, too, but that life's over for me, I seen the light, don't cha know. Got a full pardon I did, leastways in Morgaard," he winked at Chumley, "seems the governor thought I had some good in me."

Thoris chuckled and played along.
"Do you?"

"A bit here and there, but I tries not to let it bother me to much, not good for the digestion, you know."

"How ith it you know Chumley?" Thoris asked.

The cat laughed loudly.
"In 'is younger days, our chum weren't always the saint 'e's become. 'E was known to smuggle items to the north and needed the occasional ride, don't cha know and I, bein' the fine soul that I am, obliged."

It was Chumley's turn to laugh.
"Yeah, that's roight, fine soul, that and the 'ealthy fee 'e charged me each time ah went, didn't 'e?"

Willum smiled and then became serious.
"So how can I help ya, Blacky?"

Chumley approached and looked the cat square in the eye.
"My friends disappeared at sea, Willy. Ah'm sure they're aloive, but ah fear that they've been washed to Xenoth. Ah got a good idea where, don't ah and there ain't a creature livin' what knows more about these waters than you, mah friend. Ah'd like to go to Xenoth and cruise outside the shield and see if we can spot them. So what do you think?"

The odd orange cat thought quietly for a moment and then looked up.
"When do we leave matey?"

Orange Willum's ship was of a style ironically called a catboat, a sleek single-masted vessel which could be sailed with a very small crew, or in Willum's case, by himself. Its single mast was well forward of amidships and held a single gaff-rigged sail. Narrower than a traditional catboat, she was swift for her class. The ship was named Vengeance and she was painted a bright, almost painful shade of orange from stem to stern.

Wasting no time after he, Chumley, and Thoris were transported beyond the boundaries of the bay and crater rim in a small dory propelled by four oarsbeasts, Willum barked directions to guide the rowboat to his craft. When they arrived at the anchored vessel, he quickly boarded and helped his guests aboard, thanking the dory's crew and sending them back to World's End. He pulled up anchor, giving orders to Chumley and Thoris to raise the sail, and in no time, the Vengeance was cutting through the waves on its way to Xenoth.

Thoris sat forward with Chumley, both enjoying the wind blowing through their fur under the robin's egg sky. Willum was seated on a tall stool in front of the Vengeance's wheel, guiding his ship onward. Thoris smiled as he watched the cat guiding his ship.

"He theems to be part of the ship. I've heard about him for yearth. He drove Khalith crazy by capturing her boath." He laughed loudly,   
"She even offered an enormouth reward for hith head, but apparently that didn't work."

Thoris turned facing Chumley, "I alwayth athumed he wath killed, I never heard from him again, it hath to be five yearth now, before the warth. Why did he drop off the faith of the earth? What happened, did he juth retire?"

Chumley's face took on a sad smile.
" 'E's got a new purpose in life, he does. In mah younger days, when ah wasn't the sophisticated chap Oi am today, still dapper though, mind yah, before mah unfortunate association with her high wickedness Khalis, Oi was what was crudely called a smuggler, though ah preferred to think of meself as a purveyor of hard to come-by items. Old Willum there weren't a pirate yet in those days, was 'e? No 'e was not. Orange Willum was a master of sea-borne transport.

"The two of us would bring items of a desirable nature from The Lands of Man to the northern countries, what had nothing to speak of but gold and baubles. Khalis was already queen, wasn't she? Didn't want no trade with her southern enemies, did she? We traded without 'er bloody permission, for a modest profit," Chumley chuckled, "a very large modest profit. Willum was and is a sea-beast, ain't 'e? Oi, on the other paw am a land beast. Sick all the time at sea, I was. So after a profitable friendship, Oi bid mah dramatic fare-thee-well to brother Willum and headed to Lokias to make mah fortune.

"Willum kept prowling the seas, 'e did. Finally decided the trading part was not 'is best point, so 'e cut directly to the chase, didn't 'e? Started attackin' and robbin' Khalis' royal ships, even ransomed quite a few back to 'er. Drove 'er royal nastiness crazy it did."

"Tho he only attacked Kalith'th ships?" Thoris asked in fascination.

"Yeah, 'er boats 'ad the booty, didn't they?" Chumley paused and became serious, " 'E always 'ad a bit o' the devil in 'im, but 'e's a good beast at 'eart, 'e is. Ah don't think 'e'd 'ave ever been worse than a smuggler or blockade runner if'n it weren't Khalis, ya know. It weren't the gold that made 'im 'appy, it was knowin' Khalis was losin' sleep. 'Is crew, includin' 'is two brothers, hated 'er as much as 'e did.

"Willum was so good at what 'e done that the queen 'ired herself some pirate 'unters, nasty evil blokes they was, killed whole families, they did. Religious types, all holier-than-thou, no care for any living thing, just themselves and some crazy utopia they was plannin'. Did it for the money, they did, so they could fund their order."

"What happened?" Thoris interjected.

"Nothin' good, ah'm afraid. Willum and 'is crew captured a ship and was ransoming it back like they done a dozen times before, but it weren't what it seemed, it was a trap. All the grog and food on the captured ship was drugged 'cause they knew it would be taken back to Willum's ship. 'E went ashore to negotiate the ransom and they put 'im in chains and made 'im watch while they set 'is ship afire with its drugged crew, includin' 'is brothers, passed out aboard 'er.

" 'E was sent to Thoth 'cause Khalis wanted to see 'im danglin' from a rope, close up and personal like, but then the war come to an 'ead, didn't it? She got occupied with other stuff, like destroyin' the world and all and kinda forgot about 'im for a while, seein' as 'ow her ships were safe now. Then she got et by our pal Ashy and some'ow ah got put in charge. When yours truly found out 'e was rottin' away in jail, ah gave 'im a reprieve and set 'im free. 'E disappeared for a while. Next time ah see's mah pal, 'e's in this small boat, cruisin' back and forth along Morgaard."

Thoris turned to look at the bright orange feline.
"You thaid he had a new purpothe in life."

"Yeah, ah did. Willum's ship is named the Vengeance for a reason, mah friend. 'Is life's work is to track down those pirate 'unters what killed 'is brothers. 'E wants 'em to know it's 'im what's comin' for 'em, that's why 'e painted this ship the color it is and that's the story of Orange Willum."

"A thad tale," Thoris commented.

"Ain't over yet, is it? Might still 'ave a bit of an 'appy ending."

"If you can call killing other beatht happy."

"It would be to 'im, it surely would," Chumley concluded.