After a couple of idyllic days of rest and merriment, word arrives that there is a disturbance that is need of looking after. Jovial and merry, Rusty and Bucksnort suggest they will just head on off, no need for Dirk to worry, they have things well under control, and he has other things at hand, eh, squirt!

Perpetually embarrassed by their joking, Dirk bundles his gear together in preparation for the journey. As the party prepares to head off, Flower pops in with a full travel bag and announces that she will be coming with them.

“Now, now, dearie,” begins Bucksnort. “Adventuring is well and good, but you have no training and life on the road is hard. Mayhaps if you ask again, young Dirk here will relent and stay after all.”

Flower, however is adamant that she wishes to travel with them and no amount of arguing seems to sway her mind.

“Your family will miss you.” “I have none left here.”

“Your friends?” “Pets?” “You have a bright future?” “There is really nothing tying you to this place?”

“No, none.”

“Very well. You must obey the rules of the road. If you suppose you can be diligent in this you’re welcome aboard.”

1. No whining and carrying on and all.
2. Carry your own stuff.
3. When time for butt kicking, you kick butt.
4. Have fun.

Having assured the old mouse that she can indeed keep the rules, much to Dirk’s chagrin, Bucksnort hardily welcomes her to the patrol and they prepare to set off. Consulting Dirk’s maps, they realize they will have a long journey skirting around the edge of the great lake. Or, perhaps, they could just get a boat and go straight there? Rusty seizes on this idea and asks where can one acquire a boat, he’s always wanted to captain one, and what better time to do so than now!

Flower knows the boat maker well and leads the party down to the small harbor for the town. There they express their desire to aquire a boat, post haste, and make their way across the great waters. The young mouse, obviously smitten with Flower assures them that he can indeed provide a boat, if they just return within the year he will have a wonderful craft made up for them to set sail on and… “A year! Bloody goodness, my chap! We are in hurry! We need a boat at this very moment!” Perhaps there was some sailor nearby that would lend them a boat, or they could start following the coastline and hail a merchant schooner to give them a ride. The poor boy timidly suggests that there was a crazy old codger who lived up on top of the bluffs who was in possession of a boat, and they could inquire of him.

Thanking him for the information, our mice set out to call upon this elderly sailor. They trudge up the hill and find a house nestled amongst the trees. Rusty marches up and resoundly knocks on the door. They hear some scuffling from the depths of the home and eventually the door is opened by an ancient mouse who peers out at them, demanding to know why they are disturbing his peace.

Rusty makes a plea for the aquition of a boat, of which they hear this good fellow has access, only to be rebuffed. The mice plead ardently of their need to which the old miser tries to shut the door in their face. Bucksnort leaps forward and plants his foot in the closing door and once again makes the case. The mouse angrily demands that they leave at once and slams the door and wanders in.

Momentarily thwarted, our party debates what to do now. Is there any other way to find a boat? I suppose we’ll just have to walk. Bucksnort suggests that perhaps they just didn’t make their case firmly enough and they should have another go. Rusty opens the door and peers inside, looking for the old mouse. “I’ll go talk to him,” he says, and wanders in. “Good idea, ole sport!” chimes in Bucksnort as he wanders into the entrance way.

Dirk is mortified that his companions are invading this poor mouse’s house, demanding that they step out at once, he’s going to have to write up a report of the breaking and entering, utterly exasperated at the older mice’s behavior.

Meanwhile Rusty locates the mouse in a room at the back of the house and as he enters, much to his startlement, it is full of pirate regailia! The elderly mouse, much spriter than seemed fitting, wheels around and demands that he leaves at once.

“Now, now, good fellow, we merely wish to impress upon you the urgency of our situation and sincere desire to gain a boat. If you would please reconsider?” The aged pirate siezes a couple of boarding axes from the array of weapons and states that he will give Rusty something to consider and begins to advance meanacingly.

Hearing a bit of a commotion, Bucksnort calls out to see how things are going, and not recieving a reassuring response trots down the hall to join Rusty. Immediately upon seeing the threat, he whips out his sword and leaps into the room. Quickly the fight is ensued. However, just as quickly it is over as Bucksnort lashes the axes out of the sea rover’s paws. Looking around at the evidence of a roguish life they threaten to haul him down to court and imprisonment.

Reconvening the party outside, Dirk points out that they did break into the old mouse’s house and accosted him in his own residence. Deciding that, perhaps that did not reflect too well on the guard, maybe if Angus, as his name turns out to be, were to give up the buccaneer’s life and lend them that ship after all, they may be able to overlook his past indescretions for the time being.

Angus still refuses to give them his ship, and insists, if they would just allow him to travel with them, to get back on the sea again, he would be more than willing to facilitate their journey. With a laugh, Bucksnort observes that today not only did they acquire a beautiful maiden to accompany them on their journeys, they had now also gained a pirate and a ship!

Indeed, the day had been full of adventure and who knows what tomorrow might bring?