The Forgotten Map. Cameron Stelzer

got to a father … But don’t worry. Just give her some time and she’ll get used to you. She didn’t like me when she first joined the crew.’

      ‘Why?’

      ‘She said I talked too much.’

      ‘Really? I hadn’t noticed.’

      ‘Yeah, right, Go on, you’ve got someone to see.’

      With one last look at his new outfit, Whisker scampered off towards the Captain’s cabin.

      Nervously waiting outside the thick oak door, Whisker raised his paw.

      ‘Enter,’ came a deep voice, before he could knock.

      Timidly, Whisker opened the door and walked into the room. It was the grandest cabin of the ship. A wide window with sweeping ocean views spanned the entire back wall. Beneath it, engrossed in a pile of old maps, sat the Captain at an ornate desk. Without looking up, he motioned to a swivelling chair in front of him.

      ‘Welcome, Whisker,’ he said. ‘Come and take a seat.’

      Whisker sat down on top of his tail. This was the first time he’d been in a Captain’s cabin and he wasn’t sure how he should act. The ticking clock in the corner added to his nervousness.

      His eyes dropped to an open letter on the desk and he absentmindedly read the first few words:

      The Captain swept the letter into a drawer before Whisker could read any further and got straight to the point of the meeting.

      ‘I’ll make this brief, Whisker. Before you become an official Pie Rat apprentice you will need to undertake several orientation activities. These activities will introduce you to the workings of this ship and the Pie Rat way of life. First, you will learn about the Pie Rat Code with Pete – he’ll be joining us shortly. The next activity will be a practical sailing lesson with Ruby, followed by a sword fight.’

      Whisker liked the sound of the first two activities, but the mention of a sword fight set his tail fidgeting in his chair.

      ‘Who do I fight?’ he asked, trying to keep still.

      ‘It’s a lucky dip,’ the Captain replied. ‘Pete has all the names in a hat. It could be any crew member except Smudge, who can’t lift a sword. The final activity is an introduction to cannon warfare with Horace – it’s always a blast!’ The Captain laughed merrily at his own joke. Whisker managed a nervous grin.

      The door creaked open and Pete walked in, carrying a thick red book and a small scroll. Smudge flew beside him, holding a miniature newspaper hat in his arms.

      ‘Excellent,’ the Captain exclaimed. ‘Here comes the hat. Don’t keep us waiting, Smudge.’

      Smudge reached an arm into the hat and plucked out a crumpled piece of paper, handing it to Whisker.

      Whisker unfolded it and gulped. The name was Ruby.

      ‘The fight will be held tomorrow afternoon,’ Pete announced. ‘Smudge, please inform Ruby immediately.’

      Smudge lifted four arms in the air as if to say, how can I do that? I’ve got no vocal cords.

      The Captain stood up from his chair and sighed. ‘Come along, Smudge. We’ll do it together.’

      Smudge and the Captain disappeared through the doorway and Whisker had little time to consider the outcome.

      ‘Listen up, Whisker,’ Pete said impatiently. ‘The Captain thinks you have potential. But potential means nothing if you don’t know how to apply it. The Pie Rat code will keep you alive. There’s no guarantee, mind you. But at least you’ll die following the rules.’

      A dead law-abiding rat is still a dead rat, Whisker thought.

      Pete threw the red book onto the table. Its cover was scuffed and its pages were yellowing. Its title read The Pie Rat Code: Extended Edition.

      ‘This is the full code,’ Pete said proudly. ‘I know its entire contents from cover to cover.’

      ‘What about the other rats?’ Whisker asked. ‘Have they all read it?’

      ‘Hardly!’ Pete scoffed. ‘Half of them can’t read and the others are too lazy. But you can be the exception. Feel free to borrow this book anytime and you will soon be as wise as me.’

      ‘Thanks,’ Whisker said, trying to sound enthused. ‘I’m sure it’s a great read.’

      Pete screwed up his bony nose and snorted. ‘In the meantime you’ll need to memorise this.’ He handed Whisker the scroll. ‘It’s the simplified version of the code. It was designed for members of the crew with pie filling for brains. It’s all you need to know for your orientation.’

      Pete leant over Whisker’s shoulder as Whisker read the strange list of rules.

      ‘Is anything unclear?’ he asked.

      Whisker thought for a moment. ‘There is one rule I’m not certain of – the one about the scissor swords. I know what a sword is and I know what scissors are, but I’ve never heard of a scissor sword before.’

      Pete clomped over to a chest in the corner, opened the lid and pulled out a long metal object with a black circular handle. Whisker instantly knew what it was: half a pair of enormous scissors. He’d heard of giants from faraway lands called humans and guessed this had once belonged to them.

      ‘Wow,’ he exclaimed. ‘Where did the Captain get that?’

      ‘A certain antiques dealer,’ Pete replied in a hushed voice. ‘The steel is stronger than regular swords. We’ve all got one, well, two in fact. They come in pairs and it’s good to have a spare.’ He pulled out the second half from the chest and, holding a sword in each paw, pretended he was fighting. ‘Did you know that Ruby fights with two swords at once?’

      Whisker felt his tail twist in terror. That wasn’t the kind of news he wanted to hear.

      ‘Th-they must be expensive,’ he stammered, trying to remain positive.

      ‘Too much for a new recruit,’ Pete said, stashing the swords away.

      ‘So you make a lot of money robbing ships and, err … killing passengers?’ Whisker asked.

      Pete groaned, ‘It’s not about killing.’

      ‘Isn’t it?’ Whisker said.

      Pete shook his head. ‘I’ll explain it simply for you. We are Pie Rats. We attack ships. Passengers hand over their gold, jewels and gourmet pies. Why? Because we convince them they’ll die horrible deaths if they don’t. They give us their riches, and we let them go. When they get home, they tell everyone we’re bloodthirsty buccaneers, but rats of our word. If the word got out that we simply killed whomever we met and sunk their ships, no one would ever hand over their treasure. They’d fight to the death instead. And believe me; fighting to the death isn’t good for a Pie Rat’s health.’

      ‘Let me get this straight,’ Whisker thought aloud. ‘Piracy is a bit like a circus performance. It comes down to fabulous costumes, good acting and well-rehearsed stunts.’

      Pete looked highly offended by the comparison, so Whisker decided to drop the subject and moved on.

      ‘Are cats a little unpopular with Pie Rats?’ he asked.

      ‘Oh my precious paws,’ Pete groaned, turning a whiter shade of white. ‘Cats are the most vile creatures on the planet. I feel ill just thinking about them … As I always say: If you ever see a cat, don’t stop to have a chat. Just turn around