The head from a freshly poured beer runneth over the frosty mug atop the counter of a local Wilmington water hole. The gnarly, weathered hands of Zan Xander grips the mug and pulls it closer to his parched lips. His pet parrot, Sleepy, rests upon his walking stick, which is currently taking up a bar stool.




"Put it on your tab, Zan? You pay for last week's?"



The gull of you to ask me if I cleared my tab, little man. Your job here is simple, fetch me my port, fetch me my ales, keep your mouth shut. Hasn't your family suffered enough at my hand? Your older brother, how's he doing now? You know, maybe we have a chat a little later on when no one's around, and you know, maybe you don't walk so good neither...


"Zan, I didn't mean anything by it, you don't have to bring up what you did to my brother, even if he had it coming, he's still my brother."


And he's still yesterday's news. You know, ever since I've been coming in here you've been looking at me like you've got something on your mind. Well, I've got something on my mind.


Suddenly, a male tourist come stumbling into the bar and takes a look at Sleepy on the bar stool and approaches Zan.

"Hey pal the zoo's across the street, ya mind moving your bird? This bar's for humans."

Strange to hear that from you, pal.


"Why's that?"

Well, it's just, I've never heard a dead man speak before.

"What?"


Zan reaches across the bar, grabs a bottle of port and smashes it onto the man's head. He slumps over, and Zan reaches into his coat pocket and removes his gold watch.

Sleepy, how much do you think we can get for this? XWF, you're hereby on notice. I'm here to collect every piece of gold and every piece of metal worth it's weight. If you're in the way, you're coming with me down to Casey Jones's locker, and it ain't pretty. Ain't that right, Sleepy?


"Collect the trinkets, bring them to sea! Collect the trinkets, bring them to sea!"

40 Squirrels holding a menagerie of items run in.

Wow, if you don't mind, we're going to take this corpse's walletand creditcards. Then we're goingto go payfor a BangBrossubscription with his identity for a while, alsobook a hotelroomin the Bahamas.

40 Squirrels take the corpse's wallet and scurry out of there.

Look Sleepy, a bitty squirrel with jewels and trinkets....you still have an appetite for rodents? Yet another landlubber....


Avast ye! Avast ye! He's collecting trinkets too!