Plugg Firetail
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Plugg Firetail was the infamous fox Freebooter captain of the largest pirate ship of the north, the Seascab. He carried a big battleaxe, and was silver-grey-furred, except for his tail, which was a lustrous red colour, and was his pride and joy.
He was hired by the monarchy of Riftgard to take their princess, Kurda, and prince, Bladd, south to Mossflower Woods. Plugg accepted, though he planned to kill them all on his return and take control of Riftgard.
As the Seascab went south, Plugg and Kurda discovered an intense dislike for each other, often arguing and once even coming to drawn weapons. When they arrived on the west coast of Mossflower, Plugg and his crew captured a group of young creatures: Sagaxus, a badger from Salamandastron, Scarum, a hare, and Kroova Wavedog, an otter. The trio eventually escaped, thanks to Scarum's trickery. Plugg and Kurda chased them upriver to Redwall Abbey, which both desired to take. During this trip, the otters Kroova and Shogg (who with Triss had since joined Sagax and Scarum) set a sharpened pole in the river to cause the jollyboat carrying Plugg, Kurda and Bladd to sink, but only succeeded in cutting off Plugg's legendary tail. This caused the vain Plugg to force two crew members to carry it at all times, providing some comic relief.
After mounting an unsuccessful attack, both leaders argued and fought, but Plugg was killed, not by Kurda, but by Zassaliss, Harssacss and Sesstra, a serpent family living in Brockhall. During said fight, Plugg's battleaxe was lodged into a tree when he was attacking Kurda. No one could remove it but Sagax, who later came across it and took it as his weapon.
Plugg's crew was very unique among villains in the series, especially since they were pirates. Despite their captain being violent at times and abusive to his crew, they actually showed genuine affection towards him. On two occasions Plugg is unable to assume command while living, once when he was kidnapped during the salvation of Sagax and company, and the other when Plugg is recuperating from his wounds which caused his tail to fall off. Both times Slitfang, the first mate of the Seascab, refused to let Kurda go without Plugg, and did not try to usurp the position of captain. Upon Plugg's death, his crew wept openly, some saying that they regarded him as a sort of father figure.
