Goldie was not always a captain, nor always so magnificently bootied. In the early days, he drifted from port to port with little more than a battered compass, an ale-stained map and a reputation for talking his way into trouble… and out of it again with twice the treasure.
It was during one such wandering that fate led him to a place of odd contraptions, clattering gears and many platypuses: Phantom Peak. There, Goldie met the fabled Sun Daddy himself, Jonas.
Jonas took an immediate liking to Goldie, declaring, “Every great pirate deserves great booty.” And he bestowed upon Goldie the most magnificent bootie ever seen upon a monotreme.
From that moment on, Goldie became Captain Goldilicous of the Horne, and set about gathering a crew of platypuses to sail the seven seas (well, one of them at least): The Platty Pirates!
The noble house of Platypus, Viscounts of Manes Lake, first earned its title not through battle, but through tea — and a great deal of it. Generations ago, Lord Peter’s ancestors established the renowned Floating Tea Trade of Manes Lake, operating elegant barges that carried fine teas imported from far-flung corners of the world. Crates of fragrant leaves arrived from misty mountain terraces, jungle river ports, and distant island harbours, before being ferried across the lake to settlements that relied upon a proper cup to begin the day.
The family’s title was granted after one particularly heroic delivery, when an ancestor braved dreadful weather to ensure an important gathering was supplied with tea, biscuits, and calm nerves. It was widely agreed that civilisation itself had been saved.
Though Lord Peter remains fiercely proud of his family’s tea-trading legacy — and never travels without a carefully packed tin — it was those tales of distant ports and exotic cargoes that first stirred his longing for adventure upon the open water.
Percival (Not “Percy”. Never “Percy”) isn’t your average monotreme; he’s the most inventive buccaneer on the Tasman Sea.
As a young puggle he showed a special aptitude for hydrodynamics and intemperate tinkering, building many ingenious water-powered gadgets for the family burrow, some of which were even vaguely useful.
He went on to study at the Plativersity of Tasmania, gaining a Doctorate in Tinkering (DTink) and lifetime membership of the Institute of Platypodes for his invention of the “Tracker of Redundant or Extraneous Auric Substances Using Refined Electroreception”.
Eventually, Percival tired of the limitations of river waters (almost as much as his family tired of the erratic behaviour of his gadgets) and longed for the power of the sea (and somewhere where the occasional explosion wouldn’t cause so much hassle). His invention soon gained the attention of one Captain Goldilicious, who recruited him to the Platty-Pirates on the spot!
Daughter of sir Cedric Threwghanotha and wealthy merchant’s daughter Felicity Praughan. Full name Lady Penelope Threwghanotha Praughan Onthabarby.
Raised to be a chattering socialite intended for nothing more than a good marriage, Penelope inherited her mother’s good looks and her grandfather’s pragmatic approach to life. Married young to the insipid Viscount Claude Onthabarby, Penelope quickly departed the marriage due to utter boredom, liberating a significant amount of the family silverware on her way out.
Blessed with money and a sense of adventure, Penelope took ship and sailed into history. Adventuress, skilled swordswoman and crack shot, becoming first a privateer before finding a home with the Platty Pirates.
When ashore she can often be found tucked in the corner of a tavern enjoying good wine and good music and NEVER dancing on tables.
