It wasn't hard to figure out where they were headed after Jane had been on deck for only a few minutes. She hurried down to the galley to get to work, worry gnawing at her. As she tied her apron on, she shuddered. Undertown. Her father murdered, living on the streets, the patrol. She knew they wouldn't go there unless they absolutely needed to. It must have been something for the Captain, or the crew.

   She helped serve breakfast, putting her nervous energy into her work. While the crew was eating, she put porridge, milk, and a sliced orange on a tray to take up to the Captain. She made it up to his door and balanced the tray on one hand to reach out and knock on the door with the other, "Captain? I've got breakfast here."

"Come," the Captain's voice called. When she entered, she saw him sitting at his desk, a few old books open before him. He was wearing his colorful bandana to keep his hair back, though instead of his ususally flamboyant outfits he was still wearing layers of muted sweaters. When the chill morning air invaded the cabin, he shivered. "Hurry in, Jane," he said, gesturing her forward. "It's cold!"

The warm cabin smelled of honey and lemon, and the little fireplace was burning brightly, a few licks of purple flames mingling with the yellow and orange. "A little log of actual wood for the fire today," he explained, indicating the scorched chain wrapped around a smoldering log of buoyant wood from the Deep Forest, holding it down against the coal. "Expensive, but calming. Seems to keep me from coughing so much."

   Jane slipped inside and quickly closed the door behind her, unable to suppress a small smile at hearing him talk with a bit more strength. She set the tray down on his desk and glanced at the fireplace, "Wow. That's a sight." she took a deep breath and nodded, "I really like that smell." She rubbed her hands on her apron and looked back to the swaddled Jackson, "Is there anything I can get for you, Captain?" she asked, not wanting to push him while he was still obviously ill.

He smiled at her. "Still curious about the curse, I see. Tell you what. Have lunch with me, and we'll talk then. I might not be getting over this cold as quickly as I'd like."

   Smiling gratefully at him as he set their lunch appointment, she nodded and stepped toward the door, but glanced back at him with her hand on the knob, "Is that why we're going back to Undertown?"

He shrugged and coughed slightly into his hand. "Many reasons. We can discuss it at lunch. You're dismissed, Jane." He turned back to his books, pulling the tray of food close and picking up an orange slice.

   Jane nodded and swiftly left the room, closing the door tightly behind her. As she crossed the deck and went below, she allowed herself a few moments of sadness. She missed her brother. A heavy sigh escaped her and she lifted her chin in an effort to dispel the gloom. She ate her own breakfast with Brax, taking down notes of things he wanted to purchase from Undertown. Once the crew finished eating, she began cleaning up breakfast. Her thoughts lingered on the path her life had taken in recent months. It all seemed so random, yet here she was. Once the galley was clean, she rolled up her sleeves and plunged her hands elbow deep into the sudsy water to wash the mountain of dishes. Mind already set on Undertown, she frowned into the water, hoping that their trip to the city would of of short duration.

When Jane left, Jackson slowly ate his breakfast, staring at the wall opposite. Swallowing was painful, but the warm porridge did feel nice.

Sighing, he wondered how it had come to this. To survive near-drowning, only to succumb to complications afterwards? The music box was silent. The spirit must be exhausted. She'd had an exciting time, lately. So much happening.

He halfheartedly studied some weather charts, thinking about what he would say to Jane come lunch time.

   Chicken, peas, potatoes and apples for lunch that day. Jane worked hard, and maybe faster than she needed to, so that she could get back to the Captain's quarters. She had always loved stories. As a little girl she listened to anyone that came her way. Now, a real story was going to be told. She suppressed a smile as she loaded another tray with the Captain's lunch, and a little for herself. Climbing the stairs and crossing the deck, she kept a firm hand on the tray against the wind gusting by. She knocked on the Captain's door, taking a calming breath, "Lunch, Captain."

The Captain answered the door, and wordlessly gestured her inside. Closing the door after her, he stood in silence for several moments, eyes sightlessly staring at the door handle.

"This is a sad story," he finally said, in a quiet voice. He turned to her, and she saw a strange look in his eyes. Not quite fear, not quite a plea for help, but... vulnerability. He wasn't standing quite as tall as he used to. The heavy sweaters made him look smaller than he was. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

   Setting the tray down on the edge of the desk, she nodded and slowly sank into a chair across from the one he had been sitting in at breakfast time, "Yes, Captain. My only reservation is if you feel well enough to tell it." she dearly hoped he was, but her conscience wouldn't let her proceed without making sure.

He stood for a moment more, then moved around the desk. "I do, for now. The doctor has been taking good care of me with what he has." Jackson picked at his food. "In Undertown, he hopes to find help for Carson and me. I hope to find word of the last two keys to the curse as well. Might have to make a visit to Sanctaphrax itself for that." He shuddered. "It's austere halls and self-righteous condescension are the stuff of nightmares."

   Jane frowned, "I imagine that I will go with Brax to help get supplies." she paused and lifted a shoulder in a shrug, "I've never been to Sanctaphrax. Is it really that bad?" she saved her question about the keys, feeling sure that it would be addressed in his tale. She took a few bites of her own food, hoping it would encourage the Captain to eat his.

The Captain ate a few peas, making a pained face each time he swallowed. "To me it was. The academy... well, it's not for everyone." He nibbled a potato for a moment, and chuckled. "Anyway. The story you came for." He leaned back and steepled his fingers.

"I found the music box four or five years ago in Undertown. It was among a collection of items hoarded by a defunct smuggling ring. I didn't believe that the collection was haunted. I stole it all." He grinned. "Only one object gave it that fearsome reputation. This music box." He reached into a drawer and placed a dark metal object on the desk. The top was shaped like the petals of a rose, the box itself shaped and curving like the bottom half of the flower and it's green sepals. Four ridged leaves curved out and down to form the feet. The metal was pitted and appeared aged.

   Keeping her hands safely in her lap, she examined the box suspiciously, "How did you narrow it down to the music box?" she asked, settling back in her chair and returning her gaze to him.

He smiled wryly. "When I touched it, the curse fell upon me. The first thing it did was call up a Great Storm. The most profitable and most terrifying event we know. We didn't manage to harvest any stormphrax, but we got away with out lives. Unlike the Knight Sanctaphrax sent chasing after that Storm." He frowned, reliving the unpleasant memories. A coughing fit shook him out of it. "And, for the first time, I spoke with the spirit. She didn't remember much, not even her own name, just that she had been murdered and bound to the box. She didn't know how, or by whom. Later, she remembered that it was her husband who killed her. Then, she remembered the trinkets. Four keys to end the curse. I've been hunting them ever since."

He gestured to the books strapped into their shelf in the corner near him. "I looked for her. The Patrol already knew of the curse and had most of the pieces. They just didn't have her. When I finally found her name, she..." He stopped, licked his lips. He seemed to be searching for the words. "She... she was grateful." He sighed, picking at his plate again. "I just want to set her free. She's so tired of watching the people who own her music box fall to bad fortune. She's been dead for decades, witnessed the curse give good luck, the best of luck... then it turns sour. She's tried to protect me from the worst of it, but some... unfortunate things have happened. To me, to people around me. She lets me know if it was curse or not. It usually is."

   Listening with her eyebrows knitted together, Jane nodded slowly, "How close do you think you are to breaking the curse and setting her free?"

Jackson started to answer, but a cough stole the words. When he was done, he pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning. "Less than half way. I discovered the location of the necklace just a few days before I took on you and Mordechai." He sighed. "Hopefully it won't take me another couple of years to track down the next trinket."

   Jane couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, "Years?" she leaned back slightly and shook her head, "How many pieces are left?" she was actually bursting with many more questions, but the Captain's last cough made her worry, and she felt that she should bring an end to this session soon.

"There are two more. Just two. I'm pretty sure one was in the possession of General Ribiche. His untimely demise will hopefully make it easier to find. And the other... I'm hoping to hear some whispers in Undertown. Occasionally the spirit will point me in the right direction, too." He cleared his throat, and waited for her next question.

   Jane sat quietly for a moment, absorbing the fantastical feel of the tale. She didn't doubt that it was true. She had seen and felt too much to believe otherwise. Rubbing her hands on her thighs, she hesitated a moment before asking, "Who was she? I know you said she doesn't remember much, but did you find out anything else about her? Why her husband murdered her for example?"

He sat quietly for some time, eyes lidded. "I think she was killed for her purity," he said quietly. "Her husband was some bigwig lord back in the day. He wanted something, and someone had to die for it. By all accounts, she was an attentive, devoted wife... but she didn't actually love him. Not that there was anyone else, but... arranged marriages are like that. A saint paired with a brute. I guess he just couldn't take it, so when something demanded a sacrifice, he chose her. She fit the bill. The fallout of getting what he wanted was the curse."

Jackson reached out and put his hand on the music box. She was still... sleeping. "Her name was Rose. I remember thinking 'of course!' when I found her."

   Jane smiled sadly and exhaled with a minute shake of her head, "Then she really got lucky when you found her." she glanced up at the Captain and stood up, "I've kept you long enough, but I would like to say that whatever I can do to help you, just ask." she gave him another smile and collected her dishes and his breakfast tray. She stepped to the door and looked back, "Is there anything more I can do for you, Captain?"

The Captain looked at her and smiled, happiness at war with sadness on his face. "No, Jane. I'm just glad you chose to stay." He almost kept speaking, but closed his mouth. He was going to ask her about Mordecai, but he felt that she would talk about that when she was ready. He nodded. "Dismissed."

   Jane nodded and left the room to close the door behind her. She contemplated the Captain's words as she did her work, amazed and overwhelmed at the story she heard. She wondered if they would find anything in Undertown.