Jane cried out, her heart skipping a terrified beat, "Someone is in there!" she said quickly, her voice hoarse. She drops her shoulders, giving up on reacting to surprises on this ship, and jerks on the ropes around her wrists hard. "Any guess as to who it is?"

    "None other than..." came a familier voice from the box, hoarse and weak sounding.
    Connor froze in realization. "Captain Jackson?" he asked, his voice trembling.
    "I'm afraid so." It was easy to hear the smile in the Captain's voice. Even in such dire circumstances, he was cavalier.

* * *
Back on the Cloudcutter, Mordecai had found a window at the very back of the ship that was low enough to avoid being seen by the Patrol up on their deck. Mordecai tied one end of the rope around a beam, and tied the other end around his waste. He looked out the window to see that the two ships had indeed pulled close enough for a plank. Thank goodness, I thought I was going to have to swing to the ship. Mordecai chose a suitable weight hanging off of the back, and jumped quickly out the window. He grabbed the rope of the weight, very glad that this one had not been shot, and pulled himself up until he got a grip. There was a small window just a few feet from him, so Mordecai inched along the edge with his fingers. He peeked inside, and saw a small room with bunks on each wall. There was a Patrol man snoring in one of them, so Mordecai knew what he had to do. With skills he honed as a Burglar, he quietly cracked it open without a creak. He put an arm inside and hoisted himself in. The Patrol man began snorting and rolling in his sleep, and Mordecai seized up like a wet cat. Within moments, the man lay still again and commenced snoring. Mordecai slowly placed his feet on the ground, and drew the Axe from it's loop in his belt. "I only ever killed one man in my life, and though he would've killed me for the pleasure, I regretted it. But now, I have a reason to kill you b*$#@&ds." A solem oath screaming with delight in his mind, Mordecai raised the axe, and split the man's skull in two.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:46, Sat 19 Feb 2011.

   Jane slumps in her chair, giving up on her bound wrists. She sighs, "I don't suppose you could get out of that box using your charisma?" she asks half-heartedly.

Mordecai stood there for long moments just staring at the remains of the man. It was horrible, but Mordecai hadn't needed much incentive to kill him, and he wouldn't need anymore for the rest of them. He tread as quietly as he could around the room, looking for anything he could use. Soon enough there was really nothing for it but to clean the axe and check the man's pockets. Mordecai cleaned the axe on a neighboring bedsheet, and found nine silver peices in the man's pockets. "You aint got no use for them anyway." Mordecai crept to the door, peeked out, and began  to quietly make his way around the ship.

   Captain Knight laughed ruefully, his voice regaining its strength as the sedative completely wore off. "If only, my dear, if only." They could hear him moving about inside there, grumbling about the accomidations and the fact that they had taken all his knives before sealing him in. He started running his fingers over the box and then trying to force open the lid. As he did this, he asked "Are you three all right? I don't hear Carson."

   Jane looked at Carson sadly, "He...broke his arm, and hasn't opened his eyes yet..." she said with guilt, tugging with more vigour at the bonds on her wrists, the skin becoming raw and tender. She let out a soft sound of frustration, letting her head fall back, "I shouldn't have taken that necklace."

   The Captain hmmed, thinking that she probably didn't have a choice the matter. The curse uses who it will. But instead of saying that he chuckled. "Look on the bright side, Jane. If you hadn't taken that necklace and brought it to me, I'd still be looking for it," he said cryptically.

Mordecai crept through the back of the ship quietly, searching for any signs of Jane or Captain Jackson. He came across the captain's cabin, an intricately carved wooden door guarded by one of the Patrol. The man stood directly infront of the door, but seemed unaware of Mordecai's presence. Mordecai already had his axe in hand. He had avoided and slipped away from these men in fights, knocked them down and surprised them, but he had never engaged one in sustained combat. He knew he could fight, and watch himself, but he didn't fancy his chances against a Patrol thug by himself. Mordecai decided to try and end it quickly, raised his axe, and leaped around the corner; throwing the axe at the man's head.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:36, Tue 12 Apr 2011.

   Jane chuckled softly, and looked up at the ceiling, "Yeah, just my luck. Helping out a scoudrel Captain of a pirate ship." she shook her head and sighed, her cold hands going numb.
   The faint sound of footsteps came through the doorway, and got louder and louder. Jane turned to look at the doorway, her heart skipping a beat and speading up with fright. The captain had said that if the necklace got removed the wrong way, it could kill her. Did these people know how to take the necklace off correctly?

   Captain Jackson laughed, pausing for a moment in his rythemic banging on the box. But when he spoke, his tone was quite serious. "Hear them coming? If you two don't mind, I will do the talking. Say nothing of the curse. Claim ignorance about the necklace. You don't know the nature of the curse anyway. Don't worry, Jane," he said, aware that she must be worried about what he had said about the necklace and her death should it be removed incorrectly. "They know as little as you do. I'll talk them out of taking it off."

The Patrolman saw it just before it was to late, and jerked his head to the side; the axe taking his left ear off as it struck the door and fell to the ground. The man gritted his teeth and tried not to scream, apparantly more concerned with appearing manly than attracting attention.
     The man seemed convinced he didn't need help; Mordecai was all his. Mordecai didn't wait for the man to draw his sword, he stepped into the Patrolman's stance and elbowed him in the throat. The man jerked back and reached for his sword as his larynx was struck; not broken, but fairly damaged.
     Mordecai fell to one knee and rolled across the floor to avoid the man's blade; picking up his bloodied axe while he regained his feet. As Mordecai turned, he saw the man, blade drawn, begin taking a wide sweep of his sword to Mordecai's left. Mordecai grabbed his axe and slammed it against the wall; the haft pinning the blade with it.
     Mordecai tried to step in again, but the man was a fast learner. He punched Mordecai hard in the face and pulled his blade free. Mordecai was dazed and couldn't see through the stinging tears that came instantly, he threw himself into a wall and barely avoided a stab for his gut. He blinked his eyes clear and jumped back, away from the man to regain himself. Mordecai marshalled his senses and waited for the attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:49, Tue 28 June 2011.

   The door slammed open with a bang, and Jane jumped in her seat. She looked at those standing by the door, and saw five or six men in patrol uniforms. Her throat went dry, and she felt a shiver go down her spine. One of the men stepped forward, his cold eyes moving from one of the prisoners to the next, until he had looked at them all with disgust.
   "It seems that all of the puzzle peices are not in the same box, and you will tell me how to find them." he said, his voice quiet, but cold and threatening.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:59, Fri 13 May 2011.

    The man ran a hand over his bald crown, stepping forward to stand before the box. A thick, recent-looking scar marred his upper lip, twisting his mouth into a perpetual sneer. He thumbed it as he set his feet, cold eyes flicking to each prisoner, then down to the box as light-sounding laughter eminated from it.
    "Is that you, General Ribisch? What an honor! How's the face?" the Captian asked.
    General Ribisch's expression darkened. "This meeting will not go the same way as our last encounter. In fact, quite the opposite," he said softly. "We have two pieces, you have two pieces. I'm sure an agreement can be reached," he said, crossing to Connor and grabbing his chin, forcing him to look up. "This boy has such a pretty face," he murmured, almost to himself. "A shame, really. And the girl is so young," he sighed with forced regret.

   Jane started to tremble, and she gripped the chairs' arms to hide the fact that her hands were shaking. She looked away from the General, turning her head to the side while she closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Jane opened her eyes and turned to look at General Ribisch, "Let him go.." she said softly.

Mordecai used his whole axe to parry and counter the Patrolman's onslaught, using the butt and haft as much as the head. Whenever Mordecai avoided or parried a blow, the man's sword parried his just as quickly. Mordecai was at a disadvantage, the Patrolmen trained like duelists; keeping their distance and swashbuckling their way through your vital organs with ease. Mordecai needed to get behind the sword, where he had the advantage. There was only one way.
     Mordecai parried one more blow, then grabbed the man's free hand with his own; and before he could bring his sword back around Mordecai head butted him right in the nose, but didn't let him go.  The man cried out as tears filled his eyes, but was quickly stifled when the butt of Mordecai's axe slammed into his sternum. His tearfilled eyes opened wide as he gasped for air, and he saw Mordecai raise his axe for the killing blow. Mordecai almost felt pity as he saw the man shut his eyes and try to cry with breath that wasn't his, but that didn't stop him.
     In moments, Mordecai swung his axe into the man's neck, and let him fall to the floor; watching him cringe until he bled out. Mordecai almost lost himself, watching the blood cover the floor. As evil as the man was, Mordecai did regret making him suffer a horrific death. He shook the thoughts out of his head and turned toward the door. "You should have thought about that before you joined the force." Mordecai reached for the door, and opened it slowly.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:04, Mon 20 June 2011.

   The General turned his frosty gaze on Jane, increasing the pressure of his grip on Connor's jaw until the youth moaned in pain. Then, without releasing the boy, he took a slight step to the side and backhanded Jane across the face. "Know your place," he said in a lightly scolding tone, as if he was a parent gently chastizing a child.

   The Captain thumped twice on the lid of the box for attention. "General, there's no need to get rough. After all, that young girl has one of the pieces. And if you try to remove it the wrong way, it will kill everyone on this ship. We don't want that, now, do we?"

   General Ribisch grunted, releasing Connor to turn and face the box while the Captain was speaking. Connor bit his lip to keep from making a sound, bruises in the shape of fingerprints blossoming on his dark skin. A similar pain throbbed in Jane's cheek, and she knew that she must bear a mark as well.

   The General stepped close to the box and leaned forward slightly, peering down through the little window. He couldn't see Captain Jackson, but he was certain the Captain could see him. He leered. "And how do you know this will come to pass? You're not just lying to save your skin, are you?" he growled.

   "Of course not, my good man. It's just that, unlike you, I am actually under the curse, so I have the good fortune to be able ask the spirit in the music box. It told me that it requires a sacrifice to remove the necklace. If the ceremony is mishandled, it will take the lives of all around it. Mishandling meaning forcefully removed. There's a certain way to do it without killing everyone, and only I know how."

   At that, the General was silent for a moment, considering. Finally, he chuckled darkly. The sound sent shivers of uneasiness along Jackson Knight's spine.

   "My dear Captain Knight. How arrogant you are. Let me tell you something. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that now I have no choice, that now I have to let you and the others live because you think I need you for the ceremony. Well, Jackson, that is indeed an option. But, you have been a particularly annoying thorn in my side for just too long. I still need to pay you back for that night in undertown," he said, again rubbing his thumb along the scar on his lip, "When you got away from us with the heart trinket. I've been giving it some serious thought... and I think I just might kill you anyway."

   After a moment of silence the Captain laughed. "You'd kill me, and get rid of your only chance to control this curse? I've been doing research, General. For years. I know details you couldn't possibly have found."

   "Indeed, you might," the General admitted, running a hand over his shaved head. "But I happen to have an ally here, Dillon," he said, gesturing at a shaven-headed youth standing off to the side, wearing dark glasses and a nasty sneer. "Who is just marvelous at getting the secrets out of people. I think I'll have him set to work on your crew members, until you tell me of the ceremony. After that, when I get my hands on the music box, all your 'research', as you call it, will not matter. All I need to know is the ceremony to remove the necklace. Tell me now, before I accidently kill someone."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:36, Sun 22 May 2011.

   Jane glanced at Dillon, wondering what his eyes looked like beneath the dark glasses. She shivered, a chill running down her spine. Her cheek throbbed, and she looked at the General, and then down to the box that held the Captain. A sudden flare of anger welled inside her chest, how dare they put him in a box in the first place?
   "Coward..." Jane muttered, her voice raising with more anger than fear of the consequences, "Coward! You don't even dare speak to the Captain face to face! You threaten others instead of him. You're nothing but trash!" she nearly screamed, channeling her fear and clenching her hands into fists.

   Again, the General casually backhanded her across the face, on the other cheek this time. He tutted. "Learn your place, girl." he said agian in a strongly reproving tone.

   The Captain rattled the box lid. "Jane, remember what I told you!" he said desperately, referring to when he had asked them to let him do the talking. Jane's outbursts could only get people hurt, or worse.

   The General ignored him. "I think she needs a lesson, as does the good Captain. Dillon," he said, and the man stepped forward eagerly. General Ribische pointed to Carson, still unconcious, his broken arm red and swollen. Dillon bowed his head once, then smiled viciously as he walked toward Carson. Connor cursed quietly, straining hard at his bonds, but said nothing. The Captain rattled the box lit again.

   "General! If you do anything to hurt my crew, you won't get a word out of me! Not a--" He was cut off by a terrible scream from Carson. Dillon had wrapped his strong fingers around the break in his arm and squeezed; Carson's eyes flew open and filled with tears, his body spasming as he tried to get away from the pain. "No, stop!" the Captain shouted, now pounding with all his might against the box, to no avail. "Stop! Stop!"

   "No, Jackson!" the General bellowed over the screams, his face twisting in a sick smile, "This is your lesson! A punishment for you, and for sweet little Jane," he leered over at her, as if wanting to drive home that Carson's pain right now was her fault.

   Carson continued screaming as Dillon cruely pulled and twisted at his arm for an agonizingly long time, the wet grind of bones grating against each other filling the silences where he stopped to take ragged breaths. Connor was shouting too, crying hopeless tears, but the Captain's box had fallen silent. He was listening to the screams, eyes closed, engraving the pain Carson was feeling into his memory so that he would never forget. He swore vengeance on the General. Not in the form of a disfiguring scar like what Jackson had left on him during their breif fight in undertown, for all the harrying, but true vengeance. The General had gone too far, and would die the next time they met.

  No matter what Connor or Jane shouted, Dillon continued his terrible task.

  Finally, the pain seemed to become too much for Carson, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he fell unconscious. Dillon stepped back, breathing hard, his hands now stained with crimson, Carson's arm a bloody mess of torn flesh and exposed bone. What was a minor break that could have been healed was now a catastrophe that might result in Carson loosing his arm, if he survived this day.

   Her voice sore from screaming, Jane let her head drop and she began to sob. Tears ran down her cheeks, and her hair fell down in a curtain to hide her face. Something inside her chest burnt out, and she looked up at Dillon with complete loathing and hatred. But no matter how hard she tried to blame him, she knew it was her fault. She bit her lip to quiet her sobs, but tears continued to run down her cheeks.

The General listened to the sobbing with a beatific smile on his face. The Captain's box was stony silent. Dillon stepped softly to Jane, and used a thumb to wipe away some tears, smearing Carson's blood on her face. He smiled; she saw up close that his teeth had been honed to points.

   Jane turned her head away from Dillon's hand, attempting to get as far away from him as possible, "Don't touch me..!" she nearly hissed, glaring up at him in hatred.

   Dillon's smile never wavered, and he chuckled lowly before leaning back and away.

   The Captain's box remained silent. The General waited for some time, then smacked it with the side of his boot. "Jackson. You alive in there?"

   "I am," the Captain answered in a low, dangerous tone. "But you soon won't be."

   General Ribische laughed, throwing back his bald head. Oh, Captain Knight. Always the kidder. I'm afraid it is you who will soon no longer be with us. Now, am I right in thinking that torturing your young friends will only seal your lips further?"

   The Captain didn't answer. The little glass window was getting a bit fogged up from the heat of his anger. "If you touch them again," he finally whispered, "I will use the curses power to melt the flesh from your bones."

   Again, the General laughed. He had a coarse, bawdy laugh that grated on the senses. "You are really something! My dear boy, you should realize that I have been doing as much research as you. We both know it is not possible to call on the curse in that way."

   Captain Jackson's voice rose suddenly in rage. The box rattled as he pounded his fists upon it. "And how would you know what it's like to be under this curse?! How would you know what it can and cannot do?! What the spirit trapped in the music box has been through?! How could you possibly want this?!?!" he nearely screamed.

   The General listened with a stony, stoic face. He gestured to Dillon, who walked to the wall and slid a wooden panel aside to reveal a hidden lever.
   "That has nothing to do with you. I want it. That is all. And I can't have it as long as you have it. So, my dear Captain Jackson Knight, I'm afraid that this will be your last few moments in this life."

   Dillon pulled the lever. An incredibly deep moaning sound permeated the ship. The General closed his eyes and sighed, listening. "This is a singular ship. Built specifically for hunting and capture... and interrogation." He squatted and leaned over the little window in the box. Jane saw Captain Knights fingers wipe at the glass, clearing it of fog. "Weren't you wondering why we would put you in this box? You didn't think it would be easier to just tie you to a chair, so you could see the faces of your kids as they screamed? No, it's because I had plans for you. Now," He rested an elbow genieally on the box, "You tell me how to remove the necklace from the poor girl's neck, or I'll take her back to undertown with me and have her beheaded, while I watch from a safe distance, of course."

   The deep rumble was gradually lightening in pitch as the General spoke, until it was more a medium ranged gurgle. Everyone heard the Captain gasp as he suddenly felt cold liquid fill the bottom of the box. The smooth metal on the inside was watertight; the Captain shivered, in cold and in horror. "Water!?" he exclaimed in surprise.

   "No!" Jane blurted, pulling against her ropes again, "You can't do that!" she nearly yelled, looking at the General pleadingly.

   The General crooked a finger at Dillon. "Drag her closer," he ordered. "I want her to watch. And gag her, for heavens sake. No more interruptions whilst I have a talk with our dear Captain."

   No sound, save the gentle-seeming gurgle of water, came from the box. Conner could barely believe what was happening. He was determined that something would happen, something would save the Captain. Something always had before. Still, he watched in abject fear, silent so as not to attract attention.

   Carson remained slumped in his chair, blood pooling on the floor beneath him.

   Dillon pulled a handkerchif from his pocket and roughly stuffed it in Jane's mouth, pulling his fingers free of her teeth before she could bite. He then secured that in place with another 'kerchif, and pulled her chair right up against the other side of the box. She could see the shadow of the Captain's face, the glint of light reflecting off the slowly rising water.

   Jackson was doing some quick thinking. He couldn't escape from this box on his own. He knew rescue wasn't coming; no doubt his loyal crew back on the Cloudcutter thought he was in control, that negotiations were taking place. He had suspected a trap; he hadn't expected it to be sprung so soon. That was bad form. Everything about this had gone horribly wrong, because the General wasn't playing by the rules.

   He remained silent as the water slowly crawled up his body, making him shiver. A horrid death was in store for him.

   "Well, Captain?" the General cooed. "Either way, you die. Might as well do some good, hmm?"

   Captain Jackson went over his last instructions to Raff. The big Quatermaster knew the General could never get all the pieces. That would be unimaginable, such an evil man with access to such power. He knew he could very well die today. But Jane, Conner, and Carson... maybe they still had a chance. Especially Jane. Her brother needed her.

   "General..." came the hard, quiet voice from the box. "You bastard. If you swear to release my boys and Jane after you are done, I will tell you."

   The General smiled, the expression looking particularly nasty because of the disfiguring scar Captain Jackson had left on him.

   "I swear."