[i]Hours later[/i]
Markus had found himself languishing elsewhere, though in a similarly chained way as Calliope, and likely the rest of the crew. As it stood, he had no idea where anyone else was. The fiends had knocked him out promptly, realizing keeping him conscious was far too dangerous with most of his crew still alive to follow his orders, so they decided not to risk it. Now, chained and ragged, he could barely see the outlines of the room he was in, the only light a small, soft glow beneath the door to his particularly dungeon cell. He didn't need his eyes to know this room was rank and dirty. 

The door suddenly opening blurred his vision, but he refused to look away. He'd probably received a small concussion from the blow to the head, which was just the cherry on top of this entire scenario. Inside stepped an impressively built man, though his face was piggish and barbaric, with a large yet fuzz thin mustache drooping from his upper lip. His red sash tied around his belt was the only thing he was clad in above the waist, as he wore no shirt and only a hint of studded gold across his scarred body. He was flanked by two burly corsairs. 

"So, you are the Captain, yes?" he asked him. "No?" 

"I am." Markus said. He didn't exactly feel cooperative, but it wasn't exactly a secret either, so why not acknowledge it? The man grinned, showing filed, pointed canines. 

"I am Mahal-Sabim, the King of the Blood Axe, and you've given me no end of trouble." The brute said. "Even acquiring your ship, five of mine are destroyed. Was it the woman that brought the great shadow from the sky? No matter, even before that, you had destroyed two of my ships and that cannot be allowed to go unpunished. If only you had come to me earlier, you might have been inducted into our ranks. But as it stands, I must gouge out your eyes and feed them to the birds, before I take your heart." 

"I would have expected something more creative." Markus said dryly, and he received a kick to the chin for speaking out, driving all thoughts from his head for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts, and he made sure he hadn't bitten his tongue off. The man continued. "Your crew is alive, but only so they can watch you die from below. Your death will be our entertainment. And the woman? I will keep her for my own pleasures." 

Good luck, Markus thought. Even if everything he said came true, Calliope would find a way to cut this one's neck at some point. "When are you sentencing me? Tomorrow?" he asked. 

"Now," Mahal said. 

"If I'm dying now, answer me this-... How did you know we were waiting for you?" 

"Ah, a mystery eh? The Vizier is my friend in high places, you might say. It seemed you meddled too much in both mine and his affairs. Too bad for you. Now, take him" he ordered his two corsairs, and they grinned nastily as they waded past their leader, hands reaching out to unlock his chains and drag him off. 

"Come on, pretty man." One said, mockingly.
[@Penny]