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Description
"Ghrmnf!" Gloria yelled into the soft cloth covering her mouth. It was clamped down by an unknown hand, and another hand had the Ranger's arm tightly pinned behind her back. She tugged and pulled against the grip, but to no avail. Gloria's mind quickly searched for what kind of Enemy the Dark Elve's might have that could present such a challenge...this was a somewhat low-level Slaver Camp, after all! Gloria's mind recalled some entries on Dark Elf Slavers on the "Dungeons and Damsels Adventurer's Guide" a Player-ran website devoted to a plethora of information for Players. Gloria frequented the site when she was in her lower levels and continued to do so to gain a little edge, and find the best places for gear drops. Some Players shunned the idea of it, feeling as if it ruined the surprise and experience. Nevertheless, Gloria managed to recall:

[Dark Elf Slavers: Largely known to be a roving group of Bandits, Dark Elf Slavers provide a substantial challenge over their lower-level Human Bandit types, mostly thanks to their increased agility and wits. Caution should be taken as to not let Players get separated from their group, as the Slavers will certainly take advantage over anyone who strays too far. Slaver Camps are usually set up in secluded parts of Forest Areas, where the captives will initially be taken. If an escape is not made in time, Players will often be whisked away by Dark Elf Sky Slavers, who operate Sky Ships to transport Players to Dark Elf Enclaves. Sky Slavers are considerably more dangerous than normal Dark Elf Slavers, as they come from Enclaves themselves, and usually fall in the Level 30-50 range, depending on their Port of Origin.]

By the time Gloria parsed this useful information...everything was dark. Dark and quiet. She also felt a little disoriented and light headed. A quick check with her arms revealed that they were expertly bound behind her back, box tied with silken rope, and she could feel a firm pressure around her ankles. She wriggled her feet in their black tights and confirmed that they were also bound snugly. They were pulled straight, as well, and she couldn't bend her knees without a lot of efforts. Coupled with her swimming head, and how she saw the other young captives situated when she got there, Gloria realized that she, too, was hanging upside down, gently swaying by her ankles in captivity.

Had she been knocked out, then? She must have been..Chloro-berries were a common Crafting Item in this Area and she wouldn't put it past more clever enemy types like the Abductress to harvest them for use. The would have also explained the feeling of a soft cloth trapped between her cleave gag and the wadded up silk in her mouth. It slightly covered her nose and she could smell something faintly sweet every time she drew breath. "MNRHF!" she angrily shouted into the gag, seeing if the others were awake...but got no reply other than the calm breathing of 3 other Avatars closely surrounding her.

Gloria, similar to her son Ky, was dressed in a Ranger's garb: a green jerkin with green shorts, and stark black tights underneath those. Her silvery short-cropped hair, and the pointed ears were usually hidden under a hood that was part of her cloak, but Gloria couldn't feel that on her back, so they must have removed that while she was busy being hauled up into the air. "Damn that brat of mine," she thought. "Not only putting off our dungeon run for the better part of an hour, but also getting ME caught up in his stupid little games..." Gloria tested the silken ropes around her wrists and arms again, then angrily growled in her gag, her brow furrowed into the blindfold. "Now...how to get out of this? I suppose...if I started swinging my body back and forth, I'd eventually get enough momentum to tip the whole tent over, but then what? I'd still be more than secure, and I couldn't just run off. Maybe I could find one of our weapons to cut myself loose? Surely, though, they'd notice all the commotion going on in the tent" Gloria thought to herself, tugging and working on the silk ropes keeping her arms snugly pinned behind her back all the while, up until a bead of sweat formed on her forehead and her shoulders started to softly burn from the exertion, forcing her to take a break.

"We'd stand a better chance of dealing with the Sky Captain together, too. Well, that is if I can get them into a team and Sidekick them up to my Level...but I have to send a team invite for that which means I need we need to get rid of these gags first..." Gloria wriggled her nose and worked her jaw around, like someone trying to scratch an itch without their hands, but found the cleave gag was tightly secured...the silken ball wedged behind her teeth wasn't coming out!

"Damn it! Ugh. I guess our best bet is to wait till they transport us to the Sky Ship. They'll certainly secure us again, but hopefully, it won't be like this! Something easier to work with...and who knows? Maybe they'll also have some higher level Players as captives on board, too! Then we can make a break for it!" Gloria thought, then hearing the flap of the tent opening up. Gloria didn't want to cause any more trouble for herself or get the Abductress, or whomever it was, going off on one of their saccharine-laced taunting dialogues again, so she remained perfectly still and compliant, her mind made up as to what her plan would be.

Gloria could feel fingers and hands carefully checking the silk ropes binding her arms and wrists behind her back, then upwards to the ankles to do the same. The figure had to stoop slightly to reach Gloria's cleave gag as her head was much closer to the ground than her younger co-captives; mostly due to the height difference. Gloria then felt the cleave gag being unknotted and removed, and slender fingers digging out the ball of silk in her mouth. It was, by know, thoroughly soaked and something like a paper spitball. Sticking with her compliant decision, Gloria kept her mouth open, which was soon re-stuffed with a fresh silk-ball. Her jaw was pushed open slightly more than before, as silk-balls had a tendency to compact a little into a smaller shape over time as they took on more moisture, hence why the new one was slightly larger than the discarded on. The familiar sweet smell returned, as well, albeit much stronger than before, as a soft cloth was placed over her mouth and nose, followed by a re-tying of the cleave gag.

The back of Gloria's neck prickled in goosebumps as she listened to the person working on Sera's, Winnie's and Ky's gags in turn. Everything stayed quiet, however. They must have all still been out cold...or perhaps they all had the same idea? Gloria had thought about shooting each of them a Private Message, but remembered they were all blindfolded, and so none of them would have been able to read it until later.

Gloria had managed to keep her breath held until she heard the figure leaving the tent, but not too long after, her lungs started pressuring her to breathe in deep, which she did after a muffled "Mf". A few quiet gasping breaths later, and the tent was quiet and still once again...

===SOME TIME LATER===

KER-CHUNK

Gloria started awake, snapped-to by the loud noise coming from above. She quickly gave another test of her arms and found them still snugly secured in place. The blindfold, cleave-gag, and silk-ball were also in their respectful places, much to Gloria's frustration. Her ankles felt...different, though. She wriggled her feet some, trying to get a better feel for it and notice a cold feeling through the thin material of her tights. Chilly...and hard. Making herself sway some, she could hear a familiar jingling sound as she bumped into the bound forms of the other three youngsters. She could also feel the breeze as if they were outside, and a low rumbling far above. "Chains then? And outside...we must be being loaded on to the Sky Ship, then!" Gloria thought.

KER-CHUNK

Gloria heard the noise again and felt herself being pulled upwards just a little bit.

"Blast it all! Can't this thing move any faster? I've got a schedule to keep!" a new voice said. Gloria figured it must belong to the Sky Captain, the one who had gotten the drop on her in the tent earlier and had subdued her into her current bondage.

"S-Sorry, Cap'n! It seems the, uh, the mechanism must be damaged in some way! They'll be loaded...but it will take some time, I'm afraid!" a male voice said, probably one of the deck-hands.

"It's just as well, Captain J'Essa. This way these ones can slowly savour the fact that they'll soon be carted off to the Dark Elf Enclave, from which, they stand no chance of escaping!" That voice was familiar; The Abductress!

"Bah. While I dislike being late on my endeavours, you -do- make an outstanding point! I take it you'll be joining us, then?" J'Essa said.

"Why, of course, Captain J'Essa! T'was I who happened upon these hapless Adventurers in the first place. I'll not let you take all the credit for this haul!" the Abductress returned.

"Hah! A good head on ye, there is!"

Gloria had been keenly listening to the conversation at hand when her heart sunk a little bit. "Captain J'Essa? THE Captain J'Essa? Oh for- that's a damn Signature Villain!" Gloria cursed in her head. During her search for answers earlier on, just before she had been skillfully chloroformed by the Captain, Gloria had forgotten that just about every Enemy Group in Dungeons and Damsels had a Signature Villains.

[Developer's Note: Signature Villains are unique Enemies found in most Enemy Groups in the game. They aren't always Raid Bosses, but just fun and interesting personalities that can usually be found at the end of Quest and Story Arcs for a group to tackle for a solid ending. Normally, Players would run into Captain J'Essa during a Quest that entails the Captain's Ship making regular abduction raids on the small coastal village of Jinayda, ending with a chaotic fight on the main deck of her Sky Ship! If defeated, Signature Villains eventually respawn after a day or so in the game. Please also keep in that that Players who are captured by a Signature Villain aren't given the option to Respawn back to a Safe Spot after the usual 1 hour in captivity...it is extended to 8 hours to really ramp up the challenge! The Signature Villain concept was expanded on in our more recent VRMMO: Heroes and Sidekicks, our Superhero-themed game!]

KER-CHUNK

"MNF!" Sera shouted into her gag, snapped awake by the sudden jolt and sound. She had missed the small conversation J'Essa and the Abductress had, and didn't have as much in-game knowledge as Gloria had, and was quite confused at the whole ordeal! She thrashed and wiggled in the air, making the long chain running from her ankles to the Sky Ship far above jingle in response.

"Ah, it looks like some of the quarry are awake!" J'Essa said snidely.

"Oh, yes. I would keep a -close- eye on that one. Sneaky little git, it took some effort in reeling her in!" the Abductress remarked before giving the captive ninja's silked soles a few grazing tickles with her long nails, which only spurred the ninja to wriggle and complain more into the gag.

"Aye? Did she, then? Not to worry, I'll be sure to have the little one kneeling and in chains by my Captain's Chair the whole flight!"

The light tickles continued for a moment longer before they finally stopped, Sera's sides already lightly sore from the fits of muffled giggling and angry complaining from behind her gag. She was certainly all for getting chained up for a trip if that meant there was no more tickling!

KER-CHUNK

Now Winnie and Ky had come to, unaware of what was going on or where they were, just that there was now a cold chain snaring their ankles and that they were being slowly hauled upwards! The Mage and younger Ranger squirmed and complained incessantly.

"Shall I put them out again one last time before they're out of reach, Captain?" the Abductress inquired.

"Naw, let 'em squirm, I say! Hah-har!"

Gloria could do nothing but scowl into blindfold, surrounded by squirming kids, muffled complaints, jingling chains, and cajoling Slavers. "The -instant- I get us out of this I'm grounding that brat!" Gloria yelled in her mind. Thanks to there being a damnable Signature Villain present in this whole ordeal, now, she wouldn't be given the option to simply poof back to town after a short bit...they'd be stuck for quite a long time like this if Gloria didn't think of something soon!

KER-CHUNK

===SEVERAL KER-CHUNKS LATER===

The group was prodded along in the belly of the Sky Ship, stockinged feet padding on the wooden planks. "Take 'em to the Hold and lash 'em up good! Keep the gags in!" Captain J'Essa bellowed to a Deck Hand. "Oi, except -that- one."

Sera could feel herself being pulled off to the side, standing as the rest of her co-captives were lead away. Her arms, like the others, were stilled snugly trapped behind her back with silken ropes, but at least her ankles were free...for the time being. "I'll remove that gag of yers, but you -better- only speak when spoken to. Understand?"

Sera thought about it for a second, considering she was a bit of a whippersnapper, but then nodded. She felt the cleave gag being untied, then her ninja mask being pulled down, allowing her to spit the silk-ball out. She did so gladly and stretched her stiff jaw out some. She blinked a few times, then, getting her eyes adjusted to the lighting after J'Essa pulled off her blindfold next.

Sera saw the Captain before her. Purple skinned like the other Dark Elves, with a wild mane of silvery hair. A signature eye-patch over her right eye and an exceedingly wide grin painted the Captain's face. She wore a corset top with billowing, puffy sleeves. Tight leather pants with flared stiletto boots were present, along with an ornate cutlass strapped to a hip. The Captain also appeared to be holding a set of chains. "I remember sayin' somethin' about kneelin' and chains, aye?"

"...aye..." Sera murmured in response.

"Damn it all!" Gloria thought as she walked blindly along, corrected and pushed along every now and then by an unseen hand behind her. "I figure the Captain singling someone out is part of a script to at least give Players a chance at escape...but why couldn't it be me?! That ninja wouldn't be able to take on J'Essa by herself! Still...if she singled someone out...that must mean she'll slip up in some way to give her a chance. I better start working on Plan B just in case she messes up somehow..."

Sera walked along beside J'Essa, her silk tabi feet silent on the planks. She had been fitted with a metal collar by the dastardly villain. It had a small ring at the back, from which, a short length of chain ran down between the ninja's shoulder blades. Her wrists were neatly wrapped in a single length of chain, locked up with a small lock. The wrists were attached to the chain running up to the collar's ring, ensuring her wiggle room with her arms was minimal at best. "Welcome to my abode, Little Miss!" the Captain said, kicking open a door and revealing a stately looking room. Aside from a few tables with charts and maps laid out on them, it also had a globe and other ornate trinkets. Towards the far end of the room, a large looking chair sat near a ledge. There was no wall at this end of the room, it was simply open and looked out over the main deck of the Sky Ship. From there, the Captain could sit and oversee the going-ons of her crew from the comfort of her chair, barking orders here and there.

"Where...are we, exactly?" Sera asked, perching an eyebrow and tilting her head up at her captor, who stood beside her, dwarfing her by about a foot in height.

"Why, the Slave Ship: Manacle! I named her m'self, I did!" the Captain jeered back down at Sera.

"Slave ship?! What! Do they even allow those in this game?! And you're the Captain? Are we in the sky?! Where are we goin!" Sera asked in surprise.

"Bahaha! You best start believing in slave ships, Little Miss. Yer in one!" she bellowed back. She then thumbed towards the small decorative pillow laying beside the Captain's Chair. "Now, gets to kneelin'...gonna be a long trip!"

Sera sighed and quietly padded off towards her destination, unsure if this was a really bad situation...or a pretty cool one! Captain J'Essa unhooked a small pair of ankle cuffs, with a short chain between them, from her belt and followed behind.

Description
"Ghrmnf!" Gloria yelled into the soft cloth covering her mouth. It was clamped down by an unknown hand, and another hand had the Ranger's arm tightly pinned behind her back. She tugged and pulled against the grip, but to no avail. Gloria's mind quickly searched for what kind of Enemy the Dark Elve's might have that could present such a challenge...this was a somewhat low-level Slaver Camp, after all! Gloria's mind recalled some entries on Dark Elf Slavers on the "Dungeons and Damsels Adventurer's Guide" a Player-ran website devoted to a plethora of information for Players. Gloria frequented the site when she was in her lower levels and continued to do so to gain a little edge, and find the best places for gear drops. Some Players shunned the idea of it, feeling as if it ruined the surprise and experience. Nevertheless, Gloria managed to recall:

[Dark Elf Slavers: Largely known to be a roving group of Bandits, Dark Elf Slavers provide a substantial challenge over their lower-level Human Bandit types, mostly thanks to their increased agility and wits. Caution should be taken as to not let Players get separated from their group, as the Slavers will certainly take advantage over anyone who strays too far. Slaver Camps are usually set up in secluded parts of Forest Areas, where the captives will initially be taken. If an escape is not made in time, Players will often be whisked away by Dark Elf Sky Slavers, who operate Sky Ships to transport Players to Dark Elf Enclaves. Sky Slavers are considerably more dangerous than normal Dark Elf Slavers, as they come from Enclaves themselves, and usually fall in the Level 30-50 range, depending on their Port of Origin.]

By the time Gloria parsed this useful information...everything was dark. Dark and quiet. She also felt a little disoriented and light headed. A quick check with her arms revealed that they were expertly bound behind her back, box tied with silken rope, and she could feel a firm pressure around her ankles. She wriggled her feet in their black tights and confirmed that they were also bound snugly. They were pulled straight, as well, and she couldn't bend her knees without a lot of efforts. Coupled with her swimming head, and how she saw the other young captives situated when she got there, Gloria realized that she, too, was hanging upside down, gently swaying by her ankles in captivity.

Had she been knocked out, then? She must have been..Chloro-berries were a common Crafting Item in this Area and she wouldn't put it past more clever enemy types like the Abductress to harvest them for use. The would have also explained the feeling of a soft cloth trapped between her cleave gag and the wadded up silk in her mouth. It slightly covered her nose and she could smell something faintly sweet every time she drew breath. "MNRHF!" she angrily shouted into the gag, seeing if the others were awake...but got no reply other than the calm breathing of 3 other Avatars closely surrounding her.

Gloria, similar to her son Ky, was dressed in a Ranger's garb: a green jerkin with green shorts, and stark black tights underneath those. Her silvery short-cropped hair, and the pointed ears were usually hidden under a hood that was part of her cloak, but Gloria couldn't feel that on her back, so they must have removed that while she was busy being hauled up into the air. "Damn that brat of mine," she thought. "Not only putting off our dungeon run for the better part of an hour, but also getting ME caught up in his stupid little games..." Gloria tested the silken ropes around her wrists and arms again, then angrily growled in her gag, her brow furrowed into the blindfold. "Now...how to get out of this? I suppose...if I started swinging my body back and forth, I'd eventually get enough momentum to tip the whole tent over, but then what? I'd still be more than secure, and I couldn't just run off. Maybe I could find one of our weapons to cut myself loose? Surely, though, they'd notice all the commotion going on in the tent" Gloria thought to herself, tugging and working on the silk ropes keeping her arms snugly pinned behind her back all the while, up until a bead of sweat formed on her forehead and her shoulders started to softly burn from the exertion, forcing her to take a break.

"We'd stand a better chance of dealing with the Sky Captain together, too. Well, that is if I can get them into a team and Sidekick them up to my Level...but I have to send a team invite for that which means I need we need to get rid of these gags first..." Gloria wriggled her nose and worked her jaw around, like someone trying to scratch an itch without their hands, but found the cleave gag was tightly secured...the silken ball wedged behind her teeth wasn't coming out!

"Damn it! Ugh. I guess our best bet is to wait till they transport us to the Sky Ship. They'll certainly secure us again, but hopefully, it won't be like this! Something easier to work with...and who knows? Maybe they'll also have some higher level Players as captives on board, too! Then we can make a break for it!" Gloria thought, then hearing the flap of the tent opening up. Gloria didn't want to cause any more trouble for herself or get the Abductress, or whomever it was, going off on one of their saccharine-laced taunting dialogues again, so she remained perfectly still and compliant, her mind made up as to what her plan would be.

Gloria could feel fingers and hands carefully checking the silk ropes binding her arms and wrists behind her back, then upwards to the ankles to do the same. The figure had to stoop slightly to reach Gloria's cleave gag as her head was much closer to the ground than her younger co-captives; mostly due to the height difference. Gloria then felt the cleave gag being unknotted and removed, and slender fingers digging out the ball of silk in her mouth. It was, by know, thoroughly soaked and something like a paper spitball. Sticking with her compliant decision, Gloria kept her mouth open, which was soon re-stuffed with a fresh silk-ball. Her jaw was pushed open slightly more than before, as silk-balls had a tendency to compact a little into a smaller shape over time as they took on more moisture, hence why the new one was slightly larger than the discarded on. The familiar sweet smell returned, as well, albeit much stronger than before, as a soft cloth was placed over her mouth and nose, followed by a re-tying of the cleave gag.

The back of Gloria's neck prickled in goosebumps as she listened to the person working on Sera's, Winnie's and Ky's gags in turn. Everything stayed quiet, however. They must have all still been out cold...or perhaps they all had the same idea? Gloria had thought about shooting each of them a Private Message, but remembered they were all blindfolded, and so none of them would have been able to read it until later.

Gloria had managed to keep her breath held until she heard the figure leaving the tent, but not too long after, her lungs started pressuring her to breathe in deep, which she did after a muffled "Mf". A few quiet gasping breaths later, and the tent was quiet and still once again...

===SOME TIME LATER===

KER-CHUNK

Gloria started awake, snapped-to by the loud noise coming from above. She quickly gave another test of her arms and found them still snugly secured in place. The blindfold, cleave-gag, and silk-ball were also in their respectful places, much to Gloria's frustration. Her ankles felt...different, though. She wriggled her feet some, trying to get a better feel for it and notice a cold feeling through the thin material of her tights. Chilly...and hard. Making herself sway some, she could hear a familiar jingling sound as she bumped into the bound forms of the other three youngsters. She could also feel the breeze as if they were outside, and a low rumbling far above. "Chains then? And outside...we must be being loaded on to the Sky Ship, then!" Gloria thought.

KER-CHUNK

Gloria heard the noise again and felt herself being pulled upwards just a little bit.

"Blast it all! Can't this thing move any faster? I've got a schedule to keep!" a new voice said. Gloria figured it must belong to the Sky Captain, the one who had gotten the drop on her in the tent earlier and had subdued her into her current bondage.

"S-Sorry, Cap'n! It seems the, uh, the mechanism must be damaged in some way! They'll be loaded...but it will take some time, I'm afraid!" a male voice said, probably one of the deck-hands.

"It's just as well, Captain J'Essa. This way these ones can slowly savour the fact that they'll soon be carted off to the Dark Elf Enclave, from which, they stand no chance of escaping!" That voice was familiar; The Abductress!

"Bah. While I dislike being late on my endeavours, you -do- make an outstanding point! I take it you'll be joining us, then?" J'Essa said.

"Why, of course, Captain J'Essa! T'was I who happened upon these hapless Adventurers in the first place. I'll not let you take all the credit for this haul!" the Abductress returned.

"Hah! A good head on ye, there is!"

Gloria had been keenly listening to the conversation at hand when her heart sunk a little bit. "Captain J'Essa? THE Captain J'Essa? Oh for- that's a damn Signature Villain!" Gloria cursed in her head. During her search for answers earlier on, just before she had been skillfully chloroformed by the Captain, Gloria had forgotten that just about every Enemy Group in Dungeons and Damsels had a Signature Villains.

[Developer's Note: Signature Villains are unique Enemies found in most Enemy Groups in the game. They aren't always Raid Bosses, but just fun and interesting personalities that can usually be found at the end of Quest and Story Arcs for a group to tackle for a solid ending. Normally, Players would run into Captain J'Essa during a Quest that entails the Captain's Ship making regular abduction raids on the small coastal village of Jinayda, ending with a chaotic fight on the main deck of her Sky Ship! If defeated, Signature Villains eventually respawn after a day or so in the game. Please also keep in that that Players who are captured by a Signature Villain aren't given the option to Respawn back to a Safe Spot after the usual 1 hour in captivity...it is extended to 8 hours to really ramp up the challenge! The Signature Villain concept was expanded on in our more recent VRMMO: Heroes and Sidekicks, our Superhero-themed game!]

KER-CHUNK

"MNF!" Sera shouted into her gag, snapped awake by the sudden jolt and sound. She had missed the small conversation J'Essa and the Abductress had, and didn't have as much in-game knowledge as Gloria had, and was quite confused at the whole ordeal! She thrashed and wiggled in the air, making the long chain running from her ankles to the Sky Ship far above jingle in response.

"Ah, it looks like some of the quarry are awake!" J'Essa said snidely.

"Oh, yes. I would keep a -close- eye on that one. Sneaky little git, it took some effort in reeling her in!" the Abductress remarked before giving the captive ninja's silked soles a few grazing tickles with her long nails, which only spurred the ninja to wriggle and complain more into the gag.

"Aye? Did she, then? Not to worry, I'll be sure to have the little one kneeling and in chains by my Captain's Chair the whole flight!"

The light tickles continued for a moment longer before they finally stopped, Sera's sides already lightly sore from the fits of muffled giggling and angry complaining from behind her gag. She was certainly all for getting chained up for a trip if that meant there was no more tickling!

KER-CHUNK

Now Winnie and Ky had come to, unaware of what was going on or where they were, just that there was now a cold chain snaring their ankles and that they were being slowly hauled upwards! The Mage and younger Ranger squirmed and complained incessantly.

"Shall I put them out again one last time before they're out of reach, Captain?" the Abductress inquired.

"Naw, let 'em squirm, I say! Hah-har!"

Gloria could do nothing but scowl into blindfold, surrounded by squirming kids, muffled complaints, jingling chains, and cajoling Slavers. "The -instant- I get us out of this I'm grounding that brat!" Gloria yelled in her mind. Thanks to there being a damnable Signature Villain present in this whole ordeal, now, she wouldn't be given the option to simply poof back to town after a short bit...they'd be stuck for quite a long time like this if Gloria didn't think of something soon!

KER-CHUNK

===SEVERAL KER-CHUNKS LATER===

The group was prodded along in the belly of the Sky Ship, stockinged feet padding on the wooden planks. "Take 'em to the Hold and lash 'em up good! Keep the gags in!" Captain J'Essa bellowed to a Deck Hand. "Oi, except -that- one."

Sera could feel herself being pulled off to the side, standing as the rest of her co-captives were lead away. Her arms, like the others, were stilled snugly trapped behind her back with silken ropes, but at least her ankles were free...for the time being. "I'll remove that gag of yers, but you -better- only speak when spoken to. Understand?"

Sera thought about it for a second, considering she was a bit of a whippersnapper, but then nodded. She felt the cleave gag being untied, then her ninja mask being pulled down, allowing her to spit the silk-ball out. She did so gladly and stretched her stiff jaw out some. She blinked a few times, then, getting her eyes adjusted to the lighting after J'Essa pulled off her blindfold next.

Sera saw the Captain before her. Purple skinned like the other Dark Elves, with a wild mane of silvery hair. A signature eye-patch over her right eye and an exceedingly wide grin painted the Captain's face. She wore a corset top with billowing, puffy sleeves. Tight leather pants with flared stiletto boots were present, along with an ornate cutlass strapped to a hip. The Captain also appeared to be holding a set of chains. "I remember sayin' somethin' about kneelin' and chains, aye?"

"...aye..." Sera murmured in response.

"Damn it all!" Gloria thought as she walked blindly along, corrected and pushed along every now and then by an unseen hand behind her. "I figure the Captain singling someone out is part of a script to at least give Players a chance at escape...but why couldn't it be me?! That ninja wouldn't be able to take on J'Essa by herself! Still...if she singled someone out...that must mean she'll slip up in some way to give her a chance. I better start working on Plan B just in case she messes up somehow..."

Sera walked along beside J'Essa, her silk tabi feet silent on the planks. She had been fitted with a metal collar by the dastardly villain. It had a small ring at the back, from which, a short length of chain ran down between the ninja's shoulder blades. Her wrists were neatly wrapped in a single length of chain, locked up with a small lock. The wrists were attached to the chain running up to the collar's ring, ensuring her wiggle room with her arms was minimal at best. "Welcome to my abode, Little Miss!" the Captain said, kicking open a door and revealing a stately looking room. Aside from a few tables with charts and maps laid out on them, it also had a globe and other ornate trinkets. Towards the far end of the room, a large looking chair sat near a ledge. There was no wall at this end of the room, it was simply open and looked out over the main deck of the Sky Ship. From there, the Captain could sit and oversee the going-ons of her crew from the comfort of her chair, barking orders here and there.

"Where...are we, exactly?" Sera asked, perching an eyebrow and tilting her head up at her captor, who stood beside her, dwarfing her by about a foot in height.

"Why, the Slave Ship: Manacle! I named her m'self, I did!" the Captain jeered back down at Sera.

"Slave ship?! What! Do they even allow those in this game?! And you're the Captain? Are we in the sky?! Where are we goin!" Sera asked in surprise.

"Bahaha! You best start believing in slave ships, Little Miss. Yer in one!" she bellowed back. She then thumbed towards the small decorative pillow laying beside the Captain's Chair. "Now, gets to kneelin'...gonna be a long trip!"

Sera sighed and quietly padded off towards her destination, unsure if this was a really bad situation...or a pretty cool one! Captain J'Essa unhooked a small pair of ankle cuffs, with a short chain between them, from her belt and followed behind.