A dilemma.

Johanna estimated that she followed the trail for half a mile before she found her destination. The treeline abruptly ended at a cliff face, and there, right where the trail had led her, was the open entrance to some manner of cave. Johanna carefully palmed the blade from her boot and proceeded carefully. Hopefully Bone would be in this cave, but she had to remember that whatever had carried him off was likely to be lurking around, and anything dangerous enough to take down the large pirate certainly posed a threat to her.

With as much caution and stealth as she could muster, Johanna crept up to the entrance of the cave and peered inside. The poor lighting **** her to squint, but she could make out a handful of silhouettes in the darkness. In the center of the room was a pile of… something. Perhaps bedding, perhaps garbage. Against one wall, Johanna saw a number of poorly organized tools and supplies, ropes and poles and buckets in a messy jumble. And then, at the back of the cave, just who she was looking for: Bone.

The large pirate was seated against the wall with his head down, perhaps ****, but probably not dead, at least. Johanna gave the room another once over to make sure there wasn’t anyone else there, then crept inside. Nothing jumped out at her from the shadows, and she definitely made sure to check the ceiling of the cave, happy to find nothing but stone. She tiptoed closer to Bone, close enough to see that he was breathing, then closer still, where she could see that his hands were tied behind him, then close enough that then she was able to reach out and touch him.

Bone woke immediately, jerking his head up too quickly and painfully smacking it against the cave wall. “Fuck!” He exclaimed loudly, the word echoing around the cave and causing Johanna’s blood to turn cold. She quickly clamped a hand over Bone’s mouth.

“Quiet!” She whispered into his ear, “We need to get out of here. What happened to you?”

Bone looked a bit disoriented, but after blinking and shaking his head, he seemed to be himself again. “Something got the drop on me. I don’t remember much.” He tried to move his head, but realized that he had been fitted with a collar, and the collar was fastened to the wall with a short leash. After a couple minutes of fumbling, Johanna realized that the collar, the cord attaching it to the wall, and the bindings holding his arms in place were all made of thick leather, and while she could probably cut him loose or figure out where and how to detach him with a bit of time, she wasn’t sure how much time she actually had before the cave’s primary resident returned. Johanna had to make a decision or formulate a plan, and she had to do it fast…