Skulduggery's hand is... okay. He sorts his cards, figures a pair could become three of a kind, and discards two. He's not sure if beating Max the first time around will be better or worse for the other's dignity. He needs it to sting just enough to make temptation irresistible.

"You're probably right about that. Fear of drowning keeps most people aboard, I think, and the lack of distant landmarks makes it impossible to tell where we are, how far we've moved, or how fast we're going." He's already got some ideas about that, but it can wait for another day.

"I think we'll probably become withered husks of our former selves. Our souls, spirits, chi, whatever it is you want to call it, it'll be sucked dry until we're nothing but remnants. It's obvious it's not blood, or meat, or... I don't know, brain matter that the captain wants. It's all about pain and suffering and torment. Stick us in the middle of the ocean, where nobody can find us, and then..."

He tilts his head. Okay, that was pretty grim, even for him. "That... doesn't really make me seem much more cheerful, does it."