Search party
After so long- so many lies, you finally decided to own up to exactly what you were trying to do at this point. You and the leader had organized a defined search party and with the help of everyone, after a little bit of effort, you all were able to gather up a specified group of individuals able to help the king search out what exactly was causing the strange happenings. You too were quickly recruited into this makeshift little group. The training was sparse but everyone was properly caught up and briefed on the best way to go about things.
Everything seemed to be going just perfectly- moreso than anything else that happened to you on this journey and when you all set off, leaving the rest of the group for the last time, the plan had already been carved into your memory. You all planned on diving deep down underwater- deeper than ever before and you were an important part of that. You could dive deeper than any of the others and down below in the inky blackness you had seen a dark blob. You signaled to the others that you were going to check it out- it felt like the most charged area you’ve been in so far and when you got there you had just barely reached your limit as you felt the ocean’s waters pressing down on your body.
It was dark. Everything around you was like a black inky abyss, but you could still see the deep blue- almost colorless outlines of what seemed to be a ship down below you. Your flippers brushed up against the aged preserved wood steeped in the salty brine. You could see the life growing all around it as mother nature took the ancient remnant of engineering back. The salty sediment below was growing up around the sides of the ship and it all looked ominous and ghostly to you as you continued your descent.
Before long, you could feel something changing in the icy water. It almost felt warm and comforting to you, but regardless it sent chills down your spine. You could see up above something going on. The others were darting around and soon you realized that the ominous shadowy figures were actually a pod of orcas dispersing the group. Soon, one was even upon you.
WIthout thinking, you ducked into the pirate ship and tucked yourself away into one of the crevices. You could hear the swishing of water around you as the others were panicking and swimming like mad. Before long, you found yourself in a deep dark almost pitch black environment which your eyes couldn’t even fully adjust to. You held your breath- the only thing you could have done in this situation and tried to wait things out. Still, you could tell that you didn’t have much longer.
But wait, what was that? In the corner of your eye you could see a glimmer of light. It struck fear into your heart. You had no idea what it could have been, but it piqued your curiosity just enough to turn and see what it was. You dug down into the sandy dirt all across the old sunken ship and rip apart the wooden beams and soon your eyes were burning- adjusting to a bright light tucked away underneath the boards. It was a glistening treasure chest and it was just barely open enough for you to reach your hand inside.
When you did, you could feel the soft silky fabric of what seemed to be your next outfit. You were so excited you almost let out the last moments of air you had in you and soon after you were scrambling your way into your next suit. Onto your next adventure. You did it! You had won the game, but in the last moments you had before you were ported off to your next adventure, you couldn’t help but wonder if you truly did ‘win’, everything considered.
Written by Drifting Dragon on 05 November 2023
The end (for now)