The stone column beat its way through the strong underwater current. I wish I had picked a more aerodynamic form for the ship. It is hard enough manually flying the ship by myself, but this column isn’t making things any easier. I kept an eye on the screen, trying to make sense of the shapes in the murky water. I swear this will be the last time I ever use the Tardis as a submersible!
I knew by the scraping sound that I had flown too close to the Vernian Tunnels. I wanted to make sure the ship had not been damaged, so I attempted to maneuver through the Vortex to land inside the tunnels. Many failed attempts later, I finally managed not to overshoot the small tunnel. The ship materialized in the tunnel and what did I happen to see? When I stepped out I saw Mr. Skusting Dagger and his cat standing there, watching the almost comical event.
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I had not seen him in many months, so we took a few minutes to catch up. As has been happening too often the past couple months, talk soon turned to the dark events that have plagued our city. He informed me that he had been down here quite a bit, but no canisters or creatures had been seen underwater. This confirmed what the Mers had said. Whatever is happening seems to be confined to land. I asked if he had seen ANY strange creatures underwater, thinking back to what I had read in the book. He told me that he hadn’t, but had heard stories of a large fish somewhere out in the deep. It doesn’t sound like the things described in the book, but it is the first possible lead I’ve had in a while. I thanked him and stepped back inside. It was much easier to move back outside the tube; it is after all a much larger target in the ocean.
I headed further and further into the deep. Finally, I came to an underwater cave. I thought I could see a faint light from inside. I waited there and watched as the light moved closer and closer. It was no ordinary light; it was a lure on the biggest fish I had ever seen!
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I followed it as it left its cave, presumably to hunt. I don’t want to see the kind of food this monster eats…. As I followed it, I became convinced that this is not actually related to the other creatures. When things settle down, I would love to come back out this way and do a more in depth study of the fish. I noticed something on the bottom of the seafloor. Since I was already this far out, I figured a quick look-see couldn’t hurt.
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[img_assist|nid=4052|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=640|height=330]At first I thought I had merely stumbled upon some coral reef, perhaps an underwater volcano. As I looked around and saw stones glowing I began to wonder what I had found. The glowing did not appear to be natural, like the mosses that grow on Luneria 4. Rather, it appeared someone, or something, had put them there. Strange runes pulsated on the rocks. The more frightening discovery stood in the center of what I now realized as a shrine; towering above me was a giant sculpture of Cthulhu, the Old One worshipped by followers of Dagon. He seemed to be summoning some great evil. Again, I would love to have stayed and explored more, but my oxygen was beginning to run low. I will surely come back to this area when the city is safe.
((To be Concluded…))
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