Diving Mission

​Location: Submerged Temple Ruins - Coordinates Confirmed ​Estimated Dive Time: 008 Hours, surfacing possible

​Pre-Dive Briefing

​Time: Before dusk. Docking went smoothly despite dense growths and scattered debris below. ​Place: Abandoned, half-swallowed by the lake. Ideal for exploration!

​Observing the parameters of the ruin confirms earlier reports. Multiple moss-ridden stairwells lay upwards, toward the gaping mouth of the temple. Structural integrity is questionable. Best we make good time and beat our own record!

​I'm sure we'll find the first chamber as described by the previous team: waterlogged, more seaweed than stone, sealing the flooded pathways beyond. A mechanism or puzzle kept them from breaching the tunnels. That’s where we come in!

​The team’s solid. Spirits are high. I’ve got confidence in Edd Exley - he’s sharp, steady, and knows how to handle tight spaces.

​Timing’s crucial. We’ll begin the descent at first light. With luck, the sun will be high enough to pierce through the grates and mark the resurfacing zones.

​We won't skip breakfast prep, though. Caught a few fish en route; they’ll be fine once roasted!

​Location: You know where!! ​Estimated Dive Time: Too damn long

​Post Dive Findings

​Time: It's dark out. No light. ​Place: No sign of Edd.

​Last seen: He hit the first checkpoint, the metal grates by the overgrown terrace, behind time. Seemed winded, but steady. I thought about pulling him out. I should've stopped the mission then. Pried open the bars. Lifted him up and out of those treacherous waters.

​I didn't.

​The sun has set, which means Edd will have trouble finding his scheduled resurfacing spots. ​Estimated dive time has been exceeded.

​I think he has air for... maybe thirty more minutes, if he doesn't panic. It won't last for the way back.

​We're running from grate to grate, lighting torches, yelling his name, trying to signal a safe spot to surface. But below, everything is pitch black. The deep swallows both sound and light.

​I wonder if he can even still tell up from down. I wonder if he's scared. Alone. Cold. I wonder if he knows he'll die... I wonder if he'll still try to make it to the end.