And the Unpathed Waters - for Ezekiel Jones

[bookbrawler]

It really was supposed to be a routine artifact grab. They actually did get the Shell Crown, and it was actually a successful mission, all things considered.

It was just Stone and Jones on this one, since a more pressing matter had called the others away to Europe, but it's not like Jake was going to complain. The Library had record of an ancient shipwreck off the coast of an uncharted and deserted Caribbean island, and the duo had chartered a boat and gone out there. It was clearly a magic island, it was only accessible during certain times of the year, during certain tides, through a certain channel on a dangerous reef.

Once they passed the reef the island came into view, looking like something out of Jurassic Park. The shipwreck was in a shallow, rocky reef--shallow enough to simply need snorkeling gear instead of scuba diving year, and after a few hours of searching--and complaining--they'd found the crown amongst the wreckage.

It was going so well, until Jake cut his leg on a piece of coral swimming back to shore, in only one of the most magical waters on the planet.

"Damn it," he grumbles through his snorkel, and could only hope there weren't any sharks around, as he kicked towards the sandier part of the beach. At least, he would have if things weren't getting so...blurry? He feels sick, there's something wrong...

"Jones? Jones! Where--"

He spits out his snorkel to yell, but suddenly, everything goes dark. Jake slips back underwater silently.

Comments

[bookbrawler]

Walking the plank!? Seriously? That's not what's important here--

Jacob waves his hand in front of his face, trying to clear the water. "I'm okay--I'm okay, I'm over here! Are you okay?" For once he wasn't stuck in something or under something. He feels bad about compromising the structural integrity of a historical artifact--even if it was underwater.

"I don't like how these beams are situated--we gotta get outta here before the whole thing comes crashing down. There's some kind of old safe here, I dunno if we can lift it--"

[luckythief]

"I'm okay, yeah."

Once he finds Stone he grabs his arm, pulling him out of the immediate dust cloud (is it still a dust cloud when it happens underwater?). The ship creaks dangerously but Ezekiel doesn't seem to pay it much mind, his eyes wandering over to the safe instead.

"Looks pretty heavy. Just give me a minute there."

And he moves over, taking a closer look at the lock mechanism.

[bookbrawler]

Jacob immediately looks up in alarm when the entire ship creaks again but fortunately there's not another collapse. He minds his fin, not wanting to accidentally crash into something or get it trapped in some tight spot. He swims forward to take a closer look, but he's still far too anxious about the state of the ship to really get a good look at it.

There's another loud creak and he winces.

"You think we can lift it outta here? If not, you got like, thirty seconds to crack it before I'm callin' it. This thing is ready to go."

[luckythief]

"And have you steer us into the next wall? Uh, pass."

He's already fiddling with the lock, ear pressed up against the side of the safe.

"Please. I'm Ezekiel Jones. I'll do it in fifteen."