Adventure of J. Erasmus: The Sunken City

Previously

…But the spirit of the expedition had shifted. The initial exhilaration had been replaced by a gnawing suspicion, a subtle undercurrent of fear. The ocean, once a symbol of boundless opportunity, now felt like a vast, silent observer, holding its breath, waiting. And I, J. Erasmus, felt it too – the weight of that waiting, the growing certainty that our journey to the Sunken City of Howell’s was far more perilous than any map could ever convey. The first signs of trouble were no longer mere whispers; they were a growing chorus, and I had a terrifying premonition that the worst was yet to come.