Was paid for ahead of time
Not with any prospect for riches
We came via sail power in an era of steam
Coming from long and far away
We'd had to utilize the least expensive form
Of travel
Our party came from diverse career worlds
Academia, Military, and Adventurers
All were deserving respect
None were seasoned in their field
But for me and my first mate
But no one knew what to expect
Only that we could not know
What we could not know
That we did not know
And lastly, what we feared might exist
It was a nexus of events and strange phenomena
At the bottom of the world
Massive Whirlpools swallowed ships
As well as tidal swirls
Left behind by the impact
Something from space struck the earth
There was an evil there, it is said
Presenting upon us all a wicked curse
Maps suggested the location of an impact
Some believed the cause was a meteor
It was dense, and likely metal
It was made of gold or some esoteric medium
As we found out
It was a pulsing evil being
After the event of discovery
We know that it wished only to be fed
It hungered for our flesh
Desiring to see us dead
This site of catastrophe
A blemish upon the face of this land
White, frozen, and cold
Was palpably wicked
What we discovered we wished to no longer believe
We felt ill and worse the closer we approached
Men reported being sea sick, when the ship was static
And we floated upon a stilled sea
By the time we found the site
3/4 of the team were barely mobile
The smell in the air was of putrification
And decay
Vomit coated the frozen surface of the main floor
Still, we sent away our boats
Each with an armed man, a scientist, and an expedition officer
We sent out five ships, leaving three behind
And we'd planned to send eight ships with 5 men each
We prepared to find what we'd come for
A meteor of great size
The effort was handicapped at the start
Leaving only death, and scars
We could see a pulsing purple and green hue
Beneath the surface at the site
We made certain to note all of the aspects of the discovery
But before we could gather again and compare notes
A being of colossal size burst through the ice
Upturning three of the boats
Immediately we lost there 5 or 6 men
We began firing upon the exposed body
But the great tentacles rose up
Undeterred by the gun fire
And when the small cannon from the ship fired
It did not harm the tentacle flesh
Something so large had to come from the stars, there was no question in our minds
The giant tentacles looked like the skin or surface flesh of whales,
Possessing suction cups and moved independently of the others
By the time we regrouped we learned
Only five men remained of the boats sent forth
And as we raised anchor and attempted to flee
The tentacles, bored with the bodies of the dead men
Reached forth and removed 10 more men from the surface of the ship
We barely escaped, and now, with but a bare dozen men
We lay exhausted, cold, and wounded
As the winds took us from that place
And our dreams were infected
By the being that slept in the sea
