[Music] the minute I stepped out of the chopper onto the harsh unforgiving landscape I couldn't help but curse it's colder than a penguin's out here the Arctic Circle a frozen hell hole was as hospitable as a porcupine at a balloon party even through the thickest parka money could buy every inch of me felt like it was being assaulted by an army of icy needles my eyelashes sparkled with frost and my breath came out in white Smoky Puffs that were instantly Carried Away by the unrelenting wind a he
arty laugh echoed in my earpiece would you quit your whining Mac Captain Lancaster's Gruff voice was somehow warm a comfort amidst the biting cold his weathered face crinkled around blue eyes that had seen more than their fair share of storms both at Sea and in life is frost-covered beard bristled at the wind as he squinted into the distance it was a look I'd come to associate with him Lancaster always had his sight set on the horizon after the adventurer yeah yeah I muttered back the words half
lost in my scarf I pulled my hood further down over my eyes trying to Shield myself from the Relentless wind the irony wasn't lost on me I'd spend my entire adult life pursuing Adventure treasure hunts and lost ships but in my wildest dreams I'd never envisioned this sunken treasure was supposed to be in the tropics right not in the Damned Arctic Circle the crew and I were a Motley group a collection of Thrill Seekers historians and misfits looking for a break Jess was our mechanic a tomboyish
redhead with hands that could fix anything and she gave off an air of don't with me but it was betrayed by a smile that could warm even the coldest hearts Antonio was our diver he was a man of few words and his quiet strength had been our Rock more times than I could count Simone was the youngest among us fresh out of grad school with a degree in Maritime history and a spirit that was far too bright for this Frosty hell me well you can call me mac I'm that grizzled explorer who had heard the cal
l of the unknown one too many times but damn I wish I wasn't freezing my ass off doing it despite the bone-chilling cold there was a strange sort of beauty to the landscape miles and miles of untouched snow stretched out in every direction the icy surface sparkling in the weak sunlight in the distance the half submerged silhouette of the SS winterbourne or as I like to call it payday like eerily quiet and still it was a striking haunting image a ghost ship encapsulated in ice and time holding se
crets of an era long past we move towards the ship our boots crunching in the fresh snow it was a slow and laborious Journey each step a Monumental task in the knee deep snow with every step my mind Whirled with the thoughts of what we might find on board the winterborn gold precious gems or perhaps just stories Frozen in time waiting to be told God I hope it's big ass chunks of gold as we trudged on I found my gaze drifting back to Lancaster the captain stood tall seemingly unfazed by the bitin
g wind or the daunting task that lay ahead his eyes held a Steely determination that I had come to associate with him he was a seasoned sailor and he'd seen some things you name it he's probably done it the guy's Brave the roughest Seas I'd expect no less I wouldn't follow just anyone into this he was our leader and under the Relentless Arctic Sky we were his crew ready to deal with whatever came our way the Arctic Circle was the harshest mistress I had ever encountered and we were butt specs on
her vast white Kingdom despite the bone deep chill and the creeping uncertainty I felt a thrill of anticipation as the ghostly figure of the SS winterbourne grew closer a sense of purpose filled me this was it the Ultimate Adventure I had longed for although under far frostier circumstances than I'd ever imagined what a fool I was what a fool we all were little did we know the icy depths held more than just the promise of Forgotten Treasures they held stories secrets and a chilling truth that w
e were yet to uncover the ghost ship was calling and we were about to answer being inside the winterborn was like living inside a time capsule that is if the capsule was also a deep freezer this ship was to be our home for the time being while we explored but treasures and secrets it held amidst the icy chaos we managed to set up camp in what was once the ship's galley it wasn't much but it was shelter from the outside elements we huddled together clutching our cups of steaming coffee drawing so
me semblance of warmth and comfort from one another the next morning we woke up to the creaking of ancient Frozen wood and the Gusty Arctic wind howling outside that was what we had to deal with every day every morning we shuffled around in our insulated suits our movements were slow and clumsy our breaths fogged up in the air crystallizing almost immediately and the smell of the biting cold permeated everything our Salvage work began in Earnest we divided the tasks up based on our skills Jess a
nd Antonio focused on securing and protecting our equipment from the freezing temperatures Simone dived into cataloging every object of Interest she could find Lancaster took charge of coordinating our efforts and ensuring our safety and I ventured into the unexplored sections of the ship lucky me my hands were raw from pulling open the doors of the ship and my breath escaped in white clouds like a fog I stepped into a different world one Frozen in Time blankets perfectly pressed despite the yea
rs books with Pages melted together like Pages glued in a scrapbook converts filled with forgotten dishes plates still in place after all these years it was as if I'd entered a living painting vibrant and full of life yet silent with century-old Secrets the strangest and by far the most intriguing Discovery was the ship's logbook it was located in the captain's cabin lodged in a frozen drawer I had to use a crowbar to wrench it open and even then it required all my strength the log book itself w
as a disaster the leather cover was flaky and brittle with age the pages within were frozen together the ink smeared and Faded with time I blew on my hands to keep them warm as I delicately thumb through the log book my heart racing with excitement as I discovered what I was reading it's a gold mine I exclaimed well a gold mine of information at least holding the logbook up to the dim light filtering through the ice covered portholes entries describe daily routines interactions among crew member
s storms braved and Shores visited but as I flipped further I found something unexpected stories of a creature they called the frost serpent what the hell is a frost serpent I ask looking over at Simone who was busy cataloging an array of old Sailors tools her eyes were wide with excitement a stark contrast to The Faded world we found ourselves in Simone was our resident expert on all things historical and weird she had this look about her a sense of wonderment that seemed to belong to a differe
nt era now hearing about the frost serpent her green eyes sparkled with interest I've heard of it she said setting aside an Old Sexton and joining me it's an old sailor's tale they spoke of a sea creature that could manipulate ice and snow I couldn't help but let out a snort of disbelief so what you're saying is these guys were scared of a snowman with tentacles Simone just shook her head a slight smile on her face it's not that simple mac Legends folklore they all stem from a grain of Truth an
unexplained phenomenon an event or creature that they couldn't comprehend this Frost serpent could be a myth but it could also be a misunderstood reality nice snorted again dismissing her Theory I've been in and around this sea all my life I've seen some weird but a snow beast now that's stretching it Simone's side raising an eyebrow you forget Mac we are in the Arctic the normal rules don't apply here the winterborn crew believed in the frost Serpent and that belief had a tangible effect on the
m whether the creature existed or not well she had a point I guess the tales in the lock book became more erratic more frantic as they progressed culminating in a final entry that seemed more like a desperate prayer than a ship's log it was unsettling reading the words of men who were clearly terrified of something even if that something was only a product of their imagination we shared our Discovery with the rest of the team sitting around the campfire for warmth our headlamps casting Long Shad
ows as we poured over the logbook in any other documents we found we started piecing together the story of the winterborn Simone became our unofficial Storyteller spinning Tales from the fragments we uncovered her voice adding an eerie undertone to the creaking of the ship and the howling winds outside despite my initial skepticism I found myself drawn into the story the Arctic Knight the freezing cold the Solitude they all made the tale of the frost serpent feel real tangible at night when I la
y in my sleeping bag staring at the icy ceiling I could almost hear the hiss of the serpent the crackle of the frost forming I found my dreams invaded by visions of a creature made of ice and snow its cold eyes watching from the deep as the days blurred into one another the frost serpent became part of our Lives its tail seeping into our thoughts our conversations it was an unwelcome guest a chill that clung to us reminding us of the icy Wilderness outside it was also a bond a shared story that
kept us together kept us sane in the Frozen forsaken ship as we bedded down each night the Arctic winds singing their Lonesome song We felt an unspoken camaraderie United in the face of an ancient story in a chilling mystery but as you know we were here for Treasure not some stories as I drifted off to sleep at the end of another long grueling day I couldn't help but feel that we were on the edge of a real Discovery teetering on the brink of a revelation that would change us forever little did I
know how right I was the howl of the wind seemed louder the cold felt more bitter and the days grew shorter the Arctic winter was closing in and the reality of our isolation was starting to set in the winterborn once a symbol of thrilling adventure was starting to feel more like a frosty prison days bled into nights and nights into days it was hard to keep track of time in the endless White time however was in our worst enemy the ceaseless cold was followed by the growing unease knowing in our
guts the initial novelty of the Arctic was wearing off now it was just cold desolate and more than a little terrifying one day as I worked on prying open yet another Frozen door I found something unusual hidden in the corner of what must have been a sailor's quarters was a small metal box locked and covered in a thick layer of Frost I felt a surge of excitement my heart thudding in my chest this was the thrill of the job The Rush that made the bone chilling cold and the constant danger worth it
this Tiny Box could hold anything letters personal belongings more clues to our IC enigma gold God I hope it has some gold using a pair of pliers I forced the rusty lock open inside I found a collection of yellowed letters their edges crinkled and brittle the envelopes were addressed to various family members a mother a wife a brother unsent they had been preserved in this icy Purgatory their words unspoken for more than a century there was also a sketch intricately drawn it was some sort of cre
ature I don't know why but that sketch made my blood run colder than the Arctic wind was this the frost serpent it was coiled menacingly its body made of ice and snow its eyes icicle-like teeth and spiraling horns were eerily detailed I held my breath my eyes taking in the terrifying sketch that evening as we gathered in the galley a breath fogging in the cold I shared my find I handed Simone the sketch watching as her eyes widened she ran her gloves fingers over the delicate lines her lips part
ing in a soft gasp we passed around the sketch each of us taking a long look at the creature that had captivated and terrorized the ship's crew we all took that sketch to be what the crew thought the frost serpent was it fueled our late night discussions speculations ran wild as we tried to decipher the reality behind the legend Lancaster usually the silent and practical one Among Us suggested that the creature could have just been an Undiscovered species its abilities exaggerated by the sailors
Justin Antonio had a running bet on whether it was just the result of cabin fever and a lack of vitamin C Simone however believed it was something else something otherworldly it's possible that the frost serpent was encrypted like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster she explained one night creatures that are often dismissed as myths or Legends but may exist in regions that are largely unexplored or inaccessible like the Arctic that night as we crawled into our sleeping bags the frost serpent seeme
d to lurk in the shadows its image imprinted in our minds the ancient ship creaked ominously and the wind outside howled almost like Whispers in the ice a sense of dread settled over us as cold and unyielding as the Arctic winter as the weeks carried on and our Research into the winterborn and the frost serpent deepened the lines between Legend and reality blurred The Divide between past and presence seemed to collapse the ship the cold and the story of the frost serpent consumed us it was in ou
r dreams in our waking hours and in every Creek and moan of the isolated ship life on the winterborn had changed we had changed what started off as stories told in good fun turned into a real and palpable fear we couldn't explain why though whether it was fear of the unknown of the supposed monster in the ice or what could happen to us in this icy Wasteland just as we were getting used to the practicalities of Life aboard the winterborn the Arctic hit us with a fierce blizzard the wind howled li
ke a beast throwing snow and ice against the ship with an almost vengeful Force our vision was obscured by a white curtain of snow and the temperature plummeted to deadly lows the world outside was reduced to swirling whites and Grays the ship shuddered its frame creaking and groaning under the assault of the fresh snow and ice everything around us was frozen in time as our salvaging operations came to an abrupt stop we knew we had no choice but to focus all our attention on Revival we spent day
s huddled in the galley bundled up in our gear sipping hot soup trying to stay hydrated and keep our wits about us our unsubstantiated fears still loomed in our minds and The Whispers from the ice seem to grow louder one morning as the blizzard showed no sign of letting up Lancaster suggested we dig deeper into the ship there's an entire section of the ship we haven't explored yet he pointed out his gaze fixed on the blueprints of the ship the lower decks the engine room if we can access them we
might find the godforsaken treasure we boarded the ship for in the first place we all put on thick insulated gloves and wrapped scarves around our noses to ward off the biting cold we took turns wielding pickaxes and shovels hacking away at the Frozen Mass blocking the entrance to the lower deck the metal tools bit into the solid ice chipping away at its edges with muffled thuds our breaths emerged in Rapid clouds of mist while numbing cold seeped through every article of clothing we wore with
nothing else to do but push forward we pushed ourselves to our limits fighting against the icy chill that tried its best to numb us after countless hours of Labor we finally made it through the door with a Deep Creek the entrance was opened revealing an unending void of Darkness swinging on our headlamps powerful beams shot through the inky Blackness the Shadows dancing and weaving across the walls like malicious wraiths we trudge slowly down the steps our footsteps echoing in the Frigidaire whi
le a feeling of foreboding hung in the air stepping on the lower deck was like stepping into a forgotten world the walls were corroded and the once powerful engine room seemed almost eerily still we delved deeper into the ship's dark recesses each room containing only remnants of what once was we followed the map through a maze of tightly packed passageways that were growing colder with each step when we rounded one last corner there it was the largest room we had seen so far on the lower deck t
he walls curved inwards and ended at a circular object shrouded in ice and darkness our headlamps caught a glimmer of something shiny beneath the frost as we slowly scraped away the layers of ice a chill ran up our spines as we realized what it was a statue of the frost serpent standing over six feet tall and carved from some kind of crystalline material that sparkled in the light its icy gaze seemed to follow our every move paralyzing us with fear we knew we had found the heart of the winterbor
n we stood in stunned silence our breaths fogging in the cloud the statue looming over us The Whispers in the ice were no longer Whispers they were deafening Roars the frost serpent was more than just a legend more than just a sailor's tail it was real and it was here that night as we crawled into our sleeping bags the image of the icy statue haunted our dreams the discovery of the frost serpent statue sent ripples of fear Fascination and anticipation through us the statue seemed to shift the at
mosphere aboard the winterborn it was as if the entire ship was holding its breath waiting watching The Whispers in the ice took on a more urgent tone the cold felt more biting more sentient it was as if the frost serpent itself was stirring Awakening after a long Slumber we spent the next few days studying the statue documenting its every detail and trying to decipher its significance Simone became obsessed with it spending hours at a time in the room sketching taking notes theorizing about the
frost Serpent's Origins and abilities her Obsession was concerning and despite the entire team's ever-present fear we were all drawn to the Statue drawn to the mystery represented on the seventh day after discovering the statue something shifted I was jolted awake by a mysterious humming sound it was eerie and all-encompassing a low somber chant that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time do you all hear that Lancaster shouted bewildered it's almost like a deep sea whale so
ng he added Jess shook her head in wonderment no it's more subtle than that like the sound the wind makes when it's Whispering through trees Antonio said sadly to me it sounds like an old lullaby Simone said nothing her face pale and her eyes wide we all tried to trace the source of the noise the humming led us to the frost serpent statue it was glowing the crystalline material of the statue was illuminated from within casting an ethereal otherworldly light that pulsed in time with the humming t
he glow was mesmerizing beautiful and terrifying all at once for a moment the humming stopped we stood in awe watching is the light dance to cross the intricately carved scales there was a deafening silence before the humming commenced growing louder with each passing second the humming continued to resonate from the horrific Frost serpent statue casting a vile glow that bathed the Frozen innards of the winterborn in a sickly radiance the putrid light skittered across its sculpted scales and raz
or teeth making us recoil at the grotesque transformation then the monstrosity moved the sculpture seemingly made of ice and Legend heaved shedding its Frosty layer like a molting creature as it uncoiled its carved eyes sparkled to life emitting a ghastly light that Twisted the Shadows around us into grotesque Phantoms the serpent stirrings echoed through the icy Hall of the ship trapping Us in an orchestra of Terror my heart fell into my stomach each limp B echoing my dread the terror of the ta
il was real the frost serpent a beast of myth and Nightmares held dominion over us its chilling gaze pierced the darkness its monstrous present a blight within the winterborns one silent hold as it moved a cavity was revealed in the floor beneath it a sickly light pulse from within matching the rhythm of the Serpent's glow Simone looking more corpse-like than ever in the vile glow approached and reached into the cavity pulling out a cursed Crystal shard The Shard vibrated mirroring the Serpent's
Cadence and upon its surface ancient etchings glodominously she said the etchings were Nordic and translated them a voice barely a whisper it's a prophecy as Simone's horrifying words faded a gut-wrenching dread enveloped me we were the Chosen Few entrapped and enslaved by this nightmarish Beast suddenly a blinding flash tore through the winterborn a shock wave of power that brought us to our knees one by one my team fell prey to the Shockwave their soul slowly succumbed their will shattering l
ike thin ice under the weight of Terror each one met a chilling end their screams of finality echoing through the cold steel and Ice of the ship their faces Twisted in a grotesque Tableau of horror are imprinted onto my psyche haunting my every waking moment stalking my nightmares now I am the only one left a lone survivor in this God forsaken place I huddle alone in the belly of the ship the biting cold knowing it my already numbing bones but how did I manage to survive during the blinding flas
h I had instinctively ducked behind an ice coated pillar a remnant of the winterborn's once Majestic design it somehow shielded me from the worst of the shockwave's impact maybe it was sheer luck or maybe the prophecy had deemed me to survive I don't know but I do know this I was not unscathed my body Bears the scars of the Frostbite the ever-present cold biting deeper with each passing second my mind Teeters on the precipice of Sanity the loneliness in dread testing my resolve but the worst of
it is the cursed Shard The Shard rests in my frostbit in hand an unwanted relic of our grave error it hums continuously a sad Lullaby of our doomed fate a constant reminder of our Folly in my own hand in this Macabre scenario and all I wanted was a piece of gold I didn't think I would survive but survive I did and continue I must every breath is a small victory against the Frozen serpent every beat of my heart is a Defiance against the biting cold and the omnipresent dread I continue to document
hoping that someone might find my records hoping that our story does not get lost in the sightsee abyss hoping Against All Odds that I may yet survive this terrifying ordeal [Music] [Music]
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