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((This is gonna be a short story. It's setting is, well, modern, which is something different for me, since I usually do fantasy and medieval. It's gonna be about two men searching for the great Ineffable Ring of the Creator, and the Brass Vessel which harbors 72 spirits. It'll be done in first person and written like a journal. First it'll be one guy's journal, then another's. Might not be the best, but I wanna try it. I've been reading more and more about King Solomon and I grow more interested with every word I read. So here's a story about a journey to find his greatest treasures.))


Sept. 1st

Hello. My name is John Mocks, and I have a beautiful wife and a seven year old son. I, myself, am thirty-eight. My friend, Joe Nomolos, asked me to keep a journal for this adventure. You see, he has some crazy quest in his head to find some weird thing. He won't tell me what exactly the thing is, he only refers to the object as it. 'It' sounds awfully important, and he said that he needs a companion for this journey of his, and he chose me. How could I refuse? I was his history professor in college, and we've stayed in close touch ever since. I'm getting sentimental, so back to what I was saying. For this journey, a journal should apparently be kept, and Joe said he'll be keeping one too, and at the end, we'll compare them for the most accurate story. That's what confuses me. Story? What exactly are we looking for? Is it news worthy? The way he talks about it is almost scary, as if he worships the damned thing. Anyway, tomorrow, we head to Jerusalem by boat. Yes, boat. He insists we travel by water, and not be plane, and he won't give me a reason, although I could have sworn I heard him mumble about not wanting to be close to the heavens. I've never known him to be a pious man, so that bit was a little troubling. Well, it's getting late. I'll try to update this once a day, if I'm permitted to. Joe's an ambitious guy, I doubt he'll even let us stop for the night to rest. So g'night, see you tomorrow, old paper and pencil!

Sept. 2nd

It's me again. We're on the boat and heading towards Jerusalem. The captain of the ship said we'll arrive within a few days. Ah, yes, I know I said this journal would be about the adventure but I want to take a quick detour. The captain, he looks...strange. I can't quite describe it, but he has this strange look to him. It's almost not human. He and Joe seem really close, though, and they embraced like old friends when we arrived at the boat. If Joe trusts him, I guess I will too. It's just, those eyes...They aren't normal. I can't put my finger on it though...
Anyway, I got a little update on this adventure. I heard him and the captain talk about it. Apparently, we're going to go scuba diving! He never told me about that, he knows I don't like diving. Back to the update, it's apparently some strange container made from brass. An old thing, to be sure, they make it sound ancient. How do they hope to find something like that in this ocean? And I don't even see any scuba gear on this boat, Joe certainly didn't bring any with him! It's a scary thought, but Joe seems to have a plan. I'm getting tired, so I'm going to head to bed. Night!

Sept. 3rd

It's about seven o'clock at night and, man, something strange happened today! I told you about the scuba diving plan, right? And remember how I mentioned no scuba gear? Well, Joe went diving, and he didn't even bring anything with him! It was crazy, pure madness. He was in blue swimming trunks, and was wearing this strange ring. He gave me a smile, and said, "trust me!" then plunged himself into the watery abyss! Just like that! I quickly went to the captain, but he only crossed his arms and laughed at me like I'm some kind of idiot! I was so worried, and minutes turned to hours and Joe didn't come back. I was about to try going in after him when I heard a gasp, and turned to see Joe emerge from the water with a frown. He was a bit disappointed that he didn't find it, and was muttering cursing when I helped him out. Another crazy thing, he wasn't wet! I asked him how he did it, and he looked at me like I was speaking another language. I kept asking until finally he chuckled, and placed his hand on my shoulder and told me that he'll "tell me when I'm older." What kind of joke is that? I'm fifteen years older than him! Ugh, this weird stuff is making my head spin. Maybe I was tired, and missed something? Maybe he did have it and I just didn't notice, but that doesn't explain how he wasn't wet! If I ask him, he'll just laugh at me again, so I'll keep quiet. It's just all so weird...

Sept. 4th

Another day of scuba diving, and another day of confusion. It was the same as yesterday, he just dived right in without any gear at all! And just as he did yesterday, he came back dry and wearing a frown on his face. He still won't tell me how he does it. I'm getting a little freaked out now. I heard Joe and the captain arguing earlier, it sounded horrible, as if they were about to physically lash out at each other at any moment. Luckily, I think nothing happened. I didn't hear anything weird, so that's good, I guess. Still, how does he breathe under water without an air tank? And how come he comes up dry? This is making my head hurt.

Sept. 7th

Back. Sorry for not updating, but nothing new happened. I'm updating now because we're a day away from land, then we'll continue our search on foot. Joe has an some idea of where to look next, and he said we won't be traveling far. I've given up on asking him about what we're looking for, and how he breathed under water. I'll ask him later, I guess.

Sept. 8th

Hello. We're finally off that boat, and on the ground! Oh how I missed it, and I definitely won't miss the confusion caused by Joe. That diving trick of his, it's not right, and I'm happy that he can't do it anymore, since there's no more water. Well, we spent the day walking, not really any searching, and then finally set up camp. Our makeshift camp consists of a small fire, two tents, and food that we brought with us. I wasn't really prepared to camp out, I expected us to be staying in a hotel or something, but Joe had other plans. Plans that he didn't tell me until the last second, of course.
Anyway, I want to talk about the campfire. It was weird, Joe was mumbling something in words I didn't recognize. It sounded almost like a chant, and the more he spoke, the brighter the fire became. I don't know how he does it, but I'm done asking questions. It's not worth it, it's probably just some prank of his, to freak me out. Well, I hope it's a prank.