The morning had started routinely: overcast sky, steady currents, quiet gulls. Rowan had set course toward deeper waters he rarely visited, a seabed recently reshaped by fierce storms. Locals claimed storms dredged up forgotten relics, but Rowan always dismissed such warnings. Today, watching unfamiliar waves, he wondered if those stories held some truth.
When he lowered his nets, the boat gave an unnatural lurch, as though something massive snagged below. It took long, tense minutes to maneuver the net free. Frustration simmered until he glimpsed the hulking shape wedged among the ropes. Its outline, both rounded and deliberate, sent an unexpected shiver through him.