Something unnatural.

1. As the storm quickly grew in intensity, a strong breeze carried a salty mist into the village. June peered out at the ship on the horizon. It was quickly approaching the sandstone cliffs. She froze. “They’re returning already!” She could only hope that there had been enough time to prepare. June rang the warning bell at the top of the hill with a loud CLANG! As the mist became a light rain, June noticed that the ship had gotten surprisingly closer. It almost seemed as though the ship was being… propelled. No, the ship was being carried by something humongous, a giant shadow underneath the hull. And the storm was following in its wake. Already the villagers were beginning to meet by the cliffs, chatting nervously but prepared with the weapons and defenses that they could find.

2. Panic and fear racked the crew of the Black Hawk. No one really knew what to expect when Natasha held the Jewel of the Seas aloft, but a bottomless pit appearing before them was not anywhere on the radar. Neither was the eldritch beast which arose from the pit.
   
   W̶̾͝Ẽ̸͊ ̷̄͑Ȧ̷͗R̶͐̍E̶̎̕ ̵̈THŔ̸̐Ő̸̾M̵͠.
   
   The deep voice penetrated their very souls.
   
   B̸̈́͌E̸̽̌C̷̋͝O̵̅͒M̸̓͒Ĕ̶͉ ̶̕OUR VE̵͋͌S̶̔̚S̴͛̕Ẽ̷L.
   
   The bodies of Natasha and her crew lurched and her eyes turned a bright red.
   
   D̸̂̄Ē̴̚S̵̅͝T̵̂̐R̷̅͠Ö̷́͛Y̶̏ THE GIRL.
   
   Without a word, the possessed crew of the Black Hawk turned their ship back to the village…
   
   Back on the sandstone cliffs, June felt something hit her shoulder. Turning around she found a piece of paper wrapped around a small stone. Unfurling it, the message read: “Meet me in the crypts. We need to chat”

3. June could only guess what was going on. She feared the sea, and thereby, knew little of it. But one story in particular had always stuck with her: the story of the gem. Naturally… she purchased a rowboat and set sail oar for the storm.
   
   At the center of the maelstrom, Natasha had taken the gem to Charybdis, the bottomless pit that lie in the deep. She simply wanted to meet… for a chat. With the gem. She had planned meticulously for this. Years upon years of research and pillaging. Well… almost meticulously, at least. She did forget to properly inform her crew, which thought this was The End. Ignoring her disorderly crew, she raised the gem and exploded her voice into the deep,  “Zenzizenzizenzic and zenzizenzizenzic powers raised, closer and closer to your mathematical ways. Instead by zero let infinity shine, so now let thine power be mine!”

4. A small town abuzz with chaos sent out a “smell” that a nearby sleeping dragon noticed. Little psychic screams infiltrated the cozy den of the dozing dragon. Mir lifted an eyelid as well as her nose. She stirred irritably at the interruption to her snooze but that passed when her senses grabbed onto something. Not people, well, yes, there’s people: there’s always people, but something else. A jewel? THE Jewel? Mir stretched her wings out and gazed out the cave door that fell directly into a bottomless pit. While making up her mind that she’d need to go introduce herself to whatever bozo, correction, lovely person that happened to be holding a dazzling jewel, she walked toward the cave entrance. As she stepped off the ledge, she pushed down with her wings and she thought, “Amazing! New friends to meet! We might have a nice chat or some exciting negotiations.”

5. As June set sail, her mom’s words echoed in her head. “Go to the orchard of the sea goddess. There you’ll find the high priestess Anthalia. Meet with her, she should know more about the gem that the pirates took.” “Don’t worry Mother, I promise to end whatever they plan on doing” June thought as she sailed onward.
   
   It was sunset by the time June made landfall on the island orchard. To her surprise, a clocked figure was waiting on the beach. “Umm.” June stammered “Hi… I’m looking for…” The figure raised a hand. “The winds have told us of your need to meet with our high priestess. Come, there is much to chat about.”