Blake nodded in silence when Mallory asked the question; he'd never felt quite like this before. Always he was able to shy back and let his best friend take control of the situation, and that was what was comfortable and familiar to him. Truth be told, he'd much rather have been dealing with shitty chamber pots than taking charge of what seemed like a dangerous mission. Shit, he was right at home with. Shit, he could handle.<br/><br/>"Boy," the captain had told him when the others left his quarters, "it's not treasure you're seekin' here. What I want are clues. Anythin' you can come up with, maps, papers, boxes… it might not make any sense to you, but we both know you're stupider than a stack of concrete blocks, so that won't be a surprise. Just bring back whatever you find."<br/><br/>Blake's fears had gone on a temporary hiatus as the compliment landed home - last time he'd been told he was dumber than a pile of bricks, and that had been a huge deal, but this was a whole new level. The wave of ecstasy was short-lived, though.<br/><br/>"And if you don't find anythin', you'll be sorry. And those lasses with you, they'll be twice as much."<br/><br/>The dangerous softness of the captain's voice was still ringing in Blakes ears as he walked unsteadily onto the rocky shoreline with the two girls following in his wake. Their instructions were pretty clear, but it was still both a relief and a source of alarm when the cavern crawled into view up ahead. The ship bobbed along in the water behind them, anchored in place - it wouldn't leave the spot until the kids returned. Assuming they did, anyway.<br/><br/>Blake gulped, and it seemed one of the others picked up on his concern.<br/><br/>"I know you'll lead us well, Blake," said the girl whose name he still didn't know. "I trust you<span style="font-style: italic">completely</span>," she added with a smile beneath her dark, glittering eyes. He smiled back, though his grin was much more nervous by comparison.<br/><br/>They reached the entry, and it looked like a perfectly normal cave, aside from the fact that the roof plunged down rather abruptly after the first stretch. After that it was low, low enough to mean they would have to crawl through a tight space for who knew how long.<br/><br/>"Well.. s'go," Blake said, trying to sound braver than he felt.