Competition entry no 3

You are traveling to port Haypi on a small passenger ship, accompanied by your fiancee. You intend to be married once you reach the port. One night a terrible storm errupts, and it's all hands on deck. Suddenly, an enormous whirlpool appears, just in front of the ship. Then, to your horror, you see the girl you plan to marry be swept overboard and disappear into the whirlpool, which disappears as quickly as it came. You rush to the side of the ship, shouting her name but there is no sign of her. You are about to dive into the foaming sea when you feel a hand on your shoulder. You turn to see a fellow passenger. He says "it will do no good to dive in. She is not there". "what do you mean?" you cry. "I know of that whirlpool. It takes you, not down into the sea, but into the future. If you want to see her again you must follow her."
"But how? The whirlpool is gone."
"There is only one way I know of. It is said that, scattered across the sea floor, there are eight relics. The person who finds them all will discover a door to the future. That is what you must do."

(I have written this, and my other entries, as the gamer playing a man. But I think whichever story is chosen should be adaptable so that the player can choose to be a man or a woman. Girls, (like me!) will want to play this game and it can be off putting if the prologue suggests that it's just a boys game.)