Chương 28: Chapter 25: The Drowned Causeway

The second wave of sound reached James before he made it off the sinking island. Black water lifted in a broad ring across the southern mire, snapping reeds and rocking the two Acidjaw Crocodile corpses as the force traveled beneath them. Something screamed inside the mist, followed by a violent splash large enough to send another ripple across the flooded ruins. James watched the wave reach his boots and looked toward the distant buildings.

"That's either Elizabeth or the angriest fucking bird on Earth," he said as Julie raised her crested head toward the sound. Kevin attached three threads to nearby roots, allowing the vibrations in the water and mud to travel back through his silk. Warm bodies moved everywhere beneath the surface. Several were long enough to be crocodiles, while others traveled upright through water that would have reached James's waist. The island sank another inch as mud closed around his boots.

"We need higher ground before this place finishes becoming a lake," James said as he studied the nearest ruin. The upper floor of a broken stone tower remained above the water roughly sixty feet away, supported by three badly cracked pillars and part of an exterior wall.

"Kevin, tell me you can get us there without making me swim." Kevin answered by firing silk toward a tree between the island and the ruin. The first strand sagged, then two additional lines joined it to form a narrow triangular bridge. James stared at the web while Julie immediately crossed the lowest strand without hesitation.

"That proves the snake can do it," James said as Julie reached the opposite tree and looked back at him. He pulled a Behemoth antler fragment from his belt and checked the Anchor Rune already carved near its base.

"The snake weighs a lot less than the idiot wearing armor and carrying a giant hammer." Kevin tapped the root beneath him. James felt complete indifference through the bond.

"Great. Good talk." He pushed the antler deep into the island and activated the rune. [Anchor Inlay activated.] [Mana: 380/400.] Green light spread into the mud and locked the support in place. Kevin used Living Reinforcement across the silk bridge, turning the three strands into a rigid structure capable of carrying James's weight. James stepped onto it. The web dipped only slightly.

He moved forward one careful step at a time, gripping the upper strands while the Warpstone Warhammer remained secured across his back. The black water below was deep enough to hide almost anything, and he had made it halfway across before something brushed against his submerged boot. James stopped. The shape disappeared.

"Keep moving," he muttered as he forced his next step.

"Nothing good lives in water that looks like somebody dissolved a cemetery in it." A clawed hand erupted from beneath the surface. It closed around his ankle. James lost his footing as the creature pulled him waist-deep into the swamp. Kevin's reinforced bridge tightened around his arms and chest, while the Anchor Rune prevented the entire structure from being dragged free. James caught a glimpse of a pale face under the water.

[Mirebound Lurker — Level 12] The creature had a vaguely humanoid body swollen by the swamp. Gray skin hung loosely across long arms, its fingers ended in curved black claws, and several yellow growths pulsed along the sides of its neck. James drew the warhammer and swung downward. The hammerhead struck the Lurker's shoulder beneath the surface. The creature released his leg long enough for Kevin to pull him upward, and Julie dropped from the tree onto the monster's exposed back. Her fangs entered the neck.

The Lurker twisted violently and caught Julie around the middle. James saw the creature drag her toward the water. Kevin's web tightened first. Julie stopped halfway beneath the surface as Living Reinforcement hardened the strand attached to her crest. James braced one foot against the lower bridge and brought the warhammer down across the Lurker's wrist. Bone broke. Julie tore herself free. The Lurker tried to dive.

James caught its arm with the hammer hook and pulled in the opposite direction while Kevin reinforced the bridge behind him. The creature remained trapped between James's Strength and Kevin's web long enough for Julie to bite the same neck wound again. The Lurker went limp. [You and your bonded familiars have slain a Mirebound Lurker — Level 12.] [Experience awarded.] James dragged himself onto the tree root and sat there for several breaths.

Swamp water poured from his armor, while Julie climbed beside him and shook enough liquid from her body to splash his face.

"Thanks," James said as he wiped his eyes. Julie's amusement entered the bond immediately.

"Very helpful." The tower stood close enough from the tree for Kevin to establish another reinforced crossing. James anchored the next support, spent another twenty Mana, and reached the broken upper floor without encountering anything else large enough to drag him under. He had barely climbed through a collapsed window when something moved inside the tower. A massive humanoid stepped from behind the remaining wall.

[Mirebound Brute — Level 13] The creature stood nearly nine feet tall, with the swollen proportions of a Lurker and thick armor formed from moss-covered plates across its shoulders and chest. One arm ended in a clawed hand large enough to close around James's torso.

"Of course there's something living up here," James said as he raised the warhammer. Julie entered through the window behind him, while Kevin spread silk across the surviving pillars.

"It would've been weird if the abandoned tower was actually abandoned." The Brute charged. James moved beside one supporting pillar and activated Measured Strike. [Mana: 352/400.] Pale lines appeared across the monster's chest and knees. James ignored the armor and targeted the inner side of its right leg, where several thick tendons remained exposed between plates. He swung. The first blow forced the Brute sideways.

The creature answered with a backhand that caught James across the breastplate and threw him into the wall. Runebark and Iron Fox metal absorbed enough force to keep his ribs intact, though the impact knocked the air from his lungs. Julie attacked the Brute's damaged knee. Her fangs entered the exposed tissue. The monster grabbed at her, but Kevin dropped a web across its face before the hand could close. Silver Thread tightened around its head and connected to the tower's central pillar. The Brute pulled.

Stone cracked. James saw the pillar shift.

"Kevin, don't let it bring the fucking building down," he said as he forced himself back onto his feet. Kevin immediately redistributed his web across the other supports, reinforcing the weakened column instead of continuing to resist directly. The Brute tore the web from its face. James struck the damaged knee again. The leg folded. The creature dropped low enough for Julie to launch herself across its shoulders and wrap around the neck.

Her body tightened while the monster reached backward, clawing at the scales along her side. James moved in. Measured Strike revealed a weakness beneath the left collar plate. He drove the hammer into it. The plate broke inward. The Brute roared and caught James around the waist. His feet left the ground.

"Shit." The creature threw him toward the open side of the tower. Kevin caught him with two strands around the breastplate. James swung over the flooded street, slammed against the outer wall, and hung there for half a second while black water churned twenty feet below. An arrow passed over his shoulder. It entered the Brute's throat. The monster staggered. A sharp pulse of sound followed. The air inside the tower compressed hard enough for James to feel the vibration through the stone wall.

The Brute's head snapped sideways, and blood sprayed from the wound surrounding the arrow. Kevin hauled James back through the opening. James landed on one knee.

"Appreciate the assist," he said as he grabbed the hammer again. He had no idea who had fired the arrow, but he recognized the sound attack.

"Also, I'm starting to get sick of being thrown off things." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Julie still held the Brute's neck. James attacked the broken collar plate. One strike widened the gap. The second collapsed the structure beneath it. The Brute fell forward. Julie released and moved clear before James brought the warhammer down across the base of its skull. The creature stopped moving. [You and your bonded familiars have slain a Mirebound Brute — Level 13.] [Experience awarded.] Boots scraped against the broken stairway outside. Isaiah Torrings climbed through the opening first with his bow drawn. Elizabeth Johnson followed him. Her dark hair had been tied behind her head, and narrow metal plates protected the leather armor surrounding her throat and upper chest. Blood covered one sleeve, though James saw no injury beneath it. She stopped when she saw him.

James stood beside the dead Brute with swamp water dripping from his repaired armor, Julie coiled near one leg, and Kevin hanging from the damaged wall. Elizabeth's eyes moved across the monster-material breastplate, Julie's evolved form, Kevin's geometric markings, and finally the faint Anchor Rune carved into the Behemoth antler attached to James's belt.

"You look worse than I expected," Elizabeth said as she approached the corpse. She pulled a short blade from the Brute's throat, revealing that the weapon had been buried there before her sound attack.

"You killed the eastern boss." James glanced down at his battered armor.

"Thanks, I think," he replied as Julie moved closer to him. He nodded toward the dead monster before continuing.

"And we killed the eastern boss. Natalie's group helped, along with Julie and Kevin."

"The System gave you first contribution," Elizabeth said as she cleaned the blade against the Brute's hide. Her tone remained matter-of-fact rather than impressed.

"That means you mattered most."

"You came for this one," James said.

"So did you," Elizabeth replied as she returned the knife to a sheath along her forearm. She glanced toward the flooded street below.

"I arrived first." A heavy splash echoed beneath the tower. James looked over the edge. Five pale shapes climbed the submerged walls, while two Acidjaw Crocodiles approached through the street.

"Congratulations," James said as he raised the warhammer.

"You can keep the tower." Isaiah fired at the first Mirebound Lurker before its head cleared the platform. The arrow entered through the mouth and drove the creature backward, but two more appeared from opposite sides. Julie intercepted one. The Lurker caught her tail before she could retreat and pulled toward the water. Kevin attached a strand to Julie's crest and reinforced it immediately, locking her several feet from the edge. James broke the Lurker's forearm. Elizabeth stepped beside him.

She released a narrow sound pulse that struck the creature across the skull. Julie tore herself free and drove her fangs into its neck before the body fell from the tower. The foundation shook. One Acidjaw Crocodile had rammed the submerged base. Cracks spread through the floor and climbed the remaining wall.

"This structure is coming down," Isaiah said as he put another arrow through a Lurker's shoulder. His calm tone somehow made the statement more convincing.

"We should leave before gravity joins the fight."

"Move where?" James asked as he crushed the injured Lurker's elbow and pushed it away from the edge. The swamp had swallowed almost every street surrounding them.

"Everything is flooded." Elizabeth pointed through the southern mist. A series of half-submerged stone pillars stretched toward the inner mire. The remains of a causeway ran between them beneath several feet of black water.

"There," she said as the tower shifted again.

"The causeway leads toward the Hydra's territory." James looked toward the path.

"Convenient."

"It was dry when we passed it earlier," Elizabeth said as she cut the throat of the Lurker James had pinned. Her voice stayed flat while another three-part roar rolled through the swamp.

"The water rises every time the Hydra becomes active." The tower dropped several inches. James caught himself against the wall. Kevin studied the distant pillars through his threads.

"He can connect them," James said as the spider sent him an impression of triangular spans and anchor points.

"The problem is keeping them stable long enough for us to cross." Elizabeth looked toward the antler fragment in James's hand.

"Your rune stops movement?"

"For a short time," James replied as another impact traveled through the tower.

"Twenty Mana for a basic anchor. More if I need it to resist something heavy or last longer."

"How much Mana do you have?"

"Four hundred at full," James answered as he checked his current reserve. The repeated anchors and Measured Strike had already reduced it.

"Three hundred thirty-two right now." Elizabeth nodded once. No surprise crossed her face, though Isaiah glanced toward James for a second before returning his attention to the water. Elizabeth closed her eyes. A broad pulse moved from her boots into the stone and across the flooded street. The sound entered the water, touched everything moving beneath it, and returned through the floor.

"There are twenty-three monsters between here and the inner causeway," she said as her eyes opened.

"Most are Level Eleven or Twelve. Four are Level Thirteen." James looked at her.

"You can map them through sound."

"I've had practice," Elizabeth replied as another ripple moved between the pillars. Her hand went briefly to the protective metal around her throat.

"Can Spider build the path while we keep the water clear?" James felt Kevin's answer immediately.

"First three spans from here," he said as the spider began firing threads toward the nearest pillar.

"After that, Julie carries new lines forward. I anchor the supports. You and Isaiah keep anything with teeth away from us." Elizabeth nodded. There was no argument over command. They simply began working. Kevin built the first bridge while Julie carried a secondary line across the lower strand. Isaiah fired into anything that approached the surface, and Elizabeth used short sound pulses to disrupt monsters before they could reach the web. James crossed last.

He reached the first pillar and carved an Anchor Rune directly into a Behemoth antler wedge before driving it between two cracked stones. [Anchor Inlay activated.] [Mana: 312/400.] Green light locked the pillar. Kevin reinforced the web. The first crocodile attacked. Its jaws closed around the lowest strand, but Living Reinforcement kept the silk intact long enough for James to hook the creature beneath the jaw and drag its head against the pillar. Elizabeth released a concentrated pulse into its open mouth.

Teeth shattered. James swung. The hammer crushed the weakened skull. [You and Elizabeth Johnson have slain an Acidjaw Crocodile — Level 12.] [Experience awarded.] Isaiah killed one Mirebound Lurker from the next pillar. Julie bit another and immediately moved before it could catch her, while Kevin trapped the claws of a third against the reinforced web until James reached it. They advanced.. Each new pillar carried them farther into the swamp while the water rose below.

James burned twenty Mana at a time to hold failing supports in place, and Kevin's fatigue steadily increased as the reinforced network grew. They reached the fifth pillar when the Hydra finally intervened. An enormous head rose from the mist ahead. Yellow scales covered the long neck, while a crown-shaped ridge of black bone surrounded six glowing eyes. The mouth opened wide enough to swallow James whole. [Mire-Crowned Hydra — Level 15] [Southern Regional Boss.] Acid gathered between its teeth.

"Move!" Elizabeth shouted as the Hydra released the stream. Her voice carried enough force to hit the yellow liquid in midair and divide it around the pillar. Acid crashed into the swamp on both sides. Water hissed. Stone dissolved. Julie's Rune-Touched Scales absorbed part of the magical pressure passing through the attack, but the physical acid landed across Kevin's outer web and began eating through Silver Thread immediately. The bridge collapsed.

James drove the warhammer into the pillar and activated another Anchor Rune while Kevin reinforced every surviving strand. [Mana: 272/400.] Isaiah crossed first. Elizabeth followed. Julie moved beneath them along one surviving line. James jumped last as the pillar dissolved around his boots. The Hydra's head disappeared beneath the mist. Two more wakes moved through the swamp on opposite sides of the causeway.

"Three heads," Isaiah said as he drew another arrow. His eyes moved between the wakes instead of focusing on the place where the first head vanished.

"It surrounds the route before it attacks." Elizabeth watched the water.

"It's pushing us somewhere." The mist opened ahead. A wide stone platform rose from the swamp, surrounded by broken statues and half-submerged pillars. More than thirty survivors occupied the ruins, including numerous people carrying the blue marks of Timothy White's leadership skill. Every weapon turned toward James, Elizabeth, and Isaiah. A man in heavy leather armor stepped forward. The party mark across his throat glowed brightly.

"Stop there," he ordered as the Hydra circled beneath the water behind them. His spear remained pointed directly toward the final section of causeway.

"The southern approach is under Timothy White's authority." James rested the Warpstone Warhammer against one shoulder. Water ran from his armor. Julie and Kevin prepared beside him. Elizabeth's expression hardened as all three Hydra wakes moved closer to the platform. James looked at the Regional Boss. Then at the spear pointed toward him.

"You picked a really stupid place to argue about ownership."