Chương 14: Chapter 13: The Thing Beneath the River — Part II

The creature crashes against the formation again before anyone can fully process the realization. Water erupts across the chamber floor as the corrupted vessel drives itself forward through the collapsing current surrounding its body. The buried river still clings to it instinctively, spiraling around the exposed flesh in desperate attempts to preserve the structure holding the corruption together but the redirected flow keeps tearing those layers away.

Every surge of the current reveals more of the thing trapped beneath the water. Garrick holds the center of the line while the soldiers tighten formation around him. Exhaustion drags visibly through their movements now. Shields splinter under repeated impacts. Spear shafts crack against warped flesh and collapsing currents. Several men carry wounds bleeding steadily into the floodwater swirling around their legs. Still the formation endures.

The creature slams one massive arm against the shield wall hard enough to drive the front rank backward another step across the chamber floor.

"Stay together," Garrick orders sharply. The river clergy continue forcing the buried current sideways through the runoff channels despite the strain threatening to break them as surely as the soldiers holding the formation. Their chants echo unevenly through the chamber now, deeper and rougher than before while the redirected flow keeps grinding against the corruption anchoring the spiral beneath the basin. The river answers them, slowly and reluctantly. But the current is changing.

The water surrounding the creature grows thinner with every passing moment. Earlier the river wrapped around its body almost seamlessly, hiding flesh beneath dense spiraling currents. Now entire sections of the vessel remain exposed for several seconds before the corruption can drag enough water back around them again. The symbols carved into its chest pulse darkly beneath the floodwater. The creature convulses violently each time the redirected river strips more current away from the body.

Its movements lose stability afterward, forcing raw strength into attacks that once carried deliberate precision. The corruption is panicking. Another spear punches deep into the exposed side of its torso while Garrick drives forward beside the strike and tears his blade across the binding marks spread beneath the creature's ribs. The reaction is immediate. The river surrounding the vessel explodes outward in a violent surge that crashes across the chamber hard enough to extinguish two more lanterns.

Water slams against the walls while the creature recoils sharply, one arm collapsing entirely beneath the redirected flow before reforming again in a slower, weaker shape.

"…stop…" it rasps wetly through the floodwater pouring from its mouth. The words drag through the chamber with painful effort.

"…must… hold…" One of the younger soldiers' stares at the exposed body in visible horror.

"Saints…" The thing still thinks it is containing something. That realization settles heavily through the room. The vessel does not attack like a predator defending territory. Every desperate strike, every violent surge against the formation comes from the same instinct buried deep inside the corruption twisting through its flesh. Hold the river. Hold the seal. Hold the thing below. The prison has survived so long that the vessel itself no longer understands the difference between containment and corruption.

The eldest river cleric's expression tightens sharply as the redirected current tears more water away from the body.

"The river wants it gone," she says quietly. I understand immediately. The buried current spent years trapped beneath the spiral forcing corruption back upward through the chamber. Now the redirected flow keeps trying to return to its natural course beneath the city, and the vessel anchoring the corruption has become the obstruction standing against it. The river itself is trying to tear the prison apart. The creature senses it too. Its attacks grow increasingly frantic afterward.

It surges against the shield wall again and again while the corruption forces ruined flesh beyond its limits. One swollen arm, smashes into a soldier hard enough to throw him sideways into the flooded stone. The formation bends dangerously under the pressure. Garrick steps forward before it can break. He catches the next impact head-on, shield buried against the creature's exposed torso while the soldiers around him lock formation tightly enough to absorb the force together instead of separately.

Then he drives forward. The entire line advances with him. Spears punch through the unstable current and sink deep into exposed flesh across the creature's chest and shoulder. Dark fluid bursts into the floodwater while the redirected river tears more current away from the vessel's collapsing body. For the first time since emerging from the buried river, the creature staggers backward and the chamber trembles around us.

The basin beneath the grate churns violently while the inward spiral feeding the corruption weakens further beneath the redirected current. Water no longer flows cleanly toward the creature. Competing currents rip through the chamber instead, stripping away the river protecting the vessel piece by piece. The flesh beneath emerges fully now, swollen and distorted and deep inside the collapsing torso, something darker moves beneath the ribs. Something buried inside the vessel itself.

The movement beneath the creature's ribs twists slowly against the exposed flesh. At first the shifting current hides it beneath layers of dark water and ruptured muscle, but every surge of the redirected river strips more of the vessel apart. Torn flesh hangs open across the creature's torso now while the binding marks carved into its chest pulse unevenly beneath the floodwater pouring through the chamber. Something inside the body is trying to emerge. The creature feels it.

Its entire form convulses violently as the corruption forces damaged flesh back into motion through sheer persistence. One arm, lashes outward against the shield line with enough force to crack another shield apart while the vessel drives itself forward again despite the river tearing continuously against it. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"…hold…" it rasps through a ruined throat.

"…must… hold…" The words sound weaker now. Not because the creature is surrendering but because the thing holding it together is failing. Garrick sees the opening immediately.

"Forward pressure," he orders sharply.

"Do not let it recover." The soldiers advance together through the floodwater. Exhaustion weighs on every movement now, but discipline keeps the formation intact. Shields lock shoulder-to-shoulder while spears thrust through the unstable current surrounding the vessel whenever exposed flesh appears beneath the collapsing water. The strikes matter more with every passing moment. The redirected river keeps stripping protection away faster than the corruption can rebuild it.

Water spirals violently around the chamber, fighting itself beneath the basin while the clergy force the lower current farther eastward through the flooded runoff channels. The buried river wants its course back and the vessel anchoring the spiral is breaking apart under the strain. Another spear drives deep into the creature's side. Garrick follows immediately behind the strike and buries his sword across the binding marks carved into the exposed ribs once more. The reaction tears through the chamber.

The vessel screams. Water erupts outward from the body in violent waves while the creature doubles inward around the wound, its distorted torso twisting sharply as the redirected river rips another layer of current away from the exposed flesh beneath. This time the thing inside the ribs becomes visible. Several soldiers recoil instinctively. Dark growths pulse beneath the opened chest cavity like roots woven through flesh and bone alike.

Thick black strands spread between the organs and ribcage in dense branching patterns, feeding deeper into the vessel's body while the corruption forces the failing structure to keep moving. The thing beneath the city rooted itself inside the vessel. This body was never merely carrying corruption. It became part of it. The eldest river cleric stares at the exposed growths in horror.

"God preserve us…" The creature lunges again before she can say more. Desperation drives every movement now. The vessel crashes into the shield line hard enough to throw Garrick backward half a step while one swollen arm tears across the formation toward the exposed flank beside him. A soldier intercepts the strike with his shield, but the impact splinters reinforced oak apart and hurls him sideways.

The creature drives forward immediately afterward, trying to force itself through the weakening center before the redirected river tears it apart completely. Garrick plants himself directly in its path. Water crashes around him as he slams his shield into the exposed torso and stops the creature's advance long enough for the formation to close ranks beside him again. Then the vessel's chest splits wider.

The corrupted growth beneath the ribs pulses violently, through the opened flesh while blackened water pours from the wound in heavy streams. The binding marks carved into the torso begin cracking apart one by one beneath the strain spreading through the body.

"…too much…" the creature chokes wetly.

"… cannot… hold…" The chamber trembles from below. The buried river surges violently beneath the basin while the redirected current tears against the collapsing spiral anchoring the corruption. Water crashes upward through the grate in massive spiraling bursts that slam against the chamber walls before draining back toward the breach behind the vessel. Something beneath the river is pushing upward now that the prison is failing and the creature feels it too. Its attacks lose all structure afterward.

The vessel throws itself against the formation in frantic surges. Entire sections of its body collapse into floodwater before reforming again around exposed bone and corrupted growth. The prison is dying and whatever it was meant to contain is waking beneath it. The formation holds only because everyone in the chamber understands what happens if it breaks. The vessel thrashes against the shield line with desperate strength. Floodwater crashes violently around the soldiers' legs with every impact.

Shields splinter further. Spears shake from exhaustion-strained hands after repeated thrusts into flesh that continues moving long after it should have collapsed. Still the line endures. Garrick remains at the center of it. His armor hangs battered and darkened beneath the chamber water while blood runs steadily down one arm from somewhere beneath the broken plates strapped across his shoulder. Yet every time the vessel surges forward, he steps into the pressure before the line can buckle around it.

The soldiers follow because he does. The creature crashes against the formation again. This time its exposed chest strikes directly into the shields near the center line while blackened growths pulse visibly through the torn flesh hanging between broken ribs. The corruption inside the vessel has spread too deeply now to remain hidden beneath the collapsing current surrounding it. It writhes through the body like roots searching through rotting wood. A spear punches deep into the exposed cavity.

The vessel convulses violently while dark fluid erupts outward across the chamber floor. The corruption lashes around the embedded spearshaft in thick tendrils before Garrick drives his blade downward through the opened wound and tears the weapon free again. The creature screams in pain. The sound drags through the chamber with enough humanity remaining inside it that several soldiers visibly hesitate afterward.

"…stop…" it chokes through the floodwater pouring continuously from its mouth.

"… cannot… break…" The binding marks across its torso crack wider beneath the strain. The redirected river surges harder at the same moment. The buried current no longer merely resists the spiral beneath the basin. It is tearing through it now. Floodwater rushes violently through the runoff channels while the chamber trembles beneath the force of the river reclaiming its natural course beneath the city. The vessel staggers. For the first time since emerging from the breach, it loses balance completely.

One swollen arm, crashes against the flooded stone, while the redirected current strips huge sections of water away from the body in spiraling torrents that drain violently back toward the buried river below. The thing inside the ribs becomes clearer afterward. The corruption has rooted itself deep within the vessel's torso, spreading through flesh, bone and organs alike until the body resembles something grown rather than born. The eldest river cleric's voice tightens sharply.

"The prison is opening." I already know. The thing beneath the city was never sealed beneath stone alone. The vessel itself became the final barrier holding the corruption in place beneath the buried river, but the corruption firstly consumed the vessel and now even its body is failing. The chamber floor cracks loudly beneath another violent surge from below.

Water erupts upward through the grate in towering spirals while the redirected current tears through the basin hard enough to drag several drowned corpses apart completely. The corruption anchoring them collapses as the buried river overwhelms the remaining spiral feeding the chamber. The vessel feels the collapse immediately and panic overtakes it entirely afterward. It surges toward the formation. Garrick braces for the impact.

The collision hits hard enough to throw the shield line backward through the floodwater. One soldier, crashes against the chamber wall while another loses his weapon entirely beneath the surge. The vessel drives itself into the opening immediately, its distorted torso forcing through the broken formation while corrupted growths writhe visibly beneath the torn flesh of its chest. For one dangerous moment, the line begins collapsing. Then Garrick roars.

The sound cuts through the chamber sharper than the river itself.

"Stand!" The soldiers answer instantly, not because the line is unbroken, not because they still hold advantage, because they trust the man shouting the order. The formation closes again around the breach while Garrick stops its advance long enough for the surrounding soldiers to drive spears deep into the failing body from both sides. The creature convulses violently, the corruption inside it pulses once, then the vessel's chest tears fully open.