The Pendelton Cruiser rolled down the final slope of the mountain range. The air turned heavy and humid. The sharp smell of pine needles was replaced by the smell of stagnant water and rotting vegetation.
They had reached the Rotting Fen.
It was a vast ocean of mud, green water, and twisted trees covered in moss. There was no road here. Just patches of wet land separated by deep, murky channels.
Arthur brought the car to a stop at the edge of the water.
"Seal check," Arthur ordered.
"Doors are locked," Vivian reported, pulling the handle to test it. "Windows are up."
"Engaging Amphibious Mode," Arthur flipped a switch.
Under the car, mechanical flaps closed over the air intakes. The exhaust pipe (which was mounted high, like a snorkel) chugged rhythmically. The steam engine switched its output from the wheels to a propeller mounted at the rear.
"We are now a boat," Arthur announced. "A very heavy, un-aerodynamic boat."
He drove into the water.
SPLASH.
The brown water rose up over the hood. Julian gasped, pulling his legs up. But the seals held. The car bobbed, settling deep into the water, floating like a steel cork.
As they drifted slowly through the swamp, navigating between the massive roots of the cypress trees, the conversation turned to their destination.
"Arthur," Vivian said, looking at the map on the iScroll. "We are heading for the Royal Capital. That is where my father lives. That is where the Royal Guard HQ is."
"Correct," Arthur said, steering the car-boat with the wheel.
"But we are fugitives," Vivian argued. "If we drive up to the City Gates, they will arrest us. How do we fix the pump if we are in a dungeon?"
Arthur shook his head. "We aren't going to the City Gates, Vivian. We aren't going to the Royal Palace."
He pointed to the map, Runeware.
"The King's Capital—Neo Osgard—is only three hundred years old. It sits on the surface."
Arthur tapped the screen, switching to a topographical view that showed the layers beneath the earth.
"The Atherian Capital—the Old Empire—is buried two miles beneath your father's throne room."
"Buried?" Zack asked. "How?"
"When the first Mana Meltdown happened two thousand years ago," Arthur explained, "the earth swallowed the old city. The survivors built the new kingdom on top of the ruins, tapping into the Ley Lines."
Arthur looked at his friends.
"We are sneaking into the most guarded city in the world. But we aren't stopping there. We have to find the ancient elevator shaft in the sewers and descend into the Undercity."
"The Undercity," Julian shivered. "The nursery rhymes say it is haunted."
"It's not haunted," Arthur said. "It's just... abandoned. And guarded by things much worse than Royal Guards."
...
The car drifted deeper into the swamp. The fog grew thicker.
"Movement," Zack whispered, staring at the sonar screen on the iScroll. "Something large. Directly under us."
Arthur gripped the wheel. "Depth?"
"Ten feet. It's following the hull."
Suddenly, the car lurched. Something slammed into the undercarriage with the force of a battering ram.
BOOM.
"Hull breach negative!" Arthur yelled. "Armor holding!"
The surrounding water began to boil. A massive shape surfaced.
It looked like a leech, but it was forty feet long. Its mouth was a circular maw of spinning teeth. Its skin was slimy and grey.
[Threat Identified: Swamp Maw.] [Class: Ambush Predator.] [Weakness: Salt Electricity.]
"It's trying to latch on!" Vivian yelled. "It wants to suck the mana out of the engine!"
The Maw lunged. It wrapped its body around the car, squeezing. The metal groaned. The propeller churned uselessly against the monster's skin.
"It's dragging us down!" Julian screamed as water splashed over the windshield.
"We need to shock it!" Arthur shouted. "Julian! The generator!"
"Again?" Julian cried. "My arm is still sore from the storm!"
"Crank it! We need high voltage on the hull!"
Julian grabbed the manual crank handle. He spun it furiously. Whir-whir-whir.
"Hull polarization active!" Arthur flipped the switch.
ZAP.
Electricity crackled across the car's skin.
But the leech didn't let go. It shuddered, but its skin was covered in thick slime that acted as an insulator.
"The slime is protecting it!" Arthur realized. "It's insulated! We need to break the slime layer!"
"How?" Vivian shouted.
"Salt!" Arthur yelled. "Salt breaks down the mucus!"
"We don't have salt!" Zack cried. "We ate the last of the salt with the burgers!"
Arthur's mind raced. He looked around the cabin. He saw the wiper fluid tank. He saw the fire extinguisher. He saw the first aid kit.
"The First Aid Kit!" Arthur shouted. "Zack! The smelling salts! (The Ammonium Carbonate)"
Zack scrambled for the kit. He pulled out a handful of small white capsules used to wake up fainting people.
"That's not enough!" Zack cried.
"The flare gun!" Arthur pointed to the emergency box. "Load the capsules into the flare gun! Shoot it in the mouth!"
"That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard!" Julian yelled, still cranking.
"Do it!"
Zack jammed the capsules into the wide barrel of the flare gun. He rolled down the window just a crack.
The Maw's face was right there, grinding against the glass.
POP.
Zack fired.
The capsules flew into the monster's open mouth. They shattered on impact.
Chemical reaction.
The concentrated ammonium salts hit the sensitive, wet membrane of the leech's throat.
SCREEEEEEEE!
The beast recoiled instantly. It thrashed, gagging. The slime on its face dissolved.
"Now, Julian! MAX POWER!" Arthur commanded.
Julian screamed and cranked the handle so hard the gears whined.
ZZZZZ-CRACK!
A massive arc of blue electricity shot from the car's frame. Without the slime to protect it, the bolt hit the monster's raw flesh.
The Swamp Maw convulsed. It released the car and sank beneath the murky water, retreating into the deep mud.
"Engine to full!" Arthur slammed the throttle.
The propeller spun. The car surged forward, cutting through the water.
They hit the muddy bank on the other side of the swamp. The wheels found traction. The car drove up onto dry land, dripping wet and covered in grey slime.
Arthur killed the engine.
Silence returned to the cabin.
"That..." Vivian breathed, wiping sweat from her forehead. "...was disgusting."
"But effective," Arthur noted. "Chemical warfare. Good thinking with the salts, Zack."
Zack slumped in his seat, holding the empty flare gun. "I want to go back to the library. Books don't try to eat you."
Arthur looked at the map. The swamp was behind them.
Ahead, the land began to rise again. In the distance, silhouetted against the setting sun, were the massive stone walls of a city.
The Royal Capital.
It was beautiful. White towers, golden spires, and flying flags. It looked like paradise.
But Arthur knew the truth.
"It looks peaceful," Arthur said quietly. "But underneath... the bomb is ticking."
He checked the countdown.
[Time Remaining: 25 Days.]
"We made good time," Arthur said. "But now comes the hard part."
"Fighting the monster?" Julian asked.
"No," Arthur started the engine. "Getting inside. The City Gates are guarded by the Elite Royal Guard. And they have our faces on wanted posters."
"So we sneak in?" Vivian asked.
"We can't sneak a tank," Arthur patted the dashboard. "We need a disguise. Or... a distraction."
Arthur drove the car into a cluster of trees, hiding it from the road.
"We camp here tonight," Arthur ordered. "Tomorrow, we enter the Capital. But we aren't going as Arthur, Julian, and Vivian."
"Who are we going as?" Zack asked.
Arthur pulled a crate of spare clothes from the trunk—greasy overalls and welding masks.
"We are the Royal Sanitation Department," Arthur grinned. "We're here to fix the sewers."
End of Chapter 44