(Adventure Adrian and the Kings) The Herald Quest

Chapter Sixteen

SIXTEEN

It was late afternoon and we should still have had a few more hours of light left to travel in.  Yet worryingly, the sun was already beginning to set and the safety of the daylight was fading fast. Could the Shadow really have been shortening the days the further north you travelled? We’d trekked for sometime, eventually making it through the miles of wheat in the crop fields and now we headed for the northern towns.

One of the last major hurdles of our journey we would have to face was the Marshes. If we could make it to the other side of this boggy terrain then we would be on the main track towards Quilchester and to Father Valliant’s church. It meant our mission was almost complete.

As we ventured further across the landscape, the ground started to become stickier and slimy, just as we expected. Before too long, we had finally made it to the largest of the swamps. It would no doubt be a dangerous feat to cross this slimy pool but clearly the shortest route to the main road. 

Taking the longer route round the swamp would have added at least another half a day onto our trip and we couldn’t afford to hang around. Even more unfortunate for us, the only way across the muddy lake was a set of small stepping-stones that were dotted across the gooey surface.

“I’m not sure about this. It looks really dangerous,” Grace said as she looked nervously over the bank and into the bubbling sludge below.

“Come on…it’ll be fun,” Jay said excitedly before jumping onto the first rock without a moment’s thought and then bounded onwards without a care. You had to admire the way he shrugged off danger so easily.

“We do need to make up some time,” I grinned towards Grace and hoped she would be up for taking the adventurous option.

“I guess you’re right,” she replied and was more easily convinced than I thought. Her mood seemed to be easing slightly which could only be a good thing for this trip. For her, the quicker we found the Priest, then the quicker we could get home again.

Jay carried on crossing the swamp first, followed by Grace and then I trailed at the back.  Grace and I started to leap from stone to stone and being very careful not to slip in case we fell into the gluey water. I couldn’t imagine trying to drag myself out of that disgusting muck. It would be a horrible way to drown.

We were more than half way across the swamp and things were looking up. All three us were pretty happy that we’d travelled so far and overcome so much danger already. I felt positive about arriving in Quilchester on time and although Jay and Grace still weren’t exactly the best of buddies, at least no one was yelling anymore.

“See…this is fine,” I said and tried to convince Grace that everything was going well.

“Yeah. This is actually kind of fun,” Grace smiled and hopped onto the next stone with excitement.

“I wonder if our luck is changing.”

But suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a muddy mound beginning to rise out of the swamp behind me, like a giant bubble of trapped air. At first I decided it was just gas that was trying to escape from the lake. But then it began to take a more sinister shape.

The sludge gradually transformed into a creature at least five metres high. It looked like a mouldy yeti made totally of mud and gunk. The weird thing lurked over me and by the time I turned around, it was too late to react at all. The swamp monster grabbed my leg with its stringy fingers and lifted me high into the air.

A Guide to the Living World                  Page 253

Swamp Monster