The Rainlands: Grand Delusion

Chapter 2: Monster In The River

Once Levi was settled, Dan grunted as he pushed off the shore with an oar, and the boat entered the frothing water. The big boatman straightened his back, aware that the boy wished to join him fishing on the waters next year. Dan's strong muscled shoulders skillfully maneuvered them through the little blue waves at the beach and into the deeper murky river. Out ahead, the floating wagon was moving much more slowly. The single lone man prodding the river bottom with his pole was struggling to fight the fierce underwater currents. Elder Shisshion squinted and muttered darkly.

"What a madman navigating an unknown body of water after the Cataclysm. In a wagon no less! If Levi hadn't seen him, he'd be fish food right around now." Elder Shisshion shook his head and held out a hand to Dan who stopped rowing to reach into his pocket and remove the two Dragonstones. Levi watched as the elder carefully took the stones and moved over to the prow of the boat with him. Sitting next to him, Elder Shisshion examined the stones and then placed one into a small circular holder. Upon touching the wood, for a second there was nothing and then the little wooden circle began to glow softly with the same amethyst light as the stone. Gradually, to Levi's amazement, the glow spread through the whole wooden frame until the entire skeleton of the boat became shimmering, ephemeral. A thin layer of pink light surrounded the boat, giving it an eerie look as it cruised through the river. Its as beautiful as they say!

The Dragonboat rapidly closed the distance with the wagon, two objects on a collision course. The man controlling the wagon had noticed their attempts to reach him and seemed to be poling faster to meet them. Elder Shisshion shouted across the water as Dan redoubled his efforts, rowing even faster.

"Stop! Stop! Don't go any deeper! STOP!" He yelled but it was to no avail. Perhaps they were too far for their voices to carry across the roar of the river, or perhaps the wagon master's ears were too old to hear from such a distance, but he continued along his merry way, his pole sinking ever deeper with each push, to the point where it was so deep he could hardly touch the bottom. It was in that moment which Levi cried out. He pointed a shaking finger into the distance-

"Look! Look! The water's changing!" He shouted and even Dan looked up from his rowing for a moment as the water off in the distance began to swirl strangely, seeming to bulge and collapse like some colossal body was moving about underneath it. A huge whirlpool formed and as it grew, it came steadily closer, it's path unmistakeable. "It's coming for the wagon!"

"Damnit, Dan, row! ROW!" Elder Shisshion laid eyes on the growing whirlpool which was already bigger than their boat, perhaps a couple thousand paces away. Dan immediately bent down and began to row his hardest. Levi mentally calculated the distance between the wagon and their Dragonboat. With the speed the whirlpool was growing, he soon came to a terrifying conclusion. The words of Elder Shisshion before they had left echoed in his mind.

"If we are late, we could be caught in its fury."

"We're not going to make it!" He cried out and Elder Shisshion frantically turned to look at the whirlpool, then the wagon, and back. The old man tossed an oar to Levi, picked up one of his own and began to row!

"Levi, you and I must row too! It's too late to turn back! The River Guardian's rage has been awakened! Our only hope is to reach the wagon before it arrives or there will be no appeasing the Guardian!" The two began to row with Dan. Elder Shisshion was careful to adjust his rowing to match the inexperienced boy's frantic strokes. The pace of the boat picked up but only one thought was on Levi's mind. Will it be enough? His blood coursed in his veins, never could he have imagined that today he would be out on the river, beyond the island, rowing in a race with the River Guardian! Terrified, he rowed until his hands were sore and his muscles burned but he barely cared, the atmosphere was too tense. The three of them continued onwards and soon the wagon was close at hand. Elder Shisshion and Levi desperately waved trying to get the wagon master's attention and finally they did. The man was middle-aged, streaks of white running through his hair and black robes. He looked up, his expression strange as he tried to puzzle out why they were screaming at him.