The Swamp Road

By midday the terrain had changed. The packed dirt of the northern road gave way to softer ground and stands of tall grass that whispered in the wind. The air grew heavier. In the distance the dark line of the Mythril Mine’s outer ridges rose against the sky. Between the party and those ridges lay a wide stretch of swamp.

Barret studied the map they had bought in Kalm. “Only way forward without adding two days to the walk. We cross it.”

Cloud took the lead again. The ground turned spongy under their boots. Shallow water pooled in low spots. The grass grew high enough in places to hide movement. They advanced in a tight group, weapons ready. The tracks of the black-cloaked figures had vanished in the soft earth, but the fresher boot prints of the Turks remained, heading the same direction.

Halfway across the swamp the water deepened. Something large moved beneath the surface. A long, scaled body broke the water a short distance to their left. The Midgar Zolom rose in a sudden surge of spray and muscle, its massive form towering over the grass. Yellow eyes fixed on the group. The serpent struck.

Cloud met the first lunge with the Buster Sword, the blade turning the creature’s head aside in a spray of swamp water. Barret opened fire, the gun-arm hammering rounds into the thick scales. Tifa closed distance and drove a powerful kick into the side of the neck. Aerith stayed back, casting what restorative magic she could to keep the others on their feet.

The fight was short and brutal. The Zolom thrashed, tail sweeping wide enough to force them to scatter. Cloud climbed the coils when the opening came and drove the sword deep behind the head. The creature convulsed once, then collapsed into the water with a heavy splash that soaked them all.

They did not linger. The scent of blood would draw other things. The group pushed on through the remaining stretch of swamp until the ground firmed again and the grass thinned. Ahead the entrance to the Mythril Mine stood open in the rock face, a dark mouth reinforced with old Shinra plating.

Boot prints marked the dirt near the entrance. Fresh. More than one set.

Barret checked the charge on his gun-arm. “They’re inside. Or they just went in.”

Cloud settled the Buster Sword on his back and started forward. Tifa moved up beside him. Aerith followed close. The four of them entered the mine in silence, the light of day falling away behind them as the tunnel swallowed the sound of their steps. The air turned cool and mineral-scented. Somewhere deeper in the dark the Turks were waiting, and beyond them the trail of Sephiroth continued north.