Spring was here. But that didn't mean winter couldn't still be a problem.
"Vim it's frozen," Renn said over the wind.
I sighed as I glanced up and down the ravine. The bridge connecting the two was indeed frozen over, which was honestly a surprise. There was still snow on the ground, but it was old. Fresh snow hadn't fallen in days.
But it had possibly rained since.
And during the cold night…
"Will it break?" Renn asked as she stepped a little closer to study the bridge. I kept a keen eye on her. There was a lot of snow, and running water, beneath the bridge in the ravine but that didn't mean she'd survive the fall. There were a lot of very sharp rocks all along the way down.
"Careful Renn," I warned.
She nodded as she stepped back, having seen enough.
With a sigh I debated it. If I was alone I'd have been halfway across the bridge by now… but with her…
This ravine separated two large mountains. At one time they had been connected, of course, but either an earthquake or some kind of underground shift of aqueducts had formed the crack. It was too big to just jump over or circumvent, and was miles long.
It was the reason I had been able to validate spending months at the smithy. Crossing this mountain during the winter was literal suicide. No one accomplished. Well, humans didn't.
Thanks to some foolish moments in the past, members of the Society had given birth to stories. Legends. The kind that made it difficult for me to travel with anyone over this mountain with company. I didn't blame anyone, especially since we had traversed in a rush out of necessity… but it did make it hard for me today.
Why did humans forget things so quickly, yet their stupid stories and legends lasted generations?
"Is there another way?" Renn asked as she glanced down the ravine. Towards the northern point.
"There isn't. This crack runs along backward, sending us days out of our way," I said. By the time we went that far this bridge would be thawed.
"So…?" Renn stared at me, obviously wondering what the problem was.
Why not go that way then? She seemed to want to ask.
Because I wasn't in the mood to stay on this mountain any longer. That was why.
"Let me check it," I said simply.
"Check it? Vim it's frozen so solid it isn't even swaying," she said as I stepped towards the bridge.
"It's not swaying because it's heavy because of the ice, not because it's frozen," I said.
"That's no better!"
It wasn't. But oh well.
Stepping out onto the bridge, I immediately noticed how slick it was.
Yep. It had definitely rained. Probably not last night, but the night before. There was a good inch and a half or so of ice covering this whole thing.
Glancing across the bridge, to the other side… I tried to guesstimate how much weight was on it.
Far more than it had been built to withstand.
The bridge wasn't that old, actually. A nearby local lord had commissioned its structure about twenty odd years ago. Nebl and I had actually been a part of the crew that built it. Not just for the money, but to make sure it had gotten done properly.
I trusted our own handiwork. Especially since half the connections and support beams weren't pig iron, but hardened steel.
Stepping a few feet out onto the bridge, I heard it creak loudly as it complained at my extra weight.
Hm…
"Vim, come on," Renn complained from behind me. I knew she wasn't worried over the height, but rather me.
She didn't know I could survive this fall without issue. Although it would piss me off.
Grabbing the thick ice that covered the rope handle, I intentionally caused the whole bridge to sway a little. It rocked just a tad, and I heard countless cracks erupt from all over the bridge. Parts of the bridge weren't as solidly frozen as the others.
"Gah you're crazy!" Renn whined.
I nodded as I turned back around and went back to her. The moment I stepped off the bridge and back onto the snow covered ground Renn grabbed me by the arm. "We can just go around can't we?" she asked.
"We could. But I think it'll be fine. I want you to cross first, you're much lighter than me," I said.
"First! Vim!" She shouted at me, and then looked around me as to stare at the bridge. "No way!"
"Yes way. You weigh nothing. It won't even notice you. The bridge is solid. Just quickly hop on over there and I'll follow afterward," I said.
Renn's face contorted into very visible frustration and concern, but I ignored it as I pulled her around and patted her on the back, directing her to the bridge.
"Vim this is crazy, that thing looks like it could shatter with a sneeze!" she complained.
"That's rude to Nebl," I told her.
"Huh? Nebl?" she glanced at me at the mention of his name.
"Well yeah, he's the one who built it you know," I said.
Renn blinked wildly and then looked back at the bridge. Suddenly she seemed not as worried as before. "Really?" she asked.
"Really."
"Are you sure it won't break?" she asked.
"Sure enough. I put my whole weight on it and shook it too, you saw me do it. It didn't break, it's solid enough," I said.
"You only stepped out a few feet though," she countered.
"Far enough. Plus the shaking is what really tested it. The thing barely moved, you saw that. If it was going to break it would have done it then," I said. Which was true. I had shaken it hard enough that if it really was structurally unsound it would have snapped.
Renn groaned for a moment and I noticed that she had grabbed onto her sword. She held the handle tightly with her right hand, as if it could give her confidence.
Did she even realize she grabbed like that?
"If… if it does break while I'm on it, will you save me?" she asked.
Save her? While she falls from a bridge? A frozen one in the middle of a ravine, with certain death below?
"I would try," I said comfortably.
She glanced at me, and for a tiny moment I wished I could lie. I could lie, of course, but not about something like this. Not to someone like her.
I nodded again. "I would, Renn. I promise. And I'm serious, I'd not be telling you to do this if I thought it was actually unsafe," I said.
With one last groan she nodded, and then took a deep breath.
"Go slowly. Just walk naturally," I told her as she stepped forward.
"Gaeh…" she made a weird noise as she reached out to grab onto the frozen rope guide rail. Her pale fingers flinched upon grabbing it, and I wished I had gotten her gloves.
It wasn't my fault though; I had not expected her to have to actually touch anything cold. A little snow for a few hours, sure, but I had thought by now we'd be halfway down the other side of the mountain.
"Okay. Here I go. To fall to my death…" she whispered as she stepped out onto the bridge.
"Death by falling is boring, you're too amusing to die that way," I told her.
She glanced at me with scornful eyes but said nothing. Then she took another step out onto the bridge.
Renn was now on the bridge itself, and she looked as stiff as the bridge did. Her back was straight, and she was being as careful as possible to not let her tail touch any of the bridge's parts. Neither the ropes nor handrails.
"Okay… okay…" she seemed to gain some confidence as she walked forward, realizing that the bridge really didn't notice her at all.
And why would it?
She weighed nothing compared to me. A fifth at most. And she was walking daintily, carefully, with slow precision.
Smiling softly I watched as Renn slowly walked across the bridge. Once she was far enough, she picked up her pace and hurried to the other side.
She ran off the bridge once across, and even ran several feet away from the other side's cliff face. Closer to the trees.
"I made it!" she shouted at me over the ravine. Her voice carried on the winds, and sounded far too thrilled.
"You did," I said softly and stepped forward to join her.
Walking across the frozen bridge, I noticed the spots where she had stepped. Although nowhere near my weight… she had still left imprints. Footprints, in the ice.
Melting ice.
Once I reached the middle of the bridge, I understood what was happening. Or rather had happened. The middle was thawing first, most likely thanks to the excess wind that passed along it compared to the parts near the cliffs. Although the wind was cold, freezing in its own way, it was still warmer out here than it was near the cliffs. Warm enough to start thawing.
"Come on already," Renn said, right as I felt myself step into mush.
Looking down, I stared at the ice I had just disrupted.
Renn's footfall had left a small indent.
Mine had stepped through the melting ice, to the wood beneath.
Half a second later, a giant cracked shot out around my foot. It danced and arced to the right, then headed backward. It shot out quickly, like a lightning bolt, and my eyes followed it the entire way. I had to turn back around to watch it, since it headed the way I came from.
The massive crack followed my footprints. Going from one to another, like guidepost of their own. It kept going until it cracked right into another crack. One from earlier. From my forceful swinging of the bridge.
"Vim…?" Renn's voice echoed alongside the loud sound of the crack. Then something popped. A huge chunk of ice flew upward, breaking off the bridge as if done so by an outside force.
"Well then," I said as I realized what was about to happen.
I spun around and shot forward, which allowed me to rush forward to Renn and the other side… but also furthered the process of the bridge's last moments.
"Vim!" Renn shouted upon seeing what has happening behind me, but I didn't turn to see what was happening.
I knew what was happening. I had seen it before. I had experienced it before.
Though definitely not recently.
For a few footsteps my feet met solid support. My heavy, and quick, feet ushered me along easily. I was only a few dozen leaps to Renn… until my foot met nothing but air.
The bridge went taught for one second, and then snapped. A loud rumble of cracks followed, as the whole bridge snapped in two. Nearly right beneath me.
"Wait!" Renn screamed in shock, but I ignored her for a moment. She was fine. She was on solid ground. On the right side of the mountain.
I was stuck fifty paces beyond. Falling alongside a bridge.
Reaching out I grabbed one of the solidly frozen handrails. Although the main bridge had snapped in two, and the entire thing was now crumbling, it was still connected to the rest of the bridge. It was still something I could use.
Pulling myself forward, I shot upward. I reached out and grabbed onto the wooden boards that made up the bottom of the bridge, as it and myself flew forward toward the cliff.
Renn went out of sight as I fell, and the wild wind became even crazier as for a few moments I flew through the air, until the bridge I hung on to smacked into the cliff's wall.
The impact didn't hurt much, but it caused the whole bridge to break again. Ice shot out in all directions, some of it in massive chunks as big as me. Snow exploded into the air, blocking sight, and for a tiny moment I was weightless again as the bridge bounced along the cliff.
I didn't wait for the bridge to settle. Since I had no idea if it would stay connected to the cliff or not, especially with the wild thrashing. I began climbing even as the bridge flapped in the wind and in the turmoil.
Ignoring the blinding snow, and the ice falling upon me, I clambered upward. Sometimes using the ropes. Sometimes using the floorboards. My newly acquired items, my sword and spear, both clanged and got hit by the falling ice. I didn't care if they got lost, but I wasn't in the mood to fall just because some metal decided to get stuck on a falling bridge piece or rocks. Before I could even finish my thoughts about complaining about the spear and sword, as I climbed I noticed the sensation of slipping. And not because my grip was failing me.
The remnants of the bridge I clung to were falling apart. I had moments left.
Looking upward didn't help much, since the flailing bridge kept dislodging snow and ice and sending more into the air. But even though I couldn't see, I could hear. And I could hear Renn.
"Vim!" she shouted. She sounded far closer than I wanted her to. Hopefully she wasn't foolish enough to be hanging off the ledge or something.
Climbing up a few more feet, I had to quickly reach out and grab onto the cliff's stone. The wound up rope I had been using to climb had snapped, and it with all the wood it was connected to flew off.
"I told you!"
Looking up, the snow finally thinned enough for me to see a pair of ears. They and Renn's hair flapped wildly as she glared at me. She was holding onto the main support beam for the bridge, staring at me with a look of utter blame.
"Yeah, yeah," I said as I hurriedly hefted myself up to her.
A few pieces of rope and broken boards were all that was left of this side's bridge. I used them to clamber back up onto the cliff. The moment I reached up and grabbed onto the last bit of ledge, Renn's hands coiled themselves onto my forearm.
She pulled me up onto solid ground before I could get my own self up over it.
"Solid! Solid and safe!" she shouted at me.
"It had been for you," I said as I allowed her to pull me away from the ledge. As if she thought I was foolish enough to fall back into it after narrowly surviving it.
Glancing back at the open ravine… I sighed at the sight. The other side had a little more bridge left than this one. It had scraped a huge portion of the cliff's snow and ice off, and…
Looked to be hanging by a few threads. Odds were it'd snap and fall soon enough.
Sorry Nebl. He'll be furious to hear I had been the cause.
"And sorry to myself too," I said with a nod.
"You should be sorry!" Renn yelled at me.
"I am!"
Renn squeezed my arm which she held, and started shaking it. She grimaced and looked… rather upset. Was she trying to shake the stupid out of me?
"Gah!" she finally released my arm after a moment, seemingly giving up. A good thing too, since it'd probably take her years to shake enough stupid out of me for it to be even noticeable.
"Are you okay, Renn?" I asked her.
Renn stomped away for a few feet and then turned to look at me. She glared for a moment, and then released a huge sigh. "I'm fine," she said.
"You sure?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes. Other than my heart. Jeez, Vim… do you realize what just happened?" she asked.
"Yeah I need to file a complaint and sue," I said as I checked my stuff. My bag was still on my back, and so was the spear and sword. Funny. I had actually hoped I'd lose both during the event.
"You said Nebl made it!" she shouted.
"When you shout in anger you scrunch up your nose in a very adorable way," I said.
Her face contorted, scrunching up as if she wanted to prove it wasn't just while she was shouting. Then she looked away with a huff.
While she mumbled complaints at me I stepped forward to study the damage. It seemed the support beams were still fine, not just on this side but that side too. Yet everything else was indeed shot. Even if the large portion hanging on the other side remained by the time someone came to fix it, it'd not be worth risking to use it. It would be safer to just cut it and let it go.
"Sucks for the caravans. They really liked this bridge," I said.
"I liked it too, from a distance!" Renn shouted at me from behind. Did she not want to come near the ledge anymore?
Staring down into the ravine, I saw the great plums of snow and ice. I couldn't see any of the bridge, but it had definitely fallen and caused a great commotion… maybe even a small avalanche, based off the way the giant cloud of snow was rolling down the mountain.
I wasn't worried over anyone or anything getting hurt by the resulting avalanche. The only snow on this mountain was here. And there was enough forestry along the mountainside to stop most of the snow, and keep the snow from picking up too much steam. Plus the forest would keep the large boulders and rocks from joining the fray, thanks to their thick roots and foliage.
"Uh… Vim?" Renn finally wasn't shouting anymore, but now she sounded…
Wait…? Concern?
Why? Wasn't the danger over?
Turning around, I expected something dangerous. A large bear maybe. Annoyed at us intruding and causing a ruckus. A group of men, maybe as well. Maybe even the lord of this ravine, demanding payment for breaking his bridge.
Instead Renn was standing a few feet away, near the trees. Staring at something in front of her. Something covered in snow and…
Stepping up next to her, I sighed at the sight of frozen corpses.
They had wrapped themselves in a set of blankets, and the blankets had frozen to them. There seemed to be an older man, based off the black beard, and he was holding a woman. It was hard to tell thanks to the layers of snow and ice, and the blanket wrapped around them, but it looked as if there was a third smaller individual between them.
Renn had gone as still as they, so I stepped closer. Bending down I brushed some of the snow and ice away to see.
Yes. It was a child. A young boy.
"H…how does this happen?" Renn asked.
"Quicker than you think. They dared the pass, and couldn't cross. Since they set up here and froze to death I'm going to assume it was either a blizzard up here at the time, too windy to use the bridge, or someone had gotten hurt. Too hurt to continue and the others weren't willing to abandon them," I said as I stepped away.
They looked dressed for such a venture. Thick pelts. Thicker jackets. The man was missing his right glove, and it showed. He was missing a few fingers already, but that was probably thanks to a scavenger and not the cold. It was a shock to see they still had their eyes and tongues too.
"Probably a week or two old," I guessed.
Renn took a deep breath, and released it slowly. A thick plum of white exhaled from her, covering her distraught face.
"Recognize them?" I asked her. She looked like she was about to break down and cry.
She quickly shook her head, and then looked at me with horror. "Do we know them?" she asked worryingly.
"Ah… no… I don't," I said as I realized what was wrong.
She didn't know them at all.
She just felt sorry for them.
I sighed, and glanced at the ravine once again.
A broken bridge. A dead family.
Not a great start to our venture east.
"Come on, Renn. I'm sorry but it's too late for them," I said.
"Should… should we bury them?" she asked.
"It'd be exceedingly difficult up here. Plus they'd just get unburied by bears or other predators. Come on," I said gently as I reached out to take her hand. Her pale hands had red fingertips now. I wanted to warm them.
Renn let me take her hand, but kept her eyes on the frozen family even until they were out of sight.