Burning Bridges

Aedric and Snoe attempt to cross the burning Gorge Bridge

48.

Burning Bridges

 

 

The bridge was long and though supported by thick beams, seemed very unsteady and almost delicate.  But to compound the terror of it, now it was ablaze.   The beams supporting the structure burned fiercely, and the wooden planks over these beams were smoldering and in several places had burst into flames.  

The entire left side, which looked out over into the deep gorge, was erupting in flames, leaving only the very middle of the bridge with a rapidly diminishing path. 

 

 

Into a tunnel-like environment of fire and thick smoke, they rode at full tilt, both of them leaning far over the necks of their horses in order to breathe.   The planking began to crumble and fall off in pieces, causing both terrified horses to jump over the gaps without slowing down.  

 

Halfway across, the guard railing to their left suddenly fell from the structure with a loud crack.    This seemed to only fuel the intensity of the fire.

 

Across from the far side came about five horses and riders, directly at them.   As they closed in on each other, the weight of all seven horses caused the burning wood of the bridge to give way.  

 

First went the bridge under the five that were charging toward them.   There was a loud snap and half of the bridge platform simply crumbled into embers and ash.  

Three of the riders and horses fell through the hole, while the other two horses leapt and twisted to avoid their deaths.

The lead horse missed Aedric and Rwalaer inches, but the next one - minus a rider, who had fallen off in the leap-slammed into the side of Rwalaer.   The impact knocked Aedric sideways, and Rwalaer spun to his right to compensate, crashing into Snoe and her mount.   Both horses stumbled and nearly fell, but their riders were not so lucky.

 

Aedric felt the saddle slipping, but the strap had snapped and the whole thing slid off, sending him crashing onto the crumbling bridge.   As if in a dream that moved in slow motion, he saw as he fell, Rwalaer leap over the gap in the bridge, safely landing on the other side.  

 

At the same time Rwalaer was leaping to safety, Snoe’s horse was weaving out of the larger warhorse’s way, but in the process, scrapped up against the wall of the mountain.

 

The impact nearly knocked the smaller horse out, but he stumbled forward, frantic in his terror to get across the bridge.   Snoe was knocked off the back of the horse by the force of the glancing impact and she gracefully rolled and twisted until she was stopped on her knees, inches away from the gap in the bridge.  

 

Both horses reached the far side, running wildly from the danger.   Aedric breathed a sigh of relief and had just turned to yell to Snoe to hurry off the dissolving bridge, when there came a pop and a roar and the entire structure gave way.

 

Embers, sparks and wood fell all around them as they fell the hundreds of feet onto the boulder strewn rapids below. 

He caught one fleeting glimpse of Snoe, wide-eyed and screaming, and felt terrible guilt for bringing this upon her, in the few seconds before he died. 

 

 

***

 

Aedric’s body hit a boulder squarely, crushing his chest and piercing his lungs and heart.   His body bounced and landed in the bitterly cold mountain water of the Fallow River, which came from the snowy summits of the Carcaicasse Mountains.   As his blood drained from his corpse, the rapid currents carried him downstream.   His Elven chainmail kept his organs within his chest cavity as he floated amid the carcasses of dead horses and horsemen and debris from the bridge. 

 

Snoe split her skull wide open as her head ruptured on another boulder, but though she died, it wasn’t for long.   For her mother, very worried about her albino daughter, had, instead of providing her with an autocaster ring as she had all of her other children, had paid a huge sum of gold to have a ring of regeneration made for her.  Snoe wore this ring, along with the Protection from Daylight ring, on each second toe of her feet.

 

She hadn’t told her daughter that her ring was different than her brother’s or sisters' rings, so even the girl did not know.   But instead of casting one or two spells automatically - one time- upon a specific event, Aurei had figured that a ring that would slowly, but constantly regenerate any injury that the girl could sustain, would be the best, as it would heal even damage that led to death, as long as it was worn at the time of this damage.

 

So Snoe was lifeless only for an instant, before the ring began healing her.   It was a slow process, following the arcane rules of magic.   Function came before form in this magic, so the ring began regenerating essential processes and healing the most serious damage first. 

 

She floated downstream quickly, bumping and banging along with all the rest, still unconscious and only her regeneration ring keeping her from drowning several times as she bobbed up and down in the icy water.

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"...instead of providing her with an autocaster ring as she had all of her other children, instead had paid..." You can get rid of an "instead."