Crownsmith Chronicles

Benj sat next to his campfire, cooking the two woodland creatures he had managed to hunt. It had been trial and error to get them, and because of his efforts, he was down to one arrow. After shooting and retrieving his arrows over and over, he realized that the bow might not be for him.

Lucia had been sleeping for over a day and a half, and their rations were running low.

He had left her where she had passed out and had managed to drag her onto her bed roll. At least she was still breathing. Whatever bracelet she put on had some kind of draining properties that resulted in knocking both of them out. He wasn't going to mess with it again. Instead, he kept the fire burning until she woke up, hoping the nullification ring would continue to work.

He lifted one of his skewers and took a bite. The meat was tough, unsalted, and bland. He replaced it over the fire with a sigh. Maybe burning it would improve the flavor. They had been stretching their food enough with the addition to their journey. If they left promptly, they might suffer a missed meal or two, but if they didn't leave soon, their hunger might prove more than a simple inconvenience.

Benj continued turning his skewers over the fire and listening to the surrounding woods. The calming sounds that engulfed his camp were sometimes interspersed with an eerie rustling and not-so-distant howls. He was on edge, so when he felt something poke his arm, he instinctively swiped at it with his hand, knocking it away.

"Ow!" Lucia called out, cradling her hand. "What did you do that for?"

Realizing that Lucia had touched him and that he had accidentally hit her hand away made him feel instantly remorseful. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you! You're awake."

"Yeah," she said after a moment, shaking the pain out of her hand. "And you're really jumpy."

Benj tried his best to explain the weird noises from the forest, but trailed off before he could prove her point. He quickly changed the subject. "Are you okay? You've been out for over a day now."

Lucia sat up, noticing she had been tucked under her blankets. "I'm still tired, but manageable. You took care of me."

"I managed to drag your heavy, dead weight body onto your bed roll, if that's what you mean?" Benj teased.

Lucia ignored the slight and inspected her wrist and hand. "This bracelet. You put the ring on me to counteract the curse…."

"Yeah. I've had some time to look at it and don't see a way to get it off. Now that you're awake, our best bet is to leave it alone for now and see if anyone has tools to get it off when we get back."

"You know what this means?" She held up the ring on her finger.

"Yep, I married you while you were unconscious. There's no backing out now, especially once you find out I'm a terrible cook," he gestured towards his skewers. "Hungry?"

Despite the terrible meal, the two finished the skewers in silence. Benj tossed the bones in the fire and began packing up camp. He put everything in Lucia's bag and shouldered it, offering to carry it for the first half of the journey.

Despite the late hour, they traveled towards the backside of Mount Asvin with the plan of going around it as much as possible instead of climbing it directly. The closer they got, the more concerned they became about crossing the ravine. Their conversations were filled with possible solutions for crossing. Benj didn't like the idea of trying to go around. Their rations were low enough without taking the long way. They talked about finding another tree to swing across on, finding a log to cross on, or worse, using the bridge. Then Lucia offered a solution that was as dangerous as it was crazy.

"What if we took the bridge, but instead of stopping it from tipping, what if we intentionally tip it and cross on the underside?"

Benj had brushed the idea off, along with the one where they taunt the bridge troll out of the ravine and then use the bridge. But the more he thought about it, the more he considered it a possibility. He had been on the bridge for the initial shock from the support beam. The bridge didn't instantly tip, meaning that once it did, they could easily hold it in place and cross over. His mind whirled with possibilities, but he still didn't like it.

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Before they got too close, they found a safe place to set up camp. They slept in shifts and ate small portions, opting not to start a fire. They didn't know the troll's hunting habits, and didn't want to risk attracting similar predators in the night.

With dawn came silent travels. Every message they needed to convey to each other came in the form of whispers and hand gestures. When they reached the ravine, they crept towards the tree they had first used to cross. Benj was confident he could climb it and jump across, but he wasn't sure he could help Lucia. Their search for other options led them back to the bridge. The death trap gave them an uneasy feeling as they approached in silence. Who knew how many countless souls fell victim to its brutal secret?

Backing out of sight, Benj unslung Lucia's pack and began taking out the rope. He was going to do it. He locked eyes with Lucia. She leaned in and whispered a word of luck in his ear. He nodded once and then turned toward the bridge, creeping closer with determination.

He knew that the post at the start was firmly set into the ground. He carefully wrapped loops of rope around it and made a firm knot. He slung the rest of it over his shoulder, giving himself enough slack to reach the middle. That's when he would need it the most. He then crawled on the bridge, trying to stay out of sight from the thing below.

The bridge creaked softly, but noticeably with every movement forward. The rough wood made it hard to slide forward, but gave him solid footholds. He gripped the railing at each step forward, not knowing when the trap would be sprung. When he was near the middle, he interlocked his fingers around the rail. If the troll struck the center pillar, he would not fall off.

Steadying his thunderous heartbeat, he gradually began to stand. He heard a rustling from the depths below, and with no time to lose, he enacted his gambit. He stood, placing his feet on the opposite rail, and leaned back, trying to tilt the bridge manually. The wood creaked, but there wasn't enough force to turn it. He regained his momentum and leaned back again. This time, it worked, and the center beam arced up into the air.

"Hold it steady!" He shouted as he held the bridge sideways.

Lucia shot out from hiding and lodged a stick between the perpendicular handrails.

Testing Lucia's lever, Benj leaned forward, allowing the bridge to start turning upright again, but hopefully stop. The stick broke with an audible snap and fell into the ravine. The momentum slowly brought the bridge upright once again. As he was leaning to tilt it again a jolt of force snapped through his fingers and spun him in circles. The bridge had nearly done a complete rotation, but stopped as the rope wrapped around his shoulders grew taught.

"Don't let go of the bridge!" Lucia cautioned, seeing how the rope was holding him up. "See if you can tie the rope to the rails!"

Easier said than done. Benj could scarcely move. The pressure on his body was the sole reason that the bridge hadn't completed a full turn in the first place. He began shifting towards Lucia's side and relieving some of the tension in the rope. As soon as he was able, he tried freeing himself. After a long, excruciating moment, the rope fell free, dangling into the abyss like an invitation to climb. Then the bridge landed. Anticipating another strike, he was able to hook his leg around the handrail just before being sent into another dizzying rotation.

He held on for dear life as he tottered violently back and forth. The intervals grew longer between each strike, presumably as the troll below began to wear out. As soon as he stabilized, he made a split-second decision and crawled to the middle. The center beam was struck again, but this time Benj leaned into the rotation, completing another full circle. He did another, and another until the rope was completely wrapped around the bridge. After the next strike, it stuck sideways, held up by the caught and twisted rope.

When Lucia saw her chance, she took it and began walking on the leaning bridge. When she reached Benj, she stopped to help him up, but he waved her away.

"Just go!" he said, too disoriented to immediately climb out. "I just need a moment."

Lucia stood, adjusting her pack, and continued down the balance beam. She reached the other side and dropped her pack.

"I'll come back for you!"

"No, I got it!" he shouted, beginning to climb up. "I can fly, remember?"

A tree trunk hit the side of the ravine near Lucia's feet, causing her to yelp. "Oh no, oh no, it's climbing up on this side! Benj, you have to hurry!"

Lucia instinctively kicked at the improvised ladder, but it wouldn't budge.

"I'm almost up!" Benj shouted, pulling himself from the tilted side of the bridge. "Get the bow and don't shoot until you know it's going to hit! That's our last arrow!"

Lucia unstrapped the bow from her pack and drew the arrow. Her hands were trembling as she heard the monster struggle to climb up. It was near the top. She backed up, drew the string, and aimed it towards the cliff's edge.

When Benj made it to the top, the rope holding the bridge in place slipped causing it to right itself. Fortunately it moved slow enough that he was able to stay on top. He saw what was climbing out of the chasm and ran.

Long, gangling fingers swiped at Lucia's feet, nearly causing her to lose her arrow prematurely. She stepped back just as a massive head with bloodshot eyes peeked up at her. She fired. The arrow lodged into the monster's head, and Benj ran up and kicked it in the forehead. The troll dropped into the cavern with an unnerving shriek.

"Come on!" Benj yelled as he kicked the log over, picked up Lucia's pack, and ran.