The Non-Human Society

Chapter One Hundred and Ten - Vim - The Frozen Pass

      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 pass, 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 ten 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.