In the city of Corregal, sword fighting is a way of life - unless you're a girl. While young men compete for prestigious positions within the ruling Houses, young women have to rely on others to protect them from the dangers lurking in the streets...
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"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"It's true!"
"No one moves them."
"Explain to me, then, why is it we never go the same way two times? It is because..."
"No one moves the bridges!"
"...everything is always changing!"
"Just because you're an idiot who can't..."
"Are you calling me an idiot?"
"...keep a straight line in your head."
"Fuck your straight lines. There's nothing straight in this cursed city."
"You're the one who's fucked...wait. Where's Tierce?"
Barris and Romeric both stopped dead in their tracks and looked back the way they'd come. They had nearly reached the Crow, the highest of the four bridges moored to the Shinetower Stair. It was the quickest route back to Fleuracy House but precarious, especially in the dark. It was not surprising, this late at night, that the stairway that spiraled up the outer face of the rock spire was deserted except for the two young men and Tierce, who had been right behind them moments ago. Now there was no sign of him.
"Tierce?" Barris called out. Then louder, "Tierce!"
There was no answer except for his own echo.
"Not good," said Romeric. They shot down the stairs together, retracing their route, hoping they'd find him around each curve, only to get more anxious when they didn't.
Romeric reached the next landing first, and he darted out onto the narrow span of the Bridge of Mercies to see if their inebriated friend had wandered that way by mistake. Barris continued down, his jaw clenched tight. The thin rope that ran along the edge of the uneven steps didn't offer much protection, especially for anyone who had been drinking heavily. All it would take was one misstep and...Barris tried to push the thought from his mind, but couldn't. It would be his fault if anything had happened to Tierce. He knew he'd had too much to drink and he should have been paying more attention.
Another turn of the stairs around the spire brought Soz Bridge into view below. It stretched southward across the Cille, lined with archaic statuary and oil-burning torches that someone in the Soz-Yamae family still paid to have lit nightly. At first glance, Barris thought it was empty. But then a flash of movement towards the middle of the bridge caught his eye. He paused to look more closely, and a wave of relief rushed over him as he recognized Tierce wobbling unsteadily away from the tower.
"I see him!" he shouted up for Romeric before continuing his rush down the stairs. The steps wrapped twice more around the spire before he reached the bridge's landing. By that time, Tierce had nearly reached the far end, where a picturesque arch marked the bridge's terminus. He had stopped, though, and was leaning now against the waist-high railing. No, not leaning—he was trying to climb over!
