CHAPTER 20: Reckoning at the Edge - Part 1

  Unlike the previous labyrinth, the northbound corridor was straight, unplastered, and only passable by one person at a time. Varne's new sword scraped against the wall with every step he took.

  After some time, sufficient for extracting bone broth, they reached the end of the corridor. Ryse hung a lantern on the wall and lifted the iron bar locking the door with both hands. Cold and damp air blew in as the door opened.

  When Ryse closed the door, the mechanism behind it clinked into place, ensuring the door could only be opened from the inside. They emerged among a cluster of large rocks in the middle of a vast prairie. Blades of grass swayed like tiny waves.

  “We have to hurry,” Ryse walked down the gentle slope. “A little further north is a large chasm and a hanging bridge. We’ll ambush the intruder there.”

  Clusters of firelights near their destination indicated a small village. They ignored the village and headed straight for the hanging bridge.

  The bridge, located at the edge of a cluster of trees, hung across a wide chasm, its center dipping into darkness before reemerging on the other side. Varne had seen hanging bridges before, but none as long and frail as this.

  The keeper sat leaning against the bridge's post, wrapped in an old orange blanket. He hugged a wooden spear, sharpened and hardened by fire at the end without an iron head, and was sound asleep.

  “Excuse me, Bridge Keeper,” Ryse's greeting woke the keeper. He stood up, clutching the spear as if it were a broom to clear spider webs. The orange blanket slipped from his shoulders.

  “What? Who are you! One silver per person!”

  The keeper was still a boy, having barely celebrated his tenth birthday.

  “Sir Keeper,” Ryse asked, “has anyone used the bridge before us today?”

  “I cannot say. It's violatiiiiing....” The boy could not close his jaw when Ryse showed him a gold coin.

  “Ahem! No, no one has passed, Misters,” he said, pocketing the coin.

  “Thank you, Sir Keeper. By the way, that's a nice blanket.”

  ***

  A figure in a dark brown cloak approached the bridge keeper wrapped in a blanket. The sack she carried clearly contained a person. She leaned the sack against a large rock and lowered her hood. She was a woman with short, fiery red hair.

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  “My cards did foretell I'd run into someone significant in my life before the day ends,” the woman said, hands on her hips in front of the keeper, tilting her head. “You've outgrown me in height, Ryse.”

  Ryse shed his disguise – if the blanket could be called one. “Big sis Elsja...”

  “That jacket I gave you fits well now,” Elsja said with a smile. “How many years has it been since we saw each other?”

  “I'm glad you’re well, Sis. You vanished without a trace. Our mentor said you took his treasure and split. I knew he was lying.”

  Elsja snickered. “When has he ever been honest? But we can save that tale for another day. You're here for him, aren't you?” Elsja glanced at the sack beside her. The red in her eyes was deeper than her hair.

  “I need Marfas to clear my name.”

  “Since when you care about name?”

  “I have to go east, Sis. I need his help to make it in time.”

  “You messed up, Ryse. Big time. Like an amateur placing the Hanged Man card upside down. Isfan had planned to off his old man right from the get-go. He wanted to snatch the throne and then surrender to Terzion in exchange for his status as king being guaranteed.”

  “Why are you even bothered about that?”

  “If that happens, Terzion's grip on Isofea will be rock solid. It messes up my other plans. Have you forgotten the 'stay out of stuff you don't get' rule?”

  “Is he doing well?” Ryse asked.

  “I had to knock him out because he was being a pain, but he’s fine.”

  “Then....”

  Elsja sighed. “Ryse, look, I snatched him up to keep Isfan from offing him. My plan was if you got caught, I'd trade him for your freedom. But you escaped. I can't hand him back because I've got other plans for him. Lay low in the Thief Guild until everything blows over.”

  “I can't. I must head east before it's too late. Our mentor... he pulled something that could put all the Inner Realm in danger. Will you trust me if I explain?”

  “I trust you, Ryse. But I don't trust the old hand. Whatever he's feeding you is just a bunch of lies to string you along. I'd say peel him off like I did.”

  ***

  Varne stepped out from behind the tree, sword bared. “You two have been talking and talking. I don't care about your problems. Hand over Marfas to me and continue chatting all night if you want!”

  “Who’s this impudent backstabber?” Elsja asked. “You better watch your back when it comes to trusting folks, Ryse. Tsk, this is probably what my dice meant by 'bad luck' and 'unexpected.' Hey, Jerk, scram or I'll make sure you won't be strolling around anytime soon.”

  Varne grimaced. The grip of his new sword was comfortable, its balance perfect. And he was eager to test it!

  Elsja dodged his slash by leaping backward.

  “Varne! Sis! Stop!” Ryse shouted. Varne and Elsja had no interest in heeding him.

  Elsja pulled out four iron pieces connected by steel wire from under her robe. Like Tempest, the wire could contract and combine the four pieces into a solid iron staff.

  Blast Rush closed the distance between Varne and his target in an instant. He then attacked with Steel Fury. Swings, slashes, and stabs crashed on her like a storm at almost the same time.

  Steel Fury required him to channel Prana into secondary nodes along his right arm, giving him a burst of speed and power for a moment. It also made his arm more sensitive; a mere movement of his eyes was enough to command his arm to strike a target. In this way, he could unleash all forms of attack almost at once.

  However, Elsja was faster. She dodged to the side with a quick movement, her cloak tearing under the sword. From there, she swung the staff towards the back of his head.

  “You're just as dimwitted as you look,” she whispered just before her iron staff landed.

  Varne spun, his sword parrying her staff. A strong blow forced his sword-wielding hand up above his head. Seeing signs of Elsja about to strike again, he widened the distance using Blast Rush.