The Death Bridge

Raven slowly walked through the muddy swamp.

"Urgh. This place is disgusting. If I don't get stuck in the mud and die from…whatever…then the smell would certainly kill me", she mumbled, pinching her nose to escape the smell. "What in the world could be the source of this stench?!"

She came to a halt and observed her surroundings.

The ground was covered in water puddles and thick mud. Dead trees emerged from the mud, becoming denser and denser the further she went. The air was filled with a dreadful stench and the swamp was deathly quiet. The early morning light gave the swamp an eerie look and Raven rested her hand on her sword.

"I guess this place fits Beastie…", she thought with a sigh. She turned around and looked back at the way she came. "I've been walking for about an hour now, and I still have no idea where to go…"

She turned back and started walking.

She walked around a large puddle of water and gave a short leap. As soon as her feet touched the mud, it gave away and she sank into a deep pool of muddy water.

"Argh! For goodness sake! Can't there be some solid ground!?", Raven cried out indignantly.

She walked through the water, trying her best to stay in a straight line. "This is ridiculous", she mumbled.

A soft hissing sound broke the silence and she jerked her head up. Raven's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. In front of her was the biggest snake she had ever seen. Its body was thick and long, and thousands of tiny scales formed big green scales, laced with a red line. Bright red coloured eyes with a black rounded pupil and a pure white slit in the centre stared at Raven.

She closed her mouth and gulped. "H-hi there…uh…I'm just passing through so…no need to…uh…upset yourself ", she said as she subtly tried to move away from the snake.

The snake hissed loudly and opened its mouth. From its throat, Raven could see a red glow.

"No way!"

Raven dived into the water just in time to avoid the ball of flames. She poked her head up from the muddy water. "It breathes fire!", she said as she wiped her face as best she could. "The snake breathes fire!"

The snake came closer and opened its mouth once more.

It lowered it's mouth over Raven and pushed her under the water, pinning her upper body between its fangs. She reached for her sword but the snake slowly closed its jaws, limiting her movement. She pulled her leg up, trying to reach her dagger.

Raven felt heat above her head and panic gripped at her throat.

She finally got a hold of her dagger and pulled it from the scabbard. Unable to see, she pointed the blade upward and thrust blindly. The heat above her head disappeared and the snake pulled its head from the water. It hissed loudly and Raven cried out.

She thrust her dagger upwards again. "That hurt!", she screamed as she felt her blade piercing the snake's skin.

The snake shook its head from side to side and let go of Raven, hurling her away. She sailed through the air and felt hard branches crashing into her back as she made contact with a tree. She fell down into the mud and grunted. She quickly wiped the mud from her eyes and stood up. She looked up at the snake and saw red blood flowing from its mouth as it tried to ease its pain.

"Thank goodness I'm not the only one with red blood in this filthy place." .

She hurled her dagger at the snake and unsheathed her sword. She charged at the snake while it tried to get rid of her dagger that was stuck between its eyes. The snake saw her approaching and lashed at her with its tail, striking her in the stomach.

"Oof!", Raven grunted as she fell back into the water. The snake dived its head into the water and grabbed onto Raven's leg. It pulled her from the water and Raven seized the opportunity. She pulled herself up and thrust the sword into the snake's head. The snake instantly let go of her leg.

Raven wiped the mud from her eyes as she held on to her sword. Her eyes fell on the dagger still stuck between the snake's eyes. She pulled herself up onto the snake's head until she could reach her dagger. She grabbed onto it and pulled her sword free, climbing higher up on the snake's head. It shook its head, trying to ease its pain as Raven's dagger cut deeper into its flesh with every movement.

Raven gathered her strength and plunged her sword deep into the back of the snake's head."That's for hissing in my ears!", she said before twisting the sword.

A spasm travelled through the snake's body as it lifted its head higher. Raven quickly pulled her dagger free and jumped down into the water. The snake hissed weakly before its lifeless body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Raven crawled out of the water, tired and covered in mud. She slowly stood up and wobbled towards the snake. "Beastie really likes to send others to do his dirty work, eh?", she mumbled as she reached the snake.

She walked over to retrieve her sword. She pulled her sword free and allowed her eyes to glide over the snake's lifeless body one last time before turning around. "I wonder how many other creatures Beasties has as his minions?" she thought. She sighed and slowly walked away.

***

"Pacin' around all day isn't goin' tae help", Brongr said as his eyes followed the white-haired man.

"And neither is sitting on the bed", Axil said with a brief glare towards Brongr.

The latter sighed.

"Why don't we jist go after her?"

"Firstly, we have no idea where she is nor what it looks like beyond the bridge. Secondly, we don't know if we can cross the bridge nor how she managed to cross it either. And thirdly…" He came to a halt. "We are going anyway."

Brongr sighed. "I could've told ye the same thin' much earlier…", he mumbled and followed Axil as they left the shack.

After a long while of walking in silence, they reached the bridge.

"Well...Everythin' seems quiet. There is nothing 'ere. Let's go", Brongr said and walked forward.

A hand held him back. "Wait!"

"Why? Th' bridge is deserted."

Axil frowned as he searched his memory. "No…It's not. I've seen Raven's memories. There is something guarding the bridge. Spirits of some sort…we cannot cross. They'll attack us the moment we set foot on the bridge."

Brongr frowned. "But if that's the case…how did Raven get across?"

Axil shrugged as he started pacing around. Brongr threw his hands in the air.

"Alright, how do we get across?"

"Raven once mentioned that the Beast cannot cross the bridge. I'm ȧssuming there's a barrier of some sort surrounding the swamp", Axil said and stopped his pacing.

"I dinnae see how that's goin' tae help."

"There are no flying creatures in this forest other than the birds."

Brongr sighed. "Still nae followin', lad."

"If I'm correct, then…this barrier is open."

Brongr pinched the space between his brows in frustration. Axil glanced at him.

"It's like a wall, Brongr."

Brongr chuckled humorlessly. "A wall, great… Unless ye know how tae climb an invisible wall, it still nae helpin'."

"We don't need to climb it, just fly over it."