BRIDGES

Disclaimer: I know nothing, I see nothing, I hear nothing!

Summary: An adventure awaits our favorite ranger and elf. This is another "Fin" adventure.

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Chapter 1

The dark haired man made his way south along the eastern border of the river. He had crossed over from the west miles before, where the river was narrower. The rainy season had come to this region of Middle Earth, and he could not recall one that had been quite so rainy. On his journey he had crossed many small streams that had overflowed their banks and even a few he could not even recall before, newly created by the abundance of rain. The river was wider and swifter than ever. Trees that had grown too close to the banks and had had their roots flooded were swept away as they could not longer stand the assault of the constant force of the water.

He was out, by order of his father, checking bridges and crossings, to see what was still safe and what might need to be repaired. He was supposed to meet a friend, it had been arranged for the point at which he crossed the river earlier, but his friend had not come. He had waited a day, and then decided to go on ahead. His friend would know to catch up. He traveled light, only carrying his bow and quiver, and his sword strapped to his side. He led a light brown horse on its rein, and his packs were strapped to the horse's sides.

There were many crossings on this river and they were of many different types. Some were simply ropes that spanned the width where the water was shallow, and some were crossing stones; large, flat stones strategically placed so the one crossing could step from one to the other and safely cross. There were even some elaborate bridges, made of rope and wood, and even one that was fairly high up as the banks on that part of the river rose to form a gully. The man was to check as many as possible and report what repairs were needed by the end of the month. Summer was nearly over and the repairs needed to be made before the cold, winter weather set in.

The amount of rain that had been falling for the past month caused the river to swell its banks. He had already found one crossing made of stepping stones partially washed away. The next bridge to check was a rope and wood bridge, one of the more elaborate and most used in the area. It was strung low to the river and he was pretty sure that when he got there, he would find that it needed to be replaced.

At midday he stopped to rest and eat. He would be able to reach the bridge by mid afternoon. If it was intact, he planned on crossing over to set snares in the woods beyond. He had no time to spend on hunting, yet he would need to replenish his food supply before this trip was over. He hoped that his friend would catch up to him by then and they could finish this journey together. They would then travel on to his friend's home in Mirkwood and make plans for the repairs to begin.

His break was short and soon he was on his way. He reached the bridge at midday as planned and was surprised to find that it was intact after all. At least it looked intact. He would have to cross it and inspect the ropes and the wood to make sure it could bear weight. He let the horse's lead fall from his hand, whispered in elvish for him to stay, and left his bow and quiver on the bank. Cautiously, he stepped out onto the bridge. It was constructed of many ropes, woven with wide, flat boards that spanned the width of the river. More rope was used to make rails that crisscrossed each other and ran along the side to hold onto as one crossed.

The bridge swayed in the wind and creaked under his weight. He had to hold tightly to the sides to maintain his balance. He slowly stepped on each board, testing its strength. The river, which was inches below the bridge, was flowing swiftly, it's dark waters turbulent. Midway through, he began to relax, surprised that this bridge had managed stay in good shape. He had expected to find it had been torn away by flotsam that floated down the river. He stared upstream and became slightly mesmerized by the whitecaps of rapids that lay on this area of the river. As he turned to continue on over the bridge, he heard a loud snapping sound, followed by a eerie creaking.