Free Rojuun by John H. Carroll Page A

asked
in amazement. “Yegods. That’s just ridiculous.” He stood and walked
to the middle of the bridge, leaning over the railing. Liselle
stuck her tongue out at his back. She went to the other railing and
peered over the edge.
    A fast-flowing river cut through the bottom
of the sheer canyon. The forest around them was quiet in the warm
afternoon, making it possible to hear the sound of water traveling
over rocks.
    “It’s beautiful, isn’t it Cousin?” Liselle
had come up behind him again. When he turned to look at her, she
was smiling.
    “Yes. I think this bridge is at least
hundreds of years old if not thousands,” Tathan said.
    “Thousands of years? Wow, that’s amazing.
Even with magic, I can’t believe it’s lasted that long.”
    Tathan was thoughtful. “It is unusual. The road is enchanted. We’ve faced no danger on it.”
    Liselle looked at the road on both sides of
the bridge. “I never considered it, but we have been safe. I wonder
where it leads to.”
    “I’m not sure, but we’ll definitely find
out,” he said, smiling.
     
    ***
     
    For two more days, they traveled along the
forested road. He told her about some of his travels while she told
him about her life in the valley. She also told him of her parents,
crying a few times from the sorrow of losing them. The
conversations began a healing process for both.
    Their first glimpse of the city was when
they came around a bend in the road one morning. The roofs of the
buildings could be seen near the top of the next pass. They paused
and readied their weapons. Liselle strung her bow and readied the
quiver of arrows her Uncle Laremy had made. She could think about
him without crying by that point, though her heart still ached.
    Tathan loosened his sword in its scabbard.
He realized it was the first time he had readied it since entering
the forest. The thought caused him to pause. For some reason, he
wasn’t jumping at imaginary dangers. Perhaps the enchantments on
the road had something to do with it.
    As they rode up, it became obvious that the
city was abandoned. The forest encroached upon the edges, but
something seemed to be preventing nature from taking over
completely. Birds and small wildlife scurried about. Forest scents
gave way to dusty cobblestone. The horses plodded through the long
abandoned streets as their riders looked back and forth at the
decayed buildings.
    “Do you think the bridge was built by
whoever lived in this city, Tathan?” Liselle’s voice was filled
with awe as she looked at the ruins.
    He nodded. “Definitely. The stonework is the
same and it looks to be as old as the bridge. It’s extraordinary
that there’s any cobble left.”
    “But the bridge was still in good condition.
These buildings are all crumbling and collapsing,” she said,
gesturing at a building with only two walls remaining. The rest was
rubble.
    “The bridge had runes protecting it from
wear and tear. These buildings were very well made to have
withstood for so long, but wouldn’t have been magically protected,”
he explained.
    “Why not?” she asked.
    “It takes a lot to cast runes to protect a
structure,” he said. “They have to be inscribed, then the spells
cast and then all of the runes tuned to each other. There’s
probably a border of runes that keep the forest from finishing off
the city.”
    “I see. Would it be more important for a
bridge to last longer than a city?” Liselle asked.
    Tathan looked down a side road. “Yes. A
bridge doesn’t have people cleaning and taking care of it all the
time. Plus it’s harder to cope with a broken bridge than a broken
building.”
    “Wow. I never even considered that.” She
looked around some more. “I wish I could meet the people who lived
here. Should we explore?” she suggested hopefully.
    “Sure, we can do that,” he agreed. “But we
must be careful when entering buildings. Wild animals may have
moved in. We can set up camp in that building over there.” He
pointed out