Bridge watching

     Heading back across the wooden walkway, still keeping it to single file and only one of us on the wooden boards at a time, we reached the bank and began to head South where we had left the others. It was now beginning to get quite bright, and we were hoping that we could time the dash back to the group fast enough to not be caught. We reached a slightly shallower rise up to the main level of the land which we took to get back, finding a small hill sufficient in hiding our getaway. Before long we were back with the others, all of whom were intrigued to find out how our search had gone.

"Right, well everything we predicted seems to be the case at the moment. The bridge has a walkway running the length underneath bridging the struts together so we can get across that way. And the drawbridge sections do indeed have plumb lines which hang down vertically. They're within reach and easy to hold onto, not to mention they seem to be able to support our weight quite well."

"Brilliant! What about the drawbridge itself, however?"

"The bridge is still raised, so the other plumb lines aren't accessible yet. If they're lowered then we should be able to cross the 20 or so metres to the other side. From there I can only assume there are more of the wooden walkways to get to the far side."

"So all we need to do is wait for the drawbridge to lower on both sides... I'm beginning to wonder whether this is a viable method, but either way we still have to wait until they lower it. I don't even know whey they have it raised. There have been no boats passing under it as far as I know, so the only other thing I can think of is to separate the two islands from intruders."

"Which means they have something of value on that side. Maybe a building or structure that contains information we could use, or a method of getting across to the island, like a dock!"

"Whatever it is, it is definitely worth us trying our hardest to get across. We need to wait until they've lowered it though. However I don't recommend that we all pile on to the walkways and wait at the far end until they are lowered. Instead I think it best if you two head back to the walkways, and keep an eye on the the drawbridge. When they begin to drop, if they begin to drop, one of you comes back and tells the rest of us. The one remaining can be used to keep a lookout."

We discussed the plan of action from there; me and UOPETA would head back and wait for the drawbridge to lower. When that happens, I will head back, inform the others, and lead them to the walkways. Once we're all assembled, we begin to head across the bridge one at a time. As the drawbridge section is split into two, once one person crosses the halfway point, someone else can begin crossing.

"We can't determine how long we'll be waiting for this, so it's best if you two take some of the supplies with you. It could be an hour, it could be a day. Either way, it's more sensible to do it this way. Hopefully we won't have that long to wait, but if it takes too long it may be worth considering other options to get across."

Collecting one of the bags that the group had, myself and UOPETA headed back towards the bridge, crossing to the bank to obscure our path from any guards looking over the towers. Reaching the walkways, we began to make our way across to the far end, where we would begin our agonising wait. Let's just hope that HoN Co. had a good reason to lower the bridge soon.

---

     We sat on the bottom of the strut, our legs overhanging close to the surface of the water, just staring out across to the West. Waiting was one of the things I wasn't very good at, and unfortunately it didn't improve with time or experience. We had discussed a lot to try and pass the time, but it wasn't time we were waiting for. It was the drawbridge! We had no idea when it would be lowered, but presumably when it did we would need to act quickly to ensure we could get across. Then a thought struck me; if they're lowering the bridge, that means they're letting something across, either to the West or the East. If it's to the West, surely our job is harder once we get across to the other side.

"I hadn't thought of that, but I suppose you're right. We don't even know what they use this bridge for, nor do we know what kind of force we expected to come up against on the far side. It could be a small outpost with a dock to allow crossing to the island, it could be a full blown security centre. Or, it could be a small shack... We don't know."

Not only this, but we had no idea how long the bridge would remain lowered for. Obviously the more that is making its way across, the longer it stays down, but that wasn't very helpful in terms getting across, especially if someone was caught in the middle as they began to rise again.

"Well it would simply be a case of listening out for what's above us. If it sounds like there's a large amount of activity on the drawbridge, we keep going. If things go quiet, we stop and wait to see what happens. We could..."

UOPETA stopped mid-sentence, as the surrounding air was pierced by the sounds of shrieking metal. Looking up at the bridge, we watched in awe, as the grinding sounds continued, joined by the sounds of wood under stress, before both sides of the bridge began to lower. As the sounds of the mechanism eased off, large amounts of shouting was audible above us, although it was difficult to make anything out. Luckily it didn't sound like they knew we were here, but instead like they were moving something across, but we couldn't see anything. UOPETA glanced back at me, and indicated with his head for me to hurry back and inform the others. As quickly and carefully as I could, I stood up and dashed over the wooden walkway, back to the East, back to the others. Finally we would be crossing!

Syeonyx signing off