"Aye, it looks deep. Don't fret, boy. The river's tame this time of the year. We can cross it." Wylis encouraged Caliburn as his big horse gave him the bombastic side-eyes of 'are you sure?'.
But Wylis trusted Caliburn as much as Caliburn trusted Wylis. Both of them splashed into the Green Fork in the darkness of the night. Wylis kept the horse lead tied to his arm in case Caliburn struggled. But surprisingly, the four-legged boy was a natural champion.
Both of them crossed the river, but they got swept a mile or two downstream. However, that was acceptable as they quickly headed upstream again by the banks.
Very soon, the Twins came into view yet again, but this time from the other side. They entered a covering, under a few trees nearby. He ordered Caliburn to stay put and only react if he were to hear his whistle.
After that, alone, Wylis walked towards the castle. His vision allowed him to see not just the castle clearly but also the water. It felt as if someone had increased gamma in his vision, allowing him to see things at night.
Classic arches. He observed the long bridge from there.
Green Fork was a major and deep river, broad as well. It was one thing for Wylis and Caliburn to cross it at the peak of their physical might, another for traders and an army. The Frey Bridge was the only way.
Not for long.
Carefully, ensuring he had no reflecting thing on his body, he painted himself with mud. His face was quite pale, as was the case for most northerners, so he covered it. After that, he crouch-walked at the edge of the river and slipped underneath the bridge's flood arch. It was the smaller arch for flood situations.
From there, he slipped further into the river, using Earthbending to make grips and steps for himself on the stones. He saw the first main arch and eyed the keystone above, the larger piece of stone that rested at the top-most part of the arch. Without it, the arch would lose its support.
However, that wasn't Wylis' plan. No, if he just made the bridge fall, it would be rebuilt in a few years. No, he wanted to destroy the very foundation of every single pier on which those arches stood. He wanted to ruin the foundation so much that Walder Frey wouldn't even be able to dream of the bridge being raised again in his remaining lifetime.
Fantastic engineering.
Wylis used his Earthbending to sense the foundation. He was amazed by the engineering that went into the bridge. It was truly built to last. Sadly, it could only face natural disasters, not a manmade one.
He first moved the foundation, ruining the timber piles on which the pier stood. There was clay, a lot of it. He wasn't so good at moving that, but good enough to make a mess. He destroyed the foundation so much that nobody would be able to say a bridge stood there.
Then he hollowed out the pier. After that, like a Jenga block tower, he removed blocks from the pier. He had Civil Engineering mastery, and it wasn't hard to tell which part needed to be disturbed.
One pier at a time, one foundation at a time. It was a rather long bridge, and it was boring work. But he did it just fine and reached all the way to the other side.
Now comes the main part.
He gathered his breath, as this final stretch needed to be fast. He had to make his way back to the side he started. However, this time, he was going to violently remove the keystone of each arch and send a tremor through the structure with each of his movements. The bridge would fall like dominoes.
For one last time, he looked up at the mighty bridge. It was going to be a pain in the ass for traders to cross. A legacy that stood for six hundred years was going to fall.
Crack!
He moved fast, leaping, dangling with his hands, using stones to not fall in the water. Each new arch, he violently destroyed the keystone. Then he kicked backwards to send a tremor.
Splash!
He had no time to look. All he heard was a violent, splashing sound.
Splash!
He kept moving, arch after arch, pier after pier. He sadly couldn't bring down the Water Tower that sat in the middle of the bridge. But still, he had ruined its foundation as it used the same principles as the bridge.
Splash!
He crossed the halfway mark. By then, he could hear traces of bells ringing. But the river and splashes were too loud. Adrenaline ran through him, excitement, joy, and just cold hatred towards the filthy lord. He simply didn't like Walder Frey, and nothing would have changed that. The fucker barely helped during the Rebellion but was there when it came to reaping the rewards.
Splash!
Finally, the last arch. He arrived back at the flood arch and didn't leave it either. Yet, he didn't look back. As soon as his feet were on hard, muddy ground, he ran towards Caliburn.
####
Twins,
"Ugh! Ugh! As I said… Let's give… Lord Kaiser, a pretty lass, eh?" Walder Frey, despite his age, was hard at work with his newest recreation, a fine young beauty he'd recently plucked from a vassal house.
Grrrrrr!
"Huh?"
But suddenly, Walder felt his entire bed shake. He lifted himself off the woman and looked around. The sound and the tremor were continuous. It echoed even, like the earth was moving. He heard all the silver cups and trinkets shake and clatter. The wood creaked.
"Seven hells, a quake?"
Walder Frey got out of bed as fast as he could and threw his robes on. But right as he headed to the door, it was pushed open by a bunch of Frey guards, all looking pale and scared. Then came his steward, looking even more terrified.
"M-M'lord! The bridge… has fallen!"
Walder Frey couldn't make sense of those five words at first. They sounded so absurd and impossible. In what world could the mighty bridge of the Twins fall? They had seen floods, winters enough to shatter iron. A mere rumble of dirt fell it? That was impossible.
"It's only a few blocks gone. I've seen it happen before. We'll patch it up and have it ready," Walder snarled, almost ready to head back to his room and pounce on the bed again.
Yet, the soldiers and the stewards didn't move.
"N-No, m'lord, the whole bridge is gone. From the roadway to the piers, it's all in ruins. We can't reach the other shore."
Walder Frey momentarily froze, stared into the eyes of his steward. He knew the man enough; he never jested. He eyed the soldiers, and they looked down in fear. It couldn't be, it was impossible, he thought.
"Move!" He walked past the men, showing strength beyond his years, shoving past them. He strode faster than he'd ever in years, up the stairs to a higher floor, and then past a few halls before arriving at a large balcony that looked at the river and…
Bells, men shouting, the air whistling. Walder Frey gazed down, and all he saw was water and some chunks of stone. He looked towards the other side, and he could swear the Water Tower looked slightly slanted in the middle of the river.
He squeezed his eyes shut, one hand over his chest as he felt a deep burn there. He prayed to the Seven; he begged them to let this be a bad dream. But then he opened his eyes to look, and still, there was no bridge.
"S-Seven… the bridge…" He stuttered, feet stepping back, the burn in the chest growing stronger. "I-It's… him… I know."
The last thing he remembered was falling backwards, his body limp. In his mind, however, five words echoed again and again. Five words that made him laugh before, and now…
They all fall the same.
"It's him… him!"
Before he could utter more, his vision darkened.
####
Ting!
[Hidden Quest Completed - Unconjoined Twins
Description - One may insult the Tyrant, but one must also stand ready to face the disproportionate retribution.
Goal - Ruin House Frey
Reward - Sperm virility increased by two-fold]
"..."
Such a strange reward, yet it made so much sense considering whose House he just doomed to multi-decade poverty. Well, poverty in noble terms. Freys would still live better than smallfolk.
Not a bad reward, actually. Lyanna would love it, hah!
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