CHAPTER 49 Nothing to See Here

CHAPTER 49

Nothing to See Here

Rufus

Gerda the Bridge Troll had become a common castle name in recent months.

The woman had come out of nowhere, conquered all of the bridges in the Dark Enchanted Forest, and become a powerful monstress in her own right.

Seemingly overnight.

In all honesty, I’d thought that everyone was just too busy and not paying attention, leaving her many years to wander around mastering her bridge magic. There weren’t even that many bridges in the Dark Enchanted Forest that I knew of. The Great Road going east to west had a bridge on either end, and the Great Road going north to south had a bridge on either end as well. So, at least four.

“What I want to know,” I told Bronwynn as we slowly approached the troll, “is what she’s doing at this bridge … I don’t think she has the permit to make troll bridges outside of the Dark Enchanted Forest.”

In fact, Gerda had recently been audited because she didn’t have permits for most of the bridges she controlled inside the Dark Enchanted Forest. She was completely out of hand. Keith had raised concerns about the troll on more than one occasion, and I was still confused how Gerda had managed to slip an enchantment onto the drawbridge of the Black Fortress without anyone noticing.

If Gerda weren’t one of Henrietta’s closest friends, I had a feeling things would’ve gone a lot worse for the troll.

Donna’s hooves and the rattling of the wagon weren’t exactly quiet, and the second we were within earshot, Gerda spun to face us. Her small tusks peeked out from her lower lip, and her faun-brown eyes flashed with annoyance. The look faded when she realized just who was approaching .

“Brownie!” The troll broke out into a welcoming smile, and she hurried off the bridge before we got there. Donna pulled off to the side of the road and settled in to watch. She was very like her mistress that way.

Bronwynn left her instrument in the wagon and jumped down to greet the troll with a warm hug. When they pulled apart, Bronwynn gave Gerda a pointed look. “It’s wonderful to see you here, if unexpected.”

“And you …” Gerda rubbed her neck, clearly embarrassed at being caught green-handed at a bridge outside of the Dark Enchanted Forest.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Do you have a permit to create this troll bridge?”

“It’s not a troll bridge.” Gerda sent me a defiant look, and Bronwynn raised an eyebrow at the clear tension my words solicited from the troll.

I waved my hands at the unassuming bridge. “Then why are you here instead of patrolling your own bridges back home?”

“Reasons.” Gerda crossed her arms and stared at me with a calculating look.

“You’ll need to do better than that.” I had to admit, my curiosity was getting the better of me. Plus, we really didn’t know much about how troll magic worked, and King Keith had been increasingly concerned by its implications, given what we’d learned about Gerda this year.

Bronwynn made an unexpected noise, and I glanced her way. She’d pulled out a pack of nuts and was watching us while she ate them.

At least she was having a good time.

Gerda stood quietly in thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’m not making a troll bridge here because it’d be too expensive for me to keep it up.”

She sidestepped more than she gave away in that sentence. Common wisdom was that magical enchantment abilities like Keith’s automatons or troll bridges cost the user an experience penalty if they were defeated.

“I can understand that; it must be costing you a fortune in experience points to be away from your bridges this long. But that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”

“Bridge troll stuff.” Gerda took a step back, her foot almost touching the bridge but not quite.

“You just said—”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Bronwynn choked on her snacks.

I offered the bard a waterskin from my storage ring. She tentatively reached out and took it; her drink was still on the wagon.

“So you aren’t here to capture this bridge, and you haven’t officially abandoned your post, and you definitely have nothing hidden up your sleeve. We simply ran into you by chance on this empty road over an hour from the border, and we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Is that what I’m to believe? ”

Gerda’s cheek twitched, and I could see the smile pulling at her lips. “That’s right, Commander General. Nothing to see here.”

Bronwynn piped in. “So do you need a ride back to the Dark Enchanted Forest?”

She reached out and offered her snacks to the bridge troll, who accepted a small handful of nuts. I listened on in interest, politely rejecting the bag when Bronwynn offered me the same.

“That’s a kind offer.” She hesitated for only a second, casting a side-eye at myself, before letting out a long-suffering sigh. “Actually … how about I give you a ride? My new [World Bridge] perk lets me connect and fast travel between any bridge I’ve ever crossed. Even if I don’t claim them.”

“Hence why you’re wandering around in different countries crossing unsuspecting bridges?” I commented. I had to work hard to keep the horror out of my voice. Keith was going to have conniptions.

“Yes.” Her innocent smile was almost as worrying as what she’d just said. She checked the air slightly up and to the right of her face, obviously reading a notification of some kind.

I whistled.

Gerda nodded, pleased with whatever she’d found, and pointed her finger at the bridge. “[World Bridge]!”

The entire structure glowed a stunning aquamarine light. Motes of silver lights danced within the blue.

Bronwynn asked, “Where does it go?”

“Wherever I want.” The troll shot us a knowing smile. “In this case, a half hour south of the Black Fortress. Figured I’d save you a day’s travel.”