From: intraphase@gmail.com

As the sun slowly rose over the eastern mountains of the Countryside
and the wooden plankings and beamings of the bridge warmed, Y-Clang felt a wave of relief begin to sweep into his bones and joints. The four great woven steel pillars that had held fast ever since their erection in the deep firepowder blown tunnels of the volcanic rock on either side of the river began to whistle their crackling tones as the slowly expanded filling the minute side cracks and chambers filled with the previous night’s moisture.

Underneath the central beam was a small catwalk used for maintenance
and inspection of the bridges plankings. Y-Clang and Soothsayer waited for the traffic to slow to a crawl when only the people who lived on or right by the river would be scurrying back and forth and not charged tolls because of their proximity to the bridge and the services they performed to the crossers and their willingness to help monitor the bridge and the raging river below.
The two young princes had come down from their Black Castles and waited secretly for many hours from way before the murky grey dawn in the distant eastern mountains. They had come down from their Black Castle command posts and were waiting under the bridge for Y-Clang and Soothsayer to signal when the time was safest for them to cross the underbridge catwalk in their beggars disguises and slip off the catwalk onto the rocky shore and blend into the traffics on either side of the bridge and make their way slowly up the
great hills on either side of the Raging River and switch castles.


The Blue Prince and The Red Prince were Twins and One was blind.

The Single Bridge Double Back gambit was the proper signal given to the Evil Tolltaker Y-Clang and Soothsayer Iguanna Hagawanna to know that the boys were under the mighty Bridge of Silence and waiting on the catwalk for permission to cross. It was essential that the Single Bridge Double Back gambit be used to announce to those who must know due to their responsibilities the passing of the bridge by the young princess and
future High Overlords of all the regions districts and provinces.
On the Countrysides first hill the Dark Eyed Lady watched in a laundry woman’s disguise from an angled street whose dead end alley allowed her to see
the grey figures poised at either edge of the underbridge. She had swum the river currents many times and hand ropes were maintained for this purpose under

the waters of the raging river in two places slightly upriver and downriver.
The Dark Eyed Lady was a highly trained assassin who had killed seven by knife, three by garrote and two by poison, one by casting off a high tower and another by some unknown method. She guarded the Blind Prince.

In case of the rare occurrence of a possible daylight washout of the bridge

or a persistent raging current streaming down from the high glacial icepacks that would lick the bottom plankings of the bridge making the catwalk unpassable Y-Clang and Soothsayer had to be prepared.
Soothsayer left the checker table and took a broom pretending to sweep
the dungs and cow droppings while making his way to the Great City side of the bridge coming to a stop in his pretense standing at the Great City edge.
Y-Clang had picked up a metal rod and strode enthusiastically to the Countryside onramp of the bridge. Looking off into the distant alley he saw the Dark Eyed Lady in her laundress disguise wave the white sheet three times. Y-Clang turned to face the tollbooth and slowly and firmly tapped the iron rod three times and the Blind Prince began his crossing of the underbridge catwalk to the small circular platform shaped like a crow’s nest that was accessed from
a trapdoor under the chair in the Tolltakers booth.

On the Great City side of the bridge Iguanna swept his broom ever
so slightly sending a shower of dust onto the young prince waiting below the plankings for the signal to cross the underbridge catwalk.

"That’s not very funny Soothsayer"

"Do I hear an evil spirit from the netherworld speaking
my name in cursery and defiling my sacred gift of Seeing
and noble talents of Prophecy"

"Silly Old Fool"


Y-Clang strolled with swift nonchalance and casually crossed to the tolltakers booth closing the windows and door for his usual morning tea.
With the door and windows of the tollbooth closed and their hooks secured he opened the dark black triple locked safe box and hastily withdrew and quickly donned a massive grey leather coat rapidly buttoning the double row of whale tooth buttons with ancient seaman’s engravings and while tightly cinching the belting that hung in four sturdy loops Evil Tolltaker pulled out the black leather boots with the silver tipped toes and great buckles over the ankle strappings that protected the bones from the kicks of a wily opponent. He slid off his bamboo sandals and pulled each boot securely and snuggly to his hard calloused feet. Reaching a final time downward to the secret lid in the black triple locked box he lifted the compartment and drew out a worn
and faded leather night riders satchel with brass buttons that seem to close on their own accord when allowed to touch as if magnetized by the contents within. He grabbed the worn handhold and a triple stitched shoulder strap for long journeys. Placing the long strap over his shoulder and the satchel hanging by his right side he tapped the satchel to reassure himself the six hand sewn ornate cases were still there and undisturbed.


Cy-Chang-E Chorus of Antiquities



What is this mysterious occurrence on The Under-Bridge.



When Tolltaker heard both princes softly chatting and giggling after exchanging embraces he opened the trap door with a great ruckus allowing the built up fine grained dust to drift down like a puff of orange smoke.

" I AM THE GREY RIDER "

Both boys pulled from under their beggar cloakings two leather
casings and growing ominously serious in expectation of the sad and lonely Grey Riders inspection of the encrypted and now re-assembled stories that had been passed back and forth all month and were now properly repasted in the sequential order that each prince had originally received them and then passed in segments to the other prince to be read by their opponent on the opposite side of the Raging River.

"Descend Grey Rider"


Tolltaker ignored the short eight step ladder to the circular
underporch on the catwalk and jumped the five feet into the little shaded crow’s nest landing with a mighty thud which amused the Blind Prince as much as
the dusty vision of the Grey Rider falling thru a cloud of smoke amused his twin.
The Grey Rider reached up and pulled a small wooden box table down from
the toolbooth above and closed the trapdoor above. Setting the table in the middle of the small wooden railing enclosed circular porch the Grey Rider leaned over so the Blind Prince could briefly inspect his face to make sure there was no deception. Satisfied he allowed the Grey Rider to assume his position on the north side of the little underporch. With the Blue Prince to westside and the Red Prince to the eastern countryside the inspection of the encrypted stories began.

At each crossing of the Bridge of Silence the boys would open the case filled with the story that had been passed across the river to them. Each prince had one story to read immediately and then divide into four pieces per page. Each page numbered four times with an Alpha, Beta, Cephi, Delta marking per numbered page. The pages had to be transferred in order and had bridging symbols that attached each four part segment that made up a page.
Once each princes private story had been successfully transferred through the
spies and couriers to the other princes Black Castle command and then repasted segment by segment and slowly read and savored they were allowed by the mysterious Grey Rider to approach and cross the Under-Bridge of Silence and receive two new stories. It was also an opportunity for each prince to switch castles and command structures with the other prince and observe the strategic setups and hierarchies of networks that were intricately designed and required for the sacred Battle of The Two Princes.
Each story case was opened on the small table. The Grey Rider opened the Red Princes case and began slowly turning each page making sure the four part number and letter symbols matched on each page until he reached the end. Returning the Red Princes story to its case he withdrew the Blue Princes story and once again continued the counting and analyzing of the four part pages turning each page with a paper crinkling flourish that could be heard by the Blind Prince.
Satisfied that each prince had successfully passed the entirety of their private story to their rival opponent on the other side of the river to
be pasted into the sheaves of the empty leather case set aside to receive the segments and then slowly read, the Grey Rider placed both completed version of the two stories that had passed across the river back on the side of the small table near the prince who had completed it and withdrew two identical leather casings and placed them in the middle of the table between the two stories that had just passed. Gathering the completed stories and placing them into the worn leather satchel with the triple stitched shoulder strap he allowed the brass buckle buttons to touch and close themselves.
Even the Grey Rider did not know which new story was in which case so he withdrew a golden coin with A Bridge on one side and a Great Horned Owl on the other side and asked who called the coin toss last time.

"I Did Grey Rider" replied the Blind Prince

" The Blue Prince shall call the toss in the air before it lands"

As the golden coin was tumbling through the air the Blue Prince called heads and watched as the golden coin landed softly on the leather casings containing the new stories where it spun and then fell with the owl side up.


--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)