The prompt today was the picture at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kasselburg/7210896588/ So what did I do with this truly awesome bridge? I wrote a silly fantasy story that’s a mix of D&D, Monty Python, and the Billy Goats Gruff. I’m not sure if I can even try to sell it, since it uses lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail nearly verbatim. But it was fun to write.
Snippet:
The four trudged through the thick, damp grass. They topped a slight hill and halted to stand staring at what was ahead of them. To the east a mighty waterfall–the source of the roaring they had been hearing–thundered into an enormous gorge. In the sunlight, the plants festooning the gorge’s sides glowed an almost painful green. The path they had been following for days led to a bridge over the gorge. But this was no normal rickety bridge, like those they had traversed several times during their journey. It rose in a graceful arch over the gorge, so white it was almost blinding in the sunshine.
Kishnak realized she had stopped and stood staring, her jaw dropping. Such a bridge! The handrails were decorated with lace-like carving, the span with delicate fluting. The supports that disappeared into the gorge’s depths were as white as the bridge. They couldn’t be marble–could they? The stone was looped and festooned with vines, looking as if they had been put there deliberately as decorations. It was by far the most wondrous bridge she had seen in all her travels.
The mage seized her arm and said peevishly, “Come along, don’t just stand gawking. You’re the one who just pointed out how much time we’ve wasted already.”
Kishnak shot him a glare, but followed the others down the path toward the bridge.
As they approached the bridge, Kishnak noticed an odd outcropping in the greenery-bedecked stone at the edge of the gorge. No, not an outcropping–it was obviously some kind of building, stone fitted to stone, with a filthy rag hung over the door.
A bony arm pushed the rag aside, and a wizened white-bearded man, bent nearly double with age, stepped out. When he saw the travelers, he called, “Stop!”
The group was so surprised by this apparition that they stopped. Kishnak almost plowed into Gemstar, who turned and shot a scathing glance at her.
The old man continued, “Who would cross the Devil’s Bridge must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.” He spoke in a singsong tone, sounding as bored as if he said these exact words any time someone came along. Which he probably did.