The Battle of Casso Bridge – Part 1

Scottie sprinted up the street, a distant clocktower chiming the half hour, 12:30. He rounded a corner and nearly slid off the edge into the canal when he spotted the bridge. The canal system in Ravila was similar to the canals of Babbage. They were occasionally bridged over with a ladder on both sides that descended to small docks on the water. The bridges in Ravila were arched and largely made of stone. The one separating the Blood and Church Quarter looked particularly older than the other bridges in town, and spanned a much wider canal that eventually fed into the the Ravilan Port. According to the brass plaque on the bridge, it was called the Casso Bridge.

As Scottie approached the bridge, Sky was climbing the ladder from the dock on the vampire side, wiping some sweat from her forehead and taking off a pair of leather gloves. She looked up and saw him, shooting him a grin.

He returned her grin and closed the distance between them, pulling her into a hug and looking down at the dock, noticing a small boat holding a familiar green canvas bag that was rocking gently after having just seen use, “Um, so, what did you do? You seemed pretty happy when you left, considering how dire things are right now…”

“Well,” she started, “I thought if we could control the bridge, we might have a chance at getting these folks to talk. So what I did was-”

The sounds of footsteps interrupted her. From the Church Quarter dozens of Brothers and Fathers swarmed to the bridge. Scottie and Sky walked up to the top of the arch and watched the Builders as they spread out on their side of the canal. The men stood shoulder to shoulder, most carrying crossbows. More Builders filed in, and while the Melniks could hear some grunting and the tops of heads seemed to move in such a way to indicate they were carrying something a bit heavy, neither could tell what it was. Even with their slightly higher vantage points from the arch of the bridge, there were just too many tall, broad-shouldered Brothers blocking the view.

The one Sky had named “Twitchy” was stationed between two Fathers at the bridge, a broadsword strapped to his waist and a crossbow in his hand. Sky leaned up and whispered into Scottie’s ear, “Twitchy isn’t so twitchy anymore.” Scottie nodded and Sky stepped toward the Builders.

“It looks like you’ve gotten a promotion, Brother…” she motioned to Twitchy’s attire, which did indeed fall more into line with the Fathers than the Brothers.

“Father Straton,” he corrected her, “Mrs. Melnik, is it? Do I know you?”

“You may not know me, but I know you. I saw you earlier tonight. You were paying a visit to Councilman Bentham just before he passed.” The look of shock on the new Father’s face was priceless and Sky smiled as she raised her voice to address the Builders at large, “Brothers, Fathers, you’ve been deceived. This man,” she pointed to Father Straton, “and Councilman Bentham plotted this conflict. What the Father here doesn’t know is that the Bentham was playing both sides. He met with a vampire shortly thereafter with promises of power. Bentham was conning you all into destroying each other.”

Straton sneered and one of the Fathers by his side spoke up, “Those are serious accusations, young lady. Both against one of our own and a dear, deceased friend who can no longer defend himself. Do you have any proof to support your claim? And how did you come by such knowledge?”

Scottie stiffened next to Sky. The last thing he wanted was for them to wind up in a Ravilan prison waiting for the next Hanging Festival.

“Well, I don’t really have any proof…” Sky began before she was interrupted by the footsteps from behind. The vampires had arrived. Seeing the Melniks on the bridge and Builders across the canal, the vampires took up positions along their side, spanning out just as the builders had. Philip emerged at the foot of the bridge, smiling up at the couple, “So, you did tip off the Blockheads. Got them all out here, lined up in a row for us. Thank you for that. It certainly beats tracking them down through the Churchyard. Though some of us hunger for the chase…”

Several dozen vampires chuckled, and Scottie and Sky looked back and forth, trapped between two factions ready to kill each other.