Sabotage Suspected in Recent Bridge Collapses

LAKESIDE, KARRNATH — The recent collapse of Fairregard Bridge over the Iceflow River has disrupted House Orien caravans as well as normal traffic. This bridge is the third to be put out of commission this autumn.

Following a series of groundquakes variously described as “rumbling” or “thumping” by witnesses, the stone center supports of the bridge crumbled and were swept away by the river shortly after noon on Rhaan 10th. The bridge surface then collapsed into the Iceflow and was carried several miles downstream.

Benneth Trogholm, a teamster who narrowly avoided losing his train to the collapse, described his harrowing experience. “I was already pushing my team as fast as I could across the bridge. The ground was shaking, and I wanted no part of that,” he said. “But when I was halfway across, I heard the bridge creak and groan as though it were alive! At that point, I just gave the horses their heads. Considering the speed of the collapse, I was really lucky to make it all the way across.”

Helshea d’Orien, a caravan master who handles House Orien trade with the settler communities in the Iceflow River delta, said the collapse of Fairregard Bridge seemed suspicious. Two other bridges across the Iceflow have also collapsed in the past month, although no witnesses have emerged to describe the circumstances. “These are war-era bridges, but they didn’t sustain a lot of battle damage,” she said. “And the Iceflow isn’t running high right now, so it’s not like they’re getting flooded out. Someone is deliberately taking out these bridges, one by one.”

House Orien’s leaders plan to hire guards for the two remaining bridges over the Iceflow River. “As it is,” said d’Orien in explanation of this decision, “the loss of three bridges has added a week to travel time between the Lakeside and the delta settlers. And the remaining bridges are too small to support heavy caravan traffic.”