| 334 With one eye on the storm you ride, knowing full well that if it turns in your direction you will have to find shelter. Storms in Northern Kalborea are not to be endured in the open. Fuelled by bitingly cold winds that sweep down from the mountains to the north, they collide with warm air on the plains and develop into monster storms that can literally suck the life from the unprotected traveller. In many cases leaving no trace of them behind. As you ride forward you scan the horizon for any sign of shelter ahead. The storm is still some way off so it is not urgent that you find shelter just yet. It will be prudent to keep an eye out though. At any time the storm could move your way and it will help to be mindful of what cover may be available. Your search immediately turns up something that strikes your interest. Off to the right, spanning the remains of a dry riverbed, is the twin spires of an old toll bridge. These toll bridges were common in centuries past, a bridge would be built at a strategic point on a river and then a tower would be built on both ends of its arch. These towers held the toll collectors who would extract a fee from merchants carrying goods and other trade items between the main cities of the four nations. Some of these toll bridges had become the foundation of much larger towns such as Miller's Crossing; others, like this abandoned structure, died along with the trade routes that used to connect the Stone Kingdoms with Kalborea and the Faeyen. In this case even the river had dried up, now it stands a strangely innocuous structure on these plains, two thin fingers pointing up out of the surrounding flatlands.
| Would you like to have a closer look at the toll bridge? If so, turn to section 360. If you would rather press on to the west, turn to section 312.
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