A Bend in the River

As she went on, the valley broadened and the ridges on either side became gradually lower. Thus she couldn't really say exactly when she reached the plains.

She continued to follow the river, as it was still heading in the right direction. She saw no further sign of people, Presumably the shepherd must have had a farm, or at least a hut, but evidently in a different direction from the one that she had taken.

A couple of hours before sunset (she estimated), the river did something she had been worried about, [87904] and turned through almost ninety degrees, so that it now headed east instead of south. Unless it changed its course again before too long, she would need to cross it if she was to reach the populous part of Aqualaria. The river by now was far too deep to be forded, and of course she could not swim.

Then in the distance she saw a bridge. However this did not soolve her problem. For one thing, at this range she could not tell if it was made of stone - in which case it would probably bear her weight - or of wood (more likely in this remote region) - when it probably would not. Even worse, there were two people fishing from it. Retracing her steps to a point where she could safely ford the river woukld involve many hours delay.

1. She decided to approach and make herself known to the men (she assumed that they were men, though at this range she could not be sure of their gender). Perhaps they would help her, and in any case they could hardly harm her.
2. She decided to give the bridge a wide berth so as not to be seen. Sooner or later she must surely come to another bridge where she would be able to cross. Or maybe she would find a town on this side. After all, the bridge must be there for a reason.
3. Though she would be wholly underwater for a minute or more, she decided to try to ford the river, to avoid the need to use the bridge.

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