The Bridge of Books

Reading by the riverside.

The stone bridge and tower known as "The Bridge of Books" is one of four causeways spanning the Calderspring River along its winding path through Aeredale. All constructed around the same time, the bridges were built of lumber, mortar and stones, and were wide enough to allow a carriage to pass. Each also had a small tower at one end, alternating north and south. While the first three bridges remained in regular use, with daily foot traffic and wagon deliveries crossing back and forth, over the years the furthest east of the four was used less and less often, eventually becoming overgrown with grasses and littered with loose stones.
When famed wizard Grady Malakai visited Aeredale to view a relic held by the College of the Lake, he took an interest in the old eastern bridge, and asked to stay in its still-standing southern tower while conducting his research at the school. During his three-month stay he cleaned and expanded the southern tower, adding windows and eventually an additional room onto the side of the tower along the riverbank. He began holding meetings there with other researchers from the College where they discussed everything from use of enchantment and general arcane knowledge to the best fishing spots along the lakeshore. By the time Malakai left to return to the Empire, the College had paid local tradesmen to clear and repair the bridge and began using it as a regular meeting space.
Over the next few years an additional third story was built atop the tower's old platform roof. This space was quickly filled with ledgers of notes on magical theory, while more mundane books on geography and history were collected on the second story. The now larger ground floor held a few small desks, with a large table for meetings looking out over the blue and gray of the river. What began as a simple stone bridge in a set of four became over time a valuable library and research annex for the College of the Lakes, gaining the name "The Bridge of Books".

Type

Bridge