The Worship of Strangeness - Part 4

"Do you really think that you'll be able to keep that side to yourself… I could go all the way downstream, and find a better crossing there, if I wished," Nila said.

"You could," Oliver agreed. "But then it would not be my territory you enter into first, it would be someone else's. Do you think you can negotiate with the rulers of those lands?"

"Since when have those lands had rulers..?" Nila muttered. "Ah, that's it, I'm sick of this game. I'm going to get across, whether you like it or not."

"Let us see," Oliver said, like some all-seeing wise ruler, betting against the futile plights of a mortal.

The first thing that Nila seized was the thick branch of a long rotted tree. She picked it up, and was surprised by its lightness. Oliver wondered what that said for its structural integrity. It seemed very much like it would be just as likely to snap as it would be to support her weight.