Chapter Six

The very first time Elias had gone to Rushford, he had come back with stories that sounded too fantastical to be true. He spoke of cobbled roads and crowded streets, of people of every color, race and creed, of inns and brothels, large shops and bustling markets. Most of all, he spoke of a large bridge that dominated the center of Rushford. Gideon never really believed it. It was all too impossible. Until they got to Rushford. 

Rushford was a town easily three times the size of Mettledown split in two by the River Euphrates. The Euphrates ran across the whole continent running eastward out of Nor into Aldar. There were two crossings across the Euphrates. The biggest was in Rushford called the Moses Crossing after the man who had built the bridge. 

The bridge was a marvel of engineering, even from afar. Made of a combination of wood and stone, Moses Crossing spanned the entirety of the Euphrates and high enough over Euphrates to let even large boats pass underneath it. It was built back when Nor and Aldar were one nation before the great schism. The early settlers under the leadership of Moses built the bridge and opened up access to what is now the northern lands of Aldar. The bridge also connected the two parts of Rushford.

"This is... amazing" Gideon whispered as they rode into Rushford. The guards at the gates had let them in with nothing but a nod and they had joined the crowd of people walking into the town so his voice was probably swallowed up in the noise of people hurrying to and fro but somehow Elias heard him.

"I had that same look on my face when I first came here" Elias said with a wide grin. "It's crazy, after living in Mettledown for so long to think that there's something bigger out there but..." He spread his hands put. "But there is."

They rode deeper into the city and Gideon's head was on a constant swivel trying to take it every small detail. The streets were crowded with more people than Gideon had ever seen in his life. People dragged their carts while others had horses and donkeys to do it.. Others like him were on horses but most were on feet. He even caught glimpse of a knight in full armor as he disappeared down a side street. 

Then there was the noise. Mettledown was never loud. There were never enough people for that but here, it was different. Vendors on the side of the streets shouted loudly to passer-by trying to sell their wares while a few customers haggled for the prices of cabbages and carrots and vegetables and even some small animals. He caught sight of birds and rabbits and hares and dogs all locked up with wooden price tags attached to their cages.

They rode down a street filled with shops that sold only weapons – swords of all sizes, maces, spears, staffs, arrows and other weapons that Gideon could not even recognize. There were also armors on display of different makes. Some were simple and lean, others looked heavy and could fit on a giant. One in particular caught his eyes. It was golden and ornately designed with rubies and emeralds built into the chest plate.

"You should remove your eyes from that" Elias laughed from beside him. "Even if your father sold his farm for twice its value, you probably won't be able to afford that" So, Gideon wisely took his eyes away from it and instead continued in his unveiled wonder at Rushford.

"My good man" A loud voice tore him out of his wonder. Gideon looked down and saw a man dressed in possibly the most expensive clothes he had ever seen. His tunic was the deepest red and his purple coat made him look more important than he probably was.

"Yes?" Gideon asked hesitantly.

"You look like a man in need of some rest" He spoke gesticulating his hands here and there. "Come. Turn in here at the Rose Inn. You'll find the tastiest of food and of course the best of entertainment. We have them in all shapes and sizes. Anything that tickles your fancy. We have it."

Intrigued, Gideon turned to look at the establishment. It was a large two-story building twice the size of his father's house with a large red rose was painted over the door and the words Rose Inn written underneath it equally garish red. It looked inviting and he nodded at the man. They needed a place to rest anyways but before he could say anything, Elias shut him down.

"Thank you, sir. But we must be on our way quickly." he said and carefully steered them away from the man who looked irritated at having a customer stolen from him. 

As they rode away deeper into the city, Gideon asked, "Why did you do that? We need an inn to rest for the night"

Elias laughed in reply. "We're not in Mettledown anymore, Gideon"

"I can tell" Gideon said looking at the buildings surrounding them and the people rushing around, running one errand or the other. He could see little boys darting in and out of side streets and alleyways with an ease that came with familiarity. Gideon could not even find his way back to the gates. Frankly it was all overwhelming. He wondered what he would have done if Elias had not been with him to guide him

"Things work differently here. The people are much different here." He said and Gideon furrowed his brow trying to understand what his friend was saying

"I don't understand what you mean. People are still people. It doesn't matter where" he said 

 Elias sighed "The Rose Inn. It's not just any inn. It's a pleasure house"

Gideon stopped. "Sorry?"

"A pleasure house. A whorehouse. A brothel"

Gideon turned to look at the building they had gone some distance from. Gideon knew what brothels were but they were supposed to be obvious. You were supposed to know just by looking that this was a brothel. There were supposed to be nude women in suggestive poses hanging around the building. That was what he'd always imagined anyways.

"We're no longer in Mettledown, Gideon. Nothing is ever as it seems" Elias said. 

They finally came to a stop in front of a larger inn further into the city. A sign hung at the entrance – The Crossing Inn. An image of a bridge was carved into a wooden plaque above it. It looked no different from the Rose Inn save from the name.

"They're not very imaginative with the name, are they?" Gideon asked. "Is this another brothel?"

"You shouldn't let Madam Deborah hear you say that. She'll have your head" Elias said.

They dismounted and took off their satchel and swords as a young boy, barely older than Elizabeth took their horses to an attached stable at the back of the inn. Elias press a couple of copper coins into the young boy's hand and he went about his task just a tad bit happier. 

"Alright, let's go inside" He said but before he opened the door, he paused and looked at Gideon, "Whatever you do, don't stare too long at anyone. They tend to take those sorts of things personally here" he waited until Gideon nodded his affirmation and then opened the door.

The inside of the inn was stuffy and noisy. It was dimly lit by a few oil lamps that hung on the wall and a low fire burning in a fireplace in the corner as well as the dying light of the afternoon sun. There were tables arranged all around the room with people seated around them in different states of conversation. Barmaids scuttered to and fro in the low-roofed room taking orders and delivering food. The din of conversation did not lower as they entered and no one paid them any attention. 

Elias led him to a small table tucked against the wall in the corner close to the fireplace. As they slid into their seats, Gideon slid his gaze around the room. There were more men than women in the room and a few of them were armed in one form or another. He could make out that some of them were merchants simply by the way they held themselves but even some of those had their weapons on display. His hands subconsciously drifted downwards to his waist where Singer was belted.

There were people of all shapes and sizes in the room. Many of them were gathered in small groups as they talked and laughed. Ale and drinks flowed freely and it made the men looser with their laughter and their coin purse. The barmaids were all too happy to fulfill their orders. 

After a few minutes of waiting, a barmaid stopped at their table to take their order. She smiled as soon as she saw Elias. "Elias! You're back" She looked back at Gideon. "Where is your master?"

"Rachel. Master Anthony is unfortunately caught up back at home. You know how the work is" He gestured at Gideon, "This is my friend, Gideon. He has never left Mettledown so we're doing some sightseeing here in your lovely town. And of course, we simply had to see the loveliest barmaid this side of the Euphrates."

Elias could be charming when he wanted to be. It was clearly working on the young barmaid if her red cheeks were anything to go by. She was only a few years older than them and was pretty in a different way, nothing like Jane of course. Her mousy brown hair was done up in a ponytail and her two front teeth were slightly bigger than normal but it just made her smile prettier. 

"You're such a flatterer, Elias" she said, her cheeks still a hot red color. "I'm sure you say that to all the ladies"

"Only when it is true" Elias replied with a smirk. "So, what do we have in the house today?"

"Your favorite, Lamb stew" she said, her cheeks still red but less so now.

"We'll have that then. And a cup of honey beer" Elias said.

"And for the young man?" she turned to look at Gideon.

"I'll have the same" Gideon said with a small smile on his face. 

"Alright, I'll bring your order in a moment"

As the young barmaid left, Gideon turned to look at his friend with his eyebrow raised and Elias simply shrugged with the smile still on his face. "It pays to have friends"

"Ain't that right, boyo" A hoarse voice said from the table next them. The owner of the voice was an old man, twice his father's age, with bald, spotted head and ragged grey beard. He looked like he was moments away from dying but his eyes still sparkled with mirth.

"Your first time in our fair little town, Rushford, eh?" He asked, his full mouth of broken and crooked teeth twisted in a strange facsimile of a smile. 

"Yeah" He replied, uneasily. 

The man nodded to himself like he had just answered the most important question in the world. "I'll tell ya. Our town here, may not be as big as Blue Cove or as splendid as Kanaan but I'll say, it's the most special town you'll see in all of Aldar."

"Really?" Gideon asked skeptically and the man nodded eagerly. He shifted his chair closer to their table and leaned his arms on them.

"Have yer seen the bridge?"

Gideon shook his head. "Only from afar. It's beautiful"

"Aye. But do you know its history?"

"Yes. Moses built it many years ago" Even in Mettledown, the tale was well known but the man cut him off waving his hands.

"Moses never built any bloody bridge. 'Tis all nonsense" The man said annoyed and started to mutter to himself. "Curse the bloody lost ages. After the death of the Forgotten King and his Apostolos, some heretics came and rewrote the histories. They hated the church ya' see. Kept some stuff but anything they didn't like. They threw away! Now we have this nonsense. Like Moses built a bridge or Samson was a knight. Ha! Samson? a knight? What a joke?" 

He took a deep gulp from his cup. Gideon could smell the ale even from his table. He had never tasted the stuff –father was strict about things like that. But he had seen enough people drink it to know the smell.

"What exactly are you saying?" Elias cut in before the man could continue.

The man paused for a moment and cast a cursory look around the inn. No one was paying them any attention.

"I'll tell ye the real story of the bridge. You look like good lads" The man settled in his seat and look both of them in the eyes.

"It was many, many, many years ago before the First Age of Heroes. Back then, the people of Aldar were nothing but a mismatched group of people in enslavement in Valar. See, the Valarians were cruel bastards and slave masters of the highest orders. The built an empire, the largest the world had ever seen and they did on the back of their slaves. They ruled with an iron fist and they culled the people. The people grew bitter and they were without hope so they cried to Yachwah for deliverance. And Yachwah heard their cries and he sent to them – a deliverer born to an Aldarian mother but raised in the very court of Valar. His name was Moses. He came to his people's aid and with Yachwah's blessing, he delivered the people and led them out of Valar."

He paused and looked at his audience. Gideon spied a hooded figure on another table listening as well but he paid them little attention, engrossed in the story that the old man was telling.

"Now the people were free and they sang songs and rejoiced as they left Valar. But the Valarian King was cruel and he reneged on the promise he made to Moses. He gathered his armies and his chariots and he chased the people of Aldar fiercely until they reached the banks of the Euphrates. When they got here, the people were greatly distressed and tired and they cursed Moses. The bloody ingrates! But Moses did not fret. He called unto Yachwah and Yachwah answered. The Valarians you see today, you shall see them no more. So, Moses faced the Euphrates and raised his rod, and Yachwah sent a mighty wind. The wind came screaming from the north and split the Euphrates in two and there was dry land across the Euphrates for the Aldarians to cross. But when the Valarian king and his men attempted to follow. The wind ceased and the great river collapsed and drowned the king and his men. And even up till today, their armor still floats out to shore"

"Then when was the bridge itself built?"

"Ah!" The man exclaimed. "One of Moses' followers, Joshua. He was but a young lad when they left Valar but he grew in a commander. He led the people of Aldar after the death of Moses. He wanted the Valarians gone for good. So, he raised an army and trained them well, armed them with steel and bows and arrows. Then when the time was right, they built this very bridge and rode southwards and beat the Valarians back all the way back to the borders where Rulem now stands and back into their own lands."

There was silence as the old man finished his tale. Gideon looked around. The whole tavern was listening to the old man's story. Even the barmaids had stood idly with empty trays and eyes trained on the storyteller. The silence was broken by a burly man in the corner. He raised his cup and shouted "Here's to seeing the bloody Valarians no more!" There were loud shouts of agreement as people banged their cups and raised them in the air. Soon enough, people returned to their own conversations and everyone forgot about the story. 

Meanwhile, Rachel arrived with their meal. As he dug into the lamb stew, Gideon caught the hooded figure looking at them once again. This time, he turned to look at the person but they quickly stood up and made for the back of the room. He watched carefully until they disappeared out of sight.

"What's back there" He asked Elias.

His friend swallowed a spoonful of lamb meat and turned to see where he was pointing. "Oh. Stairs. They lead to the rooms. Reminds me, we need to get a room from Madam Deborah."

Madam Deborah was not a very tall woman. She was twice as wide as Gideon but her head barely came up to his chest. Her thick black hair was held back in tight bun that brought all the focus to her green eyes. She reminded him of Nan Yocheved – his wet nurse but she lacked any of her motherly features. Instead, her gaze seemed to pin him down as she tried to dissect him. 

Her table was tucked in an alcove close to the bar and was almost entirely covered by neatly arranged stacks of paper, one of which she was examining when they approached.

"Where is Anthony?" She asked as soon as they approached.

Elias laughed nervously, "I'm actually not here with him. I'm here with my friend. We needs a room for the night"

She raised an eyebrow but didn't otherwise comment. "What kind of rooms do you want?"

"Two beds"

She nodded and reached into a box by her side. She dropped the key on the table. "Twenty coppers for the night"

"Twenty? It was fifteen when we were last here" His complaint died in his throat once she glared at him.

Elias dropped the coin and it was gone with a quick swipe of Madam Deborah's hands. "Breakfast is in the morning. If you miss it, you're on your own"

Elias nodded surly and took the key. He dragged his friend behind him and they made their way to the same stairs the hooded figure had gone up.

"I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep" Elias groaned as they reached the landing. Before them was a hallway lined with wooden doors. Gideon nodded in agreement but suddenly stopped in his tracks. The same hooded figure he had seen watching him downstairs was standing at the end of the hallway close to their door. The figure wasn't tall and much of their physique was covered in the large dark cloak that they wore so it was impossible to discern their gender. 

The person stood looking them. Gideon could barely make out any features underneath the hood save for the line of their jaw.

"Who are you?" Elias asked, taking a step forward and lowering his hands to the hilt of his sword. Gideon hastily copied this, finding Singer's leathery hilt.

The figure merely stared at them before they turned and walked to another door in the hallway. Without a sound, they slipped into the room and slammed the door shut leaving Gideon and Elias standing alone in the hallway. 

"Who the hell was that?" Elias asked.