Both Roderic and Lucian turned their attention to the knight who had asked the question. Lucian quickly thought of an answer. "We are here as travelers, planning to go through the bridge to arrive at the northeastern side of Solarin, then move up north to Frisillock. We plan on staying here for around three to six weeks to avoid the bandits roaming around in this area." Lucian answered confidently, though internally he was slightly nervous.
The knight with his white-blue fabrics pondered a little before saying, "Well, that seems reasonable. We have noticed more bandit activity around Waterbridge as of late, with many merchants and nobles showing their annoyance and complaints about them." The knight showed slight worry through his body language.
"Well, you two seem like upstanding guys, except I do think that the one in the black fur coat could show a little more color and less of those weird white patterns, as you look really sketchy. Luckily for you, the city is full of beautiful fashion," the knight said, pointing at Roderic and laughing a little. The other knights fully ignored him, only shaking their heads in disapproval.
"EH-HEM. Anyways," the knight coughed to himself, noticing his remark didn't land. Switching back on topic, he asked, "A search through your belongings must be made before you two are allowed to enter. Do you two mind getting down from your steeds?"
Roderic's facial muscles twitched as both he and Lucian nodded, Lucian grinning at Roderic as they stepped down. Both lined up as a group of knights walked up, searching both horses. Two knights walked up to Lucian and Roderic, searching through their belongings. The one searching Roderic seemed slightly stumped at Roderic's "dark-metal gloves," which didn't budge at all.
Roderic ended up making an excuse that they were super tightly strapped on and needed a key to be opened, which he lost in Frisillock—one of the many "reasons" for the two wanting to go there.
The knight, still slightly stumped, nodded as he walked over to the other knights, all discussing their findings.
They eventually approved the two's access through the gate, walking over to the tower beside it as massive chains started rattling. The massive blue gate with white symbols edged around it slowly moved towards the walls, fully opening up as an entrance for the two through the city's massive walls, which fully blocked off the city from the outside world.
Roderic and Lucian quickly jumped up on their horses' backs, both signaling for their horses to move.
Riding through, they saw a massive arena with the ground full of sand and gravel, where many guards were sprinting through and knights working out, seeming to be covered from head to toe in sweat. Both Roderic and Lucian were struck speechless.
Lucian started wondering why in the name of King Sol an administrative zone would be at the entrance of a city.
Roderic, equally confused, looked over at Lucian and asked, "Is this normal? I thought most cities would start with like a normal high quarter or at least an outer quarter?"
Lucian scratched his stubble before answering, "Well sometimes. I've heard of such cities but never seen one myself. But I got to say, it's pretty good for security, right?"
Roderic smirked.
A city focused around a massive river was rare, as rivers move and twist, eroding the ground around them and shifting their course—or at least that's what happens without the kind of stone structures channeling Waterbridge's river, which had to be maintained all the time, or else the city would slowly crumble as the river broke free.
Roderic, being quite lazy, felt such a task sounded exhausting.
They continued forward, following the main road which moved to the right side of the arena. Both eventually saw a slum on the right side while on the other side stood a beautiful blue and white decorated church in the distance, with a sign pointing towards it, its text saying "Riversol Church." Beyond the church were massive blue and white houses, seeming to be the high quarter.
Roderic felt a keen interest towards the slums, as exciting scenarios and alcoholic beverages were overflowing in such places.
Lucian asked, "Where should we go first?"
Roderic looked slightly lost before responding, "How about we go to the market? Like, to figure out where we should stay, or buy resources for later?" Roderic thought that in the end it would be a better option than the slums, at least for gathering the needed resources for travel, as well as getting a place to sleep.
Lucian nodded as he replied, "Well, yeah, but first we must figure out where the market even is... I've never been here before. I've only met some of the knights at festivals and tournaments in the capital."
Roderic sighed. "Well, we should just follow the road until we find something then."
They both picked up the pace as they saw the road, which originally was made of gravel and sand, switch to bricks, indicating they were enclosing into a finer quarter.
Up in the distance was a massive masonry bridge which was colored dark blue for its arch, pier, and wall, with the parapet and roadway being colored white. At the entrance of the masonry bridge were two guards and many people going off and on.
Lucian seemed to find the bridge quite intriguing, as its structure and masonry were top class.
Roderic, on the other hand, wanted to head over it to finally get himself a hearty breakfast, as the journey had lacked proper food beyond what they stole from some poor bandits… which they killed…
Once they fully closed in, they noticed most people were heading onto this side of the bridge, the line going over seeming to be quite minuscule, with most seeming to be of high standing, most likely nobles.
The man in front picked out some Rin from his pouch as he showed them a blue badge. The guards nodded as the man climbed on his horse, starting the ride over the bridge.
Lucian and Roderic got off their horses as they entered the line, holding on to them by their reins.
While waiting, Lucian looked over to the massive river. The banks of the river were lined with rock, seeming to go all the way to the city walls. In the rocks were long spike-shaped rocks seeming to guide the river to avoid twisting in the stream.
The man in front of them, now done, walked away as it was their turn to pay the toll.
The guard asked nonchalantly, "Do you have the citizenship badge?"
Lucian responded, "No, we don't."
The guard, not shocked, asked, "Okay then, the toll will be one hundred Rin for both, with your horses adding on sixty Rin together," pushing his hand forward.
Roderic moved over to Spite's saddlebag, grabbing four fifty Rin coins as well as three twenty Rin coins from his money pouch and throwing them over to the guard.
The guard grabbed them, slightly showing an expression of annoyance.
"Well then, the toll is paid. Go right over," the guard said as nonchalantly as before, now with a small hint of annoyance.
Roderic and Lucian both jumped on their horses, riding slowly over as the parapet of the bridge was not all that tall for the bridge's size.
But the quality of the masonry was excellent. Even if Roderic wanted breakfast as soon as possible, he could still envy the craftsmanship of the bridge. Even with his strength, he could not wish to recreate it.
The bridge's length was ginormous. Moving over took around two minutes.
Moving off, they saw a busy market with children running around, adults prattling with merchants demanding better prices, alehouses with loud laughter from their patrons, and merchants loudly yelling out their deals.
Roderic exhaled. "Finally. It's time to get some grub!"
Lucian, not as excited, nodded, as he was used to not eating for long periods of time. Expeditions outside the capital were normal, with many needing the extermination of bandits and unruly murderers their own guards could not handle.
They moved through the busy market with its blue and white palette, with most people around wearing the same blue and white fabric the knights had between their plates—seeming to be a cultural thing.
While walking, Roderic caught a view which keenly interested him, similar to why he wanted to go to Waterbridge's slums: a tavern.
The tavern was crafted in planks, which was unusual in this place, as most other builds were of bricks. On the tavern's sign was written "Patrick's Favourite" with an inscription underneath saying "Tavern with drinks and food."
"Hey Lucian, should we grab some grub and drinks there?" Roderic said with a big grin plastered on his face.
"Well sure, I don't mind. As long as I get some food and drinks down my gullet, I'm not complaining," Lucian grinned back.
They walked over to a nicely put together stable. Once inside, they paid around four hundred Rin to the caretaker. Then they left, now without Spite and Excalibur, walking over to the bar Roderic found.
They walked in, avoiding the drunkards wobbling out of the tavern, walking over to the counter.
"Two big cups of ale with a shepherd's pie on the side. If possible, I would also like a piece of bread too," Roderic asked, his hunger clearly obvious in his enthusiastic expression.
The tavern keep with his nice slicked-back hair nodded as he requested one hundred and twenty Rin, which Roderic had in his pouch, which he grabbed before leaving Spite in the stable.
"Hmm, I would like some pottage with some bread on the side. I would also like a cup of locally brewed beer if possible," Lucian asked nonchalantly.
"Very nice pick, sir. Our beer here in Waterbridge is quite famous," the tavern keep said as he smiled.
"Also, what are the lodging prices for two here?" Lucian quickly followed up.
"Well, if you plan on staying the night, the price for one night is eighty Rin," the tavern keep responded.
"Well then, I'd like one room with two beds."
The tavern keep picked up his quill and parchment. "What are the names of you two, and how many nights?"
Lucian responded, "My name is Lucian and the other guy's name is Roderic. I'd like to stay for one week if possible."
The tavern keep nodded as he wrote down their names and their stay. "That would be five hundred and sixty Rin, and with your meal it's going to be six hundred and fifty Rin. Just place the coins on the counter and I'll count." The tavern keep replied, with the smile of a worker who was trying their best to please customers.
Lucian nodded as he looked over at the hungry Roderic, who seemed to be starting to get impatient for his food. "Could you take out the six hundred and fifty Rin he's asking for?"
Roderic's ears hurt when hearing the number of Rin the tavern cost, wondering why it had to be so much. But in the end, the quicker he let go of the price, the quicker his meal would be in his stomach, so he hastily forked over the coins, counting them before placing them on the counter.
The tavern keep thanked them before counting the coins, seeming to be pleased with his new earnings.
He started writing a few things before giving the two their key. "Come down in the morning when the church's bells ring, then you two will be served some breakfast. Oh, also another thing, The key's number matches your room number." The key had a note with the number fifty-five attached to it. The tavern keep now headed towards the kitchen to give the order for their two new guests.
They walked over to one of the tables, waiting. Many of the tavern's customers were drunk out of their minds, wobbling and loudly talking to other drunkards.
After a bit of chatting, their orders had been made as the tavern's servant walked over, giving the two their meals and drinks. Lucian received his order first before Roderic got his, which pissed Roderic off as his hunger was starting to jump off the map.
Roderic quickly pierced through the shepherd's pie's layer with his wooden spoon, the gravy seeping out as the pie was quite saucy.
Roderic, with his other hand, grabbed his bread, biting off a piece before placing the filled spoon into his mouth. The creamy mashed potato had a slight chew. The tender lamb strands blended perfectly with the sautéed peas, carrot, and onion. The gravy of the shepherd's pie brought all the ingredients together into a fine blend. The bread's crunchy crust and soft, fluffy interior elevated the meal into a beautiful synergy. Roderic closed his eyes briefly, savoring every bite.
Suddenly he felt himself get thirsty, chugging around half of his cup of ale. The ale itself was nice, as the bitterness was quite robust. The fruitiness of this ale was slightly higher than what he would usually get when roaming around different taverns, inns, and alehouses.
Lucian, on the other hand, was slow, taking his time with the meal, enjoying his beer more than his pottage and bread, usually drinking three sips before dipping his bread in the pottage.
The locally brewed beer had a strong malt flavor, its bitterness sharper than what he was used to in the capital.
The pottage seemed to have been sitting for a while, the grains picking up the stock of the soup, making it slightly clumpy—more than he would have liked. But what he did like was the generous amount of meat thrown in; this generosity was uncommon in the capital, where the population was far larger than this medium-sized city.
Lucian looked over at the beastly man throwing the food down his throat, barely catching his breath between bites and slurps. Lucian's right eyebrow twitched from the unpleasant sight, quickly switching his focus to the busy shopping street outside, a feeling of sentimentality fluttering in his heart, remembering times where Sidrian would invite him out to alehouses, drinking their hearts out—screaming and laughing loudly to the point of annoying other customers. It was an amazing time, he thought.
Roderic, while scarfing down his food and hitting his chest a few times, noticed Lucian's sentimental and moody expression, remembering the man had recently lost many people he knew.
Roderic, even with his lack of understanding of people, knew not to intervene in this, deciding instead to buy more food while Lucian was out of it, walking over to the tavern keep wanting to try some of the pottage too.
"Hey, could I get a bowl of pottage? Also, order the chefs to pick up as much meat as possible, okay?" Roderic asked, grinning with the thought of even more food down in his stomach, Lucian not seeming to have noticed.
The tavern keep nodded, slicking back his hair. "That will be sixty Rin, but if I get the chefs to throw some cooked meat in, it will be eighty Rin. Is that fine with you?" The tavern keep replied, not missing a moment to earn more Rin.
Roderic, still slightly hungry, rolled his eyes before grabbing four twenty Rin coins, slapping them on the counter before walking back.
Lucian, finally noticing Roderic, asked why he left. Roderic replied with a simple, "I ordered more."
"Okay, but don't go overboard. We're not rich," Lucian snickered, continuing to look out the window.
"I'll remember, but I was the one to gather our wealth, so I should have higher rights over it," Roderic snickered back.
Lucian seemed to ignore his comment as he continued to stare out the window.
Later, after Roderic ate his meal, they went upstairs, Roderic taking the bigger bed as Lucian didn't really care.
Even if it wasn't really late, as the sunset was spreading its golden glow throughout the city, both of them felt quite tired as they had been on a long journey, Roderic even needing to fight a mage along the way.
Their journey to the Shifting Sanctum was not done, but Waterbridge was definitely a relaxing point for both to rest.
They fell into deep sleep, the tavern's creaking floorboards and distant laughter oddly comforting after so many nights in the wilderness.