Chapter 12: Ch. 11 – The Earl of Bruda

Bruda was an anvil and leather town. The village was soundtracked by the clang-clang of hammers and the rush of steam shooting from forges. It sat east of Kalendale, mid-way up the mountain, where the weather was cold and brisk, but snow had yet to fall. The town was small but astir, occupied by an Earl’s longhouse, crowded around by knights and noblemen, a church, and several small residences decorated for the holidays.

The citizens of Bruda seemed more well-to-do than the farmers and cattle herders of Kalendale. Momo could see it in the way they walked, the fine embroidery in their leather. Their hair was dressed in elaborate styles. Many of the women kept blonde locks trapped in bows and pins, adorned with bright accessories.

Not for the first time, Momo felt out of place. Besides the jewelry Valerica had lent her, her clothes were still the sad, earthly Mallmart threads she had arrived with: a graphic tee, torn jeans, ragged sneakers. She had stolen an old cloak from the stables to cover herself in the cold, but she stuck out like a sore thumb nonetheless.

Like Kalendale, Bruda also housed a marketplace in the city center. The sellers here sold tanned leather, fine clothes, jewelry and teas. It was a market of luxuries, not necessities. It reminded Momo of the Christmas markets her mother took her to when they had visited family in Switzerland. It was quaint, smelled of berries, and would drain your pockets with a quickness.

“Free sample?” a man with the horns of a deer offered her a small mug of liquid. He had a friendly, meek face, with a long nose that had turned red from the cold breeze. Momo felt like he looked a bit like a retired Rudolph the Reindeer.

She gave him a small smile and took the mug. She sipped it, and felt a sudden yet wonderful tranquility. That sort of peace you only get while alone in a room, music playing, your feet bobbing to the rhythm. It was warm, and tasted of honey and cinnamon.

---