The Peculiar Adventure of Mr Norton

Chapter 12

The city of Gomorrah is situated much further east and would require seven days ride on their camel. The journey was further complicated by having to cross the Gigantuar Mountain, which made travelling with camels much slower. Fortunately, the Gigantuar Mountain is not on the same scale as the Aster Mountain, but it did cost them an extra day or two.

"I have heard of the city of Gomorrah, one of my friends in the circus have happened to have travelled to a town nearby during one of her circus tours. That was before I joined," Denise said as they descended from the Gigantuar Mountain.

"That is interesting, so what is the city like?" Edward asked, hoping it would not be anything similar to the Beggar's Block.

"It is known as the city of fornicators. Those who committed adultery would be condemned to serve their sentence there. On the other hand, those who seek the pleasures of the flesh in this realm would go there to quench their desires," Denise said.

A brief moment of silence fell between them for a while, when Denise spoke again, "Look, I am in no way suggesting that your Geraldine would, in any way, be infidel towards you. As I know, you two were not even married yet, I am just telling you so that you can go into it with the full knowledge of the place, nothing more."

"Yes...thank you... I guess we will see once we are there," Edward said with a heavy heart.

The city of Gomorrah arrived before their eyes at long last. It was built a short distance from the foot of the Gigantuar Mountain on a rocky terrain. The city was guarded on its perimeter by huge city walls with statues of Greek nudes. The city wall is undoubtedly there to prevent those serving their sentence from escaping, as it appeared more functional rather than aesthetic. The entrance to the city is guarded by two knights in spiked armour. They stood like sentries and held a spear in their right hand. Upon entering the city, the two were surprised by the display of bright lights and its brilliance of colours. The nightlife was more than anything that Edward has seen. Even though the sun has set just a while ago, people were revelling and walking around no less than that of a city in daytime. Much to his shock, the people of this city were dressed in the utmost appalling manner. Dresses and skirts which covered only half of the thigh, women and men dressed in clothing which only covered their private areas or men that are topless wearing only a short. In most instances, the clothing was too exposed for Edward's liking and several he considered vulgar. Such style of clothing was almost certainly never seen in the society that he grew up in, where people were taught to be conservative. To surprise him even further, there are even several people amongst the crowd who are completely nude. All around them, music played and street performers displayed their various skills, knife-throwers, sword-swallowers, jugglers, contortionists and various other ones. The sound was so loud at certain parts of the city that Edward had to lean closer to Denise in order to hear what she has to say. The festive atmosphere around here is surely one of the reasons why people are attracted to Gomorrah, a city which never sleeps, a city of carnal pleasures and earthly joys.

They continued to search the city in search for the whereabouts of Evelyn Taylor. They were rather surprised to learn that she was, in fact, a famous and well-known person in Gomorrah. Evelyn Taylor, is well-known as a manager of a local burlesque theatre, L'amour, which is situated near the western block of the city. However, she is even more renowned as one of the most esteemed prosecutors in Gomorrah, having served over four decades thus far in her position. Gomorrah is a place for both pleasure and pain, she delivers both. This is how the people of Gomorrah describe her. The easiest way to look for her is to seek her out either at L'amour or at the Grand Chastening Court. Based on the directions they were given, Edward and Denise decided that it would be closer to try the L'amour.