James Somers - The Order of Shaddai

They lingered in town only a moment longer. Gideon helped his bride onto his horse and then climbed up into the saddle behind her, being as gentle as he knew how. They rode slowly toward their home. They would celebrate there and enjoy each other’s company for one last time before he left for Hopple and the mission to Macedon-his final mission for The Order of Shaddai.

What had not been apparent to Sarah or Gideon, but which undoubtedly would have been clearly seen by his young apprentice, was the demon watching them as they stood by the building in the dimming light of dusk.HJJJ He watched them as they held one another. And he listened as they exchanged joyous information between husband and wife.

The demon did not know exactly where this man was going other than to Macedon. But it did realize who he was. The puzzling thing had been, the whereabouts of the priest’s companion, the boy. The demon had been assigned to watch for the Deliverer in Millertown, by Jericho himself, but only Gideon the priest had come.

Nevertheless, the implications of Gideon and Sarah’s conversation were not lost on the demon. He knew, as well as most, that priests of Shaddai were bound to The Order and did not marry. This was something new and interesting to see.

The demon followed the couple riding horseback to their home on the property owned by Sarah’s parents. He watched and listened more. Then he left the home during the night to find Lord Jericho and report the valuable information he had acquired.

As expected, it took Ethan, Joseph, and Micah several weeks to get to the small fishing village of Hopple. Only five hundred people living in modest dwellings occupied the village, pulling their livelihood from the sea. Their location did have other advantages, however, as it provided a place for ships to make port with goods from Wayland and places north of Nod, if they happened not to be going to Emmanuel City.

For this reason, the harbor system, with its docks and loading trolleys, had actually expanded to become the largest thing in the village. When the seasons were right for fishing, the villagers made their primary living that way, but during off seasons the main work became mooring vessels, loading, unloading cargo, and playing host to seamen who came ashore to spend their wages.

Hopple might have become nearly as large as Tilley Town were it not for the fact that the weather was quite harsh during certain seasons and most people did not want to live in the region. The natives lived a comfortable but simple life, having all that they ever needed in quality without the desire of quantity.

There were caves eastward where people generally did not dwell because of the rough terrain and the presence of wolves. But this was of little consequence to priests of Shaddai. Ethan and the others had found a suitable cave in which to make camp and hide the chest containing the Word. Ethan had decided he would enter the village alone and try to find his shipping contact or Gideon or both.

Isaiah had told them that the man who owned the ship they would be sailing upon would find them. It made little sense to Ethan. But he trusted the High Priest and did not ask any more questions about it. Ethan even wondered if perhaps Isaiah had given Gideon more information about their contact, but with Gideon still traveling from Millertown, it mattered little right now.

Ethan understood well that The Order maintained a carefully crafted sense of mystery, with secret locations, hidden vaults, and death defying entryways and exits. The fact was, Isaiah had only known Ethan for five months. He did not expect to be told all there was to know about The Order. It was enough to know Gideon was the best The Order could offer and happened to be his mentor and partner in this expedition. Better to search for Gideon, if I’m to search for anyone at all, he thought.

Ethan had been careful to wear his commoner’s clothing on this journey, as had his fellow priests. This was no time for bold assertions of their priesthood. They had run across a number of patrols along their journey to Hopple from Millertown, but had managed to avoid them. Demons had been seen scouting for the patrols and spying out nearby villages. Ethan was glad for his special sight, more than ever.

Evidently Mordred was searching hard for him, even after all of these months since the battle with Jericho in the throne room. But by the Lord’s providence they and their precious cargo had remained undiscovered. Ethan only hoped Gideon’s foolhardy trip back to Millertown had not compromised the mission. And even more, he hoped to see his friend safe again.

Ethan left the chest of scrolls with Joseph and Micah inside the large cave they had found, while he walked the remaining several miles into the village proper. Ethan heard wolf calls on several occasions and once during the trip he had even realm shifted, hoping to avoid detection by a hungry pack on the hunt.

When Ethan finally arrived in the village of Hopple, he was surprised by the size of the docks, the ten or so large ships docked there, and by the miniscule amount of buildings actually built on the shore. For all intensive purposes, the dock system was three times the size of the village and looked like a small town afloat in the calm waters of the harbor.

The onshore dwellings were simple wooden structures-single family homes, mostly, with cobblestone lanes running between them. There were a number of larger buildings supported by stilts, anchored to the seafloor in the harbor. Ethan supposed they might be taverns and other such places where the wages of weary sailors could be spent on frivolity and wickedness.

These were excellent places to find the sort of people who undertake mysterious voyages. Ethan trod down the path, winding through lanes of lantern-lit windows-families settling in for a good night’s rest. He proceeded from shore to the docks and the revelry of fools eager to part with their money in the establishments beyond.

When Ethan reached the sea, it surprised him to find the cobblestone lanes simply continued unabated as bridges, extending into the harbor. Normally the docks would have been constructed of wood, but the people of Hopple had built a highly organized system of stone walkways likely standing a good ten feet above the water, even at high tide.

Ethan heard music filtering out of several larger buildings, so he decided to head for the closest. A few people milled about on the stone pathways. Then Ethan noticed a man in uniform. Hoping not to arouse suspicion, he did not pause or quicken his pace.

The man happened to be one of Mordred’s soldiers. He was not as large as the Wraith Riders and may have been one of the men conscripted from Nodian villages. Ethan continued on, past the man, toward the tavern.

When Ethan reached the door, he passed two more soldiers. Fortunately he had worn commoner’s clothing. The sign hanging over the door read, The Salty Dog. Lively musicians played at the far end of the building and a great number of people danced and drank intoxicating beverages. Soldiers danced as well, slinging ale from their mugs in every direction in the process. Armed men and strong drink, never a good combination, he thought.

The Salty Dog was not an elegant place. In fact, it lacked refinement in every way imaginable. There was little more to the structure than a bandstand for the musicians and tables for gamblers and drinkers. A bar along one wall served intoxicating beverages of every sort. This is where Isaiah has arranged for us to find a ship to take the Word to Macedon?

A cloud of smoke hung in the room fed by a plentitude of pipes. Ethan sputtered and coughed, hoping he wasn’t too conspicuous. Nevertheless, he was acutely aware of the fact that his young age was apparent. Anyone remotely alert wonder why he was here.