But to her surprise, the city flourished.
People went about their daily business in crowded streets. Farmers and merchants traveled with their wares to the massive market complex. Wealthier civilians walked here and there on paved walkways. To look at them, one might never think anything had ever happened. Perhaps, she thought, wickedness such as Mordred’s is not always ugly.
As the caged wagon ambled further down the wide avenue toward the palace, Elspeth began to notice a change in the scenery. The prosperous homes and businesses of civilians gave way to the bustle of the military. For acres and acres, Elspeth saw the preparations of war.
The once lush, manicured lawns adorning the palace grounds had been converted to training quads for Mordred’s army. Thousands of men in red and black uniforms sparred in tight formations or trained with various weapons. In the distance to her right, Elspeth saw the manufacture of gigantic engines of war. These would not be used to raid villages and towns. These could only be reserved for laying siege to a large city.
Mordred’s plan became clear to her. The siege engines may as well have had Wayland stamped upon them in blood. This had to be Mordred’s intention. With a rebellion fomenting in Wayland to his rule in Nod, Mordred was not going to wait for an attack. He would take the fight to his enemies.
The wagon proceeded into the palace courtyard underneath another smaller double portcullis. Inside the courtyard wall, a lush garden lay before them. Truly, evil can seem beautiful, she thought.
Fountains of Azure seawater lay on either side of the road. The palace was beautiful beyond compare. The building had been constructed from the same white granite block as the wall, only it was highly polished and adorned by many solid gold and bronze statues.
Elspeth recognized these immediately and her suspicions about the evil nature of this place were instantly confirmed. Castings of idol gods had been set up everywhere on the grounds. Idolatry had always been strictly prohibited by Shaddai, but now the city bearing his name was full of it.
She saw, in some of the garden spots, men and women praying to them. There were idols set up beneath large trees and upon the fountains-the primary ornaments seen wherever one’s eyes fell upon the palace grounds.
Fifty other young women had been kept in the wagon with Elspeth. Others had been separated from them along the way from Grandee. She had no idea what had become of them since. Some of the women sobbed. What would happen to them now? But Elspeth refused to give Mordred the satisfaction of her tears.
When the wagon stopped, a driver dressed in red and black armor, hopped down from his seat and met several palace guards at the rear of the wagon. They unlocked the steel-banded cage and motioned for the women to come out.
One of the guards addressed them. “You’re going to be processed. Your group has the privilege of working here in the palace. You should be grateful to the gods. There are far worse places where you could be laboring for Lord Mordred. Obey and you won’t come to know what that statement really means. Disobey and you will live out your remaining days in pain.”
He led them through a side gate off the path leading into the palace. The former servant’s quarters resided here. Once they entered the larger of these less stately buildings, a matron took control of the women.
Anger burned in the haggish woman’s eyes. She laid into the young women immediately, explaining very clearly how she would not tolerate any laziness. “I will not be trifled with!” she said.
The matron and several women working under her wore dark dresses covered by off-white, heavy aprons with pockets in the front. She introduced herself as Mrs. Palmer. The other women with her brought out stacks of uniforms.
“These will be your clothes for as long as you reside here at the palace of Lord Mordred. Take good care of them. If I have to issue you any more, you will receive ten lashes each time. Is that understood?”
Elspeth and all of the other young women nodded. It was not a nod of approval, but the nod of forced compliance, a nod which punctuated the hopelessness of their situation. As Elspeth gathered the garments meted out to her and fell back into line, she wondered where her brother might be at this moment. She wondered if he might still be alive and looking for her.
CAPTAIN BONIFAST
A pleasant breeze brushed over the sailing ship, Maelstrom. Ethan had been forced to breathe rancid air the night before in Tilley Town’s stockade, so this was more than he could have hoped for. He had expected dirt shoveled over his body in some mass grave back in Tilley by this time, but divine providence proved a force to be reckoned with.
Ash and his fellow shipmates, who had been sharing the gallows with him and Gideon only hours before, had known their captain, Levi Bonifast, would rescue them somehow. Apparently, Captain Bonifast had ordered the assault on Mordred’s munitions depot in Tilley to begin with and had made sure the job was completed the second time.
The monstrous explosion, rocking the city, had provided a wonderful diversion. Meanwhile, members of Bonifast’s crew, disguised as hangmen, brought about their escape. Fortunately, Ash had been willing to take him and Gideon along in the escape plan.
Ethan and Gideon remained on deck under the watchful eyes of the crew. Ethan suspected that they were pirates. Nevertheless, Ash had made it clear they fought with the resistance movement building in Nod.
Ash and the others had disappeared into the captain’s cabin at the rear of the ship. Ethan wondered if he would find Captain Bonifast as friendly a man as Ash. Gideon, for the most part, remained quiet. He generally did not talk unless he had something specific to say. “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his tongue,” Gideon had said.
By mid-afternoon, Ethan wondered when they might see Ash again and meet this illustrious Captain Bonifast. He had never been aboard a ship like this before or a ship at all for that matter. He stared, amazed at how efficient the crew carried out their duties, performing their individual functions in concert like a well-oiled machine.
The Maelstrom, a weather beaten vessel, had more charm than outright beauty, like an old mule-ugly as sin, but hard working and worth its weight in gold to its master. As Ethan examined the main mast before him and the rail he was leaning against, he noticed a fair amount of patchwork. Careful inspection found the wood littered with pockmarks and seams where new wood had been added to replace hunks of it lost in numerous battles.
Many of the crew had the same sort of patchwork appearance. Some wore shaggy beards. Others had teeth missing or rotting out. Some of Bonifast’s motley crew were even missing fingers or entire limbs. Still, they performed their duties the same as everyone else.
The door to the captain’s cabin opened, causing Ethan and Gideon to perk up. They eagerly anticipated the man to whom they owed their lives. A man dressed in a navy blue waistcoat with a matching tricorn hat walked out of the cabin.
“Ash?” Ethan asked.
“That’s Captain Levi Ashbury Bonifast to you, young master Ethan,” he said.
“So you’re Bonifast,” Gideon said.
“I know, I know. You were trying very hard to figure out who could be more dashing and intelligent than your new friend Ash,” Bonifast said. “But your wondering is over, the answer is clear-no one is!”
One thing was certain, Ash or Bonifast, or whoever he was, had not lost his sense of humor. Ethan grinned from ear to ear. “I guess we owe you our lives then, Captain.”
Captain Bonifast patted Ethan’s shoulder. “Ah well, let’s save our thanks for the Almighty who deserves it, eh?” he said, nodding toward Gideon. Gideon smiled, nodding in agreement. He would not have admitted it, but Gideon seemed to like this fellow almost as much as Ethan did. Bonifast may have seemed a scoundrel at first glance, but somewhere beneath the veneer a heart of pure gold kept showing through.
“So, boys, what are your plans, or were you thinking of settling down in Tilley?”
“I’m trying to get to Emmanuel to rescue my sister,” Ethan said. “Gideon is helping me.”
“I see. Then Shaddai has you on the right track,” Bonifast said. “The Maelstrom is sailing for Emmanuel. I
