Chosen of the One: Chapter 17, Part 2

23 February 2026

Welcome back to another installment of our epic fantasy, Chosen of the One! Last time, the chosen discovered many interesting things hidden away in their sanctuary beneath Shigmar, including a symbol for Tevvy’s order, created by the founders. After close questioning, the chosen discover that they have a pair of ‘unconscious’ spies among their group. . . .(16 June 2014) We again remind our readers to right-click on the Glossary link, open in a new tab or window, thus enabling the reader to learn what each of these new terms mean.

Chapter 17, Part 2

Tevvy pulled his staring eyes away from the symbol on what was obviously his chair and stuffed the bit of parchment back into a pocket. “I think I need to go back into the sewers, quickly,” he said without preamble.

“Why?” Delgart asked, sitting in the chair at the head of the table. The others moved to their chairs, with Marilee sitting at the opposite end, Klaybear to Delgart’s immediate right and Klare next to him.

Tevvy climbed onto his stool. “When I saw those two guards enter the sewers, you said, Klaybear, that it was unusual for them to be there.”

“Unless someone ordered them to enter the sewers,” Thal noted before Klaybear spoke.

“Maybe they were sent to look for us,” Marilee suggested.

Blakstar shook his head. “Not enough time had passed,” he said.

Delgart nodded. “You are right, not enough time had passed.”

“Unless,” Marilee said, “they have some kind of warning system set up.”

“I do not think they do,” Klaybear said, “and it would be unusual for them to be ordered to enter the sewers without leaving someone behind to watch the gate.”

“It is even more suspicious that they would enter the sewers from their barracks rather than their guard tower,” Tevvy put in.

“How do you know it is their barracks entrance?” Blakstar asked.

“Because the Headmaster gave me a sewer plan to study before I entered,” Tevvy replied.

“I agree that it is suspicious,” Blakstar said, “but I won’t allow you to go alone: I’m coming with you.”

“No, you cannot,” Marilee said, “none of us can. Remember that we just escaped from prison; any soldier who sees us will arrest us on sight.”

“It is worse than that,” Thal said.

“What do you mean?” Delgart asked.

“We are the only ones who know that Master Ghelvon was possessed by a kwalu,” Thal went on, “I should say, the only ones alive. What do you suppose will happen when someone discovers the bodies of Ghelvon and his apprentice, all the soldiers stationed in the dungeon dead, and all of us escaped from prison?”

Tevvy saw both the wetham go white; he nodded and noticed that Klaybear also had nodded; Blakstar looked surprised, then angry.

Delgart spoke. “They will conclude that we managed to escape and kill the guards, Ghelvon, and his apprentice while escaping.”

“And where is the only place that we could go?” Thal asked.

“The school dungeon,” Klaybear said, “connects to both the guard tower and the barracks.”

“And the sewers,” Tevvy added, “so the only place we could have gone is into the sewers.” Tevvy thought for a moment. “I really need to go back out there and open the gate.”

“Why open the gate?” Blakstar asked.

“So they think we have left Shigmar that way,” Tevvy replied.

“But you said,” Marilee noted, “that we could not pass that way, as the path had fallen away.”

Tevvy frowned. “If I had a coil of rope,” he said, “I could make it look as if we did.”

Marilee shook her head. “That might work until someone checked the bottom of the cliff for our tracks, where they would find nothing.”

“But aren’t you seklesem,” Tevvy said, “capable of erasing your tracks, so that no one can follow you?”

“Yes,” Marilee replied, “but it takes time, and the best trackers can detect just such an attempt, so it would be imperfect at best and detectable.”

“Can they follow our tracks through the sewers?” Thal asked.

“Possibly,” Marilee replied, “although it would be easier to cover them in the stone passages than over the ground outdoors.”

“Another reason for me to go out,” Tevvy said.

“Not alone,” Blakstar said, and Tevvy heard the anger in his voice as the kortexi glared across the table at him.

“I don’t see that we have any alternative,” Delgart said. “Why are you so opposed to him going out there alone?”

The kortexi looked once at Tevvy before he answered. “He admitted that he is a thief; I do not trust him.” He turned to Klaybear. “Didn’t you say, when we first met, that his story was not totally accurate?”

Klaybear nodded and looked uncomfortable. “He seemed less hurt than he should have been, had he been dragged behind a horse, as he claimed.”

Tevvy felt anger rising inside. “Wait a minute,” he said, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks, “are you suggesting that I was not telling the truth, that I was not abused and dragged behind a horse? Are you calling me a liar?”

“Yes,” Blakstar said simply.

“Fine,” Tevvy said, going suddenly cold; he began climbing down from his stool, “I do not have to stay here and take this abuse, especially not from people that I just rescued from certain death!”

“Sit down, Tevvy,” Delgart said, frowning at the kortexi. “No one is accusing you of anything; my brother merely pointed out that your wounds seemed less than they should have been, had you been dragged the full distance out of Shigmar to where he found you.” He turned to his right to Klaybear. “Am I right?”

Klaybear nodded. “Yes, I thought his wounds looked less than they should have been.”

“Also,” Klare put in, “the fact that he fell asleep when he did, five minutes after being healed, indicates to us,” she pointed to herself and her husband, “that his wounds were not severe.”

“So you noticed an anomaly between what Tevvy said had happened,” Thal noted, “and the severity of his wounds.”

“But that is still to say,” Tevvy said, still standing and just able to see above the table top, “that I did not tell the truth, that I made up a story to cover what really happened.”

“Not necessarily,” Thal said, looking down at him, “we are only saying that what you think happened may be different from what actually happened.”

“Huh?” Tevvy said, now feeling confused by this strange turn in the conversation.

Thal turned to Klaybear. “Didn’t Avril imply, when he said I had been damaged, that he,” Thal pointed at Tevvy, “might have been damaged in the same way?”

“What are you saying?” the kortexi asked.

“The prophecy said outright,” Thal continued, “that each of the chosen, each of us,” he pointed around the table, “would be ‘maimed and marked,’ or damaged, and all of these markings Master Ghelvon made visible at the trial; he showed that the very patterns of my mind had been altered so that the mark of Gar,” he pointed to Klaybear, “as we see on Klaybear’s forehead, was also inscribed in the patterns of my mind. Avril said that Tevvy might be marked in the same way; I say he is, and further, that whoever marked him also tampered with his memories, making him believe he had been dragged out of Shigmar behind a horse. I suggest that he tell us what he remembers happened, then we check his mind to see if it is marked in a similar way, and if there is any evidence of tampering.”

Tevvy saw the others nod, then he heard Delgart speak. “Tevvy, please sit down and tell us what happened to you and why you think you are here.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Tevvy said, shaking his head, “I need to get back into the sewers and find out what those guards are up to; we still need to find a way out of here, so I think it’s vital that we learn what they are doing in the sewers.”

“We closed the door,” Delgart said, “so time has slowed outside, which means that we do have time for this.”

“Oh, all right!” Tevvy exclaimed, throwing up his hands and climbing onto his stool. He looked around the table and saw that the kortexi still looked angry with him. He turned his attention to Delgart. “My father, about ten years ago, set up the school he had been dreaming of, a place to train, what he named scouts; that is, persons with the skills of thieves but dedicated to the cause of good. As I have been told, all of your masters,” he looked around the table, “aided him in his desire. In fact, all the heads of your orders, when younger, traveled together; my father, and at times my mother, was their scout, recruited from the Guild and converted to the cause of good. I am one of the first graduates from his school.”

“Earlier this year,” Tevvy continued, “Dad received word from Headmaster Myron that he needed someone to travel with his apprentice and others, performing the same services he performed. Dad held a competition among his few first graduates and was extremely gratified when I won.”

“How many graduates are there?” Klare asked.

“Er,” Tevvy stammered, his face reddening again, “two, actually, although there were six of those in their final year who were allowed to compete.”

“Well,” Blakstar said sarcastically, “that makes me feel better.”

Tevvy felt his anger rise again, and he wished that he had left the kortexi back in his cell. Delgart glared the kortexi to silence.

“The school is new,” Tevvy went on, trying to sound apologetic, “and has only been around for a decade, whereas yours have been around for several millennia. He has managed to recruit some skilled members of the Guild to help teach us.”

“But you are straying from your story,” Delgart noted.

“Sorry,” Tevvy said, “if Sir Blakstar had not distracted me . . . ,” the kortexi snorted, and Tevvy left it hanging.

“You were chosen to come to Shigmar,” Klare said, looking daggers at Blakstar, “to become our scout.”

“Yes,” Tevvy said, “so I left home about a month ago and traveled to Shigmar. Dad gave me a letter of introduction to Headmaster Myron, outlining my credentials. When I arrived here, I went immediately to the school and tried to see the Headmaster, but was told by the soldier at the gate that I could not enter. I tried several different days and times, but to no avail.”

“That is odd,” Klare said, “was it the same soldier?”

“No,” Tevvy replied, “but three different soldiers. So I tried looking around the market and the inns, hoping to find someone who could get me in to see the Headmaster. At one of the nicer inns, I met a well-dressed, well-groomed wethi; he had bright eyes and a bright smile, and when I entered the common room where he sat drinking very expensive wine, I felt drawn toward him. He was dressed in the same cut of robes, although of a brown hue, matching his hair and beard, as you kailum of Shigmar wear.”

Klaybear started, then he looked at Klare, who was looking at him. “You said his eyes were bright,” Klaybear began, “did you notice their color?” he asked Tevvy.

Tevvy nodded. “The deepest, most brilliant blue, unforgettable really; it may have been his eyes that drew me toward him, and his smile.”

“When did you meet him?” Klare asked.

“Hmm, let’s see,” Tevvy thought, “that would have been in the evening, six days ago. I had concluded that I should return to my father for further instructions.”

Tevvy was looking at Klaybear and saw that Klare and Klaybear were still looking at each other. “Is it possible?” Klare asked her husband softly.

Klaybear nodded. “I think it may be, given the direction I believe his story is going.”

“What do you mean?” Delgart asked his brother.

“It could be,” Klaybear answered slowly, “that the person you met, Tevvy, and I’m guessing he claimed to have a way of getting you in to see my master, is the same person I met in the Glade, the one who gave me these marks and corrupted my vision.”

“He did make that claim,” Tevvy agreed. “He told me to meet him after noon on the following day, five days ago.”

“The day I was in the Glade,” Klaybear said.

“The day Blakstar was on the Mountain,” Thal added, “the day I looked into the vukeetu and rescued Delgart from the ghelem.”

“And the day,” Marilee said, “I was wounded and given the disease that deformed my face.”

“A few too many things happening on the same day to be coincidental,” Klare noted.

“Yes,” Delgart agreed, “a few too many.” He nodded to Tevvy. “Please continue.”

“Well,” Tevvy said, “when I met him on the following day, he . . . ,” Tevvy started but stopped, struggling to go on.

“What is wrong?” Thal asked.

“There is a confusion in my mind,” Tevvy said with difficulty. “This is the first time I’ve actually thought about what happened . . . but . . . I’m . . . confused,” he went on, struggling to speak, but it was as if someone, or something, had a rope around his neck, pulling it tight to choke him each time he tried to think about what happened, or speak about it. “I think we went to his room to pick up something, but then I think he led me to a house where some thugs were waiting. They beat me up, took all my valuables, then dragged me out of town behind a horse. I cut myself free with my hidden dagger,” his hand went mechanically to his belt, and he heard his voice go flat, sounding unlike his own, “and I rolled into the ditch where Klaybear found me later.” He stopped again, still struggling to remember, which caused the figurative rope to tighten around his neck, caused one hand to go to his throat. “There are flashes, though, of being in his room, and being in darkness, being touched by a fiery cloud.”

Tevvy saw that again, Klaybear looked at his wife. Thal stood and walked around the table, past Marilee, to stand behind Tevvy’s stool. “I think you should join me in this,” Thal said from behind Tevvy.

Klare turned to face Tevvy; Klaybear stood and moved to stand next to Thal.

Tevvy turned his head from left to right to see what the three of them were doing; he was suddenly afraid. “What are you doing?” he asked with a slight quaver.

“We are going to look into the patterns of your mind,” Thal said, “to see if the mark is there and see if your mind has been tampered with.”

“I think it would help,” Klare said, “if we also,” she pointed to herself and her husband, “looked into your mind so that we can see what we are looking for.”

“I will observe, only,” Klaybear said, “Klare is much better at this sort of thing than I am.”

“All right,” Thal said, his voice reluctant. Tevvy saw the two kailum close their eyes; Klare’s hands glowed green as she raised them. Thal knelt before her.

“Do you see it, dear?” Klare asked, eyes still closed, green-glowing hands hovering above the maghi’s head.

“Yes,” Klaybear whispered, “but it is not clear.”

“No, it is hazy and dreamlike,” Klare added, “I get glimpses of a moonlit cell, two figures in shadow, and I can see nothing of either face, except that the eyes of one appear to be changing color.” Her hands fell and her eyes opened.

“I see the eyes,” Klaybear noted, “and hear a voice that hisses.”

Klare nodded. She looked at Thal. “That does not tell us much, only that two were involved, and one of them was surely Gar.” She turned to Tevvy. “Let’s see what we find here.”

Her hands glowed again; she stood, closed her eyes and nodded to Thal. Thal’s hands glowed white as he reached out to the awemi.

“Do you see it?” Klare asked.

“Yes,” Thal said, “but it is recent, new, overlaying rather than forming part of his mind. We might be able to unravel it.”

“No,” Klare said, “he tied it to the patterns at levels and in places that we could not remove; we would unravel his mind.”

Thal’s cheeks colored. “I can see what you mean, but I think that in time, if we are very careful, we could do it.”

“Maybe,” Klare said, “but I do not think now is the time to try.”

“I agree,” Thal said. “Wait a moment,” he added suddenly, “can you see that?”

Klare gasped. “I see it, but I’ve never heard of anything like it. Can you see it, dear?”

“What is it?” Klaybear asked.

“What?” Tevvy asked, now frightened by what he didn’t understand but what he heard in their voices.

“A mental compulsion,” Thal said, “somehow, the person who altered the patterns managed to attach a mental string to him, enabling him to control, to some degree, as well as keep track of him.”

“Are you saying,” Marilee began, “that this person knows where he is and what we are talking about?”

“Sort of,” Thal replied, “the string looks very weak, so I would guess that the person could only get glimpses of where we are and what we say,” Thal paused. “Klaybear, follow me with your mental eye; I think that we can trace it back to its source.”

“Is that wise?” Klaybear said. “I think you should take Klare instead; she is better at this than I am.”

“I am aware of that fact,” Thal said, “but you are the stronger, and what I need right now is more power. There is no time to explain. Klare, keep an eye on Tevvy’s mind; we are going to try and sever the link.”

Return again om Wednesday for another installment! Until then, get the entire ebook version free from Smashwords! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!