Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 3, Part 1

17 March 2026

We return with the third chapter of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar: Book 2 of The Redemption, and find the chosen deciding to help the injured masters in the dungeon of Shigmar’s school, and seek Tevvy, so they must split up in order to cover more ground. . . . (8 September 2014) We remind all readers that this book, Staff of Shigmar, as also the first book, is free for download from Smashwords! Glossary links: Book 2, Book 1

Chapter 3, Part 1

Reconversion of the fallen orders requires subversion, and subversion requires persons inside the fallen orders and their cities; only through these agents operating within the fallen orders and their cities do we have any hope of bringing them back into the right path and worship of the true god of this world. . . .

from Chronicles of Eklor, First Series, Lectures of the True Sedra
Lecture by Sedra Eklor, atno of the order 10 (atno 78, standard reckoning)

“How can we find him?” Blakstar asked. “I was only given an elementary knowledge of tracking, not enough to follow the awemi through stone passages; we need a seklesi.”

Klaybear shook his head. “We have not the time to get one, or debate over what we should do.”

Klare picked up a pack from the shelf, and filled it with healing supplies from the shelf. “We need to go now,” she said.

Thal sat at the table of their sanctuary, tapping his new bracers with his left hand. He looked down at his verghrenum and spoke. “You two go . . . ,” he started to say, then stopped, looking closely at the white leather strapped on his right wrist. He noticed the large eye-shaped symbol of Melbarth embossed onto the top, then saw, for the first time, that there were smaller symbols of the others they had seen: a crown, a hand, a water vessel, and a dagger crossed with a key. He looked up. “Do your verghrenum have other symbols on them?” he asked.

“I never really looked at mine that closely,” Klaybear replied, “we were distracted at the time.”

“We have to go, now,” Klare said, an edge to her voice.

“What happens to your verghrenum,” Thal went on, ignoring Klare, “when I do this?” He raised his left hand, index finger surrounded by white light, and touched the small hand symbol.

Klare’s eyes went to her bracelets at the same time as her husband’s hand went to his one of his bracers.

“They feel suddenly warm,” Klaybear replied.

Thal looked at Klare. “And yours?”

“The same,” she replied, forgetting for a moment that she was leaving.

“Interesting,” Thal said. He moved his finger, still glowing, to the water vessel symbol. “And yours, Blakstar?”

The kortexi’s hand went to one of his verghrenum. “I feel it,” he said.

Klare shook her head. “Klaybear, we must go!”

“But this might help us,” Klaybear protested.

Thal had already moved his finger back to the hand symbol, touched it again, and said, “Klare.”

The bracelets warmed on Klare’s wrists.

“Do you feel anything?” he asked, looking at Klaybear.

Klaybear shook his head.

“I’ve got it!” Thal exclaimed. He still held his finger on the symbol.

“What?” Klaybear asked.

“Don’t you see it?” Thal asked.

“No,” Klaybear began, then paused, his eyes narrowing. “I see it–try it with Tevvy’s symbol.”

Thal nodded, lifted his finger, moved it to the crossed dagger and key symbol, then said, “Tevvy.” A white thread shot from Thal’s finger to the northeast. He lifted his finger and the thread winked out. He moved his finger to the crown symbol, said, “Delgart,” and a white thread shot just west of south, straight toward Holvar. He lifted his finger, touched the same symbol again and said, “Marilee.” White thread in the direction of Holvar. Again, and he said, “Rokwolf.” A white thread shot east and up. “That’s odd,” Thal said, “I though your twin brother was in Holvar: this thread points back toward the school of Shigmar.”

“That is odd,” Klaybear said. “I wonder what it means?”

“What are you two talking about?” Blakstar asked.

“Well . . . ,” Thal began, but Klaybear interrupted him.

“There is no time to explain,” Klaybear said. “We’ll go see to Mistress Storga. You two can go find Tevvy. As soon as we finish, we will move toward you.”

“How will you find us?” Blakstar asked. “And how do we find him?”

“I’ll explain as we go,” Thal replied.

Klaybear and Klare went south, retracing their steps back to the dungeon level of the school. Thal and Blakstar started north.

“Northeast?” Blakstar whispered.

Thal nodded. “He went to investigate the voices we heard somewhere near the center of the sewers.” His voice was muffled, having followed Klare’s lead in wrapping a cloth around his face. The kortexi’s face was uncovered.

“We should take the first passage east,” the kortexi whispered, “that should move us closer to the center.”

They soon came to a crossing passage, the way north bridging the western branch of the river and opening up; the crossing passage ran east-west, next to the underground river, but a wall separated the passage from the western branch of the river, giving them some cover. They turned and followed it, stopping as the passage teed. Blakstar looked carefully to the north, knowing that they must be near the center of the sewers. The north passage bridged the river next to the point where the western branch met the main branch of the river; he could see the central area.

“It looks empty,” he whispered back to Thal, then he crept across the passage to the wall, crouched, and looked over the low parapet of the bridge running north. He waved Thal to follow him, then, bending low, moved quickly and quietly to the north end of the bridge. Seeing no one, he signaled to Thal, who hurried up behind him.

“I did not think,” Thal’s muffled voice said, “that kortexem knew how to sneak around; isn’t that against your code?”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Blakstar whispered sarcastically, but he smiled. The central area was square, with a set of stairs going up at the center of the area; the main branch of the river flowed south from here, with branches going both west and east. The area was clear, so Blakstar slipped across to the west side of the stairs, crossing a passage going west next to the river. He looked carefully around the corner, and he saw passages going north and east. He signaled Thal, who moved to his side quickly.

“There are passages going both east and north,” he whispered. “Which way?”

Thal touched his finger to the symbol on his left bracer, whispered the awemi’s name, and pulled his finger off quickly. “North a little,” he said, “then east.”

“Good,” Blakstar replied. “The east passage is open, running next to the eastern branch of the river.” He looked again, to be sure there was no one, then moved into the northern passage. They followed it north until a passage turned to the east; they turned east, followed this passage until it crossed another north-south passage. Thal touched the symbol on his wrist, then nodded north.

“I think we are getting close,” he whispered.

“We must be under the northeast quarter of the city,” Blakstar replied. The kortexi looked carefully around and saw no one, so they moved north. The passage was short, ending in blank walls.

Thal touched the symbol again, whispering Tevvy’s name; he saw the white string go directly east, and up. “He is just above us, on the other side of this wall.”

“How do we get to him?” Blakstar asked.

Thal shrugged. “Maybe there is a way up, around here somewhere.”

They backtracked south, then turned to the east. They found a stairway going up, but the gate was locked and rusty; the dust on the stairs was undisturbed.

“I don’t think anyone has gone this way,” Blakstar noted.

“Maybe you could try your tracking skills,” Thal suggested.

“I’m not very good,” Blakstar protested.

“Just try,” Thal said.

The kortexi went back to the crossing, looking intently at the floor; it looked like there were tracks leading north. He turned that way, followed them, but then stopped about ten feet from the end of the passage. He looked up at Thal, who had been following him. “They end here,” he said.

“End?” Thal asked, “what do you mean.”

“They just stop.”

“Did they turn around?”

“I don’t think so, but there are tracks going both ways.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “You don’t suppose someone brushed them out?”

Thal stepped forward, hands glowing white. “Does it look like they turned either way, or continued straight?”

“Straight.”

Thal ran his glowing hands slowly over the north wall. When nothing happened, he turned to his left, running his hands carefully over that wall. Again, nothing, so he turned to the east wall, and the wall started to glow. Thal traced the outline of the teka, examined it for a moment, then touched a spot about chest high. A section of the wall slid back, revealing stairs going up.

“We are lucky,” Thal said.

“Why?” Blakstar asked.

“Whoever went through this door last was in a hurry,” Thal replied, “so he did not take the time to reseal it, and reactivate the teka trap protecting it.”

“Maybe they did at the other end,” the kortexi suggested.

“Only one way to find out,” Thal shrugged.

Come back Thursday for another installment of our tale to find out what is behind this secret door in the northeast corner of Shigmar’s sewers. Get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!