Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 6–Part 1

7 April 2026

In today’s installment of the second book of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar: Book 2 of The Redemption, the chosen arrive in the village of Kalbant, Klare’s home and the home of the first kailu, Shigmar, but they discover that there enemies have already been there. . . . (10 November 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 6, Part 1

Artifacts of power, by their very nature, consume huge amounts of energy when used, which can drain and ultimately kill the person using them; however, they also contain giant reservoirs of energy that the wielder can draw upon when using their primary and secondary powers.

from Annals of Melbarth, Third Series, Early Lectures of the Hierarchs
Lecture by Sedra Melbarth

Rokwolf took Blakstar’s sword to open the door; the golden light surrounding the sword dimmed for a moment as the sword passed from one hand to the other but resumed its usual brilliance a moment later. The others stood waiting, holding their mounts ready to pass through the portal the moment it opened. To the north, they could just hear the sounds of marching feet and harsh voices.

“Draw a circle on the ground,” the kortexi spoke softly, “with the image of where you want to go clearly in your mind; make the circle large enough for a horse to be led through.”

Rokwolf nodded, then started to drag the point of the sword over the dirt.

“Once the point returns to the place on the ground where you started,” Blakstar continued, “lift the sword high overhead forming an arch in the air, bringing the point to the ground on the other side of the circle. Hold the point there until all have gone through, then step through yourself and lift the sword, which will close the door.”

Rokwolf did as instructed, lifting the sword once he had drawn the circle in the dirt; when the point touched the ground on the other side of the circle, a gray shimmering formed in the air. Tevvy led his pony through, followed by Klaybear, Thal, Klare, and Blakstar leading two horses. Rokwolf stepped into the arch, lifting the sword and closing the door. Smoke and the smell of burning assailed them. Rokwolf pressed will-giver back into Blakstar’s hand; the kortexi wordlessly sheathed it, extinguishing its golden glow.

“What has happened?” Tevvy asked, looking around.

The town square was ruined; the buildings surrounding the square were smoldering rubble; bodies lay haphazardly about the square, some charred and black, some masses of bloody clothes and flesh. The square was silent but for the occasional crack and pop of wooden timbers still burning. They stood near what had been a monument topped with a statue, broken pieces scattered around what had been the base of the monument, the base itself cracked and misshapen, as if it had been struck repeatedly by some giant hammer and then superheated, so that the edges had begun to melt and run.

Klare drew a sharp breath, looking around the square of her childhood home. “Father!” she exclaimed, running west and out of the square.

“Klare, no!” Klaybear shouted. “It’s not safe!” He started to move after her.

Rokwolf grabbed him. “I’ll go,” he said sharply, “you cannot fight anyone, and you should help the others find the tomb. It has to be . . . ,” he began, but his twin cut him off.

“It’s my wife!” Klaybear shouted, jerking his arm free and running after Klare.

Rokwolf shook his head. “You three stay here and look for the tomb.” He turned to follow his brother.

“Where do we look?” Thal asked.

“Try the broken statue,” Rokwolf said without turning, then disappeared from the square.

At nearly the same time, Tevvy pointed. “Here,” he said, “this was a monument to the first kailu, Shigmar.”

Blakstar looked in the direction Rokwolf and the others had gone. “He shouldn’t be strong enough to walk,” he noted. “How can he open a door with my sword, an action that exhausts me, and still be able to act?”

Thal shook his head. “Maybe because he is more experienced than you.” He turned to Tevvy. “What are we looking for?”

Tevvy walked up to the pedestal. “A way to open this, or slide it back, revealing the entrance to his tomb,” he said, running his small hands over the side of the cracked and melted stone nearest to them.

“How do we know his tomb is here?” Blakstar asked, eyeing the awemi.

Tevvy paused, looking up from his examination of the stone. “This is the only monument to Shigmar anywhere in the village.”

“Doesn’t the village have some kind of graveyard?” Thal asked.

Tevvy nodded, going back to his work. “We’ll go there after we have thoroughly examined this,” he said.

“But if we are looking for a tomb,” Blakstar objected, “wouldn’t be smarter to start in the graveyard?”

“It would,” Tevvy replied without looking up; he moved right to one side of the pedestal. “But we were instructed to look here first.”

“Instructed?” Blakstar asked, “by whom?”

“The Headmaster, of course,” Tevvy replied, looking up. “Shouldn’t you be looking around for survivors?”

The kortexi blushed, turning away from Tevvy; he nodded once, then moved off to the nearest body.

Tevvy watched him for a moment, then looked back to the white maghi. “I can handle this,” he said. “I’ll call if I find anything.”

Thal nodded, moving off toward Blakstar, who had moved away from the first corpse. As Thal caught up with the kortexi, he heard him mumbling to himself.

“Something wrong?” Thal asked.

Blakstar jumped, startled out of his thinking, his face still flushed. “He’s right,” he admitted, “I should have immediately started looking for survivors.”

“Why didn’t you?” Thal asked.

Blakstar bent to examine another body. “Also, dead,” he noted, “the purem did a thorough job; I doubt we will find anyone living here. Every corpse has been stabbed through the heart by a thin dagger.” He moved on without commenting on the mark branded on each forehead, and without answering Thal’s question.

Thal had turned white and was holding his stomach; the smoke had shifted around the square, bringing with it the pungent smell of burning flesh and turning his stomach. He looked to where the kortexi stooped to examine another corpse. He moved to catch up, willing his insides to be still. “You did not answer my question,” he said when he had caught up with Blakstar.

Blakstar sighed and stood up; he looked back to where Tevvy examined the pedestal. “I don’t trust the awemi,” he said.

Thal glanced back at Tevvy, who was now examining the top of the pedestal. “The Headmaster trusted him enough to send him into the sewers to rescue all of us,” he noted, “and he saved us all from execution. Isn’t that enough?”

“He’s a thief,” Blakstar spat, “and thieves cannot be trusted.”

Thal looked at the kortexi for a long moment before replying. “I haven’t witnessed him taking anything that did not belong to him.”

“He admitted stealing from the merchants in the marketplace of Shigmar,” Blakstar retorted.

“He also said that he did not take anything of value,” Thal replied, “that it was solely for practice.”

“Theft is theft,” Blakstar said.

Thal sighed, then shook his head. “You cannot categorize people so strictly,” he said, “life is not made up of simple, strict categories.”

“But he’s broken the law,” the kortexi went on, “and should be punished.”

“We’ve broken the law,” Thal retorted, “we escaped from prison where we were to be punished for treason.”

“We were tried and convicted unjustly,” Blakstar responded.

“Not according to the court of elders who tried us,” Thal said, “from their perspective we are fugitives from the law and escapees from just imprisonment; from their perspective we should be put to death for treason. Do you plan on going back and accepting your just punishment?”

“It is not the same,” Blakstar retorted.

“Which is why Tevvy should not be punished for practicing his skills,” Thal added, “otherwise, you are guilty of the very same misapplication of justice that condemned the rest of the chosen to death, a death from which your thief, through his skills, rescued us. He is one of the chosen, and his skills are as necessary to our success as yours.”

Come back Thursday to see what Tevvy has discovered in the ruined central square of Shigmar’s hometown. Get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!