Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 6, Part 4

14 April 2026

We return to the conclusion of Chapter 6 of the second book of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar. We remind our readers that earlier in this long chapter, Thal, Blakstar, and Tevvy activated Shigmar’s statue and found a new writing, one directed to the chosen; Klare, Klaybear, and Rokwolf have been trying to stabilize and heal Klare’s mother and sister, found near the wreckage of Klare’s family home. . . . (1 December 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 4

Rokwolf watched them kneeling and holding each other, sharing each other’s grief, for a moment before turning away, stabbed by jealousy. Why, he wondered, did she continue to reject him? He thought of the methaghi’s vision of his future, knew she would be a part of that future, and wondered, again, why she could not see that? But even as he wondered this, another face intruded upon his thoughts, the one other figure that had appeared in the methaghi’s vukeetu; he ground his teeth and shoved her face into the dim recesses of his mind. He had lost his place, his position among the seklesem, his command, sent here to lead this group, the chosen, everyone told him, and constantly be with his twin, who had caught his mate. Jealousy flared again, turning to anger, and he stalked off toward the east, intending to find out what the others were doing. He ignored his brother’s query about where he was going, walking quickly out of their view. He nearly ran over Tevvy, who was following their tracks.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Tevvy asked, leaping aside.

Rokwolf looked up and stopped, but did not speak immediately. “What did you find?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“The monument was destroyed,” Tevvy replied, “but we found a way to repair it, and, in the process, we set off some sort of signal and found a message written to the chosen.”

“Message?” Rokwolf said, puzzled. “There was only Shigmar’s name before.”

“Klare’s family?” Thal asked, brow wrinkled.

Rokwolf sighed. “Her home was destroyed,” he replied slowly, “her father and brothers killed when the house exploded. Her mother and sister were taken and violated by the purem; I don’t think either one will live long.”

“No,” Thal whispered, his eyes tearing.

Tevvy shook his head; looking back, he saw Blakstar’s face mottled with rage, saw him reaching for his sword. Tevvy touched Rokwolf’s arm and pointed.

Rokwolf grabbed the kortexi’s arm and shook it. “They are miles away,” he said, “there is nothing you can do!”

The words affected Blakstar, and he looked at Rokwolf, his eyes focusing on the seklesi. He relaxed slowly, releasing his sword, letting the breath he was holding escape in a sigh. “I don’t understand why I get so angry when anyone mentions . . . rape,” he struggled to say the word, “it makes me want to . . . ,” he went on, but stopped and looked away.

Rokwolf patted the kortexi’s shoulder gently and turned to Thal. “You said there was a message for us,” he said, “what message?”

Thal wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his robe. “I haven’t looked at it closely, but I did see the chosen mentioned.” He took the parchment copy from inside his robes and started to read. “Let’s see,” he said, “Long ago when the young earth made, no, that verb is plural, it must be, when the earth was young, they made wonderful things, they sang great power, um, they created a sword, rod, and staff, hmm, there’s an ‘if,’ so that phrase continues, that would put the rebel son to flight if they trap, oh, but that doesn’t make sense, so the creation of the sword, rod, and staff must have put the rebel son to flight and then, if they catch him–the rebel son–they will put him in a lonely cell,” he paused, “all right, I think it goes on, when the appointed time comes they will discover the three, destruction loosed, puri chiefs not bound, which must mean they are set free to cause the destruction, then, ah, here is what we are looking for, the staff hidden in the north, cross over clear water, find the shrine on a lonely hill, I hope you chosen are strong, not skilled,” he finished, looking up from the parchment.

“Who are the ‘they’ it keeps referring to?” Tevvy asked, “and the ‘rebel son,’ who is that?”

Thal smiled. “The ‘rebel son’ is easy, Gar,” he replied, “but the ‘they’ is more problematic. Sometimes ‘they’ refers to those who created the sword, rod, and staff, sometimes the chosen who will use the three tools to lock Gar into his ‘lonely cell,’” he stopped, his face going white. He looked back at the parchment, then looked at his three companions. “Doesn’t that mean we will have to confront Gar directly?” he asked, but went on before any of the others could respond. “Surely he knows this, so it is not very likely that we could take him by surprise, let alone even come near him. Where is this ‘cell,’ and how are we supposed to put him in it?”

Rokwolf shook his head. “I cannot answer your questions, nor do I think that anyone else could,” he noted. “We have a long way to go before facing that difficulty; right now, we should focus on the problem of the moment, getting the four of you into Shigmar’s tomb,” he said, then turned to Tevvy. “You said there was a signal?”

Tevvy nodded. “A ball of light shot from the statue northward across the lake.”

“Krystal Lake,” Rokwolf said, “the ‘clear water’ mentioned in the inscription.”

“Of course!” Thal snapped, looking up from the parchment, “the staff is in Shigmar’s tomb, and the inscription tells us the staff is hidden north of the lake, so that must be where the tomb is, on the other side of the lake, where the ball of light went.”

“Klaybear, Klare, and I,” Rokwolf said, “have been across the lake many times, but we have never seen any shrine, although there is a ‘lonely hill’ on the north shore,” he finished and frowned, as remembering those trips brought that second female figure back out of the corners of his mind; he thrust her back again. “Let’s go back and tell the others,” he added, “so you can get on your way.”

Blakstar looked at Rokwolf. “You’re not coming with us?” he asked.

Rokwolf shook his head as he turned to go. “Klare must stay here with her mother and sister, trying to keep them alive and heal them. Headmaster Myron hinted to me that only the four of you, the three key holders, and you, Tevvy,” he pointed to the awemi, “should enter the tomb to retrieve the staff. I stay here to watch over and protect my sister-in-law.”

They nodded, following Rokwolf back to where Klaybear and Klare were, leading the horses. Klaybear looked up when he heard their approach.

“Find the tomb?” Klaybear asked.

Rokwolf nodded. “Sort of,” he replied, “we think we know where it is, but you’ll have to cross the lake to get there.”

“We also discovered,” Thal said, holding up the parchment, “a new writing on the statue’s pedestal.”

Klaybear raised one eyebrow. “A new writing?”

Thal nodded, and quickly explained what they had found, and how they had uncovered it. When he finished, he handed the parchment to Klaybear. “I made a copy of the writing,” he said.

Klaybear glanced over it. “Did you translate it?” he asked.

Thal nodded. “The first part of it tells of the sword, rod, and staff,” he began, “and how they were made so that in their future, and I suppose, ours, Gar would be locked into a cell opened by the three keys.”

“We knew they were keys,” Klaybear said, looking at the parchment, “but where is this cell?”

Thal shrugged. “No idea,” he said, “and that worries me. The latter part,” he went on, “tells us that when the three keys are found, the land will be in turmoil, purem causing destruction, and that we, the chosen, will find the staff hidden in the north, across the lake, on a lonely hill.”

Klaybear glanced at his wife, who was also looking at him. He looked back at Thal. “There is a hill by itself, on the north shore of the lake,” he said, “we have been there before,” Klare nodded when he said this, “but we have never seen any signs of a tomb.”

“I mentioned it to them,” Rokwolf said, “and that we have been across the lake several times.”

Klaybear and Klare both nodded in agreement after exchanging a glance.

“We went in my father’s boat,” Klare added, and then her eyes filled with tears.

“Yes, the boat,” Klaybear went on, putting one hand on Klare’s arm. “We would often go sailing on the lake during school holidays, when the weather was good.”

Rokwolf shook his head, again pushing back the figure who came with memories of sailing across Krystal Lake. He looked down at Klare. “Will you be all right, here, by yourself, while I take them down to the lake shore and send them on their way?”

Klare sniffed, then wiped her tears. “I can put a ward around us that will protect us,” she said. She threw her arms around her husband, embracing him fiercely. “Be careful, dear,” she said after kissing him.

Klaybear nodded and whispered something the others could not hear into her ear.

Klare smiled up at him. “Me, too,” she whispered in reply.

Klaybear turned to the others. “Let’s go.”

Return again Thursday for another installment in the serialization of our tale! We will follow Klaybear, Thal, Blakstar, and Tevvy as this group heads north across Krystal Lake to find the tomb of Shigmar. Get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading.