Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 8, Part 2

25 April 2026

Since, as we explain below, we missed the last Poet’s Corner of 2014, and in an effort to keep these old posts in the same order, we will continue with the next blog from Staff of Shigmar. . . .

Somehow we managed to forget our normal Friday post [Poet’s Corner], owing–no doubt–to the Christmas holiday, and the fact that everyone was home everyday, making it appear to this author to be always Saturday! We return to the eighth chapter of the serialization of the second book in our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar, in which we discover what the light was, and where Tevvy has gone. . . . (5 January 2015) 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 8, Part 2

They saw a flash of light, illuminating for a moment the passageway, which was about thirty feet deep, but they saw no sign of Tevvy. Blakstar started to climb down quickly; Klaybear followed, with Thal bringing up the rear. While Thal waited for Klaybear to begin climbing down, he spoke the word and sent a glowing magluku down the vertical shaft. It hovered near the bottom, and Tevvy’s face came into view, looking up while shielding his eyes from the light.

“I’m okay,” Tevvy said. “There is a strange doorway down here,” he noted as Blakstar reached the bottom and Thal started to climb down. “I did not want to get too close to it, so I tossed one of my sling bullets through it: that is what made the light.”

“What exactly happened,” Thal asked as he climbed, “as it passed through the doorway?”

“It sort of hung there,” Tevvy explained, “pausing for a moment in the doorway, light flashing around it, then it flew through to the other side. The odd thing,” he added, brow wrinkling, “was that I did not hear it hit the ground; it is very solid and heavy.”

Klaybear reached the bottom, followed shortly by Thal. They stood in a hallway-sized passage, going southward about fifteen feet until the arched doorway.

“The hallway is clear,” Tevvy said, “so you can safely approach the doorway.”

Thal stepped up to the archway, his magluku following him, and as he approached it, the stones forming the arch began to glow softly with purple light. He stood for a time simply looking at it, then ran his hands carefully over the stones of the archway, his hands glowing with white light. After having moved his hands over the entire arch, he turned back to the others. “It is a portal, but it does not move a person from one place to another, as I would expect a portal to do, at least, I don’t think it does. I think it ‘reads’ whatever passes through it.”

“It reads?” Tevvy asked, surprised.

Thal’s brow wrinkled. “The runes that I can discern are those that refer to reading and study,” he replied, “so, I’m thinking this must be how the tomb determines how powerful the opposition inside should be. It is similar to the geuskeldu, the archway we enter to test our progress and advance our skills.”

“Is it safe to pass through?” Tevvy asked.

“I think so,” Thal said, turning to face the portal, reaching out to touch it. “It activates as one approaches, then it begins to read you as soon as . . . ,” his voice broke off suddenly, as his fingers touched the space inside the arch. The light flashed around him, pulling him forward into the archway, holding him there for a split second, then all light within the portal went out.

“What happened?” Tevvy asked, his voice shaking.

“He activated the portal,” Klaybear’s voice spoke in the darkness, “and was pulled through to the other side.”

They heard Klaybear moving toward the portal. “What are you doing?” Tevvy asked.

“Going through,” Klaybear replied, “it is the only way forward.” The stones glowed in response to his approach, the light flashed as he touched the portal, and he disappeared with the light.

Blakstar started to move forward; Tevvy grabbed a strap hanging from the kortexi’s pack as he passed, and was pulled forward. The stone glowed as he approached, light flashed, and Tevvy was pulled through with Blakstar. They appeared in a square room, softly lit; the others were looking at them; Tevvy shivered.

“That was awful!” Tevvy exclaimed. “I felt as if I had been stripped down, and not just my clothes: skin, flesh, and bone, stripped down to nothing!”

Thal nodded. “Yes, that is partially how the geuskeldu works, but it also tests us, whereas this one only reads us.”

Tevvy looked around the room; there were crates stacked along one wall, cots along the opposite wall, the portal behind him and another ahead of him. “What is this place?” he asked. “We are not anywhere near where we were before.”

“I think we have been transported to a different plane of existence,” Thal said.

Tevvy looked back at the portal they had come through, then he moved closer to it. “It’s not glowing,” he noted.

“One-way,” Thal said, “so the only way back is forward.”

Tevvy looked at the walls around the now inactive portal and noticed an inscription. He pointed to it. “What does it say?” he asked Thal.

Thal looked at it for a moment before responding. “It says, roughly, ‘You have entered my death house, or tomb, if you are not chosen of the One, you go to your death.’”

“That sounds like a threat,” Tevvy noted.

“Not to us,” Klaybear said, “as we are the chosen.”

The kortexi put one hand on the hilt of his sword. “At least we can now fight whatever we encounter,” he noted softly, taking off his pack. Opening it, he pulled out his helmet, a shield that strapped to his left arm, a pair of greaves, and a breastplate.

Tevvy looked surprised. “No wonder that pack of yours is so big!” he exclaimed. “Where do you keep food and water?”

The kortexi smiled at Tevvy, then bent to strap on his greaves. “There is plenty of room for other supplies.”

Thal had moved to the crates, looking over them. He stopped at a crate that had the kailu symbol of life on its lid. Opening it, he looked inside then called to Klaybear. “I think this is for you,” he noted, still looking into the crate.

Klaybear was helping Blakstar strap on his breastplate. “What is it?” he asked, buckling the last buckle.

“Armor and a weapon,” Thal replied.

“How do you know they are for me?” Klaybear asked.

“Symbol of the kailum on the crate,” Thal said, “and the armor glows softly green.”

Klaybear walked over to Thal, looking into the crate, his eyes lighting as he saw inside. There was a shield, helm, leg and arm greaves, and a breastplate, all green enameled with brass trim, the kailu symbol etched somewhere onto each piece. He also saw a shirt of brass rings, padded leather jerkin, and matching leather belt. His eyes were drawn to the mace that was at the bottom of the crate; he reached into the crate, but as soon as his fingers touched the handle, pain exploded in his right palm and in his forehead, hurling him back from the crate and onto his back on the floor. His forehead and hand pulsed with angry red light, flashing in time with the beating of his heart. Blakstar and Tevvy both rushed to his side, kneeling on the floor beside him; Thal stood next to the crate gaping down at him.

“What’s happened?” Tevvy asked, voice frightened.

Thal closed his mouth, then reached into the crate and picked up the mace. “He touched this weapon,” Thal said, “then he was hurled backward, as you saw.”

Blakstar grabbed the special skin from his belt and unstoppered it. “Help me give him some of this,” he said to Tevvy.

The awemi grabbed Klaybear’s jaw and opened his mouth; Blakstar poured some of the Waters into his mouth; Tevvy closed the kailu’s mouth. The effect was immediate: the pulsing red light faded, and Klaybear relaxed and opened his eyes.

“What happened?” Tevvy asked.

Klaybear sat up suddenly, looking around. “I touched the mace,” he said after a moment, “and was hurled into another vision. I saw figures of stone, flames, water, ice, and air attacking, stone crushed, flame doused, water steaming, ice shattering, air drowned; I saw each of you crushed by stone, burned to ash, turned to ice and shattered; I saw Blakstar dragged under heaving waves, then I saw Shigmar’s walls falling, the city in flames, and some kind of shock wave roll over the city, killing everyone it touched, leveling the buildings, and the faces of those who died flew past me, howling in pain. I knew, somehow, that I caused the destruction and all their deaths.” He stopped, looking up at them, eyes hollow and wet.

“Were the images,” Thal asked, “crushed together, as before?”

Klaybear nodded.

Thal held out the mace. “Let’s see if it happens again,” he said.

Klaybear winced, but reached out to touch the weapon anyway. He looked up and grasped the handle. “Nothing,” he noted.

Thal turned and walked back to the crate. “Let’s see if it happens with something else from this crate.” He took out the conical, green-enameled helm, then walked back to where the kailu still sat on the floor. “Try this,” he said, holding out the helm.

Again, Klaybear winced as he reached for the helm, but nothing happened. So he passed the mace to Blakstar, then he pulled the helm onto his head, flattening his brown, curly hair.

“Nice hat,” Tevvy said, smiling.

Thal turned back to the crate. “Perhaps it was the crate itself,” he suggested.

Blakstar reached out his free hand and pulled Klaybear to his feet.

“I don’t think so,” Klaybear said, taking the mace back from the kortexi and giving it an experimental swing; green flames surrounded the head of the mace as it swung through the air.

“Wow,” Tevvy said, “must be teka-enhanced.”

Klaybear smiled as he looked at his new weapon, then looked back at Thal. “I was leaning on the crate when I reached in,” he noted.

Thal looked puzzled. “Maybe the two combined?” he suggested, sounding at a loss. . . .

Return again on Tuesday for another installment of our story! Get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!