Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 11, Part 3

28 May 2026

In today’s installment from the serialization of the second book of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar, we return this week to Delgart and the seklesi army, battling aperum. . . . (16 March 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 11, Part 3

At the same time, horns rang out from the north, signaling an attack and call to aid, but the squads on the right flank had their hands full, with one aperu on the ground, one diving, the other two still flying but closing on their position. Delgart could see past the orange to the blue that was diving to land in the space occupied by the other half of his squad.

“Scatter!” Rellik shouted.

At the same moment, the orange opened its mouth to breathe on them, and Reena, first scout and archer, loosed an arrow that found its mark in the orange’s left eye. Instead of breathing on them, the orange screamed in agony, shaking its head wildly. Delgart saw both the opportunity, and the urgency, of their situation, as the light in the orange’s left eye went out. Time slowed around him as he leapt forward, brandishing his sword and slinging his shield over his left shoulder; the blue reared back, opening its talons to land and rend any seklesi too slow to get out of its way; Marilee’s shout, slow and slurred, echoed behind him. Heedless, he ran up the orange’s foreleg and onto its back at the wing joint, whirling his sword around, point down, both hands gripping the hilt. The orange swung its head left, feeling, rather than seeing, something climbing onto its back. Delgart’s eyes were focused on the point Grelsor had described, and he saw the thick scales lift as the aperu twisted its neck, and he drove the blade into the orange’s neck. The other half of the squad scattered; the squads moving to support them from that side pulled up short. Delgart’s momentum carried him forward, over the orange, which crashed to the ground, suddenly limp, and into the face of the blue just landing. He rolled over the fallen orange’s neck, releasing his left hand from his sword, wrenching the sword out of the orange’s neck with his right hand as he landed on his feet facing the blue, which reared back its head and opened its mouth to breathe on him. He dropped to his knees, grabbing his shield with his left hand, holding it between him and the blue; he saw the blue, icy breath issuing from its mouth, bracing himself and hoping the heat of the orange he had just killed would moderate the cold breath about to engulf him. Instead of going blue, the light around him turned red as he was covered with flames; he heard hissing and cracking as the blue’s icy breath crashed into the flames surrounding him. The red light winked out, and he looked up in time to see the blue head, mouth open, moving toward him. He rolled to his left and onto his feet and dropping his shield; turning back, he grasped his sword with both hands, swinging it over his head with as much force as he could muster. The blue’s head struck the side of the dead orange at the same moment as Delgart’s blade cut into its neck, sheering through hide, flesh, and bone. The headless blue body reared back, wings beating the air and flipping it onto its back. The squads approaching from behind scrambled out of the way of the death throes of the blue.

A momentary silence fell on that part of the valley after the blue’s body stopped twitching; the seklesem, stunned by the results of Delgart’s actions, stood staring at him, but the silence that had fallen was rent by the roar of the red, diving toward Delgart, mouth open to incinerate the fool who had killed two of its comrades in seconds.

“Form up! Shields!” echoed around him, as the squad leaders around him tried to prepare for the attack of the red.

Grelsor sprinted toward him, brandishing his staff as the flames issued from the red’s mouth. Sliding the last distance, Grelsor held up his staff and shouted, “plotoskoit!” At the same moment, he and Delgart were surrounded by flames and water, and his ears filled with the sounds of hissing and steaming, but the water shield was stronger, and, although the ends of their hair burned and their clothing smoked, they were otherwise unscathed. The red flew over them, rising and turning to the north. But Delgart’s performance inspired the seklesem who had witnessed it to even greater effort, and the red shuddered as it turned, every arrow finding the chinks in its armored hide. As it tilted on its left side, bringing its left wing closer to the ground to turn and fly north, the left wing joint became to the arrows as a lodestone is to iron: several arrows pierced it together, breaking the joint. The outer half of the red’s left wing folded back; the aperu screamed in agony as its left side dipped closer to the ground. The right wing beat frantically, trying to keep it in the air, but this only turned the aperu onto its back, just before it struck the ground.

“Scatter!” came the frantic shouts of the squad leaders to their west, as the seklesem tried to get out of the way.

The red aperu tried to right itself, but the suddenness of its overturning had confused it, so it tried to lift its head, which brought it more quickly into contact with the ground. The head caught on the ground, and the body flipped over again, breaking the red’s neck and slapping its belly hard upon the ground with a hideous crunching sound. The concussion knocked down the seklesem nearest to the place where the red crashed. Before they could even take in what had happened, the scouts, who had been watching the yellow, shouted a warning. “The yellow is upon us!” many voices exclaimed.

The yellow, however, had witnessed the fall of its three comrades, so it did not dive, but opened its mouth and let its breath escape as it passed over them, a yellow stream of smoke that sank slowly to the ground, spreading as it fell. Its breath was, in some ways, more powerful than the breath of its comrades, for its breath poisoned the air, killing any who inhaled it. The squad leaders shouted, “gather,” and the seklesem who were not injured lifted their fallen fellows and carried them to circle around their leaders, all squads dividing in two and grouping tightly together. Each part of the squad included one of the kailum, who would surround each group with pure air. Meanwhile, each maghi, one with each part, would try and conjure a gentle breath that would waft the poisonous fumes away from them.

“South!” one of the leaders shouted.

Grelsor stood with Marilee, leading Delgart back to stand beside her. No one spoke, but all looked closely at Delgart as he passed. Grelsor lifted his staff. “Kweklo-kenawet-patno,” he stated firmly, and they were surrounded by the freshest, sweetest air Delgart had ever breathed. The yellow aperu turned north, beating its wings and gaining altitude. Hrelga held up her rod, facing north, and whispered, “gheusmelth.” She turned and pointed her rod to the south. A gentle wind stirred, then began to move the yellow mist hovering around them. As other maghem used and repeated the same words and gesture, the yellow mist was carried from their midst, thinning as it mixed with the breezes conjured by the maghem. Once the air around them cleared, the kailum released their ortheks.

Marilee rounded on Delgart. “You fool!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a fierce hug. “My heart nearly stopped when you leapt forward! I don’t know whether I should kill you for your foolishness, or kiss you for saving us!”

Delgart shrugged. “I saw an opening and took it,” he noted. “It is not my fault that the blue chose to stick its neck out, within easy reach of my blade.”

“Followed by the red,” Grelsor added, “not to mention the yellow.”

“And they were precisely the reasons why I acted,” Delgart said, “I could not see us surviving with four aperum attacking us at once.”

“Fool!” Marilee repeated, smiling, then she kissed his cheek. “Don’t ever do that again,” she whispered, releasing him. “Casualties?” she asked, looking around, becoming again business-like.

“Tregla and Gelvik,” Grelsor replied, “they were both hit by the tail and poisoned. We have administered an antidote to each, but it only slowed the poison; both need more aid.”

Marilee nodded to her first maghi, Hrelga, a rail thin female with gray-streaked black hair bound at the nape of her neck. “Send them back to Holvar.”
Hrelga returned her nod, moving off to where their two fallen fellows lay, Luthina in tow, the second maghi glancing back at Delgart, a strange look in her eyes that made him uncomfortable for reasons he did not comprehend.

Marilee turned to Rellik. “Find out what the alarms were,” she said.

“No need,” Rellik said, pointing to a horseman moving their direction, “here comes our captain’s messenger.”

“Report?” Grunsle asked as she rode up; the messenger had gray hair and a stern face.

“We managed to bring down three of the four aperu,” Marilee replied, “the fourth, the yellow, flew off to the north.”

“Casualties?” Grunsle asked.

“Only two, poisoned by the orange,” Marilee replied, “and the poison has only been slowed by the antidote. I have sent them back to Holvar.”

“The Eighth Company is forming up and flanking the enemy,” Grunsle said. “Prepare to move on the signal.”

“Who attacks?” Marilee asked.

“The four legions to which those aperum were attached,” Grunsle replied, riding off to pass the word to the rest of the group and collect more reports.

“Form up,” Marilee said, crisply, “and prepare to move out.”

As they prepared to move, Grelsor spoke in a soft whisper, only heard by Marilee, Delgart, and Rellik. “Those aperum were looking for us,” he noted. “Any idea why?”

A swift looked passed between Marilee and Delgart, but Marilee shook her head. “No idea,” she lied smoothly; Delgart kept his face relaxed.

Grelsor shook his head, turning with the rest of the squad to watch for the signal.

Next time, on Saturday, we will return to Klaybear, Blakstar, Thal, and Tevvy and learn what happened to them in the fire realm, and how they miraculously survived. For those who wish to read on, get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!