Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 14, Part 1

13 June 2026

We come back with the newest installment from the second book of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar, taking up the battle between the seklesi army sent to aid Shigmar and the forces of Gar. . . . (4 May 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 14, Part 1

Each seklesi squad consists of two squad leaders, two kailum, two maghem, and four each of scouts, swords, and shields, all ranked according to ability and experience. Each company is made of ten of these squads and a command squad consisting of two of each type–leaders, named captains, kailum, maghem, scouts, swords, and shields–plus a messenger and quartermaster. Each legion contains ten companies and a command squad with two messengers and a quartermaster who oversees a quartet of quartermasters responsible for the supplies of the entire legion. . . .

from The Higher Orders, written by order of the Fereghen, atno 1739

Marilee gathered her squad and prepared to move forward, following the orders conveyed by the company’s messenger, instructing them to attack the enemy from the right flank. She set them all jogging forward, following the squads of the Eighth Company around her under the same orders. The front of the seklesi army was trying to contain the enemy within the pass, but several companies of purem and ghelem had broken out to the sides, attempting to flank the seklesem’s forward positions and cut-off support from the rear, in order to kill or capture their leaders. As the Seventh and Eighth Companies jogged forward, many of the seklesem wondered why the aperum had made straight for the eighth squad’s position. They had all witnessed the strange behavior of the aperum, flying over their forces, almost as if they were looking for that squad. Even more astonishing was the behavior of the newest member of the eighth squad, although few knew his name, many had witnessed his single handed killing of two aperum; rumors sailed among the ranks, the most common being that this new seklesi had been trained separately and secretly from the rest of them as a “secret weapon” against Gar.
Marilee had a fairly shrewd idea of why the aperum had attacked her squad, but neither she, nor Delgart, mentioned their suspicions. She wondered how Gar’s forces had known that she and Delgart would be here, and how the aperum had picked two chosen out of the entire army. Both kept the marked halves of their faces hidden, precisely so they would not draw attention to themselves. She was furious at Delgart for his actions, but she also recognized that many seklesem would have died, had he not acted, in their attempts to bring down the aperum, and it would have taken them a lot of time, time that the enemy could have used to flank and cut-off the forward positions and kill their leaders, including the Fereghen. She wondered what would happen when her squad, more particularly, herself and Delgart, engaged the enemy ahead. She did not have long to wait, as the Eighth Company was coming up to edges of their enemy’s flanking forces, easily cutting down the scattered stragglers who had left the main group.

“Archers,” Marilee shouted, hearing the same call echoing around her, responding to a signal from their captain, riding ahead of them, then she added, “prepare to loose.” She kept her eyes on their captain, saw her raised arm move forward, and issued the command, hearing it repeated around her. “Loose!” she exclaimed. She heard the twangs and the hissing of the arrows as they flew in a high arc toward the purem and ghelem ahead, so intent on their maneuver that they had not noticed the seklesi companies approaching from the south and their left flank. Marilee knew that an error like that could cost them the battle. She saw the flank of the enemy crumble, heard the shouted commands, saw her captain signal again, and issued another command to the archers. “Loose at will,” she shouted, hearing the same command repeated around her.

The enemy ahead was turning to meet them. “Shields ready,” Marilee shouted, as the distance between them shrank to about a hundred yards. The captain signaled. “Wedge and swords!” Marilee shouted in response to her captain’s signal. Her squad shifted around her, the archers slinging bows onto their backs, taking out shields and swords. The captain signaled again, and Marilee shouted, along with the other nine squad leaders. “Attack speed!” They sprinted forward, crashing into the ranks of purem and ghelem before the enemy had time to get set. Her squad, to the right flank and in the third rank, crashed into a company of ghelem, still trying to turn and meet them. The shields in front of her swung swords right and left, killing ghelem with ease. The shields allowed a few to slip past, giving Grelsor, to her right, and Lidelle, to her left, targets to attack with both mace and staff. Hrelga and Luthina, her squad’s maghem, right behind her and the two kailum, shot arrows of ice to the squad’s sides and rear, killing any ghelem that escaped the swath of death her squad created among the company of ghelem. The ghelem, being the least of Gar’s creatures and creations, seeing themselves overcome so quickly and easily, broke for the mountains to their north. “Archers!” Marilee shouted on the signal from their captain, “loose at will against the ghelem. Squad left!” Her squad’s archers swapped weapons while the entire squad turned, following the other squads toward the pass and the front of their army. Marilee looked to her left after they turned and saw the Ninth Company coming up behind them to follow the fleeing ghelem into the mountains. She looked to her right and saw Delgart swinging his sword and cutting down any enemy coming near his side. Still amazed by his prowess, she wondered where he would have been in their ranks had he come to them at the normal age. She looked back to her captain, saw the signal to slow, and shouted the order, hearing other squad leaders echo her command.

They topped a rise in the terrain, looking down toward the pass’s entrance and the heaviest fighting. Most of the enemy on this flank were destroyed and fleeing back toward the pass, although there were still several companies of purem between them and the pass. The captain signaled they stop, and she issued the order, knowing they were halting to determine their next move. To their right, they could see the pass choked with purem and ghelem, and several companies of wedaterem, tall, blue-skinned, hairless, wielding huge clubs. Following them, further up the pass, Marilee thought she could see ranks of nekerpum, animated corpses and some of the worst of Gar’s forces, raised and controlled by purgle. She immediately recognized their predicament. Their captain signaled, and Marilee turned to Rellik.

“Take over and hold here,” Marilee said, “the captain wants to meet with us.”

Rellik nodded once, stepping up to take her place. Marilee jogged toward the captain, following the other nine squad leaders. . . .

Come back next Tuesday for further adventures with Marilee, Delgart, and the forces sent to rescue Shigmar, stalled near the Crossing of Reema! 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!