Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 15, Part 3

30 June 2026

Here we are again, with more from the second book of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar, as we discover the next realm through which our heroes must pass in order to recover Shigmar’s staff. (22 June 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 15, Part 3

“Of course!” Thal exclaimed. “This is like our chamber beneath Shigmar!”

“What do you mean?” Blakstar asked. Klaybear still stared at the space where he had seen Klare through the doorway.

“That this tomb moves in a different time than the world outside,” Thal replied.

“Which is why,” Klaybear said, at last looking up, “the supplies in the crates appeared to be new, even though more than three millennia have passed since the time of Shigmar.”

“Yes,” Thal said, broadly, “time, in the tomb, has moved very little since the beginning, and I would bet that time here only moves when someone is present, so we will find, when we leave, that seemingly no time has passed outside.”

Blakstar was shaking his head. “That cannot be right,” he said.

Thal looked puzzled. “Why not?”

“The color of the sun,” Blakstar replied.

“What?” Thal asked.

“We entered at sunset,” Blakstar said, “and it looked like it was right before dawn where Klare is.”

Thal opened his mouth, then closed it suddenly. “I don’t know why that would be,” he said after a time.

Blakstar shook his head again. “It does not matter,” he said, then added, “right now. Right now we only need to decide on what to do with him,” he finished, pointing at Tevvy.

“I think we have to take him with us,” Thal said. “I do not think the teka of this place will allow us to go forward without him. Besides,” he added, “we have only one more elemental realm to pass through; we should be nearing the end.”

“And when we are attacked?” Blakstar objected. “What then?”

“We will do as we have done,” Klaybear said, “meet it and defeat it, whatever it is. Thal is right, the teka of this place requires us to take him along.”

Blakstar nodded. “Where next?”

“Air,” Thal replied, “the only realm we have not visited.”

Blakstar turned toward the archway to see if Thal was right.

“Open, fortified high places made from mist,” Thal translated, “evil threats their favorite prey, tearing bodies, hearts, and lives,” he finished.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Tevvy noted.

“We are not evil,” Blakstar said.

“Oh, right,” Tevvy said. “Does that mean we won’t be attacked?”

“Are you sure it’s air?” Blakstar asked.

“Pretty sure,” Thal replied, “the fortified high places.”

“Aeries,” Klaybear said. “Those are all words used when speaking of birds of prey.”

“Or pirates,” Thal added, “but since it seems to be about birds, I chose words that related to them rather than pirates.”

“No one answered my question,” Tevvy noted.

“It does not sound like we will,” Thal replied, “although Gar has corrupted many air creatures, like the aperum, and employed them in his service.”

“But there are good aperum,” Blakstar put in, surprising the others, “I met some of them on the Mountain of Vision; they rescued me when I fell, and carried me to the top.”

Thal smiled. “All of Gar’s creatures are corruptions of the One’s creatures, so there are ‘good’ versions of them.”

“However,” Klaybear put in, “this is a test, so I’m reluctant to claim that we will not be attacked.”

“True,” Thal retorted, “but ‘test’ is not the right word, since its ultimate purpose is to prevent anyone but us,” he pointed at all of them, “from reaching the staff, so we might not be attacked.”

Blakstar shook his head, slamming his sword into its sheath. “Again,” he said, “this discussion is a waste of time, since all we need to do is move forward,” he finished, pointing to the arch.

Thal laughed; Klaybear smiled. The white maghi turned and bowed with a flourish to Blakstar. “You, my friend,” he laughed, “are quite correct. Let’s gather up the rest of our equipment, weapons, and armor.” Once they had replaced their supplies and strapped their armor back on, Tevvy making a fuss about where all his tiny bottles went in his pouches, Thal touched the symbol for air, and followed Blakstar through the arch; Klaybear took Tevvy by the arm and stepped through.

As with the other elemental realms, Blakstar landed on a stone circle, much smaller than all those others, surrounded by bright blue sky, both above and below the stone circle, which did not have any visible support. Thin, wispy clouds floated lazily by. As his feet touched the stone, a gong sounded from somewhere beneath them; in the far distance all around them, he could just make out tiny specks moving. Birds of all sizes fluttered past; the sounds of their singing filled his ears. The air smelled fresh and clean, like the air after a violent summer storm. A dark speck, straight ahead of where he stood, came racing toward him, growing larger by the second, looking like a great, winged creature. The front of it was like an eagle only much larger; its forefeet were the talons of the eagle; the back half of its body looked like the back half of some large, feline creature, with a long tail that appeared to be spiked.

Thal gasped, his eyes wide.

“What is it?” Blakstar asked.

“A . . . a myth,” the maghi stuttered.

The creature pulled up just in front of the companions, backpedaling in the air, huge wings wafting a breeze toward them that stirred their cloaks and hair, taloned and clawed feet grasping at the air. It made a sound between a croak and a scream, wheeled over onto its back, righted itself, and flew swiftly back the way it had come.

“What was that?” Klaybear asked.

“Was that a word it croaked?” Blakstar asked at the same time.

“It’s named . . . ,” Thal went on, but then said, “what? A word?” His brow wrinkled. “What word?”

The kortexi thought for a moment. “It sounded like, ‘gu-sum.’”

Tevvy’s brow wrinkled, his white eyes wide and staring. “No,” he corrected, “it was ‘gheusum.’”

Klaybear and Thal exchanged a look.

“Are you sure?” Thal asked.

Tevvy nodded. “Pretty sure,” he said. “Is that a word in the orthek language?”

Thal looked puzzled. “Orthek language?”

“The old language you both use to cast ortheks,” he said.

“Oh,” Thal said, still looking at Klaybear, “you mean ancient? Yes, it is a word in ancient, which means, chosen.”

Come back on Wednesday and learn more of the creatures inhabiting this realm, elemental air. Until then, get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!