Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 17, Part 5

30 July 2026

We wish all a good day! Last time, our heroes tried to contact the others, failed, and when Blakstar realized what was happening, he impulsively went to them, leaving his companions behind. This week, we see some of the consequences of his rash actions. (21 September 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 17, Part 5

“Heal him, Klaybear,” Tevvy said, “then follow us; we’ll try and catch the kortexi before they have him tied to a tree.” They heard growls of rage and screams of fright; Tevvy ran off in that direction with Thal in tow.

“Leave me,” Rokwolf moaned to his brother, who had knelt beside him and put his green-glowing hands upon his head, the light of his hands brighter than ever, the emerald eye flaring to life in response to his action. “They have Klare; they’re violating her; don’t you understand?” Energy flowed into Rokwolf, closing his wounds and giving him strength. They heard the sudden crackle of lightning and knew Thal had joined the fray. Rokwolf jumped to his feet, looking around for his weapons, suddenly filled with energy and deadly purpose; the clash of arms and shouts of anger and fear continued to echo under the trees. Rokwolf ran forward to where his captors had dropped his weapons; Klaybear followed, but continued silent, breath-giver dragging behind him, the emerald eye dark.

“This way,” Rokwolf said after picking up his sword and shield, and slinging his bow and quiver over his shoulder. “It sounds like the kortexi has driven them away from Klare, but not before the damage has been done.”

They moved through the trees, past the bodies of purem in various states of dismemberment, still leaking fluids and some twitching, along with a few evil-looking wethem, the bodies hacked to pieces and scattered over the ground. They soon came to the center of the camp and saw Tevvy kneeling next to something lying on the ground. Klaybear sobbed and ran forward, hands glowing again, breath-giver surrounded again by green light from the stone, seeing the beloved face, dirt and tear streaked, bruises on her cheeks, honey-flecked brown hair disheveled, her naked skin spattered with blood that smoked, unmoving on the ground, surrounded by bodies hacked worse than the others they had thus far seen. Tevvy looked up when he heard them approach, his face bleak. Klaybear fell to the ground beside them, placing his glowing hands upon her head, singing the orthek of healing, pouring into her more healing energy than he had ever been able to handle; the staff seemed to understand his need, the emerald stone bathing them in green light and enabling him to channel even more energy, directing him to the wounds and helping him to close and heal them. The eyes fluttered and opened, the green eyes focused on the face of her husband.

“You didn’t come,” Klare spoke in barely a whisper, “I warned them that you would come and rescue me, but they only laughed as they . . . as they . . . you didn’t come,” she faltered, eyes filling with tears. Klaybear sobbed as he pulled her to him fiercely, burying his face in her hair, and both were suddenly encased in a nimbus of emerald light.

Rokwolf touched Tevvy and then helped the awemi to his feet; they turned to go in the direction of the fading sounds of battle, took a few steps, then stopped when they saw Thal moving toward them.

“Where’s Blakstar?” Tevvy asked.

Thal turned and looked back over his shoulder. “He is still chasing them,” he said dully and turned to look at them. “I do not think he will stop until he has caught and killed them all. He appears to have lost his mind,” he finished, shaking his head.

“What happened?” Tevvy asked Rokwolf.

The seklesi sighed and sat down next to a cooking fire. “Did you get the staff?” he asked.

Tevvy nodded, coming to sit nearby, then pointed back at Klaybear and Klare, still surrounded by green light; Thal joined them. The sounds of battle were fewer and farther away; Klaybear sobbed again, but his voice was muffled.

“A couple of hours after sunrise,” Rokwolf began, but Tevvy interrupted him.

“I meant after we left,” Tevvy said.

“Sorry,” Rokwolf said, and he explained how they had watched over Klare’s mother and sister through the night, with a growing sense of dread, and how he had discovered the looters moving through the ruins; how her sister had run off and was killed by the looters; how he and Klare had been trying to move her mother at the time, and how she had fallen off their makeshift stretcher, which had hastened her end. “Two hours after the sun rose, we left the village with the horses,” he went on, “hoping to avoid any more notice of the looters, but we did not get far: the purem appeared from nowhere and captured us; the way was clear; I checked, and then they were suddenly all around us.”

Thal nodded. “I’d bet that when those sent to catch us reported, the morgle sent those who captured you directly to you in the same way that we found and came to you. We learned from Shigmar how to do this with the sword and staff.”

“What happened when Blakstar arrived?” Tevvy asked.

Rokwolf shook his head. “Lucky for him and you,” Rokwolf replied, “my guards had turned to watch . . . ,” he hesitated, “watch what the others were doing to Klare. Otherwise, he might have had a bigger fight on his hands, but then again, maybe it would not have mattered. When he came through, he was completely out of his mind, berserk, as we say, and nothing could stand in the face of his wrath. He was like a golden fire, surrounded by light, his sword a tongue of flame that cut them down like dry grass. He just destroyed an entire company of purem, all by himself. None of their weapons seemed to touch him; their ortheks simply bounced off him, and when they realized their danger, they began to flee from him; that was when the rest of you arrived.”

“But that was only seconds after he left us!” Tevvy exclaimed.

Rokwolf nodded. “I would not believe you,” he said in a defeated voice, “if you had seen it and I had not.”

“Help me,” Klaybear croaked. . . .

Return tomorrow for another installment from this tale, as we learn what has happened to Blakstar and watch as Klaybear attempts to heal Klare’s mind, with Thal’s help. Until then, get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!