Staff of Shigmar: Chapter 19, Part 2

19 August 2026

We return to the battle before Shigmar, Klaybear having just unleashed the power of Shigmar’s staff in the hopes of saving the city of the kailum. . . .(23 November 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 19, Part 2

Silence fell on the battlefield below, as all eyes turned to see who had sung those words in a voice that penetrated the noise of battle. The staff glowed more brightly; the air around Klaybear went suddenly cold; the colors around them faded in the painful brightness of the light surrounding breath-giver, then all light winked out. Klaybear felt his horse nuzzling his arm, and he noticed the all their horses had drawn up next to them. When the light flashed on, Klaybear caught a glimpse of shimmering gray, somewhere below and to their right, that winked out as light returned. He felt a concussion, emanating from the staff, that created a circle of total blackness, darker than the darkest night, about twenty yards from the staff, a circle that grew slowly, devouring everything in its path: the grass, the trees, and any living creature it touched, leaving in its wake only dust and bleached bones. From the black wave pieces of wispy white light began to rise, slowly moving into the air, then curving back and picking up speed as the wispy white streams were sucked into the staff. As the wave stole the life from the forces fighting in the battle below, their faces, twisted with pain and anger, sailed past the three key holders on the hilltop, but Klaybear saw more than faces. For him, time slowed until every moment, every slow thudding beat of his heart pounding in his chest, felt like an age, and he beheld every face, and saw every dream, every desire, every sorrow, every wish of every person, both friend and foe, killed by the power of his staff, and he wanted to close his eyes, his ears, all his senses, he wanted to die, but that was not possible with so much life energy stored in the staff clutched in his hands. The faces and forms continued to fly past his senses, his mind, and into the staff; he cried out in pain, in anguish, but the wave continued to grow, consuming his enemies, and his friends, and their accusations, their lost dreams, became more painful to him than the horrors experienced, the unchecked appetites for flesh and blood, the anger and violence of his foes. The wave of destruction continued to expand, passing the walls of the city, and the faces became more familiar, the merchants from the marketplace where he and Klare purchased food and other supplies, their closest neighbors, his fellow students, the workers of the school, and his kailu masters, more purem, even a few seklesem. Then the wave reached its limit; it flickered, then went out, and the last of the faces dropped their burdens upon him, then the blessed emptiness of darkness took him, wiping away all pain.

Tevvy looked up, sensing something. Rokwolf was in the other room, sleeping. All was suddenly quiet, too quiet, Tevvy thought, and he stood up and walked toward the entry into their sanctuary. He stopped in the doorway, looking out at the ramp descending from the sewers above and the waterfall. Through his bare feet he felt a vibration, then he heard the rumble, barely audible to him, but growing louder as it got nearer. The vibration and sound reached a point that Tevvy thought for sure would loose stones from the ceiling, so he looked up warily. Then the sound and vibration stopped at once, and, if it were possible, it was more quiet than before, especially when the water stopped falling from the ceiling of the antechamber. After a few moments of this eerie silence, Tevvy turned to go and wake Rokwolf, when a trickle of water started to fall from the ceiling; the trickle grew until the water fell at the same rate as before. Tevvy took a step forward, and stopped, feeling the pressure in the room change. He stepped back, intending to close the door, when he heard the sound of stone from above, followed by soft footfalls. He started to close the door, then paused; his mind, although sluggish at the moment, reminding him that there were only a few people who could open the door above, so he waited to see who was coming down. He saw the boots, stained from dirt and battle, followed by the forms of Marilee and Delgart, faces dirty, both looking stunned.

“Delgart! Marilee!” Tevvy exclaimed, waving to them. “Are you all right? What are you doing here?”

Both stopped, looking down at him. It took a moment for them to recognize him, then they started down the ramp again, but their faces were blank and hollow.

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

“My squad,” Marilee stammered, “and our company . . . we found scaling ladders in place before us and the sewers filled with purem and ghelem. Somehow, they got here before us and managed to enter.” She pushed past Tevvy; Delgart followed mechanically.

On Friday we will reach the end of this book; we urge all our readers to return for the final part in the serialization of this second book of our epic fantasy, Staff of Shigmar. Until then, get a full ebook copy from Smashwords for free! If you prefer print, purchase your copy from the link provided. Good reading!