The Morgle Unmasked: Prologue, Part 2

2 September 2026

In this week’s installment from the third book of The Redemption series, The Morgle Unmasked, we continue with the prologue’s second part, joining Tevvy and another student from his father’s school, a year before the story of The Redemption begins. . . . (14 December 2015) The full ebook version of this book is available for purchase from all ebook sellers. We remind all that the first book in this series, Chosen of the One, and the second book, Staff of Shigmar, are both free from Smashwords! Glossary links: Book 3, Book 2, Book 1

Prologue, Part 2

Atno 3523, Early Spring

The air beneath Rykelle was thick and too warm for this early in the season; the day had been unseasonably warm, owing to the winds blowing from the south, off the Inner Sea. Two small figures, almost invisible, flitted from shadow to shadow, trying to evade members of the local Thieves’ Guild, who pursued them through the sewers. The first stopped the second, then stooped beneath one of the many large pipes that passed out of the walls and ceiling of the service access, turned and pushed open a panel. The second crawled into the small opening and the first followed, closing the panel behind him. They crawled in silence for a time, the small space beneath the pipe leading them into another small hallway, and this hallway had even more pipes running through it than the one they had left, but the hallway did not seem to go anywhere. They waited, motionless and silent, until they were both sure this new hallway was empty before pulling open the grate and dropping to the floor on silent, bare feet. The first, slightly larger than the second, led his companion to a small, out of the way corner of this second hallway, where they could huddle together out of sight of anyone who might stumble into it, but where they could watch in both directions.

“Do you still think coming with me was a good idea?” the first whispered into the ear of the second.

The second placed her arms around the neck of the first, then kissed him quietly; she laid her head gently on his shoulder. “I can’t think of any place I’d rather be,” she whispered, “nor anyone else I’d rather be with.”

The chest of the first puffed up with pride; he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his side, then he returned her kiss. Although it was dark to most eyes, to their eyes the hallway glowed dimly with violet light, and they were clearly visible to each other. Their eyes met, and for a long while they simply stared into each other’s eyes; understanding grew slowly in the mind of the first, and with that understanding he noticed that he was now grinning stupidly. He shook his head and looked away down the hallway, but the action did not remove the wide, idiotic grin from his face. He tried stretching his mouth open, as if he were yawning, but this caused his female companion to laugh softly.

“It took you long enough,” she whispered, smiling up at him.

Her puzzling statement did not help him stop grinning. “What do you mean?” he whispered back.

She grinned in response, pulled his face toward hers, and kissed him more soundly than she had ever done before. He felt his knees weaken, and was glad he was sitting, and the grin on his face got wider and stupider when she released him.

“I meant,” she went on, fixing her eyes on his, her tone intense for a whisper, “that it is about time you recognized how you felt about me; I was beginning to think that you would never come around,” she added with a slight pout in her voice.

“What?” he hissed, slightly shocked. “No, we . . . , I mean, I . . . , that is, they have kept us so busy, that I . . . ,” he tried to go on, but she stopped him with another kiss.

“Don’t,” she said, “I was only teasing,” she added with a mischievous smile. “I was a little worried that you might . . . , since we will soon graduate . . . , you will leave, and you will forget about me.” The pout returned to her eyes and lips, but she could hold this pose for only a moment before smiling again.

“Absurd!” he replied with mock anger. “We were made for each other,” he went on in a more serious voice, “so how could I possibly forget you?”

She looked up at him again, her eyes wide. “Do you mean that?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

He looked into her eyes for a long moment before he replied. “Yes, you know I do.” He noticed that the wide, silly grin was back on his face.

Her face mirrored his. “I just wanted . . . ,” she began, but what she wanted, she never said, for both were distracted by an odd sound, like branches breaking or dry bones cracking, and both saw an archway of absolute blackness open in the hallway; out of this archway stepped two figures: one was taller, glowing brightly, and the second shorter, whose glow was not as bright as the first. The shorter, dimmer figure seemed to raise one of its arms; a ball of light, the same brightness as the figure, flew toward them, engulfed them, and snuffed-out all conscious thought.

“You handle the little potuka,” the taller figure growled, “and I’ll take care of this one,” he gestured. “I need only set things up so that, when the time is right, I can tie him directly to me, and through him, keep watch on the others.”

The second figure said nothing; he nodded, which caused his large, bulbous head to sway behind him as he stretched out the rod over the awema and began to alter the patterns of her mind.

On Friday we will share the final piece of background information necessary for this volume of The Redemption series. Until then, we remind all that the first two books of this series, Chosen of the One and Staff of Shigmar, are free from Smashwords. Get this book, The Morgle Unmasked, from the links provided. Good reading!