The Redmadafa
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for a moment?”
Onuka finished his instructions and walked over. “Myott, I’m
so sorry to hear about your brother. Chesty was a close friend and a faithful servant to me and the members of this temple.”
“Thanks. I know he thought the world of you. He was always
rambling on about your messages.” He stopped and thought
about what he said, “In a good way of course.”
Onuka smiled, missing his old friend dearly.
“I brought his family here, where can I put them?”
“Caboose is here?” responded Onuka, anxiously wanting to
see him.
“Yes, he’s right over there.” Myott pointed through the crowd.
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“You know, there is something different about that young grunter.
He has matured well beyond his years.”
“Bring him to my chamber.” He watched Caboose help peo-
ple find a seat. “The Augur has special plans for him. Great Things planned for him.”
Myott made his way back through the crowd to Caboose.
Caboose helped his mother and sister find a seat and then pro-
ceeded to talk to several people around them. Myott placed his
hand on his shoulder from behind. “Can I speak with you for a
moment?”
Caboose turned around, “Sure. Is everything alright?”
He led Caboose to the front doors, the doors over the cleft
rock, and out onto the steps. The outer courts teamed with
activity. People shuttled into the yards, others moved into outer buildings and covered shelters. “Onuka wants to see you in his
chambers. He said you can take the back way around the tem-
ple…up the stairs.”
“The High Priest wants to see me in his chambers?” asked
Caboose. “Did he say what this was about?”
“No. Just that The Augur has something for you to do.”
Caboose stood gritting his teeth for a moment. The Augur,
what would he want with me? And what would he possible want
me to do? He walked down the steps, careful y making his way
through the people—he felt like he was back in the valley stepping over gargoyles—people were everywhere. He walked around the
side of the temple, down a long corridor, and turned into a large, arched opening. Proceeding through the door, he walked down
the hal way filled with people, looking into each eye, each face, noting the fear and helplessness and then walked up a narrow
stairway leading to Onuka’s chamber.
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Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
He rounded the corner and stopped outside a slightly-open
door. He looked inside before softly knocking. He waiting for a
brief moment and then pushed the door open and entered. Large
vanil a-colored candles flickered silently throughout the room.
Scrol s and books lined shelves; others lay open on beautiful y
carved wooden tables. Priestly garments hung on a pedestal near
the door and a washbasin, with a decorative pitcher beside it, in the corner. He walked over and looked at an open scroll on one
of the tables.
Onuka emerged from the back room. “Ezekiel.” Caboose
looked up. Onuka pointed at the scrol . “That was written by
Ezekiel, a powerful seer, about 600 years ago. His prophecy in
chapter seventeen seems to point to what is happening now. I’ve
been studying it for weeks. I don’t understand what he means
when he says, ‘ His Majesty will plant a tree on a high mountain and birds of every kind will nest in it and find shelter.’ I’m sure there’s a mystery behind it that I have yet to discover. Please have a seat.”
Caboose thought it strange that the High Priest would want
to talk to him, especial y with everything going on outside. He
took a seat at the table and unraveled the scrol . He picked up
a breastplate with twelve colored stones lined across its front—
three across and four down. He rubbed his fingers across its
surface—it reminded him of the Scorpion Pass Gate and its cool
jagged surface. He placed it back on the table and looked around the room.
“Your father was a good friend. He was a sounding board
for me on many occasions.” Onuka walked over and pulled two
books off the shelf and laid them on the table. “I can’t begin to understand how you must feel, nor do I know what you endured
in the valley. It saddens me that he isn’t here with us now.”
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Onuka opened a closet and took out a brightly-colored gar-
ment and laid it next to the books. “I don’t know what will happen in the next few days but there is something I must tell you.
Caboose listened but didn’t respond.
“The Augur spoke with me the other day about you. He
wants you to stay by my side, no matter what happens. He has
something special planned for you. So, I need you to stay close
to me and keep yourself alert. Stay courageous no matter what
you see taking place around us and at the temple. Stay loyal to
what he wants you to do and obedient to his teachings. This is a time to be honest with yourself and courteous to those who are
fearful.” Onuka stopped what he was doing and walked in front
of Caboose. “What’s happening outside these wal s is not a battle of the flesh. It’s a spiritual battle. Make sure that when the time is right, you will look beyond what your eyes see and peer into the spirit world.”
Caboose didn’t say anything. He just shook his head. He was
not expecting to hear that, especial y after everything he had
endured in the valley.
“I watched my Papa die in my arms. I saw the Sea Throne
and the garden. I heard and believed the lies from his cunning
tongue. When The Augur rescued me instead of my Dad, I was
angry. But I know he is God. His touch, it changed my life forever.
If he chooses to use me now, with the strength of his body, I will be ready for anything. I am no longer afraid of death.”
Onuka smiled. “Young grunter, my heart is filled with joy.
Whatever I can do to help you, you just let me know. My door is
always open.”
* * * * * * *
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Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
The guard standing below him reached over and placed his hand
on the release leaver. The commander of the guard placed his
hand over the guard’s hand, “Wait.”
“For what? Didn’t you hear him? If we open the gate, he will
let us live.”
The commander looked up at The Augur. “Aren’t you going
to say something? Should we save ourselves and let him have
Thunder Juice?”
The Augur didn’t reply. He stared at Slithler watching his
every move.
The commander leaned over the tower wall and shouted, “If
we open the gate and surrender now, will you let us and our fam-
ilies leave in peace?”
Slithler, feeling confident and proud, stood tall and hissed,
“The sun is about to strike the temple. Raise the gate now and I will let you passsss without harm.”
The commander looked up at The Augur—nothing, he didn’t
acknowledge him.
“Commander, raise the gate, you can save our lives, raise the
gate,” echoed a voice down the wal .
He tapped his fingers on his bloodless sword knowing he
sho
uldn’t. Forgetting his past and trusting the advice of fools he regrettably said, “Release the pin, raise the gate.”
“Sir,” he said with an uncertain voice. “Are you sure?”
“Just do it.”
Click! When the commander heard the click, his stomach
convulsed. That sound, I’ve heard that sound before, he said to
himself. He knew he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.
The rope smoked, chains chattered, dust flew, fibers darted.
The gate skyrocketed open, slamming against the top, echoing
back at the guards. Slithler smiled and yelled, “Attack!”
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A gog raised the battle horn to his mouth. “AURRRRRRRRR,”
cackled the horn instilling fear in the guards. Slithler dashed
toward the gate. The Augur dropped down, knocking him to the
ground. Slithler coiled, flinging The Augur away from the door
while trol s stormed the gate.
“Fire!” shouted Miaphas. Spears hummed through the air
gouging the huge trol s, pinning them three-deep to each other.
A company from the Southern Celestial Guard surprised the
stampede and drove them back, with Miaphas leading the charge.
The wall guards couldn’t see the protective curtain stretching up into the sky prohibiting Slithler and his army from flying over.
Miaphas and the others struggled to close the gate as all eyes
focused on The Augur and Slithler.
Slithler circled The Augur, whipping his stinger-forked tail
repeatedly at him. The Augur lifted out of the way and hit him
with his wing, sending him crashing into a catapult, knocking it over, smashing a crawler underneath. Slithler transformed into
an eagle and ascended into the air after him.
The Augur circled and tucked his wings.
Slithler spun to his back and locked talons spinning them
into a cliff-face adjacent the Southern North Gate tower. They
rolled down the rocky face, Slithler’s talons ripping plumage
from The Augur’s face.
At the bottom, The Augur grabbed Slithler and hurtled
him over the wal , through the invisible curtain, toward The
Redmadafa. Slithler’s army ran up the mountainside to watch the
battle ensuing over the river.
The air turned black as Slithler flew over the outer courts.
Tracking his every move, trees launched spears with toxic arrow-
heads affixed, into the air. The spears shot straight, while others 295
Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
shot cross-diagonal y, minimizing his escape. The spears plunged into his feathers causing him to bank hard right and open his
wings like a parachute. The trees heaved, pulling the grass ropes affixed to the spears, wrenching him down to the river to drown
him. Slithler ruffled his feathers, shaking the spears off.
Ironwood, the Celestial Tree Commander, yelled, “Come
back around again, traitor! I have more where that came from!”
The Augur flew over the wall and collided with him over The
Redmadafa. Slithler dug his thorny talons deep into the top of his head, shaking him violently. The Augur countered and grabbed
his bel y, pulling him loose; Slithler transformed his lower body and struck him with his tail, relinquishing his grip.
Upset at the commander of the gate, Miaphas climbed the
tower and allowed the commander to see him. “Don’t open this
gate again, no matter what happens. Do you understand me,
commander?”
Bewildered, he looked at Miaphas, the Imperial Commander
of the Celestial Guard, richly adorned in his battle armor, “Ah, Yes…Sir,” he said, looking him over from top to bottom, not
knowing what to think or say—the commander had never seen
anyone like him before. Slithler dove through town, knocking
shingles and chimneys down, fleecing the streets below. Around
the university, over the market, and into the mines he flew setting his trap.
The Augur followed close behind, disappearing into the long,
dark tunnel. Slithler smashed the lights and transformed back
into a serpent, blending-in with the black wal s.
The Augur ebbed cautiously down the cold, dark, wet tun-
nels. Water dripped from the ceiling landing in small muddy
pools below. Wind ripped through the tunnel and into the lower
shafts before rebounding in a backdraft.
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The Augur scanned the darkness and moved further into the
tunnel.
He stopped.
His breath highlighted the darkness as he turned his head.
He proceeded into a large subterranean room filled with
mine equipment. The wal s rumbled, speaking out to The Augur,
exposing Slithler’s hiding place. He stopped and listened, his ears grasping every sound, his eyes searching the darkness.
Slithler slid along the ceiling, quietly rappelling over him.
The Augur, ful y aware of his evil presence, rolled onto to his
back and kicked, impaling him into the support timbers over-
head. Wood and rocks disintegrated while dust filled the room.
The remaining timbers waned to support the ceiling, as large
cracks raced across the ceiling and down the wal s. Large rocks
broke from the ceiling and pummeled the floor, barely missing
The Augur.
Slithler recovered and slid around the room. He chucked
large wooden beams and rocks with his tail at The Augur, shred-
ding his feathers and smashing him up-against the wal . The
Augur jumped to his feet and bobbed and weaved through the
shower. He pressed forward and tackled Slithler, driving him out of the mines and into the rock quarry outside.
The rocks swallowed them, digging at Slithler, cutting him
with jagged teeth. A dust cloud masked the fight as Slithler transformed and took to the air. The Augur spun and scanned the
dust cloud for any sign of him. Slithler climbed high into the sky and then twisted back. He dropped quietly with his eyes closed
and hammered The Augur into the ground, creating a large cra-
ter. A dust cloud mushroomed into the air covering the hil side.
Clutching his back, Slithler ripped it to shreds with his sharp talons, spraying feathers and flesh into the air. The Augur winced, 297
Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
flipped over and locked talons with him. They both bit viciously at each other, ripping plumage and tearing flesh.
From atop the mountainside outside the North Gate, Legion
watched the battle with his arm raised. “Wait, wait,” he said, waiting for the signal. Slithler threw The Augur across town and over the wal s, indenting him atop a small hill just outside of town.
The Augur crashed into the hill that bore the resemblance of a
skul , and tried to stand but his frail battered body col apsed back to the ground unable to hold his massive weight. Slithler glided to victory and landed beside him boldly casting his shadow over
his mangled disfigured body.
This was the moment he had waited for. All his tricks, all
his widespread trading and control of the markets and all his
evil alliances had been for this sole moment. With victory in his grasp, he stood strong and gloated, “Bow before me now and I
will kill you quickly.”
The Augur lay on the ground helpless and defenseless, his
broken and bruised body writhing with pain. He struggled to
stand. Unable t
o stand by his own power, he used his wings to
help push off the ground. Staring long and deep into Slithler’s
eyes he whispered, “The God in me…Will never bow…To the
coward…In you.”
Slithler raised his talons and locked them around The Augur.
He screeched out giving the signal. Legion dropped his hand
with a curt nod.
Click!
A large pulley launched a long rusty iron spear across the
sky. Miaphas and the Southern army watched it climb high into
the sky. Locked in on The Augur, the spear honed in on the bat-
tle. Slithler peered back into his eyes, spun him around and said,
“Time to pay the fee!”
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The spear pierced The Augur. It ran all the way through,
gushing blood and water from his side. The dirt turned dark red
as it soaked up his life-blood.
The Augur took to the sky flying high to escape. Shocked and
paralyzed, everyone stopped and watched. The Augur, with only
seconds left and darkness closing in yelled out, “Your Majesty!”
and then whispered, “It is finished.” He spun, round and round,
and round and round, and crashed into The Redmadafa, sinking
beneath its surface.
Galamus, in disbelief, searched his mind for an explanation.
Unable to find one, he looked at Miaphas, “It can’t be. This can’t be happening.” They flew over town and landed on the bank waiting for him to rise. Slithler landed on the bank opposite them and peered into the water. The Augur lay on the bottom, motionless.
Toby, Tyku, and numerous creatures swam to his aid lifting his
body back to the surface but it was too late. He was dead. His lifeless body drifted back to the bottom. A dark, red line streamed
from his side to the surface and flowed down the river, turning
The Redmadafa blood-red.
Slithler was stunned. He stood in disbelief waiting for him to
burst forth any second. “He’s dead. He’s real y dead. I’ve done it.
I’ve killed him. I’ve killed The Augur.” He changed back into the great serpent and lifted his head to the sky, “Vengeance is mine!”
He confidently looked at Miaphas, lowered his head and
drew his eyes, “You’re next.”
The invisible curtain protecting Thunder Juice ripped,
opening the skies above town. Slithler’s evil eye, glimpsing the opportunity, shouted, “The curtain has fallen. Kill them.” He