by Gary Foshee
Bel y Button Monsters were riding them with swords and shields
in hand.”
They all looked at each other and busted up laughing. Jambles
grabbed his Daddy’s hands and asked, “No real y, how did you get all cut up?”
Rooter slipped his arms around Jambles’ head putting him in
a headlock and kissed him over-and-over on the top of his head.
He winked at Rammer and laughed, “What am I going to do with
your little brother?”
Onuka and the temple servants gathered in the outer courts
and laid-out battle plans in case the wal s were breeched. Rinox spotted Traegor moving down the Western corridor. “Traegor is
here. We can use his battle experience and mind.”
Traegor’s large body emerged around a portico and
approached Rinox and Onuka. The drumming of catapults
abruptly caught his attention just before Onuka greeted him.
“Traegor, so good to see you my old friend,” said Onuka.
310
THE REDMADAFA
“You look exhausted.” He motioned to a temple servant, “Get him
something to eat, we will need his mind sharp and alert.”
“Thank you Onuka. I came as soon as I heard. I was two days
journey from here, speaking to the last remains of Guma, when
it was over-ran by gogs and beasts from the valley. They ravaged and burned the vil ages and set ablaze the forest. We held them
off as long as we could, but there were too many of them. Many
have already reached the outer wal s and are heavily armed.”
“Traegor, take command of the outer courts. Secure them as
you see fit. We must protect the temple.”
Traegor was no stranger to the temple and its members. His
life stood as a beacon of hope to all who were trapped by the lie’s of Slithler. It was a testimony of how The Augur could take a life lost in the valley, a life that had murdered, stole, and pil aged, and could completely change it, turning it around to be used for a greater purpose.
Traegor lost his life to The Augur and found a life that he
could have never imagined. He traveled day and night all over the circle speaking of the wondrous love and forgiveness he found at the mercy of The Augur. Many lives were changed, homes and
relationships mended, as purpose was restored to countless lives.
* * * * * * *
Arsonon vaulted from rooftop-to-rooftop, annihilating every-
thing in his path. Residents fled for their lives, looking for a safe haven, a rock to shelter them from the destruction that rained
down overhead. Hydromus, with the strength of The Redmadafa
behind him, launched a barrage of spears, bucketing large col-
umns of water on Arsonon and the fires. Showering each other in
311
Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
a furious rage, the battle soaked the town in a gloomy tribulation of elements.
Legion, frustrated that his attempts to break through the wal ,
fell contentiously before him, signaled to Arsonon and the rest
of the southern guard to return. They landed on the hill above
him, and waited with great anticipation of what was coming next.
Legion bent over and drew a large sigil in the dirt, summoning
the secret weapon— Viper.
The ground shook violently, toppling mountain ranges,
causing avalanches and rock slides in the pass. A deafening roar crippled the town, reaching all the way down to those hiding
in the tunnels under the temple. Lava atomical y exploded into
the sky as everyone watched in horror. A large orange flaming
beast emerged from Mount Viper. Each step crushed mountains,
imprinting the ground with large craters.
The temple vibrated intensely.
Traegor and the outer courts melted at his sight. The outer
wal s emptied with men and beasts running like yellow-bellies.
“Traegor, what is that? What do you want us to do?” asked
Stumpy, the Mushroom King.
“There’s nothing we can do against that.”
He wheeled around and climbed up a statue. “Gather every-
one left in the tunnels and seal them up. The wal s are going to fal . When the army comes through, we will rise-up and smite
him with everything we have. Until the last breath!” he shouted.
Fearful, but courageous, they turned to each other and in
perfect unity shouted, “Until the last breath!”
“Miaphas, what is that?” asked Atrokus.
“Evil; evil of the worst kind.”
Miaphas called for Galamus. Galamus flew over and landed
beside him. “Assemble the earth delegations together. Have them
312
THE REDMADAFA
muster their forces from every sector and region from across the land, sea, sky and universe.” Distressed, he looked at the beast with eyes of contemplation. “Do it quickly Galamus. Do it quickly before we all die.”
Celestial delegates flew over the wal s and past the enemy
army, summoning help. Slithler glided over and landed by
Legion. “When the wal s fal , send the pawns first. Something’s
not right, this is too easy.”
“What could they possibly be withholding that our spies
have not already uncovered?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t want to be surprised by anything
this time. When it fal s, I will kill Miaphas. Once you have
destroyed the temple, reassemble the forces. His Majesty will be waiting for us. I don’t want to disappoint.”
“Yes, master. We will move quickly. We will trample the fiery
stones under our feet with the blood of all who remain loyal to him.”
* * * * * * *
“Man, I wish we could be there right now. I would give the next
three souls, just to see the look on their faces when the wal s
come down,” said a gog standing post in the watchtower above
the Scorpion Pass Gate, overlooking the valley of bones.
“Yeah, I bet they all turn to stone, petrified with fear,” said
another guard.
“Slithler real y outdid himself this time. Opening the gate
and letting them just waltz right in like they own the place. He’s a genius.”
“You should’ve seen their faces when they deposited the
dross. I’ve never laughed so hard in my whole, miserable life. You know what’s funny about the whole thing?”
313
Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
“What?” said a grike troll tearing a piece of flesh from a thun-
der beast bone.
He stared out across the valley shaking his head, “Most of
them had heard the truth. They knew what they were doing was
wrong but they went ahead and did it anyway. Why does every-
one think there is a better way?”
“You’re starting to sound like that voice calling out in the
desert.”
Startled, he unhooked the looking rock hanging from the
notched post beside him and looked out. He moved it in and out
trying to bring it into focus.
“What is it? You see something?”
“I don’t believe it.”
“What is it?” he said pawing for the looking rock.
“It can’t be. It just can’t be. We killed all of those years ago.”
“What is it?” He couldn’t stand it any longer. He grabbed
the looking rock out of his hands. “Give me that!” His eyes
throbbed, scanning the valley. “It can’t be. It can’t be! What are we going to do?”<
br />
“Send the trol s at the bottom. We must kill him fast and pray
Slithler never finds out about it.”
He opened up a small copper tube that ran all the way down
the 15,000-foot drop, and rang the outpost command on the val-
ley floor at the base of the cliff. Three gogs looked at each other and then one final y stood up and walked over.
“Yeah, what is it?” answered a gog in the middle of a game
of bones.
He listened, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, what? Impossible! We killed
all of those years ago.”
He slammed the tube shut, grabbed up the bones and tossed
them across the table. He studied the bones and picked up three.
314
THE REDMADAFA
Another gog picked up a mug of thunder juice and guzzled it
down. He wiped his face and burped loud and long. A muscled
gog with a big, shiny metal helmet and armor covering his body,
entered the room and walked behind the table.
“What was that about?” asked the gog, commander of the
valley guard.
“Oh, nothing.” He pointed upward and said, “That idiot said
he thought he saw a wooly in the valley.”
The table looked at each other and erupted with laughter.
They fell backwards in their chairs, kicking their feet in the air.
“What did you say?” barked the commander, grabbing him
up by the throat and thrusting him against the wal .
With a somber look in his eyes he choked, “He…said he saw
a wo…wooly.”
The commander threw him against the adjacent wal , knock-
ing his helmet off—it rolled all the way across the room and
stopped at the feet of his companions. He walked outside and
glowered over the valley, the dark valley, the valley controlled by the shadow of death—the valley where sunlight had not shone
for hundreds of years. Suddenly it lit up, blinding the battalion of trol s and thousands of Slithler’s servants guarding the South gate entrance.
He ran down the steps and mounted his Magondrea. He
pulled back on the reins, lifting the beast off its two front feet.
“Form ranks and follow me. Something’s not right!” he shouted.
Gogs ran inside the armory and handed out shields, swords and
spears. Others saddled Magondreas and prepared for battle.
Hundreds of gogs and trol s filtered out of the caves along the
base of the cliff and mounted Magondreas, crawlers and thunder
beasts. Others walked behind, all dressed in heavy armor ready
for war.
315
Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
The battalion, tired of no action, beat their shields and roared.
They marched out across the valley toward the light, looking for a fight. All eyes squinted to see through the immense light piercing through the darkness, exposing their hideous forms. Anxious
hands tapped swords, eager at the chance to use them on a mas-
sive army approaching from an unknown or distant land.
“Commander, do you see anything?” rang a voice from the
ranks.
The commander continued to stare blindly into the light.
He dismounted and took several steps toward the light and then
abruptly stopped.
A small white wooly with seven horns and seven eyes walked
out of the light, looking as if it had been slain. It looked at the beasts gathered for battle, as laughter and disappointment filled the valley.
A large troll japed loudly, “Commander, do you need us to
protect you from the savage beast? You better sound the retreat
before he kil s us al .”
Laughter dynamited up and down the ranks again.
His face remained steadfast. “Hold your tongues, before I
cut every last one of them out and eat them myself!” fumed the
commander, knowing Slithler would find out about this and have
his head.
The large loudmouth troll walked toward the wooly and
drew his sword. “Here commander, let me protect you from his
deadly sharp hoofs before he rises up and beats you to death with them,” he said.
As he approached the wooly, his heart raced. He felt some-
thing. Something sharp and smooth moved quickly across his
bel y. He looked down and watched his legs fall one direction and his upper body fall the other.
316
THE REDMADAFA
Mouths zipped across the line.
A sharp, double-edged tongue came from the wooly’s mouth,
so fast the naked eye could only glimpse a glimmer of its shiny
silver blade of judgment.
The wooly walked toward the commander and stopped a
few feet from him. The commander raised his blade as the wooly
spoke to the bones scattered across the valley floor.
“Rise; rise my children. Show yourselves now and believe in
me. Comfort and mercy from your afflictions— I give you life!”
Bones rattled all across the ground. A massive earthquake
struck The Sea Throne dislodging its foundations and sinking
it into the sea. Towers broke off and torpedoed into the sides
opening large holes that poured lava inside, melting floors and
ceilings. Serpents and beasts ran, trying to escape the falling
debris and lava. Mageddon rose from his seat and flew for the
window. Pieces of ceiling and columns beat upon his back as he
weaved through the hailstorm, making his escape.
The colosseum vibrated. Seats crumbled and statues fell as
columns broke off and spiked into the dirt below. On the floor,
the silver door, imprinted with the face of Mageddon, rattled over the pit, stretching the lock.
Mageddon flew over the colosseum and yelled, “Secure the
door! Secure the door!”
Hundreds of servants dove through the air, piling on top of
the door. The door bent up, sucked back in and then burst open,
launching Mageddon’s servants out of the colosseum and into the
sea. A large column of millions and millions of souls poured out of the hole. The column climbed high into the sky and headed
straight for the valley of bones.
With the battalion looking on, bones flew in every direc-
tion. Phalanges connected to tarsal’s; tarsal’s to tibia’s; tibia’s to 317
Dr. Gary Warren Foshee
femur’s; femur’s to pelvis’s; pelvis’s to vertebrae’s; vertebrae’s to ribs; phalanges to ulna’s; ulna’s to humerus’; humerus’ to clavicles; clavicles to skul s. Cel s molecularized; tendons and tissue formed; blood cel s and veins threaded; muscle, skin and hair
grew. The column of souls reached the valley and poured down
into the lifeless bodies.
With the breath of life in its lungs, the wooly opened his
mouth and blew across the valley causing the bodies to open
their eyes. They looked at the wooly and came to attention. The
wooly rose up on its hind legs and proclaimed, “I am the res-
urrection and the life: He that believes in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me
will never die. Do you believe?”
The bodies, numbering in the millions, shouted, “We believe!
We believe!”
The white wooly dropped back to all fours, turned around
and looked at the battalion of trol s and yelled, “Attack!”
* * * * * * *
The Southern Celestial Guard watc
hed Viper, the lava beast,
drawing nigh. They formed ranks and awaited Miaphas’ orders.
“Miaphas,” yelled Atrokus, “What do you want us to do?”
“Fall back, and wait for the signal.”
“Fall back?” questioned Oxymus. “We must attack now,
before he destroys everyone and flattens Thunder Juice.”
“The Plumb Line approaches,” said Miaphas, secure in his
command. “We will obey His Majesty’s orders and wait for the
signal. Fall back to the temple. We must protect the remnant.”
Hearts bellowed, bodies protested, minds rampaged, push-
ing beyond the limits of faith. Man, creature and beast rabid with 318
THE REDMADAFA
fear, ran through town, disoriented and confused. The Shadow of
Death moved across the wal , concealing Thunder Juice Town in
darkness.
Viper stopped outside the wal . A foreboding look shot up
from Slithler, “Break them. Tear down their proud wal s, return
everything to ash, crush the temple—leave no survivors.” Viper
looked at the temple and roared.
Temple servants climbed the towers, and lit the liberty
torches. Chestnut rays beamed through the Shadow of Death,
lancing his grip on the temple. Viper tore open the wal , unleashing Slithler’s dark army upon the town. Thousands of crawlers,
howlers, magondreas, moogles, trol s and gogs charged through
the opening, spilling into the town.
Viper flattened everything in his path in his procession to the
temple. Screams reverberated down the streets from the worship-
pers of Ra that had stayed in their houses hopelessly praying to a blind, deaf, and mute god. They were cut down in their hiding
places and their houses burned.
Traegor and the outer courts glared in disbelief watching
Viper and the army approach. “Draw swords; ready the archers;
steady the catapults!” he shouted, staring evil in the face.
Viper spewed lava on the wall surrounding the temple,
opening a large gap in its side. Miaphas and his army waited for the signal. Ready to attack, they stood patiently in obedience to The Augur. Traegor, unaware of Miaphas and his army, for they
had not shown themselves to him, stared motionless at the evil
descending upon the temple. The front line watched lava trickle
down the stone wall exposing them to the evil outside. Traegor
ran to the front line and yelled, “Until the last breath!” as the sky flooded with arrows, spears, and rocks. Hundreds jolted back,