> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://the-shagal.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Walking with Shadows: Part III - URL: https://the-shagal.ghost.io/walking-with-shadows-part-iii/ - Published: 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-05T01:05:56.000Z - Description: Dawn brings answers—but not the ones Captain Meydoka expected. Some mysteries are meant to be solved. Others were carefully arranged to find you. - Author: Marc Faulk - Tags: Stories ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/21/b7/21b7d236-2d58-4df4-be7a-3f48ee417ff3/content/images/2026/08/IMG_2208.png) The Contract Captain Seth Meydoka closed the lid of the strange black cube with a quiet click. It refused to yield its secrets. For nearly half an hour he had examined every inch of it beneath the lamplight in his office. No hinge remained visible. No catch could be found. Ancient symbols wound across its polished surface, yet none belonged to any language he recognized. The thing seemed less carved than forged—as though the stone itself had remembered becoming a box. He set it carefully upon his desk. Outside the narrow window, dawn spread across Ythoriss. The fortress no longer echoed with alarm. It moved now with grim purpose. Messengers hurried through the courtyards carrying fresh orders. Riders departed through the northern gate in pairs, scattering along the mountain roads. Search parties assembled beneath the walls before disappearing into the forests beyond the city. If the Senator still lived… They would find him. A sharp knock interrupted his thoughts. “Enter.” A young lieutenant stepped inside and saluted. “The eastern patrol has departed, Captain. The western riders leave within the hour.” “Good.” “The physicians also asked me to report that Aejay has awakened.” For the first time since the night’s horror began, Meydoka allowed himself the faintest smile. “And?” “He asked if the Senator had finally stopped complaining.” A weary laugh escaped the Captain. “Tell him not even an assassin could manage that.” The lieutenant grinned. “I will, sir.” “And his eye?” The smile faded. “The physician believes the wound has closed cleanly.” “But?” “He’ll live.” Meydoka nodded. That was enough. “You’ve done well. Dismissed.” The lieutenant bowed his head before quietly closing the door behind him. Silence returned. Meydoka rested both hands upon his desk. One crisis at a time. Find the Senator. Then find the man responsible. His eyes drifted once more to the black cube. Nothing. No seams. No hidden mechanism. No answers. He reached toward it. The stone felt strangely warm beneath his fingertips. “You’re looking at the wrong mystery.” The voice came from behind him. Meydoka turned. The office stood empty. Then the shadows shifted. Darkness peeled itself away from the corner of the room. A broad-brimmed hat emerged first. Then the black cloak. Then pale spectacles caught the morning light. The Shagal. He stood perfectly still, hands folded before him. No window had opened. No door had moved. Yet somehow… He had always been there. Meydoka’s sword cleared its scabbard in a single motion. Steel leveled toward the intruder. “You’ve come for the Senator.” The Shagal regarded the blade without concern. “No.” His voice remained calm. “The Senator was never my quarry.” Meydoka frowned. “What?” “He was merely…” A brief pause. “…the means.” The Captain’s expression changed. Every rooftop. Every dead sentry. Every diversion. The tower. The beetles. The impossible escape. The cube. It had never been about abducting the Senator. Slowly, the realization settled over him. “You.” The Shagal inclined his head. “You were always the contract.” The words struck harder than any sword. Every step had drawn him exactly where the assassin wanted him. His office. Alone. With the cube resting upon his desk. Meydoka glanced toward it. “You wanted me to take it.” “I knew you would.” The Captain gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “I thought I was preserving evidence.” “You were.” The Shagal rested one gloved hand beside the cube. “Evidence that your search had already ended.” Silence stretched between them. At last, Meydoka broke it. “The Senator…” “He lives.” Relief flashed across the Captain’s face before suspicion reclaimed it. “Where?” The Shagal looked toward the window overlooking the eastern forests. “You’ll find him before sunset.” “Where?” “In a clearing near the Eastern Wood.” Meydoka searched the hidden face behind the pale spectacles. “You expect me to believe that?” “I neither expect nor require belief.” The room fell quiet again. “You kidnapped him.” “Temporarily.” “You murdered my soldiers.” “They chose to stand between us.” Meydoka’s jaw tightened. “They had families.” “I know.” No satisfaction. No mockery. Only acknowledgment. For the first time, Meydoka understood something profoundly unsettling. This man did not enjoy killing. He simply accepted it. “As for the Senator…” The Shagal’s gaze never wavered. “…he will return to his wife before nightfall.” Meydoka lowered his sword only a fraction. “If that’s true…” “It is.” “…then why are you here?” The Shagal’s eyes drifted to the cube. “My employer commissioned two tasks.” He raised one gloved finger. “The first was to convince a Senator he had been taken.” A second finger joined the first. “The second…” The shadows around his boots stirred. “…was to ensure the Captain of Ythoriss never organized another search.” Meydoka raised his sword once more. Outside, the fortress awakened. Soldiers prepared to ride. Messengers crossed the courtyard. Somewhere below, Aejay was beginning to recover. The city believed the worst had passed. Only two men knew otherwise. The Shagal slowly opened his hands. Shadows curled around his boots like living smoke. “I wanted you to know the truth, Captain.” His voice was almost gentle. “So that when they find the Senator alive…” He took a single step forward. “…you’ll understand why you were the one who had to die.” A long silence followed. Meydoka drew one slow breath. Then another. The fear remained. But it no longer ruled him. He settled into his guard. “You’ve made one mistake.” The Shagal tilted his head. Meydoka’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. “You’ve mistaken me…” The Captain’s stance became as immovable as the mountain beneath the city. “…for a man who dies easily.” For the first time, the shadows around The Shagal rippled. Whether it was amusement… …or simply the darkness responding to its master… Meydoka could not tell. The Shagal moved. And the shadows moved with him. --- > **The end.** --- ### Epilogue Far above Ythoriss, something crossed the morning sky. Nicodemus circled once more above the fortress. Below, riders poured through the gates, dividing along the roads that wound toward the forests beyond. Soldiers gathered along the walls. Bells sounded from the towers. The city was searching. The large owl turned in-realm. Beyond the mountains, the first light of morning stretched across the Known Realms. The work here was finished. Nicodemus tucked both wings and caught the rising wind. Ythoriss slowly disappeared beneath the clouds. It was time to go home. ---