The Eating Woods, #2
Eldritch
by Keri Lake
Contents
Chapter 2
Overview
In a flashback, young Zevander and his crippled father confront a hooded seer over failed guidance to find Cadavros and cure Zevander’s spreading facial affliction. Kingsguard arrive, arresting Lord Rydainn and Zevander despite the seer’s claim on the boy. The scene reveals the family’s betrayal of the king and that Zevander’s curse isn’t sablefyre.
Summary
In the past, young Zevander follows his injured father to the Black Salt Tavern in Costelwick. Lord Rydainn confronts a hooded woman who previously sold him a vision meant to lead him to Cadavros, the figure he believes can help his son. Desperate and angry, Lord Rydainn demands a refund or new guidance, revealing Zevander’s worsening facial affliction beneath a mask.
The seer dismisses Lord Rydainn’s threats, implying the king has forsaken him because Lord Rydainn betrayed the crown. She insists Zevander’s condition is not sablefyre, hinting at a different, darker cause. Lord Rydainn, frantic, claims that “he” once tried to consume Zevander as a baby, underscoring the danger and urgency driving him.
As tensions rise, two kingsguard approach, publicly naming Lord Rydainn and placing him under arrest by order of the king. They move to seize Zevander as well. The hooded woman objects, revealing a grotesquely scarred face and an ink-black eye, and declares the boy is hers by prior agreement.
Despite her protest, the guards enforce the king’s order. They drag both Lord Rydainn and Zevander away, leaving the seer behind. The incident exposes Lord Rydainn’s fraught standing with the crown, the mystery of Zevander’s true curse, and the seer’s unsettling claim over the boy.
Who Appears
- Zevander RydainnYoung boy with a worsening facial affliction; seized by kingsguard despite a seer’s claim on him.
- Lord Rydainn (Zevander’s father)Desperate, crippled father confronting a seer for guidance; arrested for betraying the king.
- Hooded seerScarred, one-eyed woman who sold a vision; insists Zevander is hers and that his curse isn’t sablefyre.
- KingsguardRoyal soldiers who arrest Lord Rydainn and Zevander on the king’s orders.