The Eating Woods, #2
Eldritch
by Keri Lake
Contents
Chapter 16
Overview
In the Bonegrist arena of Zevander’s past, he survives his first pit fight by exploiting an orgoth’s vital weakness. The victory is hollow: Jagron is hanged and Zevander’s father is executed before his eyes. This betrayal and loss harden Zevander, deepening his rage and shaping his future resolve.
Summary
In a flashback to the Solassios mines, Zevander is hauled into Bonegrist, a reopened arena infamous for blood sport. Shackled and stripped of magic, he faces a scarred orgoth whose cruelty is shown when he casts a child into the chasm. Zevander recalls Jagron’s advice: sever the orgoth’s vitaelis vein for an instant kill.
The orgoth charges relentlessly, battering Zevander and injuring his ankle. During the struggle, the beast’s tusk jams in the platform grate and snaps. Zevander uses speed and desperation to reach the broken tusk. In a final grapple, he drives the shard into the pulsing vein beneath the orgoth’s tusk, killing his opponent as blood sprays across him.
As the crowd’s reaction splits between cheers and jeers, Zevander spots Jagron bound with a chain around his neck. Despite earlier assurances, Jagron is hoisted and strangled before Zevander, revealing the warden’s betrayal and the guards’ sadism. The moment shifts from triumph to horror.
Then the guards present Zevander’s father. The elder Rydainn, bruised but resolute, urges Zevander to look at him and reminds him, “You are born of fire. You will rise from the ashes.” As Zevander begs for the chains to save him, an orgoth crushes his father’s skull, silencing him. Zevander’s grief erupts, his victory rendered meaningless by compounded loss and treachery.
Who Appears
- ZevanderImprisoned fighter in Bonegrist; kills an orgoth by striking its vitaelis vein; witnesses Jagron and his father executed.
- JagronOrgoth guard who advised Zevander about the vitaelis vein; hanged despite implied promises.
- Elder RydainnZevander’s father; delivers a final exhortation before an orgoth crushes his skull.
- WardenArena authority who oversees the spectacle; complicit in betraying promises and executions.
- Orgoth opponentMassive, ruthless prisoner; loses a tusk and is killed when Zevander pierces his vital vein.
- Orgoth guardTaunts Zevander and executes his father, escalating Zevander’s trauma and fury.