Chapter 58

Kazhimyr dreams of being ensnared by living roots and a skull-faced, spider-like creature that injects burning venom into his leg, paralyzing him with terror. He wakes with Dravien’s hand over his mouth in a cramped tavern room in Veneficarys, his lower leg bandaged and stinging from a real bite sustained after the Syrenian attack. Ravezio keeps watch at the window as the nightmare’s dread lingers.

Dravien and Ravezio report that General Loyce and several Solassion soldiers, traveling without heraldry, are lodged nearby and covertly searching for a redheaded woman named Melantha—likely a witness tied to the prince’s kidnapping. The trio stay hidden, noting the townsfolk’s wariness of Solassions and outsiders alike. Dravien infers King Sagaerin is supplying vivicantem, explaining the stark absence of starving children and the villagers’ likely loyalty.

Kazhimyr presses to move on, fearing Zevander may uncover an eldritch glyph rumored powerful enough to bring down the Umbravale. He frames Zevander as a pawn rather than a true threat, but argues urgency. Dravien counters that Kazhimyr’s bite demands days of recovery and that remaining still until Loyce departs is safer; they plan to head to Hagsmist after.

As Kazhimyr struggles to stand and fails under surging pain, Dravien shares hard-won knowledge of such bites: some victims die, some are paralyzed, and some receive premonitory dreams. He admits he has, foreseeing his own capture and enslavement by a woman in golden armor. The revelation casts Kazhimyr’s nightmare in a darker light and underscores the peril ahead as they wait, watch, and ready to cross before the glyph can imperil the Umbravale.