The Eating Woods, #2
Eldritch
by Keri Lake
Contents
Chapter 69
Overview
Zevander awakens to an invisible chalk drawing and pursues a cloaked intruder into Caligorya’s dead vein, where Cadavros—appearing as Zevander’s former mentor—uses Zevander’s coerced power to ignite the vein with a forbidden glyph. Branded by the glyph, Zevander blinks back to the temple undercroft with stolen vivicantem, glimpses an illusory Maevyth, and discovers Theron’s vault empty.
The revived vein signals Cadavros’s plan to raise an infected army, while the missing Theron and Zevander’s involuntary involvement escalate the threat and Zevander’s internal peril.
Summary
Zevander wakes to a faint scritching and sees chalk moving invisibly across the chamber wall. After dressing and arming himself, he pursues a cloaked figure from the cottage, past Lyverian guards, and down into the dead vein at Caligorya under a vanishing glyph.
The intruder reveals himself as Cadavros in the guise of Zevander’s former mentor. Cadavros chips free vivicantem, sketches an intricate symbol, and speaks of dead veins, outlawed demutomancy, and the amulet of Pestilios that once bound Prince Dorjan. He admits he sought not merely vivicantem but the most devastating form of sablefyre—proven possible through Zevander.
As Cadavros recites a prophecy about the Umbravale’s fall, the stone fissures glow purple and the dead vein stirs to life. Cadavros claims he animated the vein by directing Zevander’s power in a dreamlike state, aiming to feed an infected army. When Zevander goes to strike, Cadavros dissolves into black smoke and spiders. A searing glyph appears on Zevander’s palm as guards notice movement, forcing Zevander to vanish and withdraw.
In an abrupt shift, Zevander finds himself in the temple’s undercroft, clutching two chunks of vivicantem and stained with black dust, doubting what was real. An apparition of Maevyth urges him to wake, then vanishes. Following the corridor, Zevander unlocks the vault where he’d stored Theron and discovers it empty.
Who Appears
- ZevanderProtagonist; pursued an intruder into Caligorya’s vein, was manipulated to ignite it, branded by a forbidden glyph, and found Theron’s vault empty.
- CadavrosAntagonist; appeared as Zevander’s mentor, used vivicantem and Zevander’s power to revive a dead vein, revealing larger plans and prophecy.
- MaevythAppears as a fleeting, possibly illusory figure in the undercroft, urging Zevander to wake.
- Lyverian guardsGuarded the vein; sensed disturbance but failed to catch Zevander during his vanishing escape.