In the climactic finale of the Investigator Vale series, The Sepulchrum of Exquisance takes Vale to the edge of reason and beyond as he confronts horrors both physical and spiritual. Following the events of The Wickedly Weaved Web and The Lord of the God Kings, Vale’s latest investigation plunges him into Bellhaven’s shadowed depths, where art, obsession, and death collide.
The Sepulchrum of Exquisance is no mere burial ground—it is a sanctum hidden beneath Bellhaven’s oldest cathedral, where a deranged cabal worships the perfection of pain and beauty. Within its hallowed halls, they employ ocher jellies—living, corrosive creatures—as tools to carve intricate tattoos into flesh. These grotesque masterpieces are more than works of art; they serve as conduits for arcane power, intended to unlock a ritual of apotheosis that threatens to reshape life and death itself.
As Vale follows the trail of missing persons, he uncovers the cabal’s disturbing practices. The tattoos they craft are drawn from fragments of an ancient text said to contain the secrets of transcendence. The ocher jellies, split and reshaped countless times, have become essential to their craft, dissolving flesh to prepare it for their sinister artistry. Worse still, the Sepulchrum holds not only the cabal’s victims but also long-forgotten relics tied to a power that even Vale cannot fully comprehend.
Vale must navigate the treacherous underbelly of Bellhaven, from decayed catacombs to opulent dens of vice, encountering artists who would die for their craft and zealots who believe in the redemptive beauty of agony. Each step brings him closer to the Sepulchrum’s heart—a crypt where the ultimate sacrifice will be made to awaken a force capable of obliterating humanity’s frailty… or elevating it to a terrifying new plane.
With his wits, courage, and morality pushed to their limits, Vale races to stop the cabal before their final ritual can begin. As the boundaries between art and atrocity blur, he must confront his own deepest fears and the sacrifices he’s willing to make to uphold justice.
The Sepulchrum of Exquisance delivers a chilling, heart-pounding conclusion to Investigator Vale’s saga, blending dark fantasy, mystery, and a harrowing exploration of the human condition. Can Vale lay the Sepulchrum to rest—or will it become his own grave?
Here’s an excerpt imagining Investigator Vale’s encounter with an ocher jelly:
The air in the chamber was heavy with an acrid stench, sharp and metallic, clinging to the back of Vale’s throat. The flickering lantern light cast strange, jittering shadows across the damp walls, but it couldn’t penetrate the far corners of the room. Something slithered in the dark.
Vale stepped forward cautiously, his boots squelching in the thin film of slime coating the floor. He pulled a cloth over his nose and mouth, his free hand gripping his rapier tightly. His sharp eyes swept the room, scanning for any sign of movement. The reports had been vague—people vanishing into Bellhaven’s depths, leaving behind little more than shredded scraps of clothing and pools of something yellow and viscous.
A faint, wet sound broke the silence, a bubbling hiss like boiling tar. Vale turned, his lantern revealing a glistening mass oozing across the floor. At first, it looked like spilt resin, but as it moved, it coalesced, rising up into a wobbling dome. The ocher jelly pulsated, its semi-transparent surface rippling with an inner glow that seemed both alive and deeply wrong.
“By the gods,” Vale muttered under his breath, his usual calm momentarily slipping. His eyes darted to a dark smear beneath the jelly—an unfortunate rat caught in its path. The creature dissolved almost instantaneously, bones and fur vanishing into the undulating mass.
The jelly quivered, sensing him. Slowly, it began to spread outward, tendrils of its gelatinous body extending like probing fingers. Vale took a step back, his boots slipping slightly on the slick floor. He steadied himself, raising his rapier. “Stay back,” he growled, though he wasn’t sure whom he was addressing—the jelly or his own racing thoughts.
As if mocking him, the jelly surged forward with unnatural speed, a ripple of light pulsing through its core. Vale lunged instinctively, the tip of his rapier plunging into the mass. For a moment, he thought it had no effect, but then the jelly shuddered violently, splitting into two smaller, equally menacing forms.
“Perfect,” Vale hissed, yanking his blade free and stepping back again. The lantern cast frantic light across the room as he realized he was now flanked. The smaller jellies wobbled in unison, closing the distance. His mind raced, calculating angles and distances. The slime on the floor, the constricting walls—this wasn’t just an encounter; it was a trap.
“Think, Vale, think,” he murmured, his voice steadying as his instincts took over. He reached into his coat pocket, his fingers brushing the flint and oil flask he always carried. “Let’s see if you like a bit of fire.”
As the jellies lunged, Vale twisted, dodging their reach, and hurled the flask onto the ground. It shattered, the sharp tang of oil mixing with the room’s foul air. One quick strike of his flint later, the room was bathed in a sudden burst of light and heat. Flames leapt hungrily across the floor, igniting the slime-coated surface and catching the jellies in their path.
The creatures quivered and writhed, their forms flickering as if unsure whether to retreat or advance. Vale didn’t wait to find out. He moved swiftly toward the nearest exit, his mind already cataloging what he’d seen and how he might use it to his advantage in the battles to come.
As the flames consumed the chamber behind him, Vale allowed himself a grim smile. “First encounter,” he muttered to himself. “Let’s hope it’s the last.” But deep down, he knew better.