- acrid: a harsh or unpleasant taste or smell
- bastion: a fortress
- diffidently: timidly
- digit: a human finger or toe
- errant: wandering away from
- festoon: a string/garland suspended between two points; draped over
- furtive: secretive
- glower: to look or stare with anger & annoyance
- hiatus: a break or gap in time; a pause
- immured: confined within; imprisoned
- incredulity: disbelief
- inscrutable: difficult to understand
- jeer: to mock, abuse verbally, taunt
- leviathon: a huge beast
- myopia: nearsightedness
- myriad: having a very large number; indefinite number
- parry: to avoid or to deflect
- talisman: an object to keep evil away *or* bring luck
- tumult: commotion of a crowd, loud voices
- vicissitude: a change (unexpected)