Chapter 2. Tapestry
King Trent sends Dor on a quest to find a way to bring Jonathan back to life for Millie. After facing the tests and meeting the Gorgon, Good Magician Humfrey tells him that the only one who would know how is the Zombie Master--and he lived 800 years ago. Humfrey gives Dor two potions; one will let his spirit inhabit a body depicted in the scenes of the magic Tapestry in Castle Roogna, and the other will let the Brain Coral animate Dor's body while he's not using it.
Chapter 3. Jumper
A jumping spider sitting on the tapestry gets pulled in by the spell, turning into a giant sized spider in the Tapestry-world. Dor takes over the body of a Mundanian invader, and the two are immediately attacked by goblins. Warrior-Dor and the giant spider call a truce and defeat the goblins together. Dor puts a piece of web on his shoulder, commanding it to translate, and he and Jumper soon become friends. As they travel to the early Castle Roogna, they are captured by a Hoorah bird, to become part of its collection.
Chapter 4. Monsters
The Hoorah's collection also contains a young maiden: it's Millie, back before she died. She, Dor, and Jumper escape from the bird, head for Roogna, battle some water monsters, and get kidnapped by harpies! Heavenly Helen Harpy is the harpy queen, but unlike the filthy, foul-mouthed, ugly norm, she is clean and beautiful. Dor discovers that the Harpies are gathering forces to attack the Goblins. Helen explains that long ago the goblin females lured away all the male harpies, so now they are forced to alternate mating each generation with humans or vultures. Dor has been captured for this purpose, and quickly explains to the Queen that he is really a 12 year old in another's body. Helen secretly lets him go, but when the other harpies find out they chase him. The group escapes... right into the hands of the Goblins. Dor impresses them and they are welcomed as honored guests. Subchief Craven explains that the harpies put a spell on the goblin females long ago, so that they preferred the most ugly, stupid, thieving goblins, thus degrading their race to its present form. Dor learns that they are gathering forces to attack the harpies. During the night, Dor, Millie, and Jumper escape.
Chapter 5. Castle
They arrive at the Castle, which is only half built, and meet pro-tem King Roogna (whose talent is adapting living magic to his purposes) and his rival, Magician Murphy (whose talent is making things go wrong.) Roogna and Murphy are quite polite to each other, and welcome their visitors. Dor tells them his real story, and allies with Roogna in his contest; if Roogna can build his castle in 1 year, he will be king, but if Murphy prevents that, then he will. Murphy's talent is already winning; the Goblins and Harpies are marching for battle, and the armies will cross right at Castle Roogna! Dor and friends set off to attempt to get the aid of the hermit-like Zombie Master.
Chapter 6. Zombie Master
The group neutralizes and evades the zombies that guard Zombie Castle, which is the future residence of Magician Humfrey. The Zombie Master is a gaunt, pale man who refuses to interfere with politics or make potions that work against his talent. He sends them away, but one back in the forest they are attacked by Mundanians. Jumper distracts them so Dor and Millie can escape, but the soldiers catch the spider and start pulling his legs out. Furious, Dor returns to the Zombie Master and demands his help. Millie uses her Talent of sex appeal and pleads with him, promising to stay with him a while. Surprised, the Zombie Master agrees and sends an army of zombies with Dor to rescue Jumper. The spider is badly hurt, so Dor rides a zombified Roc to the Healing water spring that Bink told him about. In exchange for the water, Dor tells the spring how it can protect itself: make a spell that prevents a drinker from going against its interests (a spell Dor knew it had in the future.) Dor heals Jumper, but now the Mundanians are attacking the Zombie Master's Castle.
Chapter 7. Siege
As they hold off the attackers, Millie grows sympathetic to the lonely Zombie Master. To pass the time the group assembles a magic puzzle, which Dor realizes is the future Tapestry. Dor informs the Zombie Master that Millie is doomed to die young, and the Magician agrees to help Roogna win if it will please her.
Chapter 8. Commitment
Dor seeks out the Dragon King for help, declaring that all monsters will be allowed to freely kill men for two days without punishment as long as they stick to Mundanians. They send a note to Roogna for his permission, and to inform all Xanthians to wear green sashes to differentiate themselves from the invaders. Dor returns and learns that the Zombie Master has proposed to Millie. After a long battle, the monsters of the forest finally win, feasting on the damaged corpses while the whole ones are turned into zombies.
Chapter 9. Journey
Dor and Jumper scout ahead, marking a route for the clumsy zombie army to follow. They encounter a vale of Fauns and Nymphs whose memories are erased every day, leaving them forever innocent of harsh realities. They continue on through a forest of strange trees, and when they dally and poke at an odd wooden knob in the ground, they suddenly grow angry and try to kill each other. Jumper's rational mind saves them and they realize it is a spell, thus breaking it. The scouting continues.
Chapter 10. Battle
Dor and Jumper reach Castle Roogna only to learn that the zombie army has been delayed by Murphy's curse. The goblins and harpies converge at the castle for their battle, and the only people there to defend it are Roogna, Dor, Jumper, Neo-Sorceress Vadne (whose Talent is Topology) and the centaur building crew. The harpies attack from above while the goblins make a ramp up the castle walls of their own dead bodies. Dor confuses them with talking arrows and stones, but the dead pile higher and higher up the walls. Finally Roogna brings out a potent Digestive potion that melts the bodies.
Chapter 11. Disaster
Dor, Jumper, and Cedric Centaur use a magic flute to lead a third of the attackers away, defending themselves with a magic hoop that leads directly to the Brain Coral's preservative lake. They draw the army to the Gap and detonate a forget spell, causing the future problem of people forgetting the Gap's existence. The zombie army finally arrives and enters the castle, where the Zombie Master transforms the dead. Dor goes inside the magic hoop and asks the Brain Coral to release a male harpy that it had in storage from 300 years earlier. When the harpies see the male, they abandon the battle and give Dor the counterspell for the goblin females. With their enemy gone the goblins leave, and Roogna triumphs. Murphy has one last spell in effect, though he knows not what it will do... and then Millie turns up missing. Dor asks every inanimate object until they find out what happened: Vadne, jealous of Millie over the Zombie Master, used her Topology to crush Millie's form into a book. Vadne refuses to tell where she hid the body and is banished into the magic hoop. Murphy's curse intended to make the Zombie Master so angry that he attacked them, but instead he respects Millie's wishes and donates his zombies to Roogna. The grief-stricken man hangs himself but even death is denied, as he becomes a zombie himself! Jumper gives Roogna the puzzle-tapestry, and Roogna promises to put inside it the Elixir that the Zombie Master made for Jonathan. It will be released by the words "Savior of Xanth."
Chapter 12. Return
The spell ends, sending Dor and Jumper back to their real time and bodies. Grundy tells Dor that the Brain Coral approached Princess Irene, curious about the distinction between males and females... Panicked, Dor runs to apologize to her, only to discover that the Brain Coral had only kissed her. Irene tells him she liked it when he was paying real attention as a person, not looking down on her because she didn't have a magician-class talent like both her parents. She kisses him, and they begin to like each other. Dor travels to the Brain Coral and learns that Murphy had voluntarily entered the preservative lake. The next stop is Humfrey's castle to return the magic carpet and discuss the adventure, which was completely recorded in one of Humfrey's books. Dor is transported back to Castle Roogna where he says the magic words to the tapestry and gains the Zombie Elixir. He returns home and asks Millie how she died, but she was a ghost so long she forgot everything. When he gives her the Elixir she almost remembers... as Jonathan comes back to life she recalls that she once loved someone...but that he left while Jonathan stayed. The zombie's transformation finishes, revealing that Jonathan is none other than the Zombie Master! Dor had never learned his real name! The 800-year-old lovers are alive and reunited at last.