Darkslayer

Bish is the land of constant strife and turmoil. The rise and fall of the blazing suns make the days long and the people disagreeable. Its barren Outlands are as comforting as a bed of thorns as there is little sanctuary to be found in the sweltering forests or the dank caves below the ground. Its caviling cities are overrun with death, greed, and corruption, but few complain. It is a place where tempers flare and alliances last as long as a tankard of ale. A place where good doesn't thrive, it endures.

Only the Darkslayer's death will do! After tasting defeat at the hands of the mythic Darkslayer, the underling Lords Catten and Verbard are determined to once and for all eliminate this thorn in their side. But they'll have to wait their turn. After a brutal trip through the Outlands, the brash warrior Venir – a.k.a. the Darkslayer - returns to the City of Bone and faces threats from the Royal Houses of Bone, man-urchins, shadow sentries, and two dark figures that he'd left for dead once before.

As Venir struggles to survive the wrath of the underlings, Fogle Boon the Wizard and Mood the Blood Ranger continue the search for their missing comrade. But how will they find a man that completely disappeared from Bish without a trace? Back in the City of Bone, Melegal the thief is pushed to the limits under the thumb of the powerful Royal Lord Almen.

Detective Melegal remains neck deep in Royal Games, trying to hunt down the Slergs, who have Venir's son Brak in tow, as well as trying to enact his own personal vengeance on the Cleric Sefron. Mood the Blood Ranger and Fogle Boon have traveled deep into the bitter cold of the Nameless Mountains in hopes of finding a druid that can provide a cure for the dying two-headed dog, Chongo. But the mountains are full of dangers and surprises that even the brilliant mind of the mage Fogle Boon could never have anticipated.

Venir is pushed to his limits in the Outlands: battling underlings and trying to find a way to staunch the underling armies that are quickly spreading from one corner of Bish to the other. Detective Melegal, struggling to get his life back under control, finds himself with more responsibility that he ever asked for. Not only does his life hang in the balance, but the fate of many others as well. Will his actions save them or spell doom for them all?

With Venir imprisoned at the Outpost, who will step forward to protect Bish from the rising tide of underlings? Who will save Venir? What about the City of Bone? Have underling Lords Catten, Verbard and Master Kierway taken it over? Kam the mage and Lefty Lightfoot struggle to find a way out of The Nest, but will they need the help of a far more dangerous ally? What hand, if any, will Scorch have in all of this? Will another Darkslayer rise amid the chaos?