After the devastating battle at the Tower of Charm, Croaker leads the greatly diminished Black Company south, in search of the Last Annals. The Annals will be returned to Khatovar, eight thousand miles away, a city that may exist only in legent - the origin of the First Free Companies. Every step of the way, the Company is hounded by shadowy figures and carrion-eating crows. As they march ever southward, through bug-infested jungle, rivers dense with bloodthirsty pirates, and cities, dead and living, haunted by the passage of the Company north, their numbers grow until they are thousands strong. But always watched, by the Shadowmasters, a deadly new enemy: twisted creatures that deal in darkness and death; powerful, shadowy creatures bent on smothering the world with their foul embrace. This is the first round in a deadly game, a game the Black Company cannot lose or hope to win.

Share/Like this Review?