Young friends Randral and Torn are on the run, cursed to find and rescue the noble Lady Talandra Roaringhorn-hopefully before the Watch and the Roaringhorn house guards find them! Will they prevail against Talandra's kidnappers? Does she want them to? And who is the serpent-headed slayer lurking in the shadows?

When his teacher, Ansoain, is murdered and her son, Galimer, is taken hostage, Druhallen, a young apprentice magician, and his companions brave the perilous ruins of Dekanter to find a missing artifact, avenge Ansoain's death, and rescue her son. Original.