A Fire in the North

This second volume picks up the ongoing story in a tunnel leading out of enchanted mountain realm of Eotunlandt. Fighting their way through subterranean dangers, Nibulus and his diminished retinue of "questers" finally reach the open again, only to discover that their rivals the Thieves have mysteriously disappeared.

Meanwhile, Gapp and a sinisterly altered Methuselech continue towards Wrythe, the last settlement. They find the population strangely degenerated, under the influence of a local leader; in fact the evil being Scathur who has been hiding there for five hundred years, awaiting his moment of vengeance. Scathur recognises that inside Methuselech is the outcast soul of a rival necromancer, Mauglad, so imprisons them both till they manage to flee for their lives.

The rest of the original questers also turn up for a scary sojourn in Wrythe, before heading on to Melhus island with Scathur's deathly henchmen in pursuit. During strange dreams, the wanderer Bolldhe learns he must use a strange sword he has found to kill the evil demigod Drauglir, once and for all. They all venture into Melhus (the Underworld), contesting with the hosts of the dead sent against them. There ensues a colossal battle, with thrills and spills and monumental destruction, before the questers achieve an unexpected victory - and most of them will return to Nordwas sadder but wiser.

About the Author

David Bilsborough grew up in Malvern, Worcestershire, and still lives there when not teaching overseas. His first novel (and first in this sequence) was The Wanderer's Tale.