Hal and his brotherband crew are hot on the trail of the pirate Zavac to stop the bloodthirsty thief before he can do more damage. If Hal is to succeed, he will need to go beyond his brotherband training. He will need to challenge the pirate one-on-one, knowing only one of them will survive.

After being cast out of Skandia for failing to guard the sacred Andomal artifact, Hal and the Herons set out in pursuit to reclaim the Andomal and their former glory. It will take more than desire to overcome ruthless pirates, though, and the battle has only just begun.

A kingdom teeters on the edge of chaos when the Nihon-Ja emperor, a defender of the common man, is forcibly overthrown, and only Horace, Will and his Araluen companions can restore the emperor to the throne. Victory lies in the hands of an inexperienced group of fighters, and it's anybody's guess who will make the journey home to Araluen.

The renegade outlaw group known as the Outsiders has journeyed from kingdom to kingdom, conning the innocent out of their few valuables. Will and Halt, his mentor, are ambushed by the cult's deadly assassins when Halt is pierced by a poisoned arrow. Now Will must travel day and night in search of the one person with the power to cure Halt: Malkallam the Sorcerer.