Terjal Rakmir, Headmaster of Cloudreach, is content to spend his days schooling pupils in the Conjurer's art. However, when a direspawn (a creature brought over from another plane) wreaks havoc, gruesome death and destruction upon the lands, Terjal is immediately pressed into service by Cloudreach's patron, Lord Vaukmond, Duke of Windemere and Protector of the Realm of Ryndorhn. Lord Vaukmond, the Warrior Duke, distrusts magic yet has no conventional means of destroying the direspawn. With his former pupil, Aiya Lindsmund (now Adjutant to Lord Vaukmond), and his three Blades, Terjal sets out on a journey which begins at Quitonne, Ryndorhn's center of power and corruption, to a deadly swamp guarded by creatures of nightmare. At the end of their sojourn, Terjal and Aiya will uncover more than just the identity of the direspawn's creator. Before the quest is ended, Terjal and Aiya will face forces greater than they could ever have imagined: forces fueled by a bitter, exiled sorcerer and his vengeful protege."