"Lilastien is missing." That's how Master Minalan the Spellmonger, the greatest wizard of the age, began the mission for his two former apprentices, Tyndal and Rondal. Both were men of means now, recently married and enjoying high positions as a reward for their past service in the war. But service does not end with an armistice; now that the war is over, the Spellmonger recruits them to track down the missing Alka Alon sorceress, Lilastien, whose knowledge of Callidore's ancient past has proven invaluable in recovering the crafts of the Ancients. She must be found and returned to safety. And they have to be quiet about it; this is a secret mission that could take them anywhere.
Thus begins an epic road trip with two brilliant young wizards who find themselves on a trail that leads through the Goblin Kingdom and into the cold, forbidding Minden mountain range, the very edge of humanity's settlement. Along the way, they see the horrors of the war's aftermath and hear tales of a legendary Golden Goblin—a unique golden-furred gurvani—which may well be a fulfillment of prophecy. They see the despair and destitution amongst the gurvani, the goblins who are attempting to settle formerly human lands they took in the war, and the humans who are exploiting them for their own profit. They discover the deep disquiet the goblins feel after the war is over, and the troubling murmurs of revolt and rebellion.
Dodging cults, goblin courtiers, bandits, and spies, the two follow the obscure trail of the Sorceress from the palace of the Goblin King into the bleakness of winter. To aid them, the Spellmonger has provided them with one of the remarkable vehicles of the Ancients, a wondrous carriage recovered from a ruin that serves as their transport, their security, and their temporary home.
But the news they learn along the way is troubling: rumors of a mysterious wizard who lives beyond the glacial wastes, the Adrian, a figure of legend amongst the goblins, who seems to be raising an army. Who is this shadowy figure? What has he to do with Lilastien? How are the enemies of humanity involved in her disappearance?
The road through the darkest mountains is troubling and leads to adventure and danger... and ultimately to the last place in the world they want to find themselves. For the forces of darkness are real, and their plots and schemes against humanity did not end when the war did. In the very heart of darkness, Tyndal and Rondal are challenged to face their worst nightmares... and discover the secrets of the Golden Goblin!
