Author(s): RAYNER SCOTT

Sci-fi & Fantasy

Dantriné, the capital of the great land of Dorthland, festers. It has been two years since Queen Lana was murdered and the priesthood of the Mokerin have the ear of the widower king. They sow seeds of misery to embolden their dark lord to return, and on Venvedeer's Island something appears on the floor of a cave that was not there before. A tiny drop of oil; no bigger than an insect's eye. Zenzel is returning to earth for the third time since abandoning his human form, and will be more powerful than ever before. The great wizard Ortello knows too well what a mighty foe he faces and is forced to impose great burdens on his fellow wizards to prepare for the coming war. He turns Faylon into a mighty Baygu tree, which will serve as a haven against Zenzel's dark forces. Ronin he tasks with leading the animal kingdom to the refuge of the Baygu, giving him a stunning new visage to do so. Coalbatch is sent on a mission of a more diplomatic nature, to seek the support of the Uderlites, the race beneath the ground.This is just the start of Ortello's work in Dantriné: He must claim his apprentice Poe at the Hand Harvest, as unready as Poe may be, and rescue the prisoner falsely accused of Queen Lana's murder from deep inside the King's dungeons. Fortunately, a diminutive but deadly sellsword much suited to the task is making her way to Dantriné in a wooden box. But first she must fight for her freedom in the King's Tourney."Escape from Dantriné" is the first novel in a series, with "To the Far Reaches" to follow.