The Black Company has fallen apart. Out of eight thousand men, only seven remain—those ready to travel thousands of miles in search of the legendary Hatovar, the homeland of the Free Companies. The road south goes through places where the memory of the Company is still alive, and the predecessors of Kostoprav, One-Eyed, Goblin, and others there are revered almost like gods. But beyond that lie lands conquered by new dark lords—the Hosts of Shadows—and it is impossible to pass through them without reviving the Black Company once again.