As they say, for Tэм Hаshford “dread itches in her soul.” She’s terribly annoyed “with her un-enviable lot: working for pennies as a serving girl in an ardburg tavern and occasionally entertaining the guests with playing the lute. It’s sad when all adventures amount to nothing more than a walk through the Market of Monsters.” And above all—how long can she keep serving drinks to famous mercenaries and listening to bards sing about adventures and glory in a world beyond her sleepy little town? And when “The Tale” rolls into town—that is, a company of mercenaries led by the famous Bloody Rose, the daughter of Golden Gabrioel, one of the legendary Kings of Dread—Тэм doesn’t miss her chance to join them as a unit bard. She wants adventures—and she will get them, because “The Tale” isn’t even going to fight the Lute Horde that’s besieging the Cold- Flame Pass; instead, it’s sent on a secret mission to Zlodebry. And what awaits them in Zlodebry is far worse than the Lute Horde…