Plot

Plot

Ten years after A Darkness at Sethanon, Seigneur Locklear is serving at a northern Kingdom garrison when he saves Gorath of the Ardanien from an assassin. Gorath has brought a warning of an invasion planned by Delekhan, leader of the moredhel, so Locklear agrees to take him to see Prince Arutha in Krondor. Injured from numerous attacks, they ask for help from Owyn Beleforte, a young magician from Tiburn. The game begins in their camp north of LaMut.

Chapter I: Into A Dark Night

Owyn is bandaging Gorath's and Locklear's injuries when they are attacked by a moredhel assassin. Gorath kills the assassin and the three of them set out south. Surviving multiple assassination attempts, they eventually reach Krondor, where they find the palace gates sabotaged, but are able to enter the palace via the sewers with Seigneur James' help. Upon meeting Prince Arutha, another moredhel assassin sneaks in and attempts to kill Gorath, only to be foiled by Pug.

Chapter II: Shadow Of The Nighthawks

Gorath informs Arutha of Delekhan's plans, but Arutha does not trust him because he does not know where the attack will occur. Gorath thinks they can find out by intercepting Delekhan's Nighthawk spies in Romney. Arutha arranges for James to escort Gorath to Romney and meet with a group of the king's soldiers investigating recent Nighthawk activity in the east. Arutha will muster his army and await word of where the attack will occur. James, Owyn, and Gorath secretly slip out of the city through the sewers and head east. Upon arriving in Romney, they discover that the king's soldiers were poisoned.

Chapter III: The Spyglass And The Spider

Two clues were left behind at the scene of the murder: an enchanted spyglass and a silver spider. James, Owyn, and Gorath follow the trail of the spyglass and the spider north to Cavall Keep and uncover the merchant Navon du Sandau as leader of the Nighthawks. After killing him, they enter the Nighthawks' hideout in the caverns beneath Cavall Keep, where they learn that Delekhan plans to attack Northwarden. Realizing that Nighthawks probably infiltrated the fortress, they split up. James heads to Northwarden while Owyn and Gorath head south to warn Arutha. Before they can reach Arutha though, Owyn and Gorath are captured by Narab, one of Delekhan's chieftains.

Chapter IV: Marked For Death

Gorath and Owyn are taken to Sar-Sargoth, where Narab presents them to Delekhan. Delekhan, enraged that Narab has ruined his plans, tells him his life is forfeit. Narab turns on Delekhan and, unbeknownst to them, frees Owyn and Gorath. They escape Sar-Sargoth and head south, eventually reaching the Inclindel Gap, where they meet a Kingdom patrol and are taken to Arutha's camp. Learning of the impending attack on Northwarden, Arutha is distrustful at first, but Owyn convinces him of the truth and Arutha readies his army, sending Owyn and Gorath back to Krondor to seek Pug's help in case the moredhel use magic.

Chapter V: When Rivers Run Blood

James and Locklear arrive at Northwarden and are sent by Baron Gabot to find his magical adviser Patrus. After meeting Patrus, the three of them help Duke Martin prepare for the attack by poisoning moredhel food supplies, finding the minstrel Tamney, stealing the moredhel battle plans from their headquarters, and killing six moredhel magicians who slipped behind Kingdom lines.

Having completed Martin's tasks, the party returns to Northwarden as the moredhel siege begins, but discover that Nighthawks killed the baron and his commanders, which leaves James in command. The battle goes badly and they are about to be overrun when Arutha arrives with his army in time to drive off the moredhel.

Chapter VI: Betrayal

Makala visits Pug in Krondor, telling him that Gamina is considered an abomination by the Assembly of Magicians and that he has imprisoned her until her fate can be decided. Pug is enraged at Makala's betrayal and vows to find her, blasting the words "The Book Of Macros" into the wall. When Katala is unable to find him or their daughter, she discovers his message and informs Owyn and Gorath. Following clues from the libraries at Sarth and the Abbaye Ishap, Owyn and Gorath head west to Elvandar, where Gorath completes his "Returning" and pledges his allegiance to Queen Aglaranna and Prince Consort Tomas. Tomas shows them the Book of Macros, a gift Pug left him that could be used to find him should he ever leave the message to do so. Recently injured by a poisoned blade in a moredhel skirmish, Tomas cannot go and asks Owyn and Gorath to go in his stead. Owyn and Gorath read the book, which teleports them into the unknown.

Chapter VII: The Long Ride

In Northwarden, the moredhel raiding leader is captured and reveals that they plan to use a rift machine in the Dimwood to bypass Arutha's army, enter Sethanon, and free Murmandamus, whom they believe is alive and imprisoned there. Realizing that the attack was a diversion engineered by Makala, Arutha orders his troops to Sethanon and instructs James, Locklear, and Patrus to find the rift machine and destroy it. After learning that the machine can be disrupted by a Tsurani device called a Waani, they find the machine and disable it. However, as the rift collapses, it pulls in everything nearby before exploding. James and Locklear grab onto trees but Patrus is sucked into the collapsing rift and dies in the blast. A flash of purple light then signals the arrival of Spellweavers...

Chapter VIII: Of Lands Afar

Owyn and Gorath are teleported to Timirianya, where Owyn realizes that magic does not seem to work and that Pug would be powerless. Owyn and Gorath eventually find Pug, who has figured out that by abducting Gamina and manipulating Delekhan, Makala has lured Pug away from Midkemia and Arutha's army away from Sethanon and is free to enter Sethanon unopposed and seek out the Lifestone. Using the Cup of Rlnn Skrr, Owyn restores Pug's powers and they find Gamina imprisoned in a crystal cage in the underground ruins of the Temple of Dhatsavan. Gorath smashes the cage and, using a special pattern stone Pug has brought, the four of them return to Midkemia.

Chapter IX: Mad Gods Rage

In a flash of purple light, Pug, Owyn, and Gorath appear before James and Locklear in the Dimwood and tell them to wait for Arutha, letting them know that there is no magical threat to his army; Makala will be waiting for Pug at Sethanon. Pug, Owyn, and Gorath travel to the underground caverns beneath Sethanon and kill the Tsurani Great Ones ("the Six") protecting the Lifestone Chamber. Gorath remains behind to protect the Oracle of Aal, which was incapacitated by Makala, while Pug and Owyn confront the magician. Makala believes that Pug was keeping the Lifestone hidden to use as a weapon and wants it destroyed, but Pug refuses because it release the Valheru souls trapped inside. Engaging Makala in a magical battle, Pug and Owyn eventually kill him.

Immediately afterwards, Gorath enters the chamber, locked in combat with Delekhan. When Delekhan reaches for the Lifestone and Gorath tries to stop him, they begin to transform as the Valheru within try to escape. Pug and Owyn are forced to kill them both with a blast of magic in order to prevent the Valheru from being released. Returning above ground, Pug creates magical illusions of Murmandamus and Delekhan, visible to the attacking moredhel, which are then incinerated by the Oracle of Aal. Having seen their leaders killed, the moredhel retreat, during which Narab kills Delekhan's son Moraeulf, fulfilling his plans of taking over the moredhel. Owyn is left alone with Pug, who reveals that since Owyn now knows about the Lifestone, Pug must ensure that that the secret is safe and suggests that Owyn become one of his students at Stardock. Owyn laughs and replies that he's never wanted anything else.