Siphäis—the Jewel of Pelassia. Once, the city boasted a population of well over five-hundred thousand, sprawling as it did over the east and west banks of the sluggish Aornus River. Then came the Orcs of the Zhrokari Mountains, led by the Butcher, Fakh-Thal. Half the city died in the siege, of starvation, disease, or the relentless hail of stone, arrow, fire, and spear. Siphäis became a city of ghosts, a battleground between Human insurgents and the Butcher's horde. When his patrol is ambushed and destroyed by foul magick, the Orc-captain, Kraibag, joins forces with Muzgaash, a solitary Witch Hound, to exact revenge against a sorceress and her eerie minions. "Oden's action scenes are rich with crackling vitality and his pacing is top-notch. One of the best adventure writers working today." — Howard Andrew Jones, author of Desert of Souls It’s an Orc story, set in the shared world of Tharduin—a little over 6000 words (20 pages).