In the third book of the Illmoor Chronicles, three competitive mercenaries embark on a perilous quest to compete for a princess's hand in marriage—but stumble instead into a dark and murderous plot
Groan is a hulking mountain of muscle. Gape is his similarly large but slightly smarter half-brother. Gordo is Groan's partner, a dwarf who is absolutely deadly with an axe. Together, they have roved the lands of Illmoor, often thieving and occasionally lending a helping hand to the kingdom's ragged towns. But Groan and Gordo have ended up on the rulers' bad side too often, and now the king of Phlegm has enlisted the help of Duke Modeset to eradicate them. The royals create a grand tournament whose prize is the princess—a competition the warriors cannot resist—and then usher the men off on a series of deadly missions that they could not possibly survive. The hazardous adventure sends them around the kingdom, battling foes of all shapes and sizes, until the final confrontation that will change the future of Illmoor forever.