A fell and ancient sorcery has thrust the kingdoms surrounding the mighty Grimwall mountains into battle with forces of great evil. When Tip and Beau, two Warrows from the village of Twoforks, try to save a mortally wounded soldier, they inherit a vital mission. The dying swordsman gives them a simple copper coin and a cryptic message: “Take the coin east to Agron, and warn all.”
 
But the East holds terrors beyond anything Tip and Beau have ever known. Modru, the black Mage, has begun his violent reign over the Free Folk—and unleashed his army of deadly emissaries on the young Warrows. Now Tip and Beau’s mysterious quest has become a matter of life and death. For their momentous arrival in Agron will signal a war that threatens to destroy worlds far beyond their beloved Mithgar.
 
“Some of the finest imaginative action.”—Columbus Dispatch
 
“Evocative and compelling. Storytelling at its best.”—Jennifer Roberson