Rafferty has discovered there is one more requirement to becoming an apprentice; he must find a familiar. Squire Edward Rolland has gathered a small team together to find the perfect familiar.
Things begin to look up when they stumble upon the smoldering remains of a caravan laden with cages and chains, spoiled ale and rotting meat, and a baby troll ( Theodrax ) in a cage. Dozens of burned bodies foul the hollow where the caravan had made camp – far more bodies than are needed for a simple caravan.
Rafferty begins to bind his chosen familiar to him; Kaelo ap Heather scouts the perimeter; and Apolonis begins the process of laying the dead to rest.
And when one of the bodies bursts into black flames, Apolonis runs off in a panic; Kaelo discovers oversized footprints hidden in the tall surrounding grasses; and Rafferty discovers that he must save his familiar as the caravan’s cargo begins vanishing in violent jets of flames.
Has evil returned, plying its terrible trades – slavery and monsters? Long ago the Dwarves escaped the clutches of the giants; do giants really walk the surface world once again? What is a Night Caravan? And, most importantly, how long until the flames of war once more spread across the plains and devour their home – the village of Granordhail?