THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PLACED THE BLAME ON TWO PEOPLE. THEY MADE THE WRONG CHOICE. Master thief Royce Melborn and his partner, the mercenary Adrian Blackwater, quietly increased their wealth by carrying out dangerous assignments for scheming nobles until they were hired to steal a famous sword. A case that at first seemed simple and ordinary led to them being accused of the murder of a king and being involved in a conspiracy on a somewhat larger scale than a run-of-the-mill change of power in a tiny kingdom. Will a self-employed thief and an idealistic swordsman be able to live long enough? long to unravel the first part of the ancient mystery, because of which kings were overthrown and empires were exterminated? Thus begins a story of betrayal and adventure, battles with swords and magic, myths and legends.