Five years have passed since the Summer of Fire, and the downfall of General Salamander. The outside world has begun to heal, but inside Tartaria, where brother fought brother and whole clans were wiped out, the wounds still run deep and raw. Fear and suspicion have made rebuilding hard, and rumours of a new threat rising in the shadows of the steppe have reached Aberddu.

Once again, the Aberddu Adventurers Guild find themselves heading to Tartaria. This time they are in the company of two powerful but eccentric wizards, ostensibly engaged in an attempt to expand the continental portal network. Cosseted and used to their own way, the wizards have little first-hand experience of the world outside the walls of the Mages Guild, and have much to learn about life in the war-torn shell of a once-great nation.

The adventurers will have to teach them that there is more to be feared than bad manners, fisticuffs, and unsatisfactory bathroom arrangements as they travel together down the Fireborn Road.