A voice calls to them from Volendam. Five misfits are forced together by fate. A vampire marked by a shadow woman possessing his blood. A thief with a price on her head for attempts to assassinate the sultan of Shoma. A man who lost his name. And two lizardfolk. One seeks the knowledge of immortality. The other seeks a life that is their own. When the ground opens up and sends them underground, the five strangers land inside a cavern overrun by rakken ? grotesque, mutated rats worshiping a god whose return would bring about the end of days. As they fight their way to the surface, they?re each branded with dark magic that connects them. Now a sudden urge pulls them to Volendam, a city of many secrets. But when they arrive, will they find a cure for their branded curse or trigger the awakening of the dragons of Vilanthris?