Sebastian, with no place or role in the established hierarchy, takes the name Treadsoft and sets up as a Privy Inquisitor, soliciting clients among the rising merchant class. He enlists Dafydd, a runaway scribe, and Prat, leader of a gang of street-boys. His sometimes conflicted allies include a comrade from the wars, Constable Barker of the Town Watch, and the Coroner Clasterpole; both choose to overlook Treadsoft?s ambiguous position and dubious...

"When Sophia discovers a book of spells in her convent's forbidden shelves, she rejects the vows she will soon be compelled to take, vowing instead to freelance as a magician. She takes the name of power Karamines, but the spells are not quite as advertised. Her first commission earns the enmity of the powerful Magician's Guild. Confrontations follow with a witch-burning priest; his African slave, a magician named Mutafassi with an agenda of his own,...