Moritz Böger: The ash spawn

Chronicle of the Mercenaries

"Down the path came a creature unlike any I had ever seen up close. The body shape resembled that of a human, but the arms seemed longer and ended in bony crooked fingers. Skin gray and rough as volcanic ash. No clothes. It was the first skin eater I met face to face."

The mysterious volcanic island of Skelt.
A group of mercenaries in the service of the High King is to determine why valuable sulfur deliveries are not being made. Kjell Blutzopf takes on the job. A harmless quest, easy gold. Actually.

At the deserted harbor, the adventurers come across a corpse that did not die of natural causes. The skin of the dead is pale gray and resembles parchment. Kjell suspects a larger catastrophe behind the mysterious murder and wants to find out the truth. His companions are the warrior Jördis, the old warhorse Morten, the healer Veit, the greenhorn Kimi, the brothers Sten and Stellan and the loudmouth Jasper.

Together they encounter the legendary, ominous "Aschebrood". What does the abbot of the monastery in the mountains know? What is the cult of the “builder” hiding? And can the mercenaries trust the helpful novice Svea?

A dangerous world full of dark magic, brutal clans and dark secrets.

Paperback, 350 pages

Ventura Publishers

with illustrations by Dorothee Wittstock

ISBN 978-3-940853-79-0

Dark, mature, thoughtful. This debut novel impresses with strong characters and a world structure that is rarely found in German-language fantasy.

– Mike Krzywik-Groß, author of “Trümmerland”