A simple job. Hunt down five killers to secure a bounty of five gems. But how much blood will be spilled? Spear Spyrchylde is failing miserably as an outlaw bandit leader in the lawless borderlands of the North. Robbing pilgrims has resulted in only a few measly coins. Upstart warlords are encroaching on his territory. And his own impoverished crew is talking mutiny.So when a blood-covered girl offers Spear Spyrchylde a bounty of five gems for the heads of the five men who killed her family, he jumps at the chance to change his fortune.He's got what it takes to hunt down these men: a hardened crew of bandits, a mysterious companion in a dark magic cloak, and his own blood-soaked sword.But tracking down the five seasoned killers in the wilderness of the borderlands won't be easy. Especially when one of them is Spear's former henchman Cruhund, now an insane warlord garrisoned behind the walls of a mountain fortress.So when everything starts to go wrong, Spear will need to decide how much he is willing to sacrifice to fulfill his promise to deliver five bloody heads. "One of the best action stories I've read in a long time" - "A feel reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian or Red Sonja, where strapping warriors pit their blades against dark magic users who can raise up armies of the dead" - "The writing is muscular and suited to sword and sorcery." -