The funeral, The wizard, The singing ghoul, The corpse-God, The missing, The Sewers, The Watchmen, The Captain, The Chair

At the very end of the King's Road was Alica, a frozen, forgotten little village. Maelstrom Cross used to be the only watchman it needed. But Alica isn't a village any more, and Cross is no longer a simple watchman. A river of gold mined from the mountains transformed a village into a city, and ancient evils discovered underground turned a watchman into something more . . . No one knows how old the system of sewers and strange tunnels beneath the city are, but the creatures that live there are walking nightmares. Cross saw what needed to be done and formed the Bell Watch, a group of night watchman dedicated to standing between the people of Alica and the things that would prey upon them as they sleep. After years of endless patrols, fighting the sickness and decay under one of the wealthiest cities in the Realm, the Bell Watch has gotten to be very good at their work. New recruits come and go, sent back to the City Watch unable to handle the job. Captain Cross keeps to himself. His only friends are two mercenaries he fought with in the war, one a stoic priest and another a woman with a mind to enjoy the monster hunting on her own terms. Then there is the wizard with uncertain loyalties . . .Cross is snapped out of his routine by the death of one of his original Bell Watch members. Dealing with that might have to wait when Cross is told that the sewers are no longer keeping to their old schedule. Something came out into the light of day and took a child, and nothing has come out of the sewers in years . . .

113303