Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Köln, has recently passed over the Silver Bridge into Europe on his long journey to Persia as part of his forced mission from the King-Emperor. The black-market city of Karlye barely even knew he had come and gone, before he already had done so. Shortly after his passing, another special adventurer from Granbretan follows. This man, a refugee from the bull-masked Tauran Lords, carries with him a very special sword and gauntlet that he claims must never fall into the hands of his former captors. Wounded, poisoned and exhausted... the man dies, leaving the interesting artefact in the hands of the players. Now they are the ones that are being hunted for possessing it, and they can only hope to escape the city and the many soldiers of the Tauran Lords - unless they can find someone foolish enough to take the mighty weapon off their hands (literally) so they can avoid capture and torture by the Taurans. Everywhere the players go they will find that Karlye is a dangerous and deadly place when it wants to be, and the powerful magic at work in the artefact is doing little to help them in staying unnoticed.