Darkness Ascending — James A. Hillebrecht

THIRD BOOK IN THE PALADIN TRILOGY In this third and final novel of the Paladin Trilogy, the dark purpose of the demonic scepter, the Ohric, is revealed at last. The Juggernaut is gone, Jalan's Drift is broken, and the Paladin has been cast down into darkness. Nothing now stands in the way of the scepter's true intent, and the Ohric now gathers all its forces to exert against a hidden monastery locked in the middle of an impassible wood and guarded by a legion of warrior monks sworn to defend the walls with their lives. They have good reason for their fealty. Secured deep beneath the monastery beyond a deadly labyrinth lies a talisman of power forged by the gods themselves to give dominion over all the creatures of the earth. And this is the treasure for which the Ohric's dark master now extends his hand?