Prison of Souls — Mercedes Lackey; Mark Shepherd

THE HEROES
The hero of the first Bard's Tale novel, Castle of Deception, is now a very old man, but his mentor, the Dark Elf Naitachal, is still going strong and training new apprentices. His latest: the King's own son, Alaire.

THE MISSION
Alaire is an apt pupil, but before he has had a chance to master the secrets of Bardic power, he and Naitachal are sent by the King on a dangerous diplomatic mission. The kingdom on King Reynard's northern border, Suinomen, has banned magic for years, and now is making preparations for war. Their job: find out why their previously peaceful neighbor is making war noises, discover what's behind it, and stop it.

THE CATCH
They cannot use their innate Bardic magic. Unlicensed use of magic in Suinomen earns the wielder a sentence in the Prison of Souls, a punishment which not only takes the magic user off the streets, but which eats away at a magic user's very life force....

Publisher's Note: Like the highly successful genre bestseller Castle of Deception, Prison of Souls is set in the universe of the most popular role playing computer game of all time: The Bard's Tale. Again as with Castle of Deception, no familiarity with the game is required, but those who have played The Bard's Tale will find they enjoy it even more after reading Prison of Souls! (The Bard's Tale characters and descriptions are the sole property of Electronic Arts and are used by permission. The Bard's Tale is a registered trademark of Electronic Arts.)