The official UK Runelords website (Book 4: Lair of Bones)

Description

The stars fall from heaven and the very earth trembles in pain. With Gaborn's kingdom of Mystarria in ruins, four powerful kings march to claim its spoils, even as a vast army of reavers issues forth from the underworld, intending to put an end to mankind.

In one last-ditch effort to heal the earth, the wizardborn Averan leads the Earth King, Gaborn Val Orden, far below the surface to the Lair of Bones, to face the leader of the reaver hordes. There Gaborn must confront an ancient evil - before the world is torn apart...

Extract

1: The Mouth of the Underworld

Rofehavan has always been bounded by the sea to the north and to the east, by the Hest Mountains to the west, and by the Alcair Mountains to the south. In an effort to assure that no war was ever waged over a desirable piece of land, Erden Geboren reached a concord with kings of Old Indhopal and the elders of Inkarra. He set the southeast border of his realm, where the three great realms met,in the most undesirable place on earth: at the opening toa vast and ancient reaver warren called the Mouth of the World.

– from A History of Rofehavan by Hearthmaster Redelph

‘Milord, there you are,’ someone called. ‘I was growing worried. We’ve been waiting for hours.’ Averan woke. She recognized the voice of The Wizard Binnesman. She found herself in a wagon bed filled with sweet-smelling hay, new from the summer fields. For a pillow she used Gaborn’s rucksack filled with chain mail and leather padding. All of Averan’s muscles felt heavy and overworn, and her eyes were gritty. She lay with her eyes closed. Yet almost by instinct she reached out for her staff, her precious staff of black poisonwood. She touched it, felt the power in it surge beneath her hand.