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Gur Driktend is a truthfinder. He uses legwork and deduction to solve crimes in Kethem, a land where spells are considered the solution to every problem. It is a dangerous profession, particularly for a commoner, the second-class citizens chafing under the rule of the landowning Holders. When the light merchant Fair Elaine arrives from a mission to the north with a cargo room full of dead nobles and a missing artifact, he's thrust into a situation that pits him between the Demon-God Sambhal, a consortium of powerful Holds, and a pair of assassins, all playing a game by rules he doesn't understand. But one thing is certain. He needs to learn them, and quickly. Because this is the kind of game where if you lose, you die.
![World Gate: A Kethem Novel by [Dickie, Dave]](51+3TwVVuaL.jpg)
Daesal is a Holder, a noble in one of the houses that rule Kethem. She’s young, attractive, and a powerful enchanter. Then why is she so different from the people around her? In an attempt to find answers, Daesal joins an expedition to the outback of Tawhiem. When disaster strikes, she is trapped with a drunk, a healer, a thief, a warrior, a tribesman, and an elf. All of them have secrets, some have grudges. To escape, she needs to mold this band of misfits into a team that trusts one another. And that is just the beginning of her problems. As they try to find their way home, Daesal finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy so large that the fate of entire civilizations lay in the balance.
Grimalkin is a thief, a member of the shadow guild, the lowest rung
of Kethem society. He's down on his luck and low on funds. When
stealing an amulet lands him in deep trouble, the gods of the dice smile
on him. Sophisticated Alan and his partner, the taciturn Lug, take Grim
on as a guide to the Pranan City-States. It's a ticket out of the city
of Bythe and money to boot.
When the ship carrying them to Pranan is attacked by a mysterious foe,
Grim begins to suspect the gods of the dice are more laughing than
smiling, and that there's more to Alan’s offer than good luck. But
what’s really gnawing at him is that everyone around him is trying to make him into something he’s not, and never will be.
A hero.