Book excerpt: In the north, the Nibelung Empire covering Scandinavia and Northern Europe. In the south, the Tyrrhennian Empire, decadent child of once mighty Rome. In between, Volker Seefried, musician and sorceror's apprentice, finds himself in danger of being crushed to dust. Having left the city of Worms hurriedly when his master's final conjuration resulted in a congealed magician, Volker finds himself in Nurnberg. He is offered work by a rich merchant who asks him to recruit three bravos to accompany them on a perilous journey. And thus - not without some minor disasters - is formed a group of modern musketeers whose motto might be "All For One and Each For Himself!"