A summary of "The Cursed Horn" by Alexey Pekhov Automatic translate

This 2014 dark fantasy book concludes the story of the wandering guardian Ludwig van Normayenne. The hero must battle an ancient evil against the backdrop of an impending global epidemic. In 2014, the work won the prestigious Fantlab Book of the Year award for Best Novel.

This novel concludes the popular "Guardian" series. It is the fourth book in the series. The previous installments are titled "Guardian," "Auto-da-fé," and "Golden Fires."

Time of the graves

Ludwig van Normayenne travels through the northern principalities. He is accompanied by the bright soul of the Preacher and the animated Scarecrow. They increasingly encounter the dead along the way. An epidemic of "justir sweat" threatens the world. In the city of Klagenfurt, a bloody revolt breaks out among the craftsmen’s guilds. The artisans refuse to pay new taxes. The mob brutally deals with the authorities. Ludwig stops at a tavern. That night, armed shoemakers and saddlers break into the building. They want to kill the Landrat. Ludwig engages in a brutal fight in a narrow corridor. He cuts down the attackers with a broadsword. The Landrat is killed. A guard takes his daughter Ulrike across the rooftops. He hides her in an impregnable branch of the bank "Fabien Clemens & Sons."

After rescuing Ulrike, the guard continues on his way. He catches up with the sorcerer Walter in an abandoned cemetery. Walter was mortally wounded in a skirmish with the Inquisition and condottieri. The mercenaries had slaughtered the Holy Officium’s convoy for profit. Dying from a bullet, the sorcerer gives the guard the blank for a dark dagger. Walter reveals a terrifying secret: the sinister dark smith is the spitting image of the ancient Emperor Constantine. Fulfilling the sorcerer’s final request, Ludwig finishes him off.

Shadows of Ardenau

The Guardian arrives in Ardenau, the capital of Albaland and the Brotherhood’s main stronghold. Ludwig meets with his mentor, Miriam. She is slowly dying from a serious illness. Soon, Ludwig finds his comrade, Shuko, dead. An investigation reveals poisoning. The poison was planted by Master Stenen. The fat man had been secretly harvesting bright souls with a second forbidden dagger. He was prolonging his own life at the expense of others. He killed Shuko out of fear of exposure. Cornered, Stenen sets a dangerous ocullus on Ludwig. The masters arrived in time and destroyed the creature.

Stenen later dies. He is thrown out of a window along with representatives of the Order of Righteousness. The Lawbringers are killed by Scarecrow during a secret visit to Ludwig’s room. The Brotherhood Council conceals the details of the incident. The Masters blame the Lawbringers’ deaths on Master Stenen. The Brotherhood refuses to get involved in the search for the darksmith due to conflicts with the clergy.

Flesh Eaters

Ludwig agrees to assist the Inquisitor, Father Marth. The cleric is tracking a gang of tomb robbers. They uncover a horrific truth. The king’s sister, the Duchess de Gresir, is part of a dark cult. She orders the theft of fresh corpses and consumes their flesh. An Inquisition detachment attacks the Duchess’s mansion in Bariset. The guards put up a desperate fight. The Duchess escapes through a magical portal. Ludwig, Father Marth, and Vief Siocco pursue her.

They find themselves in an illusory world. This place turns out to be a veritable hell. The heroes encounter legions of bloodthirsty demons. Ludwig nearly dies from an attack by a winged creature. He is saved by the sudden appearance of the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow cuts off the dark soul with a sickle. The Inquisitor catches up with the Duchess and pushes her to be torn apart by the many-headed demon. The squad returns and destroys the portal.

The Cursed Horn

Ludwig travels to Discult. There he meets the witch Gertrude. They find the fugitive lawyer Sicerino Ruggerolo. He has been secretly trading guard daggers with the blacksmith Ivoia. Ludwig disguises himself as a mercenary. He lures Ruggerolo to a meeting at an inn. He offers to buy the black stone. The lawyer agrees. That night, the guard and the sorceress enter his house. They discover the truth.

Having discovered the coordinates of a secret forge in an abandoned monastery of the Silent Congregation, the heroes set an ambush. Ludwig shoots Ivoia with a heavy arquebus. The bullet hits the blacksmith under the sternum. The blacksmith survives thanks to dark magic and unleashes a wave of golden flame on his enemies. Gertrude is saved only by a bone ring enchanted by the Scarecrow. Ivoia escapes. Ludwig pierces the red-hot forge stone with his dagger, forever destroying the instrument of darkness.

At the crossroads of eras

Ludwig travels north alone. The roads are in chaos due to the approaching epidemic. People are killing each other for food. The Guardian encounters Gilbert, a merchant of counterfeit relics. He takes the Guardian’s real dagger from the con man. It turns out the weapon belonged to the lawyer Margarita. She was captured by cultists and the maddened Burgrave Flerd. To rescue her, Ludwig teams up with other creatures. Ludwig encounters a Viengo in the night forest. The other creatures agree to help. They hate Burgrave Flerd.

Ludwig hides the Swamp Mother under apples in a cart. He transports the creature into the castle courtyard. The carnage eliminates the guards. Rougarou and the Angises kill the defenders. The Swamp Mother releases a choking yellow smoke, killing the garrison soldiers. The castle is captured. The rescued Margaree confesses to the guards. The Order of Righteousness accidentally awakened Ivoya by opening an ancient sarcophagus in the catacombs.

The Voice and the End of Stories

Ludwig receives a farewell letter from the deceased Miriam. The mentor hands over her personal dark blade to the guard. Miriam has unraveled the mystery of Ivoia. Centuries ago, a Miltian assassinated Emperor Constantine. Ivoia has taken over his body and now seeks to open new gates to hell. Ludwig and Gertrude join forces with Father Mart. They are joined by the cardinal’s mute assistant, Rudolf. The squad travels to the ruined city of Solesino. The streets are swarming with winged demon harbingers. A squad of Caliqueans sacrifices themselves. The monks distract the evil spirits so the heroes can reach the ancient circus.

In the arena, Ivoia grows a hellish tree. The sky boils, the moon and sun shine simultaneously. Salt falls from the heavens instead of snow. Rudolf sheds his human guise. He reveals himself to be an earthly angel of light and engages in combat with Ivoia. The clash of their weapons shatters the marble stands. Ivoia kills Rudolf. At the decisive moment, Scarecrow appears in the arena. The straw husk burns in golden flames. From it emerges another mutilated angel.

The preacher sacrifices his afterlife. The old priest devotes all his power to the spell to impart the dark dagger to the angel. Ludwig’s mark grants the soul material form. The bright angel pierces Ivoya. The angel closes the gates of hell and disappears along with its defeated enemy. Celestial beings disintegrate into sparks. The sun shines once again in the heavens. An era is changing. Ludwig and Gertrude stand in a field before the empty shell of a scarecrow. The threat has been eliminated, but the epidemic continues to rage. The heroes travel to Darkwood to the prophetess Sophia to hide the remaining artifacts.