Masque and the Dagger: First of the North Wilds Fables

For Tadris Ashford, life is quiet. Danger turns him to his kingdom's plight, however, as he is confronted by savage creatures made of shadow. He soon understands that the world is hardly as it seemed. As a strange spirit begins to follow him, Tadris meets an old man who introduces him to an amazing underground world. He also meets Alcyhis exact opposite- whose spirited determination may lead directly into danger. Tadris must confront new realities: deer can talk, spirits may be real, empty alleyways are not actually empty, and the most vital secret is something he doesn't know about himself...

Benjamin Truant is given to hobbies which lend themselves to writing: wandering museums and city streets, getting lost in strange places, involving others in meandering conversations, and he has an absolutely consuming passion for being lost in distraction.