Guardians of the Flame

It began as just another evening of fantasy gaming. But their sorcerous gamemaster had something else planned — and the game soon became a matter of life and death as the seven adventurers found themselves transported to an alternate world, inhabiting the actual bodies of the characters they had been playing. Cast into a land where magic worked all too well and dragons were a fire-breathing menace, their only way home was to find the legendary Gate Between Worlds — guarded by the most terrifying enemy of all.

Karl, Andrea, Ahira, Walter, and Lou have chosen this alternate world as their destiny — a realm where dragons are real and magic, not science, is the law of the land. Stranded in a time where only healing spells and their own wits stand between them and a slaver's blade, they are bound by a pledge to bring this world the one treasure it lacks: freedom. Leagued against them are the entire forces of both the Wizards and the Slavers guilds.

Rosenberg, Joel, Silver Crown, Book 3, Guardians of the Flame

Karl Cullinane and his fellow Earth-exiles have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, freeing many from slavery and pledging to fight until it ends. Now Karl is Emperor and his son Jason is old enough to begin learning the realities of war and leadership. But their success has made them powerful enemies. Ahrmin of the Slaver's Guild has decided the time of final reckoning has arrived — with or without Guild support, he will have blood vengeance on Karl and Jason Cullinane and all they hold dear.

Word arrives that Karl Cullinane is dead. His son Jason assumes command, leading the inner circle of warriors and the dragon Ellegon against the evil Slaver's Guild. Then Jason learns his father still lives — and when a dwarf appears signaling death, Jason faces a choice and the full weight of kingship.

Something is wrong with This Side — the alternate world where the guardians find themselves. Magic is creeping out of Faerie at the border town of Ehvenor. Sea serpents rise from the ocean depths, livestock is swallowed by an unseen menace, and wolfpacks exhibit the traits of shapechangers. Jason Cullinane, barely settled into his new role as baron, has no choice but to challenge the forces of chaos before they gain a foothold in human lands.

Baron Jason Cullinane searches for his bitter best friend, who is on a crusade to kill off all the slave masters in the land. Hoping to intercept him and keep the legend of the Warrior alive, Jason is unaware that his search will force him into a dangerous pact.

Three sellswords: Kethol, a lanky redhead quick with a quip and quicker with a sword; Durine, a barrel-built giant with hands too thick for anything more delicate than an axe handle; and Pirojil, the ugly one whose heavy jaw belies a razor-sharp mind. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis they are not.

Jason is heir to an empire — but he doesn't want to be, and nobody believes he'd truly walk away from the crown. With a major shake-up threatening the kingdom, the wily Walter Slovotsky sends Kethol, Pirojil, and the fledgling wizard Erenor to keep Jason in one piece. Because no one likes a vacuum, and with too many contenders for power, the soldiers of Castle Cullinane have their hands very full.

Kethol, Pirojil, and the fledgling wizard Erenor are sworn to protect Jason Cullinane — a man who walked away from a crown and has been trying ever since to convince the almost-warring factions he doesn't want it back. With plots within plots and Kethol forced into a disguise not of his own making, the three may have to pull off a complicated scheme that could kill them all — or land them in positions of supreme power.