The Kur came to Port Karl! Two of the terrible space beasts came to make Tarl Cabot an offer. They were a death-squad seeking the renegade Kur commander, the great Half-Ear whom Tarl had once fought against in the Far North. But Tarl refused their offer, for Half-Ear was more valuable to the Priest-Kings alive than to the Kur dead. And now he knew it was imperative for him to save that monster from the doom that would fast overtake him.