Centuries in the past, the Dominator and his wife, the Lady, (both supremely skilled in the art of magic), had founded an empire legendary for evil.

Later, the Company also assisted the Lady in preventing her husband from escaping his prison (as recounted in Shadows Linger), but it was forced to flee her wrath when she discovered that it had unknowingly sheltered the reborn White Rose.

With the situation becoming increasingly desperate, the White Rose sends Croaker and wizards Goblin and One-Eye to retrieve that vital bit of information.

Fleeing in panic, Raven made a mistake, allowing two of the lesser imprisoned creatures to free themselves and leaving him trapped.

With the imminent threat of the Dominator looming, she goes with Croaker to see the White Rose, to form an alliance against their common foe.

Unmasked as the escaped servants of the Dominator, they try to kill the White Rose and the Lady, but Toadkiller Dog is driven off and Tracker converted into Old Father Tree's slave.

Soon, both the Black Company and the Lady and her minions travel back to the Barrowland to confront the Dominator, taking along a sapling, the offspring of Old Father Tree.

The White Rose carefully approaches the burial mounds of each of the lesser minions, one by one, nullifying the spells that bind them.

His body is burned, his malevolent spirit infused into a silver spike which is driven into the trunk of the scion of Old Father Tree.

The remnants of the Company, now led by Croaker as the highest ranked surviving officer, sneak away, taking the not-unwilling Lady with them.