About the book: 2004 / Black as obsidian, large as an apple, pearls from the swamps of Queen Vulvula’s domain are a countless treasure, the thought of which will drive you crazy any thief. But the risk is commensurate with the profit. Black pearls grow underwater in the bodies of giant polyps, and to take them from the aquatic owner requires several divers endowed with remarkable strength and dexterity. Nifft and Barnar test themselves as poachers, making sure that each pearl can be paid for with their lives. The only question is whose food you will become - a polyp, a creeping beetle or a ghoul. Nearby, in a giant pyramid, piercing the cotton wool of the clouds with its peak, the Vampire Queen has reigned for six hundred years. Once a year, she performs a ceremony of drinking the King’s blood, using a spell to restore to herself the youth lost during the year. The Queen is the mistress of unimaginable wealth. How much of it will she be willing to give for the stolen blood of the King??