Andre Norton 
Zarsthor’s Bane 

The High Hallack Cycle continues with unlikely compatriots bound together by danger as they search for a terrible treasure in the Witch World.   Brixia knows what evil powers can do to a person, a people, and a land. Once a highborn Lady of a hall in High Hallack, she now scours the deserted Dales, where the Darkness has devastated all in its path. Her only companion is her loyal feline, Uta—until she meets the travelers.   One is a madman. A broken lord driven by desire whose only wish is to find the powerful magical item known as Zarsthor’s Bane—an object as wreathed in mystery and ancient lore as it is cloaked in peril. The other is a squire devotedly following his demented master.   All three soon find themselves drawn into the dreaded Waste in search of the mystical totem. But such a prize comes at a price none of them are prepared to pay—a price worse than death itself . . . Zarsthor’s Bane is the 2nd book in the Witch World: High Hallack Cycle, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.