Raymond E. Feist 
Shadow of a Dark Queen 

The first book in the bestselling Serpentwar series.A nest of vipers is stirring. . .Ancient powers are readying themselves for a devastating confrontation. A dark queen has raised her standard and is gathering armies of unmatched might.Into this battleground of good and evil a band of desperate men are forced, whose only hope for survival is to face this ancient power and discover its true nature.Among them are some unlikely heroes – Erik, a bastard heir denied his birth right, and his friend Roo, an irrepressible scoundrel with a penchant for thievery. They are accompanied by the mysterious Miranda, upon whom all must wager their lives.