From Introduction:
Ardoussarlis has been a lure to wizards ever since the city fell. The fad for delving through its depths has passed from one arcane tradition to the next, as those who suffer too many losses repeatedly lose their taste for danger, and those who strike it rich spark anew that urge to plumb the depths for treasure. But there is one school of magic whose interest has never waned: the dragon mages. They still believe a dragon lies at the city’s heart, and since the power of dragons lies at the heart of their sorcery, it is almost fate that they should seek it here. After all, when it takes such great ambition to study the dracomantic arts to begin with, is it any wonder that such a student would risk all but the most terrible of deaths so they could take that power for themselves?