 It is the year 1193. King Richard "the Lionheart" of England is held prisoner in an Austrian castle. A handful of his men reach home charged with raising a ransom for his release, amongst them is Ivanhoe, who also wants to make peace with his father, Lord Cedric of Rotherwood Castle, for leaving his family to fight in the crusades. Prince John, in his fortress of Torquilstone Castle, has his necromancer Mordour try to kill Ivanhoe, but without success, so they decide to destroy the things close to him, and sack Rotherwood Castle. Meanwhile, Ivanhoe rescues Rebecca, a woman who was about to be burned at the stake as a witch, and Odo, an apprentice of the magician Kazan, who join him in his quests. They first seek advice from Friar Bacon, who sends them to Fingal, the last of the great druid magicians. He directs them to find the Serpent s Egg in the Devil s Tower, giving them the Staff of Runes to assist them. Braving great perils in the tower, they take the egg, and journey to Torquilstone Castle to destroy the fiend that Mordour is conjuring up at the imminent lunar eclipse, and rescue Friar Bacon, who has been abducted by Mordour.