In a time of swords and magic, Meren and his son Timothy move to a remote valley to start a new life.Meren's wife died in a tragic fire, but with no memory of what happened he fears he failed to save her.When Timothy explores the nearby forest, he finds a strange medallion with a red stone and magical wordsleft to keep evil away.
Meren is fearful of the evil his son may have awakened. Meren discovers something else in the forest,a small plant called black root. That night, Meren is haunted by his burning wife in a terrifying dream.He goes to the forest and collects the black root and uses it to make a potent drink to ease his pain.
He drinks himself into a stupor and wakes the next morning to find his son missing. He searcheseverywhere and finds evidence that his son was taken in the night. Meren prepares to set off to find his sonwhen a strange woman named Iselle breaks into his house and tries to steal the medallion. He catches herand bargains for her help in finding his son. She warns him of the local legends of Black Mountain where ashape shifting demon steals the souls of men.
Iselle thinks the stories aren't true but warns Meren just thesame. Not long into their journey, Iselle fools Meren and attacks him. She tries to take the medallion in thescuffle they fall down a steep gorge and get separated. Meren losses all his supplies and has nothing but hissword and a wine skin of black root which he continually drinks. He finds a strange boy hiding in the forest.
He learns the boy's name is Rone, and he claims that the mountain is his. He warns Meren, the mountainbrings out the worst in everyone. Rone claims to know where Mere's son is but then runs away. Meren findsIselle, her leg has twisted in the fall. They need each other to survive so Meren tends to her wound. Thatnight he dreams of his wife again, dying in the fire.
Iselle has nightmares as well. Meren finds Rone again and manages to capture the boy. Rone claims thatMeren is all alone in the forest and no one is with him. When they return to the campfire Iselle is gone.Rone is terrified of Meren and claims the black root is twisting his mind. When Meren presses the boy aboutwhere his son is. Rone says he saw Meren kill him on the farm after drinking black root.
Meren refuses to believe him, and forces the boy to lead him to the demon's lair. They reach a huge waterfall,but as they make their way up the wet rocks Meren drops his wine skin of black root, he turns back to save itand Rone escapes. Meren loses the black root in the river. The withdrawals begin to affect him immediately.He chases after Rone but can't catch him. Instead he wanders into a glade filled with black root.He pulls the plants up and eats them feeling the effect immediately.
He hallucinates his son falling before him wounded Meren begins to fear the potency of thedrug. That night Iselle catches up with him. She's changed, and her eyes are filled with fear. She claims hernightmares have become real. They make their way through the gorge and suddenly Meren's wife appearsto them both, horrifically scarred by fire. She grabs Iselle and pulls her into a narrow crack in the rocks.
Meren fights against her and tries to save Iselle but he isn't strong enough. Iselle grabs the medallion at thelast moment and the chain breaks she disappears into the darkness screaming clutching the medallion.Meren runs for his life but is confronted by the ghost of his wife he cuts her down with his sword but onlythen sees it has been a hallucination. Rone stands before him bleeding and wounded from his sword.
Meren passes out. When he wakes, he follows the trail of blood to Rone who is dying. Meren takes the boyand bandages his wounds and fears that he may have done the same to his own son. Rone runs from himand Meren, torn with grief, contemplates suicide. But then he realizes the medallion is really gone itwasn't a dream. Confused and afraid Meren chases Rone to a huge cave. He takes black root to steady hisnerves and goes inside and there finds Rone with the medallion. It glows red and a magical power within thestone heals him.
Rone transforms into Iselle and reveals himself to be the shape shifting demon. They fightand Meren is overcome by a powerful hallucination of his wife once more. He overcomes the vision anddestroys the medallion killing Rone and Iselle at last. He finds his son in the cave and rescues him. Backhome, Timothy nurses Meren back to health as he suffers through the black root withdrawals. His son tellsMeren the truth about the night of the fire. Meren did all he could to save his wife. They burn the black rootand leave the valley forever.
