The Valley of Shadows by Brian Cullen

Ireland, Eire, was at peace as long as the champion's cup of gold with a ruby carved into the shape of an raven on the base, was kept with the Red Branch Warriors of Ulster. But the evil spirit Maliman escaped from the rift that the Gods had forced him into and caused the cup to be stolen by a man named Bricriu Poisontongue. The Chalice was made by the Gods and is known as the Chalice of fire

Maeve, Queen of Connacht, set a group of Seekers to track down Bricriu and take back the Chalice, restoring order to the world. Among them are Cucullen's son, Cumac, a Sidhe woman named Fedelm, an Ashelf named Lorgas, Tarin, a human sword-wanderer, Bern of the Eralian Elves, and Seanchan of the Duirgeals, a druid. With the Chalice's theft, though, monsters have multiplied all over the land: Graywalkers, Truacs, Goblins and Hobgoblins among them. Because Maliman knows how much the chalice means to his plans to conquer the world, Maliman has been sending monsters after the seekers.

They have been tracking Bricriu, but when they enter the Faindell forest, it has been raining for two days, dampening their gear and lowering their spirits. They wish most heartily for shelter, and they find a small inn run by a beautiful woman in the forest. From the first, she has her eyes on Tain, wanting him to warm her bed, but he resists her. The rain continues, trapping them inside her inn... or does it?

When the Seekers become insistent on seeing to their horses themselves, the woman reveals that she is actually a hag, and until Tain warms her bed, she will not let them leave. All her power seems to come from her gem-encrusted, enchanted girdle, so the Seekers endeavor to part her from it so they can resume their pursuit of Bricriu.

Once free of her trap, the warriors ride on through the forest, but when they leave, find themselves entrapped in it once more. They are saved by a forest warden, who helps them get free of the enchanted section of forest. Along the way, they find a baby who is destined to be the next Ard-ri, or High King. But because they are the Seekers, their presence endangers the baby, since Maliman would love to kill the baby as well as deny them the Chalice.

Their stop at a small village inn turns into a pitched battle when Maliman sends his monsters agains the Seekers. The villagers themselves join in, and kill most of the monsters, saving themselves, the Seekers and the baby. Warned that their presence means the baby will come to harm, they leave him behind to be raised by the innkeeper and his wife until he is ready to know the truth and come to the throne. They also gain a new companion: Sirona, a warrior woman.

Most of their stops at inns during the novel lead to some kind of attack, but they learn that Bricriu has taken shelter with a King named Cairpre. Cairpre is a bad king, given over to excesses of the flesh and not caring about fighting and war. He has let his castle fall into rack and ruin, and most of the knights he has left are preening fops who care more about court dress than weapons practice.

Temporarily separated from Tain and Sirona, the other Seekers go to the castle to roust out Bricriu, and in an inn close to Cairpre's fortress, are attacked by vampires. With one of their number knocked out for nearly two days, they must take shelter in the secure kitchen and wait until their companion wakes before being able to move on.

When they do gain Cairpre's court, they find that for all his not caring about the things he should, he does care about the rules of hospitality and will not break them so that the Seekers can get back the Chalice. Indeed, he will not allow Bricriu to be rousted out of his court, not until Cairpre wants him to go.

During their first night there, Fedelm is abducted from her room by Maliman and dumped into the Otherworld, where she is rescued by a knight that calls the Otherworld his home. His order is under attack by Maliman's forces, so he takes her to safety in a cave in the Valley of the Dead, where the other Seekers must eventually go.

Meanwhile, the Seekers must find a way to deny Cairpre's extension of hospitality to Bricriu, and do so by stealing a necklace much beloved by Cairpre, and "hiding" it in Bricriu's bed. Before they do so, Seanchan is challenged to a duel by another druid living in Cairpre's palace and though he kills the other druid, he is smote by black lightning and sent bodily to the land of the dead.

Because he is there bodily and before his time, he is allowed to be rescued by the Gods, and they send the shade of Cucullen to bring him out. Back at Cairpre's palace, he discovers the theft and is livid. When the necklace they stole is found in Bricriu's bed, Cairpre sends him away, but gives him a head start on the Seekers.

When they are finally allowed to pursue him, they are quickly reunited with Seanchan and Fedelm, who has retrieved a set of magnificent weapons hidden in the valley by one of the shades. But Bricriu is ahead of them once more. Will they ever catch him?

Much of this book is based on reworkings of Irish myths, from Cuchulainn and the Sidhe to the story of Cairpre, but other parts appear to have other origins, such as the land of the dead being partly based on Dante's Inferno. Otherwise, it seemed to me to be fairly standard fantasy fare, complete with many fantasy tropes (the swordwoman whose skill is discounted just because she is a woman, the baby destined for great things. etc.)

But the overlay of Irish Culture, I found fascinating, like the rules of Hospitality laid down by the Gods, which even they are leery of breaking for no good reason. And I also found myself remembering a lot of Irish myths, like Maeve of Connacht and the Great Bull raid of Cooley (Or Cuilingh, depending on how it's translated).

But in the end, while the book did entertain, it never really rose above the level of standard fantasy for me. That's okay, but realize that's what you are getting before you settle down to read.