In this book, a boy named Jack has an amazing adventure. He is the son of a man who built a farm, so he is a farm boy until a day when he is told by his father to go to the Bards house-and is invited to lunch. He goes, and while he is there, he is offered an apprenticeship in the Bard's music-and magic! At first his father does not agree with this, but the Bard convinces him. Jack learns magic, such as making fog, making fire, and singing magic. He learns to talk to animals, and that is before he is kidnapped, along with his sister, who thinks she is a princess, by people who destroy every thing in their path. He meets a girl, Thorgil, who is a person called a shield maiden. She is a ship mate of Olaf One-Brow, who Jack soon learns is not as bad as he looks. Olaf brings them to towns where they trade their goods and slaves for weapons and riches. When they leave, they go to Gizur Thumb-Crusher's land and go "berserk" and destroy everything in their path. There, they gain much clothing, food, and riches. His sister is being doted upon by everyone in the group except for her master, who was Thorgil, and who was going to give her to the Queen, a half-troll who took away her husband's, King Ivan the Boneless ( called that by everyone, but not to his face ), wits. After they reach home, they celebrate with all three of Olaf's wives, Dotti, Lotti, and Heidi. Heidi is a wise woman, the female version of a Skald (Bard). She tells Olaf that he will die if he brings Jack and Lucy (Jack's sister) to the castle. But Thorgil is set upon giving Lucy to Queen Frith, and Olaf is set upon the king hearing the praise poem Jack has made for him, so he does not heed her words. And so they set off for the castle with a sacrafice in tow. Everything goes as planned, and they provide the King with some of their spoils. But after Jack finishes in his epic, the Queen wants him to sing about her. So he begins singing about her. and her hair starts to fall to the ground in waves until it is all around her and she screams that, instead of the boar they had brought for the sacrafice, Lucy would be given to the gods instead. |
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