In this thrilling Thorgal adventure, the valiant Thorgal is kidnapped from his bucolic village and has to fight his way back home.
There are NO fantasy elements in this story, which is disappointing. Is Thorgal historical fiction or medieval fantasy — that’s anyone’s guess. You may as well flip a coin as it changes from volume to volume.
The story opens with Thorgal and the pregnant Aaricia settled in a simple farming village. He’s put violence behind him and become a family man. It’s a little boring though, so he goes out for a midnight ride on his faithful steed.
And that’s when Shaniah the village slut makes a play for Thorgal’s affections, one he firmly rebuffs. The scorned woman steals his horse and flees. She is in turn ambushed by an escaped prisoner with a white beard who steals the horse and flees.
SPOILER
Who is this stranger and what are his intentions? The full answer to that central mystery will have to wait for later volumes.
The next day, a jarl and some soldiers from Brek Zarith come looking for the prisoner, and the slut blames Thorgal for abetting the escape.
After a futile fight, Thorgal is captured and taken aboard a black galley bound for Brek Zarith and commanded by its obese, effeminate prince.
After he insults the prince, Thorgal is attacked by the former’s leopard, whom Thorgal kills. He briefly makes it to shore but is recaptured.
Thorgal is forced to row with the galley slaves. He rebels and kills one of the slave masters.
Facing execution, he is spared by the Jarl, who hates the tyrannical prince and believes that Thorgal can help him (the Jarl) overthrow the king.
Unfortunately, the prince is listening to all this and captures both of them.
He is about to execute the pair when a band of vikings, old friends of Thorgal’s, attack the galley.
Thorgal and the Jarl escape below-decks in the confusion and slow the rowers, allowing the Vikings to board.
The prince is killed and the Jarl abandons ship, fearing the Vikings will kill him. The Vikings, flush with treasure, ask Thorgal to join them, but he declines so they drop him off at his village.
Unfortunately, the village has been burned to the ground by the jarl, who is waiting for Thorgal’s return. He had wanted to force Thorgal to join him by holding Aaricia hostage, but she escaped into the sea, and is presumed dead. After discovering the truth of Thorgal’s innocence from Shaniah, the jarl no longer has any interest in the man, but sticks around so Thorgal can avenge Aaricia.
The jarl is a cool character with his own sense of warrior’s honor. He has set up a one on one duel (not entirely fair though) — his 3 crossbow bolts against 3 arrows of Thorgal. The scene has the feel of a climactic Sergio Leone gunfight.
Thorgal is able to triumph by firing 2 arrows at once and the dying jarl laments that they might have been friends under different circumstances.
Shanaiah, having brought ruin on the village, begs Thorgal to kill her, but he leaves her alone to bury the dead and goes in search of Aaricia.