The Road to Gardar

1980’sThe Sword and the Satchel is the first volume in Elizabeth H. Boyer’s World of Alfar trilogy. The ice creeps ever southward but attempts to bribe the troll thought to be responsible fail. The envoy dispatched by Valsidur of Shieldbroad fails to find the troll or any evidence it existed. While the nonexistence of the troll comes as no surprise to the relentlessly skeptical ruler, it suggests that whatever the cause of the Blight, it is beyond the ability of mortals to slow. One day, a sword appears, driven through the ancient Brandstok oak that stands in Shieldbroad. A written note proclaims: “Whoso pulls Kildurin from the tree shall rule over all the minions of Surt, to the confusion of the wicked and the confounding of their Power.” Chaos ensues.