However, Frothi's sister Frith sent The Dragon to kill Beowulf in revenge, and her husband, the Northman King Ivar the Boneless, set The Bard adrift.

The village learns from a wounded monk that the berserkers destroyed the Holy Isle and retreat into the woods at the behest of The Bard, while he and Jack hide them all by calling fog.

The Bard gives Jack an invisible rune of protection, but this leaves him vulnerable to a Nightmare ridden by Frith's spirit that renders him insane.

The pair are to be sold as slaves to "Picts" as soon as they reach land, where Jack learns the boy who captured Lucy, Thorgil, is a shield-maiden aspiring to become a berserker.

After a demonstration of his magic to calm the sea by calling fog, Jack also summons a nearby crow, who he names Bold Heart.

Though Jack lacks the knowledge, Rune suggests he can gain it from Mimir's Well in Jötunheim, and Frith grudgingly provides them with a gold chess piece she stole from her mother, the Mountain Queen, to ensure their safe passage.

Jack, Thorgil, Bold Heart and Golden Bristles eventually reach the halls of the Mountain Queen, meeting Frith's half-sisters Fonn and Forath.