Adventures in Flatfrost

by Jordan Quinn

  “This is Lucas, prince of Wrenly; his best friend, Clara Gills; and Ruskin, the prince’s scarlet dragon.”

  “And what’s their crime?”

  The giant children stared at Lucas, Clara, and Ruskin. They couldn’t wait to hear what they had done wrong. Lucas scowled. This is so embarrassing, he thought.

  “The young dragon has unthinkingly destroyed some of the king’s belongings,” Stefan answered, “and the children have been in on it.”

  “I see,” Gumlock said.

  “Yesterday the dragon melted the ice in the larder during a game of hide-and-seek,” explained Stefan.

  The giant children giggled. The mother giant put a finger to her lips and shushed her children.

  “The king has sent Lucas and Clara to help cut more ice.”

  Gumlock stroked his beard thoughtfully.

  “And what about the dragon?” he asked.

  “The dragon will be sent to Crestwood for training when we return,” said Stefan.

  Gumlock nodded understandingly. “Cutting ice is very hard work,” he said. “Even for giants.”

  He studied Lucas and Clara for a moment.

  “The children may come with us to the lake in the morning,” he said, “and perhaps we can help the dragon as well.”

  “Thank you,” said Stefan.

  Then Gumlock helped Stefan unload the sled. Lucas, Clara, and Ruskin followed the mother giant and children into the cave. Lucas and Clara looked around at the high ceiling and gigantic furniture. They had never felt so small.

  Hard Labor

  * * *

  * * *

  The prince and Clara slept on beds of straw and woke to the smell of baked bread and mulled cider. They followed the delicious smells into the cave kitchen. The giant children, Tublock, Thea, and Farfalee, showed Lucas and Clara to a pair of very tall chairs. They had to climb ladders to get to their seats.

  “Father, may I harvest ice too?” asked Tublock, the oldest giant child.

  Gumlock smiled at his son’s offer. “Not this time,” he said. “I want you and your younger sister and brother to take Ruskin to the obstacle course for training.”

  Tublock clapped his hands. “Oh, I’d love to do that!” he cried.

  Lucas and Clara wanted to go with the children, but they knew they had to go with Gumlock. It was part of their punishment.

  After breakfast Lucas and Clara helped load a sled with pickaxes and shovels. Another giant, a cousin, named Huffie, joined them, and off they slid toward the lake. The sled glided into a wide-open snowfield. Windswept snowdrifts stretched out before them.

  “I feel like I’m on top of the clouds!” Clara exclaimed.

  “Me too,” said Lucas.

  A snow-covered lake sparkled in the morning light. Gumlock handed Lucas and Clara shovels. Then they scooped the fresh snow off the ice. When they had cleared a large patch of snow, Gumlock marked a checkerboard pattern on the ice. Then Gumlock and Huffie chopped at the ice with pickaxes. Lucas and Clara cleared more snow.

  “This is tiring,” said Lucas.

  “You said it,” agreed Clara.

  “This is called hard labor,” Gumlock said. “And you two are doing very well for your first time.”

  This made Lucas and Clara feel better about what they were doing. They began to appreciate what the giants did for the castle. No wonder Cook had been so angry about the melted ice. Cutting ice blocks wasn’t easy.

  As the sun went down, Gumlock and Huffie loaded the blocks of ice onto the sled. Then they covered them with hay. The hay would keep the next layer of ice blocks from sticking.

  Back at the cave, Lucas and Clara devoured bowls of stew served in giant thimbles.

  “How’d Ruskin do in training today?” asked Lucas.

  “Very well. He’s beginning to master his fire breathing,” said Tublock.

  “How long will it take?” Clara asked.

  “If a dragon is willing,” said Tublock, “it only takes a couple of days to get the hang of it.”

  “Is that true?” questioned Lucas. “When I try to train Ruskin, he never listens.”

  Tublock grinned. “We’ve found a way to get him to listen,” he said.

  Thea and Farfalee giggled.

  “How?” Lucas asked.

  “We’ll show you tomorrow,” said Tublock. “My father said you could come with us to the obstacle course.”

  “We’d love that,” said Lucas.

  Then Lucas and Clara had to get ready for bed. They washed, climbed up their ladders, and hit the hay.

  Obstacle Course

  * * *

  * * *

  Lucas, Clara, Tublock, Thea, and Farfalee tromped over a snow-packed trail to the obstacle course. Tublock pulled a sled with supplies behind him. Ruskin bounded ahead of the others. When they got to the top of the hill, the children sledded down onto a snowfield.

  Spread out before them were tunnels, sled chutes, and climbing structures—all made from snow! Ice targets stretched across the landscape. Carved snowmen stood in rows, holding clubs, battle-axes, and war hammers. There was even a maze of ice, and a snow village.

  “Did you make all this?” asked Lucas.

  “We did over many months,” said Tublock proudly. “This is what we do for fun in Flatfrost.”

  “It’s a snowy playground!” Lucas exclaimed.

  “It’s amazing,” Clara declared.

  “Let’s get to work,” Tublock said. “We haven’t much time before you’ll have to return to the castle.”

  He pulled a big wooden bucket from the sled and set it on the ground in front of the targets.

  “I hold in this bucket the secret to dragon training,” said Tublock.

  Clara and Lucas looked in the bucket.

  “Fish?” questioned Lucas.

  “Yes, your dragon loves fish!” Thea exclaimed. “He’ll do anything for it.”

  “Watch this,” said Tublock.

  He threw Ruskin a fish. Then he gave Ruskin a hand signal. Ruskin leaped toward the ice targets and shot a fireball through each one.

  “Target practice will help Ruskin gain control over his fire breathing,” Tublock said.

  Farfalee threw a fish to Ruskin as they moved to the next obstacle.

  “This one will be much harder,” said Tublock. “Ruskin must disarm the army of snowmen without melting them.”

  Tublock gave him a signal. Ruskin raced toward the snowmen. He disarmed twelve snowmen and melted three. Lucas and Clara watched in amazement.

  “He’s improving,” Tublock said. “Yesterday he melted six snowmen.”

  Then they moved on to the ice maze.

  “Ruskin must enter the maze and find his way to the other exit,” explained Tublock. “He must control his frustration—and his fire—when he hits a dead end.”

  Tublock signaled and Ruskin bounded into the maze. The children walked around the outside of the maze toward the exit. They could hear the dragon galloping and panting up and down the pathways. They clapped and cheered Ruskin on. Ruskin only scorched two walls before he found the exit. They practiced until the sun went down.

  At dinner, Gumlock asked, “How did Ruskin do today?”

  “He’s mastered his basic fire-breathing skills,” said Tublock. “He is now able to control his fire.”

  “The king will be pleased,” said Gumlock.

  Lucas nodded in agreement. “Now maybe I won’t get in trouble all the time,” he said.

  “Me neither!” agreed Clara.

  Everyone laughed.

  A few days later, Stefan hitched the team of horses back to the sled. The time had come to go home.

  “Please come back and visit,” said Tublock.

  “We will,” Lucas and Clara promised. Then the prince turned to Gumlock. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry we caused you so much trouble.”

  “I’m sorry too,” Clara said.

  “Well, did you learn something?” asked Gumlock.

  “We sure
did,” said Lucas. “Now we’ll be more thoughtful of other people’s belongings.”

  “Somehow I think Ruskin will be more thoughtful too,” said Gumlock.

  “Definitely,” Lucas said.

  Then they waved good-bye and headed for home.

  Showstopper!

  * * *

  * * *

  Stefan parked the wagon by the kitchen entrance. Lucas and Clara jumped to the ground.

  “May we go?” asked Lucas.

  Stefan smiled. “Yes, you may go,” he answered.

  “See you tomorrow!” called Clara as she ran down the lane toward home.

  “Bye!” Lucas said. Then he put Ruskin on a leash—just in case—and they ran up the stone steps two at a time to the kitchen. He stopped when he saw Cook.

  “We’ve brought you more ice!” Lucas declared.

  “Well done!” said Cook.

  “You’re right. Harvesting ice is hard work,” Lucas said. “And I’m so sorry for all the trouble we caused.”

  Cook dropped his spoon into his mixing bowl and gave Lucas a hug.

  “Apology accepted,” he said.

  Then Lucas headed to the royal library to see his mother and father.

  “Welcome home, son,” said King Caleb.

  “We missed you!” Queen Tasha exclaimed.

  Lucas told his parents all about their adventures in Flatfrost.

  “I’m glad to hear that Ruskin has improved,” said the king.

  “He has,” Lucas said. “Does he still have to go to Crestwood?”

  “Not if his fire breathing is really under control,” said the king.

  “Can I set up an obstacle course and prove it?” Lucas asked.

  “That would be splendid!” replied the queen.

  Lucas smiled. “You are hereby invited to the garden balcony at four o’clock for a show of skills.”

  The prince invited Clara’s family to come over too. Then Lucas and Clara called upon the king’s men to help set up an obstacle course. They ordered archery targets, suits of armor, and weaponry from the armory.

  The children asked Cook to make tea and cakes for their guests. Then they ran to the balcony and set up chairs and tables. The balcony had a perfect view of the obstacle course below. The king’s men had already set up the targets and were putting the suits of armor into formation.

  The guests arrived at four o’clock. Lucas ran to the lair and got Ruskin. Then he grabbed a bucket of fish from the kitchen. Everything was ready.

  Stefan blew the royal trumpet and then announced the show. “Your majesties and special guests,” he cried, “I now present Ruskin the scarlet dragon!”

  The king and queen and Clara’s parents clapped their hands. Then Lucas threw a fish to Ruskin and gave him a signal.

  Ruskin dashed toward the targets and blew a perfectly round hole in each one. Everyone clapped and whistled. Lucas showed Ruskin a fish and gave him another signal. The dragon disarmed the knights’ armor and didn’t burn a single suit. Everyone on the balcony jumped to their feet and cheered.

  “Well done!” cried the king.

  “Bravo!” Cook yelled.

  Then, as Ruskin enjoyed his fish, Lucas looked up at the balcony. “Father, does Ruskin still have to be sent to Crestwood? Or can he stay?”

  The king stood by the balcony railing. “Son,” said the king with a smile, “Ruskin may stay.”

  Hear ye! Hear ye! Presenting the next book from The Kingdom of Wrenly! Here’s a sneak peek!

  “So, guess what?” said Clara as she tried to ignore Bella’s watchful eye.

  “What?” asked Lucas.

  “I have an idea for our next adventure.”

  Lucas’s eyes widened. He loved it when Clara got ideas. “What is it?”

  “My teacher said we have to research a place in Wrenly that we haven’t been before,” Clara explained.

  “Where haven’t you been?” Lucas asked.

  “The Stone Forest,” said Clara. “Have you ever traveled there?”

  “I’ve only seen it from the road.”

  “Same here,” said Clara.

  Then Bella huffed. “Why would anyone want to go there?” she questioned. “Isn’t it just a bunch of crummy old towers and creepy dark tunnels?”

  Clara almost said, Who asked you? But she stopped herself. If Bella didn’t want to go to the Stone Forest, then Lucas wouldn’t be able to go either. Hmm, thought Clara. How can I make this adventure sound like something that Bella would want to go on? She took a good look at the princess. Then she noticed the lovely gemstone hanging in the middle of princess’s forehead. This gave Clara an idea.

  “Bella, did you know the most beautiful jewels in the kingdom come from the Stone Forest?” she asked. “Those creepy underground tunnels are just bursting with precious gems.”

  Bella’s eyes lit up. “Precious gems?”

  “Sparkling jewels everywhere!”

  “I love jewelry!” Bella exclaimed. “When do we leave?”

  JORDAN QUINN grew up in a fairy-tale castle in England. It had a spiral stone staircase, a moat, and a dungeon. As a child she liked to play hide-and-go-seek and ride her beloved horse, Prince Charming. When she wasn’t riding, she wrote stories about fairies, trolls, dragons, and wizards. Today, Jordan lives on a ranch in California with her husband, son, and a golden retriever named Sir Toots-a-Lot.

  ROBERT MCPHILLIPS has been involved in a wide variety of projects over the years—from illustrating greeting cards to animation. But he has always loved children’s books, and after many years he has turned his attention back to that. Robert makes his home in Wiltshire, England, with his wife, Sam, and their beloved cat, Silkie, who rules the roost.

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  Simon & Schuster

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  Meet the author and illustrator and get activities at

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  authors.simonandschuster.com/Jordan-Quinn

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Robert-McPhillips

  KingdomofWrenlyBooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  First Little Simon hardcover edition October 2014

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Quinn, Jordan.

  Adventures in Flatfrost / by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Robert McPhillips. — First edition.

  pages cm. — (The kingdom of Wrenly ; 5)

  Summary: Mischief-makers Prince Lucas; his best friend, Clara; and Ruskin the scarlet dragon learn to respect the hard work of others when they are sent to Flatfrost to fetch more ice from the giants who live there.

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1388-6 (pbk) — ISBN 978-1-4814-1389-3 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1390-9 (eBook)

  [1. Princes—Fiction. 2. Dragons—Fiction. 3. Giants—Fiction. 4. Behavior—Fiction. 5. Conduct of life—Fiction. 6. Punishment—Fiction.] I. McPhillips, Robert, illustrator. II. Title.

 
PZ7.Q31945Ad 2014 [Fic]—dc23

  2013048044