About
Hal has always been considered an outcast because of the lineage of his mother. With a lot of hard work and ingenuity he proves himself a leader and true Skandian in brotherband training.
Read one section at a time, then discuss the questions to review understanding. These questions are a starting place for conversation, not a complete test of the chapter.
Chapter 1
Comprehension questions
What does Erak and his men do for a living?
Page 5 — They are raiders.
5
Why did they sneak into Santa Sebilla?
Page 6 — To steal gold
6
Who followed Erak and his men back to the beach?
Page 13 — Townspeople and riders who were not experienced warriors
13
What hit Mikkel as the raiders were talking about the battle?
Page 16 — Spear
16
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
When Mikkel died, who did he tell Thorn to take care of?
Page 18 — His son, Hal
18
Why was Thorn wasting his life away by drinking?
Page 20 — He lost his hand and couldn’t use weapons or an oar
20
What did Karina want Thorn to help her with?
Page 29 — Be her handyman and helper
29
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
What invention did Hal make for his mother’s kitchen?
Page 35 — Cask and running water system
35
What happened to the invention?
Page 37 — It broke and flooded the kitchen
37
How does Karina feel about Hal’s ideas and love for inventions?
Page 40 — She doesn’t like them
40
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
What do Hal and Stig have in common?
Page 42 — They both grew up without fathers
42
Where was Hal going when he saw Stig at the cliff?
Page 45 — He was going fishing
45
How did Stig and Hal become friends?
Page 53 — Hal saved him from drowning
53
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
How did Hal get the Heron?
Page 58 — He bought it from the boatyard he worked at
58
What giant letter did the sails form?
Page 62 — An M
62
Why did Hal name his boat the Heron?
Page 62 — That’s the sea bird that gave him the idea for the sail design
62
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
How did Hal feel when they took the Heron out to sea?
Page 66 — Excited/happy
66
Did his M design on the sails work?
Page 67 — Yes
67
Was Hal able to tack his ship?
Page 70 — Yes
70
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
Where was Hal sailing the Heron?
Page 75 — To the harbor
75
Why did Hal slow the Heron down before they sailed into the harbor?
Page 76 — So it didn’t hit the Oberjarl’s ship
76
What will Erak do if Hal hits his ship?
Page 79 — Cut off his head
79
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
Did the Heron hit Erak’s boat?
Page 82 — No
82
Who gathered on the beach watching the ship “fly in”?
Page 82 — seaman, Erak and Thorn
82
How did Erak feel about Stig standing up for Hal?
Page 88 — He liked it and wanted to put them on the same team in brotherband training.
88
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
What was the name of the girl that Hal was interested in?
Page 90 — Lotte
90
Who was mad at Hal for talking to Lotte?
Page 92 — Tursgud
92
Who interrupted the fight between Hal and Tursgud?
Page 93 — Thorn
93
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
Why did Thorn visit Hal at the creek?
Page 97 — To show him to fight.
97
Why did Thorn bring Hal a bag full of wool?
Page 103 — So he could practice hitting.
103
Why does Thorn think Tursgud fears Hal?
Page 105 — He sees that Hal’s a leader. He’s jealous.
105
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
How many ships were in Arndak’s fleet?
Page 107 — 4
107
Why didn’t Arndak want the pirate ship to get his ships?
Page 109 — They had valuable goods and money
109
How did Arndak know it was a pirate ship?
Page 110 — It came really fast and had a battering ram
110
Chapter 12
Comprehension questions
What was the pirate captain’s name?
Page 115 — Zavac
115
What information did Zavac want?
Page 118 — He wanted to know about the Andomal
118
Did Arndak tell him about the Andomal?
Page 119 — Yes
119
Chapter 13
Comprehension questions
What is a brotherband?
Page 123 — A group of young men who are training to be warriors.
123
Who was chosen to be brotherband leaders?
Page 129 — Rollond, Tursgud, Hal
129
How did Hal feel when Stig nominated him?
Page 130 — Not happy
130
Chapter 14
Comprehension questions
What did Stig say when Rollond chose him to be in his brotherband?
Page 137 — No, I pass
137
Why did Erak not let Hal be on Tursgud team when he chose him?
Page 137 — Erak knew Tursgud would bully Hal
137
What animal did Hal’s brotherband choose as their symbol?
Page 133 — A heron
133
Chapter 15
Comprehension questions
What was brotherband’s first task?
Page 144 — To build a shelter
144
Who did the Heron’s choose as their leader?
Page 145 — Hal
145
Who watched the Heron brotherband from the trees?
Page 148 — Erak and Sigurd
148
Chapter 16
Comprehension questions
How did the Heron’s earn their first points?
Page 160 — By organizing and building their shelter
160
What did Edvin teach Ingvar?
Page 161 — How to roll his bedding/ organize his stuff
161
What was Hal’s personal weapon?
Page 163 — A crossbow
163
How did Hal have his team go to the training ground?
Page 165 — In a fixed formation
165
Chapter 17
Comprehension questions
What assistant instructor is over the Herons brotherband?
Page 166 — Gort
166
What does Ingvar struggle with?
Page 167 — His eyesight/ not being able to see
167
What happened when Gort told Ingvar to swing his club?
Page 168 — Ingvar almost took off his head
168
Chapter 18
Comprehension questions
Why did Ingvar wand to get back at Wulf and ended up squeezing him?
Page 184 — He jabbed him in the ribs really hard
184
What happened when Sigurd examined the Herons new weapons?
Page 188 — They ended up getting 20 demerits
188
What are some things the Herons do for training?
Page 193 — Weapon training, physical exercise, navigation studying
193
Chapter 19
Comprehension questions
Why did Thorn approach the battle training?
Page 200 — Hal’s sword and shield were to bid, he wanted to get him better weapons
200
Where was Thorn going to get better weapons for Hal?
Page 201 — Oberjarl’s storehouse.
201
How did Gort feel when Thorn wanted to get weapons from Erak’s storehouse?
Page 201 — Surprised
201
Chapter 20
Comprehension questions
Who made the bread Thorn brought to Hal?
Page 204 — Thorn
204
What part of brotherband training does Hal like the most?
Page 206 — Navigation
206
Where did Thorn take Hal?
Page 209 — To the Oberjarl’s storehouse
209
Chapter 21
Comprehension questions
In the past, what title had Thorn earned for 3 years in a row?
Page 218 — Maktig
218
Who cut off his hand?
Page 219 — Erak
219
Did Hal tell Thorn what Erak said about him?
Page 223 — No
223
Chapter 22
Comprehension questions
What’s the first race or assessment the brotherbands compete at?
Page 225 — The mountain run
225
Did Hal decide to run as a team of have an individual runner?
Page 228 — Team
228
Who won the assessment?
Page 234 — The Herons
234
Chapter 23
Comprehension questions
Who did Hal choose to run in the footrace?
Page 237 — Jesper
237
How did Stig feel about Jesper running instead of himself?
Page 240 — Mad at first, then accepted it and has a good attitude
240
What place did Jesper come in?
Page 243 — 3rd
243
Chapter 24
Comprehension questions
What was the strength test they had to do the same day as the foot race?
Page 245 — Tug of war
245
How did the Herons use their ingenuity to win the tug of war?
Page 255 — Jesper took Gort’s whistle and blew it as they were being pulled toward the line then Ingvar pulled the Sharks over the line
255
Chapter 25
Comprehension questions
Why did the Sharks come into the Heron camp?
Page 260 — They were mad about the tug of war
260
Why wasn’t the fight fair?
Page 266 — The Herons were spread out, 2 on the roof, Ingvar in the forest and the Sharks had more people
266
Who came to help the Herons?
Page 267 — Rollond and the Wolves
267
Chapter 26
Comprehension questions
Who was Hal fighting with during training?
Page 273 — Ulf
273
What had Hal asked Ulf to do since his head hurt?
Page 273 — Not hit as hard
273
How did Sigurd feel about that?
Page 276 — He didn’t like it
276
Chapter 27
Comprehension questions
Who was captain of the ship that needed repair in Hallasholm?
Page 178 — Zavac
178
Who is Zavac?
The pirate that wanted information about the Andomal and killed Arndak and his men. Chapter 12
Why do you think he’s here at Hallasholm?
Page 118 — To steal the Andomal/ Artifact
118
Chapter 28
Comprehension questions
What happened when Hal and Stig helped Ingvar across the pole?
Page 287 — They all fell in.
287
Who was Hal having wrestle for the Herons?
Page 290 — Stig
290
What could stop Stig from winning?
Page 291 — His temper
291
Chapter 29
Comprehension questions
How did Bjorn get Stig mad?
Page 294 — He talked about how stinky he was
294
Did Stig win or lose?
Page 295 — Lose
295
Who gave Stig advice on how to beat Tursgud?
Page 296 — Thorn
296
Chapter 30
Comprehension questions
Did Stig lose his temper while wrestling Tursgud?
Page 305 — No
305
Who won Stig and Tursgud’s wrestling match?
Page 306 — Stig
306
What was Thorns reaction when Stig talked about him being made a Maktig?
Page 309 — Angry
309
Chapter 31
Comprehension questions
Where did Hal spend most of his weekend of vacation?
Page 312 — In his workshop
312
Why?
Page 313 — Making things for Thorn as an apology
313
What were the gifts?
Page 316 — A hook for a hand, and a club to use instead of a hand
316
Chapter 32
Comprehension questions
What shape do sails do the Porpoise and Lynx have?
Page 323 — Square
323
How was Tursgud taking his ship, the Porpoise, up wind?
Page 324 — Rowing with oars
324
What happened to the Lynx as Rollond tried to tack her?
Page 327 — The mast broke
327
What did Hal want to do when he saw the Lynx sinking?
Page 328 — Go and help
328
Chapter 33
Comprehension questions
How many of Rollond’s men were injured?
Page 331 — Two
331
Who did Hal have stay with the Wolves to row back in?
Page 334 — Wulf and Ulf
334
What was Tursgud’s reaction to the incident?
Page 334 — He said he didn’t realize it was so bad
334
Chapter 34
Comprehension questions
What did Zavac say was wrong with his boat?
Page 337 — He said it was leaking
337
Who was the drunk on the beach?
Page 338 — Thorn
338
Why is he pretending to be drunk?
Page 339 — To keep an eye of Zavac
339
How many assessments do the brotherbands have left?
Page 340 — Two
340
Chapter 35
Comprehension questions
Why are the Wolves out of the competition?
Page 344 — They can’t do navigation because their ship is smashed and they have to do every event
344
To win the challenge, what does the attacking team have to do?
Page 345 — Put a plaque in the slot in the top of a box
345
Did the Sharks get their plaque in the box?
Page 351 — Yes
351
Chapter 36
Comprehension questions
Who is the boy who can mimic anyone?
Page 356 — Stefan
356
What animal did Stefan pretend to be?
Page 355 — A bear
355
Where was Jesper hiding the whole time?
Page 359 — In the hut
359
Chapter 37
Comprehension questions
Who did Hal’s team forget needed to come with them on board the Heron?
Page 356 — Gort
356
What team was first to leave the harbor?
Page 368 — Sharks
368
Why was Porpoise faster than the Heron?
Page 368 — More people to row
368
Chapter 38
Comprehension questions
How does Gort feel about the Herons?
Page 376 — Impressed, hope they win
376
What did Hal and his team search for on the island as they sailed past?
Page 379 — V shape of trees
379
After they found the flags on the trees, who came sailing up behind them?
Page 381 — Porpoise
381
Chapter 39
Comprehension questions
Who was the runner the Sharks sent to retrieve the flag?
Page 382 — Tursgud
382
Who got back to the ships first?
Page 383 — Stig
383
What happened to Hal’s boat when the wind picked up?
Page 388 — The port yardarm broke
388
Chapter 40
Comprehension questions
What slowed the Porpoise down so the Heron wouldn’t crash into it?
Page 393 — A wave
393
Who made it into the harbor first and won the brotherband championship?
Page 395 — Herons
395
What did Erak say that made Hal so happy?
Page 397 — He was a true Skandian
397
Chapter 41
Comprehension questions
What were a few of the tokens the Herons received for winning the brotherband?
Page 400 — copper bracelet, new weapon, helmet, honor of guarding the Andomal
400
Why did Hal to leave his post?
Page 406 — To check his boat since the wind has changed
406
When Hal got back, what was missing?
Page 407 — The Andomal
407
Chapter 42
Comprehension questions
How did Erak react when he found out the Andomal was gone?
Page 408 — Furious
408
Why was it good that the team was sleeping?
Page 413 — Pirates would have slit their throats
413
What did Erak do when he found out that Hal left his post?
Page 416 — Took away their tokens and any sign that they had been the Herons/ Brotherband, took away Hal’s ship
416
Chapter 43
Comprehension questions
What was Thorn tempted to do again?
Page 419 — Drink
419
Who did Thorn overhear talking?
Page 422 — Herons
422
What were the Herons planning on doing?
Page 425 — Going after Zavac
425
Who was going with them to provide the money?
Page 427 — Thorn
427
Chapter 44
Comprehension questions
How did Erak feel about the Sharks joining his crew to get back the Andomal?
Page 431 — Said no
431
What did Erak say when they saw the Heron sailing?
Page 434 — “Well done boys”
434
Did Erak know the Heron team would go after the Andomal?
Page 434 — Yes
434
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