Songbird

By Steven E. Wedel

Becca is the pride of her little village until the day the wicked Trolls come down from their mountain and steal her away. The Troll king loves Becca's singing, so he takes her home and locks her in Fang Tower, where she has to sing for him whenever he wants.

Zander wanders the seas fighting pirates and looking for adventure. When he hears the sweet, sad voice of Becca floating down from Fang Tower, he knows he must rescue her.

The Troll king's price for releasing Becca may be more than Zander is able to pay, but he sets off on the adventure of a lifetime to win the treasure the Troll king demands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MoonHowler Press
• Release date: Dec 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215033425

Steven E. Wedel

Steven E. Wedel lives with his dogs, Bear and Sweet Pea, and his cat, Cleo. A lifelong Oklahoman, he grew up in Enid and now lives in Midwest City, with numerous addresses in between. He is the author of over 35 books under his name and two pseudonyms, but still has to rely on his day job of teaching high school English to keep himself and his furry dependents eating in air-conditioned comfort. Steven has four grown children and three grandsons. Be sure to visit him online and sign up for his newsletter.

Book preview

The Trolls

Once upon a time there was a place called Thardain, a land with many great cities and hundreds of small, friendly villages. People lived and worked happily together for the most part. But Thardain did have some evil people, bad places, and monsters.

The Trolls were the worst of the monsters. Almost like Men, they were, except much bigger. The Trolls had greenish skin that grew rougher and wartier as the Troll got older. Their large heads were oddly shaped with small, red eyes and big, slobbery mouths filled with long yellow teeth. The teeth were often broken and jagged because the Trolls broke them on the bones of the people and animals they ate.

Sometimes the Trolls came down from their mountain castle and marched through the peaceful villages. They captured the cows, the goats, the sheep and the scrambling, clucking chickens. They also took all the gold and silver the villagers had stored away for themselves.

And all too often, the Trolls would take the villagers, too. They herded the villagers back to their castle to eat them, sometimes cooked and sometimes raw.

The Trolls were on such an adventure one day when they came to the little village of Gladden. The people of Gladden were mostly farmers. They had many cows, goats and chickens. There were also several businesses in Gladden, places where the blacksmith worked in his sooty forge and the baker made golden loaves of delicious bread and cakes for parties. There were stores where the people bought clothes and toys and things they needed in their homes. The people of Gladden were not warriors and they were not ready for battle when the army of Trolls fell upon them.

The Trolls came marching into the village just after the morning sun had turned the sky a rosy pink color. The grass was still covered with glittering dew and the echo of the rooster’s morning call lingered on the warming air. The Trolls’ great, heavy boots stomped onto the main road of the village, churning it to mud. They gathered up all the farm animals as they came and ran them through the fields, ruining the crops the villagers had spent all spring planting.

Soon, nearly all the people of the town were gathered together in the village square. They were tied up with a heavy rope that bound them to a giant maple tree. The children cried, the women sobbed and tried to quiet the children, and the men cursed the Trolls and demanded to be let go.

But the Trolls only laughed and danced as they built a fire from bits of broken homes. They waved their swords and axes and poked the animals and villagers to see which would be the best to eat first. As the fire became bigger and hotter, the Trolls sang a nasty song:

We are the Trolls,

We’re hungry and we’re nasty and we’re mean.

We are the Trolls,

We’ve spoiled all the beauty we’ve ever seen.

"We’ve captured the people of Gladden,

And we’ve caught their animals, too.

We’ll roast the beasts of Gladden,

And put the people in our stew!

Then they began to plunder the villagers’ homes. They smashed all the fine dishes and broke the toys. They gathered up all the gold and silver and jewelry and brought it to their king, who sat in the mayor’s chair close to the fire. The Troll king laughed as he held the treasure in his hands.

The folk of Gladden were rich, indeed, he said. But they’ll have no need of such pretties any longer.