Little Ivar and his sister Freja follow a strange horn sound from their Viking village into the forest beyond the fjord, where the snow hides something odd.
Behind the snow-topped mountains, on the shore of a wide fjord, stood a Viking village with smoke curling from its roofs and ice glittering on the ground. That was where Ivar lived with his big sister, Freja. Ivar was seven and full of questions. Freja was nine, quick-footed and never one to turn back from a mystery.
One cold morning, while the grass still held silver drops of dew, they heard it.
A long, low sound drifted over the fjord from the dark forest on the far side.
It was not a wolf howling. It was not a bird calling. It sounded like a horn, deep and strange, as if someone hidden among the trees was sending a message.
Ivar sat up at once. "Did you hear that, Freja?"
Freja listened again, her head tilted. "I heard it. Come on. We should see where it’s coming from."
Their mother had said they could play near home, but not far. Still, the horn called again, and curiosity tugged at both of them like a strong wind. They pulled on thick coats, warm hats, and boots, then slipped quietly across the log bridge and onto the forest path.
The trees closed around them. Pine branches whispered overhead. Ravens flapped from one branch to another, black against the pale sky. Snow crunched under their feet.
Ivar stayed close to Freja, gripping her mittened hand.
Then the horn sounded once more.
This time it seemed much nearer.
A little farther on, behind a berry bush dusted with snow, something flashed silver in the light. Freja parted the branches, and both children froze.
A small horn lay wedged into the bark of an old oak tree.
Beside it were footprints in the snow. They were not wolf tracks or deer tracks. They were round, strange, and twisted, like something had slid or tiptoed through the forest.
Freja knelt to look closer. "Ivar... who leaves a horn in a tree?"
Before Ivar could answer, the snow cracked sharply behind them.
Someone, or something, had just stepped out of the trees and touched his shoulder.