Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land Quiz

Answer: A bowline knot

"Svengal noticed that Will was tying himself to the mast with a neatly executed bowline knot. The girl was having some trouble, so Svengal took the rope, passed around her waist and then secured her well."

Note: This sea voyage takes them to a place called Skorghijl, where the crew, Will and Evanlyn are forced to stay because of storms.

Answer: Idiot

"'It has come to my attention,' the Ranger announced, enunciating his words with the careful precision of a man who knows he has drunk too much, 'that our good King Duncan, lord of the realm, is nothing but a poltroon.' ... 'A poltroon. A coward. And a fool,' he [Halt] said clearly."

Note: Halt is in a bar pretending to be drunk so he can get himself banished. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to go after Will because the King wouldn't let him. There is, of course, the slight chance that Duncan could execute him instead of banish him...

Answer: Parody

"She was convinced that she could organize their return and nothing he said would change her mind. He smiled at her and nodded. But it was a thin parody of his normal smile.
In his heart, he knew he was going to have to find his own way home."

Note: Evanlyn/Cassandra comes up with this plan before they find out that Ragnak, the Oberjarl, has sworn a Vallasvow against King Duncan's family. This means Ragnak has sworn to kill every member of the family he finds.

Answer: 10

"She [The "Wolf Fang"] was listing heavily, and she sat a good deal lower in the water than she should. The guardrail on the downward side of the list was barely ten centimeters from the water."

Note: *Sigh* More work for Will and Evanlyn. It's bad enough they had to do all the work for their own group of Skandians.

Answer: A walrus beaching itself on a shingle

"Will was scrubbing the platters when he heard the massively built Skandian approaching. Either that, he thought, or a walrus was beaching itself on a shingle."

Note: This is where Will asks Erak was a Vallasvow really is, and Will realizes that he and Evanlyn really have to get out of there. Unfortunately, their try ends up in failure. Oh well, try, try, try again.

Answer: Pancake

"'I said you were Sir Horace of the Order of the Oakleaf," Halt told him [Horace], then added uncertainly, 'At least, I think that's what I told him. I may have said you were of the Order of the Oak Pancake.'"

Note: This was my favorite part of the book. I was laughing hysterically. You know what I mean if you've read the whole section that contains this piece.

Answer: Cutting salt pork

"Unnoticed, the apprentice Ranger retained one of the knives--a heavy, double-edged knife that was used to carve portions of salt pork for the table."

Note: Will slings this knife expertly at the barrel that has been set up to represent Slagor. He hits the barrel, almost exactly in the middle of the "eyes".

Answer: The Loka

"'He's [Erak's] caught the Loka's current perfectly,' Svengal told them [Will and Evanlyn] as he prepared to climb to the lookout position on the mast's crosstrees."

Note: Erak's crew look up to Erak, rather then Slagor's crew. Slagor's crew have absolutely no respect for their captain.

Answer: Honey

"Horace spooned a large helping of honey into his cup, watched with a frown by the Ranger.
'Killing the taste of good coffee,' Halt muttered at him. Horace merely grinned. He was getting used to his companion's mock severity by now."

Note: Horace answers Halt by telling him that he learned that habit from Will. This is the same tavern in which they meet Lord Deparnieux, who takes Halt and Horace (virtually) prisoner.

Answer: A sorcerer

"Deparnieux, like many of his countrymen, was more than a little superstitious. He suspected that the cloak's [Halt's cloak] strange properties could be some form of sorcery."

Note: Deparnieux thinks this because of the cloak's camouflage. Deparnieux eventually deduces that Halt is not a sorcerer, but in doing so completely underestimates Halt.

Answer: Dull and featureless

"It was midafternoon on another wintry day in Montsombre. The forest that spread out below them was dull and featureless--from this height it looked like a rough carpet."

Note: Halt and Horace's room is high up in a tower. The door to their room is exactly guarded, but there's no handle on the inside of the door and the door remains locked. Honestly, they might as well be in a cell.

Answer: Western

"The room smelled of damp and mustiness and she [Evanlyn] wrinkled her nose momentarily, then realized that once she had a fire burning in the stone fireplace that composed most of the western wall, she could do something that dispel the smells."

Note: Erak helps Will and Evanlyn escape from Hallasholm and tells Evanlyn how to get to the cabin. Will is not much help, because he is suffering from a warmweed addiction. Evanlyn, train in the way of a lady from the most part, is left to fend for the both of them.

Answer: "Good"

"'Good,' he [Will] said briefly, and then his gaze fell to the tiny mound of dried warmweed in his hand. He turned away from her [Evanlyn], hunching over the hand as he brought it to his mouth."

Note: Poor Will, poor Evanlyn. Stuck in snowy mountains, and Will can't help at all. Evanlyn is trying to wean Will off the warmweed, slowly. When she tried to get him to stop cold turkey...let's just say she's not going to repeat the experience.

Answer: False

"The old leather hinges on the cabin door creaked as she [Evanlyn] swung it inward. The noise was enough to draw Will's attention to her. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the cabin, much as he had been when she left, some hours earlier."

Note: This is when Evanlyn comes back after unsuccessfully trying to shoot a rabbit with a hunting bow. Evanlyn eventually does catch a rabbit, only with a sling.

Answer: The trip to Hallasholm

"Then he [Will] remembered. His bow had been lost, taken from him by the Skandians at the bridge. And as that memory came back, so did others: ... and then the trip onward to Hallasholm.
And then...And then, nothing."

Note: Hooray! Finally Will's back!

I hope you enjoyed my quiz and found out how much you were paying attention!