Hugh de Luc- Main character, poor inn keeper, "jester"
Sophie- Hugh’s wife
Phillipe- Hugh’s and Sophie’s son
Norcross- “knight” that leads the raids of villages
Baldwin of Treille- the liege lord
The story begins in 1096 in Veille du Pere, a small village in southern France. The "Army of the Crusades" came through the village of Veille du Pere looking for men to fight in the Crusades. Hugh and many other men leave their small village to fight in the Crusades.
When Hugh returns from the Crusades he finds that his village has been raided. His inn was burned down, the son he was not able to meet was killed. He also learned that his wife was beaten, raped, and abducted.
An army of unrecognizable men came into the village in search for a holy relic from the Holy Land and apparently Hugh, the poor innkeeper had it in his possession. Hugh assumes they are Baldwin's men.
"'What do holiday decoration and my lord Norcross have in common?' ...A tense silence hung in the air. 'You will find that their balls are just for decoration"
With harassing Norcross with his jokes during his performances, Hugh gets on his bad side. Hugh is also sure that Norcross was the knight who put an end to his son's life. After a few days in Treille, Hugh fails to find his wife, but avenges his wife and child by killing Norcross. Everyone already wants Hugh because of this so called holy relic he possesses but now they want him dead.
I would give this book 5 stars. It's full of suspense. At the end of each page you have to move on to the next. The book was full of jokes but also have a lot of serious, emotional moments that would bring tears to my eyes in the middle of class. The plot of the story is very interesting and overall the book is just amazing.
Credits:
Created with images by candyschwartz - "Cardiff Castle" • Meri Tosh - "Jester" • Hanna Khash - "Gold star glowing"