All is not well in the Kingdom of Vàldovar, and King Ferdinand the Thirteenth has to do something about it – quickly! The evil King Madrak is about to invade and Zorath the Blacksmith is in deep trouble over a golden hammer. Queen Berenice is working far too hard on a wonderful tapestry, Doctor Abladur is baffled by a strange sickness sweeping over the land, and Prince Almeric is thoroughly miserable (but doesn’t know why). King Ferdinand’s friend the Wizard-who-lives-in-the-Wood offers some very strange help in solving these thorny problems.