Darl and the Spider Cult — Franz S. McLaren

A simple errand to the village blacksmith should not be an adventure. However, it is the first time Darl has been permitted away from the farm without a parent. Along the way he pauses to eat and falls into a stupor. Darl awakes a prisoner on a flying ship to be questioned by a sadistic pirate about his father - a father who is obviously not the man that raised him. Unable to provide answers he is thrown, shackled and confused, overboard for the amusement of the crew. Alone, chained, in a desert of stifling heat, he is left to die. So begins the saga of Darl. Here, in this oven of a land, Darl must face a spider cult led by a wizard intent on conquering the world. Only Darl knows that, if the wizard succeeds, his actions will destroy the world he hopes to conquer. How can a sixteen-year-old boy with only farming skills hope to prevent this disaster?