Rowan of Rin (novel)
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Rowan of Rin is a children's fantasy novel by Australian author Emily Rodda. It is the first book of the Rowan of Rin series.
[edit] Plot summary
The people of Rin awake to find the stream that runs through the village, their sole source of water, running dry. It is up to Rowan of the Bukshah and 6 other villagers - Val and Ellis the Millers, Bronden the Maker of Furniture, Allun the Baker, Marlie the Weaver and Strong Jonn of the Orchard - to climb the dreaded mountain (where it is rumoured there is a dragon), and find the cause of the problem. To aid them on the quest, the witch Sheba gives the seven a map of the route they must follow, and a prophecy:
Seven hearts the journey make,
Seven ways the hearts will break.
Bravest heart will carry on,
When sleep is death and hope is gone.
Look in the fiery jaws of fear,
And see the answer white and clear.
Throw away all thoughts of home,
For only then your quest is done.
Ellis is the first to leave, due to his fear of spiders. Val, unable to go on without her twin, leaves also. At the swamp Bronden sees Minna, a deceased friend of hers, and decides to leave the group. As they enter the cave, Marlie starts becoming scared for unknown reasons. In the middle of the cave is a pool of water which Allun, as a Traveller, is unable to swim across, due to the fact that Travellers do not teach their children to swim, but leave it to the Maris. Later Marlie flees due to her claustrophobia, after almost entering a snare. Jonn and Rowan continue the journey inside a narrow passage, which Jonn begins to grow weak in as he is unable to drink water, due to the narrowness of the passage.At the top of the Mountain, the Dragon pins Jonn to the wall but Rowan saves him and the Bukshah.
