A vagabond Viking adventurer and a Moor both compete to find "The Mother of All Voices", a legendary golden bell near the Pillars of Hercules.
There is a legend about a great bell called "The Mother of Voices," made of pure gold, three times the size of a man, made by monks many years ago... This is the story told in the marketplace by a Viking called Rolfe. This information finds its way to the Islamic ruler Aly Manush, who is obsessed with finding the bell. But Rolfe claims not to know where the bell is, and escapes back to his homeland, to convince his father and brother to give him a ship and crew to replace the one he lost--or to help him steal the Death Ship which belongs to the king--because he does know where the bell is.—Gary Dickerson <[email protected]>
A Viking thane (nobleman) and master-shipbuilder's adventurous son Rolfe returns after years of adventurous plundering, claiming he's on the trace of the legendary golden bell. After King Harald of Nordland pays the latest ship, ordered in advance for the royal funeral, pittance by deducting due tribute, the thane is amused his son has already pressed his younger bothers and a whole crew aboard for his treasure hunt, and assured safe passage by kidnapping the royal princess. They reach the Moorish tyrant Aly Mansur's Barbary Coast domain, but are overpowered and enslaved by his massive army. Torture and death threats lead to an uneasy alliance on the gold quest, basically a truce until the final confrontation at their return.—KGF Vissers
After returning to his homeland, Viking sailor Rolfe steals King Harald's funeral boat--and kidnaps Harald's daughter as insurance--to return to the Moorish coast. He lost his first boat there in a storm but heard tales of a solid-gold bell as tall as three tall men, forged centuries before by monks. Also interested in the bell is the local leader, Aly Mansuh, whose interest verges on obsession. After several confrontations between the two, they set off to find the bell--and, they hope, a fortune in gold.—garykmcd
