'Silver In The Bone' Book Club Readalong Day 2

Welcome to the first day of our book club readalong for OwlCrate's April book, Silver In The Bone by Alexandra Bracken. 

As you now know, this month I will be running our book club in tandem with our amazing Nest moderator, Amber, who is hosting our club readalong of Silver In The Bone on the Official OwlCrate Nest discussion group. You'll be able to chat with other readers there, access way more chapter by chapter questions, and get some  AMAZING fun extra activities to go along with the discussion! Check it out HERE.

Readers who participate in the Nest's readalong will be in the running to win an OwlCrate box and one randomly chosen blog discussion participant will win a shop gift card!

Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 7-14 of Silver In The Bone , so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.

Find your discussion questions below!

The adventure continues...

Chapter 7:

Tamsin travels to Tintagel castle and attends a guided tour while a storm rolls in. She wanders and considers pieces of Arthurian legend. She leaves to go to her campsite and who is there...

It's hardly a guess at this point, it's Emrys. They egg each other on and Tamsin reaches into her bag to find a vial of Basilisk venom that she's brought with her. This venom will allow her to gain One Sight but it's toll and price is steep with terrible side effects. She places the drops in her eyes and starts to hallucinate. Tamsin collapses and Emrys lays her down gently. 



Chapter 8:

Tamsin wakes in her sleeping bag and accepts the coffee Emrys has made. Emrys reveals his magical ability to heal, he's a Greenworker. Tamsin learns that the Basilisk venom worked and that she's able to see threads of magic. 

Emrys and Tamsin pack up camp and venture into the ruins to look for clues that Nash may have left behind before his disappearance. Tamsin is drawn to one area of the ruins and she uses her knife to cut into a stone. Behind it she finds a leather bundle wrapped in a child's plaid raincoat, Tamsin's old rain coat. Inside are a slip of paper and a coin covered in tarnish. The paper has a clue on it which Tamsin and Emrys attempt to decipher. Tamsin realizes what it means but doesn't tell Emrys. 

As Tamsin puts the stone back she sees a girl that disappears quickly as well as a pack of Hollowers across the bridge toward the mainland, going in the direction of the village with someone who looks to be Tamsin's brother. 

She and Emrys follow. 



Chapter 9:

Tamsin and Emrys follow the Hollowers into the village. One of the Hollowers, Septimus, pushes Cabell into a stall in the barn behind the pub. Tamsin spots the girl she'd seen at the ruins and it turns out to be one of her patrons from the fortune teller shop, Neve. 

She's a Sorceress. And she blows up an aluminum can against the side of the barn.  As the building threatens to come down. Everyone tries to hide in a shed as Cabell shows up with Sorceress Neve...and an offer. 



Chapter 10:

Tamsin learns that Neve has been following her for a long time. She learns that Neve's auntie is the Cunningfolk that Nash sought out to locate the Arthurian dagger seven years ago. Neve proposes that she and Tamsin work together to locate the ring...and Nash. 

Neve wants the ring so that she can be accepted into the sisterhood of the Sorceresses. 

Tamsin and Cabell discuss their options and he learns that she took Basilisk venom to obtain One Sight. They discuss the note, the coin and how they're going to find Nash and the ring.  

As the note says to bury it with ash and bone, that is what they do. Using a bone from the foot of a saint and some ash, they bury both in the ground. 

It doesn't work. Emrys takes out a bottle that is capable of contacting the Hag of the Mist, a primordial creature able to manipulate the mists between the real world and the Otherworld. As they discuss options inside the shed, a darkness moves in and the shed's door is found to be open as Cabell scrambles in the dark. 

The dark fog lifts and as it does, Tamsin decides that the Otherworld location they need to go to is Avalon.  But out of the darkness they see the Hollower's and Septimus who overheard them. 



Chapter 11:

Cabell dives for the shed and their belongings but a Hollowers stops him and Tamsin gets knocked in the head. Emrys speaks to the Hollowers and convinces them that he's working against Tamsin, Neve and Cabell. He tells the Hollowers how to make it to Avalon by treating with the Hag Of The Mist. 

Emrys conceals Neve's identity and they travel to Merlin's Cave, a subluminal space. They make their way into the cave halfway and stop. Emrys calls out to the Hag and she appears. 

Emrys asks that he give her an offering in exchange for passage to Avalon. The Hag asks for a lock ofTamsin's hair. 



She gets it and the whole group travels through a type of vein to infinite dark. 

Chapter 12:

Everyone comes through to a misty clearing at the edge of a body of water. Two barges appear through the mist and everyone gets on them. Through the mist they see that once large trees are now hollowed and ash gray corpses. They leave the shore but almost immediately they spot a walking undead that spots them and disappears. From the darkness they hear soulless ear piercing screams before the undead appear from all directions and darkness sweeps in on them. 




Chapter 13:

An icy hand grabs Tamsin and Emrys severs it with an axe. The undead are Revenants, living dead that cannot be killed. Tamsin realizes that the Hollowers have been killed by them. The group runs toward the tower, as Revenants can't be in light but Septimus grabs Tamsin. Tamsin stabs him with her knife and runs. As they all run to the tower they realize that they may all die. Neve runs out of magic but suddenly there is a volley of fiery arrows. A group of knights ride in on horses and a girl dismounts to demand that Neve releases her magic. 



All the knights seem to be women and they confirm that the land they're in is Avalon. 

Chapter 14:

The group ride with the knights and Tamsin is paired with a knight by the name of Betrys. Tamsin asks if all Avalon is decayed but Betrys does not answer.  They travel to the tower of Avalon which turns out to be built into the trunk of a massive tree, "the Mother", first gift of the Goddess. 

The keeps' front gates open and the group is taken to the dungeons. They notice words carved into the walls and the group discusses the quest. The protector's of the castle eventually come to question them bringing a priestess and knight as they need healing. When they introduce themselves, Tamsin realizes that they are people of Arthurian legend and very ancient. The priestess and knight lead the group up the stairs out of the dungeon. 

 Questions:

1. 👑 Do you think Tamsin is coming around to a chosen one plot?
   

2. 💫 Would you brave the Basilisk venom if it meant you got magic?
   

3. 🚪 What do you think has happened to Avalon? 
   

4. 👀 Do you think we'll see anyone notable from Arthurian legend in Avalon?

   
   

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