In the third book, "The Icebound Land", Will and Cassandra are taken as slaves to Skandia, a frozen, pine-forested country north-east across the Stormwhite Sea at the Araluen border. When they reach Hallasholm, the Skandian capital, Will is forced to work outside in the bitter cold of the yard, while Cassandra is taken into the kitchens. He quickly becomes addicted to warmweed, a drug that gives a person warmth but also destroys the mind and body. The Skandian who captured Will and Cassandra, Erak, sets up a plot to rid Will of his addiction and escape with Cassandra. The two succeed in escaping and take refuge in a small log cabin for winter. Following Erak's advice, Cassandra gives Will ever-decreasing amounts of warmweed at ever-increasing intervals. Soon after, Will overcomes his addiction to warmweed. Meanwhile, to rescue Will and Cassandra, Horace and Halt also set off for Skandia by crossing into Gallica and making their way north along the coast. Horace becomes known as "The Oakleaf Knight" as he defeats many Gallican knights in combat, thereby attracting the attention of Deparnieux, a famed Gallican knight. Deparnieux gets tricked by Halt and is killed. Later, Halt "accidentally" left a burning torch on a pile of oily rags, and so sparks a fire that burns Deparnieux's keep.