“The Lord of Laughter, the Monarch of Mirth, the King of Comedy”— if only bumbling Sebastian Darke could live up to these epithets and be a successful jester like his father. The problem is, Sebastian’s never been very funny. But after his father’s death, with no choice but to beg in the streets, the half-human, half-elf teen sets off with Max, his father’s slightly cynical and fully self-important Buffalope, to offer his services as a jester to King Septimus of Keladon—rumored to be one of the richest monarchs in the world.
On the way, the pair meets Captain Cornelius Drummel, small in stature but the fiercest of fighters. The three rescue the fair princess and soon-to-be-queen, Kerin, who’s being held captive by brigands, and happily escort her back home. If only Sebastian knew that the kidnapping was part of a plot engineered by the evil King Septimus. A plot that poor Sebastian has now foiled. No one would dare challenge the king. No one but a fool.