~DARK WATERS~
by IceAngel
SUMMARY - My version of Deltora QuestIII. The oceans and rivers of Deltora turn black, and Sharn falls ill to a poison so deadly an antidote cannot be found in Deltora. Loyalties divide and hearts are torn apart by the quest to save the mother of the King. But is it all just a plot to draw the King from his people and leave Deltora defenceless?
GENRE - 'action/adventure' for the usual Deltora action and 'romance' for Lief/Jasmine and some other relationships I've included.
MAIN CHARACTERS - Lief, Jasmine, Barda, Doom, Sharn etc . .
DISCLAIMER - All characters and places belong to Emily Rodda. I don't own copies of the books so if anyone spots any mistakes in the plot or spelling of people and places, let me know. Enjoy! please take a moment to R & R :D
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2 - The Game
Lief burst from the corridor into the wide entrance hall, stopping short when he saw Barda had reached there before him. The man held a body in his arms and Lief did not need to look closer to know it was Jasmine . . .
Lief rushed to Barda's side, and sure enough Jasmine lay in the big man's arms. Her tangled hair was swept back from her pale face, and there was a bloody streak across her forehead.
Barda looked up quickly, "Lief, I found her shortly after I left you. But fear not, she is mostly unharmed."
"What happened? Who did this?" Lief asked, some of his frantic worry seeping away at Barda's words. They moved together from the entrance hall, Lief never taking his gaze from Jasmine's closed eyes.
"The palace guards are still searching, though it appears the culprit is long gone. Jasmine must have come across the intruder before he stabbed the man we found. She received a blow to the head and would have been unconscious before she could call for help," Barda stared intensely at Lief for a moment, "there was nothing you could have done."
Lief raised a hand and wiped away the perspiration that had gathered on his brow. "We must take her to my mother," he said, opening the door to the corridor. "She will be attending the man we found.
Lief walked ahead as Barda carried the unconscious Jasmine up the stairs. They found Sharn in one of the small guest rooms, hovering over the bed in which the man lay. There was, by chance, another bed in the room, and Barda set Jasmine gently down upon it. Sharn turned to face them as they entered.
"What has happened?" she asked, looking past her son to where Jasmine lay.
"Just a bump on the head," Barda said, "perhaps you could take a look at her." Sharn set down the tea she had been drinking on the bedside table and moved to over to Jasmine. Everyone watched as Sharn checked for Jasmine damage. There did not seem to be any serious harm done.
Lief turned his head quickly as a noise from behind him attracted his attention. The man was awake! His chalk white hand was reaching out for the glass of water on the side table. In his delirious state, the man had accidentally grasped Sharn's cup of tea instead.
Lief lifted the tea cup out of the way and placed the water into the man's hand. The man grabbed at the glass, grunting something indecipherable.
"Lief?" a weak voice asked. Lief spun around quickly, pushing his mother's tea into her hands. Jasmine was awake! He knelt down by the bed, reaching out for her hand. She grasped it weakly, smiling up at him. Then suddenly her eyes alighted on something behind him, and her mouth opened in shock.
"You!" she snarled, with such vehemence that Lief thought the blow her head must have confused her. Jasmine sat up at once, resisting Lief's protests. "Lief he . . ."
Then everything seemed to happen at once. The man threw the covers back and was in his feet in less than a moment. He had grabbed the knife Sharn had removed from his wound, and was lunging forwards before anyone had time to react. The knife slashed downwards, cutting deep into Barda's sword arm, and preventing him from going for his weapon. The next moment he had twisted Barda's arm behind him, holding him fast.
Lief started up in horror, realising too late how dangerous it had been to let an unknown man into their house. It was then that Sharn started coughing. Her cup of tea fell from her hand and crashed to the floor, sending fragments of china spraying around the room.
"You," Jasmine hissed from behind him, "you were the one that struck me. You, you stabbed yourself to get inside the palace. You . . ."
"Sharn!" Barda roared, struggling and twisting in the man's grip, while Sharn was bent over, clutching her stomach.
"There is nothing you can do," another voice snarled. "The poison has already taken affect." The man was laughing with an insane glint in his eyes. Lief had no weapon, nothing by which to help Barda or his mother. He clung to Sharn's shoulders, helping her to sit on the side of Jasmine's bed. The coughing suddenly ceased, and Sharn fell limp in her son's arms.
"What have you done?" Barda gasped, watching with horror as Lief layed Sharn back upon the bed.
"You are all so predictable," the man laughed. "All I had to do was make myself appear to be injured and I knew you'd take me in. You are a fool Lief of Del, a fool in a king's crown!" The man's eyes blazed into Lief's own, and Lief felt a shudder run through his entire body. How had the man known who he was?
All of a sudden, the door flew open behind the man, and a thin sword came to rest at the side of his throat. "Predictable are we?" Doom's steady voice asked.
A strange smile crossed the man's face as he saw the blade resting above his shoulder "Ah yes, Doom. Perhaps you are the least predictable of this sorry lot, but I can tell you exactly what you will do next." Doom's eyes flicked around the room, and came to rest upon Sharn's body upon the bed. Lief could see the pain and the anger in the dark eyes at the sight.
"Release him," Doom ordered, moving his sword closer to emphasise the point. The man released Barda's arms, letting him stumble forwards out of his grasp.
Barda turned at once, drawing his sword with bloody hand and levelling it at his attacker. "What have you done to her?" he growled.
The man merely smiled, taking in the pale faces around the room. "My master wishes to test the strength of those who recovered the Belt of Deltora, who found the Pirran Pipe. He knows you all by name, he knows your strengths and weaknesses. He knows your connections to her," he gestured to Sharn, "and to each other.
Lief realised that their love and friendship for each other did, in a way, make them weak. But what this cruel, cold man could not see, was that their friendship also made them strong. They would all willingly give their lives for each other.
"My master wants to see how strong you would be without your precious Belt, without the help of powerful friends," the man went on. "He bade me give you this," the man held out a yellowed scrap of paper to Lief, wincing as the tip of Barda's sword pricked his skin. "And with it he condemns me to death, for I am of no more use to you and you will surely kill me for what I have done."
There was silence "Who sent you?" Jasmine asked at last.
"I have told you what I know, the rest is a riddle you must solve if you wish to save her. Your perils begin here and now!" With a sudden ferocity, the man gripped his hand around the blade of Barda's sword, pushing it aside and drawing blood, then lunged at Lief.
He was dead before he had taken a step. Doom withdrew his blade and let the body slump to the floor, a scowl upon his face. He called for the body to be removed, and in less than three minutes all trace of the man had left the room, all, except a red stain where he had fallen.
No one spoke for a long time. And to Lief, who was sitting by the bed holding his mother's hand, it seemed as though it was his responsibility to say something. He blinked back tears and stood, gazing round at the expectant faces of his friends.
"Read the note, Lief," Jasmine prompted gently, "we must know the worst at once."
Lief nodded glumly. A kind of numbness had settled over him, and everything seemed as though it was a dream. He spread out the crinkled yellow paper and read . . .
~King of Deltora,
Your mother will die within twenty days if you do not seek for her cure~
Lief swallowed. Twenty days, such a short time!
~I have heard of your skill with words, and hope, for your mother's sake, you will consent to play my game of wits~
"Game?" Barda growled in disgust. "We are to play, I suppose. And Sharn's life is to be the stakes."
Doom nodded, "It is a deadly choice. We must think carefully before acting."
Lief glanced at the last paragraph.
~Your first clue, Lief of Del. And your last should you fail to decipher it.
~Spin the wheel, play my games
lest all you love goes up in flames
Over the hills and far away,
six shall pass, three shall stay
No protection you shall find,
for all your fame was left behind
For comfort look not to the trees,
poison hunts upon the breeze
The answer lies for what you seek,
where buzzards crawl and insects creep~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author's note..
1) thanks so much for reading
2) please tell me what you thought of it!
3) Help! I don't own copies of any of the books! Could someone please tell me the name of the three Kin (is that how to spell it?) that carry our heroes to dread mountain. I can't write any more until I find out. I know Ailsa (adventurous) but I need the names and character types of the other two, and the little baby Kin.
4) Is it the 'fountain of truth' that gave the Kin their dreams? I need the name!
5) Does anyone know Barda's mother's name? Was it 'Min?'
Thanks so much, please take the time to check your books and give me a hand with my questions! Ahh Desperate! thanks! :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~replies to reviews~
*Pen2* - Your very perceptive to pick my link with Sharn and Barda. I won't mind at all if you do it too, because you haven't seen all I've got planned there. Did you like my rhyme? Not as good as Emily Rodda's but I tried :) Thanks for putting me of your fave authors list
*Mary-Sue Annihilation squad* -Thanks! And thanks also for putting me on your fave authors list :D
*PastaPrincess* - I love DQ tooo! thanks for reviewing!
*lozza-pilgrim* - thanks ^.^ nice complement! Hope you liked this one too :D
*Dal'smourner* - 2 reviews?? cool! Thanks heaps!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by IceAngel
SUMMARY - My version of Deltora QuestIII. The oceans and rivers of Deltora turn black, and Sharn falls ill to a poison so deadly an antidote cannot be found in Deltora. Loyalties divide and hearts are torn apart by the quest to save the mother of the King. But is it all just a plot to draw the King from his people and leave Deltora defenceless?
GENRE - 'action/adventure' for the usual Deltora action and 'romance' for Lief/Jasmine and some other relationships I've included.
MAIN CHARACTERS - Lief, Jasmine, Barda, Doom, Sharn etc . .
DISCLAIMER - All characters and places belong to Emily Rodda. I don't own copies of the books so if anyone spots any mistakes in the plot or spelling of people and places, let me know. Enjoy! please take a moment to R & R :D
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2 - The Game
Lief burst from the corridor into the wide entrance hall, stopping short when he saw Barda had reached there before him. The man held a body in his arms and Lief did not need to look closer to know it was Jasmine . . .
Lief rushed to Barda's side, and sure enough Jasmine lay in the big man's arms. Her tangled hair was swept back from her pale face, and there was a bloody streak across her forehead.
Barda looked up quickly, "Lief, I found her shortly after I left you. But fear not, she is mostly unharmed."
"What happened? Who did this?" Lief asked, some of his frantic worry seeping away at Barda's words. They moved together from the entrance hall, Lief never taking his gaze from Jasmine's closed eyes.
"The palace guards are still searching, though it appears the culprit is long gone. Jasmine must have come across the intruder before he stabbed the man we found. She received a blow to the head and would have been unconscious before she could call for help," Barda stared intensely at Lief for a moment, "there was nothing you could have done."
Lief raised a hand and wiped away the perspiration that had gathered on his brow. "We must take her to my mother," he said, opening the door to the corridor. "She will be attending the man we found.
Lief walked ahead as Barda carried the unconscious Jasmine up the stairs. They found Sharn in one of the small guest rooms, hovering over the bed in which the man lay. There was, by chance, another bed in the room, and Barda set Jasmine gently down upon it. Sharn turned to face them as they entered.
"What has happened?" she asked, looking past her son to where Jasmine lay.
"Just a bump on the head," Barda said, "perhaps you could take a look at her." Sharn set down the tea she had been drinking on the bedside table and moved to over to Jasmine. Everyone watched as Sharn checked for Jasmine damage. There did not seem to be any serious harm done.
Lief turned his head quickly as a noise from behind him attracted his attention. The man was awake! His chalk white hand was reaching out for the glass of water on the side table. In his delirious state, the man had accidentally grasped Sharn's cup of tea instead.
Lief lifted the tea cup out of the way and placed the water into the man's hand. The man grabbed at the glass, grunting something indecipherable.
"Lief?" a weak voice asked. Lief spun around quickly, pushing his mother's tea into her hands. Jasmine was awake! He knelt down by the bed, reaching out for her hand. She grasped it weakly, smiling up at him. Then suddenly her eyes alighted on something behind him, and her mouth opened in shock.
"You!" she snarled, with such vehemence that Lief thought the blow her head must have confused her. Jasmine sat up at once, resisting Lief's protests. "Lief he . . ."
Then everything seemed to happen at once. The man threw the covers back and was in his feet in less than a moment. He had grabbed the knife Sharn had removed from his wound, and was lunging forwards before anyone had time to react. The knife slashed downwards, cutting deep into Barda's sword arm, and preventing him from going for his weapon. The next moment he had twisted Barda's arm behind him, holding him fast.
Lief started up in horror, realising too late how dangerous it had been to let an unknown man into their house. It was then that Sharn started coughing. Her cup of tea fell from her hand and crashed to the floor, sending fragments of china spraying around the room.
"You," Jasmine hissed from behind him, "you were the one that struck me. You, you stabbed yourself to get inside the palace. You . . ."
"Sharn!" Barda roared, struggling and twisting in the man's grip, while Sharn was bent over, clutching her stomach.
"There is nothing you can do," another voice snarled. "The poison has already taken affect." The man was laughing with an insane glint in his eyes. Lief had no weapon, nothing by which to help Barda or his mother. He clung to Sharn's shoulders, helping her to sit on the side of Jasmine's bed. The coughing suddenly ceased, and Sharn fell limp in her son's arms.
"What have you done?" Barda gasped, watching with horror as Lief layed Sharn back upon the bed.
"You are all so predictable," the man laughed. "All I had to do was make myself appear to be injured and I knew you'd take me in. You are a fool Lief of Del, a fool in a king's crown!" The man's eyes blazed into Lief's own, and Lief felt a shudder run through his entire body. How had the man known who he was?
All of a sudden, the door flew open behind the man, and a thin sword came to rest at the side of his throat. "Predictable are we?" Doom's steady voice asked.
A strange smile crossed the man's face as he saw the blade resting above his shoulder "Ah yes, Doom. Perhaps you are the least predictable of this sorry lot, but I can tell you exactly what you will do next." Doom's eyes flicked around the room, and came to rest upon Sharn's body upon the bed. Lief could see the pain and the anger in the dark eyes at the sight.
"Release him," Doom ordered, moving his sword closer to emphasise the point. The man released Barda's arms, letting him stumble forwards out of his grasp.
Barda turned at once, drawing his sword with bloody hand and levelling it at his attacker. "What have you done to her?" he growled.
The man merely smiled, taking in the pale faces around the room. "My master wishes to test the strength of those who recovered the Belt of Deltora, who found the Pirran Pipe. He knows you all by name, he knows your strengths and weaknesses. He knows your connections to her," he gestured to Sharn, "and to each other.
Lief realised that their love and friendship for each other did, in a way, make them weak. But what this cruel, cold man could not see, was that their friendship also made them strong. They would all willingly give their lives for each other.
"My master wants to see how strong you would be without your precious Belt, without the help of powerful friends," the man went on. "He bade me give you this," the man held out a yellowed scrap of paper to Lief, wincing as the tip of Barda's sword pricked his skin. "And with it he condemns me to death, for I am of no more use to you and you will surely kill me for what I have done."
There was silence "Who sent you?" Jasmine asked at last.
"I have told you what I know, the rest is a riddle you must solve if you wish to save her. Your perils begin here and now!" With a sudden ferocity, the man gripped his hand around the blade of Barda's sword, pushing it aside and drawing blood, then lunged at Lief.
He was dead before he had taken a step. Doom withdrew his blade and let the body slump to the floor, a scowl upon his face. He called for the body to be removed, and in less than three minutes all trace of the man had left the room, all, except a red stain where he had fallen.
No one spoke for a long time. And to Lief, who was sitting by the bed holding his mother's hand, it seemed as though it was his responsibility to say something. He blinked back tears and stood, gazing round at the expectant faces of his friends.
"Read the note, Lief," Jasmine prompted gently, "we must know the worst at once."
Lief nodded glumly. A kind of numbness had settled over him, and everything seemed as though it was a dream. He spread out the crinkled yellow paper and read . . .
~King of Deltora,
Your mother will die within twenty days if you do not seek for her cure~
Lief swallowed. Twenty days, such a short time!
~I have heard of your skill with words, and hope, for your mother's sake, you will consent to play my game of wits~
"Game?" Barda growled in disgust. "We are to play, I suppose. And Sharn's life is to be the stakes."
Doom nodded, "It is a deadly choice. We must think carefully before acting."
Lief glanced at the last paragraph.
~Your first clue, Lief of Del. And your last should you fail to decipher it.
~Spin the wheel, play my games
lest all you love goes up in flames
Over the hills and far away,
six shall pass, three shall stay
No protection you shall find,
for all your fame was left behind
For comfort look not to the trees,
poison hunts upon the breeze
The answer lies for what you seek,
where buzzards crawl and insects creep~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author's note..
1) thanks so much for reading
2) please tell me what you thought of it!
3) Help! I don't own copies of any of the books! Could someone please tell me the name of the three Kin (is that how to spell it?) that carry our heroes to dread mountain. I can't write any more until I find out. I know Ailsa (adventurous) but I need the names and character types of the other two, and the little baby Kin.
4) Is it the 'fountain of truth' that gave the Kin their dreams? I need the name!
5) Does anyone know Barda's mother's name? Was it 'Min?'
Thanks so much, please take the time to check your books and give me a hand with my questions! Ahh Desperate! thanks! :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~replies to reviews~
*Pen2* - Your very perceptive to pick my link with Sharn and Barda. I won't mind at all if you do it too, because you haven't seen all I've got planned there. Did you like my rhyme? Not as good as Emily Rodda's but I tried :) Thanks for putting me of your fave authors list
*Mary-Sue Annihilation squad* -Thanks! And thanks also for putting me on your fave authors list :D
*PastaPrincess* - I love DQ tooo! thanks for reviewing!
*lozza-pilgrim* - thanks ^.^ nice complement! Hope you liked this one too :D
*Dal'smourner* - 2 reviews?? cool! Thanks heaps!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~