The Book of Lergat: The Second Elf Adventure

By Sandra McPherson

A beautiful golden, leather, covered book encrusted with jewels is found by the Moards, working in the mines of the Magenta Mountains and brought to King Gidleron of Dordom. The cover simply says 'Scyra Zorkia'. The language in the book is unknown to Gidley (as he is known to his friends) and he tries to find a clue to the books origin by searching his palace library. He cannot find any other book with the same language or any mention of Scyra Zorkia. The harder he searches, the more frustrated he becomes.

When friends come for a visit, Gidley hopes one of them may know something about the book, but unfortunately, they are as baffled as he is and can't answer any of his questions.

Trying to find the answers to this intriguing book sends Gidley and his friends on a wild and funny adventure, that is not without danger. The perils they face and the fear of the unknown won't keep these determined heroes from their quest to solve the puzzle of the books origin.

Little by little, they discover clues to the books secret. What they find at the end of their journey stuns them and solves a long time mystery that will impact all of the Kings and Queens in the Realms of Yonder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504920872

Sandra McPherson

This is the second book by Sandra McPherson. An avid reader all her life Sandra is also an award winning artist and award winning photographer. When she isn't writing Sandra enjoys crafting, gardening and cooking. Sandra is retired and lives in Taunton, MA with her husband, Robert 'Mac".

Book preview

THE BOOK

OF LERGAT

The Second Elf Adventure

SANDRA MCPHERSON

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2015 Sandra McPherson. All rights reserved.

Cover art and Illustrations by

Dana M. Richardi

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  08/28/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2089-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2088-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2087-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015910878

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Table of Contents

The Moards Find A Treasure

Searching For Clues

The Healer

Visitors

Off To See Jessop

a history of the moards

An Audience With King Ryin

A Visit With An Old Friend

A Very Close Call

A New Companion

Unhappy Traveling

Getting Back To Neer

Sharrock At Last

Jessop Gets The Story

Visiting Old Friends

Planning Their Trip

Into The Dark Forest

The Wise Woman On The Mountain

The Plain Of Mists

The Compound

The Surprise In The Cave

Lergat Tells His Story

The Secret Of The Gifts

Final Business

Heading Back To Sharrock

Hail The New Hero

The Trip Back Home

Back In Dordom

About the Author

This book is dedicated to my husband Mac. He makes everything possible.

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The map of the Realms of Yonder

Chapter 1

THE MOARDS FIND A TREASURE

It was a bright, but cool spring day. The sun was up and shining through the stained glass windows of the palace, throwing a rainbow of colors across the drab, gray, stone walls and floor.

King Gidleron of Dordom sat at the massive oak table contemplating his third scone. He was alone at the table that could easily seat twenty-one more guests, if there had been any. This morning his grandmother, Queen Mother Dorletta, was not feeling well so she had chosen to remain upstairs, in her chambers, having her breakfast with her loyal hand maiden, Yanna.

It had been a long, very cold and snowy winter here in Dordom and Gidley, as he was known to his close friends, was glad spring had finally arrived.

‘I miss all my friends,’ thought Gidley. ‘I guess now that spring is here I should make plans to go visit some of them and find out what is happening outside my world here in Dordom.’

Gidley was a young, handsome Elf, who stood about four feet tall with green eyes and brown hair. He hadn’t been the King of Dordom for very long. It was a little less than a year ago when he had been just a plain Elf, living in Sharrock. Then he was hailed a hero when he saved an old Elf from attack by a lupode, was awarded a famous dagger, had the dagger stolen and then had to go find it and save everyone from a terrible war. Of course he didn’t do all of this alone. He had five trusty friends who started out with him on his journey and he picked up many more friends along the way. He also found a grandmother he didn’t know he had and oh, yeah, he became king.

‘Had all that really happened in such a short time?’ Gidley questioned to himself. ‘Oh, yes. It really did.’

As he drank his tea, he thought about all his friends.

First, Casha, the beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed Elf that Gidley loved most in the world, aside from his grandmother, had gone back to her home in Sharrock. Way south of where Gidley now found himself. She told Gidley that she felt too much had happened to them all and she needed some time to get her thoughts in order. The last time Gidley had seen Casha was at the beginning of winter, when he was invited back to the Winter Ball at the palace of Queen Findra of Sharrock.

Gidley had asked his friend Prince Dashel of Thorpeshire to go with him, as Dash’s parents, King Handor and Queen Willa didn’t wish to travel that far in the beginning of the winter season. Dash was anxious to see Bellina, who was the love of his life, and was happy to go with Gidley on the journey.

They had had a fine time at the ball, but afterwards when Gidley tried to talk to Casha about their future, she refused to discuss it with him, just saying she wasn’t ready to make future plans yet.

She had seemed distant and acted funny around Gidley the whole time he was in Sharrock. It left Gidley feeling very insecure and wondering what had happened to their close friendship, not to mention that they had talked of marriage before all that had happened to them. Now he doubted that a wedding would happen any time soon. He left Sharrock feeling sad and all these months later he didn’t feel any better.

Gidley thought about his friend, Bellina. She had long black hair and dark hazel eyes and she was extremely beautiful. She had met Prince Dash on their big adventure last year. And she and Dash were now engaged, but they had not yet set a date for their wedding either. She, too, had decided to go back to Sharrock last year, even though King Handor and Queen Willa invited her to live in apartments at their palace until the wedding. And like Gidley, Dash had found Bellina a little distant, when they finally got together again.

They discussed it on their way back home, after the Winter Ball, but neither had an answer to the change in attitude they had both experienced. They were baffled.

Gidley, Casha and Bellina had been close friends all their lives. They had grown up together and they were all about the same age. They always had fun together and they had a special bond. While they all had other friends in Sharrock, both male and female, no one was closer than these three.

Gidley’s friend Dira, who was the oldest of the group, was like a brother, as Gidley’s parents had been killed when he was very young. Gidley had gone to live with Dira’s family, Borely and Marta, until he was old enough to be on his own. The cottage Gidley eventually moved into was the one formerly owned by his parents. Dira’s family kept it clean and in good repair so Gidley would have a place to live, when he was ready to leave their home.

Rather than leave the cottage empty for years, Marta had rented it out to a young couple and the money she collected from them was put aside for Gidley. The couple had lived there for quite a few years, but when the husband had to go to war, the woman and her two children moved back in with her parents. It then stood empty for a couple of years, until Gidley was ready to go out on his own.

Dira, a farmer by trade, was now married to his long time love, Maye, and they had moved into that cottage that had been Gidley’s home. Gidley had presented it to them on their wedding day. They were surprised and happy with this most generous gift.

Gidley had loved that little cottage. It was the only thing he had from his parents. It was cosy and warm, not like the drafty, stone palace he now lived in. He knew Dira and Maye would take excellent care of it, so he was glad to pass it on to them.

Reyal, was a carpenter by trade and Jinto, the stonemason, were Gidley’s other two friends. While Dira, Jinto and Reyal were all close with Casha, Bellina and Gidley, they were older by a few years. Before they had all gone on their last adventure together, all six of them hadn’t always hung out together. Now, the events of last year made them close friends for life.

In fact their lives had depended on each other.

Bellina’s mother had died shortly after Bellina was born and she had been raised by her father. Both Casha and Bellina lost their fathers during the Great Elf War, that took place many years ago and Casha’s mother then raised the two girls. They were closer than sisters.

Sadly, about five years ago, Casha’s mother, Delene, had died suddenly, after she became very ill. Before the healer of Sharrock could get to her, Delene had passed away. Some thought she had eaten some poison berries that she had found, while gathering provisions for winter.

Casha stayed in the home she had shared with her mother, but Bellina decided to move back to the home she had lived in before her father’s death. She felt the same about her parents cottage, as Gidley did about his cottage. It was all she had from them.

Gidley’s friend, Reyal was still courting the beautiful healer, Amelli, whom he met during their last adventure. She lived with her father, Murkle, in the town of Neer, where he ran the Silver Bell Inn. They had failed to set a wedding date themselves, but everyone knew it was just a matter of time before they were going to take that next step. No one could guess why they were waiting.

Reyal’s brother, Levat, had met and fallen in love with Princess Mena of Thorpeshire, Dash’s young sister. Levat was in Thorpeshire right now helping to build the manor house that he and Princess Mena would live in when they were married. Mena did not want to live in the palace with her parents and three brothers, so her father, King Handor, had given her land near to the palace, but far enough away to give the couple privacy. Her brothers, being older, had always looked after her, but they treated her more like she was their daughter, not a sister. That is why she decided that when she was married, she wanted herself and Levat to be on their own, far from the watchful eyes of both her parents and her siblings.

Reyal and Levat were carpenters and furniture makers and both were planning to put a lot of time into, not only building the home, but also making most of the furniture. Reyal was coming soon to Thorpeshire, to help his brother with the building. He wanted to make sure that his brother and future sister-in-law had a nice snug, safe house to live in and raise their children.

Jinto, the stonemason, lived in Vartu, in a small house near Gidley’s palace. He was quite smitten with the lovely, red haired, hand maiden, who served Gidley’s grandmother and he was the only one of the original group of friends who had decided to stay with Gidley in Dordom. However, even Jinto wasn’t around today. In fact, he had been in Thorpeshire for about a week now. Jinto was called on to help set the foundation for the manor house and he would also build the fireplaces and stone walls around the property.

Lost in thought, Gidley jumped when he finally realized that someone was knocking on the open door leading into the dining hall.

What! Gidley yelped. Goodness! You scared me half to death.

Sorry your Majesty, the servant said, bowing his head. There are a couple of Moards from the mines here to see you. They say it is urgent or I wouldn’t have disturbed you, sire.

That’s okay, Gidley said, gulping down the last of his tea. You can show them in.

Two Moards, known to Gidley as Rac and Zor came into the room. Zor was carrying a small chest that was about a foot long and eight inches wide and stood about six inches high. It was golden in color and was adorned with various gems placed in a decorative pattern all over the outside.

What do you have there? Gidley asked them. Where did you find it?

Well, sire, we came across this tunnel deep in the mines. We followed it and it was long, but then we came to a pile of rocks that had either fallen in and blocked the tunnel, or were placed there to hide what was inside. We removed the rocks and the tunnel ended in a small room and this chest was sitting in the middle. When we saw the chest, we thought the rocks were most likely placed there to hide the room. We knew it was something we should let you know about.

The Moards were goblin like creatures, tall and thin with very white skin, due to the fact that they rarely came out into the sunlight. They lived inside the Magenta Mountains, in a place they called Drog, and mined the old shafts that were abandoned by the Gnomes of Kimbarton. The Gnomes had only been interested in finding the rare gem, kimbar, and there had not been kimbars found in those mines in many years. There were, however, treasures still hidden in those mountains. Gidley let the Moards live there, just as the previous rulers had done. The Moards who lived there now, however, were loyal to Gidley during the war last year. All of the the Moards who were previously loyal to Prince Nekop, had fled to the Realm of Hagock when Gidley killed Nekop last year. In return for being allowed to work the mines, the Moards paid Gidley a small portion of any gold or gems that they found there. Gidley had refused at first, but the Moard’s leader insisted and they finally came to an agreement. The King’s treasury could use the money after all, so Gidley relented and agreed on a payment that worked for both of them.

Bring it over here and let’s open it up and see what is inside that was so important that it had to be buried away, Gidley said, waving them into the room.

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The Moards and Gidley with the treasure chest

Zor brought the small chest into the room and set it down on the table, in front of Gidley. Rac took a small knife off of the table and inserted it into the lock. He twisted it around and banged on the lid and finally, the lock popped open. He raised the lid and drew out a small book, the only thing that was inside.

Oh, sire, Zor said, sounding disappointed. I thought there might be fine jewels or gold inside. Not just a stupid book.

Let me see it, Gidley said, holding out his hand. It’s not a stupid book. It’s really very beautiful. He gently rubbed his hand over the finely, tooled, golden leather. Small sapphires and diamonds formed a design on the front. There were words carved in the leather cover, Scyra Zorkia it said.

"Now what in the world do you suppose that means?" Gidley asked.

I don’t know, Rac said. I never heard those words ever in my life.

As Gidley paged through the book, his brow furrowed, Each page has the first letter of the first word done in a fancy swirling scroll and highlighted in color. I never saw writing like this either. It sure isn’t Elfin.

Looking over Gidley’s shoulder, Zor said, "It isn’t Moardian either. What do you suppose a nice little book like that was doing hidden away in the old mine shaft?"

Can’t imagine, Gidley told him. Well, thanks for bringing it to me. I’ll check around and see if I can find out anything about it. Maybe my grandmother will know what it is and why it was stashed away like that. If I find out what it is, I’ll let you know.

The Moards said goodbye to Gidley and went back to the mountains. Gidley grabbed an apple and the book and went up to see if his grandmother could shed any light on the little book with the strange writing.

Chapter 2

SEARCHING FOR CLUES

Upstairs, Gidley knocked on his grandmother’s door. Yanna opened it and exclaimed, Oh, Miss Dorletta. Your grandson has come to see you.

Yanna was a beautiful, young Elf with flame, red hair and green eyes. She had been Queen Dorletta’s hand-maiden and companion since the time that Dorletta had been the Queen of Dordom and through all her years of imprisonment by the previous evil ruler of Dordom, Prince Nekop.

Gidley, my darling, come in, come in, Dorletta cried. I’m so sorry I had to make you eat your breakfast alone.

It’s okay, grandmother, Gidley said, as he entered the room and walked over to the sweet lady sitting up in bed. How are you feeling? Is there anything I can get for you?

Oh, no dear, she chuckled. I’m just so fortunate to be so well taken care of. It does my heart good just to see you. You look just like your mother and every time I see you I could just hug you and kiss you.

That’s not a bad thing, Gidley said, blushing. "Since my parents were killed I never had anyone want to hug me or kiss me."

With that Gidley bent over