Ben put on some of his oldest hand knitted sweaters. He was padded up! Sophia used thick pages out of books tied together with string.
Kate used lots of sheep wool because at night they could use it to sleep on. She had already been taught how to ride a dragon many years ago, since she was brought up with half the animal kingdom!
Patrick used golden silk. This was silly because first, dragons love gold and second, silk is very thin. Charlie used tough leather.
Jessica raced over to them. “They’re ready!” She panted. “Kate helped me with the Bargon’s because they are in a fiery mood.”
She was holding a gentle looking blue dragon and a strange looking yellow dragon. Kate was holding two fiery red dragons and three rainbow coloured ones. Two muscular black ones were tied to a strong post of metal.
“Before we go you need to train with your dragon.” Kate yelled over the noise.
Train? Thought Alex. With a dragon!
Dragon training
Alex was handed the blue dragon. He stroked its blue nose gently. It seemed to purr! Ben got the yellow dragon. It looked at him in a strange way, almost like it was x-raying him! Kate got the red dragon. But even he was purring gently at Kate’s touch!
Soon everyone was training. Kate was yelling at her dragon, not because he had been bad, encouraging him. Saying things like “Come on!” Or “You can do it!”
He was soon blasting apart metal boxes in a second of flames. Alex’s gentle one wasn't gentle to the dummy! It shot little blue flames out of its mouth and bit the dummy so hard its stuffing fell out!
Ben’s went round and round the dummy, faster and faster until Whoosh! Fire licked the dummy up. Ben was just about holding on! Then Kate shouted “STOP! You are all ready. Let us go forwards to Professor Zipplezack!”
Professor Zipplezack was waiting for them. “Ah.” He sighed. “I wish I could come with you. But there are a few last things I will give you and a few more things that I will tell you. Firstly I will give you this.”
He handed them all Golden cloaks. Alex put his on and he disappeared! Then Professor Zipplezack gave them all a golden compass! Its needles moved around.
To use it they turned some handles at the back. Then everyone else’s glowed with the message! Then he spoke. “And finally I give you this.” He handed them a map each. Little figures showed them who was in every place!
“Now to tell you. The person you are hunting is called Rever Rampo. He is a magic man. A bad one. He is very powerful. He has one good tooth and the rest are black. Good luck.”
Forest of darkness
Using stealth they crept into the forest. Then they jumped onto their dragons and flew above the trees, over the gate and then down onto the ground.
Alex started looking at his map. The Pombay Mountains was a long way away. Suddenly he heard a noise. He looked at his map. Trolls!? He sent a quick message on his compass and jumped into a tree.
Soon a big green hairy monster stomped past. Everyone slid down. Alex made a fire. If there were trolls, He wondered, will there be pixies? Or fairies? Or elves? Alex was scared as he slept.
In the morning he woke to hear a chop! Then another. Chop! Chop! Charlie and Patrick were chopping down trees for fire wood. Sweat was all over their foreheads.
Alex ate some cooked mushrooms and stewed grass. This may sound disgusting but it was all he had got. Then he went to collect grass so Kate could so she could sew together the sheep skins.
Suddenly Sophia had an idea! “Guys!” She shouted. “We’re still in our school clothes! Let’s pretend we are a wandering tribe!”
So the next few hours were spent making costumes and wooden spears out of book pages, cloth, sheep wool, leather, stones and tree branches.
Alex then saw a page of a book. He read it.
Alex Mason almost died on January 31st. yesterday. I mourn for his parents, poor souls. Yet now he lives. He does not know he almost was killed by a Wagtail which was turned evil.
Note to self: Wagtail half horse half dog.
Bellamus Monamus
Age 90
Date: 1st February 1990
Alex’s parents have been buried today. I hear someone has already made a book on them. Huh! It won’t bring them back! The boy is in the care of his Nan and granddad. Poor boy. I was at his parent’s burial. Two ebony coffins. I cried. I don’t usually cry but they were such dear friends to me. Now I have no friends.
Alex was taken back. This man, he had known his parents. Not just known, but had been friends with them. Best friends.
Sophia tapped his back. He stuffed the paper into his back pack and then started making his costume. He tied together some thick branches and sharpened them all with a stone at one end. That was his spear.
Then he grabbed a bit of sheep wool and got some scissors. He hacked at the sheep wool until it was in the right shape. Then he made a sort of vest, which was actually a load of book pages tied to his body.
He pulled on the sheep wool and tied book pages around his legs. His stick was hidden in all the sheep wool. Sophia came out of her tent. Apparently, she was the tribe reader. Her costume was made entirely of book pages!
Her feet were covered in small strips of paper and her legs were too. Then she had made a sort of dress out of book pages. Then her arms were covered like her legs!
Kate came out of her tent. She was the tribe animal enchanter because (This is true, by the way) she could enchant animals and hear what they had to say. She wore a load of sheep wool hacked into a sort of dress shape.
Ben came out with a bit of sheep wool here, a stick here, and a few book pages here! He had to go back into his tent and get redressed! But after he had finished they packed up and got on their dragons.
The elves of Ellasi
Flying through the clouds, they saw a marvellous city. It had towers of gold and diamond, a big door of oak wood, encrusted with rubies and topaz! They decided to land and knock.
Just as they had decided to land Kate shouted. “No one will know us in this disguise! Go to a bush and change into your school things!”
Alex ran to a nearby bush and grabbed his school things. He put them on hurriedly. Then he went to knock at the door. It had a big golden knocker in the shape of a big dog. The dog’s eyes were emeralds and his open mouth was a ruby.
Alex knocked on the knocker. It made a big, echoing sound. Then the doors creaked open. An elf opened it. This elf had pointy ears and long blonde hair. He was wearing some blue robes and carried a bow on his back, a quiver of arrows, two diamond daggers and a long, thin sword in a leather sheath.
“Uh… Hello?”
“Who are you? Wait! Aren’t you Alex Mason?”
“Yes…”
“Ah! Then I know what you are here for! You seek shelter!”
“Yes.”
“Come right in. Especa les loa.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means ‘All are welcome to Ellasi.’”
He led them to a big room with a red carpet with golden linings, pictures on the wall of great, elf warriors and, last of all, a great golden throne with a red and gold cushion on it. An elven king sat upon this throne.
He had long blonde hair down to his waist and sparkling blue eyes. He wore purple robes tied together with a golden string, tough leather boots and a small golden crown on his head. The crown was encrusted with rubies, emeralds and bits of topaz.
He stood up. His long hair flashed around his waist. The king then started to speak in a royal voice.
“Alex Mason. I will let you have the best rooms I can give and then, a ride to the Pombay Mountains when they are safe.”
Two elves with blonde hair and brown eyes escorted Alex and his friends to different rooms. Alex’s had a silver carpet, golden walls and a silver ceiling. There was golden and silver silk curtains, a giant bed with a silver covers and there were pictures of previous elf kings on the walls.
Alex sat on the springy, si
lver bed. He looked out of the window. It showed a view of the Pombay Mountains in the distance… Oh how dreamy! Suddenly he heard a booming bell. He knew what it meant. Dinner!
He ran down the great big golden staircase and into the great dinner hall. On a grand oak table there were two hundred golden plates and silver goblets. He was seated next to the elven king. As he watched deer, pigs and even bears!
He tried a bit of a pig and a bit of deer. Finally he tried some bear. Then he drank some spiced wine. The elven king then talked of a great golden eagle that could take him and his friends to the Pombay Mountains. Alex relaxed. They would get to Pombay Mountains after all!
Then Alex was guided up the golden staircase and into his room. Two elf guards stood aside to let him pass and he undressed and got into bed. It was a very comfy bed and he fell asleep instantly.
Great ride to the Pombay Mountains
Alex woke up to the gentle sound of birds singing right outside his window. He dressed, and then looked out of his window. He saw birds of blue, yellow and red, big birds’ small birds, black birds… You name it!
Then he went into the great hall. They were holding an archery contest outside. He asked if he could join in and they said yes. But secretly he knew he would get battered by the elves who were masters of archery.
The prize was a golden apple, so magical it sparkles at the winners touch! Alex grabbed a bow and arrow and ran swiftly to his mark. Another elf came and stood next to him. Soon everyone was ready.
“Three, two, and one and… Fire!” Yelled the elven king.
Alex shot an arrow at the target, which was an apple in a tree. There were a lot of trees. And a lot of apples. Alex’s arrow hit the dead centre of the apple. So did many others. And the elven king already had a solution.
“The person who can hit the centre of the tree from forty metres away can get the golden apple.” He boomed.
Alex stood exactly forty metres away and shot at the tree. He just missed the centre! But another elf hit the very centre of the tree. He had blonde hair and green eyes and wore a leather pair of robes. He shook hands with Alex and then went to receive his prize.
Afterwards the king took Alex, Kate, Ben, Patrick, Charlie, Jessica and Sophia to a giant room. Inside that room was a giant golden eagle, its feathers shining gold in the sun. It bowed its head to the king.
“Yan Broch, What brings you here so early?” It asked the king.
“This is Alex Mason and these are his friends. They wish to go to the Pombay Mountains. Will you take them?”
“Of course Yan! But why do they want to go there?”
Alex explained their quest. The eagle nodded.
“I will take them.” He cawed. “Hop on!”
The children all jumped onto his back. He then flew quickly out of the room, which had no ceiling. Pretty soon they were at the mountains.
Sophia jumped off the eagle. It was night! She collected three blades of grass and put them in a jar.
“Done!” She laughed. Then the giant eagle soared through the air.
“Where to nex...” He cawed but had to stop. A big net weighted down with rocks flew over his head and pulled him down onto the rocks. Two ugly goblins jumped onto the poor eagle. Their little dagger like hands poked Alex and his friends.
A bigger goblin came out and argued with them. In the end they dragged the bird and Alex, Sophia, Jessica, Charlie, Kate and Patrick. A tiny goblin sat on a giant throne. He had big purple ears, a sort of strained purple. A small, vulgar, golden crown was stuck on his head.
“Well, what do we have here?” He squeaked.
“A giant bird and a few kids sir.”
“I know that! I meant what can we do with them?”
“Put them to work in the stone mine?”
“Yes! Of course! See to it at once!” The king squeaked.
So the poor eagle was put in a cage and Alex and his friends were put to work in the stone mines. They slaved for hours on end with no food and no water. In the almost complete darkness it was hard to see!
Alex chipped little flakes of rock off big rocks which Kate and Ben chopped off the walls. Charlie and Patrick made the rocks smooth and Jessica put all the chips in a wheel barrow. It was hard work! Finally they were led to small, dark, damp caves, with nothing but rocks and a rag each to sleep on. The rocks were sharp and the rag was wet and dirty.
Alex only just got to sleep. He had to think of a plan. A plan to get out of the goblin realm. ‘But how?’ He wondered. All he had was rocks and a rag. There were bars over his entrance to his cave, and guard with huge spears! It was impossible…
A plan and an escape!
Alex picked up rocks and aimlessly threw them at the old rocky wall. This was bad. Very bad. They were stuck in a goblin city, Rever was on the loose and they had nothing to eat! And the goblin’s singing was hurting Alex’s ears.
What would he do? It was like being at home, only a thousand times worse! No Cross Swords, No friends and he were surrounded by goblins. All his friends were in different caves, Cross Swords was millions of miles away… Wait! What was that?
Flicker, whizz, boom, crash! The dragons were there! Firing flames and grabbing goblins! The blue dragon pulled Alex out of his cave and onto his back. Whoosh! All of them flew out of the goblin caves and into the goblin city. They needed to save the giant eagle!
They found him tied up in a corner. Alex and Kate freed his head. Charlie and Patrick freed his legs. Jessica and Ben freed his body. The giant eagle soared away, shouting and cawing ‘Thanks!’ Alex and his friends quickly flew out of the goblin city. They weren’t going there again! No way!
They zoomed through the sky towards a big set of trees. The features of the earth spun below them. Thump! They all landed in the circle of trees. Kate took six water bottles out of her backpack. She knelt down next to a big plot of water near them.
One by one she filled the bottles, dipping them into the cool, crystal clear water. First one with a top made of diamonds. The glass that made it up shone brightly in the evening sun. That was Alex’s bottle. Kate filled it and then put it down on the hot but soft sand.
Next she filled one with a golden cap. This one had little patches of gold all over the glass, which spoiled the glow it had when the setting evening sun looked upon it. This was Patrick’s bottle. Kate filled it up and put it on the hot but soft sand next to Alex’s.
Then she filled one made purely out of rags. It held water, true, but it didn’t shine like the others in the setting evening sun. This was Jessica’s. Kate put it on the hot but soft sand next to Patrick’s and continued. She wanted to make Jessica a new bottle very soon.
Next she filled one made out of Sapphires. Its top was made out of Sapphires but lovely clear glass covered it after that. This was Ben’s. Kate put it on the hot but soft sand next to Jessica’s and carried on. Ben’s mum had made his bottle for him.
After that she filled one where its top was made out of dragon scales. It glistened in the sun. The rest of it was made out of good, clear glass. This was hers. She put it on the hot but soft sand next to Ben’s and carried on.
Next she filled one which was one made with a top made out of emeralds. The rest was made out of good, clear glass. This was Charlie’s. It was also the last one. Kate put it on the hot but soft sand next to hers and let them all dry. She put all the tops on when the outsides were dry and gave them to each person.
While she was doing this Alex and Ben had been trying to make a fire. They had collected lots of branches and sticks and put them into a circle of stones. But they couldn’t light them. Jessica came over and gave them an old dirty box of matches. They lit the fire with them.
The fire’s glow made misty shadows on a big rock they had used for shelter from the bitter cold wind. Jessica made shadows of bunnies and mice. Kate made shadows of foxes and cats. They pretended to make them chase each other. Soon everyone was in fits of laughter! Kate and Jessica w
ere so funny!
Finally everyone ate a bowl of Kate’s Drakel stew and retired into the tents. Alex went to sleep soundly, dreaming of Kate and Jessica’s squeaky voices…
Happy and sad
Alex woke up the next morning and his eyes hurt. He held his hands over them, thinking it was the sun. Suddenly he saw Rever, with the whistle! In an underwater cavern! They needed to get all the ingredients, quick!
Then he spied the diary again. The one about Bellamus Monamus. He had said he knew his parents… maybe they would find out something from him. He told Sophia to search for any books on Bellamus Monamus.
Kate was interested in the page. She read it and nodded.
“According to the page, it is very old. I’ve done tests on the paper. It is very rare.”
“Rare paper?” Alex asked her in amazement. Was this guy rich?
“Yes. The ingredients are only found under a waterfall, 30 miles from his house I reckon. How he got it I have no idea.”
“Couldn't he have bought it?” Ben asked her.
“Only if he was a millionaire. Or a dodgy dealer. But I don’t think he’s either!”
“What do you think then?” Asked Patrick.
“I think he is very strange. Unless he is very athletic, that is.”
Alex still thought they should see him. Sophia had read at least a hundred books and only one of them hinted that he lived in Windy Woe village.
“That means the waterfall is 50 miles from his house! And he doesn’t have a carriage or car.” Jessica said surprisingly loudly.
“Still, we need to see him.” Alex said. So that was that. Their next destination was Windy Woe village!
Five hours later, after trekking through five miles of mud and dirt, they arrived at an old village. People were shouting at a small market, children were playing in the streets and cows, pigs, horses and sheep wandered over the streets.
Alex Mason and the Smoky forest 2-A new girl, a new journey Page 2
