About
Lief, Barda and Jasmine are on their next mission trying to find another gem to fit inside the belt of Deltora. They find a Ralad man and save him from the Grey Guards and he in turn is willing to sacrifice himself to the monster of the Lake of Tears.
Read one section at a time, then discuss the questions to review understanding. These questions are a starting place for conversation, not a complete test of the chapter.
Chapter 1
Comprehension questions
Where do the companions need to go to find the next gem?
Page 149 — Lake of Tears
149
How does Jasmine feel about the way they are going to the Lake of Tears?
Page 148 — Doesn’t like it
148
Why?
Page 149 — She doesn’t want the witch, Thaegan to know of their coming until the end of their journey
149
Who was at the bridge, barring the way across?
Page 151 — A dark skinned man holding a sword
151
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
How were the companions supposed to get across the bridge?
Page 153 — Answer a riddle
153
What if they didn’t answer the riddle correctly?
Page 153 — He would kill them
153
Who answered their riddles correctly?
Page 155 — Jasmine and Barda
155
What had Lief missed on his question?
Page 157 — He didn’t mention the living raven that Thaegan would eat
157
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
How did Lief free himself from the guardian of the bridge?
Page 160 — He tricked him with a statement that in the end could not be true nor false
160
Who else did Lief free?
Page 160 — The guardian of the bridge
160
What was the guardian of the bridge?
Page 160 — A huge bird
160
Why was Jasmine so worried about Kree?
Page 165 — Thaegan eats birds
165
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
Where did the companions hide when the Grey Guards came upon them?
Page 167 — In a tree
167
Who did the Grey Guards hold captive?
Page 168 — A Ralad
168
What did Jasmine feed the Ralad man?
Page 171 — Stem of dried berries
171
How did the companions sneak away with the Ralad man?
Page 172 — Wrapped him in a cloak
172
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
What do the Grey Guards use as ammunition in their slings?
Page 174 — Poisonous bubbles, blisters
174
Where were the companions able to hide from the Grey Guards?
Page 177 — In sweetplum bushes
177
What kind of condition was the Ralad man in after being carried in the cloak?
Page 179 — Unconscious
179
What did the companions find when they rang the bell and ran for the little house?
Page 183 — Quicksand
183
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
Who came and saved the companions from the quicksand?
Page 187 — Old woman & old man
187
What did the sign say when the companions put the words together?
Page 188 — Warning! Ring of Quicksand do not Enter
188
How was Jasmine feeling about leaving the Ralad man and going into the house?
Page 191 — Leary
191
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
Where did Nij and Doj want the companions to rest?
Page 192 — In a sitting room
192
What opened Lief’s eyes to the evilness of Jin and Jod?
Page 195 — the topaz
195
Who are Jin and Jod?
Page 198 — Thaegan’s children
198
Who drank half his drink from Jin and Jod?
Page 198 — Barda
198
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
What were Jin and Jod planning on doing with the companions?
Page 201 — Eating them
201
What type of room were the companions really in?
Page 202 — a prison cell
202
What was in the storeroom they found?
Page 203 — Possessions of the travelers that had been caught and killed by Jin and Jod
203
What took Jin and Jod away from the house?
Page 205 — Another victim who’d fallen into the quicksand
205
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
Who did the companions think died in the quicksand?
Page 210 — The Ralad man
210
How did the Ralad man know how to get across the path of rocks and quicksand?
Page 211 — He had been held prisoner here
211
What was the correct path to get across the quicksand?
Page 214 — Step in the spaces without the leaves
214
What did Lief land on when he stepped in between the leaves?
Page 215 — Rocks under the surface
215
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
What did Lief and Barda use to pull Jasmine out of the quicksand?
Page 218 — Lief’s cloak
218
Who attacked Jin and Jod as they tried to pull her out?
Page 218 — Kree
218
Why did Jin and Jod fall into the quicksand as they charged across the moat?
Page 221 — Jasmine had rearranged the leaves
221
What’s the name of the Ralad man?
Page 223 — Manus
223
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
How long did Manus live as a prisoner of Jin and Jod?
Page 227 — 5 years
227
When Lief was fearful about Thaegan finding them, what did he do to help him feel better?
Page 228 — Touch the topaz
228
What does the “V” symbol mean that Manus showed them?
Page 230 — A Ralad sign for bird and freedom. It was a mark of those who’d sworn to resist the Shadow Lord.
230
What did the companions find when they got to Manus’ village?
Page 234 — It was vacant
234
Chapter 12
Comprehension questions
What did Manus find by the fountain in his village?
Page 236 — A flute
236
What happened when he played it?
Page 237 — Hid people came out of hiding
237
Why had the Ralads hollow the cavern?
Page 239 — To escape the Shadow Lord and the Grey Guards
239
How do the Ralad people react when the companions tell them they’re going to the Lake of Tears?
Page 241 — Try to stop them, horrified
241
Chapter 13
Comprehension questions
Why is Thaegan impossible to kill?
Page 244 — She’s armored by magic
244
Why did Manus go with the companions to the Lake of Tears?
Page 246 — He owed them his life for saving him
246
What does the Lake of Tears look like?
Page 247 — Murky lake with mud, worm holes, slimy, nothing growing
247
Who is Soldeen?
Page 251 — The lake’s monster
251
Chapter 14
Comprehension questions
What did Soldeen spit back at Lief when he threw the bags into his mouth?
Page 253 — Sword
253
What did Lief ask Manus to do to help lift the hopelessness they were feeling?
Page 255 — Play his flute
255
Who appeared when Manus played the flute?
Page 256 — Soldeen
256
Soldeen said he’d give the gem to Lief, but what did he want as payment?
Page 258 — Manus
258
Chapter 15
Comprehension questions
What touched Soldeen and made him remember feelings from long ago?
Page 261 — The topaz
261
When Soldeen remembered those feelings, what did he agree to do with Manus?
Page 262 — Let him go free
262
What color was the gem when Soldeen took Lief to the gem?
Page 263 — Pink
263
Why was the ruby pink instead of red?
Page 264 — The paleness of the gem meant evil was near
264
Chapter 16
Comprehension questions
What was the evil that made the ruby turn pink?
Page 268 — Thaegan
268
What did Kree do to hurt the witch?
Page 269 — Stabbed her finger with his beak
269
Why wasn’t there magic covering the witch’s finger?
Page 270 — So she could cast her magic
270
Who did Soldeen turn back into?
Page 272 — Nanion, a chief of D’Or
272
Where did the companions return after retrieving the second gem?
Page 274 — Raladin
274
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