About
Lief, Jasmine and Barda head to toward the Shifting Sands anxious to get the next gem for the Belt of Deltora. On their way they come to Rithmere, a city where the annual Games are held. The companions enter into the Games and do well, but are betrayed when the lady who is supposedly taking care of them tricks them and they become prisoner to the Grey Guards.
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 were the companions headed to retrieve the next gem?
The Shifting Sands
When the companions were crossing the river, what did they see flying toward them in the distance?
Ak-Baba
How did the companions hide from the Ak-Baba?
Went under the water with the cloak over them like a canopy
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
How did the fish save the companions from the Ak-Baba?
Swam over the companions in a swarm hiding them
How is Jasmine able to communicate with the fish?
She knows how to listen to them
What did Jamine and Barda find for breakfast after they crossed the river from the City of the Rats?
Apples
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
Who are the guardians of the apple orchard?
Bees
Why was the woman so protective of her apples?
To make sure she had enough to make her Queen Bee Cider
What does the Queen Bee Cider do to those who drink it?
Gives extra strength
Why were there so many travelers going to Rithmere?
To participate in the Rithmere Games
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
What was the prize for winning the Games?
1000 gold pieces
Who were the two travelers the companions overheard talking about the Games on the way to Rithmere?
Orwen and Joanna
What did the man running the game at the stall want to buy from Jasmine?
Kree/ her bird
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
How did the companions get the silver coin in Rithmere?
Kree worked for the man Ferdinand and spun the wheel thirty times
How did Ferdinand feel about Kree?
The best bird he’d ever had
How did Kree ruin Ferdinand’s gig?
Took off the cloth covering the table to uncover Ferdinand’s trick
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
What did Jasmine find on the ground after Ferdinand ran away as the crowd chased him?
a small wooden bird
What is the name of the woman who runs the Champion Inn?
Mother Brightly
Why didn’t Barda want the companions to use their real names when they entered the Games?
To keep their real identities secret
Where did Mother Brightly make the companions put their weapons?
In a locked cupboard
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
Who else was staying and eating at the Champion Inn?
Other competitors
When the companions changed their minds and decided they didn’t want to participate in the Games, why were they not able to get out of the Inn?
They were entered and written down and locked in
When the companions were attacked in the blackened hallway, what was taken from them?
Their room key
How had their attacker tried to stop them from winning the Games?
Gave them a threatening note and locked them in their room so they couldn’t get to the Games
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
How did the companions get out of the locked room before the Games?
Jasmine hung a blanket from her bed and hung it out the window
Who came to the companion's rescue and unlocked the room?
Mother Brightly
What was the drink of choice at the Rithmere Games for everyone?
Queen Bee Cider
What does Jasmine choose to drink?
Water
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
How did Neridah trick Lief as they fought?
She acted scared and weak
How did Jasmine make it to the four finalists?
Orwen tried to stop Glock from hurting Joanna, but Glock beat them both
Who defeated Barda in the Games?
Doom
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
What happened to Neridah and Glock when they drank the cider before the next round of fighting?
They fell unconscious
Who did Jasmine have to fight in the final round?
Doom
What made Jasmine forget her fear and fight hard?
Doom taunted her about running home and hiding her head in her momma’s lap
Why didn’t the companions want to linger in Rithmere?
Didn’t want to get attacked by the crowds, uncomfortable in Rithmere
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
How did Mother Brightly suggest the companions leave the Inn so they won’t get attacked by the townspeople?
Into the cellar and through a tunnel to the back of the Inn
Why was Jasmine ashamed of herself for how she fought Doom?
She forgot herself and took pleasure in hurting him
Why did Mother Brightly trick the companions and help them get captured?
So they could be taken to fight in the Shadow Arena
Why did the companions feel the Rithmere Games were a trap?
Lures the strongest and best fighters to the Games for the Shadow Arena
Chapter 12
Comprehension questions
Who rescued the companions from the Grey Guards?
Doom
Why did Doom compete in the Games?
To see what the Games were really about
Why didn’t the companions want to go to Doom’s stronghold?
They needed to go to the Shifting Sands
Why did the companions try to hide their scent and trail?
So the Grey Guards couldn’t follow them
Chapter 13
Comprehension questions
When the companions got to the Shifting Sands, how did Lief feel like he’d been there before?
The opal had shown him this place
Who followed the companions into the Shifting Sands?
Carn 2 and Carn 8/Grey Guards
What happened to the Grey Guards when they followed the companions into the Sands?
They got captured and eaten by a large monster
Chapter 14
Comprehension questions
What did Lief hear in the Sands that his companions could not?
Low droning sound
How did the companions know that the creature in the Sands took the gold coins, medallion and Jasmine’s dagger?
It left impressions in the sand of them
What did Jasmine use as firewood for their fire while they were in the Shifting Sands?
Grey Guards clubs
Chapter 15
Comprehension questions
When weapon killed the beast in the Sands when it was going to attack Lief?
Grey Guard blisters
How did the companions know they had reached the Center of the Sands?
They saw a lone peak that looked like a volcano
What was the sound the companions heard coming from inside the peak?
Humming of bees
What was the large peak?
A hive
Chapter 16
Comprehension questions
What did Lief use as a weapon as he went into the hive?
Smoke
Whose voice helped Lief as he journeyed through the hive?
Queen Bee’s
Why couldn’t Lief just take the lapis lazuli from the pyramid?
Everything on top would topple and fall/ the Hive would attack
What did Lief use to replace the lapis lazuli?
Jamine’s wooden bird from Rithmere
What else did Lief retrieve from the Hive besides the gem?
Jasmine’s dagger
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