Deltora Quest 1

"A land of magic and monsters"

- Tagline Deltora Quest, or Deltora Quest 1, is a children's fantasy novel series written by Emily Rodda. It is the first series of the Deltora Quest collective series. Illustrated by Marc McBride and Kate Rowe, the series contains eight books. The eight books in the series were originally released over the years 2000-2002. The eight books were released together in a collected volume in October 2006.

Setting
A sixteen-year-old boy named Lief, a former palace guard (who is his companion) Barda, and an orphan girl they find in Forests of Silence, Jasmine, sets out on a quest to retrieve the seven lost gems of the Belt of Deltora, which has been shattered by the evil Shadow Lord from the Shadowlands. The gems are: a Topaz, a Ruby, an Opal, a Lapis Lazuli, an Emerald, an Amethyst, and a Diamond.

Through their journey they face many dangerous opponents and riddles on their way to each gems' hiding place, which each has an evil powerful guardian. They must find the gems and the heir to the Deltoran throne in order to rid the land of the Shadow Lord.

The Forests of Silence
On Lief's 16th birthday, he along with Barda, a former palace guard set off on a quest to restore the Belt of Deltora. They head off toward the Forests of Silence and along the way are ambushed by the Wenn and are taken into the forests to be fed to the menacing Wennbar. A wild orphan girl, by the name of Jasmine initially left them for dead but came back to save them.

Jasmine lead the two towards the darkest place in the forests, said to be ruled by a cruel guardian. There Lief and Barda meet the guardian of the Topaz, the golden knight, Gorl. During the ensuring battle, Barda is gravely injured and Jasmine returns to defeat Gorl by crushing him with a tree branch. They use the nectar of the blooming Lilies of Life to save Barda's life. The Topaz is found in the hilt of Gorl's sword.

Jasmine swayed by the appearance of her mother's spirit, brought to her by the power of the Topaz, joins Barda and Lief on their quest. And so with the first gem safely secured in the Belt, the companions headed off towards their next destination, the terrifying Lake of Tears.