Steven

Steven is a peddler from the Plains tribe and frequent ally of King Lief, Queen Jasmine, Captain Barda and Doom. A travelling merchant, Steven is the son of Queen Bee and the brother of Nevets. Steven and Nevet's relationship is peculiar by the fact that Nevets live inside of Steven's body and only emerges from it whenever Steven is being threatened. They are also complete opposites, but love each other in spite of it. Steven and Nevets travel Deltora in their horse-drawn cart, which holds their goods and can be used to transport people. The cart is drawn by the horse Mellow, which has seemingly magical powers.

The Deltora Book of Monsters
Steven the peddler encountered the former palace librarian Josef numerous times while he was in hiding, which Josef chronicled in his book The Deltora Book of Monsters. The first time they met he told Josef about the City of the Rats, as well as the rumours of what lived inside of it. Later, he and his brother Nevets saved Josef and Ranesh from a pair of Ols who were hunting the former librarian. After calming down Nevets before he could go into a bloodrage, Steven directed Josef and Ranesh to a pottery in Del where they could stay hidden.

The Maze of the Beast


Steven the peddler and his caravan arrived at the ruins of Where Waters Meet, where he met with Lief, Barda and Dain. He sold them goods, the most notable being a cloth belt in which Lief hid the Belt of Deltora, and a foul-smelling brown gum, which Lief later used to bribe a polypan into helping him.

Jasmine encountered Steven sometime after she split up with Lief, Barda and Dain. He sold her fancy clothes and makeup so she could disguise herself as a rich young lady, which she used to board the River Queen.

Return to Del
Steven arrived at the Valley of the Lost with Doom and Dain. He and Nevets were chosen as the representatives of the Plains tribe in the ceremony to find the heir to Deltora, and as transport for the companions to Withick Mire, the location of the ceremony. Along the way, they were stopped by a pod of Grey Guards. Steven distracted them to allow Lief, Barda and Jasmine to escape across a Gripper field—though he was unaware they knew nothing of Grippers. When the Guards became hostile, Nevets emerged and slaughtered them. After he regained control of Nevets, Steven found Lief, Jasmine, and a badly wounded Barda in a stone hut on the other side of the Gripper field, and took them back to his caravan to continue on to Withick Mire.

Steven took part in the ceremony at Withick Mire, where everyone was led to believe that the heir to Deltora was Dain. Steven and Nevets tried to fight off Ichabod when he burst into the room and took Dain. After Dain was kidnapped, Steven transported the companions to Del to rescue Dain, without telling Doom or anyone else. Steven and Nevets were trapped in a pit, fighting Ols, when Dain's trap was sprung on his "rescuers". Steven was freed after the Belt first shone for Lief.

The Isle of Illusion
While on the road to Del, Steven heard from his mother's bees, who were told by vine-weaver birds, that King Lief, Captain Barda and Jasmine had journeyed into the caverns below Deltora. At first he did not know what to make of it as he heard rumors Lief was in Tora.

Doom and Lindal found Steven during their search for Lief, Barda and Jasmine in the Os-Mine Hills. He accompanied them back to Del and was nearly poisoned by Amarantz. Sharn stopped the attempt, and Lindal calmed Nevets when he tried to emerge.

The Shadowlands
Steven was present to welcome King Lief, Captain Barda and Jasmine back to the palace.

Shadowgate
Steven met with King Lief and Jasmine in Happy Vale, after buying back the companions' goods from the Masked Ones and discovering Captain Barda passed out on the side of the road. When it was discovered that the Belt of Deltora had been stolen, he helped to decode the hidden message to Fern from the Masked One, which told Fern to deliver the Belt to Laughing Jack.

Steven aided the companions in their hunt for Laughing Jack, whom Steven despised for tricking people out of their money and even killing some on occasion. He had the companions load up in his wagon while he fed his horse Queen Bee Cider, which allowed her to summon a swarm of bees to fly them towards the Funnel, where Laughing Jack was making camp. While Lief and Jasmine searched for the Belt, Steven distracted Jack by pretending to make a deal with him. Jack eventually caught on and escaped, kicking a bag containing the Belt of Deltora and Zerry, a boy from the Masked Ones who stole the Belt, towards the waterfall. Lief and Jasmine could not hold onto the bag by themselves, so Steven came to their aid, allowing Jack to escape. Steven then took Zerry as his temporary assistant.

The Sister of the South
Steven arrived in Del just as the Toran Plague broke out. When it was discovered to be poison, Steven was sent to convince the people to give up their food to be tested for poison. He and Nevets participated in the Battle of the Pit when the Sister of the South was uncovered. His arm was badly torn by bird head of a creature conjured up by the Sister's guardian, a two-headed monster, which prompted Nevets to brutally decapitate the beast.

After the battle, he celebrated the Sister's destruction and partook in the small feast that followed, only to learn of the threat of the grey tide. Steven transported Doom and several others to the City of the Rats, where they witnessed the dragons destroy the Grey Tide.

Steven attended Lief and Jasmine's wedding the following spring.

Physical appearance
Steven has golden hair and deep brown skin. He is a big man, large enough to carry Barda with ease.

Personality
A jovial and gentle man, Steven is one of the most valued members of the Resistance. One of the two sons of Queen Bee, Steven provides the Resistance with information from his mother's bees on the goings on within the Shadow Lord's ranks, and provides the Resistance with the powerful healing agent, Queen Bee Honey (under the guise of Quality Brand Honey).

Steven is the polar opposite of his beastly brother, Nevets. Loyal to Doom and his cause, Steven goes out of his way to help the Resistance whenever he can, even going so far as to help trap Lief, Barda and Jasmine within the Valley of the Lost so Doom could talk them into letting him help formulate a proper plan.

Steven is a loyal man, willing to sacrifice personal agendas to help his friends and his country. He goes out of his way to help Lief, Barda and Jasmine when they are left robbed, injured, and stranded after incident with the Masked Ones.

Steven and Nevets often sing songs together as they travel.

Appearances
{{Scroll|

Deltora Quest 1

 * The Maze of the Beast
 * Return to Del

Deltora Quest 2

 * The Isle of Illusion
 * The Shadowlands

Deltora Quest 3

 * Shadowgate
 * The Sister of the South

Other

 * The Deltora Book of Monsters}}

Trivia

 * Steven's name is misspelled as "Stephen" in The Shadowlands at the end of chapter 16, "Reunions".
 * Steven's name spelled backwards spells "Nevets", which is the name of Steven's brother, who happens to be Steven's complete opposite, both physically and mentally.