The plot of the book begins in Vitoria, where Vesper's Uncle Brinnie is coming for a visit. They agree to travel to Zenta to search for the golden treasure and magical warriors of King Vartan ancient ruler of Illyria. On the ways Vesper's life is threatened. She sets her am badly cut. They escape from a rival land and hire a servant. They travel to Alba-Collia and check in to a hotel. They go to an oracle and she helps guide them to the treasure. They are arrested for no apparent reason. When they are released, their servant confesses that he is Vartan. They travel to Lake Laura to look for the treasure. They find a mine shaft under the ruins of Vartan's Castle and enter it with a rope ladder. They find some beautiful carved human chess pieces with the Zentan king missing. Then Osaan's Vizer shows up. He says that he has hired Osaan's barber to kill Ossan and that he will murder them. Then the Vizer throws dynamite into the shaft. Vesper and Brinnie take the valuable chess king and run. They find another exit and as they lift their heads - a rifle is shot. This scares Vesper, and then she notices that an Indian tribe is firing at the Vizer and his company. Vesper and Brinnie escape and warn Osman. The two cultures of Illyria keep fighting and Vesper and Brinnie go back home. In this book the protagonists are Vesper and Brinnie and the antagonists are the Vizer and the rival tribes. The good/evil conflict Is won by the protagonists.
My favorite character in this book is Vesper. She is a girl about 16 who has red hair and blue eyes. She is adventurous and not 'girlish' as shown by the fact that it is her idea to go on this quest, She matures and learns more about the good/evil conflict in the world as the quest progresses.
by David Cole