Outline – The future king is found and an unlikely gang of misfits tries to get him back to his kingdom.

Braydon – The 5 year old future King

Tat – a Knight

Elle – The Elf

Ash - The Old Kings advisors

Joker – The Court Jester

Eric – The depressed guitar player

Jamie – The red headed Sorceress

Cutty – Sage

KA – The not right Giant

Favanau – The Elf Lord

The Left Hand – Evil Sorcerer

CHAPTER 1

Desolate Plains

 Slowly he trotted his horse to top of the dune and reined in when he could see into the distance. Sweat ran into his eyes and dripped off his nose. Unslinging his water skin he felt that is was a little below half empty and he still had many more miles to go. Sighing he slung the water skin back on his saddle and kneed his horse forward. As the miles wore on he thought back to the start of this all. He was a Knight then close as brothers to the King he had been. But then The Left Hand had come and it became dark. Slowly the King had fallen to the dark magic and the kingdom was lost. The rightful heir to the throne, Braydon the Prince, had been taken to the Desolate Plains in the West. Now Jahallam is overtaken by evil. Tat had ridden from there with a band of misfits to find the Prince and return him to the throne.

 Suddenly Tat’s horse reared and almost unseated him. Tat struggled to calm the horse and looked to see what had scared his mount. There at the top of a hill stood a man in dark robes, his face shadowed by the hood. Tat unsheathed his sword and called a challenge.

‘Do not get in my way old man unless you like the taste of steel.’

‘Not a very friendly welcome I must say,’ whispered the old man.

‘I have few friends here or anywhere but many enemies,’ Tat stated while dismounting. He kept his horse between himself and the old man.

‘I am neither a friend nor an enemy,’ said the old man. ‘I just am. But I do know what you seek’

 And with that the old man shuffled away from Tat and disappeared over the hill. Tat was leery of a trap as he led his horse over the hill but he was stunned when he topped the hill, for there below him was a valley full of trees and light shone from the very dirt. This was a strange kind of Elven magic Tat had only seen once before. Slowly he made his way down torwards the old mans camp.

‘What do you know of my quest?’  

The old man looked up from his fire ands shook his head.

‘Impatient and quick to anger,’ said the old man. ‘Elle described you perfectly.’

The Misfits camp

‘You guys know,’ Joker said ‘Tat warned us to not light a fire.’

‘And now we know why’ Ash said as he raised his hands.

They were facing 20 or so Elven warriors who had there bows drawn and aimed at them.

‘I think it was my song that made them mad’ Eric said sadly.

‘You think they want to hear the joke about the drunken Elf?’ Joker asked hopefully.

‘Would you two shut up for a minute’ demanded Ash.

Suddenly the Elven warriors parted and out stepped the most beautiful Elf any of them had ever seen. She wore dark breeches and a white shirt that reflected a rainbow of colors. Strapped to her back was an Elven sword identical to the one Tat carried.

‘Where is Tat?’ she asked. ‘He is in mortal danger.’

‘Tat is out on the Desolate Plains looking for the Prin….Ooof’ Joker exclaimed.

‘Can’t you stop talking for a few minutes?’ Ash asked as he kicked Joker’s shin again.

‘I already know Tat was here’ she said. ‘I came here to warn him that The Left Hand is on the move and he knows of Tat’s quest.’

Suddenly she spun around and walked away.

‘Disarm them, blindfold them, and bring them along.’

Luckily the warriors separated them because they had started fighting each other. Joker had given Ash a bloody nose and Eric had somehow ended up in the middle and gotten scratched.

Mumbling curses at each other they stumbled along not knowing where they were going or if they had much longer to live.

Desolate Plains

‘Long have I lived among the Elves’ said the old man. ‘Much I have learned from them.’

Tat’s head was still reeling from the mention of Elle. Forgetting his leeriness he sheathed his sword and sat next to the old man.

‘Evil is on the move and searching for you Tat’

‘I am ready to face him if need to.’ Tat said cockily.

‘You can not kill him by sword or staff’ said the old man. ‘Only by the Prince taking to his rightful throne will his reign of evil end.’

Tat stared into the flames deep in thought. He studied the old man.

‘Do you have a name?’

‘Some call me Sage.’ The old man said simply.

‘Do you know where the Prince is at on the Desolate Plains?’ Tat asked hopefully.

‘He is no longer on the plains’ said Sage. ‘He is in the company of a sorceress and they are headed east.’

‘A sorceress?’ Tat asked worriedly. “Is she in league with The Left Hand?’

‘She is not evil but she does only look out for herself’ said Sage. ‘Hopefully you can catch up to her quickly.’

Tat stood and started for his horse.

‘Have some patience Tat’ said Sage. ‘You can start the chase in the morning.’

Tat sat back down and they talked late into the night.

The Elven Kingdom

‘We will camp here, leave the blindfolds on’ said the female Elf.

Joker, Ash and Eric ate a quick meal of some sort of bread and laid down on their cloaks. They whispered to each other questioning each other on what was happening. They all

started to nod late into the night. Suddenly they were woken up with a clamoring from with in the camp. It sounded like everyone was running around and in the distance they could hear the sound of running horses.

‘Take your blindfolds off’ the Elf female said. ‘And stand and fight. Evil is upon us.’

She threw Ash and Eric’s swords and Joker’s bow in front of them. Then she drew her sword and stood in front of them. They scrambled for their weapons and stood looking into the dark beyond the fire. The pounding of horse’s hooves could be heard along with the sound of Elven bows being released. Suddenly sparks flew as a Dark Knight rode right into the middle of the fire. His black steed reared up and made an awful screeching noise.

‘Do not stand in my way elf’ said the Dark knight as he dismounted. His armor seemed to creak and from his helm leaked a black fog. His great sword was huge and the color of night.

‘You are not wanted in the kingdom. Go back and tell your Master his Evil is at an end’ the elf said as she twirled her sword which seemed to shimmer in the firelight.

The Dark Knight raised his great sword and charged her. Sparks flew when their swords met. The elf seemed to move as if she was liquid and the Dark Knight could not keep to her speed. Suddenly as the Dark Knight withdrew he swiped her shoulder with the blade of his great sword. Ash and Eric caught her from her fall and watched as her eyes seemed to cloud over with black. Joker had his yew bow pulled to the max when the Dark Knight turned to him. The arrow flew right into the helm of the Dark Knight and suddenly the Dark Knight was no more. Joker believed that he had killed it with his arrow but no arrow can kill evil such as that. The Dark Knight had been banished from the Elven Kingdom and that is why he disappeared. Slowly Ash and Eric laid the elf down. The elf warriors picked her up and took her into a tent.

Desolate Plains

            Tat was awoken by sunlight streaming onto his face and he arose drowsily. Looking around he realized that there was no trace of Sage. As he saddled his horse he tried to think of what to do next. He wanted to find this sorceress and the Prince but he also wanted to check on his friends who he had left at a camp in the Elven Kingdom. He decided to ride for the camp and then search for the sorceress. As he started to ride out of the valley he noticed a tree that was rocking back and forth and decided to investigate. As he got closer to this tree he could here grunting noises. He rode into a clearing and there was a giant that seemed to be humping a tree.

‘Oh yeah……KA like tree’ said the giant.

Trying his hardest not to laugh Tat turned to go but the giant heard him snicker.

‘You laugh at KA’ roared the giant.

‘I am sorry giant, but I have never seen a giant hump a tree before’

‘KA like trees’ said the giant.

‘I gathered that’ Tat said as he turned his horse to leave.

‘Are you looking for the Prince?’ asked the giant.

Does everyone know about my quest wondered Tat.

‘What do you know of the Prince?’

‘He was here and he was nice to KA’ said the giant.

‘Which way did the Prince and the sorceress go?’

‘KA not like sorceress, she laughs at KA and KA get mad’ roared the giant.

‘Yes but which way did they go KA?’ Tat asked.

‘How you know KA’s name?’ asked KA.

‘I do not have the time for this’ Tat said angrily. ‘I will find them myself.’

Tat turned and headed out of the valley and turned for the camp in the Elven Kingdom.