BukuGuru Story Worksheet

MY BLADE QUEST
a fantasy story + learning activities

#1: The Phoenix Awakens

by Don Bosco
This story is a work of fiction. We hope you enjoy it, and come to love
the cool characters you'll encounter. You can also share this story with
your friends. Have fun with the activities at the end!
Created in Singapore
Copyright Don Bosco 2012
Email me:
studio@SuperCoolBooks.com
www.Facebook.com/SuperCoolBooks
READ TO LEARN, IMAGINE TO CREATE
"The future belongs to the young and brave!"

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

CHAPTER 1
Saturday morning. Just another ordinary day in Singapore.
Or so I thought.
The music was loud, but my sister's screaming was louder.
I was chilling out at home, playing Plants vs. Zombies while
listening to my favourite band, Linkin Park. Terminating ugly
zombies and singing at the top of my voice.
When her bedroom door opened and she stuck her neck out.
"Get the phone, Jay!" she yelled. "Or I'll sit on you and make
you eat my socks!"
Let's just say that my sister finds interesting ways to express
herself.
I strained my ears and listened. Oops, the urgent beeping wasn't
part of the music. It was coming from the phone!
"But Sis, I'm in the middle of a game," I yelled back at her. "Are
you expecting an important call? Can't you take it yourself?"
I turned towards Shu's room. Only to see her glaring at me.
You know that Don't-Make-Me-Repeat-Myself-Or-Else kind of
look?
Sheesh. So I turned down my music and answered the phone.
There was a familiar voice on the other end.
"Jay? Is that you? You must be growing up, you sound so
different."
Ah! It was Uncle Selva, our guardian.

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

You see, our parents passed away five years ago. They were
driving along a highway in Indonesia one night, and there was an
accident.
My parents had invented the Blade Quest card game. You
might have heard of it. It's popular all over the world.
They also set up a company, Blade Quest Industries, to produce
the game in different languages.
Uncle Selva was our Dad's best friend. After the accident, he
took over Blade Quest Industries and brought the game to even more
countries.
Uncle Selva said, "I need to talk to you, Jay. And your sister
too."
He didn't sound like his usual cheerful self.
Right away, I guessed that something was wrong.

CHAPTER 2
Just then, Shu came rushing out. She must have heard me
mention Uncle Selva's name.
"Give me the phone," she said. "It's probably some legal matter.
You're too young to understand."
Shu was only a year older. But she often acted as if she was an
adult, and I was a baby. Big sisters can be like that, eh?

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

Whatever. I tossed the phone to her and returned to the

important task of blasting zombies.
Eventually Shu put down the phone and came over. She had a
grave look on her face. And she sounded shaken.
"Jay, let's go see Uncle Selva now."
~~
Uncle Selva's office was the regional headquarters of Blade
Quest Industries.
The place was huge. It occupied the entire thirty-fifth floor of a
very tall glass building along Marina Bay.
The main lobby, and all the corridors, were filled with Blade
Quest posters and game kits.
Shu and I grew up with this stuff. Instead of watching TV at
night like other kids, we helped our parents test the games and create
new designs.
Sheeda, the receptionist, gave each of us a warm hug. Then she
led us into the conference room, where Uncle Selva was waiting.
"So what's going on, Uncle Selva?" Shu asked. She was nervous,
I could tell. "What's the bad news?"
There was a folder on the conference room table. Uncle Selva
opened it and took out a photograph. "You recognise this man?"

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

I frowned and stared hard at the face. The person looked about
twenty years old. He had sharp features and big, bright eyes. Spiky
hair, too.
"Is he a pop star or something?" I said. "Or a famous actor?"
To my surprise, Shu gasped. "I think there was a picture of him
in Mom's old photo album!"
Uncle Selva nodded. "You're probably right, Shu. His name is
Garth Gan. He was your mother's student, back when she was
teaching Mythology Studies at the Malacca Institute."
"Wow!" I said. "Was he part of the team that produced the first
set of Blade Quest cards?"
"Yes," Uncle Selva sighed. "But he was up to no good, so your
father asked him to leave."
Uncle Selva put the photo back into the folder. He took a deep
breath. "That was ten years ago. Now Garth Gan is back. And he's
trying to destroy Blade Quest Industries."

CHAPTER 3
Uncle Selva switched on the overhead projector and showed us
footage from a security camera.
We watched a man sneak around in the dark and use some sort
of gadget to open a safe.

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

"This is Garth," Uncle Selva explained. "I recognise him. Last

night, he managed to disable our alarm system. I don't know how.
Perhaps he has a spy working here. Nonetheless, some of our hidden
security cameras caught him. He broke into my office and stole a very
important notebook that belonged to your parents."
My hands were shaking. I was angry and scared, all at once.
"What does he want with the notebook?" I asked. "Is it valuable?"
Uncle Selva took off his spectacles and rubbed his eyes. He
looked really tired.
"Let me put it this way," he said in a low voice. "If we don't get it
back fast, we could lose everything that your parents built. And I'm
sorry, but I can't do much to help you."
I was stunned to hear this. "What? But you're our guardian!
Aren't you supposed to take care of us until we're older?"
"Believe me, Jay, I wish it could be that way, " Uncle Selva said.
He touched my shoulder gently. "The doctors say my heart is weak. I
need to get treatment immediately. And take a long rest after that. Or
else I might "
He didn't finish the sentence, but we could guess what he was
trying to tell us.
The three of us sat there in silence for a while. Finally, Shu said,
"Uncle, is there anyone else we can turn to? Someone who knows how
to deal with Garth Gan?"
Uncle Selva looked uneasy. He pulled out his iPhone and
showed us a photograph of an old man in a blue robe.

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

The old man was thin and tanned, with a long white beard that
reached down to his chest. His eyes were closed, as if he was trying to
perform some tricky mental calculation in his head. And he had a
slight smile on his lips.
"People call him Guru Noah," Uncle Selva said. "He lives
somewhere in Malaysia. Perak, I believe."
Shu stared at the photo. "He looks ancient! How old is he?"
Uncle Selva shrugged. "Nobody knows for sure. He's been
around a long time. He founded the Society of Asiatic Wonders, or
SAW. It's an influential research group. Did your father ever mention
it?"
My sister shook her head. I couldn't recall hearing about it
either.
"Your father often consulted him on important matters," Uncle
Selva said. "Under these circumstances, Guru Noah is the best person
you can turn to."
I took a deep breath and tried to sound brave. "Take care of
your health, Uncle Selva. And don't worry about us. Shu and I will
handle this."
Shu took my hand and gave it a light squeeze.
"Jay is right," she said. "We'll find Guru Noah."
Uncle Selva reported the break in to the police. But they
couldn't find any trace of Garth Gan on their computer records. They
said it would take some time to investigate.

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

"I'll stick around and settle this," Uncle Selva told us. "I've made
arrangements. You two will fly to Penang tomorrow morning. There'll
be a van waiting, to take you to Guru Noah's last known address.
Good luck with your search!"
Just like that, we were sent on our adventure.

CHAPTER 4
It was a smooth flight to Penang. And like Uncle Selva said,
someone was waiting for us when we landed.
The driver of the van was a friendly young man named Ricky.
He had short hair and wore a bright yellow cap.
"Uncle Selva told me what you need," Ricky said with a smile.
"Don't worry, I know the area. I'll help you find the Guru."
We drove for a few hours. Past plantations, factory yards and
small settlements, some of them consisting of just three or four huts.
Shu sat in front with Ricky and studied her map. As we drove
around a huge pond, she suddenly pointed at a trail up ahead, on the
right side of the road. "It's that way," she said.
Ricky slowed down and followed Shu's directions. We came to a
small clearing. There was a house at the far end.
I looked around and shuddered. "This area is deserted. And
creepy! Why would a great man like Guru Noah live in a place like
this?"

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

Ricky noticed a movement behind the window. "There!

Someone's home!"
A moment later, the door swung open and an old man stepped
out. "That's him! It's Guru Noah!" Shu said in excitement.
Indeed, he looked just like the photo on Uncle Selva's phone.
Ricky stopped the van and we got out.
Guru Noah waved. He seemed very much at ease. As if he was
expecting us.
"Welcome, my young friends," Guru Noah said. "You'll have to
excuse me for now, I have some other kids to take care of."
Huh? I turned to Shu and whispered softly, "What's he talking
about?"
Somehow he heard me. Guru Noah gestured at the trees behind
us. "Those people followed you here today. All the way from
Singapore!"
At that moment, we heard loud laughter.
I turned around and saw a bunch of masked men rush out from
their hiding places.
There were eight of them, all dressed in black, like a gang of
ninjas. Each one carried a strange weapon, something between a
crossbow and a sword.
"Get back in the van!" Ricky cried.
But we didn't have time.
Without a word, the ninjas moved swiftly towards us, almost as if
they were gliding on air.

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

CHAPTER 5
Guru Noah didn't look worried at all.
"Put your weapons away," he called out as he stroked his beard.
"Why don't we discuss this over a cup of tea?"
The leader of the ninjas snorted. "No, thanks. I've wasted too
many years already. Let's settle this fast."
He reached inside his vest and pulled out something. Shu
recognised it a split second before I did.
"He has Daddy's notebook!" Shu gasped. "The one that was
stolen!"
I realised this could only mean one thing. "He must be Garth
Gan!"
The leader chuckled. "It's nice to know that I'm famous," he
said. He didn't remove his mask, but I could picture him smirking
under it.
He waved the notebook at Guru Noah.
"Everything in here is written in a strange code," Garth said. He
sounded irritated. "You'll give me what I need to make sense of this.
Or else these kids will suffer!"
At those words, the other seven ninjas started to howl, like a
pack of crazy dogs.
They were trying to scare Guru Noah into cooperating.

10

BukuGuru Story Worksheet

I could feel my heart beating furiously.

What if they attacked us?

~~ To be continued.
Is Garth Gan really the leader of the ninjas? How will Jay and Shu get
out of this tight spot? What secrets are recorded in their Daddy's
notebook?

###
ACTIVITIES
Discussion:
* What did you enjoy about this story?
* Which character did you find the most interesting?

Writing:
* How do you think the story should end?

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BukuGuru Story Worksheet

* Write your own ending and share this with your friends! You can
also post this on Facebook or Twitter.

Other activities to try:

* Read this story to a friend.
* Gather some friends and act out your favourite scenes.
* Draw the characters. What do you think they look like?
* Find more books that have similar stories. Read them and share
them with your friends.
* Write a book review. Make this as fun to read as you can!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Bosco lives in Singapore. He writes fantasy stories for young
readers. He loves to read and sometimes plays the guitar. He wishes
you a happy life!
END

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