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GO ONLINE AND JOIN THE QUEST!www.astrallegacies.com
Condors’QuestTHE SOUTH AMERICAN LEGACY
THE ASTRAL LEGACIES
This edition published in Great Britain in 2011 by Quest, an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc,Marine House, Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UK
www.quest-books.co.uk0 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
Editorial Director – Daniel GrahamCreative Director – Simon Couchman
Art Editor – Matt Denny Website Design – Paul Strandoo
Commissioning Editor - Lorna ThomsonJunior Editor – Eleanor Rose
Written by Gordon Volke
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.Neither this book nor any part or any of the illustrations, photographs or reproductions contained in itshall be sold or disposed of otherwise than as a complete book, and any unauthorised sale of such partillustration, photograph or reproduction shall be deemed to be a breach of the publisher’s copyright.
ISBN 978-1-84956-104-4
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryPrinted and bound in China
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’simagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is
entirely coincidental.
Written by Gordon Volke
The Astral LegaciesCondors’ Quest
Published by Quest.Quest is an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc,
Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UKwww.quest-books.co.uk
Copyright © 2011 Top That! Publishing plc. All rights reserved
4
The Astral Legacies
How the book works …
Join Angelina in her quest to find the fifth Astral Legacy
by searching for the hidden locations online. At key
points in the book, the condors provide Angelina with
precise information relating to the destinations that she
must visit in order to complete her quest. Each GPS
(Global Positioning System) coordinate that is
transmitted by the condors represents a precise location
in South America.
By entering the GPS coordinates into the GeoLocator
function on www.astrallegacies.com, you will be able to
travel with Angelina on her quest. Click the condor icon
on the revolving carousel, then select the ‘GeoLocator’
link to begin. For example, try these coordinates – they
will take you to Easter Island in Chile.
27°07' S,109°22' W
5
Condors’ Quest
When you ‘arrive’ at each new destination online, you
will discover the famous landmark that Angelina is seeking.
Enter GPScode here
Selectcompassdirectionhere
Click onthe redarrow toreveal thelocation
Use thisslider tozoom inand see thelocation inmore detail
Explorethe areain moredetail byclickinghere
6
The Astral Legacies
As the adventure unfolds, keep a note of the locations
that you find. When you have identified all ten key
locations that Angelina visits on her quest, enter the words
that make up each location into the ‘snake’ grid at the
back of this book. If you have inserted the correct answers,
letters which form the location of the fifth Astral Legacy
will be revealed, highlighted in the grey numbered boxes.
Transfer these numbered letters into the corresponding
spaces in the solution boxes at the bottom of the page to
reveal the full location name.
Log-on to www.astrallegacies.com to report the location
of the fifth Astral Legacy. If you successfully enter this
final landmark, the quest is complete and you will be able
to read the thrilling climax to Condors’ Quest online.
Once you have completed the
snake grid, the letters, highlighted
in grey, spell out part of the
location of the fifth Astral Legacy.
Transfer these letters into the
corresponding, numbered
spaces in the solutions grid below.
? ?
?
?
?
?
GPS 4
GPS 3
GPS 5
GPS 2
GPS 1
Solution
OF THE
1 2
3
4
5
6
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 3.
7
Condors’ Quest
Important Hints & Tips
• Enter the GPS coordinates accurately, including the
compass direction.
• Use the ‘Notes’ section at the back of this book to
record the locations that you identify as you progress
through the quest. You will then have everything at hand
to complete the ‘snake’ puzzle at the end of the book and
finish the quest with Angelina.
• The condors have provided additional clues to help
you fill in the snake puzzle correctly at the back of
this book.
• If you are still unable to work out the locations that
Angelina visits, log on to www.astrallegacies.com. The
names of the locations are revealed on the photo
carousel on the Condors’ Quest section of the website.
8
Chapter 1
The Angel Of The Streets
The alien spaceships appeared at one minute past
midnight on New Year’s Day. They flew in V-
shaped formations, methodically passing up and
down every land mass in the world, like a farmer
ploughing a field. There was no stopping them. The
spaceships were moving at a steady Mach 10 and
the human fighter jets sent to intercept them simply
could not keep up. One moment the aliens were in
range; the next, they had disappeared from the
radar. Humankind was completely defenceless
against this mighty onslaught. It had no idea what
was coming and had no means whatsoever of
dealing with it.
Had anyone been able to get near the fleets of the
sleek silver spaceships, they would have seen that
they were all emitting a strange vibrating light
directed down towards the ground. It was a weapon
9
Condors’ Quest
of awesome and unimaginable power, seeking out
and destroying human DNA. Any person who came
near it simply vaporised in a matter of seconds,
leaving the clothes they were wearing in little heaps
on the ground. There was no escape from this
horrific death-ray; the aliens made sure of that. Not
only were the teams of spaceships combing the
ground and emitting the ray at all possible angles,
they had follow-up units that swooped in at even
higher speeds with extra-powerful beams to
eradicate any stragglers who might have escaped by
working in high-rise buildings or underground
mines. Meanwhile, specialist units patrolled the
oceans, emitting a marine variant of the ray that
oscillated from horizon to horizon, penetrating both
steel and water to reach people on ships or in
submarines.
The effect on the world was catastrophic!
Without their drivers, millions of cars careered off
the road and crashed. Without their pilots,
aeroplanes dropped from the sky like stones,
10
The Astral Legacies
flattening buildings and setting them on fire. Empty
trains hurtled off the rails and jack-knifed into piles
of twisted metal. Untended machines went out of
control and factories exploded. Chaos and
destruction reigned on every continent of the world!
The screams of billions of people echoed to the
skies and then gradually turned into silence. As the
day wore on and this mass extinction began to near
completion, the planet became a quiet place with
nothing but the crackling of fires burning out of
control and the crash of falling buildings to replace
the many different sounds of human activity.
All of the other living things in the world,
however, remained completely untouched. The
death-ray only targeted humans, passing over pets,
livestock and wild animals without harming a hair,
feather or fin on their bodies. Similarly, flowers and
trees remained unharmed, as did all reptiles and
insects, right down the evolutionary chain as far as
bacteria and micro-organisms. In the space of just a
few hours, humankind, who had ruled Earth so
11
Condors’ Quest
carelessly for the last 50,000 years had become a
thing of the past; people no longer existed. Homo
sapiens were extinct …
With a gasp of horror, Angelina Romero sat bolt
upright in bed, her eyes wide open with terror.
Sweat poured down her face, even though it was a
cold night in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia in
South America.
‘You okay?’ asked a young voice in the darkness.
‘Just a nightmare, Juan,’ whispered Angelina. ‘Go
back to sleep.’
‘As long as you’re okay,’ insisted the boy.
‘Nothing must ever happen to you!’
‘I’m fine,’ urged the fifteen-year-old girl. ‘I’m just
going to get myself a drink.’
Still shaking from the intensity of her dream,
Angelina crept through the dormitory where her
charges, the ‘gamines’ or street children of Bogotá’s
slums, lay sleeping in the warmth and safety of the
rescue centre.
Angelina had been a street child herself once.
12
The Astral Legacies
Born into extreme poverty in the mid-nineties and
left to fend for herself, almost as soon as she could
walk and talk, she had avoided the many dangers of
the streets by a combination of luck, extreme fitness
and an iron will to survive. The greatest danger had
been the death squads, hired by wealthy
businessmen, who regarded the street children as
vermin or ‘throwaway children’. Thousands of
desperate, starving youngsters had been taken away
and murdered so they would no longer spoil the
appearance of Bogotá’s shops and offices.
Angelina had avoided the killers by remaining
one step ahead of them all the time. She never slept
in the same place twice, always listened to the talk
on the streets, learning the identity of the members
of the squads and disappearing as soon as one of
them was sighted, and she trusted no one, not even
her fellow gamines who could easily be bribed into
an act of treachery by the offer of food or money.
Two years ago, just after her thirteenth birthday,
Angelina had been picked up, close to death, by one
13
Condors’ Quest
of the small privately-run charities that were
eventually set up to help the street children of
Bogotá. Starving, Angelina had barely eaten for a
month; any food she had managed to get was given
to the small gaggle of starving children, who had
started following her in the hope of finding
protection. One rainy night, soaked to the skin and
desperate, she had collapsed on a dirty street corner
and had been abandoned by her young followers,
who realised she would no longer be of any use to
them. Only one boy, Juan, remained loyal, begging
passers-by for assistance.
Eventually, an elderly lady helped him drag
Angelina’s almost lifeless body to the San Cristobal
Mission, where she’d been taken in and nursed back
to health by the team of dedicated social workers.
Instead of returning to the streets, Angelina had
become the eyes and ears of the care team, using her
extensive experience of life on the street to rescue
further children from a life of depravation and
crime. She was loved and respected by everyone,
14
The Astral Legacies
living up to her name, which means ‘angel’ in
Spanish.
Clutching a cup of hot chocolate and a couple of
sweet biscuits to sooth her jangling nerves, Angelina
tiptoed past the now quietly snoring Juan, and
slipped back into bed. Tomorrow, she was due to
take a group of excited youngsters to Bogotá’s main
pleasure park, the Parque Jaime Duque, so she
needed some more sleep.
But, it was not to be. No sooner had she closed
her eyes, the horrifying dream returned! More alien
spaceships, vaporised humans and ruined cities
crowded in on her mind, making her sit up again in
absolute terror. What was going on? Never in her
life had she experienced the same dream twice!
Where had it come from? She’d seen many terrible,
upsetting sights during her dramatic young life, but
none of them came close to the horror and finality
of this act of alien obliteration. Fearing a return to
the nightmare for a third time, Angelina lay awake
until it started to get light and then went for a
15
Condors’ Quest
shower. Maybe the hot water would wash away the
images of so much death and destruction.
Having lived rough for many years, Angelina
always kept herself spotlessly clean. Despite this, she
didn’t care what she looked like, usually wearing
cast-off clothes given to the mission by various
charities. Today, however, she put on her best jeans
and a new tee shirt with a big letter ‘A’ on the front,
given to her by one of the social workers. She
needed to look smart to visit the upmarket pleasure
park with her young charges. Gazing at herself in
the full-length bathroom mirror, Angelina felt a
glow of satisfaction as she took in her slim athletic
figure. For most of her life she had been painfully
thin. Now she was lithe and strong with powerful
muscles that gave her the appearance of a long-
distance runner. Her large and luminously green
eyes stared back at her in the reflection. Although
her mouth smiled nearly all the time, her
mesmerising eyes never did. They darted
everywhere, taking in everything at a glance,
16
The Astral Legacies
constantly looking for danger. It was a throwback
to her days on the street; old survival habits
die hard.
Giving herself one last look in the mirror,
Angelina pulled her long, dark hair up into a
ponytail and headed downstairs. Wandering into the
deserted lounge to wait for breakfast, she turned on
the TV in the hope of finding some football. All
sport interested her, but football was her great
passion. She was a keen supporter of her local team,
the Millonarios, and a regular visitor to their El
Campín Stadium when time and funds allowed. She
was also a very talented player with excellent ball
control and a breathtaking turn of speed down the
wing. Unfortunately, there was no game being
shown at such an early hour of the day, so she
made do with some cartoons until the rest of the
house began to stir.
Later that morning, Angelina led four boys and
two girls to the Parque Jaime Duque. They were all
streetwise teenagers, perfectly capable of looking
17
Condors’ Quest
after themselves, so their young leader had been told
to show them around the park, give them some
money, mention a time and a place to meet back,
and then let them go. This suited Angelina. Trying
to contain their excitement at such a thrilling visit,
her charges had already started to give her a
headache, so she carried out her orders and soon
made her way to the zoo area for a little peace and
quiet.
Even though it was still only mid-morning,
Angelina sat on a bench beside the aviary and ate all
of her packed lunch. Then, closing her eyes and
putting her hands behind her head, she sat back to
enjoy the feel of the sun on her face.
‘It’s all true, you know,’ said a strange voice.
‘What happened in your dream will soon happen
for real unless you can prevent it.’
Opening her eyes, Angelina looked around, but
failed to see anyone remotely near her.
‘Over here!’ ordered an abrupt voice. Looking
up, Angelina saw a pair of enormous Andean
18
The Astral Legacies
condors staring down at her from the cage beside
her seat. She realised with a jolt that a condor was
talking to her!
‘Yes, we are talking to you,’ confirmed the first
condor. ‘Now, listen very carefully to what we’re
about tell you. Your life, those of the youngsters
you work so hard to protect, and everyone else in
the world, depends upon it. You cannot afford to
get anything wrong, Angelina!’
* * * * * * * * * * *
The condors told Angelina a story so incredible that
she felt like laughing and walking away. However,
what they were saying fitted perfectly with her
disturbing nightmare. There was something
seriously weird going on here and she needed to
find out what it was before dismissing it. So,
Angelina listened intently to everything the birds
had to say. Then, she methodically recapped on it
all to make sure she’d got it right.
19
Condors’ Quest
‘Let’s get this straight,’ she stammered. ‘You’re
telling me …
‘One, aliens colonised Earth thousands of years
ago and were destroyed by a meteor that shattered
their spaceship and blew away the seven elements
that propelled it at the speed of light.
‘Two, the aliens have now returned to reclaim
these elements, which are known as the Astral
Legacies. The task of finding these legacies falls to
seven human teenagers, who have to complete the
whole task within a year. So far, four have been
recovered and three remain hidden. I am one of the
chosen teenagers and my task is to find the fifth
legacy, which is hidden somewhere on the continent
of South America. You, the condors, are my chosen
mentors.
‘Three, if all the legacies are not found in that
time, the aliens will destroy all human life in the
manner depicted in my dream. This is because
they’re furious about the greedy and destructive way
humankind has treated the Earth. The fate of
20
The Astral Legacies
humanity rests squarely on my shoulders. If I do not
succeed, the human race will be obliterated.
‘Four, in order to test my strength and
resourcefulness, I will be given ten global
positioning coordinates via mental telepathy, and
must visit the places. Each successful visit will
trigger the next set of coordinates. In order to test
me and confirm that the younger generation will be
fit to lead the world if it survives, the aliens have
stipulated that an extra dimension should be added
to my task. In the same way that you, the condors,
soar above the world, every place that I visit needs
to be looked down on from above. Ten successful
visits will enable me to solve a puzzle that will
reveal the whereabouts of the fifth legacy.
‘Five, the money I shall need for this epic journey
around South America will be provided in an
unexpected and highly dangerous way. If I do not
grasp the opportunity when it is offered to me, I
will not get a second chance and no further funds
will be forthcoming. And, finally, I must tell no one
21
Condors’ Quest
about my quest.’
The condors looked at each other like a pair of
approving teachers in old-fashioned black gowns.
‘That is a concise and accurate summary of the
situation,’ commented the first condor. ‘You have a
sharp intelligence. We have chosen well.’
‘Do you have any questions?’ asked the other
bird. ‘We will not speak to you again until we direct
you as to where to find the final puzzle – provided
you get that far, of course. So, anything you want to
know needs to be settled now.’
‘When do I start?’ asked Angelina, already fired-
up and ready to tackle the greatest challenge of her
life.
‘Soon,’ replied the first condor.
‘You’ll know when the time comes,’ added the
second.
Then, the aviary-keeper arrived with some
carrion for the huge birds and the conversation
came to an end. Looking at her watch, Angelina
realised that it was almost time to meet up with her
132
The Astral Legacies
What happens next?
When you have identified the ten key locations that
Angelina visits on her quest, use the condors’ clues
on pages 136–137 to help you place them into the
snake grid on pages 134–135. Be careful to insert
the place names correctly in the order labelled in the
grid, for example, the first location that you will
need to insert is GPS 4. If you insert the correct
answers, letters which form the location of the fifth
Astral Legacy will be revealed, highlighted in the
grey numbered boxes. Transfer these numbered
letters into the corresponding spaces in the solution
boxes at the bottom of the page to reveal the full
location name.
133
Condors’ Quest
When you have filled in all of the boxes, log-on
to www.astrallegacies.com to report the location of
the fifth legacy. If you successfully enter this final
landmark into the website, the adventure is
complete, and you will be able to read the thrilling
climax to Condors’ Quest online.
Read the book … find the hidden locations …
solve the puzzle … save the world!
www.astrallegacies.com
134
The Astral Legacies
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 3.
OF THE
Solution
GPS 4
GPS 3
GPS 5
GPS 2
GPS 1
1 2
3
4
5
6
135
Condors’ Quest
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
OF
Solution
1GPS 7
GPS 9
GPS 10
GPS 8
GPS 6
2 7
4
3 6
10
8 9
5
136
The Astral Legacies
GPS CODE 1 - An old building right in the heart of the
Brazilian rainforest that holds concerts and is a centre
for arts.
THE AMAZONIAN
GPS CODE 2 - A beautifully preserved Inca city situated
in the mountains of Peru.
GPS CODE 3 - A park in Ecuador with a monument
marking the equator.
GPS CODE 4 - A white tower in Caracas where the
ashes of Simón Bolívar are buried.
THE NATIONAL
GPS CODE 5 - A waterfall in Guyana, bigger than both
Niagara and Victoria Falls.
137
Condors’ Quest
GPS CODE 6 - You need a bucket and spade
(and a football) to visit this holiday destination in
Rio de Janeiro.
GPS CODE 7 - A tall, iconic tower right in the centre of
Argentina’s capital city.
THE
GPS CODE 8 - The largest producer of wine
in Argentina.
GPS CODE 9 - The highest mountain in the Andes.
GPS CODE 10 - A strange moon-like valley in the
Atacama Desert, northern Chile.
144
The Astral Legacies
About the Author
Gordon Volke’s commercial writing career began in1972 when he was responsible for inventing thecomic antics of Dennis the Menace, Minnie theMinx and The Bash Street Kids in the UK’s best-selling comic, The Beano.
Since this auspicious start to his writing career,Gordon has gained plaudits by originating materialfor Snoopy (Peanuts), Tom and Jerry, Popeye andGarfield, and has been the principal contributor fornumerous comics and magazines, including Twinkle,Thomas the Tank Engine, The James BondExperience and Jurassic Park.
In 1998, Gordon began writing for The Tweenies,the Bafta award-winning pre-school series, scripting44 of the 365 episodes.
Over the years Gordon has originated children’sbooks covering most genres and age categories. Helives near Brighton on the south coast of England.