Reference

The Scardungeon Compendium

An A-to-Z of the people, places and lore of Scardungeon — for readers who want to go deeper between books.

People

Adventurers and guardians

  • Cantrice

    Emerald, sapphire and gold feathers catch the lantern light, but there's nothing ordinary about this parrot. Older than she looks, sharper than she sounds, and bound to the Williams family in ways Samuel is only beginning to understand.

  • Captain Marc Williams

    A ghost pirate bound by a three-hundred-year-old bargain, his black storm-worn coat and pale hair unmistakable in any century. Ancestor, guardian and guide to the boy who must finish what he started.

  • Farsconther, the Lord of Parrots

    Spoken of throughout Scardungeon, rarely seen by anyone — and, some now whisper, missing altogether.

  • Lord Tribworth

    The being who struck the very first bargain on a quiet English beach, and holds the fate of both Scardungeon and Earth in his hands. Not cruel. Not kind. Simply certain.

  • Samuel Williams

    The boy who has been waiting all summer for an adventure, and gets far more than he bargained for. Determined and curious, he's the one who notices the mysterious stranger everyone else walks past.

  • Sarah

    Samuel's cousin, and the friend who keeps a level head when things get strange. She follows the clues of the pirate legend right alongside him.

Places

Where the story unfolds

  • Klindesdale

    The afterworld reserved for sailors who kept their word. Not every pirate earns a place there — but every pirate hopes for one.

  • The End Inn

    A wooden sign creaks above a doorway with a very strange name. Nobody Samuel meets can quite explain why.

  • The Flatlands of Klindersfell

    Endless grasslands stretching beyond the known edges of Scardungeon's map, glimpsed from a distance but not yet explored.

  • The Pirates' Playground

    Hidden beyond an ancient archway on the Dorset coast, where new rules apply and a guardian is made, tested, or unmade.

  • The Village of Sine

    The quiet village that once gave Sineford its name still exists, half-hidden, deep within Scardungeon itself. Some journeys end exactly where they began.

Artifacts & lore

Objects, bargains and quests

  • The Bargain

    Three hundred years ago, a bargain was struck on a quiet English beach between Captain Marc Williams and Lord Tribworth — a promise that shaped the fate of two worlds, and one that must eventually be paid in full.

  • The Guide

    An ordinary wristwatch, transformed by Captain Marc Williams into something extraordinary — a guide capable of finding the people, places and truths Samuel needs most.

  • The Three Temples (Wardock, Gygle & the Parrot Lords)

    Three sacred temples scattered across Scardungeon, each requiring an ancient stone to be placed — a quest at the heart of Captain Marc Williams's final voyage, and of Book Two.