Maid Madelyn and the Jolly men listened intently as Princess Nataleigh told of what she had seen in her magic mirror at Amiera Palace.
“My magic mirror allows me to look at any place in Darrowold that I know about.” She explained. “And this morning, I decided to look into Castle Dingle and see what the black knights were doing.”
She continued. “What I didn’t expect to see was the wizard, Panganiban, alone on the roof of the castle. He was looking up into the sky as if waiting. Then I saw something flying toward the castle from out over the ocean. As it got closer, I could see that it was the Sea Witch, Hagwig, on her broomstick. She flew right up to the castle and landed on a tower top in front of Panganiban.”
Friar Tub snorted as he took another bite of his chicken leg. “Well that’s nothing unusual. Those two wicked rascals are always hatching up new schemes to defeat the golden knights with their black powers.”
“I know. I’ve watched them try many times before and they always fail.” Nataleigh agreed. “But this time, they were more secretive than usual and they spoke of something I’ve never heard of before; something called the Serpent’s Eye.”
Maid Madelyn shivered. “Just saying it’s name, makes me feel creepy, like hundreds of bugs are crawling on me.”
“That’s how I felt when I first heard them say it too. My first impulse was to stop listening and get away from that awful feeling. But I thought it might be important so I leaned closer to my mirror instead.”
Brumble Wood spoke up. “I have heard of the Serpent’s Eye, though I always thought it was just a legend. It is said to be the key to the Magic Castle of the North, though no one knows exactly how it works.”
Billy suddenly spoke up. “The Magic Castle?! But according to the ancient prophecy, whoever enters the Magic Castle will have the power to change Darrowold!”
Friar Tub stopped eating and sat forward. “The Magic Castle contains the ultimate power in the universe! Whoever possessed the Serpent’s Eye would have access to that power! If that wicked wizard and his watery witch have it then this is grave news indeed!”
Nataleigh shook her head. “No, no! They don’t have it yet. At least, I don’t think so. I heard them talking about going to get it.”
“We will inform King Balderdash and stop them! Did they say where it was?” Maid Madelyn was on her feet ready to go that minute.
“They said something about an underwater cavern below Skull-Rock Island.” Nataleigh answered.
“Skull-Rock Island? How are they going to get there? They have no ships or flying machines.” This was Brumble Wood’s question.
Again Nataleigh told them what she had heard. “Captain Claw has agreed to help them because he wants the treasure that is hidden beneath the island with the Serpent’s Eye.”
“But I thought Skull-Rock Island belonged to the Blackbeard Brothers and their multi-colored pirate gang.” said Tiny Bud. “They won’t let Captain Claw just land on their island and take their treasure. They’ll have to fight for it!”
Nataleigh shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but if King Kugelbone’s black knights team up with Captain Claw’s pirates, they might win. Then they will get the treasure and the Serpent’s Eye! That’s why I decided to come down from my palace in the clouds and warn the King.”
“It’s a good thing you did, Princess.” Brumble Wood stood. “This is a danger worse than any we have ever faced on Darrowold!”
Nataleigh interrupted. “I think Hagwig told Panganiban that the pirates would be there this morning sometime.”
Brumble Wood looked worried. “That does not give us much time. It will take us half a day to reach Bouldergold Castle and warn the King. By the time he gets his knights together to stop them, the enemy will be gone!”
No comments:
Post a Comment