The Land of the Black Castle

A Renzy and Mercer Adventure Story

Copyright (c) 2010 Christopher Richards

Warning: This book may cause laughter in young children. You have been warned.

Far across the misty green sea lay the tiny island Kingdom of Sackonia. Each day was much like the next. King Adada and Queen Chichi ruled from their tall castle on the topmost hill. The royal bees performed their formation flying exercises, and the Queen took tea at four 'o clock with her ladies.

The King and Queen had two small boys, Renzy and Mercer. All had been quiet for a very long time. But that was about to change.

Mercer was always inventing new things. He'd invented his upside-down boots so he could walk on the ceiling. However, most of the time he spent in his laboratory, high in the northwest tower, trying to turn ordinary metal into pure gold. But for the last few days he had been thinking about flying.

At last, he completed his newest invention, and now he needed help to test it. He sat down and wrote a note to his brother, Renzy. The trouble was, Mercer was having difficulty getting his raven to deliver the message.

"Corax, Corax, come down here," said Mercer.

The raven sat on the window ledge and pretended not to hear.

"Corax! I know you can hear me. Please take this message to Renzy."

Corax covered his ears with his feathers.

"I promise this will be the last message today."

A few minutes later, Corax flew out of the window in search of Renzy.

On the other side of the fish-filled moat, Renzy stood up in his saddle. He waved his sword at full gallop. Corax landed with a bump on Renzy's shield. The young boy drew his horse to a halt and unrolled the parchment.

Dear Renzy,
Please come quickly. I need your help.
Love,
Mercer

What is it this time? thought Renzy to himself. Only last week he'd helped his younger brother with the turning-jam-into-gold experiment. It had not been a success. Renzy and Mercer had become very sticky, and this did not please the Queen.

Renzy climbed the last of the stone steps. From the top of the castle he could see all of Sackonia. He could hear the pounding surf against the cliffs. And far out to sea, the Island of Forgetting was just visible. In the other direction, he could see the Bay of Calm where the King Adada's ships groaned at anchor in the mist.What he couldn't see was the distant Land of the Black Castle, the domain of Sir Egbert 'Fuffy Pants' Rotter, perhaps the smelliest of all knights.

In a small room at the top of the tower, Mercer fiddled with something that looked like a giant bird. Renzy stared at the strangelooking object.

"This is a kite," said Mercer.

"And what's it for?"

"Now that is a good question," said Mercer, and if he had had a beard, which he did not, he would have stroked it thoughtfully. "You see, sometimes people build things, and then decide what they are for."

"What does it do?" asked Renzy.

"Oh, it flies."

"No! Does it really?"

"Well, it's supposed to fly. We attach one end of this rope to the flagpole and the other end should go up in the air."

"I'd like to see it fly," said Renzy.

"Then let's try it out," said Mercer. And that's what they did.

The two young boys climbed out onto the roof. They felt the breeze on their faces. Suddenly, the wind roared. They could hardly hear themselves talk against the deafening blast. The flag at the top of the flagpole ripped itself loose and blew away.

"Hold onto the kite," yelled Mercer. "I'll tie the rope around the flagpole. When I say let go, let go."

But at that instant, a gust of wind blew across the high tower and lifted the kite -and Renzy- into the air. Up and up and up rose the kite. Renzy hung on. Already the kite was moving fast.

"Tie the rope around the flagpole," yelled Renzy. But Mercer could hear nothing but the howling wind. The rope flew out of Mercer's hand. And that was the last time Mercer saw Renzy for a very long time.

The wind turned into a storm. The afternoon turned into night. Still Renzy held on tight to the kite. First he was blown one way, and then another. Eventually the storm blew itself out. All he could see above him were stars. Below was the sparkling night sea.

He drifted for a long time. His arms were hurting now. And he was much lower. Instead of the sea beneath him, now there was a forest, and then a clearing, and then a castle. A moment later, he came to land on its roof with a loud crash. The kite splintered into pieces. His knee hurt, but apart from that, he was in one piece.

It was quiet that night. He listened carefully. A dog barked for a moment, then nothing. It barked again. Someone yelled at it. It was quiet again. In the darkness Renzy could just see an iron ring set in the roof of the turret. He pulled it. It wouldn't budge. He grabbed a long piece of wood from his broken kite, slipped it through the ring and pulled it upward. The great stone slab moved, revealing a staircase. Below he could hear the sound of snoring. Two guards with nasty-looking axes were sleeping directly beneath him. Renzy didn't move a muscle.

Next