Preview of the New Sprocket Saga

Sprocket and the Heart of the North

 

 

Chapter 1 The Heart of the North

 

Back in the mists of time when the world was new and the power of making new things was great in the land, dragons still roamed free on this Earth and were gentle creatures living in harmony with man and beast.

In the North lived a very skilled glass maker by name Cedric. There were many glass makers but only this one was a Dragon Friend and made Dragon Glass.

His workshops, on the edge of a great forest, were large and many of the local people worked for him or supplied him with the materials he needed.

The secret of his success was dragon fire. He loved the fiery creatures and treated them with kindness and respect. In return they gave him all the fire and heat he needed to work his art and skill with the hot treacly mix of melted sand and other trace elements which made his glass so special.

Because of the dragon fire, used to melt and form the glass, it became very tough and resilient. Cooking vessels never cracked on the fire and were easy to clean after use. Lamps that he made burned brighter and their candles lasted longer. It was however his sculptures which made him famous.

These beautiful objects formed from crystal threads and woven sheets as fine as gossamer captured the light of sun and moon and spun it into ever changing spectrums which dazzled the eye and made men’s hearts sore. Each work was different and enclosed in a globe of glass like a soap bubble but was so strong that even a blow from a hammer or sword left no mark.

Everyone wanted his glass products and wealthy men and kings came from far and wide to marvel at the beauty and artistry of his work. He was offered wealth beyond the dreams of most men but would only sell to those with pure intentions and one piece was not for sale at any price.

The Heart of the North was his master piece. Not large or ornately showy.  A globe, barely a hand’s span in diameter, it pulsed with an inner fire and warmed the spirit of any that looked into its depths. When asked about it he would shrug, and simply say it was the beating heart of the land, then smile and turn back to his work.

One night, when thunder hammered the high fells and lightening splintered the darkness into blinding shards, a hammering came at his door. He roused himself from the comforting fireside and went to see who would venture out that terrible night. As he crossed the room light blazed around the solid oak door and it crashed open almost bursting from its massive iron hinges. A tall cloaked figure with burning red eyes loomed in the doorway then strode into the room brushing the glass maker aside. Finding nobody else in sight he turned back to Cedric and demanded he give up his best work. The glass maker refused and the stranger became incandescent with rage.

When morning came, with skies swept to a clear cold blue by the night’s storm winds, the villagers found Cedric’s cottage in ruins and the glass maker laying crushed beneath a heavy beam. It took five strong men to lift the huge trunk of oak from his body but life still beat faintly in his shattered chest. They carried him gently to his workshop and placed him near the kiln to give him warmth. The village healer was called and came with her herbs and potions but after a brief examination of his injuries she shook her head in sorrow and bade them make his last moments as comfortable as possible. Knelling beside him they asked what had happened but all he could gasp was that the Heart was lost and woe would come of it.

A crowd scoured the ruin of the cottage and though many of his prized pieces were found there was no sign of the small treasure that was his finest creation.

When his end finally came two large dragons, one a deep red the other a pure white, flew silently down to the workshop and asked that the body be brought out. Four of his workers wrapped him in a sheet and carried him into the light of the setting sun, placing him in front of the huge beasts. The dragons bowed low over the body and remained silent and still for several moments, then took hold of the sheet in their talons and leapt into the darkening, sky carrying the remains of Cedric with them.

With The Heart and its maker gone the village lost its purpose. People no longer came to trade for there was little to trade. In less than a year all its inhabitants had drifted away and the buildings were no more than tumbled heaps of moss covered rubble. No dragons came, in fact very few were seen anywhere in the land and soon they became no more than a folk myth.

The Heart had gone from the North and sorrow and decay took its place.

Myth built upon fragments of truth and as the decades passed and memory died the oral tradition and the desire of every spinner of tall tales to enlarge on what little reality remained built a legend. Within two life spans of men nobody could say for sure what The Heart of the North had actually been and its supposed magical powers were built up to make it a cure for all ills. If only it could be found and returned then the windswept high fells would bloom again and health and prosperity would return.

Nothing good would come till The Heart beat once again in the North.

 

 

 

Chapter 2 Discovery in the Library

 

Victoria and Kate were in the school library. It was one of the oldest parts of their school and even contained one of the stand-up desks which the monks had used when this building had been the scriptorium for the monastery. It was after the end of the school day but they were here for two reasons, Jill, their mother was taking their younger brother to a friend’s birthday party, but their real reason was to do some research in the large number of very old books in the special section. They had needed to get permission from the librarian who had been very strict in her instructions and had insisted they each wore a pair of white cotton gloves when handling the books. Victoria sighed as she closed another giant, leather bound tome and carried it back to its shelf. Kate looked up from a smaller but even older set of pages loosely sewn together and kept in a wooden box.

"Any luck?" she enquired as her sister stretched up on tiptoe to push the book onto a high shelf.

"Not a thing. Seventeen books and six scrolls and not a word about dragons except the legend of Saint George and we both know that is all made up. I think Great Uncle Brassroyd is clutching at straws expecting us to find new information about dragons in here."

"Well, the school has been here a long time and the monastery before that and we did promise and he said we could go through the museum store for fancy dress clothes for World Book Day."

"I know, but we're running out of books and there’s only the really tatty stuff in the store cupboard left. Besides the librarian will have a fit if we damage even one corner of a page and some of those loose ones are almost dust anyway."

Victoria disappeared into the cupboard and reappeared with an arm full of loose scrolls which she carefully placed on the long reading table. She turned to pull up her chair when her sister gasped and pointed. Turning back quickly she made a grab for one of the scrolls which was rolling towards the end of the table and caught one end. The other end continued to roll and fell over the table edge and something made a metallic sound as it hit the floor. Carefully re rolling the ancient document she came round the table to collect the hidden end and find what had made the noise. She was about to place the scroll back with the others when the toe of her shoe caught something in the shadows under a nearby bookcase. She bent down and felt about under the bottom shelf praying all the time that there would be no spiders.

Her fingers brushed against something leathery which she slowly pulled out of its hiding place. Bringing it over to her sister the two girls examined the object closely.

It was made from the skin of a small animal not much bigger than a cat. They could tell this because at the corners were what would have been its legs. There was no fur on either side of the skin but one surface was covered with small spidery writing in an ink which had faded to a faint brown. What drew their attention was the large capital letter in the top left hand corner which was made up of intertwined dragons and still showed traces of other colours.

"What's it say?" asked Kate turning her head from side to side in an attempt to make some sense of the faded lettering.

"I don't know, but when I was talking to Hec the other day about old books she said that many were written in Latin and had Illuminated capitals, which is what I think that was. We ought to get a copy of this for Brassroyd. It may be what he is looking for."

Carrying the document very carefully they went in search of the librarian to ask if it could be photocopied but she was nowhere to be found and a note on her desk said 'back shortly'.

While they were trying to decide their next move their mother came through the library door and asked them to get cleared up so they could go home for tea. The girls carefully replaced all the books and scrolls but Victoria slipped the stray parchment into her art folder so they could show it to their Great Uncle, as the following day was Saturday and the girls only had to be in school in the morning. 

After lunch on Saturday the sisters made their way through the portal to their cousin's house after their mother had made sure someone would be in. They were met by a delighted Ava and the trio trooped off down the garden path to Brassroyd's house. Victoria had her art folder containing their library discovery and they explained what they had found to their cousin as they walked along. As soon as they reached the cobbled yard they were mobbed by Mrs. Mumbly and an excited Sprocket. They knocked on the back door while dog and dragon went through the access flap to fetch Brassroyd. Once inside all six went to the front parlour and Victoria opened her folder so that their Great Uncle could examine the enclosed parchment with its tarnished metal seal. Brassroyd opened the drawer in the table and removed a large magnifying glass. He began to examine the document carefully while the two older girls stood still, Ava and Sprocket fidgeted and Mrs Mumbly went back to the kitchen to fetch a bone. She knew from experience that this would take some time. After several minutes of muttering and even closer inspection of certain areas Brassroyd laid down the magnifying glass and pronounced that he would call Hester at the museum and get her to come and look.

Ava sighed and followed by Sprocket went back outside to speak with Blaggard the crow to catch up on the local news. The crow was always the best for local information because he missed nothing and what one crow saw all crows knew. While the three others waited for the museum curator to arrive Kate and Victoria explained how they had found the parchment inside a rolled up scroll in the oldest part of the school library. They pointed to the large first letter with its coiled dragons and said that was why they thought it might be important. Brassroyd looked again through his large magnifier and nodded in agreement.

The ringing of the door bell broke their concentration and Brassroyd hurried to the front door to let Hester in. She entered clutching several large reference books which she laid carefully on the table, before picking up Brassroyd's glass to study the document.

They all held their breath as her eyes scanned back and forth across the faded writing while she muttered things like 'remarkable, and 'well I never'. Victoria and Kate were on the point of bursting when Hester put down the magnifier and beamed at them.

"This is remarkable. It’s a handwritten telling of the legend of the Heart of the North." she said.

They looked at her with a complete lack of understanding. So she expanded on her explanation.

"The parchment, which is a cured animal skin, is written in Latin and judging by the style predates the dark ages. It tells the tale of a glass maker and dragon friend who owned an object called The Heart of the North and how it was taken from him and how disaster followed."

"What is the Heart? Does it say and where did it go to?"

"No. There are very few details and some of the words I am not sure of their meanings. I am sure that this was written many years after the object was stolen and seems to be more of a list of all the ills that befell the land after its disappearance. The seal at the bottom is of very soft and pure silver. This would indicate that only one copy of this document was made and it would have been kept secret from everyone except the highest levels of the monastery."

"Who took it?" chorused the girls

"It doesn't say exactly. There is some mention of a sorcerer, but nothing definite. The main subjects are Dragon Glass and The Heart. There are some mixing instructions for the basic glass but no details of how it was actually made." said Hester still running her gloved finger along the spidery writing and stopping occasionally to look closely at one of the squiggles.

The girls were very excited, chattering about real mysteries and Dragon Glass and Magic objects when Ava burst in followed by a dog and dragon in an agitated state.

"The Foresters have found a strange little valley in the woods near Withered Fell. It’s all dark and nothing will grow and the grass is black and the moss stinks and---."

"Slow down child, and take a breath before you faint."

Brassroyd swept Ava up and cuddled her while Mrs. Mumbly sat at his feet panting and Sprocket ran in small circles.

When Ava got her breath back she explained what the Foresters had found up by Withered Fell. It was a very windswept and remote part of the forest where some of the few ancient trees which had formed part of the original great forest still grew. A young Forester had been sent out to deal with a rock fall and unstable cliff which were threatening one of the oldest trees. He had torn down the loose rocks and planted grasses and rock plants to bind the cliff face, then set about clearing the fallen stones and making the area safe. As he cleared more of the stone he found some foundation and part of a fortified arch which had spanned the entrance to a narrow cleft in the hill side. Pulling away more loose boulders he uncovered a paved track leading through the arch into the valley beyond and followed it. Soon the valley widened out, but despite there being more clear sky overhead the place seemed to become darker the further he went. He walked on for nearly three miles finding piles of stones which had once been dwellings and then a wide clear area with large flagstones which may have been a market place. Where ever he looked there was devastation. Very little grew except stunted thorn bushes with vicious barbs as long as a man’s finger, harsh black grass, the leaves of which had edges like razors and clumps of slimy black moss which emitted an evil rotten stench if trodden on. When he reached the far end of the valley he found the remains of a very large building or collection of buildings built against a soaring cliff which over-hung the area and cut out much of the daylight. From the little he could see in the gloom under the cliff there had been at least twenty rooms, some large and long with the remains of chimneys and the marks of very hot fire rising up the rock face. Other rooms were more normal living sizes and some still had the broken remains of pottery and utensils among the rubble.

Brassroyd lifted his cap and scratched his bald head then went to one of the book shelves and took down two large tomes and a small one which he placed on the table beside the parchment. first he opened a book of large scale maps of the High Fells area and thumbed through it till he came to the page he needed. He then pointed to a featureless part of the map which bore the name of Withered Fell.

"Why are there no markings on that part of the map?" asked Kate

"Good point lass. Because anyone who goes nosing up there never comes back or so they say round these parts. I think this bears investigation. If it bothers Foresters and they don't know what’s going on, then it needs looking at."

"But if anyone who goes up there never comes back, won't it be very dangerous?" asked Victoria, and Ava nodded, looking very worried.

"Well, from what yon Forester says it’s been there a long time and nothing awful has happened recently so it can wait a couple of weeks till you lot break up for the holidays, then we will go with the Foresters and have a look. Meantime Hester will make some copies of the parchment so she can carry on prizing out its secrets and you two can take it back to the school library before it’s missed and you get into trouble. Young Ava, ask Blaggard to collect all the news about that part of the fells and get him to look into the flock memory for any mention of it. After all he found out about scrap dragons before I found them in my books."

The planning and discussions went on for another half hour while Hester took the parchment and copied it back at the museum then returned it safely to Victoria's art folder. As it was nearing tea time the girls returned along the path to Ava's house and went back through the portal to their home.

 

Chapter 3 The Glass Maker

 

The following day being Sunday, Ava's Mum and Dad walked with her up to the craft market which was taking place in the town hall. On the way they called in at Balmforth’s Rasta Bakery. This was one of Ava’s favourite shops because Reg (Reginald Winston Balmforth) baked tiny cottage loaves which she could have all to herself and he had the biggest brightest knitted woollen hat, his woolly top, in the North, to keep his dread locks in place. As soon as they opened the door a voice boomed from the back of the shop.

“Wadga wan Littley? You got the need for a girley size bread?” Ava beamed and nodded.

“And a bulk batch of Spicy Swede Slices for our fiery friends please.” said Louise, smiling at the infectious grin which took up most of the space between the woolly top and the hairnet which kept the bakers luxuriant beard in check.

Spicy Swede Slices were another of Reg’s inventions. They consisted of a short crust tart base filled with minced swede mixed with all kinds of nuts and seeds. This was topped off with a liberal helping of cayenne pepper and slices of the hottest chillies Reg could lay hands on and he always left the seeds in. The metre square trays went into the oven but were only part baked so the dragons could complete the cooking and eat them hot. The slices had come about at the suggestion of Golden Friend who pointed out that although Scrap dragons did very well in Human World, there was little in the way of vegetables for most of the other dragons, who were vegetarians, unless they raided nearby gardens. Reg had come to the rescue. His ovens were dragon fired so he had been feeding his dragons from the first day and had found a number of recipes the fire drakes loved. There were Garlic and Chilly bombs, Horse Radish and White onion Clanger and Deep fried Chillies in ground white pepper batter but the favourite was still the triple S with Tabasco sauce. Reg wrapped Ava’s little loaf in tissue paper which he tied at the top to make it look like a fat white rabbit and as usual drew a nose, eyes and a smile on the knot then tweaked up the ends to make ears. Ava said thank you then stood on tip toe to plant a kiss on Reg’s wide nose. 

When they reached the town hall the large room was buzzing with people and the stalls were doing brisk business. They wandered from stall to stall and Neil held his breath as they came to one festooned with dressing up outfits and a huge display of Princess dresses. To his amazement his daughter ignored it, going instead to a small booth displaying intricate glass sculptures of mythical beasts including Dragons.

As they caught up with Ava they found her deep in conversation with the girl looking after the stall discussing the finer points of dragon anatomy, form and accuracy of colouration. Louise apologised for her daughter’s criticism of the delicate figurines but the stallholder said she was amazed at the girl’s interest and obvious knowledge about the mythical beasts. Neil saw Ava take a deep breath before loudly correcting the girl about dragons not being myths but real creatures and shook his head. Ava deflated, understanding her father’s look. A young man came to the stall carrying two paper cups of tea and a pair of bacon rolls. And the girl introduced him as the actual glass maker and that she did the drawings and designs.

They spent some time looking at her folder of dragon pictures and Ava chose one of a large red Welsh dragon, just like Llewellyn, she told her Mum, breathing fire from the top of a rock outcrop. While the three females were selecting and making a final choice Neil was talking to the young man about his work and the obvious skill he had and feeling for the medium he worked in. The lad was pleased but admitted that this was the last fair they would be doing as the old mill that housed his workshop and a number of other small business was due for demolition so he would have to look for another base. Neil asked what he was paying at present and when the amount was mentioned he grinned and offered one of the units on the Sidings Industrial Park at an amount much less than the current rent. The glass maker was overjoyed as was the girl, who was his wife. They arranged for the couple to visit the workshop unit the following Wednesday and Neil promised to canvass the local estate agents for somewhere they could live rather than travel all the way from Manchester where they were at present. Hands were shaken and they parted company with Ava clutching her new dragon picture.

That evening after he had read Ava a couple of chapters of her current favourite book before kissing her good night, Neil walked along the path to see his Uncle and tell him about a possible addition to the crafts on offer at the industrial park. Sitting at the kitchen table sharing a bottle of Old Grubber’s Dark Mild, Neil recounted the day’s news. When he mentioned that the young man’s name was Cedric, Brassroyd nearly choked on his beer.

“But that’s the name of the mythical maker of the Heart of The North!”

“Who? What Heart?”

“It’s this legend that Victoria and Kate turned up in their school library about a powerful magical object fashioned by a glass maker in these parts. It was centuries ago and it was stolen and because it held the essence of the North doom and disaster befell the lands around here.”

“Goodness me! What a coincidence.” said Neil.  “Well, he’s good, but whether he’s magical remains to be seen.

“Might be interesting to introduce him to some dragon fire and some of the research Pongo’s been doing on ingredients of glass mixes and additives to see what comes out don’t you think?”

“Well let’s get them settled in first. There’s no point in frightening the living daylights out of them before they start. Just because he makes glass models of Dragons doesn’t mean he will take to the real things.”

“Ah, you’ve got a point I suppose.”

They talked on for an hour or so about the business and the museum, the Brass Band, and how Ava was doing at school, till Neil realised what the time was and hurried back before his dinner was burned to a crisp.

On Wednesday Neil met the couple at the park and showed them the workshop which was one of several similar units each having factory space and a showroom come studio at the front. There was a communal car park for visitors and a shuttle bus from the centre of Batherby Bridge which was used by both workers and visitors so the units had quite a good number of potential customers every day. The unit next door was Achmed’s basketry and woven cane business and he was happy to talk about how successful the park was becoming and how a local trucking company would deliver their products all over the country at very reasonable rates. 

After lunch Neil passed them over to an estate agent who took them on a tour of available rental properties before returning them to 7A Pudding Founders Lane for tea. Louise and Eleanor, (Nell for short) looked through the preferred short list of properties while Cedric helped Neil and Ava set out the food on the kitchen table. By the end of the meal they had narrowed down the choice to a renovated two bedroom terrace just off the museum square, which was convenient for the shuttle bus and the shops and would be ideal while they got the business up and running and looked for somewhere more permanent.

As they were saying good bye to travel back to Manchester and begin packing for the move Ava gave Nell one of the reworked photos which Dave had done for the opening of the museum. It was a picture of Sprocket cutting up a piece of steel girder and she asked if it would be possible for Cedric to make a model from it. Nell promised that as soon as they had the workshop set up it would be the first thing he did.

That weekend Ava, Neil and Louise helped Cedric and Nell move in. There were two removal vans, one with their furniture and another larger one with all the kilns, tools and benches for the workshop. Cedric and Neil went to the workshop to help unload the equipment and Ava and Louise helped get the house ready while Nell told the removal men where each piece of furniture and box was to be put. They all met up at the museum cafe for a late lunch when the men returned.

As they were finishing their lunch Pongo Feather came in from the museum and waved at Neil. He came over and introduced himself.

"So you're the new glass maker?"he said, shaking hands with Cedric "I've some ancient glass recipes you might be interested in. They have some very strange properties and would benefit from further research."

Cedric said Pongo could call round anytime but he wouldn't have the kilns up and working till he had arranged for the gas people to come and check them over and connect them to the mains.

"Oh I wouldn't bother with gas. Have a word with young Neil here, we have something far better than that in these parts and you'll need it for the old glass." and with that obscure comment he walked off to talk to a group of tourists who were forming up for the guided tour.

"What was that all about?” Cedric asked Neil.

"Ah, well I was going to mention it later when you two had settled in a bit, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. I know you make a living from dragons as well as other myths but how do you feel about them really?"

"How do you mean? They are myths and don’t really exist. Having huge fire breathing lizards wandering about in this day and age would really put the wind up people."

"I think a visit to Pudding Founders Lane is called for, and be prepared to suspend a little disbelief."

It was a short walk to the gates of Brassroyd's yard and Neil let the party in. He asked Ava to find some treats and call Sprocket.

"Who's Sprocket?" asked Nell

"You'll soon see." replied Louise as Ava returned with a tray covered in assorted ironmongery which she placed on the cobbles. The small girl put her fingers to her mouth and gave a piercing whistle. Seconds later there was the sound of rapidly approaching flappy feet and a small enthusiastic dragon skidded round the corner of the house and screeched to a halt in front of the tray. He then began to gobble up the tasty morsels, occasionally using a flash of fire to cut up the larger bits.

Cedric and Nell stood thunderstruck as, having finished the assorted scrap, Sprocket cut the metal tray into manageable pieces and swallowed those.

"It's real!" exclaimed Cedric "I can hardly believe my eyes!"

"Oh It's real all right and it’s not the only one round here. This is what Pongo was talking about when he said not to bother about gas. We have any number of dragons of all sizes only too happy to provide as much fire and heat as you need. Anything from melting iron to melting wax for candles, and small Scrap Dragons like this are the mainstay of our recycling business and what makes this town a success."

Nell squatted down to get a closer look and turning to Ava said.

"This is the dragon you gave me a picture of isn't it? You captured every detail perfectly. How did you do that?"

Neil laughed.

"It's really a photograph which my friend put through one of his fancy printers with the colours adjusted. We did a whole batch of them for the opening of the museum and made them like paintings to avoid difficult questions. Ava's pretty good at drawing for an eight year old but doing exact likenesses of fidgety creatures like Scrap Dragons is a bit beyond her."

"Are they all like this one?" asked Cedric holding out his hand for the little dragon to sniff. Sprocket instantly became very interested in the gold ring on the man’s finger till a rumbling growl stopped him mid lick and Mrs Mumbly waddled over from the flap in the kitchen door.

"There are many different types of dragons and they come in all shapes, sizes and colours. When you have a free moment I will introduce you to some of the ones who work in the tunnels of the old mine workings under here. But back to your workshop, if you have no objections I will arrange for a couple of dragons to fire your furnaces and give you fine flames for working the glass. You will have to spend a couple of days with one of the large Noble Dragons learning how to communicate with them but with an open mind that won’t be a problem."