Sword of Stone: Merlin's School for Ordinary Children, #2

By Margaret R Blake

 

Merlin's School for Ordinary Children - a not so ordinary school!

Book 2 - Another year and the strange school looms over Calder Cove still. Despite protests from parents and some offspring, it puts out a call for potential pupils to walk through the gates. This year the headmaster issues a dire warning - one that is ignored. Subsequently a portal to another dimension is opened, trapping five students inside. The only way out involves the retrieval of a much-coveted magical sword. Will everyone escape, or will they fall victim to those who reside there? Discover the answer inside "Sword of Stone."

A cross between Harry Potter and The Famous Five - fantasy/adventure for all the family.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Margaret R Blake
• Release date: Jul 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781386636656

Margaret R Blake

Having done all the usual stuff – school, marriage, kids – Margaret moved to Tiaro, Queensland from Tasmania. She’s currently retired and spends a lot of her time writing, reading and talking to herself. She has published several books - children’s fantasy, YA and adult fiction, along with the castle chronicles for Victory Village at Riverbend. The Ring of Curses – her first book in her Merlin’s School for Ordinary Children fantasy series for 9 years and upwards - was nominated for the Ditmar awards, and in 2014 and 2015 Margaret was a featured author in The Premier’s Reading Challenge, Tasmania. She was a literary adjudicator with the 2016 Maryborough Eisteddfod in Queensland. She continues to write and has just published the third book in the Merlin's School series in ebook format, with print soon to come.

Book preview

Merlin’s School for Ordinary Children Sword of Stone

1 - Another Year, Another Wait 

It was almost a year since the first invitations to Merlin’s School for Ordinary Children had been issued. Parchment envelopes had started arriving out of nowhere, just after the end of January, finding their way into homes all over Calder Cove, Tallowberry Hills and Enoch’s Pride. Everyone was excited of course, as everybody should be, because it was a real privilege to be invited to Merlin’s School. It was exclusive, it was different ... and it was a great castle that grew like a huge grey mushroom, out of the very soil that was once old man Riley’s Ranch. Not every town had a marvelous school like Merlin’s School.

But who was old man Riley ... you might ask?

Well ... he was where it all started. Until the day he died nothing much happened in Calder Cove. The moment he passed on though - things were on a roll. His animals were given away or sold, his home was demolished and the land where he grew all his wonderful trees and vegetables was cleared of every twig, lump and bump.

This did set the town’s folks to thinking - what was going on? Then in answer to their question, and to their amazement all sorts of arrivals and departures occurred. It took some time mind you, and everybody had to wait, but eventually everything was revealed. People were invited to a Grand Opening, no less. There they were absolutely mind-boggled by a fantabulous medieval-style castle hewn from bluestone, where once an old weatherboard house had stood.

The town’s folk met the strangely dressed Headmaster, Professor Myer Mendholsonn, and some other members of the teaching staff - just as strange, of course - and later everyone dined on sumptuous food and drank sparkling drinks. They viewed a magnificent library and were suitably awed and inspired. And they were told that carefully chosen children would be invited to attend this wonderful school.

Again - in due time.

Then, at the end of it all, the visitors were unceremoniously tossed out of the castle onto their ears. Just like that! No questions asked.

But the people of Calder Cove didn’t mind for they had enjoyed their luncheon at the ancient fortress. They were also too intrigued by the enigmatic nature of it to worry about something as trivial as an abrupt eviction. 

So ... after another wait - one designed to drive a sane person crazy - the invites for the first school semester had started arriving, furtively, in the middle of the night, just like the building of the school. But again, the people didn’t care. They just wanted their child, or children, enrolled in this superior school. It was a once in a lifetime chance and who knew when it would happen again?

Once more time dragged on until eventually, on February 14th, the school had finally opened its doors, closing them just as quickly, with parents and siblings on one side and prospective students on the other. The large massive entrance of the castle was promptly secured against the outside world with huge locks and keys, and Merlin’s School started its first year.

And what a year it was! Although the school was described as being for Ordinary Children it was, in fact, quite extraordinary. There was no contact allowed with the outside world, modern technology was frowned upon, and there was just one continuous term. There were also magical rooms discovered inside other rooms, with a golden door, and an unusual gateway to the universe found as well.

But the icing on the cake was when a student was lost! How out of the ordinary is that?

All this was accepted with little concern but what else was to be expected when the teaching staff was every bit as weird. Amongst others, there was a leftover fashion queen, an exuberant history buff who thought himself an eccentric explorer, and ... a long-haired, bearded Druid for heaven’s sake.

The students had survived all this - thank goodness - and some had even enjoyed the enterprise, with the town’s sniveling snitch, Tilderly Davis, becoming quite grown up in the end. And rather brave as well!

Daffodil Stimmer, the heroine of the story as far as she was concerned, had saved certain students from certain peril, although why she ever did so was even beyond her comprehension. But she put it down to an overwhelming desire that was of the moment, not realising that sometimes the greater good steps in and takes over.

Dark-haired Bridget Lincoln had decided that she liked living in Calder Cove as opposed to the city, becoming a more confident individual with it. She even found another home for her beloved pony, Hector, as well as made some new, if not unusual friends.

Popular Orion Sparr from Tallowberry Hills had finally conquered his stutter, which was a godsend according to his parents who’d spent an absolute fortune on therapy in the past. But unexpected events at the school had not allowed a misinterpretation of instructions therefore Orion had no choice but to articulate on the highest level.

And Ernest Digby, well ... he’d decided to be a right daredevil and swap his familiar wire-rimmed glasses for a pair of contact lenses. Very forthright of him his parents thought. But they were secretly pleased, for the lenses dispelled his sense of autonomy, and he became quite the social butterfly. In their eyes, anyway!

The best part though, was the fact that the school was still there, on the plot of ground known as Riley’s Ranch. It hadn’t disappeared after the end of the semester, and it was still there even after Christmas and the coming of the New Year. Mind you, nobody had seen hide nor hair of any of the teachers, which was rather out of the norm. But nothing was done in the regular way when it pertained to Merlin’s School.

With all these wonderful developments in mind, parents - and several children – were looking forward to the arrival of this year’s entreaty. Some had taken to a vigil, watching appropriate spaces closely in case they missed out, even with the knowledge of several events that had put particular children’s lives at risk. But there seemed to be an impenetrable force that had come over the town since the arrival of the school, and for some unexplained reason nobody wanted to be overlooked when it came to the mystery and adventure that surrounded the place like a secretive shroud.

At the end of the day though, one never knew when or where the invitations would arrive. Like any other moment connected to the institution, they just had to bide time.

Which they did, with the long hazy period of Calder Cove’s summer drifting into one day and out into another, threading themselves together into a chain of sea-spray, sunburn, and dripping ice-creams. The white beaches looked like they were covered in hundreds and thousands as colourful patrons baked and frolicked and romped ideally, as one should during a vacation. And each day blurred into a repeated memory, with the nights sweltering away into pools of perspiration and soggy pyjamas, until finally the first parchment envelope appeared.

This time it was left beside Fredrick Henry’s old typewriter. Mr Henry was the town’s local editor - was being the operative word. He used to write The Weekly Wailer, the township’s newsletter, but since the opening of Merlin’s School he had become quite despondent about the scope of his editorial skills, concentrating only on issues relating to Calder Cove’s wondrous faculty. Consequently, at the end of the first term, he’d taken on an apprentice in the form of fifteen-year old Neville Cormac.

Neville Cormac had decided that invitation or not, he’d had enough of teaching institutions. Last year, he’d gotten himself into a spot of bother when he had procured a splendid ring - one believed to be magical and mysterious. But the ring had led him astray and he’d been sucked into a massive hole in one of the castle’s walls. He never really worked his way through the trauma of it all. He wouldn’t talk about it either. In fact, he didn’t want to talk to anyone, especially other children who’d attended Merlin’s School. It would be a terrible reminder and he already had one of those - a permanent blue spot on the end of his nose. So ... in order to avoid another year of school - any school - he was happy to take up Mr. Henry’s offer and stay within the town’s confines.

Not so Mr Henry’s daughter, Melissa. She was ecstatic to see the parchment envelope, with its plain written invitation inside, lying on her father’s desk. The wording was identical to last year, with no more added or subtracted, and it read –

Bring your toothbrush and a change of underwear.

Present yourself at the drawbridge of the castle at

9-00a.m. sharp, February 14th – and don’t be late!

Melissa said the words over and over and over again, each time her voice getting louder and louder until her mother, Mrs Molly Henry, had bustled in from the garden to see what was wrong.

The next invite had been spied between the teeth of Cedric Finnegan’s large hairy dog, Wentworth. He’d found it in his biscuit bowl and thought it was a treat. When Cedric had seen him chewing furiously on the parchment the dog had been very reluctant to share his discovery. It was only when Cedric had cut a great lump of steak away from the household’s teatime roast that Wentworth let go of the envelope. Cedric had then grabbed it up quickly and run up into his bedroom, slamming the door noisily behind him.

Bridget Lincoln’s invite had arrived after Cedric’s and boy, was her mum - Mrs Beverly Lincoln - put out! You could bet your last chocolate bar on it. Bridget’s invitation was first last year, being found amongst a load of cheap ornaments, and Mrs Lincoln couldn’t think of any conceivable reason why it shouldn’t be the case this year. She’d even complained to her next door neighbour, Mrs Edna McKinity. But the woman would have none of it, saying that Beverly was lucky that her daughter had got one at all - not that Mrs McKinity really cared one way or the other.

Well ... if Mrs Lincoln had her knickers in a knot before, they were well and truly knotted now.

Next there had been Tilderly Davis’ parchment, and wasn’t she relieved? She’d been just a little bit worried that she might have been disregarded. She’d also gotten slightly withdrawn and watery as the days had passed, but there was no need for tears either way, especially now that she had her weeping habit almost under control.

Orion Sparr’s invitation had arrived after Tilderly’s. Then Agnes Merryweather’s and Kylie Emery’s, Fiona Medhurst’s and Willow Flanders’ had followed.

Ernest Digby’s and Allan Wilson’s, along with Terrie Gibson’s and his twin siblings, Jason and Bodene were not far behind.

And of course, there had been Daffodil Stimmer’s. She wasn’t really sure whether she wanted to go to Merlin’s School again this year. Unfortunately, there was something inside her head that kept discounting the idea.

So, for the next five days, the invitations trickled into homes all over Calder Cove, Tallowberry Hills and Enoch’s Pride until every single one was where it should be.

Now another wait was in order, although it was only for two days and nobody minded at all. It was just enough time to get a new toothbrush, find some underwear that sported reasonable elastic, and hunt out a spare pair of socks without holes. Easily enough done!

So why did everything seem to take forever?

But who knew the answer to this one? It was just the way of Merlin’s School. What everyone did know though, was that the day would arrive eventually.

And arrive it did, swathed in soft cerulean skies and beautiful fluffy cotton-ball clouds. Children everywhere were up with the birds and some even before these feathered creatures - faces washed, and teeth brushed, with breakfast in between. The required underwear and socks were stowed away under caps and stuffed into pockets, and then everybody made their way to the castle verge. There they waited patiently, with their parents and other assorted relatives until the count of nine, the hour that the very large carved doors of the grand edifice would swing open and invite them inside.

A hush settled gently over the growing crowd as the time drew near, though a subtle festive feel wafted about, injecting a sense of excitement. Those who had attended the school the prior year speculated on what adventures awaited them behind the great stone walls. And those who were new students waited in awe, wondering if the rumours they’d heard were true. But they all knew that at the precise hour of nine everything would be exposed.

As was to be expected, on the dot, the great doors of the turreted castle creaked open slowly, and the hush grew into a soft whisper. Eyes turned to stare into the blackness of the huge doorway, looking for the arrival of the enigmatic Headmaster, Professor Myer Mendholsonn. Oddly enough, he didn’t show.

Neither did anyone else. And not a sound was heard either. The whispers of the crowd ebbed away into silence again and everybody strained to see within the castle. For a moment time seemed to stand still!

‘Where is he?’ several voices finally said together.

‘Don’t know,’ others answered, their surprise echoing everywhere.

And everyone began to shuffle their feet, growing more restless with each passing moment.

‘Do you think we’ve got the wrong day?’ Mrs Florence Flanders asked generally and tentatively.

‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ Beverly Lincoln snarled in reply. ‘We couldn’t all get the wrong day.’

‘Oh,’ Mrs Flanders whimpered, moving away. She disappeared into the mass of closely pressed bodies. It was no wonder nobody liked the odious woman. 

Several more seconds drifted by until suddenly a great voice boomed out from the very bowels of the fortress. ‘Get a move on. You know who you are.’

Well! Of all the very weird and wacky things, but the crowd just as suddenly catapulted into action, giving hugs and kisses to children - not necessarily their own - within the melee of bodies. They were then pushed forward quickly onto the drawbridge that lay like a giant wooden tongue on the grass. A flurry of goodbyes arose into the air as the cavernous opening of the school crept closed behind them, sweeping the children into its depths and leaving a large group of bewildered parents, aunties, uncles and grandies outside. It seemed to be a very deliberate separation.

‘Same thing happened last year,’ Mr Frederick Henry stated wearily, staring unhappily down at his feet when the doors finally slammed shut. He would dearly love to stroll through the grounds of the school with his daughter, Melissa - in the name of research mind you.

‘Aye, that it did,’ Mr Amos McTavish echoed in his Scottish brogue, turning abruptly away from the school to walk home. Several people blinked in his direction, astonished at his immediate retreat, though nobody understood why he took so much interest in the school in the first place. He didn’t have a wife, let alone any children. But some might say he’d been part of Calder Cove’s happening from the very beginning and that could have something to do with it.

It took Mr McTavish’s departure to stir people out of their imposed lethargy. Everybody knew now that once the doors of the school were bolted on the inside, securely shutting away the outside world, that that was the end of it. So, what were they waiting for?

Again, who knew?

But they did wonder all the same.

2 - A Dodgy Welcome

It was now lunch time, and everyone had grouped together in the huge magnificent hall of the castle after a rather unusual morning.

Firstly, the children had been greeted in the grand foyer of the school by the darkly clad Artemus Blokk, Keeper of the Keys and general caretaker. With the help of monstrous levers, he’d locked the sizable doors tightly and with meaning, manipulating the bolts noisily until the last one had been taken care of. Then, without a glimpse of the Headmaster, or explanation, everyone had been immediately ushered through the library and out onto the wonderful, enchanted green. Mr Blokk had directed the children to stay there and wait until they were summoned. Again, the same thing had occurred the year before, but this time there seemed to be an ominous feel about the system. Even with the cool shaded arbor of silver birches that shadowed the space, and the smart array of tables absolutely groaning with food of all sorts, things just didn’t seem to vibrate correctly.

After this indifferent introduction to the school the students eventually settled, with some drifting naturally into familiar friendships of another time, while others drifted in general, trying the doors hidden in the gloom of the cloisters to see if they could enter the castle and find out what was going on. But they had no luck, and not a teacher was to be seen either. The general air of the school might appear open and comforting, but there were those who knew the place more intimately.

‘What d’yer reckon?’ Tilderly lisped to Bridget, leaning back on her hands to sun her round face. These two seemed an unlikely combination, yet an uncommon friendship had sprung up between the pair after they had solved a mystery together last year, rescuing Neville Cormac - of all people - in the process.

‘Dunno,’ Bridget replied, taking in the surrounding scene. She was just as mystified as her pal but couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Bridget just hoped that the puzzle would be sorted later that day. Being thrown into obscurity before lunch and on the first day would be just a little too much, even for Merlin’s School. It might give the impression there was nothing like a stint within these walls to keep one on their toes. With this thought in mind Bridget made herself comfortable on the lush grass of the green.

Suddenly she spied Orion Sparr conversing with Terrie Gibson and waved at him to come on over. He said a few more words to Terrie, then strolled her way.

‘Hello, Bridget,’ he said, smiling down at her. They were another unlikely couple, but he had been part of Neville’s rescue as well and it had created a firm bond between the two.

‘How goes it?’ Orion continued confidently, sitting down beside her with not a stutter to be heard. He turned and smiled hello at Tilderly before looking beyond her. ‘Where’s Ernest? You pair are usually inseparable,’ he said finally.

Bridget too, had noticed the absence of Tilderly’s shadow, but had chosen not to comment.

‘One of the boys pinched his toothbrush and he’s trying to stop the rotter cleaning his shoes with it,’ Tilderly answered with a slight frown. ‘Doesn’t take long, does it?’ she finished with a casual shrug of her chubby shoulders, for it was not unusual for twelve-year old Ernest to be the brunt of the older boys’ pranks.

Orion watched Tilderly closely, expecting a shower of tears and was extremely grateful when none were forthcoming.

‘And where’s Daffodil?’ he inquired after a moment. Bridget and Daffodil Stimmer had been mates of sorts last year and everyone had expected as much this year.

‘Her ladyship has moved on to better pastures,’ Bridget explained.

‘Ones without me I’ll bet,’ Tilderly giggled.

‘That’s not true,’ Bridget said in defense of her former friend, though she had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with it. ‘Daffodil just thought that three’s a crowd that’s all and decided to take up with Brittany Lyons from Tallowberry Hills. Apparently, her father owns a huge yacht and the invitation to sail the White Wednesday Isles next Christmas holiday was far too big an opportunity to pass up.’  

Orion laughed. Bridget realized that she had painted her old friend in rather an egotistical light, but the facts were the facts when it came to Daffodil.

He continued, ‘So ... how was your break?’ Orion lived in Tallowberry Hills also and hadn’t seen Bridget or Tilderly since the end of last year’s school term.

‘Aw, you know ... the same,’ Bridget answered nonchalantly. ‘Life’s sorta dull on the outside.’

‘Ditto,’ Tilderly added with similar nonchalance, though there was a hint of another giggle.

Orion laughed again. He knew exactly what they meant. ‘Never mind,’ he added, ‘who knows what magical mysteries will unfold this year.’

‘You’re kidding, right,’ Bridget said, shaking her head at Orion’s remark. ‘I don’t want that sort of drama in my life again. Ever! And I mean it!’

Yet she, like any other person, never knew what each day would bring, including the present one.

The morning passed with its usual ambience. Bridget told Orion of her dull and totally mundane thirteenth birthday party, just a week after the New Year. Tilderly had attended, as did Daffodil – along with her toffee-nosed attitude – for Orion had not been invited. Mrs Lincoln was not into mixed parties before the age of sixteen, Bridget enlarged with an apology.

Orion was not too disappointed; there was always another time he decreed, being only fourteen years of age himself.

Tilderly had very little else to add.

It was the same with Ernest when he finally joined the group. All he had to show for his holiday were his new contact lenses, and they were not so new anymore with it now being February.

Orion listened attentively, then added his own recital of events, saying that his father had gone away on his own and the promised family camping trip of several years failed to materialise ... again.

And so, everyone chatted about this and that, along with other not-so-exciting things that had littered their holiday break.

An hour or so later a sombre-faced Artemus Blokk returned hurriedly, calling everyone to order and ushering them about once again. This time it was back inside and into the expansive confines of the towering Great Hall. All teaching staff, along with the school’s mothball-scented nurse, Mrs Flora Nettlewood, was there, waiting patiently on the main dais at the very end of the room - all except Headmaster Myer Mendholsonn and Deputy Head, Professor Florian Flap.

The 1920s’ styled, black-and-white bedecked kitchen staff stood around randomly, ready to serve the students soup and sandwiches. Everyone took a seat without giving them a glance. It was only moments after their arrival that the Headmaster appeared, striding along the length of the Great Hall, before seating himself in between Mr Blokk and Professor Hercules Flounder, the school’s history teacher.

Strangely enough Professor Flounder wore a long face for a change and was dressed rather conventionally. He was sitting quietly while fiddling with his fingers.

Ignoring this abnormal behavior Headmaster Mendholsonn’s gaze flickered rapidly around the room. He then signaled for luncheon to be served. It was obvious that he had no intentions of proceeding with school business until he had eaten his midday repast, regardless of how lacking in appetite everybody else was.

The oak-beamed Great Hall was customarily filled with noise during mealtimes, but today it was only the quiet scraping of cutlery that echoed about. The oppressive air from earlier appeared to have followed the Headmaster inside the massive room, and it hung like a dark cloud over a funeral. Hardly a whisper sailed aloft. In fact, just for a second or two, many students were wishing they were home instead. The rumours of an enterprising year seemed just that - rumours. 

Eventually though, the meal was finished, and dirty plates were cleared away. Now Headmaster Mendholsonn seemed prepared to officially greet his wards. He stood and regarded everyone serenely.

‘Good afternoon,’ he said with composure. He was dressed in black velvet pants and a dark emerald-green jacket, with a yellow silk cravat tucked in at his throat. As always, he was impeccably groomed, and his smile was a mile wide, his van dyke beard twitching.

‘How wonderful to see you all again. I trust that your summer vacation was enjoyable. I apologise for not greeting you at the portcullis as protocol would demand. Unfortunately, I had urgent matters to attend to.’ The Headmaster stopped his homily long enough to assess his students through narrowed eyes. He then continued, saying, ‘Witch Wookey is unable to be with us again. Those of you who were here at Merlin’s School last year will know that this is the second semester that she has been unable to join us. It is a pity, for her classes are valued and there is very little that she doesn’t know about herbal lore and the sciences.’

Here the Headmaster hesitated once more as he appeared to carefully deliberating upon his next words. His face brightened as he said, ‘Ah well, things always play out as they should.’

Every face looked up at him with a slightly puzzled expression at this adage, but he was not about to explain any further. Instead, with much enthusiasm he launched straight into the introductions for the rest of his teaching staff.

‘Firstly, I would like