The Tinkerberry Tales - The Complete Saga

By Anthony Kirkpatrick

This book consists of three books in The Tinkerberry Tales series. A family with a newfound thirst for adventure look to restore the balance of their island. With new adventures and thrilling action in every tale. The Tinkerberrys start with their adventures in the forest and are forced to explore further afield on their quests. Mythical creatur

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthony Kirkpatrick
• Release date: May 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087948232

Book preview

By Anthony Kirkpatrick

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Balance of the Forest

The Dark Witch of Greed

The Pride of the Nixies

The Caves of Sloth

The Fairy Lust War

Envy of the Elvlings

Glorious Gluttony

Witches Wrath

In the Balance

The Dark Mountains

The Bear Mountain Trail

The Hatchling

The Dark Suna Volcano

The Thornback Dragon

Southern Nungle Fever

Good Sprites and Bad Sprites

The Last Dragon

The Dark Suna Eruption

Return to Willowwood

The Rescue of The Elvling Queen

The Willowwood Gathering

The Capture of The Elvling Queen

Tobias, The Witches, and the North Sea

Charlie and The Leatherbacks

Ivan and The Bears

Winston and The Four Descendants

Harriet and The Elder Dragons

Nixa’s Secret Journey

The Battle of The Underlands

Banishment to Vermillion Island

THE TINKERBERRY TALES

The Balance of the Forest

In the heart of the Pacific Ocean lies an island called Gopsall Island. The island is split into three areas. The Overlands, The Underlands and The Dark Mountains.

The Overlands is the north part of the island, very easy conditions to live in and covered with perfect forest areas and fresh green grass. Rivers flow through the north part of the island with fish and plenty of life, with golden shores around the coastline.

The Dark Mountains are mountains that run through the middle of the island from the north east to the south west. No one really knows what lies in the middle of The Dark Mountains as it hasn’t been fully explored by any of the creatures that inhabit Gopsall Island although loud rumblings have been heard coming from within them.

The Underlands fall to the south side of the island, constantly covered in snow and ice. It is hard for creatures to live on the land and blizzards come in from the southern winds and make it difficult to even search the land.

This particular set of tales begins in The Overlands, bordering on the Dark Mountains is Hugglescote Forest and a tiny village called Willowwood, which is where we shall begin.

Tale One

The Dark Witch of Greed

I

t was 11.59pm on the 17th of February and Winston Tinkerberry was waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Little did he know what was to come on his 21st birthday. Winston was the youngest male in the Tinkerberry family with three older brothers and one younger sister. The Tinkerberrys were tiny creatures known as Dragon-Sprites that lived in the trunks of giant trees in the Hugglescote Forest. The Tinkerberrys lived in a tree village called Willowwood. Dragon-Sprites stood no taller than fifteen centimeters and they always wore dark hooded cloaks to hide their leathery, wrinkled skin. Their eyes as dark as the night sky but with piercing white pupils which allows them to see in the dark of night. All of the siblings- Winston, Ivan, Tobias, Charlie and Harriet, loved to come out through the night and chase through the forest. Dragon-Sprites were curious and playful creatures, that all had special abilities, but everyone throughout the land knew that the tears of a Dragon-Sprite would bring never ending good fortune.

DING, DING, DING

The clock chimed its midnight bells and Winston was finally 21. Upon his 21st birthday he was promised to be allowed to venture outside the forest by his father, The Great Twinkle Tinkerberry. Twinkle always had concerns over leaving the forest in fear of evil beings that scouted the land to try and capture the Dragon-Sprites for their tears. Stories had been passed down for generations forcing the Tinkerberrys into hiding. But Winston was NOT afraid.

He jumped up and out of bed and ran down the stairs as fast as he could but as he got to the front of the tree there was a loud BANG as The Great Twinkle struck his staff on the ground and called for Winston to stop.

‘WINSTON’

‘Wait! Right! There!’ said The Great Twinkle 

‘But Father...I’m 21 today and you promised!’ replied Winston

‘I know, I know but there are some things I need you to know before you go’ explained The Great Twinkle.

The Great Twinkle wanted to explain the dark and evil things in the forest, especially The Witch of Greed. He had heard whispers throughout the forest that she was close by and scouting the nearby towns for any information on the Dragon-Sprites. But Winston didn’t care, he just wanted to go and explore. The Witch of Greed was one of four enchanted witches that were known for scouting the land in search Dragon-Sprites, Elvlings and other mythical creatures. If a witch was ever to catch someone, they would try and drain their powers and use them for themselves, the witches also liked to cause trouble at every opportunity. The Witch of Greed was known for wanting to steal all of the powers for herself so that she could take over the land. It was said that she was so greedy that it had driven everyone away from her, making her evil to her core. No one had ever been able to survive capture from The Witch of Greed, but Winston had heard enough and was ready to explore.

‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ is all Winston heard when being warned about the grave danger he was about to face.

Just before Winston left, The Great Twinkle said

‘I want you to take this staff; it will help you when you need it most.’

Winston, in a hurry grabbed the staff and said ‘Yeah, Yeah’ and shot out of the tree.

Within the Hugglescote Forest there were the Dragon-Sprites, the Water-Sprites and the Elvlings which were the main creatures that lived there. The Elvlings were very similar to the Dragon-Sprites however they had pointier ears and a longer nose and tried to keep to themselves, they lived in the village of Great Hollow that Winston would soon be approaching. The Great Owls offered protection for the west side of the forest, not many people ever saw the Great Owls however everyone knew they were there, and everyone definitely respected them.

As Winston left the village of Willowwood he was excited to be on his first adventure. He knew that the closest town, Ravenstone was a reasonable walk away and he would have to travel north to the stream and follow that down across to the Elvling village of Great Hollow before going over the hill to reach Ravenstone. Winston briskly walked along through the forest and as planned approached the stream. Winston liked the stream as the fish would swim alongside him and he would talk to them, not that they could ever talk back.

He walked along the stream and he could hear the people of Great Hollow celebrating the Elvling New Year which always fell around Winston’s birthday. As he got to Great Hollow, he joined in with some of the singing and the dancing and played with some of the Elvling children as he passed through. Some of the kids wanted him to stay longer, but there was no way Winston was going to miss out on seeing Ravenstone for the first time. Secretly, Winston wanted to see a real human, and nothing was going to stop him.

As he left Great Hollow, Winston became surrounded by darkness; he could hear the hoots of the Great Owls communicating as they kept watch over the forest. One of the Great Owls, Ansel, flew down and perched on the branch ahead of Winston.

‘Hoot, where are you headed?’ said Ansel as he spanned his light brown wings that looked like a shield of feathers to slow Winston down.

’21 today and off to play’ Winston replied in a fun and chirpy voice.

‘Be careful, there have been witches seen nearby’ Exclaimed Ansel as Winston skipped on past.

As Winston wandered through the forest, getting closer and closer to Ravenstone he walked up the hill. On top of the hill, he could see Ravenstone. Some of the houses had lights on, street lamps lighting up the square in the middle. He could even see Snarestone Castle in the distance. Winston stopped to admire the view for a few short moments and took a drink of water ready for what he thought would be the final leg of his journey.

‘Break over’ He said to himself, and off he set again.

As Winston walked down the hill into the last part of the forest before Ravenstone it wasn’t too long before he noticed that something didn’t feel right. It was quiet; in fact it was too quiet. The hooting of the Great Owls was no longer able to be heard, the sound of the wind through the leaves of the tree had stopped and there was an eerie feel to everything around him. The feeling of excitement had suddenly vanished, and Winston had started to cling to the staff given to him by his father. Winston had reached the edge of the forest. Stood in front of him was the dark outline of a house with no lights on. He slowly started to walk down the narrow street, passing houses heading towards the town square. 19, 17, 15... read the house numbers all with no lights on. One house had a sign that read,

‘BEWARE OF THE DOG’

Winston didn’t even know what a dog was, but it sounded terrifying. He slowly started to creep towards the Town Square but still there was not a single light on, even the street lamps were off. A very different picture to what he had seen at the top of the hill. Finally, he reached the Ravenstone Town Square and looked around....

‘I'm finally here’ Winston said to himself with satisfaction.

But Suddenly

SWOOP

Winston was in darkness – A sack was thrown over him as he struggled to get out

ZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPP

The end of the sack closed, and all Winston could hear was an evil cackle.

‘Haw. Haw. Haw.’

He wriggled and tried to worm his way out but couldn’t get free. Winston now wishing that he has listened more to The Great Twinkle, clutched onto the staff his father had given him hoping he would be safe and desperately trying to remember what his father had told him before he had left. He could feel the rough, straw-like, material of the sack against his skin as he was being thrown about and loaded onto a carriage of some sort. He could hear the person getting on a horse and he felt the carriage bumping along the brick roads. After a short journey he heard the doors opening, footsteps on a hard wooden floor and some clambering down the stairs. As the sack was dragged into the cellar, the sack was then shoved into the corner of what felt like a cold and wet floor. A hand reached inside the sack and grabbed his leg, and a cold iron chain was placed onto his ankle. As the sack was removed, he opened his eyes and he saw her for the first time. The warning Winston’s father tried to give him was real, The Witch of Greed stood before him.

A lady, riddled with evil and greed, wavy red hair, deep fiery eyes and dressed in a crimson red gown stood before Winston, and it was in this moment he knew he had to be stronger than ever before because The Witch of Greed wanted his tears! Holding tightly onto the staff he felt scared, worried, concerned but little did he know, he had just begun the discovery of his abilities.

At the age of 21, Dragon-Sprites were known to unlock the development of a unique ability. Winston had watched his brothers develop theirs and couldn’t wait to get his own, but this was the beginning of Winston discovering his. Winston had managed to use the staff’s magic without knowing, as this wasn’t any ordinary staff. This was a Staff of Protection. It was almost as if The Great Twinkle knew that Winston would need some guidance. Winston had managed to cast his first protection spell without even knowing. When Winston was taken from the Town Square, The Staff of Protection had released a warning to the nearest star bringing it closer, making it brighter and sending off a secret sound that could only be heard to very delicate ears.

Ansel, The Great Owl that Winston had met on his way to Ravenstone was sitting and staring in the direction of the Town. What Winston didn’t realize is that Ansel was sent by The Great Twinkle to keep an eye on the situation. The Great Owls were never allowed to interfere but were very proud of offering their divine protection. It was Ansel that heard the sound – he spread his wings and flew above the treetops to confirm the signal and he instantly saw the signal sent from the staff. He swooped down, glided through the trees faster than ever before. Within moments he was at the window of The Great Twinkle letting him know about the signal being sent from the staff. Nixa, Winston’s mother burst out into tears and the rest of the Tinkerberrys knew that something wasn’t right. The whole family gathered as Ansel explained what had happened. It wasn’t long before Harriet interrupted and shouted

‘Well, I guess it’s up to us to save him.’

‘NOT A CHANCE’ Commanded The Great Twinkle.

‘But, Father...’

‘NO!’ Yelled The Great Twinkle as he held up his hand to silence Harriet

‘I will not lose my only daughter to this dark evil.’

The Great Twinkle was very protective over Harriet, as she was a special type of Sprite, and The Great Twinkle’s youngest child. As The Great Twinkle started to come to terms with what has happened, he grabs his makeshift stick which he has to use to steady himself without his staff and he starts to get ready to go on the hunt for Winston. But Tobias, being the eldest brother and the only other Tinkerberrys to have ventured outside the Hugglescote Forest over recent years, stepped forward and said,

‘Father, we will handle this one.’

Tobias could see The Great Twinkle was growing old and becoming too weak and fragile especially without his staff, and he also knew that he would be next in line to lead the Tinkerberrys, so here is the opportunity to show his father that he was ready to step forward. There was just no way that the father would be able to cope against the sorcery of the evil witch. So, it was time for the brothers to unite and rescue Winston.

Tobias, who was already a mature Dragon-Sprite, knew what his ability was as he had discovered it several years earlier, and that was the power of persuasion. He had learned how to speak to people in a way that would make people agree with him. It wasn’t always effective, and he had only ever had success with the Dragon-Sprites and the Elvlings but he knew deep inside himself that he could do it when the time came.

‘Brothers, it’s time for us to come together and save Winston. We must act now and work together’

The brothers knew this was down to them and one thing that the Tinkerberrys were always proud of was the ability to come together in times of need, and this was definitely a moment of need. Tobias knew that Winston would most likely be held captive at Snarestone Castle which was so close to Ravenstone. So, they started to plan their rescue mission.

Deep in the Hugglescote Forest, just outside Willowwood, there was a small clearing with an old, chopped trunk acting as a table. The brothers, Ansel and The Great Twinkle crowded around the trunk; with brown fallen leaves around them and the sun starting to slowly rise they planned and planned, whispering ideas between them. Several of the other Great Owls and more of the Dragon-Sprite families had come to see what was going on. Word had even reached Great Hollow and one of the Royal Elvlings had come forward to see if they could offer help and support. Ansel spread his wings once again but this time to offer some more privacy, shielding their huddle with his golden-brown feathers.  His head turned almost 180 degrees and he echoed with his deep voice of authority

‘Callan, Casey – Come fourth’

As the two newly summoned Great Owls came forward. They took their instructions and flew to the treetops above the clearing.

‘That’s it! That’s the plan!’ Said Tobias.

Back at the Castle - Winston was curled up, shivering in a corner on the cold damp floor holding the Staff of Protection close to him whilst trying to hide within his dark, and now wet, gown. Usually, as the sun starts to rise the Tinkerberrys would gather around the large table inside their tree and talk about the things they did whilst exploring in the forest, so inside he knew that they would know something wasn’t right. And he hoped they would find a way to help him before it was too late.

As he gazed around the room, he could see a huge table with empty vials on, which he was assuming was to collect his tears. There was an ink pot with a long dark feathered pen and a black book closed with what looked like very worn pages inside. There were shelves filled with jars, some full of potions and ingredients, and others empty with no lids. But he couldn’t clearly make out what was in them, one jar looked like it had small eyes looking at him, but Winston just wouldn’t believe it. There wasn’t much light in the room other than a small amount of light coming through the window at the far end of the room. The iron bars restricted his view, and he could see enough to tell what was outside or where he was.

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP

He could hear the dripping from the ceiling between him and the table in front of him and he could just reach far enough to use his hand to cup some water and take a drink from the puddle forming in front of him. Suddenly, the huge wooden door creaked open at the top of the wooden staircase and slowly he could see The Witch of Greed walking towards him. She stood over him and stared at Winston as he closed his eyes tightly, to try and pretend he couldn’t see her.

‘Wakey, wakey’ She said as she poked Winston with the pointed end of her red shoe

‘Time to cry or say goodbye’ She threatened.

Winston nervously replied,

‘They’re coming for me! They will save me!’

Not truly knowing what was going to happen Winston stayed as confident as he could, but the witch taunted him at every opportunity and then would go and sit at the table, look at the vials and write notes in the black book. As the witch picked up the pen, it became clear that the pen was a feather from one of the Great Owls, which struck even more fear into Winston because no one would ever dare harm one of the Great Owls. She would dip the dark feathered pen in the pot of ink and then slowly write notes in her book as if she was making notes on Winston.

‘KNOCK, KNOCK’

‘What do you want?’ Screeched the witch.

‘I, I, I think you need to come and see this your majesty’ Said one of her petrified slaves.

The Witch of Greed slammed her black book shut and slowly stamped up the stairs muttering to herself about how her slaves were useless.

‘They NEVER get anything right’ she mumbled

All of a sudden Winston noticed that there was a dark shadow fly past the window with the iron bars on. And then again. Suddenly it was dark, something had covered the window. Winston could hear someone saying,

‘Quick, quick, get down, move fast’

Not knowing what was going on he held onto the staff of protection and slowly peaked out of his tightly closed eyes from within the hood of his gown. He could see the piercing white pupils.

‘Ivan? Charlie? Tobias? Is that you?’ 

Before anyone could respond there was an almighty SSLLLAAAMMMM

The huge wooden door slammed open at the top of the stairs and there stood the silhouette of The Witch of Greed, looking much fiercer than she did before. Angry and fierce.

‘I know you are here; I can smell your tears’ chanted the Witch.

The Tinkerberrys hid, Ivan leapt onto the shelves and hid behind a jar of Mouse Tails, Tobias slid under some scrap pieces of parchment, but Charlie just froze. He couldn’t move, as if he was glued to the table.

The Witch of Greed slowly started walking down the stairs with her crimson cloak slowly falling onto each step as she descended. Still chanting under her breath

‘I know you are here, I can smell your tears’

Winston’s white eyes were glowing with hope and clearly noticeable as she got to the bottom of the stairs, so the witch leant over to the corner whispered to Winston.

‘Where are they? Where are your foolish Dragon-Sprites?’

As the witch walked to the table Winston frantically tried to get her attention so that she wouldn’t see Charlie, but the witch ignored him. She sat at the table and to everyone’s surprise, she did not see Charlie.