Matthew got to the hotel just over half an hour later and went straight to his parents’ room. He knocked on their door and they both answered. They looked worried and were about to say something when Matthew hugged them both, much to their surprise. Before his experiences in the Land this was something he would never have done, but he now felt differently about such things. He had missed his parents and realised he cared about them a lot.
‘Matthew, where have you been? You were supposed to meet us for breakfast. We’ve been frantic. We were going to call the police. Why are you so dirty?’ his father asked, looking at Matthew and then his mother.
Matthew then realised his appearance and out-of-character hugging probably needed some sensible explanation. He could not tell them the truth: they would think he had finally gone completely mad and worry even more. ‘Oh, nowhere really, just some museums and stuff. But I was nearly robbed,’ he said thinking quickly. ‘They got my jacket and guidebooks but nothing more.’
‘Did they hurt you? Maybe, we should call the police after all. I knew we should not have let you go on your own,’ his mother then said, looking at Matthew more closely.
‘Mum, I’m ok. It could have been worse. Besides, you always said I looked scruffy in that jacket,’ he said.
‘Ok, Matthew, If you are sure. But you had better get cleaned up. Now that we know you’re safe we can go to dinner,’ said his mother.
‘I’ll see you in the lobby in twenty minutes,’ said Matthew as he left his parents’ room to go to his before they could say anything else.
When he got there, he quickly had a shower, which felt very good after the basic facilities in the Land. He then changed into some new jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie. After this he left, making sure he still had his magic tools safely on him.
His parents were waiting for him in the lobby, looking at some tourist information leaflets. They were wearing their usual (in Matthew’s opinion) too formal clothes. They then all went to the same restaurant they had gone to the other night – last night, Matthew corrected himself.
They asked him again what happened to him over the meal, which he ate ravenously. This was another thing he had missed: easily-available food. He was deliberately vague in answering their questions. His mind was now back on his task. After he finished his desert, something he did not normally have, he told them that he was tired after his experience and that he wanted to have an early night.
His parents asked him to wait for them but he insisted on going on his own. They then said that for the rest of the trip he would go visiting with them and not alone. He said they would talk about it in the morning at breakfast and left. He noticed that the usual concerned look they gave him was now supplemented with one of confusion. It was just after eight p.m..
Matthew quickly returned to his hotel. He had forgotten how cold it was in Vienna and without his jacket over his hoodie he felt it badly. When he got to the hotel he did not go to his room; instead he went to the hotel’s internet room. Ever since the Baron had told him he wanted the Spear of Destiny, Matthew had wondered why; he certainly did not believe that he just wanted the return of a “family heirloom.”
His guidebook had given him some information when he had first seen the Spear in the Hofburg but not enough for him to answer this question. He inputted ‘Spear of Destiny’ in the search engine of the computer. It came up with thousands of entries. He read the first one.
The Spear of Destiny was mentioned in the Gospel of John and was supposed to have been the spear that a Roman soldier called Longinus used to pierce Christ’s side when he was on the Cross to ensure he was dead. Matthew knew much of this already and so he read on.
After this the Spear came into the possession of various leaders. A fourth century Roman emperor, Constantine, took it into battle as well as the famous French king Charlemagne who had many victorious battles with it but who apparently died in the ninth century when he dropped it accidentally.
The Saxon King of Germany, Heinrich, then possessed it in the tenth century and had it when he defeated the Magyars. After this, his son Otto inherited it and was apparently christened Holy Roman Emperor with it by the then Pope. Otto then defeated the Mongols in battle with the Spear. Then the twelfth century Holy Roman Emperor Frederick the Great possessed it. He also died after accidentally dropping it.
So, Matthew thought, possessing the Spear gives you power over others in battle: no wonder the Baron wanted it. He read on.
In the fifteenth century it was moved from Prague to Nuremburg where it stayed until the eighteenth century when it was taken for safekeeping to Vienna to stop Napoleon and his invading army from getting it. But the person it was entrusted to, Baron Von Hugel, later claimed to be its rightful owner and sold it to the Hapsburg royal family.
Matthew then thought he recognised the name ‘Von Hugel’ from something he had seen in the Castle in the Land. Was he related to the Baron’s family in the other land? But how could he be if he was from Matthew’s own world? Matthew thought he could not possibly answer these questions and so continued to read.
From the time the Habsburgs had the Spear it was kept in the Treasury in the Hofburg, where Matthew had seen it three days ago, or yesterday before his experience with the picture. But when the German leader Hitler annexed Austria to Germany, the Spear was taken back to Nuremburg. Hitler also believed it had magical powers and that whoever possessed it and understood them would control the Destiny of the world for good or evil.
Matthew gulped when he finished reading this. It resonated with what Martha had said about his being in the Land meant that its destiny would be resolved for good or ill. So this was why the Baron wanted this spear: to win battles and to completely control the Land. So much for it just being an “heirloom” of his family, he thought.
Matthew knew now that he had to come up with a plan to stop the Baron from getting possession of the Spear, otherwise those fighting against him in the Land would not have much hope of success. He yawned and looked at his watch: it was just after 10.30 p.m. He then got up and left, trying to think of what he could do. But when he got to his room, he found he was too tired to do anymore thinking and quickly got undressed and went to bed, where he fell asleep straight away.