Curt moved back down the stairs. The soldiers were getting nearer. Matthew thought there were about three of them by the sound of their voices. Curt had his sword ready. Tobias moved up next to him. The soldiers then began to walk down the stairs. It was the last mistake they would ever make. Curt stabbed the first one in the stomach, Tobias then knocked the remaining two down on the stairs, where he and Curt finished them off with their swords. Matthew was not as shocked as last time by the killing and even admired the lethal skills of Curt, but the loss of life still bothered him.
Tobias and a couple of Curt’s men took the soldiers’ weapons and they continued up the stairs. There were no other soldiers and they moved to the next meeting of corridors. Again no one was around. They then reached the storeroom. Curt opened the door and two of his men guided them all down into the tunnel. Matthew was with Hannah and her grandfather who was struggling a little. Then Matthew heard Curt close the door to the storeroom and even lock it somehow. He joined them down the ladder after closing the trap door. Then he went to the front again and they moved off after him.
There were no more incidents as Curt led them back to the place above the Castle where Tobias, Hannah, and Matthew had met Curt and his men some nights ago. Here they rested. Curt took Matthew aside with Hannah, Tobias, and her grandfather. ‘Matthew, you have to tell us what happened to you after we last saw you a week ago.’
Matthew then told them of his meeting with the Baron, what he had discovered about the Spear in his own world, then his taking it with the aid of the magic tools, and coming to rescue them. Hannah listened to his every word with, Matthew was happy to see, approval. Even the grandfather seemed to be impressed by his actions, he thought.
Curt then said, ‘Your having these magic tools explains much to me. But you have done well even with them in everything except one thing: you should not have brought this Spear to the Land. If the Baron gets it we will have no hope of defeating him.’
Matthew felt disappointed. He thought he had done quite well. But Tobias came to his aid. ‘I disagree with you, Curt. This Spear sounds like a mighty weapon in the right hands. From what you have told us about it, Matthew, it isn’t just the Baron who can wield it. Whoever possesses it and knows its secrets can use it. -’
Curt interrupted him. ‘Do you know its secrets, Tobias? I’m sure I don’t. So, how do you propose we learn them?’ he asked annoyed. ‘We should take Matthew back to the Clearing and send him back to his own world. He can then hide this thing to ensure the Baron does not get possession of it.’
Hannah then joined in. ‘Tobias is right, Curt. Matthew did the right thing in bringing this Spear to the Land. I dreamt that he would save us from the Baron, and Martha mentioned to Matthew that the destiny of the Land was in his hands. This thing is called the Spear of Destiny, and so it seems to me that it is supposed to be here.
As to knowing its secrets, it is true we know nothing about them. But the Baron is not the only person who understands magic; Martha also knows of such things. I think we should take it to her to see what she says about it. I’m sure that she will agree that we can use it in some way against the Baron,’ she finished.
‘It’s too risky,’ said Curt. ‘No, I thank you Matthew for what you have done. To be honest when I first saw you I didn’t think you would be capable of such intelligence and bravery. But I think the battle against the Baron is now for us, and you can help this by ensuring he does not get the Spear.’
Matthew had got past the stage of feeling good about compliments and now wanted to have his say after having listening to them debating what to do with the Spear. He began ‘Before I returned to the Land my plan was to leave you the Spear and return.’ He noticed Hannah seemed a little sad at this. ‘But now after seeing you again, Hannah, and achieving my plan of helping you all to escape I feel differently.
I don’t necessarily agree with Martha that what I do affects the destiny of the Land, but I feel there is something strange going on and that I cannot return to my own world until there is some conclusion to the problem of the Baron. If I do I will be denying myself an important experience. The ones I have had here have already changed the ways I think about things unlike any I have had in my own world. I have learned much and am no longer so confused and doubtful about myself.
Besides this, from what I have read about the Spear and my experiences with the magic tools, I feel it probably is a powerful weapon which we could use against the Baron. Yes, it is true we don’t know how we can use it, but as Hannah said, Martha may,’ he finished.
They all looked at him, saying nothing. Apart from Hannah, this was the most he had every said to any of them. In the end Hannah’s grandfather broke the silence. ‘She will only give us more riddles to solve. She didn’t tell us much about you, did she, young stranger?’
Hannah then said, ‘Come on, grandfather, she predicted your arrest and that Matthew was not necessarily here just for us.’
Curt contributed, ‘Well, I must admit, I’m still not convinced. But as a soldier I know that it’s sometimes necessary to take risks. Right, I propose that you two go to Martha with the Spear. But the rest of us will follow the original plan to get some more men together to form a real threat to the Baron. We’re going to have to act quickly as the Baron will soon realise we have escaped, very possibly with your help. He will then no doubt put all his energies into finding you and the Spear and destroying us.
We will meet back here at the same time one day from now. Just give the signal of the owl twice. Whatever happens someone will be here to help you.’
With that Curt got up and went over to his men and the freed prisoners. Tobias waved goodbye and followed him. Hannah then hugged her grandfather who was obviously not happy but realised he could do nothing to stop her. He did not say anything to Matthew but did not seem as hostile as before as Matthew saw him watching him and Hannah begin their journey back to the Clearing to retrieve the Spear.