 
The Destiny of Matthew

Jason Nevercott

Copyright Jason Nevercott 2009

Published at Smashwords

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Chapter One

It was just after 4 p.m. on Friday and Matthew was queuing to buy an entrance ticket in the Kunsthistorisches art museum in Vienna. He had been happy to go in there to get out of the mid-December cold but his main reasons were to tick another sight off his list and to use up some time. He was not really interested in art, though even he could see that it was a very beautiful building. Its entrance hall had an ornate beige-coloured, umbrella-like, high ceiling with a big hole in its middle, which presumably led to the building's dome. It also had a marble circular floor with a sleek white, grey, and black design on it.

As Matthew continued to wait, he reflected that he now felt much better than when he had first left his hotel where he was staying with his parents to visit the city alone. He did not feel fantastic – he never felt like this about himself – but he did not feel too bad either. He had been very nervous this morning. It had been the first time he had toured a foreign city alone and he felt sure that he would easily be spotted by the many thieves and dangerous people he believed were waiting for vulnerable tourists like him. This was why he wore his hoodie under his warm jacket: he thought it made him look tougher.

He had been angry with his parents for bringing him here, which made him feel braver as he walked down the Praterstrasse from his hotel towards the centre. They thought it would be good for him to have a change of scenery: it would get him out of his rut. But what did they know of his problems? he had asked himself. Ok, so he did not have many friends, had not yet had a girlfriend, and did not go out much. But this was his lifestyle at the moment; he did not feel like doing anything else.

He had also been angry with himself for coming. So why, he had asked himself, had he? He did not know the exact answer. He did not necessarily agree with his parents but thought it would be good to have a new experience, which ironic as it might seem for someone with his lazy lifestyle, he knew was important in life, to grow as a person. But now that he was here, he was not enjoying it and had not been from the time they had flown in that morning.

As the queue in front of him got smaller, he almost laughed to himself when he thought about these reasons and the other one why he had felt angry. This was his decision to see the sights of Vienna without his parents, which he had known would make him more vulnerable. But it was bad enough that he as an eighteen-year-old was travelling on his own, never mind being chaperoned by his parents as well: that really would be embarrassing. This was typical of him, he thought.

He then reflected that he had not done badly today in terms of seeing the main sights, considering it was his first time doing so on his own. This was even though at times he had felt a little lonely. He had been to the old royal palaces of the Hofburg, where he easily killed over two hours. Here, he had seen the Spanish riding school, and the varied collection of sometimes historical but sometimes weird exhibits in its museums, including a bowl thought to be the Holy Grail, and a spear that had allegedly pierced the side of Christ while he was on the Cross.

Then having had enough of museums, he went to St. Stephen's Cathedral and Square, which, despite there being none of the snow he had expected, he thought was very Christmassy in a way his home city never was. This changed his view of Vienna, which he had thought was beautiful with its old buildings but was lacking something in atmosphere in its clean Germanic way. He had stayed in the Square for a good hour, enjoying the hustle and bustle of its market, and eating a couple of nice Austrian hotdogs for lunch.

In this better mood, he had decided he was now ready for another museum. On the way he stopped to see the outside of the Staatsoper Opera house. Here he noticed a traditional coffee house nearby, which his guidebook told him was an essential part of the Vienna experience. He was nervous about going in on his own, but eventually forced himself to.

But now at the museum he believed he had made a mistake in going there and felt a little negative about the memory of the two pretty waitresses seemingly giggling at him for some reason. Why did this always happen to him? he had asked himself. Ok, so he was not the best looking teenager in the world, being tall and skinny, which girls did not like. But his face was not bad-looking and he had a good head of black fashionably dishevelled hair. They had probably thought he was a weirdo, he thought: in Vienna all on his own.

'Bitte,' someone said behind him, interrupting his thoughts and pointing him forward to the now free ticket kiosk.

'Sorry,' he said feebly, as he returned to the real world and went to buy his ticket. He then headed closer to the three sets of stairs leading off from the grand entrance hall. He decided to take the ones leading to the left wing, as he wanted to see the entire museum and thought this would be the best place to start.

On his way he continued to admire the magnificent decoration, noticing that the hole in the ceiling did indeed lead to the museum's dome. He could hear the echo of people talking and their footsteps as they walked through the museum. He checked his watch: it was 4.16 p.m. He knew he had to take his time, as he was not due back at his hotel to meet his parents for dinner until 7 p.m.

This part of the museum was filled mainly with old statues and stonework. Matthew did not really take much notice of them, merely glancing at most of them. He could see that a lot of skill had gone into making them but they did not move him in any way. He then went to the right wing of the ground floor, which he was relieved to see contained more interesting exhibits from Egypt and Rome. He looked at his watch: it was now 4.55 p.m. Only 40 minutes gone, he thought. I will have to be slower on the first floor, at least an hour.

He returned to the entrance hall and walked up the wide main stairway, looking around him as he did so. There was a large statue of a muscular man about to club some strange half human/horse at the top, and a couple of big marble lions on either side of the staircase. 'Sorry,' he said as he nearly bumped into some tourist with a small video camera.

At the top, two smaller stairways led back on either side to the first floor. He took the right one and when he reached this floor admired the dome and its decoration in front of him. But he did not go into the cafe underneath it: he had had enough of cafes and their waitresses for one day.

He then turned left into some galleries he discovered were full of Italian art. As he walked through them he recognised some famous names: Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio. The pictures were beautiful but he was not sure what he was supposed to be looking for when he viewed these pictures. Was it their lifelikeness, their subjects, stories, or different styles? He did not know and as much as he tried to find some meaning in them he could not. But still, he thought, at least I've seen them, and ticked them off my list.

Next he went over to the left wing of the first floor, which contained paintings of northern European artists. Again, he recognised some famous names as he walked through the many galleries: Rembrandt, Rubens. But again nothing really appealed to him until...

He could not stop staring at it. It was a woodland scene. There were two big trees on either side in the foreground. Behind these there were other trees, which gradually met at the back of a bowl-shaped clearing. It was quite dark but very appealing.

He moved towards it, almost involuntarily. He could not believe the effect it was having on him. He had been to a few art galleries before but never had any picture affected him like this.

The closer he got to it, the more it seemed to come alive. There was something so incredibly beautiful and mysterious about its darkness; he wanted to explore it, to become part of it.

He could see a large broken branch on the floor from the big tree on the left, and underneath and beyond that a pond with some reeds around it in the Clearing. The bottom third of the scene was brown with the trunks of the trees. But the top two thirds were green with leaves, with a little, very little, thin show of sky from the left.

He seemed to be entering the picture. What the hell! The outer edges of his vision began to swirl. But he did not feel unsteady. It felt calming and peaceful. He began to feel a soft woodland breeze and smell the duskiness of the forest.

He was nearly there. He could see the trees swaying a little and some ripples in the pond. Am I having a hallucination? he asked himself. If I am it feels great.

Then suddenly, an image of a girl came into his head. 'Help me. Please help me. You must save me...' she appealed. But he could not see her face or where she was.

Suddenly the loud noise of horsemen galloping replaced this vision. He knew they were far away but they, coming after the image of the girl, freaked him out.

They got louder and louder. He became very scared. He tried to force himself away from the woodland clearing, which was no longer so appealing.

But he could not. The hooves were now almost deafening but he could not return to the museum no matter how much he tried. It was too late!
Chapter Two

The noise of the horses' hooves was now unbearable. This is not happening; it's too much, thought Matthew. He tried again to get out of the woodland and return to the gallery. Damn! There is no way this is real, he thought to himself urgently.

He then put a final great effort in moving his body back ... and succeeded.

He backed into someone. He quickly turned around to face him. He then realised he was back in the gallery but he was still in shock. He rushed towards the exit away from this puzzled person, running at first but then walking very quickly after he spotted a security guard. He went down the main staircase, wanting to get outside, away from the mysterious picture. He could not believe what had just happened to him; it was like he had taken LSD or something.

When he got outside, he began to run again in the general direction of his hotel. It was now dark. He looked around him a few times to see if anyone or anything was chasing him. After a few minutes he stopped, now feeling quite warm after his exertions in the cold. He looked at his watch: it was 5.12 p.m. He then realised he had better check his map to find out how to get back to his hotel, although he found this difficult; he just could not forget what had just happened to him. He forced himself to focus and planned his route. He no longer cared if any prospective thief saw him do so: he was too full of adrenalin.

The part of the Ringstrasse he was on did not seem to have too many thieves in it, however, just a lot of people trying to keep warm while going home from work. Matthew walked among them and tried to make sense of what had happened to him. He knew that he had had some experience, the question was what? Was it, as he had asked himself when having it, a hallucination? Or, perhaps even more scary, was it real, which is to say, was he entering another world? But who was the girl? And what about the horsemen?

But why he wondered would he have a hallucination? He did not take drugs and never had; he did not even drink much alcohol. Then he thought it was because he was in a foreign city on his own and he had been stressed out that day. Perhaps these two factors had joined together to produce the imaginary vision. He remembered reading once about a European writer who had travelled to the tropics for the first time. He had hallucinated and said in his book that this was quite common among those unfamiliar to the tropics. But Matthew was not in a totally different climate to the one he was used to.

He then thought that it was because of his "unnormal" lifestyle. He was not a typical teenager who socialised a lot and had girlfriends; he mostly stayed at home in his bedroom reading and watching tv. In fact, had his parents not brought him to Vienna in the first place to try to make him "normal," by getting him out of this lazy existence? Maybe this lifestyle was having its effect on his mental health. However, he refused to believe this, as he got to the Schubert part of the Ringstrasse on his way to his hotel. He might be a little different but he was no mental case.

Then he remembered how real the experience was. Surely, he asked himself, if it had been a hallucination, it would not have felt thus? Even the girl's pleas and horsemen galloping had seemed real in some way. It was not like in a dream, even a lucid one, where he could run or fly away. He crossed over the Aspernbruck bridge and returned to his hotel on the Praterstrasse.

It was now 6.03 p.m. The old male hotel receptionist in the modern, clean-looking 3 Star hotel did not even glance at Matthew as he walked past on his way up to his room on the second floor. When he got there he went straight to the bed and lay on it still thinking of the possibilities.

Just after 7 p.m, his parents interrupted his thoughts by knocking on his door. He shouted, 'I'll be out in a minute. See you in the lobby.' He was not really in the mood to go out for dinner with them, even though he did feel a little hungry, but knew that if he did not go they would not stop asking him why not. He put his jacket back on and met them downstairs. They started to tell him where they had been and what they had seen. He tried to look interested as they went somewhere nearby; he was still trying to make sense of his experience.

When they sat down in the old fashioned restaurant, they asked him what he had done. He told them everything - except the picture experience and the giggling waitresses, of course. As he was finishing his main course, they then asked him if he would like to come with them tomorrow to visit the nearby large Prater park. He said 'no!' perhaps a little too quickly and firmly, he thought. They then tried to persuade him; he could see the concerned look in their eyes that they usually had towards him. Finally, he could not take anymore and said he would decide tomorrow at breakfast. He also told them he was tired after such a long day and that he wanted an early night; it was now just after 8.47 p.m.

He then left and walked back to the hotel alone. As he did so in the near empty streets, he noticed the sky was clear and he could see the stars and almost full moon. It was cold but he did not care; his mind was too busy worrying about other things. When he got back to his hotel room, he went straight to bed and then to sleep after being relieved that he was too tired to think any more about his experience today.

Matthew was moving quickly in a dark corridor of a museum (the Kunsthistoricshes?) looking for something. He knew he had to find this thing or there would be problems. Next, the two waitresses from the coffee house appeared alongside him not giggling anymore but asking for his help. Then suddenly he heard the noise of horses again, very loud. They were chasing after him but they were not normal horses but half human. He began to run but they were too fast. They were almost on him...

He woke up sweating. He looked around his room, sat up, and switched the bedside lamp on. He checked the time: it was 3.15 a.m.. He got up, went to the bathroom, and got himself a glass of water. He looked at himself in the big bathroom mirror. What was happening to him? he asked himself. First there was the experience at the museum and now the dream. Was he going mad or was something else going on? He did not know and went back to bed. But he could not sleep; he could not stop thinking about his experience yesterday.

He thought again about it being a hallucination. If it were then why was it that particular picture brought in on? He had seen other pictures yesterday much more bright and vivid. This one was dark. Surely, there was more chance of having a hallucination with bright colours?

Finally after shifting uncomfortably in his bed several times, he decided there were really only two conclusions he could draw. The first was that it had been a hallucination brought on by the stress and weirdness at being on his own in a foreign city, or because of his "unnormal" lifestyle, or a combination of both. The other conclusion was that it was real, even though this was fantastic.

Based on these conclusions, he could do several things. With regard to the first, he could carry on the rest of his trip, ignore the picture, and get help when he got back home, or before if he hallucinated again.

When it came to the second, there was really only one choice: to return to the picture and enter the world. The other choice of doing nothing was not really an option. The girl, whoever she was, seemed so desperate and needed help. Moreover, no matter how dangerous or weird the experience would be, he could not deny himself it, just as he had not denied himself the one of coming to Vienna in the first place.

He then thought that returning to the picture would also be the best thing to do for the first conclusion as well. If the same experience happened again then he could get help for his mental problem now rather than later. But if nothing happened then he could consider the experience to have been a one off or a warning to him to sort out his life, or go mad.

He felt very fearful about returning but he knew he had to do something decisive, or else he would never stop thinking about whether he was mad or not, or whether he was denying the girl help or himself a new experience. So he decided to return to the picture the next day. But he would only go there in the afternoon when there should be lots of people, so he could get help quickly if he needed it. Having made this decision, he went straight back to sleep.
Chapter Three

Matthew woke up and looked at the time: it was 8.30 a.m.. He thought again about his decision to return to the museum and suddenly felt that he had to get there as early as possible. He did not know why but felt this was essential. He quickly went to the bathroom, had a shower, and got ready. His stomach felt very tight and he half regretted what he was going to do. But he knew he had to find some conclusion to this problem or he would not stop worrying about it.

At 8.56 a.m. he left his room but hesitated when he came to his parents' one next door. He knew they would be awake and getting ready for breakfast and he wondered if he should say goodbye to them or something. He then remembered he had told them he would give them his decision about visiting with them today and he did not want them to try to persuade him to – he might just agree. Maybe this was why he had got the feeling that he had to go to the museum now rather than later, he thought. He continued past their room, telling himself to stop being stupid and that he would be sick of the sight of his parents at the end of this trip and that nothing would happen anyway. But he did not really believe this and was feeling more nervous than he could remember.

It took him less than half an hour to get to the Kunsthistorisches, during which time he had tried to force all thoughts of what he had to do out of his head – he knew if he thought about it too much he would not do it. But when he got to the museum he discovered it was closed until 10 a.m., about 25 minutes away. 'Damn', he said to himself. This was all he needed. He looked around him and decided to walk around the square the Kunsthistorisches shared with its identical Naturalhistorisches counterpart. There was hardly anyone around in the cold and crisp winter morning and Matthew constantly looked at his watch, wanting to get to the museum and get "it" over with as soon as possible.

Eventually he saw some activity at the entrance of the museum and went to buy his ticket. He was so tense that he could hardly speak to the elderly woman serving him, who seemed to give him some funny looks. As he walked up the stairs to the first floor, he felt himself almost shake with fear. Then when he got to the first gallery of Northern art, he told himself that he was stupid to do what he was doing. I could lose my mind in there. I should return to the hotel and go out with my parents, he thought. But a part of him knew that he was so close now that he had to go through with it.

As he forced himself to walk through the first galleries he noticed a couple of security guards. They did not seem to pay him much attention. But he was glad they were there, so he could be helped as quickly as possible if anything happened. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed the picture. He felt his heartbeat quicken and his breathing became shorter. He tried not to look at it but like before could not stop himself from doing so; it was again drawing him towards it.

The closer he got to it, the more his nerves disappeared. Then when he was standing in front of it, he felt the outer edges of his vision begin to swirl again in a soothing and peaceful way. He could see the broken branch of the left tree in front of him and begin to feel the breeze and smell the musky trees and notice the pond. He thought if this is madness, I'll take it anytime. He then realised he was in the scene of the picture.

He looked behind him to see if he could see the museum or some door - or portal, he corrected himself. But he could see nothing except a big very old oak tree and behind this a narrow stone bridge. He then heard some noises behind him. He quickly turned around and was relieved to see a heron or crane take off from the pond in front of him and some deer scurry away to the right. He also thought he saw some rabbits at the bottom of the right tree. Bloody hell, I'm actually here. I'm in the world of the picture! He almost jumped for joy.

He then checked to see if he were having a hallucination. If I am, he thought, I should be able to fly. He tried without success. Next, he looked around him and realised that the clearing no longer seemed so soothing and calming; it just felt like in a normal wood, which the presence of the animals seemed to confirm. He then looked to see if he had the same clothes he had on this morning. But his hoodie, jacket, jeans, and boots were exactly what he had put on. It must be real then, he thought.

He also noticed that the weather was not as cold; it felt a little like late spring. He checked his watch, which was the other thing which did not seem normal: it had stopped at 10.08 a.m.. But it seemed to be later in this world anyway, judging by the feel of the wood, so his watch would probably be wrong in any event, he thought.

He suddenly remembered his last experience with the picture: the girl's pleas for help and the horses. Hell, the bloody horsemen! This made him more cautious and a little fearful. He looked around him to see if he could see anyone or thing watching him. He saw nothing in the woodland but thought that he had better move away from here to find the girl and avoid any possible horsemen.

He got up and headed in the direction of the bridge and then saw that he was on a small island surrounded by the pond and a stream. He knew he had to be careful but was still excited to be in a new world. He undid his jacket, passed over the bridge, which had two arches underneath it, and went deeper into the forest. The path beyond it like the bridge was only wide enough for one person - or horse, he suddenly thought with a little fear. Although it was daylight, he could not see much in the distance as the trees were quite tall and dense, their branches and leaves not letting much sunlight through.

After about half an hour of following the path, it suddenly occurred to Matthew that he did not know exactly how he could return to the museum. He had returned there before but only with a massive effort and he was not sure how he had achieved it. Maybe, there was an easier way. All he had seen when he looked behind him when he had entered this world was the old oak tree, but in his excitement he had not checked to see if he could walk through it, or something. He thought he had better return and check to see how he could go back. If I can, that is, he then thought in a little panic. I might be stuck here! He went to turn back when he heard a twig snapping behind him, in the direction of the clearing.

He turned towards it and crouched down. His heartbeat was beating very fast and he could feel the adrenalin flow through his body. He looked around for a possible weapon and saw a small branch nearby. But there were no more noises and after what seemed like a few minutes he realised no one was going to attack him, just yet. He got up and grabbed the small branch but decided against returning to the clearing just in case it was not just an animal that had made the noise. Of course he would be able to return to his own world, he assured himself, and tried to ignore any negative thoughts saying otherwise. I got back before somehow, so I can get back again. He moved on but this time a little more quickly and with more care.

The path seemed to curve a little to the left and, as he walked along it, looking around him all the time, he wondered if it was used much. If it were not then it would be much more overgrown. This reassured him a little but not much: maybe it was a person who had broken the twig ,after all, he thought with a little shiver.

Then after about a half an hour later with no more incidents, he came to some kind of road. It's more of a track, really, he thought, as he looked at it more closely. But when he saw some fresh cartwheel tracks in it he was reassured. This was because it showed there was some kind of civilisation around: where he could find people who could help him and tell him what sort of world he was in. He found this quite ironic, seeing that he usually wanted to isolate himself from others.

He then realised that he was also very thirsty and hungry and that it would be nice to get to some village to satisfy these needs. He had not had any breakfast in the hotel because he was in a hurry and wanted to avoid his parents. He had only had a fizzy drink and a bag of Austrian crisps, which he had bought on his way to the museum.

He wondered which direction he should go in and in the end decided to go left, where the forest seemed a little lighter. He looked around him again with his branch in his hand, saw nothing, and began to walk. As he wandered along the track, he began to feel better again. He was still a little paranoid and wanting some water and food but the forest did not seem to be bad in any way and he could hear and sometimes see birds and squirrels in the treetops and forest floor. In fact, he thought, I could almost be back home on a day's walk in the woods.

After a couple of hours of walking, however, he stopped and sat down by the road. He no longer enjoyed being in the forest and was getting worried. It might take days to find some civilisation, he thought. I will die of thirst and hunger before this. He also felt tired and hot but he did not want to take off his jacket or hoodie in case he was attacked and had to run for it. He thought about his parents and how he should have gone with them today and not come here. He then considered returning to the clearing and trying to get back to the Kunsthistorisches.

But he was exhausted and did not feel like moving anywhere. Soon he drifted off to sleep...

'Move. They're coming!' a young female voice shouted at him while tugging at his shoulders. He opened his eyes and could hear the loud galloping of horses. He looked at the girl and then in their direction in shock. Hell, the vision has come true! he thought to himself.

Quick! They'll see us!' the girl said urgently. He then got up staggering a little, and allowed himself to be dragged off the road into the forest by the girl.

Chapter Four

The horsemen got nearer and louder and the girl pulled Matthew behind some bushes. They both crouched down. Matthew could still not believe what was happening and felt himself freeze with fear. What if they had seen them? he thought to himself. But he forced himself to watch the horsemen, to see if they were as bad as he felt they were, all the time hoping that they would not stop.

There were over twenty of them and they all looked the same. They wore helmets which looked like those of welders and brown leather jackets with breast plates. They had blue baggy trousers on with long leather boots and had swords at their sides. One of them in the middle was different from the others: he was quite evil-looking with a black uniform on.

Matthew then looked at the girl as they finally passed by, wondering if he should be scared of her as well. She was blonde with a big head but pretty face and about the same age as him. She had a brown old fashioned dress on under a cape with some kind of blouse underneath, which showed a little of her ample cleavage. He looked away embarrassed when she stared back at him. The horsemen disappeared down the road in the direction where Matthew had come.

The girl looked after them and said, 'Quick. We'd better hurry. They'll return this way.' She then got up.

'Er, who were they?' asked Matthew as he nearly stumbled in his just-woken-up state behind her.

'The Baron's men. They're probably going to the clearing, looking for you,' the girl replied, moving quickly.

Matthew did not feel shocked at this because he remembered the image of the horsemen coming for him in his first experience of the picture but he still felt scared, now having seen them for real. 'Me. Why me?'

'I don't know exactly. But maybe like me they knew you would be there,' replied the girl.

'You mean you saw me at the clearing?' asked Matthew

'Yes, I dreamt you would be there,' she said as she got back on the road.

'So it was you who broke a twig?' Matthew asked rushing behind her.

'Yes. I'm sorry I didn't reveal myself to you sooner but I didn't know if you were dangerous. Dreams don't always give the whole picture,' she said, 'even though I dreamt you would save us. Come on. We must hurry before it gets dark.'

Dreamt I would save them, thought Matthew. This is crazy. I can hardly even save myself. Then it occurred to him that she must be the girl asking for help in the image he had in his first experience of the picture. He followed her, after looking in the direction of the horsemen.

'Wait. What's your name? Mine's Matthew,' he said.

'I am Hannah,' she replied.

'Who am I supposed to save you from?' asked Matthew, now beginning to feel a little out of breath with his dry throat.

'The Baron, of course,' Hannah replied.

'Who's he?' asked Matthew as they briskly walked along the road in the opposite direction to the horsemen.

'He rules our land. He is evil. He was banished by his father but returned two years ago. After this no one saw the old Baron or his other family again. Then bad things began to happen with the Baron demanding more taxes, food, and materials from us. He has built up a big army in his castle and anyone who complained or tried to fight against him disappeared. There are rumours that he performed some kind of experiments involving magic against them.'

Hell, thought Matthew What have I got myself involved in? An evil Baron who uses magic and has a big army. This is too fantastic to believe, he thought, as he saw that it was now getting dark. Hannah then interrupted his thoughts by saying, 'We'll go to my grandfather's farm and have some food and rest. But tomorrow we'll visit Martha, the Wise woman, who will tell us what to do next.'

This was getting worse, thought Matthew, now there was a witch as well. Why didn't I just forget about the crazy picture this morning and return home and try to live a "normal" life? But he kept his thoughts to himself as they came to a cross roads in the dense forest. There was a bigger road in front of them going left and right and a narrow one going straight on. Hannah looked right. 'That's the way to the Baron's castle,' she said with a look of fear and disgust. 'Come on. My grandfather's farm is straight on.' Matthew's mood lifted a little; at least he would get some food and water.

As if reading his mind, Hannah stopped on the narrow road and got out a leather flask from her bag. 'You must be thirsty. I didn't see you drink anything when I was following you. Have some water.'

Matthew gulped it down with great relief. 'Thanks,' he said. 'I needed that. He then took off his winter jacket now smelling a little of sweat and held it while they continued. He felt safer now that he was with Hannah who he now saw was about five-and-a-half feet tall and had a buxom, shapely body. They walked on for another hour or so until Hannah took them into a narrow path into the forest. Then about half an hour later, it gave way to some farm land.

'We're here,' said Hannah. 'Come on, let's go and meet my grandfather. He won't believe you are here.'

That makes two of us, thought Matthew who was still finding it very difficult coming to terms with being in this new world.

It was now dark and Matthew could see a small cluster of buildings ahead. Hannah led the way to a small farmhouse amongst them. It was two storeys high and there was a light in one of the windows. 'Grandfather. I've found him. My dream was true! I've got the stranger who is going to save us.' she said loudly, as they entered the building through the kitchen door.

The grandfather looked surprised when he saw them. He was sitting at a big table, eating some hot soup. He was about seventy, thought Matthew. He had a thin, wiry body and was wearing some kind of shirt which was white and had brown baggy trousers on which only went down to above the knee.

'Hannah, where've you been?' I've been worried about you.' he said loudly. His worried but sceptical face then looked at Matthew and he said, 'You and your dreams. This boy doesn't look like he can even look after himself, never mind save us. Look at him. I've seen more fat on a sparrow.'

Matthew felt completely drained of his remaining energy and any confidence, which he had acquired while talking to Hannah. He looked for the nearest chair. Hannah beckoned him over to one opposite her grandfather and took his jacket away.

'Oh, now I see who he is,' said the grandfather noticing Matthew's hoodie, 'a novice monk who has run away.'

'Grandfather, Matthew is from another world and has run away from no one. And you shouldn't mock my dreams. Matthew is tall and brave. We nearly got caught by the Baron's soldiers today,' said Hannah.

The grandfather reacted nearly choking on his soup. 'How many times have I told you to keep away from danger! If the soldiers are after this boy then they will come here. Hannah, why do you do such things. You'll be the death of me one day.'

'Don't worry grandfather. They didn't see us. Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to take Matthew to Martha. She'll tell us what we have to do next,' said Hannah trying but failing to appease her grandfather.

'You will not go to see that old witch, my girl. She is nothing but trouble. Look, the boy can stay here tonight but tomorrow I'll take him to Tobias who will guide him back to where you found him. And in future I don't want you leaving the farm. Times are not what they used to be with this young Baron in charge of things,' said the grandfather.

'We'll talk about it in the morning, grandfather,' said Hannah as she got them both some soup and bread and winked at Matthew. This made Matthew feel a little better. Just like in his own world no one thought much of him, but Hannah seemed to have other ideas.

After they finished eating, Hannah took Matthew upstairs to a small bedroom. 'Don't worry about my grandfather. He doesn't like strangers and is very protective of me. He likes you really. Anyway, here is your bed. I'll wake you in the morning. We've got a long journey so get as much rest as you can,' she said as she left him a lamp and closed the door behind her.

Matthew had no more energy to think and just took off his boots and hoodie, turned the lamp off, and fell straight to sleep in the small bed with his feet hanging over the end.

Chapter Five

Matthew was dreaming that someone was holding his mouth. He woke up suddenly to find Hannah doing just that. He got up and was about to say something when he saw her put a finger to her mouth for him to be silent. It was still dark but he could see she had a lamp.

'Hurry up and get ready. We have to leave before my grandfather gets up. I'll meet you downstairs in the kitchen,' whispered Hannah, who then left the room.

Matthew had not had the most comfortable night's sleep on the small bed and yawned and stretched. It was almost becoming a habit, he then thought, Hannah waking him up suddenly. He quickly put his boots and hoodie on and as quietly as he could went down the stairs. At the bottom, he could see Hannah with her cape on, finishing putting some food in her bag on the table.

'Here, drink this water,' she said giving him a cup. She beckoned him to hurry and he drank it down, before following her outside.

Outside it was a little chilly and Matthew hesitated, remembering that he had left his jacket behind. But Hannah pulled him away, saying, 'You won't need it: it'll be quite warm later.' He did not argue with her; he did not have the strength of personality to do so. Ever since last night's experience with her grandfather he had been feeling his usual negative self. Added to this, he was totally disorientated in this new world and felt that he would be too scared to even attempt to return to the clearing alone and then maybe the museum - if he could. It was easier to just do what he was told for now and see what happened.

They moved into the forest with Hannah leading at a brisk pace. After about an hour of walking down a few paths that Matthew could just about make out and nearly tripped over on, Hannah slowed down. She seemed to sense something up ahead. He could see that it was now getting lighter and could hear the birds singing, but nothing else.

'Get down!' she suddenly whispered. He obeyed her. Then he heard the sound of horses again coming towards them. Hannah crawled behind some bushes and Matthew followed her. Then about ten metres in front of them, Matthew could make out some horsemen in the same uniforms as before, approaching on what must be a wide track or road. He could not see how many there were but there were at least 10 of them, and they seemed in as much a hurry as the ones yesterday. Eventually, they passed and Hannah motioned for him to get up.

'Before the Baron returned you would never see horsemen from the Castle at this time,' she said. 'Now they're always around at strange times. Come on. We'll soon be at a place where we can safely eat.' Matthew followed after her, thinking it was perhaps him they were after, with a little fear.

Half an hour or so later, they came to a stream with a log over it. 'When we get to the other side we can rest. We should be safe from the Baron's men there,' Hannah said as she quickly walked over the log. Matthew followed after her more carefully and clumsily. It was now light.

Hannah walked over to the bottom of a small grassy hillock near the edge of the stream, which had the ubiquitous reeds in it. They stopped and sat down. Matthew watched with interest as Hannah got some bread, dried sausage, cheese, and fruit out of her bag and put it on a picnic cloth. Back home he would not have thought much of this as breakfast but here it seemed very appealing. He began to eat ravenously; she did the same. It was a good place for a picnic, he thought, as he looked at the now brighter sky and saw a couple of magpies fly by.

He then asked Hannah about her parents.

'I've never met my father and my mother is dead,' she said with a little sadness.

'Sorry,' said Matthew. He felt himself go red. I should have realised something happened to them. Why do I always seem to say the wrong thing? he asked himself.

He tried to change the subject and asked her about Martha.

'No one knows much about her origins,' Hannah replied, now back to her cheerful self. 'She seems to have always been in the Land, though I suppose she must have been born at some time. She used to be seen a lot and was always helping people with illnesses or farmers with their animals or crops.

She's very old but still full of life. When the Baron returned she disappeared into the forest and is not seen as much. But I see her from time to time,' said Hannah while she was eating.

'Why do you think she can help us?' asked Matthew.

'If anyone will know what to do she will. She is not only intelligent and knowledgeable but she seems able to foresee the future; some even say that she knows magic. But anyway, she's not called the Wise woman for nothing,' answered Hannah. 'It was her that first told me that I should study my dreams and what they could mean. But she has taught me other things as well.'

'So why doesn't your grandfather – I've just realised I don't even know his name,' Matthew said.

'Walter,' said Hannah.

'Why doesn't "Walter" like Martha?,' asked Matthew thinking that he probably did not want his granddaughter to become a witch as well.

'That's difficult for me to answer and concerns my mother's death,' she said. 'Well, I suppose I can tell you but it's not a nice memory. You see my mother died when giving birth to me and it was Martha who was the midwife. My grandfather blames her for his daughter's death.' Hannah looked sad again saying this and Matthew again wished he had not asked her such a question and decided not to ask any more personal ones.

Hannah stared into the stream. Matthew then asked how long it would take them to get to Martha; he wanted to make her think of something else.

'Oh, it's still far away. In fact, we'd better leave now,' she answered, tossing a few strands of her long hair back. Matthew helped her clean the cutlery in the stream and refill the water flask. He then remembered something else.

'Who's Tobias?' he asked.

'Oh, he's a friend of the family, another farmer,' answered Hannah. They then set off again.

They did not talk much during the rest of the journey, partly because of the quick pace Hannah was setting them. There were a few times when Matthew would liked to have had a break but he felt a little ashamed at a girl being fitter than he and carried on. The forest was not mountainous but was a little hilly.

He did feel better about himself, however, probably because he was with an attractive girl, he thought, which had never happened before - at least not with one that seemed to like him. He was also enjoying being in the forest with its beautiful trees and foliage and wildlife, which Hannah had assured him was largely harmless except for the boars and occasional bear, which were rarely seen. The word 'rarely' mostly assured Matthew. In addition the weather was nice: much warmer than wintry Vienna though certainly not too hot.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, they reached Martha's cottage. It was near a stream. But it did not look like the quaint thatched old woman's cottage that Matthew had imagined it would be. Instead it looked quite dark and seemed to be built with large stones in the face of a small woodland cliff. There was a small chimney on the right and a couple of windows on either side of a wooden door, which was a little open.

'We must be careful,' said Hannah. 'There may be some traps for unwanted visitors.'

Matthew suddenly felt a little nervous. Hell, he thought to himself, I'm about to enter a witch's home with booby traps. Is this really a good idea?

Hannah went first - as usual, thought Matthew - and they approached the doorway with caution. There were lots of what Matthew thought were weeds at the front of the "cottage," which he felt gave it a scruffy look with some old untidy vines growing on its stone face.

Hannah reached the door. 'Hello, It's Hannah,' she said as she pushed it more open. Matthew was feeling tense behind her.

Eventually the door creaked open onto a small dark smoky room. There was a big fireplace on the right and rocking chair next to it, which seemed to be moving, even though no one was on it. Matthew was beginning to get a little freaked out. Probably this was not such a good idea after all, coming here, he thought.

They entered the room fully, wondering where Martha was. There was a small fire going so she must be somewhere nearby. Then suddenly the door slammed shut behind them. Matthew felt his heart miss a beat and his body freeze with fear. Bloody hell. Why did he put himself in these situations? he asked himself.
Chapter Six

'Hello, Hannah, I didn't expect you so early. I just popped out to get some more ingredients for the stew,' said Martha, the Wise woman, whom Matthew and Hannah could now see in front of the closed door.

She had a basket of vegetables and herbs, and moved towards them. She certainly knew how to frighten people, thought Matthew, now calming down. She really did look old, at least 80, he thought. But he could see that although she looked small and frail she had some kind of strength or power. He noticed, however, that she did not look at him at all.

'Come on. Sit down you two. You have come a long way and must be tired,' she said. They obeyed her and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. Matthew could see there were two other doors leading off from this small dark room, which seemed to be a kitchen, dining room, and lounge all rolled into one, but its atmosphere now seemed more friendly and cosy with Martha here.

She busied herself by a dresser to the left of the fire place. Matthew felt a cat at his feet, which did not surprise him. He went to stroke it, noticing it was not black but grey. 'If Hans likes you, you can't be such a bad person,' Martha said staring Matthew right in the eye when he looked up at her. He felt uncomfortable; it was as though she could see right through him. He looked away back at the cat who was purring away.

'I thought you could help us,' said Hannah.

'Yes, I know why you are here, my dear, and I'm always happy to see you, but first you must tell me all that has happened to you from the time you dreamt about this boy, to finding him, and now,' said Martha.

Matthew thought that she should already know this if she were a real witch.

Hannah then told her everything. Matthew already knew much of it but he learnt that the Clearing seemed to be a well known place where strange things happened.

'You have done well, my dear, but you should know by now that your dreams do not always tell the whole story. The boy here, M...'

'Matthew,' said Hannah.

'Matthew is certainly here for a reason, though it may not be the one you think,' said Martha. 'It may be to save the Land from the Baron but it may also be for other purposes, perhaps including the opposite.'

'But what does he or we have to do next?' asked Hannah.

'I cannot tell Matthew or you what you have to do because I simply do not know,' said Martha. 'Yes, I have had visions about what may come to pass but these are only possibilities. Now is not the time to discuss them, though this may change. Whether they happen depends on the present actions of those involved and what determines these are the decisions of those involved.

You had a dream and reacted to it by fetching Matthew. This has turned out to be a good decision. If you had not then Matthew might now be in the Baron's custody. But Matthew has brought a lot of problems with him to the Land, which may not help his decision making process.'

She then looked at Matthew but this time not so intently. 'You should stop thinking about life too much and start living it, young man. This way you will realise that others are just like you. They like to dance and be merry and are sometimes sad in much the same ways as you, even though at times it may not appear so.

You should also trust more in yourself as well: you may not think you are the archetypical man but people are not all made in the same way and you have talents that other people do not have, like intelligence.'

Matthew was dumbfounded and felt his face go red. Where in the hell did that come from? He thought the purpose of his visit to her was to find out how he could help them, not to get a personality analysis. What is more, how could she know so much about his thoughts and feelings? This was too much. I should never have come here, he thought. If I wanted to see a shrink I could have done so in my own world.

Furthermore, she should not have said these things in front of Hannah, who might now treat him like the girls at home. He returned his attention to Hans again, angry but not wanting to make the situation worse by making a scene.

'Don't be so quick to be angry when someone tells you the truth, young man,' said Martha. 'It is sometimes useful to hear it.'

Matthew did not even look at her. What did she know of his problems? Nothing: he was quite happy with his laid back lifestyle and others did not like him so he did not bother with them; there was no point. As for not being an archetypical man, this was something he had no desire to be. Hell, never mind a shrink, I could have got this crap from my parents, he thought. He then wished he were at home and resolved to go back there as soon as possible when they returned to Hannah's grandfather's farm.

But Martha came over to him and touched him on the shoulder. 'Please think better of me, Matthew; I really am only trying to help you. How you resolve your problems will determine not just your destiny but that of the Land.'

This did make him feel slightly better towards her but he was still not happy and said nothing. She then brought him and Hannah some bowls of stew and bread. After this, she sat down on her rocking chair, looking into the fire. Hans jumped on her lap and got comfortable.

Hannah looked thoughtful as she ate her food. Matthew ate his hungrily. Irrespective of her amateur psychoanalysis, the so called Wise woman certainly knew how to cook, he thought. After they had finished, Martha got up and took their dirty plates and cutlery away.

'Can't you give us any direction as to what we have to do next?' asked Hannah.

From the dresser, Martha said, 'Hannah, have you listened to nothing I have said? All right, I'll say to you that you could start by returning to your grandfather's farm,' she said. 'There you may find the answer to your question.'

Matthew looked at a curious-looking Hannah who was about to ask something else. But Martha stopped her with a gesture of her hand. 'No more questions, Hannah. It's been nice seeing you again, even for such a short time, and we may see each other again, soon. But it's now time for you to go.' Hannah got up and hugged Martha. She then got her cape and bag.

Matthew also got up and Martha said to him, 'Don't feel so bad about yourself, young man. But you must learn to stop complicating things and listen more to your instincts, which seem to have served you quite well in our land so far. Also, not everyone thinks badly of you.' She smiled and looked over at Hannah. Matthew felt a little embarrassed.

Martha then took something from her apron pocket. Matthew could see it was a very small leather bag on some kind of necklace, like a shoelace. She then went to put it around his neck. He bent down out of politeness. 'Because you are not of this world you will need this to protect you here,' she said. 'I can't explain more but please wear it while in this land.'

Hannah looked over at him with approval. Martha then said, 'All I will finally say about your being here is that whatever reason it is, there will be a conclusion to your problems and the ones we have in our land...for good or ill.' Matthew and Hannah then left.

On the journey back, they did not speak much at all, partly because of Hannah's setting a fast pace again. Matthew also felt that Hannah's view of him had changed for the negative, in spite of what Martha had said at the end. He had been getting on quite well with Hannah until Martha said what she said about his thinking too much. But he now felt his usual negative self again and that Hannah viewed him thus. I am just like other people and have other talents: what did the "Wise woman" know about it? he asked himself.

He also thought about how his parents must be wondering where he was. After all, he had been gone for a day and a half now. Never mind, he thought, I should see them again tomorrow. One more night and then Tobias whoever he is will help me return to the Clearing, and I must be able to get back to the Museum from there somehow, if I did so before.

After a couple of rests for water, they arrived back at the farm several hours later, just as it was getting dark. But as they got nearer to it, they could see that there was something wrong. The door to the farmhouse was off its hinges and some windows were smashed with equipment and other things strewn around. Hannah rushed towards it.

Yet Matthew could see someone moving about near the door. 'Hang on, Hannah. There could be danger,' Matthew implored. But she ignored him and carried on. Hell, he thought, the horsemen might get me after all, as he chased after her.
Chapter Seven

Matthew tried to catch up with Hannah. 'Grandfather. Grandfather!,' she shouted. But as she got to the doorway of the farmhouse, the man near the door grabbed hold of her. Matthew quickened his pace to help her. He felt very scared but there was no way he was going to let anyone harm Hannah. As he got closer, however, his adrenalin flowing through his body, he could see the man holding her was big.

'Calm down, Hannah,' the man said, which Matthew realised meant he must know her. But Matthew was still uncertain, as he stopped in front of him a little out of breath. He could see the bearded man had a brown hat shaped like half a road cone with a leather-laced waistcoat over a white smock-like shirt with no collar, rolled up at the sleeves, which revealed his big arms. He also had the same brown baggy trousers that only went down to the knees as Hannah's grandfather with leather boots underneath.

The man looked at Matthew with a little surprise but after that seemed to take no notice of him, as though he did not matter. 'Hannah, it's all right. Walter's alive. But the Baron's men took him away to the Castle,' said the man. Hannah seemed to stop struggling and he let her go.

'How long ago? Did they hurt him?' asked Hannah who also seemed to pay Matthew no attention.

'They came this morning. And no they didn't, though they treated him a little roughly. But he was still healthily ranting at them when they left. They were looking for the boy,' the man said looking at Matthew again. 'I saw them just as they were taking Walter away. One of them was holding a strange piece of clothing and I realised then that the boy must have been here. I'd been coming to warn you that the soldiers were looking for him. They came to my farm and have been searching all the other houses.'

They must have found my jacket, thought Matthew. I knew I should have taken it.

'What can we do to save him?' asked Hannah anxiously.

'Well, after I'd seen what happened to Walter, I went to meet some others also not happy with the Baron,' said the man Matthew now believed to be Tobias. 'We've been talking for a while about doing something about him – too much talking! But this is the last straw.

We plan to raid the Castle and release the prisoners there, including Walter. Then we can maybe form some kind of rebellion against the Baron from the safety of the forest. If we don't do something about him now then soon we all be at the Castle with the Baron doing who knows what to us with his strange magic.'

'You don't think he'll harm my grandfather?' asked Hannah now more worried than before.

'I'm sorry to say that he just might, bearing in mind that he's looking for the boy, who was obviously here,' said Tobias. 'Look, the others should all be at or on their way to the place near the Castle where we agreed to meet. I only came back here to tell you what happened and see that you were safe. I'll take you to a friend of mine who will guide you to a hideaway in the forest. If we're successful, we'll bring your grandfather there.'

'No,' said Hannah. 'I'm coming with you to the Castle. I may not see my grandfather again and I won't feel happy with myself unless I help try to save him.'

Matthew wondered if this was the right thing and thought he should try to persuade her to listen to Tobias. This experience or adventure as it had now become was getting a little too much for Matthew and all he wanted to do was return to his own world.

But Tobias said 'I had a feeling you would want to come. You always do want to get involved in things. But it will be dangerous, Hannah, and there may well be some fighting, which with all due respect, as a female you are not exactly qualified to do.'

'I can use a knife as well as any man!' said Hannah taking out a long dagger from the side of her skirt. 'I'm coming. That's final.'

Tobias looked at her with what Matthew thought was a mixture of frustration and respect. 'All right, but the boy here cannot come. The Baron obviously wants him for some reason and I don't want to be the one who delivers him into his hands,' he said.

There's no way I'm going to be cosseted in some safe house while Hannah is in danger, thought Matthew who now realised that he could not return to his world without feeling guilty at leaving her in such a situation. He was about to say something but Hannah got there first. 'No, Matthew is coming as well. I dreamt he saves us from the Baron and so his coming is necessary.'

Tobias looked at Matthew doubtfully, then shrugged his shoulders and said 'Fine, but you must both do exactly as I tell you.'

'Of course,' said Hannah who then gave Matthew a wink.

Matthew was not sure whether he should be happy but he was. He had wanted just to return back to his world and was scared. But he was also fed up with being patronised – "Young man"; "the boy"; a part of him wanted to show them all there was more to him than this. Moreover Hannah, whom he realised he liked quite a lot, had again shown confidence in him, which he thought she had lost after the visit to Martha's cottage. Maybe Martha was right after all when she said "someone" likes you, thought Matthew. Maybe, she was right about other things as well, he also thought.

Matthew then watched as Tobias went over to his horse, took some things from its saddle bag, then untied it, and whispered something in its ear. It galloped off. 'He won't be much use on the paths we're going to take,' Tobias said as he turned away from it to them. 'Come on. We've a longish journey involving a lot of walking up hills.' He then went into the woods with Hannah and Matthew tiredly following.
Chapter Eight

After over a couple of hours of journeying through the forest, Tobias gestured for Hannah and Matthew to stop. Matthew thought it must be about 8 p.m., though without his watch working he did not know for certain. But he knew he was very tired and that it was getting a little chilly.

He looked at the trees around him; their leaves were rustling a little in the breeze. He also saw that there was a clearing ahead, which Tobias approached slowly, making the noise of an owl twice as he did so. Matthew heard the same noises in response. Tobias motioned them forwards.

Out of nowhere, about ten men then appeared. They seemed a mixed bunch of young and old but were well armed with swords and cross bows. One of them looked different: he was dressed like a soldier and seemed to be the leader. He came forward, looking at Matthew and Hannah with an unhappy look on his face.

'Yes, Curt. But you know Hannah,' said Tobias before the other man could speak.

'This will be no visit to woods, picking mushrooms, Hannah,' said Curt, who Matthew could see was shorter than he but much, much stockier. He also had a big scar on his forehead. 'There is a good chance we will be caught.'

'Yes, I know, Curt,' said Hannah. 'Tobias has already warned me. But you are not the only ones unhappy with the Baron. We have a right to be involved as well.'

"We?" thought Matthew, now realising the enormity of what he was involved in.

'All right. But we'll make no allowances for you. Any trouble and you look after yourselves. Who knows what the Baron will do if he catches this boy? Right, enough talking. Let's go,' said Curt. 'It's going to take at least an hour to get in the Castle.'

With that they went to the end of the Clearing. Curt by name, curt by nature, Matthew thought as he saw the Castle looming up in front of them in the light of the full moon. It seemed to grow out of the forest and was on a hilly island surrounded by a small river. There was a bridge to the left of it and a road at the front which connected it to the mainland through the shallows of a part of the river. This road came and passed by the right of where they were hidden.

The Castle itself consisted of one tall but not too narrow turreted tower with a sloping roof in the middle of the island. There was a lower one behind it and several smaller ones surrounding it going down the hill, their walls extending down into the river. Where the Castle opened to the road there seemed to be some people moving about who Matthew assumed were sentries.

'We're going near the bridge. There's a secret tunnel there, which will take us into the castle, not far from the dungeon,' Tobias whispered to Hannah, as they descended from the clearing down into the wooded left bank of the river. Curt and his men were in front with Matthew, Hannah, and Tobias at the back. It was quite steep going down and in the dark Matthew had trouble finding his footing in the tangled undergrowth.

As they got nearer to the bottom, Curt suddenly motioned for them to stop and crouch down. Below but coming in their direction on a track along the river, Matthew could make out a couple of horsemen through the trees in the light of the moon. They were armed with swords but were talking to each other quite loudly and did not seem to be very cautious. It would be easy to ambush them, Matthew thought. He then realised he was getting a little carried away with himself – he couldn't ambush a paper bag.

After they had passed, Curt motioned for everyone to move again. They walked parallel to the track below. Then Curt stopped them again and went down past the track with a couple of his men to somewhere near the river's edge. Matthew could see through the trees that they were quite near the bridge to the Castle. He was feeling nervous but knew that he would have felt even worse had he backed out of coming.

Curt returned. 'I've found it. Let's go. But be careful. If someone is looking at the track from the Castle they might see us in the moonlight.' He then led them down to the entrance.

'Curt used to be a soldier at the Castle when the old Baron was in power, so he knows all the secret ways,' whispered Hannah to Matthew as they quickly went down and passed over the track into some bushes.

Curt was crouched down holding onto a stone slab on its side, which was obviously the tunnel's entrance door. He motioned for them all to descend down a ladder into it before doing so himself and closing the entrance. He then lit a lamp and got to the front again leading them into the darkness of the tunnel.

Matthew could see that it was not very high and he had to crouch down a little. It was made of bricks but there were some small drips from the river above which occasionally landed on him in the echo of the tunnel. It seemed longer than he thought it would be and after about ten minutes of going down and then up again they seemed to come to its end. They stopped and Curt turned out his lamp. Before this, he gestured for everyone to be absolutely silent.

He then began to climb up the ladder at the other end. Matthew thought he caught the glint of a dagger in his mouth as he was doing so. Matthew then heard and saw the very faint light of a trap door opening. Curt disappeared up the ladder, then came down and gave the signal for them to follow him.

Matthew waited his turn and when he got to the top of it, Curt helped him up. Matthew still could not believe what situation he was in: about to risk his life in the Castle of an evil Baron who knew magic in another world to save the grandfather of a girl he had only known for two days or so.

Hannah and Tobias were the last to come up and when they did so, Curt replaced the trap door. They were in some kind of small room just about big enough for them all, containing old boxes. The trap door they had come out of was in a low wooden platform, which had barrels on it.

Curt went to the room's door. It was not open. One of the other men approached it, taking something which to Matthew looked like a bended piece of a wire coat hanger from his pocket. He put it in the lock and moved it around until there was the click of the lock opening.

Curt, Tobias, and the other men then slowly and quietly drew their swords and readied their cross bows. Even Hannah got her dagger out. Matthew felt a little useless without anything and just gulped with fear. Curt slowly opened the creaking door, which to Matthew sounded very loud. Curt looked in either direction to make sure no one was outside and then headed left out of the room into the corridor.

It was lit at regular intervals by some torches on the dark stone walls. They all tried not to make any noise but if anyone were around they probably would hear them, though Matthew. Soon, they came to a meeting of corridors. Curt gestured for them to wait until he had a look to see if there was anyone around. There was not and he led them straight on. He then seemed to go at a faster pace, like he was near the dungeon.

They came to another set of corridors but this time the ones on the right had some stairs going down. Curt slowly led them down. But at the bottom, he hesitated. 'They're coming!' he whispered urgently as he motioned for them to go back up.

They did so as quietly as they could and retreated round the corner they had come. They then hunched themselves against the wall. But they could hear the noise of several soldiers coming up the stairs. Matthew thought they sounded rough and in a boisterous mood. There was no way the soldiers could miss them, he thought with a shudder, as he heard them come up the stairs.
Chapter Nine

The soldiers continued to come up the stairs. What in the hell am I doing in this situation? Matthew asked himself. He was now more scared than he could ever remember, his heart beating quickly and his breathing getting shorter.

He could see Curt ready with his sword. The soldiers then reached the top. But they walked straight ahead not even bothering to look down the corridor where they were. Matthew could smell alcohol on their breaths as they did so, which probably explained their poor observation.

There was a palpable intake of breath after they passed. Curt then led them quickly down the stairway again. When they got to the bottom Matthew could see there was another small passageway leading to what was obviously the dungeon. At the end of this there was another soldier by the dungeon door. But he was asleep sitting with his hands over his head on a table. There was a jug of something nearby.

Curt and Tobias approached him with caution. They were after the keys, which he had around his waist. Curt slowly went to undo his belt. But the soldier suddenly woke up and saw bleary eyed what Curt was trying to do. He moved to get up and was about to shout out when Tobias hit him over the head with the jug of alcohol. His head fell back on the table.

Curt acted quickly. He took the keys and opened the door of the dungeon. He and some of his men then entered it, taking some torches off the walls. Four stayed behind keeping watch.

Matthew followed an anxious Hannah into the dungeon; he felt completely useless and just tried to keep out of the way of everyone. There were eight doors in the dark stone walls, four on either side. As Curt opened each one, a couple of his men entered the cells and told their inmates that they were here to help them escape but that they had to be quiet.

Hannah looked in each one, whispering as loudly as she could 'Grandfather. Where are you? We're here to rescue you.' She found him in the third cell on the right. One of Curt's men helped her get him out of the cell as he was very stiff. This man then left to go to some other cells.

There were now lots of prisoners mulling around in the passageway of the cellblock, looking shocked and confused, restlessly waiting until all their fellow inmates were released. Curt's men had to continually remind them to be quiet.

Matthew approached Hannah's grandfather to try to help him. The grandfather saw him coming. 'No thank you, young man. I don't need you to SAVE me. You've already done quite enough,' he said caustically and then started coughing. Matthew went red with hurt. Hannah then helped her grandfather move away.

'Hannah, you had better learn from this not to involve yourself in things that don't concern you in future,' said the grandfather, looking over at Matthew, as they got to the door of the dungeon. Matthew followed close behind them. Hannah made some reassuring noises to her grandfather who was still murmuring negative things about Matthew.

Curt then went to the door of the dungeon by her and faced all the now released prisoners, about thirty in total. 'Right men, I know you all anxious to leave as soon as possible. But you won't get out of here unless you all follow the guidance of myself and my men. So when we leave this cell block you must all form an orderly queue of two on either side. The escape route is not far and there shouldn't be any soldiers around. But if we make too much noise then there will be. Understand?'

The prisoners nodded. 'Right. Let's go,' said Curt in his terse way.

He led the way past the unconscious jailer with a couple of his men behind him and then Hannah, her grandfather, and Matthew and the prisoners with the remainder of Curt's men. Tobias was somewhere at the back helping them guide the prisoners.

They went up the stairs cautiously but with a little haste. Hannah's grandfather was now walking on his own behind Hannah but in front of Matthew whom he continued to give dirty looks to. Curt with his sword in his hand was constantly looking around and behind him to make sure the prisoners were following in an orderly fashion.

They reached the second meeting of corridors. Only a short way to go now, thought Matthew, and we'll be safe.

Then suddenly a couple of soldiers appeared in front of them from the right corridor. They gasped with surprise. It was the last thing they did. Curt stabbed one of them while one of his men shot the other in the neck with his crossbow. But there were others behind them in the distance who began to shout out and run towards them.

Matthew was still in shock at having seen the two soldiers killed and looked at their bodies still twitching as they lay on the floor in their own blood.

Curt shouted at a couple of his men, 'Get the prisoners out. We'll keep them busy! Quick! Go!' Some of his men then joined him as he went with to meet the oncoming soldiers who seemed to now be at least fifteen in number. Matthew saw Tobias go to join Curt as well.

Hannah then tried to pull Matthew away in the direction of the room with the trap door. Curt's men were hurrying them along, shouting 'Move! Move!' Matthew then partly recovered his senses and ran behind Hannah, who had now let him go and was dragging her grandfather. Matthew thought that his job was to protect Hannah, with his life if he had to, though he did not how he would achieve this if it became necessary: he had no experience of fighting whatsoever.

His heart beat was racing and he was very scared. He could hear the clash of swords and the sound of arrows being fired behind him. Some of the prisoners now overtook them. They had the hope of freedom in front of them and they would not be denied it.

But in their way of it now appeared some more soldiers rushing up in the darkness in front of them. Matthew crashed into Hannah and her grandfather who had now been forced to stop themselves behind the slowing down prisoners. They were now trying to pass them back towards where Curt and his men were.

But Curt and his men were now running towards them with some soldiers behind them. Matthew looked around him in both directions, feeling panicked. He then tried to put himself in front of Hannah and her grandfather who were now against the wall. If they were all to be killed then he wanted to at least do something right, for once in his life, he thought, out of breath.

Arrows were whizzing overhead from both directions. The prisoners were now squeezing against them from both sides, their faces full of panic, trying to get out of the way of the soldiers. But Matthew could hear the soldiers using their swords against the mostly unarmed prisoners who screamed with pain. He then saw them coming towards him. Hell, he thought, He, Hannah, and her grandfather would soon be killed!
Chapter Ten

Matthew now felt himself squashed against the wall. He could feel Hannah next to him, which gave him a little comfort in the chaotic atmosphere of the battle - or massacre, Matthew corrected himself. He tried to turn himself around to see how near the soldiers were but could not.

He could still hear the loud voices of Curt and Tobias in the horrible noise of killing. But they sounded like they were in trouble themselves and gave Matthew no hope. He felt it was only a matter of time before he, Hannah, and her grandfather would soon be butchered. But then the noise of swords and arrows seemed to stop and Matthew felt himself become even more squashed.

With an effort he turned his head in the direction of Curt and Tobias and could just about make out their backs in the torch-lit corridor. But he could see they and some of Curt's men still had their swords ready for action.

Then he heard a voice in front of them, commanding but nervous. 'Put down your weapons! You have no hope of escape! You are surrounded.' Matthew then saw Curt and Tobias look at each other and around them, then obey, putting their swords carefully down on the stone floor. Curt's remaining men did the same.

The soldiers then began to roughly drag Tobias and Curt, his men, and prisoners away, in the direction of the voice, back towards the dungeon. Matthew felt himself become able to move and then he too was grabbed by a couple of soldiers. Hannah and her grandfather were then treated the same as well as the others behind them.

Matthew noticed several bodies on the floor as he went, some soldiers, prisoners, and a few of Curt's men. He remembered having previously thought in his own world from films and books that war was glamorous; he no longer felt this way. It was horrible with lots of blood, nasty wounds everywhere, and awful screams and groans.

Ahead, Matthew could see at the meeting of corridors the same evil-looking horseman in black whom he had seen when he had first come into the Land when he was hiding with Hannah. He seemed to be in charge and was probably the one with the "commanding voice." As Matthew got nearer to him, he could see that "the voice" was looking at each of the passing prisoners carefully and when Matthew reached him himself, he discovered the reason why.

'Ah, at last we find the young stranger! We were expecting you a day and a half ago and were wondering where you were ever since.

My name is Eustace. I am the captain of the guard.' He then gestured for the two soldiers to release Matthew and took him by the arm himself. Matthew could see that he looked very happy. 'Come, I will take you to a place of comfort, where you can have some food and drink,' Eustace said as he took Matthew away from Hannah and the others down the corridor where the soldiers who first discovered them had come from.

Matthew turned his head around to see if Hannah was all right and managed to see her staring at him as a soldier manhandled her away. He could be wrong but he felt some hostility in her look.

Matthew did not like being treated differently from the others. This always seemed to happen to him in his own world and he could never understand why. But he knew in this instance that he had no choice other than to go with Eustace, who was accompanied by four of his soldiers.

Eustace himself looked the part as a soldier but Matthew felt that he was more of an administrator. At the end of the corridor there were some more stairs, which Eustace took Matthew up. They went down another corridor. Eustace then stopped before a large wooden door, briefly hesitated, opened it, and gestured for Matthew to enter it.

It was big and dark and Matthew could hardly see anything but there was a fire in a fireplace on his left which gave him something to focus on. Eustace took Matthew to one of two big chairs by it and motioned for him to sit down. He then disappeared in the shadows before Matthew heard the door he had just come through close.

He looked around him and thought about what time it was: 11, 12 p.m.? It was certainly very late. But he could see nothing in the dark room as he wondered where the promised water and food were. He was, however, happy to be seated. He was physically and emotionally exhausted after the day's events.

Firstly, there was the trip to Martha and her surprising him with her character analysis, which now seemed so long ago. Then there was the journey back to the farm and the possible danger there to Hannah and him. Finally came the tiring and stressful experience of the attempted escape and the fighting, killing, and capture.

Matthew felt like crying after what he had experienced: something that rarely happened to him. The memory of his parents came into his head and he realised he missed them very much. They would now be very worried about him and had probably called the police. He vowed to himself that he would stop being a worry to them if he saw them again. He yearned for the "normality" of his own world and wanted to return to it. He did not have the most exciting life there but it was comfortable and at least safe, unlike the killing he had just witnessed.

In any event, just like his own world most of the people here did not seem to think much of him, including the so-called Wise woman, Martha. Here he was just the "boy" to them all. The only one who seemed to like him, Hannah, he was no longer sure about, with the apparently hostile look she had just given him. What had he done to deserve that?

There was nothing he could do to help her or the others anyway. He could not fight and his apparent intelligence that Martha said he had did not have any answers for him at the moment. He just wanted the whole experience to end.

He then wondered what was going to happen to him next and became a little scared as he remembered what he had heard about the Baron and his magic. He nearly got up to see if there was any water around but he felt a little shiver as the room seemed to get colder suddenly and the fire almost die.

The Baron had not been happy. He had used his magic to get the boy into the land. It had required much energy and blood - not his though. He needed a weak-minded but intelligent person to perform a task for him and he set the necessary snaring spell at the Clearing. He would have to use a little more magic to bend the will of this person, who would suffer some mental damage. But he felt no moral qualms about his; all that mattered was achieving his goal of total power.

But a day and a half ago, Eustace, his clever Captain of the Guard, had informed him again that the boy he had lured to the Land was not at the Clearing and was nowhere to be found near it, even though he, the Baron, knew he was in the Land somewhere: he could feel it. But for some reason the boy had entered earlier than the Baron had felt he would. This was unlike the time before when he knew the boy had briefly entered the Land but for some reason returned to his own world.

Then, this morning Eustace returned to the Castle saying that they had found the boy's jacket but not the boy. But later the Baron could no longer feel the presence of the boy in the Land: he must have returned to his own world. Why was it all going wrong? he had asked himself. Fate did not seem to be on his side anymore, after his successful return to the Castle after being banished by his stupid father, who knew nothing about true power and what it could achieve.

Then a short while ago, after hearing some noises in the Castle, he was happy to see Eustace come to see him to tell him they had the boy. He was unhappy about the incursion into his Castle and the laxness of his men – they would pay for this – but the result was the important thing, he thought as he made his way into the room next door. It seemed fate was on his side after all, as he looked over at the boy sitting in the chair opposite him.
Chapter Eleven

Matthew looked around him in fear as he nearly got up from his chair. The room was now much colder than before, even though the fire had recovered to burn strongly.

But he was interrupted by a voice coming from the seat opposite him, which he had thought was empty. The voice was cold and a little whiny but with power. He looked over at it. There was a hooded figure seated in front of him. 'Hello, Matthew. I've been waiting to meet you,' the voice said in a charming but sly way.

'Who are you? What am I doing here?' asked Matthew, almost stammering, feeling very scared in his tired emotional state.

'I think you know the answer to the first question. As for the second, I have brought you here to help me and my family get back something that belongs to us,' said the person who Matthew now realised must be the Baron.

'You brought me here?' asked Matthew.

'Yes, I used a little of my family magic to bring a young, brave man to help me return an heirloom to my family,' replied the Baron.

Matthew remembered the picture at the Kunsthistorisches, drawing him towards it. 'What heirloom is that?' he asked nervously.

'In your world in a place you call a museum there is a small relic which I believe you name "The Spear of Destiny." It is not an important thing but to us it is a symbol of our family,' replied the Baron.

Matthew then remembered seeing this object among many others in a museum in the Hofburg. 'But how can I do that? I don't even know exactly how I can return to my world,' said Matthew, feeling that he had to keep the conversation going or he would fall to pieces in fear.

'I can help you do this,' said the Baron. 'And once you have returned it to me I will return you back to your world.'

'But how do I bring it to you?' asked Matthew. 'It is locked in a case and there are security guards.'

'I can give you some tools to get past these things,' said the Baron.

Matthew was tired, scared, and confused but he knew he had to go along with the Baron, at least for now, if he wanted to return to his own world. Yet he also felt some concern for Hannah and the others, though they seemed not to care for him. 'But what about my new friends here: why have you imprisoned them?' asked Matthew, surprising himself with such a challenging question.

'Your friends!' the Baron said a little too sharply.

Matthew felt his body freeze with fear.

'They will be released,' said the Baron now calm again. 'It is just a little misunderstanding I have with some of my people. Once I get this "Spear of Destiny", everything in my land will be perfect and every one of my people will be happy.'

'But they said you were evil and after you returned your family disappeared,' Matthew suddenly said, surprising himself again.

'They are lying!' the Baron snapped back. Matthew gulped with fear. The Baron then recovered his composure again. 'Since my return to my land, my people have misinterpreted my actions. My family went away to visit some relatives but they will soon return...And they will be happy that you have brought back our symbol, the Spear.'

'So, if I return to my world and bring you this spear you will release my friends?' asked Matthew, still scared but thinking that he could achieve something for Hannah and the others before he returned to his own world.

'When you return they will be waiting for you to say goodbye to you before I return you back to your world,' answered the Baron.

'What if I don't?' asked Matthew, surprising himself again with his final piece of courage.

'If you don't...If you don't,' said the Baron a little angrily. Matthew gulped with fear, thinking the Baron would now do something horrible to him.

'If you don't...' the Baron then said with his charming voice, 'then, I will tell your friends that you did not want to help us and you decided to return to your world without saying goodbye to them.'

Matthew knew the Baron was blackmailing him. He was also certain that even if he did what the Baron wanted he would not let him go – or Hannah and the others. But for now the best thing to do was to appear to agree to his request. 'Ok, I'll do it. But first I'll need some sleep. I am exhausted. I also want to see if my friends are ok,' said Matthew.

'Your friends are sleeping now so they will not want to be disturbed. But you will see them before you go and when you have completed your task,' said the Baron whose eyes Matthew still could not see in the darkness under his hood. 'In the morning Eustace will give you the necessary instructions and tools. I will see you – with your friends – when you return.'

The Baron then seemed to get up and leave. The fire again nearly went out and Matthew felt a shiver. After a minute or so a servant and two guards came in to show Matthew to his bedroom a few rooms away. After he had drunk some water he found in a jug on a table, Matthew went straight to the bed and instantly fell asleep, unable to do anything else.

The Baron was now happy. Yes, it seems that fate is indeed on my side, he thought, as he left the room Matthew was in. He had been angry when he realised that Matthew had managed to enter the Land and make friends, and therefore know too much. He was also a little taken aback by the boy's courage and his being more intelligent than anticipated.

But these things now seemed to be to his advantage. The boy had to bring him the Spear or else his friends would suffer. He would also need less guidance than anticipated. These things also meant that he did not have to use any magic, which would take much of his energy, to bend the boy's will - not yet; though this would have to be done later. In any event, he thought, the boy seemed even weaker-minded than he had wanted. Yes, it's all going to plan.
Chapter Twelve

Matthew woke up face down on the bed and opened his eyes, half hoping he was back in his hotel room in Vienna. But he soon saw this was not the case as he looked around him in the light of the day, still with his clothes and boots on. He was on a four poster bed in a sparse room with tapestries on the walls and a carpet on the stone floor. He then remembered the events of yesterday and his meeting with the Baron, as he turned his face back into the pillow. Why can't this nightmare just end? he asked himself.

He then realised that Hannah was also still in this nightmare. He again thought about her hostile look at him last night but this time felt she did this because she was confused in her emotional state. They had both been. It had been horrible, all the physical tiredness, the stress of trying to escape, and the fighting and killing and blood and gore: which normal person wouldn't be affected by all of that? Matthew asked himself.

That word again, he thought, "normal" – hell, he was obsessed with this word. How could he even think of such things after what he had experienced in the Land? he wondered, now getting annoyed with himself. Was this not his problem according to Martha: that he thought too much about things like this and did not experience life enough and follow his instincts?

Well, he had certainly experienced a lot of life since then, so what did he now think or rather what did his instincts tell him now? he asked himself.

He realised Martha was right and that of course he was "normal" like others and shouldn't think otherwise. He could be injured and killed just like them. Moreover, his fellow humans mattered to him and were not just things that existed only in his mind. They interacted with him, which was sometimes unpleasant but sometimes very nice, as in the case of Hannah.

Yes, Hannah, who his instincts also told him mattered to him quite a lot. What is more, she liked him as well. Of course she did, Matthew realised: there was no other way of explaining her behaviour towards him. It was not just that she had dreamt that he would save the Land from the Baron: the way she interacted with him could leave no other conclusion. This was another example of his being "normal"; for attractive girls do not like "unnormal" people, do they? he asked himself sarcastically. So I should stop this "unnormal" nonsense and get on with my life.

He then remembered what else Martha had said to him about his having other talents, like intelligence. If she were right about the "Hannah" and "too much thinking" things then maybe she was right about this as well, thought Matthew. He sat up on the bed as it also occurred to him that the Baron would not have entrusted this task to a stupid person.

He then felt that he was getting a little carried away with these thoughts and that he was wasting time thinking about such things; the most important thing now was to try to find a way of saving Hannah – and her grandfather and friends who were real people in a dangerous situation. He could not just ignore their plight, though they mostly did not seem to think much of him.

He also knew that he had to do something himself and could no longer just be passive and react to what was happening, waiting for someone else to take the lead. He felt a little lonely and scared about this but he realised he had no choice. He then almost smiled to himself as he remembered he had had similar - though not quite the same he corrected himself \- feelings when he had first left his hotel in Vienna to sightsee on his own. This now seemed such a long time ago. He also felt positive about seeing his parents again, though he did not know what he would tell them about his two days' disappearance.

In this more determined mood, he went over to a table by the fireplace, where someone had lit a fire while he was still sleeping. Here he drank some water. He then went over to a window, from where he could see that he was somewhere in the big tower of the Castle. Outside, he looked at the forest below him in what he thought was the late morning sun. It was beautiful and seemed endless.

He had a little wash in a basin near the bed. Then the same servant who had seen him to his room last night brought him some breakfast: some bread, cheese, dried sausage and mustard, which Matthew quickly ate with relish. The servant then took him back to the room he was in yesterday. There were two soldiers outside it as there had been outside his own room.
Chapter Thirteen

Eustace was in the large room where Matthew had met the Baron last night, standing by a table with some objects on it by a window. Matthew noticed the fireplace with the two chairs at the other end and shivered a little at the memory of the Baron last night.

'Welcome, Matthew. My Lord has asked me to instruct you on what you need to do and tell you about the tools he's given to you for your task,' he said.

'Here are two pairs of Travelling Stones. You need to leave one where you want to go and you then rub the other three times and it will take you there. So you'll need to put one where the Spear of Destiny heirloom is and one where the Picture gateway is during the day so you can return at night when there will be fewer guards.

You will also need this Lock Opener to open the cupboard where the spear is. You just tap the lock like the stones three times again and it will open,' said Eustace who then put the Stones and the key-shaped Lock Opener into two small leather bags which he gave to Matthew. He was sceptical that they would work in his world but remembered that magic had brought him to this one.

'My Lord expects you to take care of these,' he said. 'You should also know that time passes differently in this world compared to yours. Essentially, one day and night here is the same as four hours there. This means that several days will have passed here by the time you will have completed your task. My Lord realises this is a difficult task and so is giving you one-and-a-half of your days to achieve it. Any later and my Lord and your friends will be worried about you,' said Eustace.

'How will I get back to my world?' asked Matthew, now realising that his parents would not have missed him; for he would only have been gone for about seven hours. He also understood too well Eustace's emphasis on "your friends".

'We will shortly take you to the Clearing. My Lord says that all you have to do there is stand by the Oak tree by the bridge and focus on the place where you were before in your own world. You will then be transported back,' said Eustace.

It was really that simple? questioned Matthew in his mind, as he remembered the struggle he had the first time he had returned to the museum from the Clearing.

'What about my friends?' he then asked, now impatient to see Hannah again to see if she were all right.

'I will take you to them now but you must not communicate with them about your task or tell them of your magic tools, or else...' Eustace left the sentence unfinished and took Matthew down to the dungeon. The two soldiers outside the door accompanied them with two others. As they walked down Matthew remembered the battle the night before and thought he could still see some blood stains on his way in the now less dark corridors.

When they got to the dungeon Matthew saw that the jailer of last night was still on duty but with a bandaged head. They all entered the dungeon and approached the cell, the same one on the right where Hannah's grandfather had been held.

When the jailer opened it, the four soldiers had their crossbows ready. From behind them, Matthew saw in the semi- darkness that Hannah, her grandfather, Tobias, Curt, and what remained of his men were all together. Eustace looked at Matthew and said, 'Remember, say nothing,' as the soldiers made space for Matthew to enter.

Matthew went into the dark cell and approached Hannah. But she backed away from him, eyeing him suspiciously. 'Why have they let you in here?' she asked.

'I told them I wanted to see you,' said Matthew feeling hurt but now understanding more her confusion.

'Yes, but why are you still free and have the authority to come in here?' she asked.

'I can't say. They told me not to,' said Matthew 'If I do, it can lead to problems for you. Look, I'll try to help you. I have not betrayed you and will not.' He looked behind him in the direction of Eustace. 'You said to me before that you trusted in your dreams. I say to you now, carry on doing so.'

Matthew heard her grandfather mumble something about Matthew even being dressed like the Baron to Curt and Tobias, who also looked hostile towards him.

'That's enough,' said Eustace from outside. 'Come on. It's time to go.'

Matthew touched Hannah on the shoulder and left the cell. He could see that she doubted him and he felt very negative about this. But he also felt that he would prove her first instincts about him right: he did not know about saving her Land from the Baron but he would certainly try to save her and the others somehow. He would show them all that he was not just "a boy" who was without any use.

Eustace guided him with the four soldiers through some corridors and stairs up to a courtyard, at the end of which Matthew could see were two large gates. There was a wagon near them, which Eustace gestured for him to get on. The gates then opened onto the bridge near the secret tunnel Matthew had entered last night. Matthew reflected how much had changed since then: talk about new experiences being necessary to grow as a person.

There were some horsemen at the front and back of them. Matthew noticed that they seemed much more alert than before as they passed over the bridge into the forest.

Matthew continued to marvel at the forest's beauty as the wagon moved on: from the birds and squirrels in the trees to the foliage and shrubbery on the forest floor, not forgetting the musky wild smell: this environment was just what he needed after last night's events and he allowed himself to enjoy it.

After about half an hour, they came to the crossroads Matthew had passed with Hannah two days ago. They then turned left into the track leading to the Clearing. Here Matthew began to think about what he would do when he returned to his own world.

Then, about an hour and a half after they had left the Castle, they reached the path to the Clearing from the track. The Wagon stopped and Matthew and Eustace disembarked with four soldiers. The horsemen remained where they were.

Nearly an hour later, they arrived at the bridge. 'This is as far as I go,' said Eustace. 'I will be here waiting for you in nine days. Remember, my lord and your friends will be keen to see you again with the Spear. So do not fail them.'

Matthew said nothing in response and went over the bridge. He then looked back. Eustace and the soldiers were watching him and around them a little nervously, he thought, like they were uncomfortable being this close to the Clearing. It was funny, he thought, because he did not think there was anything strange about it, even though there obviously was for him to be able to travel here from another world.

He stood in front of the Oak tree at the spot where he had first entered the Land, closed his eyes, and focussed on an image of the Kunsthistorisches, as per the Baron's instructions. But it was no good; he just could not return. He again looked over the bridge to where Eustace and the soldiers were and then suddenly realised he had to face away from the tree towards the Clearing.

It was hard at first but eventually he could feel himself being drawn back to the museum. His mind began to swirl in the usual soothing way, and then suddenly he was back facing the picture in the gallery.

He self consciously looked around him. There were a few people looking at pictures but no one seemed to have noticed his re-appearance. He looked at his watch to see if it was working. It was but the time was still 10.08 a.m., when he went to the land. He saw a from a clock on the wall that the time was 5.47 p.m., which he readjusted his watch to. He then left the museum to find his parents who would obviously be worried about him. He realised he had promised them he would see them for breakfast and been gone for over seven hours.
Chapter Fourteen

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.
Chapter Fifteen

Matthew suddenly woke up. He looked around him and then at the clock: it was 6.03 a.m. He realised that he needed to think of a plan to thwart the Baron. But what can I do? he asked himself as he got up and went to the toilet. He knew that if he took the Spear to the Baron he would increase his power and perhaps be unbeatable and that the Baron would probably not release his friends anyway. But he was certain that if he did not take back the Spear the Baron would keep Hannah and her grandfather and friends imprisoned, or even worse. Indeed, he was conscious that the longer he took to come up with a plan, the longer they would be suffering. Besides this, the Baron could find someone else to get the Spear. He then thought that he could take the Spear and hide it, but then Hannah and the others would still suffer.

As he got back into bed, frustrated, he thought about trying to use it himself against the Baron but he knew he did not have a clue about how to do so or about magic. He could not even use it as a conventional weapon, he thought. No, he would have to think of something else. He looked at the clock again: it was now 6.29 a.m. He would have to think of something soon, he thought, and stick to it, for the Baron was timing him. He had another day to achieve the task or else.

But try as he did he was unable to think of a brilliant plan and in the end decided to take the Spear back to the other world. But he would not give it to the Baron; he would hide it near the Clearing then use his new magic tools to try to free Hannah and her friends. They might know what to do with the Spear: how to use it against the Baron. They would certainly have a better idea of what to do than he.

He then got out of bed and wasted no more time. The first thing he wanted to do was test the Travelling Stones. Thus, he put one of them in the bathroom and went back to his bedroom and rubbed the other three times. Instantly, he was in the bathroom. Hell, he thought, these could be very useful if he could hang on to them. He also tried the Lock Opener on his hotel room door with the same success. He had a shower and got dressed, making sure he had his magic tools with him and his small rucksack for the Spear; it was 8.42 a.m. He went downstairs to go for breakfast but first he went to the internet room to check the opening times of the Hofburg Treasury; he did not want to make the same mistake before and get there too early. On Sunday, it opened at 10 a.m.

At the hotel restaurant he met his parents. This was something else he did not want to make a mistake about; this time he would not just leave without saying goodbye and would try his best not to make them worry about him. He was focused on what he had to do but did feel a little emotional at leaving them. He might not see them again, he thought. What he was going to do was dangerous. But then he forced himself to be positive. After he had helped Hannah and the others escape and given them the Spear to use against the Baron, he would return to his own world. He would then give his parents no more reason to worry about him; he would even start getting involved in life more, like Martha suggested.

He told them he was going visiting again to museums, which he now found very interesting. They said they would come with him but he said he preferred to go alone. His mother in particular was insistent and said she would help him choose a new jacket as well. But Matthew said he did not really need one and in the end his parents both gave up trying to persuade him as long as he promised he would be careful.

Matthew ate as much food as he could, as he knew it might be a long time before he had another opportunity. As he finished eating, he thought his parents now seemed to be happier about him, looking at him in puzzled but more positive ways. They were obviously still worried about him, though perhaps differently than before. Maybe they like him could now see he was "normal". He wanted to hug them again, as he got up, but thought it might arouse suspicions in them, and so he just said he would see them back at the hotel later, as he left with his rucksack for the Spear.
Chapter Sixteen

It was now 9.35 a.m. and quite cold as Matthew walked down the Praterstrasse from the hotel towards the centre of Vienna, but he knew that he would not be cold in the Land. His plan was to leave a Travelling stone in one of the toilets in the Kunsthistorisches, near to the Picture. He would then go to the Hofburg Treasury with the other one. He realised he should have left one at the Kunsthistorisches last night but he did not think at the time. As he got to the Ringstrasse, he noticed a couple taking pictures. In the past he would have felt lonely at this but now it was different: he had Hannah waiting for him in the land – he was normal like them.

He had thought about waiting until the Hofburg was closed before taking the Spear, which was the Baron's idea as well because he had given Matthew two sets of travelling stones. He was supposed to use one set to get to and from the Kunsthistorisches and one set to get to and from the Hofburg Treasury when both museums were closed. But he knew that if he did he would have no time to rescue - or attempt to rescue he corrected himself, Hannah and the others, as the Baron's deadline would be up. No, the sooner, he got the Spear and returned to the Land the better chances he would have of success.

But he knew this made the task more risky; he might even be caught trying to take the Spear. A part of him almost smiled at this and it gave him a little relief from the stress he was feeling. His parents would have a nervous breakdown, he thought. They brought him here to improve him as a person not to have him be a museum thief. Then he suddenly remembered that Hannah and the others were in danger and depended on him and it was no laughing matter.

He was now on the Opernring part of the Ringstrasse and could see the back of the Kunsthistorisches on the left. It was 10.05 am. He got there a few minutes later and quickly went in, bought a ticket, and went to the nearest toilets to the Picture gallery. He felt very nervous, especially when he left straight after putting a Travelling stone in the toilet cistern. He must have looked very suspicious, paying to go into a museum apparently just to use a toilet. But he did not have time to pretend to do anything else.

He got to the Hofburg Treasury 15 minutes or so later. He was now very tense and wishing he did not have to do what he had to. He walked through the smaller and darker galleries in the direction of the one where he remembered the Spear was kept. He looked around to see how many security guards there were, and was relieved to see there were not many; maybe one to every three galleries. There were also not many people about this early. He then saw the case holding the Spear. He approached it and looked at it.

The case was large and square and in a corner. It was glass except for its wooden frame and floor which had some kind of purple material on it. The Spear was in the left of the case it shared with a big Cross in the middle and a smaller one on the right. The Spear itself was mounted on a narrow rectangular block with the same purple material and was raised diagonally. But it was only the head of a spear.

Its point went upwards and it was made of some kind of black metal. It had the golden sleeve around its middle, which Matthew had remembered reading was put on in the 12th century. Matthew could also see the nail which was supposed to be the one from The Cross embedded in the top part. It had lots of wires around it keeping it together. It certainly looked like it was a legendary spear with power, he thought.

He looked around him and then remembered there must be some security cameras around. There were also a couple of people. He decided the best thing for him to do was to go into the next gallery and watch this one until there was no one around. He would then return with his hood up and with the Lock Opener and Travelling Stone ready.

From his vantage point Matthew saw a security guard walk through the Spear gallery into another. Matthew saw that there was no one else in the gallery. He then put up his hood and was about to enter it but someone else beat him to it. A middle aged lady approached the display case where the Spear was and then looked at the other exhibits. Matthew felt his heart beating very quickly and strongly in his chest; he was very tense. He willed the woman to go before the security guard or someone else returned. She then came towards the gallery he was in.

He turned pretending to look at some exhibit until she passed. He must have looked suspicious with his hood up because she seemed to give him some funny looks. He then quickly looked back at the gallery of the Spear and saw to his relief that no one was there.

He quickly re-entered it and approached the Spear's case. He then got out his Lock Opener and put the other Travelling Stone in his hoodie pocket, in case he had to make a fast getaway. Finally, he looked around him again, and tapped the display case's lock three times with the Lock Opener. He heard a little click.

Without hesitation, he lifted up the glass case. It was quite heavy but he managed to get his arm in it and quickly grabbed the Spear. It was quite big at 53 centimetres long but not too heavy and he put it in his small rucksack. He was close to panicking but no alarm went off, which surprised him, as he nervously looked around again. He assumed it had something to do with the magic of the Lock Opener. He then thought he saw the security guard returning and nearly panicked again. But it was a tourist, or at least he thought it was.

He took a couple of deep breaths, and walked off to the toilets. He was now feeling nervous and excited at the same time. He could not believe how easy it had been. But he knew it was not over just yet; he still had to get to the Picture Gallery and then to the Land.

He opened the door to the toilets but as he did so he saw a security guard coming towards him quickly down a corridor. Matthew froze staring at him. The security guard seemed to be staring at him back. Matthew thought he had been found out. Then suddenly an alarm went off and the security guard rushed towards him, shouting something in German. Matthew did not know what to do. Damn, it's too late. I've been caught, he thought to himself, now definitely in a panic, his hearting booming away.
Chapter Seventeen

Matthew waited at the door still staring at the security guard. He could now feel himself sweating. Oh well, he thought, at least I tried. I'm sure Hannah will understand. But instead of grabbing hold of him, the security guard passed him and ran down the corridor back to the Spear gallery. Matthew could not believe his luck; he was sure he had been found out. He then pulled himself together. Matthew you must move and get out of here, he said to himself.

He went into the toilet and into the nearest cubicle. He then got the Travelling stone out of his pocket and rubbed it three times. Instantly, he was in the toilet cubicle in the Kunsthistorisches. He retrieved the Travelling Stone from the cistern and left the toilet. The thought came into his head that it was a good thing no one was in the toilet cubicle when he was transported there. He had not thought about this possibility before and it gave him some – a little – relief from his stress.

He then here he had left it and headed for the gallery where the Picture was. He could feel the adrenalin flowing through his body. He knew that if he could pull this off he would be back in the other world almost two days before the Baron's deadline.

He stood in front of the picture and stared at it. It then drew him into it in its soothing and calming way, which was just what Matthew needed after his stressful experience as a burglar.

But as he felt himself entering the Clearing, the image of the girl in the dark place came back into his head. 'Please, you must help me. Please, please help me...,' she said. But this time there were no galloping horses to replace it and it just dissipated as Matthew finally felt himself back at the Clearing. The image, however, was a little clearer than before, and Matthew was now confused: it was definitely not Hannah.

But as he looked around him for any signs of danger in the night's darkness of the Clearing, he knew he had to put any thoughts as to who it might be on hold: he had more urgent things to do first. He had to act quickly and searched for some place to hide the Spear. In the end he put it in some bushes by the Oak tree after failing to find any other places on the small island. It was a pretty obvious place but he also felt that the Tree would somehow protect it. He also put two Travelling Stones in his small rucksack with the Spear so that he and someone else could return to it quickly.

He then set off over the narrow bridge on what he knew was going to be a journey of at least four hours on foot to the Castle to try to rescue Hannah and the others. He thought about going in a diagonal route into the forest, which would be quicker, but he decided against it in case he got lost. It was difficult enough keeping on the path in the darkness, as there was no full moon to help him tonight. In fact, it was even a bit cloudy. But the fact that he had to concentrate on where he was going helped him to ignore the spookiness of the forest at night. Every noise made him more nervous.

Eventually, after what he thought was over an hour, he reached the track to the crossroads. He felt he would have to hurry, as he had to get to the Castle while it was still dark; otherwise his rescue would probably not succeed. Now that he was on the track, he did feel a little less nervous. This was probably for the same reason he had previously felt the same way on first coming to the Land: it was a sign of civilisation, of other humans away from the wild. His pace also quickened on the track and after an hour and a half he came to the cross roads a little out of breath but pleased he was making good progress.

But now that he was on the road to the Castle he became more cautious in case there were any horsemen around. He kept to the edge of the road so he could quickly hide in the forest if necessary and when he came to a bend, of which there were several, he became a lot slower and more alert. After an hour, he saw the Castle looming up in front of him and entered the forest to the right of the road. He was heading towards the secret tunnel, where he, Hannah, Tobias, and Curt and his men had entered the Castle before. He knew there was a good chance that it had been discovered by the Baron's men but it was the only way he knew into the Castle. He just had to hope luck was on his side.

Eventually after over half an hour of nearly tripping over and falling into bushes, he came to the place near the bridge into the Castle where he thought the tunnel was. He was looking down to the path, beyond which he remembered the entrance was in the bushes. He rested here for a while, getting his energy back, and seeing if he could see any signs of soldiers hiding in wait nearby. But after about 15 minutes or so he decided there was no one down there and that he had to try to enter it. He had no idea of the time but felt it was around midnight.

He looked up at the bridge and Castle as he moved down past the path. He could see no signs of movement in either place. In the bushes he looked and then crouched down to feel for the paving stone entrance. He found it a short time later but there did not seem to be any handle on it. He tried to open it with his fingers but in the end used a small branch to wedge it up. He then lifted it with an effort to the side of the hole it revealed. He took a deep breath and began to climb down the ladder. He had not replaced the stone entrance partly because it was too heavy and partly because he had not brought a torch or lamp and so needed all the light he could get.

When he got to the bottom he looked up through the hole. He could see a few stars in the cloudy sky but felt cold and lonely looking up at them. Come on, Matthew, there's no time for meditation now, he said to himself as he walked through the wet and dark tunnel. Although it was dark, he had no difficulty in moving through the tunnel as it was quite narrow. After about ten minutes of going down and then up again he reached the end and felt the ladder going up to the trap door in the complete darkness.

He now felt very nervous about the prospect of entering the Castle and trying to rescue Hannah and the others. If he were caught the Baron would surely force him to reveal where the Spear was or realise himself, and Matthew would be imprisoned with the others, and then who knows what else, he thought with a little shudder. He then remembered the last time he had seen Hannah and the others, and suddenly had the feeling that he would show her and them that he had not betrayed them and could help them and be more than just a "boy." With this he went up the ladder and began to push the trap door at the top open.

But nothing happened. Matthew put more force into it. But it was no good: it was firmly closed. Bloody hell, he thought, just as he had the courage to go through with his plan something prevented him from doing it. He tried again to no avail. He almost cried with frustration. There was no way he was going to get into the Castle this way, he thought. What am I going to do now?
Chapter Eighteen

Matthew took a deep breath and tried one more time to push the trap door open. It still would not do so but he felt it give a little this time. There was obviously something heavy on top of it but he did not know how he could shift it. Suddenly he thought about the Lock opener; maybe this would move it. He got it out and tried it. But it was no good: it was obviously only designed for locks. He rested on the ladder, thinking about what he could do.

Then he remembered how he had wedged up the stone entrance to the tunnel. He quickly went down the ladder, and ran back down the tunnel. He was in such a hurry that he stumbled on the wet stone floor. The pain in his arms as he hit the cold and wet stone floor made him feel even worse in his frustrated state. He got up and a short while later he then climbed the ladder back to the tunnel's entrance and went in search of a strong branch. He was in a panic and felt his old useless self but he knew he could not give up now. He found one a few minutes later after frantically searching near the entrance to the tunnel while looking at the Castle and bridge in case he was seen.

He got back at the ladder leading to the trap door in what seemed like a lifetime later. Then he got to the top of the ladder and heaved his shoulder upwards against the door. It again budged a little and after a few efforts he managed to insert the branch in the space in between. He then exerted all his strength into pushing the stick further into the space. He got it half way in and then rested a little, out of breath.

He wondered what time it was and how long he had been doing this. He knew he had to hurry before daylight came and began to panic again. He then pushed down the end of the stick in the tunnel. It was hard but he felt the door begin to open more and whatever was on it begin to shift to one side. Finally, there was a noise, which alarmed Matthew, and the door was now easy to open. But Matthew froze with fear in case someone had heard the noise.

He waited for what seemed like ages, his heart beating, his ears listening to every sound in case he had been discovered. It was hell. Eventually, he forced himself to push the door open and moved up the ladder. He was scared but knew he had to go through with his plan. It was completely dark in the store room but he felt the thing that had been on the door, a barrel of something. He then walked forwards slowly until he reached the wall. He felt along it until he came to the door. He tried to open it but it was again locked. He got out the Lock Opener and tapped it on the lock three times, this time confident it would work.

He heard the click and opened the door, carefully, but with each creak of its old hinge, his body felt tighter and tighter with fear. Outside, he could see the corridor with its lit torches was empty. He then waited a few minutes to make sure, crouched down in the doorway. He could hear his heart beating. This is the bravest or stupidest thing I have done in my life, he thought to himself. He then left the storeroom and closed its door quickly, for it creaked less this way. He felt the Travelling Stones in the pocket of his hoodie, in case he had to make a quick getaway.

He moved quickly keeping to one side of the walls. He soon came to the first meeting of corridors. He looked around each corner before rushing onwards. He then came to the second one leading down to the dungeon. Here, he hesitated again in case there were any more drunken soldiers coming up like before. But all he could hear was the snoring of someone down below, presumably the jailer, he thought. He then went down the stairs as quickly and as quietly as he could.

At the bottom, he could see the bandaged head of the jailer asleep again on the table. He watched him, then satisfied he was deep in slumber, went over to the dungeon door. He tapped its lock three times and heard the familiar click. He looked over at the jailer to see if he heard it as well but he carried on snoring.

Matthew entered the dungeon and went straight over to the cell where Hannah was. He was still nervous but now excited at the thought of seeing her again. He tapped the lock to the cell with the Lock Opener and opened the door. He then ducked just in time as he heard the swish of air above his head when someone tried to punch him. He whispered as loudly as he could, 'Stop, it's me, Matthew I'm here to rescue you,' as the person grabbed hold of his throat and pushed him out of the cell into the corridor.

'Curt, let him go. It's Matthew,' pleaded an excited Hannah, who also tried but failed to be quiet.

'The boy? What are you doing here? Are you alone?' Curt said to Matthew as he let go of him and looked around him.

'As I said,' said Matthew trying to regain his composure and feeling his throat. 'I'm here to help you escape. Come on. We've got to hurry before it gets light.'

Hannah quickly hugged Matthew 'I must admit I had my doubts about you but I'm SO happy to see you.' She then went back to the cell where the others were now coming out or rousing themselves from sleep. Curt told them all to be quiet, as he left the dungeon to where the Jailer was. Matthew heard a little bang and then Curt returned with a sword, some torches, and the keys to the other cells. He gave Matthew a funny look.

He began to open the other cells. Then Matthew saw Tobias with Hannah and her grandfather. The cell block quickly filled up but this time there was not so much noise. There were not as many as last time, and now they understood the value of silence. Curt then turned to Matthew 'Did they discover the tunnel, Matthew?' he asked.

'No, it's how I came into the Castle again,' said Matthew who noticed that Curt seemed to treat him differently than before, with more respect.

Curt then turned back to the others. 'Right, it's the same escape route as before. Let's go before we're discovered.' He then led them out of the dungeon. Matthew found himself next to Tobias. He touched Matthew on the shoulder.

'Well done, lad,' he said. 'You've shown much bravery in coming back to help us.' Matthew felt happy at this and was less nervous now that he was with such capable people. He then saw Hannah's grandfather who said nothing to him and just gave him a dirty look. Oh well, Matthew thought. You can't please everybody.

As they left the dungeon, Matthew saw that the jailer was no longer snoring and that his bandaged head was now bloody. He looked around him and counted about thirty of them in total. He also noticed Hannah looking at him with a smile. But he soon returned to the real world when Curt motioned everyone to be silent from the top of the stairs. Matthew then heard the voices of soldiers heading down the corridor on the right in their direction. Here we go again, he thought.
Chapter Nineteen

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.
Chapter Twenty

After Matthew and Hannah had walked for about ten minutes, Matthew suddenly stopped. 'What was it Martha said about my having intelligence?' he said to Hannah. She looked at him confused. He continued, 'We don't need to walk any further to the Clearing. We can go there by using the Travelling Stones. I left two of them in my rucksack with the Spear.' He then got the other two out of his pocket and gave her one.

She nearly dropped it as though it were hot. 'It's ok, Hannah. It won't hurt you. I've used it several times with no bad effects,' said Matthew

'So I just rub it three times like this and I'll -' she asked and then disappeared. Matthew did the same and instantly found an astonished Hannah by the Tree at the Clearing.

'That was amazing!' she said jumping up and down a little in excitement.

'Yes, I was impressed myself when I first used them as well,' said Matthew as he retrieved his rucksack containing the Spear from the bushes by the Tree.

'Well, aren't you going to show me it?' asked Hannah.

'Of course,' said Matthew looking around him quickly then getting it out and giving it to her.

She handled it like it was some kind of religious relic. 'It certainly feels like it has power,' she said as she looked carefully at it, stroking its point, before handing it back to Matthew

'Right, we had better hurry to Martha. The Baron may have discovered your disappearance and he will probably guess that I helped you,' he said as he put it back in his rucksack.

'Yes, Sir,' said Hannah in a mocking tone.

'Oh, I nearly forgot. I'll leave the stones in the bushes so we can return here quickly,' Matthew said as he crouched down and put them there. They then left the Clearing.

After they passed over the bridge, Hannah stopped and looked back. 'I've just realised that was the first time I've been over the bridge. And nothing happened to me, even when handling the Spear!' she said. 'We are brought up to fear the Clearing and that strange things can happen to you if you enter it. Nothing happening might mean something.'

Matthew said nothing. He was a little impatient to move on but thought about how many strange things had happened to him since he entered the Clearing. The fact that he did not want to return to his own world yet was an important part of this. Yes, there was certainly something strange about the Clearing, he thought.

They then moved off down the path in the darkness. After 15 minutes or so, Hannah said 'We should move into the forest. It'll be quicker. What do you think?'

'You're the expert,' said Matthew, thinking that it was not just Curt and Tobias who were treating him with more respect now. 'Please lead on,' he said. Hannah again spotted some paths that Matthew could not even make out and they walked through the dark forest. Apart from the occasional sound of an owl, it was quiet. But Matthew could still not see much in the cloudy night. It was, however, a little chilly, even though they were walking quite fast considering the terrain.

Eventually, after about forty minutes they came to the track leading to the cross roads. Matthew thought it must now be just before dawn, judging by the beginning sounds of life. Hannah led them across into the forest on the other side. Matthew felt a little safer now. He knew if the Baron had discovered what had happened he would probably send his soldiers to the Clearing, which Hannah and he were now further from.

About an hour later, they came to a stream. Hannah bent down to drink from it. Matthew did the same. He also splashed his face; he was beginning to get tired and needed something to keep him alert. They then continued their journey. It was now light. They found an apple tree on the way and greedily ate their fill. Then a couple of hours after this they approached Martha's cottage.

As they did so, Matthew could see the door was open. The outside of it still looked wild but Matthew now recognised the difference between this and untidiness. They went through the door to find Martha preparing some food. 'Sit at the table,' she said. 'I've got some breakfast for you.'

Matthew and Hannah looked at each other with only a little surprise as they put their belongings down and sat down. 'We've come to ask you –'

'I know why you are here,' said Martha. Eat first then we will talk.' They did so with eagerness. They were both hungry after their long journey, especially Hannah who had been eating prison gruel for a week. When they finished Martha took their plates away and went to sit by the fire on her rocking chair. Matthew felt Hans the cat at his feet again and went to stroke him.

'You had better show me the Spear,' Martha requested.

Matthew got up and took the Spear out of his rucksack and gave it to Martha. He then returned to his chair and Hans.

'Whosoever shall possess the Spear and know its secrets shall control the destiny of the world, for good or ill,' Martha said looking at the Spear. 'It was foretold that one day it would come to the Land and that the stranger who brought it would determine whether it would be used for good or ill. Now this is reality.'

'But what can Matthew do with it?' asked Hannah.

'Well, he could in theory use it himself, as he is the possessor, though it would take him too long to learn its secrets; time we do not have. But it cannot be used without you,' said Martha looking at Matthew.

'Why not?' asked Matthew.

'Because you and it are from the same world. The Baron is not and the only way he can use it is through you, answered Martha.

'How can he do that?' Matthew asked.

'You would have to willingly allow him to,' said Martha.

'It's easy then. If he catches me I will just refuse to help him,' said Matthew.

'Your memory seems to be short,' Martha said. 'You willingly brought the Spear here, at the Baron's request. He could also make you "willingly" help him again, perhaps this time using his magic to bend your will, which could seriously damage your mind.'

Matthew gulped. 'Ok. So I'll take the Spear back to my world and hide it somewhere. This is what Curt suggested. It seems he was right.'

'You have not been listening, Matthew. You and the Spear are here for a reason. You can determine how it will be used...to help against the Baron who gets stronger each day, even without the Spear,' said Martha.

But how can I help those against the Baron if I cannot use the Spear myself?' asked Matthew

'Martha means that she can use the Spear through you,' Hannah said excitedly.

'No, no, child. It is only those who are from the world of the Spear of Destiny who can use it,' said Martha.

'But I thought you said the Baron could not use it himself because he is not from Matthew's world?' said Hannah.

'Not totally, he isn't. But one of his ancestors did come from Matthew's world. I do not know all the details, but because the Baron's family now have only a small part of their blood originating from Matthew's world they have to use someone from it to wield the Spear's power.'

Matthew then remembered seeing the name of Von Hugel in the Castle, the name of the Baron in his own world who had taken possession of the Spear and then sold it on to the Hapsburgs.

'I think your visions, Matthew, have already shown you that there is at least one against the Baron who can use it besides him,' said Martha continuing to stare into the fire.

Matthew did not bother asking her how she knew about his visions. 'You mean a girl?' he asked, remembering the image of the one appealing for his help each time he returned to the Clearing.

Martha nodded.

Hannah butted in, 'You mean the Baron's sister. She is still alive?'

'Where was the proof that she was ever dead?' asked Martha rhetorically.

'That's right. We just assumed she was after Curt had told us he had seen some blood around her family quarters in the Castle before he was dismissed from service,' said Hannah. 'But will she know how to use it? I thought it was only the Baron who knew about magic.'

'The family of the Castle know all about magic and its use for evil and good,' said Martha. 'If you listened more you would be wiser.'

'Sorry,' Hannah said as she blushed.

Matthew then asked 'Where is the sister?'

'Where did the vision you had tell you where she was?' asked Martha.

'Well, she was in a kind of room but not a prison. It seemed like a bedroom. There was a window but only the sort found in a – in a Castle!' he replied. 'She must be there somewhere.'

'So, we've got to rescue the Baron's sister somehow and let her use the Spear with Matthew?' asked Hannah rhetorically.

'So it would seem,' said Martha.

'Can you tell us anything else that will help us,' asked Hannah.

'I know some things but not all. But I will tell you, Matthew, one thing more,' said Martha as she looked at him and then the Spear. 'When the time of decision arrives, what seems the right thing to do may not be.'

Matthew did not even bother trying to imagine what she could mean, for he knew he would tie himself in knots doing so, but he filed it in his memory.

Martha then said, 'Again I'm sorry to say that it is time for you to go. I know you are tired but there is much happening back at the Castle and now is the time for action.' She then got up with the Spear and gave it back to Matthew

Matthew put it back in his rucksack while Hannah gathered her belongings. They then went to say goodbye to Martha. Matthew stroked Hans goodbye and then stood in front of her. 'I'm glad that you are listening to your instincts more and not thinking too much about things. You seem to have learnt much in the short time you have been in the Land. We may meet again, young man,' she said to him as she hugged him.

Matthew smiled at her, much happier than the last time he had said goodbye to her. Hannah then hugged Martha herself. After this they walked a little from the cottage and Matthew said, 'Get out your Travelling stone.' He got his out and said to Hannah, 'I'll see you back at the Clearing.'
Chapter Twenty One

Hannah arrived back at the Clearing just after Matthew. It was now just after midday, Matthew thought. He was feeling very tired; as was Hannah by the look of her. He looked at the Clearing again remembering the first time he had seen it, with the two big trees at either side, a fallen branch on the left, and the pond with the crane and the other animals; not to mention the ubiquitous reeds. He and Hannah then left for the place near the Castle where they had agreed to meet Curt and the others again.

After about five minutes of walking down the path, however, Hannah suddenly stopped. 'Get down!' she whispered. Matthew followed her instruction; he knew Hannah's abilities as a guide by now. In the distance in front of them, they could now hear the unmistakeable sound of people moving in the forest coming towards them; very likely soldiers, Matthew realised. Hannah gestured for him to follow her off the path into the forest. They got down amongst some ferns by a tree and looked in the direction they had come.

They could see two soldiers on foot, obviously heading towards the Clearing; obviously looking for him, thought Matthew. He looked at Hannah and thought that as long as he and she kept still and then moved off quietly they should be safe. Suddenly, however, Hannah sneezed. The soldiers looked in their direction and got their swords out. Matthew froze with fear, his breathing now getting shorter.

He looked over at Hannah, praying that the soldiers had not recognised the sound of a sneeze and thought it was just an animal. She looked back, mouthed the word 'sorry' and was obviously scared herself. But the soldiers started to move in their direction. Damn, Matthew thought. What am I going to do now? There was no doubt they were coming straight for them and he knew that he had to act before they were caught.

Why couldn't this have happened while Curt or Tobias were here? thought Matthew. But he knew that he would have to deal with this situation himself. He looked around him and spotted a branch he could use as a weapon. He whispered to Hannah, 'Stay here', and got up and went for it, revealing himself to the soldiers in doing so. they were about two metres away and went for him. He got the branch and stood to face them. He knew what he was doing was stupid and that he would not stand a chance against them but he had felt he had to do something.

'Unless you want to die, boy, you'd better put that down,' demanded one of the soldiers, both of whom were now encircling Matthew. He looked at them with fear, the adrenalin pumping in his body, knowing that he would have to surrender soon. The soldiers were getting nearer and nearer all the time. 'Come on, boy', one of them said again, 'Don't be – '

He did not finish his sentence. Hannah had just hit him over the head with a rock. He fell straight down with the rock falling to his side. But the other soldier went to attack Hannah with his sword, as if to kill her. She backed away. Matthew then suddenly got angry. There is no way he's going to hurt Hannah, he thought, as he rushed at the soldier with the branch.

But the soldier was quicker than he and turned around and slashed at the branch with his sword. The force knocked it out of Matthew's hand. The soldier then went to stab Matthew. But Hannah jumped on his back. The soldier tried to get her off him, punching at her with his left hand. This angered Matthew even more as he quickly took off his rucksack, which had been hindering him before. He then whacked the soldier in the face with it. The soldier fell back with Hannah onto the floor and dropped his sword. Hannah was still holding on to his neck but the soldier was stronger than she and was twisting himself around to get at her.

Matthew then saw the rock Hannah had attacked the other soldier with, got it, and hit the soldier on the head. He stopped moving, and Matthew grabbed his body off Hannah. He then pulled her up and away from him. 'Are you ok? He didn't hurt you did he?' asked Matthew full of concern.

'I'm ok, Matthew. Hell, you acted more quickly than me. I'm impressed,' she said out of breath.

Matthew found he was still holding her and suddenly let go, embarrassed. 'You did well yourself,' he said. 'They would have easily caught me without you.'

'We obviously make a good team,' said Hannah looking into Matthew's eyes.

He wanted to touch her – to - but he broke her gaze when he saw his rucksack on the floor out of the corner of his eye and quickly put it back on. He then looked back at the two soldiers. Hannah was already checking to see if they were still alive.

'Come on, before they wake up or some others come,' said Matthew as he began to move. 'What's the best way back?'

'This way,' she said, as she took two daggers from the soldiers and gave one to Matthew 'No more paths for us,' she said as she moved into the forest. An hour and a half later after they had passed the road leading to the crossroads and had gone quite deep into the forest the other side of it, they nearly collapsed by a stream in exhaustion. Their bodies and minds had experienced too much for them to carry on; they had to rest. After they had drunk some water, they lay down next to each other, too tired to care if any danger was around, and fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty Two

Matthew was sweating and had just had a nightmare where his parents were being tortured by the Baron. He thought he could save them by using the Spear but something told him he should not do this. He then woke up. He quickly looked around him in the dark forest, realising that he was no longer in his dream. It was some hours after nightfall, he thought. He felt a little chilly, as he saw that Hannah was still sleeping. She also looked like she was having a bad dream. He roused her with his hand. 'Hannah,' he said softly. 'It's late. We've got to go.'

She suddenly opened her eyes and sat up. 'Yes, you're right,' she said. 'I just dreamt that they were attacking the Castle without us.' They got up, stretched, had some water, and got their belongings ready. They then left going a little faster than their usual fast pace; Hannah evidently believed her dream, thought Matthew who still struggled to keep up with her. Then, after about two hours, they slowed down as they came to the clearing near the Castle. Matthew looked at Hannah, who then made the sound of an owl twice.

Matthew heard the same noise in response and they both entered the clearing. Matthew saw that Hannah was relieved, as Tobias, Curt, and at least thirty other men emerged from the trees. Curt then waved away his men and took Matthew and Hannah to one side. Tobias joined them. 'You two are just in time. We soon begin the attack,' said Curt. 'So what did the old witch say about the Spear?'

'Before I tell you what the "Wise woman" said, you'll have to tell me about my grandfather,' said Hannah.

'Oh, don't worry about him,' said Tobias. 'He's hidden away in the forest. He wanted to come but we convinced him he would just be a hindrance. You'll see him when it's all over, hopefully.'

Hannah then told them what the "Wise woman" said and what happened to them since. Curt and Tobias listened with great interest and approval, particularly after Hannah told them about the attack by the soldiers near the Clearing.

After she had finished Curt said 'Let's have a look at this Spear, Matthew'

Matthew felt a little reluctant to do this for some reason but got it out and showed it to Curt and Tobias.

'Not much use without a pole to throw it with,' said Curt, 'though from what you've told us, its use is not as a conventional spear.

'But it certainly looks the part,' said Tobias.

Matthew then put it back into his rucksack.

'I think I've an idea where the Baroness might be,' said Curt. 'There's a part of the Castle that was closed off soon after the Baron returned. I think this is where she and the old Baron are. But I'm concerned about taking the Spear into the Castle. If the Baron gets hold of it and you, Matthew, we'll all be finished.'

'But what choice do we have?' asked Matthew

'We could rescue the Baroness and bring her to you,' said Curt.

'We could but if you think about it, we might need to use the Spear in the battle, or we might lose it,' Tobias interjected.

'He's right, Curt,' said Hannah. 'We have to use all the weapons we have in this battle.'

Matthew then said 'I've got to agree with Hannah and Tobias on this one. I still don't know exactly how the Baroness can use the Spear against her brother and how I will be part of this. But I don't see the point of playing it too safe and me waiting for you to rescue the Baroness. You might not succeed in this or the battle, in which case what will I do? Go back to my own world with the Spear and hide it?

This will go against everything we have learnt so far and my own experiences in the Land: being cautious will achieve nothing.'

'Very well. It is risky, but I can't go against the judgement of the one who has been the catalyst for this rebellion against the Baron, and whose judgements and actions since he returned from his own world have proven to be correct. I'm not sure I believe in the stuff of the old witch, sorry Wise woman,' Curt said as Hannah gave him a look of disapproval. 'But it is now obvious that what you think and do are important to the result of this struggle, Matthew

Right, many of the Castle's soldiers are in the surrounding villages looking for you and us, Matthew. This will the best time to attack. When we get in I will take you to the part of the Castle where the Baroness should be.'

Matthew felt happy that he was now respected in the Land but had got past the stage of feeling too good about this. He knew that until the Baron was defeated, he would not feel comfortable returning to his own world; he had to see the experience through to this ideal conclusion.

Curt went over to his men to ensure they were ready. Tobias told Hannah and Matthew about their plan. It was for fifty or so of them to try to storm the main entrances like a conventional attack. One of Curt's old officers who had also had enough of the Baron would lead this. But the thirty men here led by Curt and Tobias would enter another secret passageway. Hannah and Matthew would go with the latter group, where Curt would take them to the Baroness.

'Right. Let's go,' said Curt from the end of the clearing. Hannah, Tobias, and Matthew then joined Curt's men as they left to go down to the Castle.
Chapter Twenty Three

The Castle came into view below, with its now dark towers and buildings, bridge, and road in the cloudless night but with only a crescent moon. Matthew wondered if they would be successful in defeating the Baron. He had more soldiers than they, even though most of the men against the Baron were, according to Tobias, experienced soldiers who had been dismissed or left service soon after he returned from exile. The Baron also had his magic. Moreover, how could the Baroness suddenly go from being a prisoner to a wielder of the apparently powerful Spear? And this if they found her in the first place?

There were too many things that could go wrong. Matthew wondered what his parents would think about his being in such a situation. He was scared but he knew that whatever happened he would at least be doing something with his life rather than just thinking about it.

They went a different way down to the Castle this time because the other secret tunnel was on the other side. About half way down, they crossed over the road leading to the Castle, and when they got near the bottom Curt gestured for them to stop. He then made the familiar owl noise twice and it was answered twice in return. Matthew could see someone dressed like Curt come forward from some bushes. They spoke briefly then the other man disappeared back into the forest.

Curt returned to them. 'That was one of the men from the main attack. They're hidden in the forest around the castle and will hit the bridge and river entrances at the same time. But first we must open both of the gates for them. Come on. We don't have much time.' They then moved around the river until they came to the other secret tunnel.

This one's entrance was in the rocky side of a small cliff. This reminded Matthew of Martha's cottage, and he then thought about how according to her what he did affected the Destiny of the Land. Well, I suppose I do have the Spear of Destiny in my rucksack, he said to himself, almost smiling. But he then realised that he was in no funny situation and was feeling tenser and tenser.

They entered the small cave, with Curt at the front and a couple of his men. They had their swords drawn in case there was anyone waiting for them in ambush. But Hannah told Matthew that most of the present soldiers were not knowledgeable about the castle and its secret ways, so they should get in without any trouble. Tobias was behind them in the queue getting in. When they had all entered and gone a little way, Curt lit some torches and handed them out.

In front of them there were some rough stairs going down under the river. Curt whispered for them to be careful. Matthew noticed that this tunnel was much wider than the other, at least three people could walk through it side by side. But it still had the same problem with water, he noticed, as some dripped onto his head. Instead of bricks, though, its walls were all made of rock. It was obviously a very old tunnel, thought Matthew, as they walked through it, being careful not to slip on its wet floor.

Just over ten minutes later Matthew could see some stairs going up, though not as many as there had been coming down. Curt gestured for them to be as quiet as possible before they climbed them. At the top there was a small landing, which they could all just about fit on. At the end of this, there was some kind of narrow door made of wood. Curt then extinguished his torch and the others did the same. It was now pitch dark in the atmospheric, echoey tunnel.

'This door leads to the cellars,' whispered Tobias. 'There shouldn't be anyone in them but you never know.' Curt then pushed open the door. It opened with a creaking noise but Matthew could hear nothing else from the other side, as they all went through it. Nor could he see anything when he was in the cellar. But he felt it was very big. Curt led them to some nearby stairs. He and two of his men went up with their swords to see if there were any soldiers outside the door.

There were not and Curt returned to them. 'Right, we will now go our separate ways. Myself and Johan here will lead you and Hannah to where I think the Baroness might be. Tobias will take the rest of the men to open the gates. Good luck to you all,' Curt finished as Matthew looked at the old-looking Johan.

Tobias then touched Matthew and Hannah goodbye with a little smile before leading Curt's men away to the left. Curt and Johan then led them in the other direction. Curt thought that the sister and maybe her father would be in the rear smaller tower where in the old days important prisoners were held.

Matthew looked at Hannah. He was a little worried about her being here, but she like him had a Travelling stone. She was also, thought Matthew probably a better fighter than he. They began to move down the corridor with the usual torches lit at intervals. After passing a few meeting ways, they came to some stairs, which led up the small tower. They were half way up the stairs when they heard some noises behind them. 'They must have opened the gates and let the men in,' said Curt. 'Quick. Let's hurry.'

They went a little faster. Suddenly two soldiers came rushing down the stairs. Curt and Johan soon despatched them with their lethal skills, one with a stab to the neck, another to the stomach. Johan was old but obviously a very skilled fighter, thought Matthew. Matthew could now hear the noise of fighting behind them. The main attacking force of fifty men should be well into the Castle by now, he thought. They climbed further up and got near a landing. But they could hear more footsteps coming from a corridor leading off it towards them, though not just two soldiers, more like five or six.

Curt and Johan got to the landing before them and had their cross bows ready. The soldiers ran towards them with their swords. Curt and Johan killed two instantly. They then got their swords out and attacked. Matthew watched as Curt skilfully took on two of the soldiers on his own while Johan struggled with the remaining one who seemed to be getting the better of him. Matthew then got the dagger Hannah had given him and went to help. He was scared but knew he could not just allow Johan to be killed. But Curt beat him to it and stabbed him in the neck.

Matthew could see there were more soldiers coming from the direction of the others and could hear some coming up the stairs behind them. There was no way they could beat them all, thought Matthew, breathing heavily. It looked like their rescue mission would fail. Their only hope was the main attacking force succeeding, he thought, as he looked at Curt and the soldiers got nearer.
Chapter Twenty Four

Curt shouted for them all to run up the stairs. They got to another landing. Curt stopped. 'Johan,' he said. 'Take them the rest of the way. I'll hold them as long as I can.' He then reloaded his crossbow and waved them upwards.

Matthew and Hannah ran behind Johan. A soldier appeared in front of them with a sword. A minute later he was dead on the floor. They continued until they got to a final landing. Johan led them down a corridor leading off it then up a final staircase. They went up and came to the first room. They looked inside but there was no one. Then, a single soldier surprised them, injuring Johan in the side. Hannah screamed as Matthew stabbed him in the back. Matthew felt shocked after this as he saw did Hannah, as the soldier fell down. But he was now more used to action and wasted no more time dwelling on it.

Johan sat on the stairs. 'Go on. Don't worry about me. I'll cover your backs. Matthew and Hannah went on and came to two other, also empty rooms. 'Come on, she must be here somewhere,' said Matthew He was out of breath and exhausted but his adrenalin was running high in his body; likewise with Hannah. They continued upwards and came to the final room. It was dark and they approached it with caution in case there was anyone there. They went towards it with Matthew leading.

Suddenly a soldier came out of the shadows and jumped on Matthew who fell backwards. The soldier had a knife and was about to stab Matthew when Hannah stabbed him first in the neck a couple of times. Blood sprayed everywhere, he trembled, then was still. Matthew pushed the soldier off him. 'Thanks again, Hannah, he said, though he could see she was still disturbed by her violent side.

He then got up and went to open the door to the final room. But it was locked. Matthew reached for the Lock Opener in his pocket and tapped it three times. Hannah looked on with interest as it clicked. Matthew then opened the door but they could not see inside it; it was too dark.

They entered the room carefully. It smelled of dirt and damp. Matthew asked 'Anybody here?' He then heard a weak female voice say 'I'm over here. Who are you?' She was on the floor, which had the window which Matthew remembered from his vision but not much else. They went over to her. 'We're here to rescue you. Is it you, Baroness?' Hannah asked.

'Yes, but I'm not in good shape. You'll have to help me.' Matthew and Hannah lifted her up and gave her some of their water. Matthew could see she was quite small and skinny at about five feet tall. She also had blonde short but curly hair. But she was very dirty. They then helped her out of the door. Down below in the Castle they could hear much fighting.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, they found Johan who was nursing his side. There was a lot of blood but he said it was only a flesh wound. He looked at the Baroness with deference.

He got up holding his side but also his sword. They continued back down the staircase, past the first room and then down the corridor to where they had left Curt. There were some bodies on the landing of soldiers, though there was no sign of Curt. But there were more bodies.

They continued to move down, the noises of battle now getting louder. They reached the second landing, and continued past it. They could not go very fast with the Baroness and Johan's injury. They then got to the bottom of the staircase and headed back down the corridor towards the escape tunnel. There were more dead bodies on the way but still no sign of Curt.

After they had passed a couple of meeting ways, The Baroness then spoke with an effort. 'Where is my brother? He's very dangerous.' There was then a big explosion from the middle of the castle, followed by lots of flashes. The Castle trembled and they fell down. They then heard people running towards them. It was Tobias and Curt and some of his men. 'Quick. Down to the escape route. The Baron has used some of his magic and the soldiers have returned from the villages!' Curt shouted to them.

Curt and Tobias helped them up and they then went as fast as they could down the corridor to the cellar. They could hear some pursuing soldiers behind them. But there were also some in front of them now. Curt and his men rushed to meet them with their swords but there were too many and more were coming. Behind them they could hear more of the Baron's destructive magic. They could not get to the escape route and every other way was becoming full of soldiers – they were trapped.

Hannah looked at Matthew 'Get the Spear out! We have the Baroness now. We can use it against the Baron,' she demanded.

'You have the Spear, the Spear of Destiny?' the Baroness asked weakly but excitedly.

'Yes,' said Hannah, 'and Matthew is from its world. Quick, before it's too late!'

'I'm sorry,' began the Baroness with an effort, 'but I'm not strong enough to use the Spear now. It requires too much energy, which I don't have. It will take me some time to recover it, time which we evidently don't have,' she said and looked in the direction of the soldiers. 'That is unless I can get to the Clearing, which will enhance my remaining energy.'

They were all now surrounded by soldiers and would soon be captured. Then, Hannah took her Travelling Stone out and gave it to the Baroness. She looked at the girl and understood. 'No. I cannot take this. You must save yourself. It is partly my fault my brother is in power,' said the Baroness.

But Hannah said 'You and Matthew are now the only ones left who can stop the Baron. You must take it. It will take you to the Clearing.'

'You know that I'd rather die than leave you,' Matthew said.

'Don't be silly,' said Hannah. 'If you die then all our hopes are gone. Quick. You must go.' She put her Stone into the hand of the Baroness, who took it reluctantly. Matthew then saw Eustace down the corridor. He shouted 'Surrender or you will all die.'

'All right,' Matthew said to Hannah and quickly hugged her before holding onto the Baroness as they both rubbed their Travelling Stones three times.
Chapter Twenty Five

The Baroness fell to the ground by the Tree at the Clearing after the Travelling Stone transported her there. Matthew rushed to help her. 'Are you all right?' he asked as he pulled her up to a sitting position.

'Yes, thanks to Hannah, I'm in the right place. Can you please get me some water?' The Baroness asked. Matthew took out the leather flask Hannah had given him, filled it up in the stream, and gave some to her. He noticed it was getting light now.

'Thank you,' the Baroness said. She then moved closer to the stream herself and splashed some water on her face and hair. 'I must look awful,' she said, looking over at Matthew.

Matthew felt a little embarrassed. He could not lie – she did look pretty terrible – but he did not want to hurt her feelings.

'It's ok, Matthew. You don't have to lie. But we have to act quickly. My brother's soldiers will soon be here looking for us.'

'What do I have to do?' asked Matthew

'First, you have to get the Spear out,' said the Baroness. He did this and went to give it to her. 'No,' she said, 'I don't have the energy to hold it. But it is you who must hold it in any event. All I can do with my knowledge of magic is use it through you. Please point it at me, and no matter what happens, do not let go of it or point it away.'

'Ok,' said Matthew a little nervously. He was not sure what she was going to do.

'You must do this willingly. Otherwise it will not work,' she said. 'I'm going to use the Spear's power through you to recover myself with my energy which will be heightened in the Clearing.' The Baroness then began to chant something in what Matthew thought was Latin, facing the Spear, while he was holding it. Then suddenly he could feel its power begin to manifest itself. His hands now felt glued to it as it trembled and began to glow. The Baroness began to shake like she was having a fit.

Matthew felt a little unsure about what he was doing and the power seemed to waver a little. But the Baroness in her strange state gave him what he thought was a look of encouragement to carry on, and so he continued to aim the Spear at her. The power then fully returned and suddenly almost became too much for him.

Then the Baroness stopped chanting and fell to the ground. The glow stopped. Matthew let go and went over to her. He touched her face. 'Are you ok?' he asked concerned. But he could now see that she looked different. All the colour had returned to her cheeks and her body looked more full.

She opened her eyes and then suddenly sprang up on her feet. 'I feel FINE!' she shouted as though she were reborn. She jumped and skipped around him and Matthew felt good that she was so healthy again and happy. Matthew also felt better at now knowing more about the power of the Spear and his role in its use. 'I had thought that the Spear was only a weapon of war, from what I'd read about it,' he said.

'It will do whatever I want it to and whatever you allow me to do,' she said. 'But I can only use it for what is in my nature. If, for instance, I tried to destroy something it probably wouldn't work because this is not something I truly want to do. But my brother he is different. With it and you willingly helping him, he could do much damage and destruction to the Land.'

'But your brother already has some powerful magic. We saw some of it at the Castle a short while ago,' said Matthew

'Yes, but the Spear has limitless power. My brother cannot take over the Land with only the magic he has now,' she said.

'Ok,' said Matthew 'So what do we do now? Your brother has Hannah and the others and your father. How can we use the Spear to free them and end your brother's rule?'

'I don't know exactly yet. But I think we should return to the Castle and see what's happening,' she said.

'The Castle. But that is exactly what the Baron wants isn't it?' asked Matthew

'Perhaps, though if you and I work together like we did just now, then not even my brother and all his soldiers can hurt us,' replied the Baroness.

'Ok,' said Matthew, thinking he could not fault her reasoning, and they left, after he had gathered up the Travelling stones. The morning was now much brighter and it was getting quite warm. This forested Land really was beautiful, he thought, as they walked over the bridge to the path. Matthew remembered the fight with the two soldiers yesterday, as they did so. Presumably, with the Baroness and the Spear he would not have the same problems again.

After about 15 minutes, Matthew spotted the path in the forest that would get them to the crossroads quicker. They took it and on the way he told her all that had happened to him from the time he first visited the Kunsthistorisches. 'I'm glad my message seemed to get through to you,' she said.

'But how did you know when I would enter the Clearing from my world?' Matthew asked.

'I didn't. When my brother first set the enticing spell at the Clearing, I could feel what he was up to – he had used a lot of magic, which resonated throughout the Castle - and I used what energy I had at the time to include an image of myself and then the galloping horses to warn whoever was enticed by the spell,' replied the Baroness.

'Thanks for that,' said Matthew 'It did make me more cautious when I came to your Land.'

'I'm only sorry that I caused the problem in my Land in the first place,' the Baroness said.

'What you mean bringing your brother back?' asked Matthew

'Exactly,' she said. 'My father exiled him over five years ago after my brother had refused to stop using magic in bad ways. He caught him doing something to one of the servants and finally had had enough. My brother was always interested in using magic to gain power over people and things.

But I thought my father had made a mistake and that the best way of changing my brother was through love. I managed to communicate with him using magic in the three years he was away. But I now realise my brother was just playing along with me until he had the power to return and take over the Castle.

He suddenly returned one night with Eustace and some other soldiers. But he had changed and was now a monster. He was dressed like a monk and I couldn't even see his face,' she said. Matthew remembered the meeting with the Baron with a little shudder.

The Baroness continued 'Then he used some of his magic on me and my father and the next thing I remember is waking up in the room where you found me last night. As much as I screamed for help, no one came. My health gradually deteriorated on the meagre food they gave me. If you had not rescued me then I would probably have died soon.

But tell me, what do you know of my father?' she finally asked.

'Not much really,' said Matthew, who did not want to tell her everything he knew but then he felt he had to. 'Curt did say that there was some blood outside your family quarters in the Castle, just before he was dismissed from service. We obviously didn't find him in the Castle when we were looking for you. But you are alive, and so it is possible he is,' Matthew finished.

'I hope you're right, but I cannot seem to communicate with him in my mind,' said the Baroness.

'Well, you certainly don't look bad anymore,' Matthew said to cheer her up but meaning it. The Baroness must be at least 25, he thought, with a petite body and pretty face. The Spear even repaired her dress, which had been filthy and in much disrepair.

'Thank you for that, Matthew. But I now have to put right my mistake that has caused my people so much trouble. Come on, the sooner we can free my people the better,' she said
Chapter Twenty Six

After an hour or so, the Baroness and Matthew came to the crossroads. Matthew was by now tired but the Baroness seemed like she could go on forever, a little like Hannah, he thought with fondness. This gave him more energy, as they got on the road to the Castle. They had to get there before the Baron harmed her, Matthew thought. The sun was now quite high in the sky and Matthew was getting physically as well as mentally hot in his hoodie.

After about ten minutes of walking they heard the noise of a wagon behind them. Matthew went to hide in the forest but the Baroness held him back, 'No more hiding and running from my brother. Our having the Spear means we don't have to do this anymore,' she said.

Matthew realised she was right, stayed on the road, and got the Spear out of his rucksack. They stopped and waited for the wagon to come. As it got closer Matthew could see that it did not contain any soldiers: it was Hannah's grandfather! What the hell was he doing here? Matthew wondered. As the grandfather got closer and stopped, he asked Matthew the same question.

'We – he looked over at the Baroness – are going to the Castle to try to free Hannah and the others,' said Matthew

'Oh, I'm sorry, my lady. I did not recognise you,' Walter said.

'No need to apologise. After what I have done, I do not deserve the respect of any of my people,' said the Baroness.

Walter gave her a quizzical look. Matthew then realised that he did not know everything that happened last night and gave him a short account of it.

'That explains much, young stranger. 'Hannah always did think of others before herself,' said the grandfather. 'Silly girl. No disrespect intended, my Lady.'

'No, you are right. Hannah should never have done what she did. Hopefully, I through Matthew can repay her sacrifice,' said the Baroness.

Matthew then asked 'What are you doing here anyway? The Baron's soldiers could easily catch you. Tobias told us you were in some hideaway in the forest.'

'Curt and Tobias left me last night while I was sleeping and when I woke up I was all alone,' said the grandfather. 'I suppose they thought I would be more of a nuisance than a help. Anyways, I took this wagon to see what had happened. On the way, I met some others who told me the Baron's soldiers were putting out the message that if you Matthew did not give yourself up with the Spear then the Baron would kill all the prisoners.

I then went to find you. I thought you might be at the Clearing for some reason. Anyway please get on, Matthew, my Lady. We'll get to the Castle quicker,' he finished.

Matthew helped the Baroness onto the wagon.

'I just hope we are not going to be too late,' Walter said as they moved off. He then pulled on the reins to make his horse go quicker.

Matthew and the Baroness looked at each other as the wagon began to shake a little. Walter then said, 'It's funny that the soldiers made no mention of you Baroness and his soldiers are not even bothered to look for either of you.'

'My brother knows that Matthew will have no choice. He will not want his friends to die, 'said the Baroness.

'Especially your granddaughter,' said Matthew.

'He is also trying to give the impression that he does not fear my using the Spear by not demanding I return, but this is exactly what he is scared of,' said the Baroness.

'But what can we do?' asked Walter. 'Can you two use the Spear against the Baron and stop him? For we have no way of beating him without it, with all the able people either captured or dead.'

Matthew looked at the Baroness.

'Yes, we can use the Spear against him and we will do it before anyone gets killed. And I think I now know exactly how we will achieve this,' said the Baroness.

The Baron was not happy and knew that he only had himself to blame. He had thought that the boy he lured into his world was just the sort of weak pawn he needed. But he had misjudged him and the boy surprised him again. He had the cunning to steal the Spear, rescue his friends, and be the catalyst for a near successful defeat of him. What is more, he was now with his sister, the only other person in this land who could use the Spear against him. How could he – he! – have been so stupid as to have not controlled the boy better?

He now knew that either the boy would have to give himself up, which was unlikely, or he would have to confront his sister who would try to use the Spear against him. But it was not in his sister's nature to kill him, so he did not fear this. But she could try something else, he thought; something, perhaps worse than death – she could turn him away from his dark desire to rule the Land. He could be changed into - no - he could not finish the thought.

But he would be ready for his sister and the boy who would soon be his conduit to victory. He could change the boy's will; in fact, he thought, he should have done this in the first place. The boy would be damaged mentally but this mattered nothing to him.

Yes, he was ready for his sister and her using the Spear. But it was certain she would not be ready for him and his little surprise.
Chapter Twenty Seven

The Baroness, Matthew, and Walter could now see the bridge to the Castle in the distance.

'Please, stop here, Walter,' The Baroness said. He did so. She then said, 'This is as far as you go. I have already put enough of your family at risk for you to come with us.'

Walter began to protest, but the Baroness said 'This is no request but an order. You must do as I say or else I may not be successful in what I'm about to do. I would be too worried about you.'

He reluctantly agreed but said, 'I'll stay here but if I see I'm needed I will come.'

The Baroness smiled and got off the wagon. Matthew did the same and touched Walter on the shoulder goodbye. Walter touched him back in response - a big change from when he had first met him, Matthew thought. The Baroness and he then left to go to the Castle.

As they approached the bridge, the Baroness checked to see if he had the Spear ready. Matthew showed her he did. They had been in full view of the Castle's occupants for at least twenty minutes now but this did not matter. They both knew that if they did not confront the Baron he would kill the prisoners he had and then probably worse. Matthew felt that the Baroness would have liked more of an understanding of the Spear in practice but he was sure she felt confident she could use it adequately to stop her brother and return her Land to peace.

At the gate to the Castle, Eustace was waiting with some men. 'Seize them!' he commanded. But the Baroness was ready and began to chant while Matthew pointed the Spear in their direction. Their swords turned into fire and they had to drop them. Eustace then said 'Use your crossbows. There are only two of them!'

But again the Baroness chanted and Matthew pointed and the arrows also turned into fire and burnt before they reached them. The Baroness then forced the soldiers onto the floor. She and Matthew continued on into the Castle. 'Go tell your master his sister wishes to speak to him in the main hall, you nasty dog,' she said to Eustace who was backing away in fear. He ran inside the Castle.

The other soldiers were now staring at her not knowing what to do. Most of them were not bad men but knew nothing else but soldiering and so had to stay at the Castle when the Baron returned. The Baroness began chanting again and gestured for Matthew to wave the Spear all around. She then said to the soldiers 'Release the prisoners and send them to me.' They obeyed and went to do this.

The Baroness now seemed very confident with the Spear, thought Matthew. He himself also felt good, all his nerves having disappeared when he saw the Baroness use the Spear to good effect at the bridge. Whatever she did seemed right. Soon, he thought, it would all be over and he would see Hannah again. That would be good. Curt and Tobias would also be free, and also old Johan; it was just a matter of time.

They continued through the courtyard after the gates into the main hall. Matthew could see the damage from the battle last night with the floor and walls looking burnt and rubble everywhere. This must be the result of the Baron's magic, he thought. Here they waited for the Baron to come and confront them with his magic but they would be ready. Lots of people were now coming into the hall, including released prisoners. He saw Curt, Tobias, and then, to his delight, Hannah. Thank God she was ok, he thought. She looked over at him and then Matthew saw Walter hug her. Matthew had felt that he would disobey the Baroness. Hannah then returned her gaze to him and the Baroness.

Not long now, he thought, and all would be well, he thought as he also saw Johan in the crowd. Then through two doors opposite the one they came through entered Eustace with a sly smile on his face. Behind him were two soldiers alongside the Baron and two behind carrying something.

It was again impossible to see the Baron's face under his hood. The Baroness began then chanting and directed Matthew to point the Spear at her brother. Matthew did so and felt the power begin to build in the Spear. He wondered what the Baroness had in mind for her brother. He knew she would not hurt him; perhaps she would take away his magic.

As the Baron got closer, Matthew could feel the power grow in the Spear. He then wondered why the Baron was not scared – he knew what the Spear could do. Even Eustace did not seem to be alarmed in any way. But before he could find out the answer to this, the Baroness stopped chanting suddenly and Matthew felt the power leaving the Spear.

Oh my God, he thought, as the rest of the crowd gasped in horror at what they were seeing. The Baron had just ordered the soldiers behind him to empty the sack they were carrying. What was in it fell to the ground: arms, legs, and torso all bloody with the guts hanging out. But the worse thing was the head which rolled towards them. The face was twisted with agony obviously having suffered greatly before its death.

The Baroness fell to her knees in shock and disgust. Matthew could no longer look at it. But who was it and why had the Baron done this? Then, he discovered the answer. 'Welcome sister. I have awaited your return, as has ... our father.'

Then Matthew understood and his shock and disgust were replaced with anger.

The Baroness got up 'Point the Spear!' she commanded to Matthew, her voice now filled with rage.

Matthew looked at her face: she was focused with hatred towards her brother. 'Point the Spear! As I told you!' she repeated again.

Matthew obeyed. He shared all her feelings against her brother who was obviously evil and had to be stopped. The Baroness was now chanting what Matthew realised was a death chant and he could feel the Spear gaining power.

But the Baron did not move to escape and stood his ground like he was unafraid. He would soon regret what he did, thought Matthew.

Yet, somewhere in his mind was the thought that what the Baroness was doing was not right in some way; it did not seem a normal part of her personality for her to do this. Did she not say herself that the Spear could only be successfully used if it was done so according to the person's true nature? Matthew asked himself.

The power was building in the Spear all the time and it would soon be unleashed. Matthew looked at the Baroness who was now completely focused on her brother, her body and face filled with power, while she was chanting. If the power was not used according to the user's nature then what would happen? Matthew asked himself. He then heard someone repeating something or was it his own mind 'What seems the right thing to do may not be.'

But surely killing the Baron was the right thing to do, he thought. He had done much evil in the Land and look how he had killed his own father! Furthermore, how could the Baroness' killing her brother not be in her nature? She was entitled to her revenge, as would anyone be.

The power of the Spear was now getting too much for Matthew who had difficulty holding onto it. He then saw Martha in the crowd next to Hannah. Where did she come from? he asked himself. 'Matthew stop. This is what he wants,' she shouted.

Matthew then realised what he was doing was wrong. He looked back at the Baroness and could see her face twisted in hatred. He knew she would not stop if he asked her to – she was beyond reason.

But Matthew was now certain that what she was doing would only suit the Baron.

He then did the only thing he could – he dropped the Spear.

He felt all of its power then disappear: without him holding it, it was useless.

The Baroness collapsed unconscious to the ground. Hannah rushed over to her.

The Baron was furious and ran over to his sister's body. He then lifted up his arms and pointed them at her. Matthew felt a little panicked.

Curt and Tobias ran towards the Baron. But he moved his arms towards them and two flashes of light went towards them knocking them over.

Then Walter put himself in front of Hannah and the Baroness. 'Over my dead body you hideous freak,' he cried out at the Baron.

'Move or die old man,' said the Baron who then aimed his arms at Walter.

But before he could unleash his magic, he raised his hands in agony and screamed. The person he had said he would not underestimate again had beaten him again. But this time there would be no second chance. Matthew had stabbed him in the back – with the Spear of Destiny!

The Baron, however, did not slump to the floor but his now empty robe did. Whatever he had twisted himself into over the years disappeared in a flash of smoke in the air and was now gone. The mood of the hall was one of shock and then relief.

Matthew dropped the Spear and fell down himself, exhausted by the physical and mental tension. But he did not lose consciousness and could see that the Baroness was recovering. He got up and went to her.

'Thank you, Matthew. I lost myself a little there and without you my brother would have destroyed me with my own hate.'

Hannah then went to Matthew and hugged him. He could not believe how happy he felt.

'I told you that you should listen to your dreams,' she said. She then looked like she wanted Matthew to kiss her. He did not hesitate. This was one of the many things the Land had taught him: if you did what you wanted to at the time there would be no regrets later.

The crowd around them then began to cheer. But Hannah and Matthew's embrace was interrupted by Curt, Tobias, and even Walter, who lifted up Matthew shouting 'Hail Matthew the Spearmaster, hero of our land!' The whole crowd clapped and cheered him except Eustace, who was about to escape when he was tripped up by Martha. Two of Curt's men then lifted him up and held him.

The crowd then quietened down as they remembered the body from the sack – of their previous Baron. The Baroness was putting what was left of his body back in the sack. She was in tears. Some people rushed to help her and Hannah returned to comfort her. A couple of Curt's men then took his body away and the Baroness's old servants who had fled the castle when the young Baron returned helped her away.

'I hope she will be ok. She has suffered a lot,' said Matthew

'Time will heal her, youngster,' said Walter. 'She has the same good nature as her father and will be a good ruler.'

'Yes, that she will,' agreed Curt. 'But tonight we will both celebrate and mourn for the old Baron.'

'Where is Martha?' asked Matthew 'I wanted to speak to her.'

'Oh, don't worry. She's around somewhere, Spearmaster,' mocked Hannah. Matthew laughed. Life was good. How could he ever have thought it wasn't? he wondered briefly.
Chapter Twenty Eight

That night everyone who could make it in the Land celebrated at the Castle. Even the Baroness joined in a little. Matthew drank lots of dark beer with the encouragement of Curt and Tobias; even old Johan was there. Matthew also danced a lot with Hannah - Walter keeping a watch over both of them. Matthew decided that this was not going to be the last party he attended, as he took in all the strange sounds and sights and enjoyed being drunk with his new friends – and girlfriend! he reminded himself. The rest of the night went in a blur of pleasure.

As did the next couple of days, during which time, Hannah and Matthew were inseparable. They visited all Hannah's favourite (and private) places in the Land, and Matthew felt too happy – with his first girlfriend. They always left early and returned late with Walter chastising them a little for this.

Then on the second night, Tobias and Curt took them all on a tour of the local taverns, where Matthew discovered what it was like to feel a hero – a very drunk one at that. He also experienced what it felt to be viewed positively by young, attractive girls who no longer giggled at him but laughed with him. This, he noticed, Hannah did not like very much.

Then on the third morning, Matthew woke up next to Hannah in her bedroom back at the farm. He just about remembered getting back from the last tavern on her grandfather's wagon. Matthew had been very drunk. It had been a crazy night, one which he knew he would never forget. But for some reason he had a sinking feeling in his stomach, as he looked around him and could see the Spear on the floor with his two bags of magic tools.

Hannah then kissed him and got up. He watched her while she got dressed - his first woman; it really was unbelievable. He then got up himself and followed her down into the kitchen where Walter was making some food.

'Sit down, you two youngsters, and eat some lunch. A soldier has been here today. The Baroness wants to see you, Matthew,' said Walter looking a little sad. 'She says she wants to say goodbye.'

'Goodbye!' exclaimed Hannah as she looked at Matthew. 'He's only been here for a short time.'

Matthew looked at her, also confused. Now he knew why he had felt down this morning; it wasn't just a hangover. 'I'll see her after lunch, I'm sure there's some misunderstanding' he said.

But Hannah would not stop. 'You cannot return,' she said. 'I feel something bad will happen to you if you do. It doesn't matter about your world at the moment and you can return there anytime.'

Matthew tried to comfort her without success. But she continued to plead with him to stay while they ate their food. Then after having a wash, and getting ready, he left with Hannah to go to the Castle on the grandfather's wagon.

They did not speak much on the way there. Hannah was in a sulk; Matthew was still suffering with his hangover and thinking of the reasons why he had to go home so suddenly, though he knew his parents would be missing him – as he was them. Sometime later they went through the Castle gates with the soldiers more welcoming than before. Hannah stayed with her grandfather in the courtyard while Matthew entered the Castle - she was too upset to join him.

A servant took him to the Baroness. He attempted a bow but she said 'After what you've done, you of all people do not have to bow here, Matthew.'

'Come here,' she continued and hugged him. 'Thank you a hundred times for saving me and our Land. You will always be remembered here.'

'What am I just a piece of history?' Matthew asked.

'No, not just that, although that is no bad thing. But you will have to return to your own world as soon as possible. You cannot stay here forever. For one thing you have a family in your world. For another thing, you were brought here by magic, which means that you are not as we are. If you stayed here you would quickly diminish until you died. This is because the magic which keeps you here is losing its power all the time.

That necklace you wear with the leather bag has protected you from the worst of this, but it will not last forever,' she finished. Matthew remembered Martha giving this to him on his second day in the Land.

But he was still uncertain about one thing. 'I don't understand. Your family came here from my world and they obviously did not diminish.'

'It was only my ancestor, Baron Von Hugel, who was of your world, and he did not stay here, and merely visited from time to time, which cost him dearly in magic. I'm sorry, Matthew, but you must return and the sooner the better for your health and Hannah.'

'Yes, we've become quite close. I don't want to hurt her,' he said, though he was very hurt himself; it seemed that his life had not completely changed for the better.

'She'll get over it in time. It isn't many girls who've had a hero as their boyfriend,' she said.

'Yes, I suppose you're right. Anyway, I'm sorry about your father and I'm glad you are now in power. In the short time I've known you I have realised that you are a very nice person and I know from my limited experience in my world that there are not many like that,' said Matthew 'But before I go I would like to say goodbye to Martha. She helped me a lot and I think it's only right.'

'Yes, of course, I hope we will see more of her around the Castle now. Please tell her that,' said the Baroness.

'Thank you, I will,' said Matthew. 'Goodbye, Baroness. I've learnt a lot here.'

'Isn't there anything else?' asked the Baroness.

'Er, oh here's the Spear,' he said.

'No, no, no. You must return that where you got it. I was thinking more of the magic tools you were given. They shouldn't really be used in your world, which long ago forgot about such things.'

'But how am I to return the Spear without them?' asked Matthew

'Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something,' the Baroness said as she took the magic items from him.

Matthew then rejoined Hannah and her grandfather and returned to the farm. Curt and Tobias were waiting, both with hangovers as bad as him, thought Matthew. 'Sorry to see you go, lad,' said Curt. 'We could have used someone with your bravery and guile here.'

'Yes. Sorry to have doubted you as well, Matthew,' said Tobias. They and Johan then said they were proud to have known him and wished him well for the future. Matthew shook their hands and that of Walter, who also gave him a surprising hug. 'Goodbye, young stranger, Matthew. Please also forgive an old man for his doubts; it seems Martha is wise after all.'

Matthew and Hannah then left to see Martha. They got there late afternoon. Martha was in her usual place by the fire. 'I'm afraid, Hannah, that Matthew has to leave us, otherwise he will be dead within two weeks,' she said without any greeting. Matthew then surprisingly felt a little better about going back, for he knew now he really did have no choice.

'Ok, I knew that,' said Hannah matter of factly. It's just that I don't like it.'

'I just came to thank you and say goodbye,' said Matthew 'But I suppose you already knew that.'

'Nevertheless, the thought was a good one,' said Martha. 'But it is us who must thank you. Without you, the Baron would still be oppressing us. You have helped to give us our freedom. But in doing this we have also given you something, I think. You came here uncertain of who you are and of the world around you. But now I think you understand these things better.'

'One thing I have learnt,' said Matthew 'is that it is difficult to say goodbye.' He looked at Hannah.

'Well, there are some bad things we all have accept sometimes,' Martha said.

Martha then beckoned them over to the table, where she got them both a drink. Hans the cat came over to Matthew and he stroked him. They talked about how the Land would be better with the Baroness. Martha then said, 'I don't want to seem unwelcoming but you had better leave soon. You are both tired and it will be dark soon.'

Hannah and Matthew both got up. Martha then hugged him. She also looked him in the eye. 'Yes, you certainly have changed, Matthew.'

'Thanks for all your help. I will always wear this in memory of you,' he said feeling the necklace she had given him for protection when he had first met her.

'It will provide some protection even in your world – another reason to keep it on,' said Martha. 'The final thing I will say to you is: beware of the red wagon.'

Matthew decided it was pointless trying to work out what she meant for now and decided he would think about it later. He merely gave her a look of goodbye and then gave Hans a final stroke. Hannah then hugged Martha and they left for the Clearing.

On the way back they took their time, holding hands and kissing and reminiscing about all that had happened to them. Then just as it was getting dark Hannah slowed down at what Matthew realised was the spot where he had first met her.

'I can't go any further,' she said. 'The closer we get to the Clearing the more upset I become.'

Matthew hugged her, 'Oh, Hannah. It's not necessarily the end. The Baroness' ancestor Baron Von Hugel used to return to the Land,' he said but did not really believe this. The Baron knew magic but Matthew did not.

'No, this is the end. You are the first and last man I will love,' she said. 'Martha told me this. She thinks I have the "gift" and so she will teach me all her knowledge. This helps a little. But I'm still upset by you going.'

'I feel the same,' said Matthew. 'But we both know I have to leave. I will always think of you.'

She then took her dagger out and cut a lock of her hair, which she tied around Matthew's necklace. 'You can now think of me as well as Martha,' she said in tears.

It was getting darker now and so Matthew finally kissed a crying Hannah and left to go to the Clearing. He looked back a couple of times to see if Hannah was still there. But she had gone. He was very sad and felt tearful himself.

He then tried to cheer himself up by reflecting on how much he had changed since he had first walked on this track all those days ago. Then he was confused and unsure of himself, thinking too much about the wrong things. He remembered how he had been scared about being on his own in Vienna, which was why he had worn his hoodie, to look tougher. He laughed a little to himself at this - after all the danger and violence he had gone through. Now he was more sure about what life was all about and his part in it and wanted to make the most of it. Yes, he was upset about leaving Hannah but he finally accepted there was nothing he could do about it – another lesson, he thought.

He then thought about his parents and how it would be good to see them again. They would definitely be worried about him now – he must have been gone for 24 hours or more. But then he thought that it seems as though their bringing me to Vienna did have the desired effect, after all, with half a smile on his face.

Eventually, he reached the path leading to the Clearing and then an hour later reached the Clearing itself. He then went to the Oak Tree and faced the Clearing for the last time and imagined being back at the Kunsthistorisches.
Chapter Twenty Nine

Matthew found himself back at the Kunsthistorishes. He checked the time: it was 5.57 p.m. He had been gone for nearly eight hours again. He walked out of the gallery and then down the stairs to the exit. When he got outside, he put his hood up and headed to the Hofburg; he wanted to return the Spear as soon as possible without, hopefully, being seen or recognised. It was dark, cold, and a little windy.

He approached the front of the Hofburg; there were not many people around. Matthew's plan was to post the Spear through the letterbox of the door to the entrance. As he got nearer to it, he became more cautious but got the Spear from his rucksack at the same time. Then when he was in front of the entrance, he had a final look around him to ensure no one was around, and put the Spear though the letterbox of the door. He then quickly walked away, feeling nervous but relieved that he had managed to return it.

'Halt! Halt!' he suddenly heard a couple of voices say behind him. He felt a cold wave of fear flow through his body, which some adrenalin then added to. He knew he had two choices: to give himself up or to run. He chose the latter and launched into a sprint.

'Halt! Halt!' he heard again behind him but this time with some footsteps as well. He continued to run, trying to work out where he was in relation to his hotel. They mustn't catch me, he thought, not after all I've been through. He then saw the Ringstrasse ahead and knew he had to cross it. But there was a lot of traffic on it. His pursuers seemed to be catching up with him and he was almost out of breath. But the traffic now seemed to have some gaps in it. Matthew ran into to it.

He dodged two cars who hooted loudly at him. He was nearly on the other side.

But just as he reached the pavement on the other side, there was one car he could not dodge. It was going faster than the others, probably above the speed limit.

Time slowed down for Matthew, as he remembered what Martha had finally said to him. He saw then felt the red station wagon hit him. He fell unconscious...

Matthew woke up and looked around him. At first it was all a blur but then he saw that he was in a hospital bed. He could not remember how he got here. He then saw his parents alongside his bed. They were talking to each other, not looking at him. He could make out some of what they were saying. 'What happened at the museum?...We should never have brought him here.' They were very upset, with his mother crying.

Matthew felt for his necklace but it was not there. He looked around for it and then noticed some other people in the room, a doctor, some nurses, as well as...a priest. Bloody Hell, what's going on? he asked himself, as he fell back into unconsciousness.

