The Blackthorn Key

Christopher remembers a time when he played handball and fell into a tree. Tom took him home. Dazed, Christopher was unsure where he was, but Master Benedict assured him he was at home and would always have a home there. Now, Christopher has nowhere to go and worries about Lord Ashcombe searching for him.

Back at the Guild Hall, Christopher asks the man at the door if Stubb has been by, but he hasn't. Christopher goes the staircase to where Oswyn left him, but an apprentice is sitting on the steps, playing with a dagger and blocking his way. He challenges Christopher; when Christopher explains his purpose, the apprentice tells him he can wait in Oswyn's office. As he guides Christopher there, Christopher thinks he seems familiar and wonders where they have met before. He asks if the boy is Oswyn's apprentice, but he is not. Arriving at the office, the apprentice says he will go get the masters and closes Christopher in.

Christopher waits in the clean, small office. He studies a framed picture on the wall of magical creatures representing the elements, which remind him of the mural in the mausoleum. He realizes that Master Benedict had been training him to open the wall in the crypt through things like the

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