Hope and Darkness

Chapter 6

As the group of about 20 soldiers arrived back into the village, the first person to greet them was Justin. “Toby!” he yelled. “Over here!” Toby smiled at Anton. “I guess I better get going.” Anton smiled goodbye. As Toby caught up to Justin, he asked, “What’s up?” Justin frowned. “Well, it’s about Charlie. He’s been making something with your sword.” Toby was confused. “My sword is right here,” he patted his scabbard. Justin shook his head. “No, he swapped your sword for a practise sword. Well, not today anyway. Don’t get mad at him. He swapped it while you were sleeping. Anyway,” he continued on before Toby could complain, “He’s stayed inside our cabin the whole day. All he took inside was a couple tools from the blacksmith here. I don’t know what he’s doing!” Toby smiled. “Why don’t we find out?”

Matthew was at the door of the mountain bandit’s cabin. He smiled when he saw Toby but otherwise looked worried. “What is it?” Toby asked. Matthew jerked his head toward the door. “Charlie. Hasn’t let me in the cabin.” Toby nodded, and then poked his head inside. “Charlie?” Charlie twisted his head from where he was working. “Toby! So you’ve come back!” Toby nodded. “What’s this you’ve been working on?” Charlie took Toby’s sword, swapped them around a few times, and held up the 2 different swords. Both looked exactly the same. “Which ones yours?” Toby shrugged. “I don’t know.” Charlie smiled. “Now...” he drew the sword in his left hand a little and Toby saw a little green from a gem shine out. “What is that?” he asked. Charlie grinned. “I had the miners nearby mine through the rock behind the second palisade and out popped this little gem. I was a master blacksmith before I joined our group of bandits. I took your sword because it’s one of the best swords in the village- made by your dad, if you remember.” Toby nodded. “Well, anyway, I found out your dad used steel and, instead of using a big hammer like the blacksmiths now, he used a small but hard hammer to shape the sword. He did it quickly, but this way he could fix any small mistakes he made. I copied his technique and I made an identical sword to yours. Then I made your sword harder by replacing some of the metal where it was thin, and I polished both swords. I put the emerald from the rock in the 2nd palisade into the 2nd blade, so now the emerald is portable.” Toby’s head was spinning. He never had understood the finer points of crafting swords as a child, and while he could make a strong, balanced sword, none of his swords could be called masterworks. “That’s very interesting, Charlie, but what does this do to help us?” Charlie smiled. “This might spin your head, Toby, but when we came here I studied on the wars between light and darkness. It turns out that for years after Hope and Darkness died there were wars between the churches that supported the separate sides. At one point the elves came in, but at one of the major battles they failed to turn up. In doing so all were frozen into stone beneath the Earth- Emerald, actually. This emerald is one of their special horns they use to summon other elves in times of battle. So when the new battle arrives the champion of Hope may use the emerald to summon the elves.” Toby nodded. “Do I have to give it to Lucy?” He asked. Charlie thought about it. “Might as well. You should also teach her how to use it- it’s not going to be any good if it stays slung around her back.”