The Sword in the (Key) Stone

Suspecting its hidden power and unable to resist his desire to possess it, Fortu manages to wrestle the impressive, 'hand-and-a-half' sword from the now wrecked horse/knight's locked gauntlet.

Holding it aloft, he marvels at his luck. A Bastard sword; his favourite weapon, with a wavy blade and razor-sharp edges. It's awesome... Perfect! It's as if the metal had never been tried or tested against another sword or armour. Not one ding, blemish or sign of corrosion on its oddly bluish length. The only marks on the blade are the strange, letter-like characters standing slightly proud and repeated on each side. Whatever the writing says though, it's in a language indecipherable to him. Still, just grasping it's leather-wrapped hilt within his palm makes him feel unbeatable. Unstoppable. No-one back in the arena would be able to stand against him and live to tell the tale... No-one outside of it either.

Rifkin's call, rouses Fortu from his joyful inner monologue. Rising and hustling back to join the Bard by the large, bronze slot in the stonework, it becomes clear that this is the mechanism to open the huge, iron doors. Fortu isn't that surprised to see that the slot is precisely the size, both in height and width, for the very sword in his hand.

Its five-foot blade slides smoothly in, with a series of clicks as the curves and raised letters of the sword push aside the dozens of internal lock chamber pins. Lastly, with a final drive home and a clockwise twist, the double doors beside him give a gasp and creak slowly inward to reveal the tower’s dark and murky interior...