Close your eyes and imagine a wizard’s study…imagine the smell of cauldron smoke, spicy herbs and dirty animals. Imagine the sounds of bubbling potions, crackling flames and the scuttle of insects in jars. Imagine layers of thick dust on spell books and piles and piles of books everywhere you look. Well, imagine this is how Lord Avalon’s room looked.

The room itself was at the top of a narrow staircase – the staircase that Zoe and I had explored just before we met Jonas. Lord Avalon’s room was the room that had no lock and no handle. This time the door was open when we got to the top of the staircase.

Lord Avalon was sitting in a chair with his back to us when we entered the room. One of the knights coughed loudly and Lord Avalon slowly got to his feet and turned around to look at us.

He had long grey hair and a beard that was twiddled into little dreadlocks. He was wearing a dark blue cloak that looked like the colour of deep water. I recognized him straight away as the man in the picture on the top of the staircase.

“This BOY was wearing the Talisman,” said the knight standing behind me.

“Is that so, Barnaby,” the Lord Avalon said softly.

“He is only a boy, my Lord,” Barnaby the knight replied. “Clearly an imposter. Shall we torture him so he tells us who the true owner is?”

I gulped hard at the word ‘torture’.

“No, Barnaby,” the Lord Avalon said calmly, “I don’t think torture is a good idea.”

“Me neither,” I said loudly.

“Will, be quiet,” Zoe begged.

“I won’t be quiet,” I argued with her, “I want my amulet back.”

The knight behind me tossed my amulet through the air and Lord Avalon caught it in his hand. “Your amulet?” he smiled at me. “It is my amulet now.”

“What do you want with it?” I asked Lord Avalon.

“Silence!” said one of the knights.

Lord Avalon waved his hand, telling the knight to be quiet. “The young man is simply curious. Isn’t that right?” he asked me.

I slowly nodded my head in agreement.

“I am Lord Avalon, and the Lord of this castle,” he told me. “I command an order of brave knights whose sole purpose is to search for this small object here in my hand.” He held my amulet up to the moonlight pouring through a window. It glistened and glinted in the light.

“We’re from the future,” Zoe said. I rolled my eyes – Zoe always gives us away. She’s a rubbish Adventure companion sometimes!

“I know…” said the Lord Avalon.

“You do?” I replied in shock. “How?”

“Because I was the one who put a curse on the souls of these good knights,” he said, pointing to the knights around us. “I was the person who kept their spirits here on Earth long after they died so that they could one day bring you to me.”

“You turned the knights into ghosts?” Zoe asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Why was it so important that you brought us here?” I asked curiously.

He stared at me thoughtfully and stayed quiet for a while before he spoke. “How much do you know about this?” he asked, holding up my amulet.

“I know that it’s mine and that you took it from me,” I answered angrily.

“But do you know what power it possesses?” he asked.

“Just tell them, Will,” Zoe said shrugging.

“It can open locks,” I admitted. “And it helps me understand other languages.”

A loud gasp echoed around the stone room.

“The wearer of Truth cannot be a boy!” shouted one knight in disbelief.

“You are the Master of Time?” said the Lord Avalon.

“How did you know that?” I asked quietly, stunned that he knew the Adventurer nickname that the ancient Aztecs had given me.

“The signs told me that it would be you, although they did not say how young you’d be.”

“Signs?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, in my spells,” he replied. “The Master of Time is the greatest Adventurer that ever lived. But he does not realize this yet, and he does not know why he will go on to possess this title.”

“‘The greatest Adventurer that ever lived’?” I asked in amusement, not believing a word Lord Avalon was saying. “What makes you say that?”

Lord Avalon smiled at me.

“I don’t believe this boy is who he says he is,” said Barnaby the knight bitterly.

“Don’t worry,” said Lord Avalon. “If he really is the Master of Time and the greatest Adventurer that ever lived, then he’ll be able to help us with our current quest.”

“The dragon!” said Barnaby loudly. “He’s here to kill the dragon!”

“Dragon?” gasped Zoe.

“The dragon has been terrorizing the villages of Avalon,” said Barnaby. “Killing the dragon was our next mission of revenge!”

“Yes,” said Lord Avalon. “If anyone can help us solve our dragon problem, then it’s this boy here. If he succeeds, then we’ll let him live.”

“And if I don’t succeed?” I asked with worry.

Lord Avalon smiled. “You won’t live to tell the tale.”

So this is what the letter meant. I have to gain their trust and prove who I am by meeting this dragon.

Lord Avalon threw my amulet back to Barnaby before turning around and sitting down with his back to us. I felt Barnaby’s heavy hand press down on my shoulder as he began to steer me out of Lord Avalon’s room.

“Guard the Talisman. Take them into the forest,” Lord Avalon called as the knights began to march Zoe and me down the staircase. “Find the dragon that has caused us so many problems. Slay it and bring me back its head!”