Otto of the Silver Hand

Otto finds his first days in the castle exciting and interesting, and he has the opportunity to explore this entirely new place. On his journeys around the castle, Otto finds a chapel filled with the bodies of his ancestors. He also finds a room filled with books that, while old and worn, still remind him of the books he read at the monastery. Otto also develops a bond with Ursela, who is relieved to see him alive and well and immediately takes Otto under her care.

Ursela tells Otto stories that he always finds fascinating, but one day, she tells him about his father’s past actions and explains how his mother died. When Otto hears that Baron Conrad used to steal from others and that he has killed many people (including Baron Frederick, whom he struck down in revenge), this grim revelation horrifies him. Otto has never been exposed to such thoughts before, and he cannot believe that his father would do such things. Just then, Baron Conrad walks into the room, and Otto cries to him, asking his father to tell him that these stories are untrue. Instead, the Baron readily admits to the truth and tells Otto that he must let go of the “foolish” teachings of the monastery because the world outside is much more cutthroat. The Baron also lectures Ursela for telling Otto things that he would have wanted to explain himself. Later, the Baron asks Otto if he hates him for killing others, and Otto admits that although he is confused, he does not hate his father.

The new emperor of Germany moves to bring peace to the land and calls in every baron for whom a complaint has been made. Baron Henry, the nephew of Baron Frederick, calls in a complaint about Baron Conrad for killing his uncle. A summons is sent to Baron Conrad’s castle, and Otto reads to the message to his father. The message states that Baron Conrad must come to the Imperial Court and agree to stop all violence or risk his castle being destroyed and himself killed. Baron Conrad realizes that he has no choice but to agree, so he leaves his castle accompanied by 100 men, and almost none are left behind.

Three nights later, with Baron Conrad and his company still gone, Baron Henry and 30 of his men invade Castle Drachenhausen. They use arrows to set up a rope ladder and kill the man in the watchtower, then sneak into the castle grounds. Schwartz Carl, who lives in Melchior Tower, uses his crossbow to kill one of the men but is then chased up the tower. The men burn the tower and the buildings around it, and Otto watches in horror as women are dragged away screaming. Ursela bursts in, begging Otto to save her, but Otto has no experience in battle, nor does he have the strength and size to help her. Several men follow Ursela and promptly drag her away. Otto begs not to be killed, and the men take him back to Castle Trutz-Drachen. As they leave, Otto witnesses fires and destruction all around him.

Otto is taken to a prison cell with one tiny window, Only basic meals are brought to him daily. One day, Baron Henry comes into the cell and asks Otto if he knows why he was brought there. Otto admits to ignorance, and Baron Henry explains that Baron Conrad killed his uncle (Baron Frederick) while Baron Frederick pleaded for mercy. Baron Henry cuts off Otto’s right hand rather than killing him outright, seeing this action as a form of revenge against Baron Conrad. Otto quickly grows ill and is treated with leeches and bloodletting, neither of which help him to recover.

Several days later, Baron Henry’s daughter, Pauline, finds her way to Otto’s cell. She explains that she wanted to see Otto for herself, and she is amazed by his stories of the monastery, where men do not know violence. The two quickly become close, for Pauline is intrigued by Otto’s experiences and his perspective, and she eventually professes her love for him. Otto asks Pauline to find a way to send word to his father about his location so that Otto can be taken home and regain his health. He promises to return and marry Pauline when he becomes an adult, and Pauline agrees to help.

Pauline is friends with the wife of a pig herder. She asks the wife to ask her husband to tell Baron Conrad where Otto is being kept. Two days later, one-eyed Hans sneaks his way into the castle, posing as a peddler of fine jewelry. He entices a girl to let him in the back door. While she is gone getting her friends, Hans climbs down the chimney and overhears the girls speculating that perhaps he was some sort of devil with the ability to disappear.

Hans climbs down the chimney and into the kitchen, where a cook and a young boy are sitting. Hans waits for the cook to leave and then jumps down from the chimney, terrifying the boy into running away. Hans takes his shoes off and burns them to avoid leaving soot tracks, then climbs into the bread trough to hide. When some men come in looking for him, they remark on the smell of burnt horns (which is actually Hans’s burnt shoes). Hans manages to find his way to the castle grounds and approaches a sentry from behind. He takes the man in his grasp and holds his own dagger to his throat, threatening to kill him unless the man can reveal where Otto is. The man agrees and leads Hans to Otto’s prison cell.