The standoff cliffhangers from chapter 12 is swiftly resolved but there's much left to stress about. Your Materialists slow things down a bit and tackle a single chapter this week. We hope you enjoy! Please listen, like, subscribe and review!
At present, Will and Mrs. Coulter are engaged in a ruthless standoff with the Galevespians, one of whom is being held hostage by the Golden Monkey while the other holds a poison spur to Mrs. Coulter’s neck. Will swipes at the Golden Monkey and knocks him off of his perch, allowing the Lady Salmakia to escape. In the confusion, the Chevalier Tialys orders Will to follow him to safety, checking first to see if he is still in possession of the knife. They dart out of the cave past Mrs. Coulter, who screams and cries for her darling Lyra. Rather than follow Tialys, Will plans instead to make his way to the window he cut behind a bush but Swiss soldiers intercept them and Balthamos must come to Will’s rescue. Unable to fight them off, Will must shoot a man in order to escape. He and Lyra jump through the window and discover that the Galevespians have followed them there. Will discretely asks Lyra to consult the alethiometer about mending the knife, then tells her about Balthamos and his father. Lyra tells Will about her plan to find Roger in the Land of the Dead and Will suggests they use the knife to rescue him. The Galevespians want to take the children back to Lord Asriel but Will refuses and they reach another stalemate. They offer to help Will find Iorek Byrnison if the children promise to go with them later, to which Lyra eagerly agrees, though she has no intention of doing so. Night comes and WIll quickly falls asleep, while Lyra, who dutifully keeps watch over him, only wishes to rest her eyes before falling into a deep sleep herself.