Christopher Rowe

Christoper Rowe, the main character, is an apprentice to Lord Walsingham, friend of King Charles II, and the former apprentice apothecary to Benedict Blackthorn. He is described as being about a foot shorter than his best friend Tom. He is also friends with Sally. He fights mostly with his wits and words as opposed to his fists. He is currently 14 years old.

## Early Life

Little is known about Christopher's early life except that his parents died when he was a baby, resulting in him being sent to live in Cripplegate Orphanage. He was destined to become a cook's apprentice until Oswyn Colthurst recommended him to the Apothecary's Guild.

Christopher mention that the priests who ran the orphanage were strict and beat him often. He also says that due to the older boys teasing the younger ones about masters' supposed cruelty, he felt hesitant to join an apprenticeship.

## Apprenticeship

Christopher's apprenticeship to Master Benedict Blackthorn begins with Christopher being constantly wary of Blackthorn, and it says that it took him most of the day to realize that his Master didn't intend to beat him like the rest of the masters did with their apprentices, and wasn't likely to do so in the future either.

Christopher is shown to have quite an attitude as an apothecar, and Blackthorn was pleased with his progress. However, he *does* get into mischief from time to time. Master Benedict acted as a father-figure to Christopher and kindly nurtured his growth as an apothecary as well as the growth of his personal relationships. For example, he encouraged Christopher to become friends with Tom, the son of a baker down the street.

Benedict regarded Christopher as a son, never yelled at him, and wanted to see him grow up happy and safe. It is revealed later in the book that Benedict was an alchemist and intended for Christopher to follow in his footsteps the same way that Hugh Coggshall, his old apprentice, had Hence, the reason Benedict had raised Christopher to understand so many complex codes was (in addition to protecting the secret recipes of the apothecary from other apothecaries who would steal them, i.e Nathaniel Stubb) to protect the more precious alchemical recipes from falling into the wrong hands.

## The Blackthorn Key

### Ascension Day (May 28th)

On the night before Oak Apple day (which happened to be both the King Charles II's birthday as well as Christopher's) Master Benedict gives Christopher a puzzle cube made of antimony and says that his present is inside. The morning of Oak Apple Day Tom comes into Blackthorn to find Christopher has almost cracked the puzzle box. They work together for a while before discovering that the key to the puzzle box is to pour quicksilver (a substance also known as mercury) into the Mercury planet is within the drawing on the side of the cube.

### Oak Apple Day (May 29th)

The gift within the puzzle cube turns out to be a good few silver shilling, the most money Christopher has ever had in his life. Him and Tom decide to buy ice cream and sweet and save a penny for eggs to throw at anyone not wearing an oak. The oak on Oak Apple Day is a sign of support for the king, and anyone not wearing one is pelted with rotten fruit, eggs, and other such atrocities. Oak accessories can be anything from pins to even holding an oak branch itself. Christopher tries to bribe some children to knock off Nathaniel Stubb's oak pin. The group of kids Christopher attempts to bribe refuse, but Sally, a girl from Christopher's orphanage, steps up to the job and cunningly knocks the Oak off of Stubb's lapel. The children proceed to pelt Stubb with rotten eggs and then run away. However, after running off, Tom and Christopher encounter a madman who scares them by yelling about the Cult of the Archangel and traitors before running away.

Christopher becomes worried because Master Benedict doesn't come home at the normal tim but goes to bed regardless. However, Christopher is awoken late at night by the sound of someone downstairs. He goes to investigate and finds his master injured with a fully burned up arm. Christopher was worried about how weak his Master sounded. Using his apothecary skills he learned from Benedict, he treats his Master's injuries and helps him to bed.

Christopher looks up to Benedict like a father and respects him greatly. He had always had no doubt that Benedict would never lay a hand on him, right up to the day he died.

### The Feast of the Burning of Joan of Arch, Heretic (May 30th)

When Christopher woke up, things seem to be returning to normal, and he and Benedict open the store as usual. However, the atmosphere turns sour when two strange men come into the shop. Master Benedict got angry at Christopher, and for the first time in his apprenticeship, Blackthorn hit him, yelling and calling him useless. When Christopher finally works up the courage to go home, he finds his Master dead on the floor of the shop and the jar of madapplespiltd in the workroom.

### The Visitation of Mary (May 31st)

Christopher goes to the Apothecaries Guild to speak to Oswyn Colthurst about his suspicions that Stubb killed Master Benedict. Colthurst tells Christopher to stay in his office where he'll be safe from Stubb, but Christopher sneaks out instead because he has unfinished business.

## Abilities

* Linguist: Christopher knows many languages taught to him by Master Benedict, who figured the original would always be better than a translation. He can speak, read, and write French, German, Latin, Spanish, Italian, and other classical languages. One language hecan nott speak fluently is Dutch.
* Apothecary: As an apothecary, he has knowledge of various plants and recipes. He can also use ingredients as a weapon, such as when he used pepper powder to blind a dog in *Call of the Wraith*.
* Cryptologist: Taught to him by Master Benedict, Christopher's vast knowledge of codes andcypherss has aided him many times on his adventures. For example, he managed to decode the assassin's message in *The Assassin's Curse*, which ultimately saved the king's sister Minette.
* Analyst: Christopher, along with being extremely smart, is good at noticing things others don't. He can also piece together separate pieces of information to a solution, as seen in *Mark of the Plague* when he realized the truth about Melchior and Galen's childhood backstory.
* Quick Thinker: When placed in dangerous situations, Christopher is brilliant at quickly thinking of a solution.
* Planner: Christopher is responsible for almost all plans in the Blackthorn Key series.

## Personality

Christopher has a witty, sarcastic personality, like his best friend Tom's. He is very intelligent and is able to memorise a lot of information, as well as putting that information to good use. With his best friends Tom and Sally, he is very protective, such as in *The Assassin's Curse* when Sally is attacked by the Minotaur. However, he can also be quite rash and can make spontaneous and impulsive decisions that often work out in his favour.

Being logical and scientific, he is able to work under pressure and generally keeps a clear head. However, sometimes he lets his emotions overcome and control him, like when he attempts to fight the Minotaur despite having literally no chance of winning whatsoever.

## Quotes

"Let's build a cannon"

”I’m here. I’m here, Tom. I’m right here with you. […] I’m here. I’ll always be here. Tom? […] I’m here, Tom. I’m over here. Come sit with me. I’ll stay with you.”

”I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you with my bare hands.”

”You lost. Tom defeated you. *Tom* did. And that will eat you inside for the rest of your miserable days.”