What is the climax of the book Crispin: The Cross of Lead?

In Crispin: The Cross of Lead, a boy must flee his village to save his life. The story is set in the Middle Ages, and Crispin has spent his whole life in Stromford village, helping his mother and the other peasants to serve the Manor House of Lord Furnival. When Crispin's mother dies, he is left with nobody and nothing to call his own. To make matters worse, he stumbles across a mysterious encounter in...

In Crispin: The Cross of Lead, a boy must flee his village to save his life. The story is set in the Middle Ages, and Crispin has spent his whole life in Stromford village, helping his mother and the other peasants to serve the Manor House of Lord Furnival. When Crispin's mother dies, he is left with nobody and nothing to call his own. To make matters worse, he stumbles across a mysterious encounter in the woods between the Steward of the Manor and a stranger. When Crispin is discovered, the men chase him down, and the next day he is declared a Wolf's Head, an outlaw who may be killed on sight. At the advice of the priest, Crispin runs away and becomes friends with a wandering bard called Bear who is headed for Great Wexley. 

Together, Crispin and Bear travel to the city of Great Wexley for a festival. While there, Bear is captured for conspiring against the King. Crispin dares to rescue his friend, but is only able to work up the courage after a kind innkeeper tells him that the inscription on his only possession—a cross of lead—reveals that Crispin is the son of Lord Furnival. Knowing this, Crispin heads into the Lord's Palace and faces Steward Aycliffe one-on-one. He promises to hand over his cross of lead, the only evidence of who his father is, in exchange for safe passage for himself and Bear out of the city.

Steward Aycliffe fears that Crispin will claim his role as the new Lord Furnival and seek retribution for the cruelty Aycliffe has shown him all his life. Crispin and Aycliffe confront each other inside the palace and negotiate that when Bear is freed from the dungeons, Crispin will hand over the cross. It is a very tense moment, rescuing Bear and half-dragging his injured body out of the Palace. When they are almost out of the city, Aycliffe goes back on his word and his guards begin to attack Crispin and Bear. His plan fails, and Aycliffe himself is impaled, leaving Crispin and Bear to walk freely out of the city.