The Kraken's Calling

Chapter 14

The great sea-beast was a descendant of the time in myth from before the time of man, when the dragons roamed the skies and the kraken ruled the seas. They were kin. Over the ages, the time of man rose up and the numberless beasts began to dwindle so that now few were left. The great kraken was one of the last of her kind. She had traveled up from the sea to a quiet corner in a long narrow tidal river to birth her calf away from the winter storms. There she would raise her young until he was old enough to brave the ocean on his own. The birthing time was long, and the calf did not thrive. After some time had passed, he let go of his fragile hold on life, leaving his mother bereft and alone in the quiet tidal pool of his birth.

But the works of man, and the movement of the tides had caused the entry back to the sea to close behind her. The mouth of the river leading back to the sea had silted up; men aided this process to create a great inland sea, a great lake in which to fish for their livelihood and sustenance. The kraken was trapped and could not leave the lake to rejoin the few remaining others of her kind that still swam free and wild in the open seas.

She cried out to her mate in the far sea, but he could not hear her.

She called out to the dragons, her kin who reigned over all that lived in the sky. But none heard her call. As the decades passed, their numbers too had declined until there was but one who survived, trapped in chains beneath a castle far to the north of the lake where she now dwelled. She had heard his roar of freedom and knew: there was a Dragonlord alive still. It was he she must call to her lake to free her as well so that she could swim once again through all the seas, free and wild.

She called to him. Time passed and he did not come to her lake. Men would sail their ships to cross her lake and she waited, quiet in the depths of the lake.

Until one day when she was awakened at a calling by the witch. The priestess commanded her to take the life of a sacrifice. She rears up to the surface of the lake at the call, confused and lost, as the people gather on the shore witness her distress, not understanding, alarmed at the sight of the great sea-monster.

Until that day when the Dragonlord comes to the lake. And then she knows his name. "Emrys," she calls out. "Emrys. Help me. Please!"

xXx

Riding on the road leading to the lakeside village, Merlin turns in his saddle, looking around, listening. "Did you hear that?" he whispers to Mordred.

Mordred looks around and shakes his head, but doesn't respond. Arthur sees Merlin's movements, and asks, "why so fidgety, Merlin?"

Merlin whips his head around, startled. "Erm. What? Yes. Well, I've been on a horse all day."

"As have we all, Merlin," Aurelius laughs.

"We'll be there soon enough. The map indicated that the village of Westhay is on the lake shore at the end of this road." Arthur spurs his horse into a canter and the others follow. The road curves to the north over gentle hills, and after a while the lake itself comes into view. The men lead their horses down the incline to reach the small town they'd just glimpsed in the distance.

The village of Westhay is large enough to support an inn for travelers, as others have made use of the boats they offer for crossing Lake Sabrynn to reach the Kingdom of Camelot. They rein up in front of the large wooden structure, dismounting with relief. Merlin takes the reins and waits with the horses as Arthur and the knights enter the inn to make arrangements for a meal and accommodation for the night, as well their passage across the lake.

The shaman, from a seat in the dark corner of the inn, watches as the King and his knights enter and cross the room to speak to the innkeeper. He wonders where the other man is, the dark-haired man the witch had shown him who travels with the King. Both will be sacrificed. He rises and leaves the inn to find the headman to make his own arrangements for the lake crossing by the small group. When he exits the building, the dark-haired young man from the vision the priestess showed him is standing there holding a group of horses. Merlin smiles at the shaman, and asks where he could find the stables to leave the horses.

xXx

Arthur and Merlin are in a room together; the other two knights share another. A small vessel and a guide has been arranged for the morning after breakfast to take Arthur and Merlin across the lake to the landing in Camelot. From there, they will be able to obtain horses to make the rest of the journey to Lord Ector's home. Mordred and Aurelius will head north overland to make their way home to Camelot city with the horses and their supplies.

A large meal and heady wine have worked their magic, and the King and his servant readily seek their beds for a good night's sleep, anticipating an early start in the morning. After Merlin blows out the last candle, Arthur settles onto his cot to sleep. Merlin sits on his own cot facing Arthur's, staring at his back. He shakes his head in frustration at himself, takes a deep breath. He needs to tell Arthur.

In the dark, Merlin says quietly, "Arthur, I need to tell you something." He's dreaded this conversation about Gwen, but seizes this opportunity when they are alone. He knows he may not get another chance soon, and he must tell Arthur of the danger he's in. He must tell him that he thinks Arthur's beloved Guinevere is a threat.

"Can't it wait until morning, Merlin?" Arthur complains with a bone-tired yawn, half asleep.

Merlin leans forward with his elbows on his knees, still watching Arthur's back recumbent on his cot. "No. It's important."

"Wassit?" Arthur's voice is barely a mumble in reply.

"Arthur, I don't know how to tell you this. It's not going to be easy. But you have to listen. Please. It's important." Merlin pauses to take another deep breath. "It's Gwen. She's enchanted," Merlin blurts out in a rush. "Something happened to her at the Dark Tower before you rescued her, I'm sure of it. She's not herself. Someone is controlling her. She's dangerous; she's trying to kill you. I stopped her, but what if I'm not there next time? Please Arthur, we have to do something about her."

Arthur doesn't answer, so Merlin goes on, "I know how hard this is for you to hear, but . . ." He pauses. At Arthur's continued silence, he says, "Arthur?" But Arthur is asleep and heard not a word of Merlin's incoherent warnings. Merlin sighs, and flops down onto his cot, turns over onto his side, punching the pillow to get comfortable. Sleep eludes him. He turns again, and then lies there, staring up at the ceiling.

"Help me." A deep voice resonates in Merlin's head.

"What?" he answers, propping himself up on his elbows, looking around in the dark.

"Help me, please. I know you can hear me."

"Arthur?" Merlin peers over at the other side of the room, and sees Arthur sound asleep on his pallet, snoring gently. He lets his head fall back on his own cot.

"Please, Dragonlord. Only you can help me." Merlin sits up in alarm, looking around. He cannot ignore the voice. He buckles on his boots, and grabs his jacket to follow it, leaving Arthur asleep in their room.

He walks out of the inn, toward the lake, the cries of "help me," getting stronger, echoing in his head as he nears the water's edge. Suddenly, he's grabbed from behind, and a hand covers his mouth. He struggles, but cannot make a sound. His captor holds him tight while another wraps a rope around his midsection, binding his arms close to his body. A gag replaces the hand over his mouth, and he is effectively silenced. They propel him to the water, toward a small boat, Merlin kicking out his legs and resisting every step of the way. At the water's edge, he manages to kick out with his heels and catch one of his assailants in his groin. The man yells in pain and anger, and gives Merlin a hard smack across his face, knocking him flat on his back. While he's down, the others descend on him to control his squirming. They tie his legs together with another length of rope, and toss into the boat.

Arthur wakes with a start at the sound of a man's yell, and hears the sounds of a struggle outside. He looks over to Merlin's pallet, and sees that it's empty.

"Merlin?" he calls out, as he grabs his sword and rises from his bed in one smooth move. He sees no threat in the darkened room. He drops his sword on the bed, and hops around as he puts on his boots. Leaving his mail and armor behind, he's out of the building moments later, looking around for Merlin. The small group of men at the lakeshore catches his eye, and he runs toward them, sword drawn. When he reaches the water, he sees what appears to be a small boat beached at the edge of the lake with a wriggling body in it.

"Have you seen my manservant?" he calls as he nears the group.

One of the men shrugs his shoulder in the direction of the small boat. "The sacrifice?" he smirks.

"What?"

Arthur rushes toward the boat, and is struck from behind. Blackness envelops him as he's tumbled roughly into the boat. The men push it out into the lake as far as they can, giving it one last hard shove as the water deepens around them. The townsmen turn back to shore, letting the small boat drift out into the lake.