Chapter 3 is finally done. It took me forever to actually sit down and type it up today. As I promised, the characters from The Ranger's Apprentice Series were at least mentioned this chapter. The crossover part of this story is finally starting to take shape.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or The Ranger's Apprentice Series.

Sir Leon had never been so glad to see Camelot as he was right now. He let out a sigh of relief as he and his fellow knights entered through the city gates. Once through them, he picked up his pace, intent on reaching the castle as soon as possible. Out of the corner of his eye, Sir Leon noticed Sir Fabian looking withdrawn. He couldn't blame the younger knight. As soon as they had reported to the king and prince, he would be sent home to deliver the tragic news to his parents that they now had one less child.

When they reached the castle courtyard, Sir Leon and the other knights quickly dismounted. He had Sir Hirum and Sir Jarvis take Sir Andrew's body to Gaius, asking them to have Gaius meet him in the council chambers. After handing the reins of his horse off to a stable boy, he called out to a young man he saw heading towards the castle. "Merlin! Come here for a moment."

Merlin jogged over to where he was standing. "I need you to run and tell Prince Arthur and the king that we have returned. Tell them both that we have some urgent information that needs to be shared." Merlin nodded his head in response and then went running off into the castle. Sir Leon made his way to the king's council room so that he could deliver his report.

Arthur was sitting at the desk in his room trying to finish up the last couple of reports that were in front of him. He was almost finished with them when he heard someone come crashing in through the door. Arthur didn't bother to look up from his papers. He already knew who it was. "What have I said about knocking, Merlin?"

"Arthur, you know I never listen to you. Besides, there are more important matters for you to be concerned with right now. Sir Leon and the other knights you sent with him have returned." Arthur looked up at Merlin when he said those words. He had been expecting Sir Leon's arrival. "He asked me to pass on a message for him. He said that he had some urgent information that you and the king should hear."

Upon hearing the request, Arthur got up from his desk and began walking towards the council chambers. He vaguely noticed Merlin trailing behind him. His mind was swirling with different thoughts. The most prominent was the urgent information Sir Leon had for him and his father. He did not know why, but he had a feeling that whatever the news was, it would not be good.

When he reached the council chambers, two guards opened the door for him. Merlin went off to stand next to Gaius, while he continued to walk forward towards his father. After reaching his father, he bowed his head a little and then stood at his father's side. Sir Leon walked forward and bowed to them both.

Arthur listened to his father as he said, "What news do you bring us, Sir Leon?"

Arthur watched as Sir Leon bowed his head. "Sire, I wished to inform you that we investigated the rumors that you sent us to inquire about. But that's not the only thing I have to report on." Sir Leon paused for a moment before continuing. "While we were investigating, we came across the body of Sir Andrew."

"Arthur, wasn't that the knight you sent out to handle the dispute in one of the border villages?" King Uther asked.

Arthur turned towards his father before answering. "Yes, Sire. He was supposed to be back a few days ago, but I just thought it had taken a little longer than expected for him to handle the dispute." Arthur turned towards Sir Leon in order to ask a question of his own. "Where did you find Sir Andrew's body?"

"We found him lying dead in the middle of the forest floor. He would never have been found if we hadn't been sent to check out those rumors," Sir Leon answered.

"How did you manage to find him?" Arthur asked.

Sir Leon replied, "The village leader of Tenebris was telling us about the rumors flying around the village. He wanted to show us some strange tracks they had found near the edge of the forest. Upon seeing them, I had to agree that they weren't ordinary, so the other knights and I followed them."

"Wait," King Uther said. "Why was so strange about the tracks?"

"They looked like bear tracks, but they weren't spaced out correctly. It looked more like a two legged creature had walked through instead of a bear." When the king just nodded his head, Sir Leon continued. "They led us to a small clearing with an abandoned camp site. There, Sir Jarvis found a sword lying on the ground. Sir Fabian was able to confirm that the sword belonged to Sir Andrew.

"Along the edge of the clearing, Sir Hirum found a path that Sir Andrew had made as he had run through the forest. We followed the path, finding bits and pieces of his cloak as we road along. Eventually, we found his body lying on the ground."

The people gathered in the council chambers were quiet as they took in the news Sir Leon had delivered to them. Arthur was more than a little worried. What could have caused one of his knights to lose their sword and then go fleeing into the forest? There was something unusual about all of this.

Arthur realized he had let his mind wander. He focused back on his father, who was currently speaking to Gaius. "Have you had a chance to examine the body?"

"Not yet, Sire. The body was just brought in when I was informed I was needed here. I'll take a look as soon as I get back to my chambers."

King Uther nodded his head and then addressed everyone who was present. "You are all dismissed. Arthur, you and Sir Leon are to talk over everything he has found. Gaius, try and find out the cause of Sir Andrew's death. Send word to me as soon as you find something." With that, everyone exited the room.

On his way out, Arthur grabbed Merlin by the arm and said, "Don't worry about attending to me tonight. I want you focus on helping Gaius." Once that was said, Arthur turned and walked back to his chambers, mind filled with various thoughts.

Gaius, meanwhile, was back in his chambers, staring at the body of Sir Andrew. Merlin was standing next to him, waiting to be told what he could do to help. "Look at his body. The only thing wrong is that his face and hands are covered in small scratches, but if he was running through the forest, that would only be natural. None of them are in any way life threatening."

In all honesty, Gaius was somewhat puzzled. He continued to stare at the body in front of him, trying to think of a likely answer to the problem. It was while he was looking at the dead man's face that an idea came to him. "Merlin, look at his face. It's frozen into a look of terror."

"I don't see how that helps us," Merlin replied.

"Sir Leon mentioned that they were following tracks that were similar to a bears…but that the spacing of the prints was all wrong…" Gaius let his voice trail off. He ignored the questions of his ward as he went over to another table and grabbed the necessary items to write a letter. He brought them back over to where he had previously been and began writing furiously.

"Gaius, who are you writing to?" Merlin asked him.

Glancing up, he replied, "A friend of mine lives over in the kingdom of Araluen. I have my suspicions as to what the cause of this young man's death was. My friend will know if I'm right."

"What do you think we're dealing with, Gaius?" Merlin asked.

Gaius stared at the young man in front of him. He waited a moment before replying, "If I'm correct, and I really hope that I'm not, then we're dealing with something called a Kalkara."

Last night's episode of Merlin was incredible! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 4 will be up as soon as I can get it all typed up.