I'm not very sure about how this chapter turned out, but after this, things should start picking up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or The Ranger's Apprentice Series.
Merlin watched as Gaius gasped in surprise. "You believe Morgarath is behind this once again? But what possible reason could he have for sending the Kalkara to Camelot?"
"I was wondering the same thing. The only possible thing I can think of is that he has made an alliance with someone here in Camelot," Halt replied.
Merlin locked eyes with Gaius. Both of them had the same idea. There could really only be two people in Camelot that would make such an alliance. Turning his head towards Halt, Merlin spoke for the first time. "Morgana and Morgause must be behind this then."
Will stepped forward to speak. "Who are they? Why would they join with Morgarath?"
Gaius sadly shook his head. "Morgana and Morgause are sisters. Until recently, Morgana was the ward of King Uther. He believes that she was kidnapped by Morgause, but that sadly isn't the truth. Morgana has turned her back on Camelot and is bent on seeing it destroyed."
The group fell silent as they all considered the new information they had all received. "We're going to have to inform the king about this. He needs to know that his kingdom is in danger," Halt said.
Gaius sighed. "I agree, but we can't tell him Morgana might be involved. The king won't accept any accusations against the girl."
"Well, if that's the case, than we can just tell him about Morgarath making a possible alliance with Morgause," Merlin said. Gaius nodded his head. The group once again went silent.
Suddenly, the sounds of boots stomping up the stairs could be heard. Merlin put his face in his hands before saying, "It's going to be Arthur and I'm going to be in so much trouble. I forgot to bring him his lunch." Gaius gave Merlin a look that clearly said he deserved to be in trouble.
Moments later, the door to the physician's chamber crashed open and a very angry prince walked in. "Merlin! You better have a good reason as to why you did not bring me my lunch. I can't believe-" Arthur cut himself off when he saw that there was a small group of people standing in the room.
"I'm sorry, Arthur, but I got a little distracted. Gaius' friends have finally arrived and they can now help us," Merlin quickly said.
"What?" the prince asked.
"Sire, let me explain. When Sir Andrew was brought to my chambers, I thought that his death seemed strange. After examining his body closer, I realized that his death resembled some of the deaths that I had come across many years ago. I wrote to my friend," here Gaius gestured to Halt, "and asked him if he had any information that he could share. Halt just arrived not that long ago," Gaius explained.
Arthur nodded his head in response to what the Court Physician said. "So you know what the cause of Sir Andrew's death was?"
"I'm afraid so, Sire, and it doesn't look good."
"Tell me," Arthur commanded.
"Perhaps it would be better to share this with your father at the same time," Gaius replied.
Arthur nodded his head in agreement and then turned to Merlin. "Go and inform my father that Gaius has some information that he would like to share with the court. After you're done, meet us in the council chambers."
Merlin nodded his head and then ran out of the room. He tripped slightly going down the stairs, but quickly caught himself. Running through the castle, Merlin managed to barely avoid several collisions with passing servants. Eventually, he made it to Uther's chambers. The guards in front of the door stopped him, one of them asking in a gruff voice, "What do you want with the king?"
Panting slightly, Merlin replied, "Prince Arthur sent me to deliver a message for him." The guards allowed him to approach the door. He was about to enter, when he remembered it would be a good idea to actually knock. Reaching up, he knocked on the door and then waited for permission to enter.
From within, Merlin heard the king call out, "Enter."
Merlin opened the door and stepped into Uther's chambers. The man was sitting at his desk, quill in hand, looking slightly annoyed at the interruption. Walking forward, Merlin bowed to the king.
"What is it you want?" Uther asked him.
"Sire, Prince Arthur sent me to deliver a message to you," Merlin replied.
Uther just stared at him. "Are you going to tell me the message?" the man said gruffly.
Merlin winced to himself. The king probably thought he was an even bigger idiot than usual. "Of course, Sire. The prince wanted me to tell you that Gaius has found out some information regarding Sir Andrew's death. He requests that you meet him in the council chambers."
Uther set the quill he was holding down on the table. "Very well. Tell my son I will be there shortly." With that being said, the king waved his hand in a dismissive manner. Merlin quickly exited the room.
With that task done, he made his way to the council chambers. By the time he arrived, Arthur, Gaius, Halt, and Halt's companion were already there. Merlin made his way to Arthur's side and informed him that the king was on his way. He then turned to Halt's companion and said, "Do you want to come and stand by me?"
The man gave him a smile and said, "Sure."
The two made their way over to the side of the council chambers. There, they would be out of the way, but still able to hear what was going on. Turning his head to his new companion, Merlin decided to start a conversation. "So, what's your name?"
The man turned towards Merlin and replied, "I'm Will. I guess I don't really need to ask your name." Both men laughed quietly.
A question popped into Merlin's mind, something that he was dying to know. "Why do you and Halt wear the strange cloaks?"
Will quickly looked down at the cloak he was wearing. "The cloaks are part of a Ranger's outfit. We never go anywhere without them."
"I see…what's a Ranger?" Merlin asked.
"I guess you wouldn't know. Rangers are an intelligence force that work for the king of Araluen. Halt's one of the best there is and I'm currently his apprentice," Will explained.
Merlin was not given the chance to ask any more questions. Right as he opened his mouth, the king entered the room and sat down in his chair. Merlin turned his head towards the men gathered before the king.
"Gaius, I have a reason to believe that you know something about Sir Andrew's death?" the king asked.
Gaius stepped forward and bowed his head. "Yes, Sire, but I think it would be better if Halt told you the information." Stepping aside, Gaius allowed Halt to walk forward.
The man did not bow his head or offer any other form of respect. He instead chose to just start talking. "My name's Halt. I'm a Ranger from the kingdom of Araluen. Gaius wrote to me the day Sir Andrew was brought back here. In his letter, Gaius said that he suspected Sir Andrew had been killed by a creature known as the Kalkara."
"I've never heard of such a creature before," the king replied.
"Not many people have, but they are very dangerous. Their appearance is cause for great worry," Halt informed the king.
Arthur stepped forward to ask a question of his own. "Besides the fact that they're dangerous, what do we need to be worried about?"
Halt shared a look with Gaius. "Where I come from, a man named Morgarath used them during the last war we had with him. Gaius and I believe that the appearance of these creatures means that Morgarath is once again up to something."
"But why is would he be targeting Camelot?" Arthur questioned.
Gaius stepped forward once again to answer the prince's question. "We believe that Morgause sought out an alliance with Morgarath. The alliance would increase her chances of taking over Camelot."
The king spoke again, saying, "She's the sorceress who kidnapped Morgana is she not?" When Gaius nodded his head, Uther continued, "Whatever her plans are, they need to be stopped. Camelot will not succumb to a sorceress as long as I am king." With that, he slammed his hand down on the arm of his chair. He then turned to Arthur and said, "Arthur, I want you to gather some knights and hunt down these Kalkara. Make sure you bring the Ranger with you since he knows so much about them."
"Yes, Sire," Arthur responded.
With that, the people in the council chambers dispersed. Merlin grabbed Will by the arm and led him out of the room. They caught up with Arthur, Halt, and Gaius and fell into step with them. Arthur was currently talking with Halt.
"I'm going to need to know everything you can tell me about these things. I need to know how they can be defeated, how many people you think will be needed to kill them, and where they will most likely be found. We need to move out as soon as possible," Arthur said.
"You need to slow down, boy," Halt said. Arthur raised an eyebrow at being called a boy. Merlin struggled to hold in a laugh when he saw the prince's facial expression. Halt continued talking, ignoring the prince's look. "Killing the Kalkara will be no easy task. You're going to need a very good plan in order to accomplish this, which means you can't just go rushing off."
Arthur did not respond for a while, but he eventually said, "Fine. We'll go to my chambers and begin making plans," He then turned his attention to Merlin. "You can go and bring some lunch to my chambers since you neglected to do that earlier."
With that, everyone except Merlin went in the direction of Arthur's chambers. Merlin set off towards the kitchens, thinking that the next couple of days were going to be very busy.
So there's the end of this chapter. Tomorrow I start school again and I probably won't be able to update. I'll do my best to update by Friday at the lates. Tell me what you thought of this chapter please.