I'm not very happy with this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. While looking at some of my other chapters, I noticed a few grammar mistakes, so if you see any, please point them out. I can't tell you how happy I am that today is finally Friday.

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

Will, Halt, Arthur, Merlin, Sir Leon and one other knight left Camelot early the next morning. The night before, Arthur and Halt had stayed up late making plans. Arthur had questioned Halt over and over about the Kalkara, attempting to make some sort of plan.

Will was a little depressed about their chances of finding and killing the Kalkara. From what Halt had said, the last time people had set out to kill the Kalkara, it had taken three fully armored knights and two of them had died during the attempt. To make matters worse, none of them knew where the Kalkara could be found. They had last been seen in some of the border villages towards the north of Camelot. That was the direction the group was now heading in. It was the best place to start their search.

As Will rode along, he petted the shaggy mane of his horse, Tug. He was nervous about their search, but he knew that he needed to try and calm himself. Turning his head, he looked over at Merlin. He had a thoughtful look on his face. "What are you thinking about?" Will asked.

Merlin remained silent for a minute before saying, "I was thinking about what Halt had said last night. From what he said, it doesn't sound like we have a very good chance of killing the Kalkara."

"I was just thinking the same thing. I'm sure Halt will come up with something. He's always able to come up with a solution to everything," Will replied.

Merlin nodded his head. Their conversation died down, and Will started listening to the conversation Halt was having with the prince. They were once again talking about the Kalkara.

"Do they have any weaknesses that you can think of? Anything at all?" Arthur asked.

Halt scratched his chin as he thought of his answer. "They don't have many that we are aware of. Their bodies are covered in thick, matted fur that acts as a type of armor for them. However, their fur is highly flammable. That's the only one that I know of," Halt answered.

"How are we supposed to get close enough to catch their fur on fire?" Arthur said.

"That's what we need to figure out," replied Halt.

Their conversation was cut off when something went flying by the prince's head. A loud thunk from a crossbow bolt could be heard as it slammed into a tree. Will and Halt immediately brought their bows up, arrows knocked and ready to be released. Arthur, Sir Leon, and the other knight drew their swords. Merlin, lacking a weapon, twisted his head back and forth, looking for the source of the crossbow bolt.

From the trees, a large group of bandits came running. They all held swords and were letting out loud cries. Arthur and the knights dismounted from their horses and prepared themselves to meet the men. Following Halt's lead, Will stayed in the saddle and released an arrow. In the space of a few seconds, they had both released several arrows, killing some of the bandits. When the bandits were too close for their bows to be effective, they set them aside and drew their knives from their belts.

Will watched as Halt brought his arm back and then threw his knife, hitting one of the men directly in the chest. Before Will could throw his, a man was upon him, aiming a sword at his head. Trying to remember what Halt had taught him, he did his best to fend off the attack. Luckily, the man was not very good with a sword and he was able to stab the man and kill him. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Looking around, Will saw that everyone was busy fighting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flash of light and then saw a man that had been approaching him thrown into a tree. Turning his head around, he saw Merlin lowering his hand. Will was confused by Merlin's action. He was the only person that could have made the man go flying, but as far as he knew, Merlin had no weapon. How had he accomplished it then? He forgot his confusion as one of the bandits approached Merlin from behind. Without thinking, Will took his knife and threw it directly at the bandit. The knife hit the man squarely in the chest. A look of surprise crossed over Merlin's face.

Turning around, Will saw that the last of the bandits had been dealt with. He walked towards the bandit he had just killed. Bending down, he grabbed his knife and pulled it out of the man's chest. He cleaned the blade on the man's clothing and then put it away.

"Are you okay?" Will asked Merlin.

"Yes. Thanks for saving my life," Merlin said.

Will nodded his head. He was thinking about what Merlin had done earlier. There was only one way Merlin would have been able to kill that man, and that was magic. Stepping closer to Merlin, he said, "We're even now. I saw what you did to the one bandit." As he said that, he pointed towards the man that was lying at the base of a tree.

Merlin's reaction surprised him. His face went pale and a look of fear came over his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"But I saw you use mag-" he started to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Please, don't say that allowed," Merlin begged.

Before Will could question Merlin further, Arthur called out, "We need to get moving again! There might be more bandits running around and I would rather not run into them."

Merlin and Will walked to their horses and mounted them. The group set a quick pace, riding in complete silence. Once they were away from the site of the attack, Sir Leon said, "We haven't even been gone for a whole day and we have already been attacked."

The group just nodded their heads, choosing to ride in silence. To himself, Will could not help but think that the attack was a bad omen. If things continued the way they were, their search was going to be even harder than what they thought.

Please tell me what you thought of this chapter. I'll try my best to update this by Friday.