Chapter 5: Gaius and the King

Gaius, after belaying the guards from entering the dungeon, weaved his way through the crowd of searchers and guards readied for the search to find Uther. The king was readied in armor crested with a lion and eagle speaking to his guards in the main square.

"This man is dangerous, he has kidnapped my son and his servant, and is a stalwart magic user. He must be found, and brought back to me dead or alive!"

The knights bowed their heads and in unison, "Yes Sire"

"Ride out at your highest speed and find them…" Uther raised his hand and dropped his sword in a fast swing. The troop of horses rode out swiftly and in thunderous union. Uther held his helmet beneath his hand as Gaius approached.

"Sire, may I have a word?"

"What is it Gaius?"

"I only wished to ask sire, what is it that changed your mind about the Doctor, prior to his kidnapping Arthur of course…"

"A messenger was sent to me baring news that one of the outlying villages was attacked by a blue box laying waste to it. The entire land was stricken in a goo that smelled of rotten flesh. That same box was the one described to me by the man who came two days ago. Such a foul person must be stopped."

"But sire, the Doctor has been trying to help us, surely he hasn't caused this." Gaius opened his arms wide. "There must be some mistake."

"There is no mistake!" Uther raised his mailed arm, "and you would be wise to remember who your king is."

**

The Doctor found himself knee deep in a bath of gelatinous goop. Mortimus' body was submerged nearly completely into it. Both Arthur and Merlin looked on from outside the room.

"Ok Mortimus, all you have to do is regenerate. Just regenerate…come on Mortimus…"

The nano-genes hummed as more spores were released and neutralized.

Finally the monk's eyes opened and looked up blankly at the Doctor.

"That's it Mortimus, just regenerate…that's all you have to do."

"Re…regenerate…I…"

"Doctor what does regenerate mean?"

"Not now Arthur" said Merlin.

The Doctor held onto Mortimus before he stopped breathing. The nano-genes retreated and the pool began to fill with a purple ooze which fizzed and foamed. Moments passed as the Doctor held onto Mortimus. "Arthur," he said, "help me get him out of this…" Arthur obliged and pulled on Mortimus' arms as the Doctor pushed and together they got him onto the side of the bath.

"He couldn't do it then, regenerate I mean?" Said Arthur.

"No, no he couldn't. The nano-genes didn't work either. They killed the spores in the pool, but not in him." The Doctor's face was grim, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes darkened. "Someone is messing around here and I don't like it!"

**

Morigan stood in the center of a decaying ruin. The mist of the water that surrounded the island rolled slowly over the top of the castle walls.

"Did he fall for it?" he said.

"Perfectly…" a tall man in monks robes stepped from the shadows, "He's clever, but not that clever."

**

"So what is the only thing that could stop a plague, bring life to the land…" The Doctor was now roaming around the center console, pulling at one strand and then another of his hair.

"Legends…legends…Arthur and Merlin legends."

"We're legend right, so it must have been something we searched for right?" said Arthur, who was now seated in the ripped truck seat that served as the captain chair of the TARDIS.

"There is only one I can think of, one thing that you searched for, and that is the Holy Grail. But it's a myth, the grail isn't a cup or chalice, it's…it's well it's an imaginary thing…besides it doesn't fit, you were king long before you took on that quest, and against Merlin's better judgment no less."

"Well if you're here, and this is all happening," said Merlin, "then isn't it possible things have changed, history has changed?"

"There are set events Merlin," said the Doctor, "that cannot change, others that are as malleable as a chunk of dough. Time-Lords are progenitors of time, we can see the permanent and the impermanent. Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail is permanent, it must happen."

"And what happens when I search for this grail?"

"I can't tell you that, no spoilers number one rule."

Chapter 6: Siege on Camelot

The trumpets sounded as the troop of knights returned. The King waited in the courtyard as the archers fired from the battlements.

"Sire…" said one knight who was bleeding from his arm.

"Report!" demanded Uther.

"It was…hideous… we've never seen anything like it. From the hells below it came. We were searching the villages, three more have been afflicted sire. On our furthest outing from Camelot this creature produced monstrous spores and spewed them from its center. You now fire on them."

"And what did it look like, this creature?" said Gaius.

"A large flower, with black peddles the size of a house."

"Sire, I suggest you use pitch, set them to fire. If they are the spore of a plant then they are vulnerable to flame."

"Let it be so, signal the archers and close the gates. Tell the towns people to flee if they can." Said Uther before turning to the knight again.

"And where is the rest of your troop, there is only five of twenty here."