Batman & King Arthur:
Paladin of Gotham
by Matthew Snee
Chapter Two:
His first thought was the new thirst that seized him, an almost unholy feeling that shocked through his being. A dryness he could not believe possessed his throat and chest. He bent and drank from a patch of water amidst the mud, the liquid soothing him so silently and completely to be almost heresy.
When he was done, he exhaled deeply and looked about him. Where was he?
Verdant clumps of hills etched the horizon. The whole world was wet and damp. The sky was bloated with ashen clouds. If there was any sign of civilization near, it must have been hidden beyond his sight.
It was now he realized that he was not only without his cowl and mask, but without any clothing at all, and he was as naked as could be. His hands went up to cover his face: My mask! he thought. But then he realized, safely, that he had many masks, and if he had been transported in time, no one would recognize or know Bruce Wayne.
But he was without his suit, his gadgets, or any clothing at all, and as a chill broke into his skin and his mind, he realized this must be his first concern.
He stood. The ground seemed fragile beneath him, despite its muddy composition. It felt as though the Earth beneath his feet could flip upside down and cast him into the sky at any moment.
He tried to discern which direction he should go. He could tell by the splotch of sun behind the veil of clouds above him that it was about midday, and he figured then which way was East, West, North, and South.
"I'll head East then," he thought. In any event, the hills in that direction seemed less jagged and tall.
He set his bare feet in that direction, and started walking, his suspicious eyes searching about him as he made his way through the strange landscape.
It was almost like a rebirth, unclad as he was, in a new unknown time, in a new, unknown place. He realized he had no disguise here, not yet, both Batman and Bruce Wayne were nothing buy figments here, and once he ran across other people, he would have to be terribly careful with his persona.
His toes sunk between the grass and mud, an almost refreshing feeling that was coupled with a slopping sound as he walked.
As cheap and abundant as doubt was at this moment, he remembered the Bat, which lurked in his heart endlessly like a fiery ocean. The Bat would see him through, it was immortal, and though he had shed the identities that usually protected him, there was a singular truth that could not be harmed: The Bat, forever, crouched with dark wings in every cell of his being. He carried two souls: that of himself, and that of the Bat, and while he sometimes doubted his own soul's infinite nature, he knew the Bat - as dangerous as it was - could not be harmed.
As used to modernity and his accoutrements of being a billionaire and a superhero as he was, all of this did have his heart wavering slightly. He wondered what he would do once approached by other people. It wouldn't take long for him to find out.
As he reached the peak of the first hill, he found below him a beach and a host of men camped upon it. Knights, he thought. Arthur's men, perhaps?
He decided to find out, beginning a long climb down the hill. About halfway down, he was spotted by a sentry, who yelled out for others. A few armored men jumped on horseback and rode to him.
"Friend or foe?" they bellowed.
"I am foe to no one here," said the Batman.
"No, I don't think you are in your state," said one of the men, a blond, mustached figure who carried a lustrous, ornamented shield.
The other men laughed, obviously at his nakedness and wretched appearance.
"Tell me," said the blond man. "Why I shouldn't run you through or chop off your head and feed your throat to my dogs?"
Batman shrugged.
To this, the men laughed again. "Well," said the blond, "You have courage, which I'm not sure I would have would I be nude and beset by knights. You are either a madman, or a spirit. And I have a cautious respect for both things! Come, follow us - but should you think us prey, I assure you I will mix your blood with the Earth in a quick way."
"Thank you," Batman said.
He followed the men down the hill, drawing strange looks from the soldiers down below.
"I am Sir Affelette," said the blond knight. "And these are my men."
"Why are you camped here?" asked the Batman as he took wild steps down the incline.
"That is our business," said another knight, not Affelette, who was dark haired and bearded.
"Yes, Korone," said Affelette. "But should our guest be curious and unknowledgeable about who we are, the safer he must be. We serve Mordred, the new lord of this land," Affelette told the Batman. "We wait for sight of Arthur, returning from the sea."
"Mordred," the Batman repeated, involuntarily. He knew that Mordred was King Arthur's bastard son, begot by his sister, Morgana, and Arthur's mortal enemy.
"Yes, Mordred," said Affelette. "Have you heard of him?"
"I have heard he is strong, and brave," said the Batman, hoping to flatter his capturers.
"Yes, he is strong," said Korone. "We have taken Camelot. It is ours."
"And Arthur?" the Batman asked.
"Away at war," said Affelette. "But he will return. And we are waiting."
"I see," said Batman.
"Are you a servant of Arthur?" asked Korone. "If so, we should bless you with a sword in your belly."
"All I want is some pants," said Batman, hoping to disarm them with a joke.
They laughed. "Yes," said Affelette, "I can see you are a peasant with a strange accent. If you are not mad, you are at least defenseless. And my cruelty is reserved for the Round Table, not or unlucky slops like you."
"You have my gratitude," said Batman.
"We have your life," said Korone. "If you are lucky, we will give it back to you."
The dressed him, in green, smelly tunic; and then fed him, with mead and mutton. He was grateful for their kindness, but he knew he dined in a den of evil.
"So," asked Sir Affelette, "Who are you?"
Batman had constructed a story for himself. "I do not know," he told them. "I seem to have lost my memory."
"You do not know your own name?" asked Korone.
"No. I don't."
"And you found yourself naked and without your past?" asked Affelette.
"Yes," said the Batman. "I know not where I came from."
"Perhaps you were a warrior, injured," said Affelette.
"One of Arthur's warriors, perhaps?" suggested Korone.
"No," said the Batman. "I was no warrior. I can sense... killing is not in my blood."
Affelette laughed at this. "Well, perhaps you were a priest."
"Perhaps," lied the Batman.
"Then that is what we will call you: Priest. We could use a priest here. God favors us: this we know. But we could use a man who could speak directly with Him."
"I cannot promise as much," said Batman. "But I can swear peace."
"Sounds like a priest alright," said Korone, lowering his guard.
"Yes," said Affelette. "Perhaps you were cursed by a witch or a devil - I do not know. But at least your mystery entertains us while we wait for sign of Arthur. A good omen, I think, to rescue a priest."
Korone snorted.
Batman said nothing.
Night fell. The knights sat around fires on the beach, sharpening their swords and readying for war. Batman sat in a circle with Affelette, Korone, and a number of other warriors, watching as the orange sky became blue and gray.
Batman chose to take a gamble. "Tell me," he asked them. "Do you know the name 'Merlin'?"
All quieted. Affelette eyed him with suspicion. "If you are without memories, how do you know that name?"
"I cannot say," said Batman. "It hovers in the fog of my thoughts."
"That wizard is no more," said Korone. "He was tricked by his lover, Nimue, into a prison he will not escape from. He is gone."
"Yes," said Affelette. "No longer will his spells choke this island."
"Perhaps he is the one who did this to me," said Batman. In fact, Merlin had done this to him.
"If you are an enemy of Merlin, you are a friend to us," said Affelette.
"Not necessarily," commented Korone.
"He sounds like an enemy," continued the Batman, hoping to gain their trust.
"Well worry no more," said Affelette. "For the wizard will not trouble us now."
"And what about this, Nimue?" asked Batman. Who would send him back to his time?
"It is no matter," said Affelette. "The time of the druids has ended. Christ is our lord now. Christ, and Mordred."
The Batman nodded. But things were getting worse, and worse.