The rest of the crowd knelt before King Arthur. Arthur looked at Felix, Tom and Poppy and shrugged. He waved his sword above his head and the crowd cheered.
Arthur announced his intentions to bring the country together and rule for the good of everyone. Watching the chiefs’ reactions, Felix could see those who would support the new monarch and those who would not. The chiefs were sent back to their lands with instructions to meet on the same day the following year in Arthur’s new fort, Camelot. Arthur, still a little shocked at his rise to the top, mounted a huge black horse and rode with his father’s soldiers out of the gate. The sword was strapped to his side and The Book of Words nestled in his saddle bag.
“Come,” beckoned Merlin. “Next chapter for you to see.”
Tom quickly gave out more sweets as Merlin waved his magic hands and chanted. The next thing they knew they were in the vortex.
“So if Arthur had to be trustworthy, honest and true, does that mean those are the characteristics of the Keepers?” asked Poppy.
“Almost,” replied Merlin.
“Where are we going now?” Tom was getting fed up with the riddles and detective work. He just wanted the answer on a plate.
“Back to Camelot,” smiled Merlin.
They landed in the woods, right next to Merlin’s cottage. It looked a lot tidier than they’d remembered.
“Cleaning lady been?” quipped Tom.
“I was tidier 15 years ago!” laughed Merlin.
“Arthur is King isn’t he?” asked Felix.
“Yes and doing a grand job of leading the people of Britain against would be invaders.” Merlin knew that things were changing in Camelot and that Arthur’s character was soon to be tested to its limit.
“Can we see the round table?” Poppy was once again excited to be part of history. “Does it really exist?”
“Yes indeed! Arthur wanted everyone to be equal so all the chiefs sit with him at the table. No person has a better place than the others,” said Merlin. “We need to hurry.”
They sped up the bank to the main gate of Camelot. The guard looked confused as he waved an older looking Merlin into the courtyard. Merlin led them to the small door they had hidden behind before. They entered and climbed the dark passageway to an open corridor. Merlin went on tip toe to the other end and opened a door. A maze of stairs and corridors brought them out near the main hall. It was a long building with a high ridged thatched roof. A ladder had been placed against the wall. It led to a window through to a gallery overlooking the hall itself. In the middle of the room was a huge round table. On a wooden pedestal in the centre of the table sat The Book of Words. A rack near the door held a row of identical sabres and one large bejewelled broadsword.
“They’ve all got swords like ours!” exclaimed Poppy.
“I forged them from the sword in the stone,” whispered Merlin.
“What about the Keeper’s sword?” Felix asked.
“That is a work of magic. I forged it out of metals found near the ancient stones and ground dragon’s teeth, passed down through the Druid chiefs. It can kill any enemy,” smiled Merlin. “Once drawn from its charmed scabbard, the person wielding the sword is invincible.”
Felix winked at Tom and Poppy and flexed his biceps. Below them, the British tribal chiefs sat on large throne-like wooden chairs. A heated debate was raging. Arthur did not look happy.
Felix peeked at the map. The blur of red crosses covered it.
“Where’s the armour?” asked Tom.
“Remember the castle?” smirked Felix. “Armour is in the same place - about six hundred years in the future!”
“We have fought all enemies together and won but this foe is invincible!” shouted the tall dark haired chief opposite Arthur.
“Nothing is invincible,” was the calm response from the King.
“These creatures are not of this world!” cried a gnarled old chief.
“We will find a way,” said Arthur. “Somehow together we can defeat them.”
“Only your sword kills the beasts. You can be confident but we lose men time after time,” snarled the red haired muscly leader from the North.
“The Brethren!” the onlookers whispered together.
“Swords can’t defeat them so let’s try something different,” suggested Arthur.
“Bring up the dragons!” The young chief sitting next to the worried looking King laughed, as he thumped the table.
Arthur reached for The Book of Words. His face went white as he turned to blank page after blank page.
“The Book is not yielding its knowledge!” he informed the anxious and expectant gathering.
“My Book has made his blank!” whispered Felix to a very worried looking Merlin.
“There could be trouble. You need to leave to return power to Arthur,” ordered the wizard.
Felix and Tom turned to climb out of the window. They could see people running from the river towards the fort. As they got closer the screams became audible. The chiefs in the main hall rushed for their weapons and exited. Men at arms gathered in the main courtyard awaiting instructions. The four interlopers sneaked out of the main gate and into the meadow. Black smoke billowed from the river.
“That’s strange, water on fire!” exclaimed Felix.
“Arthur Pendragon, where are you?” boomed the familiar low gravelly voice.
“Here we go again!” sighed Tom.
Felix turned towards Camelot. The chiefs had lined their men up in battle formation.
“Are they mad?” asked Poppy. “You can’t just charge the Brethren!”
“It is the only way they know to wage war. The side left at the end wins!” explained Merlin.
Felix started trembling.
“What’s up mate?” Tom was worried Felix had lost his nerve.
Speechless, Felix nodded towards the river. There lined up ready for action stood an army of Brethren monks. There were at least a hundred of them. Before they had time to think the two sides ran full speed at each other. The twenty-first century visitors hid behind an oak tree watching the carnage on the meadow. The grass was turning red with British blood as the Brethren waded towards Arthur.
Arthur was waving his arms and shouting at two of the chiefs riding away from the battle with their armies in hot pursuit. The monsters surrounded Arthur and the remaining men.
“Your sword, sire?” asked a brave soldier armed with nothing more than a pitchfork.
“It’s gone!” declared Arthur. “Lay down your weapons. We are undone by cowards.” He pointed at the blades held by two of the Brethren. They held three of the chief’s sabres in their hands. The leader of the monks led Arthur towards the river. The remains of his army were allowed to return to Camelot. Felix frantically tried to come up with a way out of this. The Brethren had their hands on The Book of Words and all because he had turned up at the battle.
30
Merlin watched in horror. “Where is his sword?” he asked Felix.
“Here on my side!” replied Felix. “Remember, when there are two Keepers - future takes all, including the sword.”
“I only put that spell on the Book.” Merlin held his head in his hands. Everything he had planned was unravelling in front of him. These evil warriors would gain the knowledge to rule the world through force.
“Well we know your spell works on everything to do with the Keeper; so how do we get Arthur back?” asked Poppy.
“We can’t change history!” Felix was thinking hard.
“We already have,” smiled Tom. “All we would be doing is changing it back!”
“Good thinking Batman!” Felix was shocked at his friend’s logic. “They won’t take Arthur anywhere until they know the Book works.”
Felix peered out from the safety of the oak tree. Arthur was holding the Book in front of him, insisting that he could see nothing on the pages. One of the three traitorous chiefs was pleading with Arthur to give up the secrets.
“Mordred!” whispered Merlin.
“Arthur’s son.”
“His son!” Tom was shocked at the lack of loyalty.
“He has never been a favourite of Arthur’s. Arthur is invincible, so how was he ever going to become King?” Merlin had been suspicious of Mordred for some time.
“Who were the other traitors?” asked Poppy.
“Lancelot and Kai,” replied Merlin. “Lancelot will run off with Guinevere, Arthur’s wife. Kai has always hated the unity of the tribes. I knew those two split from the round table but not Mordred.”
“Mordred has his sabre, he may be helping Arthur,” said Poppy.
“Maybe, he does stay at the table,” replied a sceptical Merlin.
“Can’t you use your magic?” Felix asked Merlin.
“Like you I can’t change history, and I was on Anglesey at this time.” Merlin looked helpless for the first time.
“I can’t take them all on!” declared Felix. “There are only three of us.”
“Four!” Merlin pulled out a rusty old short sword.
“If we get a sword to Arthur, five,” suggested Tom. “That’s only about thirty each!”
They laughed but felt defeated and slumped behind the tree.
Time seemed to crawl by. Poppy took a peep to see what was going on in the meadow. The gates of Camelot were firmly closed and men stood on the ramparts ready to defend any coming attack.
“They’ve gone,” she whispered. “Well most of them!”
“There’s only about twenty left,” said Felix. “We’ve faced that many before.”
“In for a penny, in for a pound.” Tom drew his sword and smiled.
“You two cross and come in behind them,” ordered Felix. “Wait for my signal and attack making as much noise as you can.”
Poppy and Tom stooped low and made their way between bushes down to the river. They crawled in the shallow water up behind The Brethren and sat behind a bush. Poppy kept watch between the thick cover of leaves waiting for the signal from Felix.
“What was the signal again?” she asked Tom.
“Forgot to ask!” he chortled. “It’ll be obvious, I’m sure.”
Felix pushed Merlin out from their hideout and calmly walked down the gentle slope towards the Brethren monks and Arthur.
“What’s the plan?” asked Merlin nervously, keeping his right hand on his rusty old sword.
“What makes you think there’s a plan?” Felix nudged the white robed bag of nerves walking beside him. The Brethren sensed the approaching threat and drew their swords. Felix put his hands up to pose no threat and walked up to Arthur.
“Release him now!” ordered Felix. The monks stared at the strange young urchin who dared to tell them what to do. “Release him!” repeated Felix.
The Brethren laughed and put their swords away. Felix knew this was the moment and frantically waved his left hand above his head. His right hand drew the Keeper’s sword. Arthur smiled at the sight of his sword being put to action. Mordred pulled out his sabre and stood next to Felix. Any help was gratefully accepted as Tom and Poppy still hadn’t appeared. The monks pounced. Arthur, who was still tied to a post, just closed his eyes in despair. The crashing of steel brought Tom and Poppy into the fray. Their appearance split The Brethren in two. Merlin made his way to Arthur and cut him free. He handed the King a sword from a felled monk.
“There’s six of us now!” he laughed as he fought off two attackers.
“Eleven!” shouted the young boy with the pitchfork who had joined the fray with four friends.
Felix turned four of the monks to bones in no time but they all struggled to hold off the brutal monsters. Poppy was perched on the edge of the river bank bravely fending off three monks. They grinned as they closed in for the kill. She slipped as they lunged. The three creature toppled over her and into the river. She turned to continue the fight but they had gone.
“Water!” she shrieked. “Push them into the river if you can.”
Arthur had managed to isolate the monk with his Book of Words. Felix spun alongside him and waited for the opportunity. The monster swung wildly at them. The others were fighting the Brethren back towards the river. Felix blocked a massive swing and held both swords still high above their heads. He was face to face with the hideous monk. The smell of rotting flesh made him want to throw up. Arthur leant in and took the Book from the monk’s robe. Felix relaxed his hold and thrust his sword up through the monster’s body. Arthur laughed as he saw the Brethren falling one by one into the river and disappearing. A mighty cheer came from the fort as the remaining chiefs rushed to congratulate their King and his rescuers.
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The meadow was slowly being emptied of the fallen bodies. Widows and children wept for the dead. Arthur had invited Felix, Tom and Poppy to join him and the chiefs at the round table.
“Who are you?” the tall dark haired chief asked Felix. “Why have you got Arthur’s sword?”
“I could ask him the same,” smiled Felix.
Arthur introduced the chiefs and Felix did the same with Tom and Poppy. Felix had the group eating out of the palm of his hand as he explained the purpose of their visit was to destroy the Book and the Brethren. The chiefs applauded the success of the battle but sat in disbelief at their ability to travel through time.
“If Merlin is involved, anything is possible!” chortled Arthur.
“Why did the Brethren disappear?” asked Poppy.
“They always come and go from the water,” explained Galahad, the tall dark haired chief. “Their attacks have been more regular since Camelot was built. Before that they only attacked at the sacred stones.”
“They must have a way of travelling through water.” Felix was thinking out loud.
“So how did they get to the common and the school field then clever clogs?” Tom asked. “They’re nowhere near a river or the sea.”
“Water pipes?” suggested Poppy. “They’re linked all the way to the sea.”
“That would explain the explosions,” said Felix. “I just have one question.”
“Ask away,” said Arthur. He and the other chiefs had sat silently, listening intently to the thoughts of the adventurers.
“How do they know where to find you?” Felix knew everyone wanted to know the answer to that.
“I’ve often wondered that,” pondered the King. “Why always here? Why only since the building of Camelot?”
Merlin entered the hall. “I may have a solution,” he announced to the seated crowd. “How many sabres do you have?”
“Twenty one,” answered Arthur. “One for each chief. There are six of us left, thirteen on the rack and two with those cowards!” He was bursting with anger at being let down by Lancelot and Kai.
“What about the two the monks had?” Poppy asked.
“I believe they have used the metal in those swords to home in on the other sabres. I forged the weapons from the sword in the stone. They have found a way to reunite the sabres.” Merlin was worried that all the care he had taken in making Britain safe was causing it to be ripped apart. “That’s how the map shows you where the sabres are. It senses the metal.” Felix opened the Book.
‘Merlin is correct. You must figure the rest out for yourself.’
There was something different about the Book, the second page was there. The map was odd, he didn’t recognise anything for a while. It was a fifth century map of the known world at that time. On it were marked countries, tribal areas and the names of the rulers. The map also showed the location of the Guardians at that time - a big red splodge in the middle of Britain. He decided to keep this to himself for now.
“All sound good to me!” said Felix. “You have thirteen spare swords there. Who will you give them to?”
“The brave, loyal and true,” declared Arthur.
“You do realise we’re about to see another one of our ancestors.” Poppy informed Tom.
Arthur gave the sabres to the six remaining chiefs and walked out into the courtyard. The remains of his army bowed
to their knees. The chiefs, who now understood the purpose of the Book of Words and their weapons, called forward their most trusted and loyal soldiers. Arthur looked into the crowd.
“You boy and your friends.” He pointed at a group of farm workers holding pitchforks and hoes. “You join us!”
The surprised and excited villagers followed the warriors into the main hall.
Arthur sat on his chair.
“Can I borrow your sword?” He laughed as Felix handed him The Keeper’s sword.
One by one the chiefs and their soldiers stepped forward. Arthur dubbed them Knights of Britain and Guardians of The Book of Words. The farm boys were bemused at being in these regal surroundings. Arthur called them forward.
“These five boys. Sorry! These five men battled our enemies this day without being a member of any army. They had no real weapons but were willing to give their lives for our country. I therefore make them Knights of Camelot and Guardians of The Book of Words,” announced Arthur.
Proudly, the five boys came forward to accept their swords. The room erupted in cheers for the brave young men.
Merlin stepped forward, “Before you say anything I know I should not change history, but this needs to be done.” He waved his hands in the air like a demented dancer and chanted a spell.
“You all now have a responsibility to protect the Keeper of The Book of Words with your lives. The title of Guardian and the sabre will be passed to your first born son. You also have an ability to know when the Keeper is near.”
Felix crept up behind Merlin and whispered in his ear. Merlin turned towards Poppy.
“You are the bravest warrior we have seen in Camelot young lady. You too will have the title of Guardian.” Before Merlin could bring his arms back to his sides Poppy was giving him a huge hug and kiss on the cheek.
Tom laughed as Poppy and the Knights began scratching their ears. The Knights bowed and left the main hall with their sabres and their heads held high. Poppy beamed from ear to ear, she was finally an official protector of The Book of Words and the Keeper. Arthur told the farm boys that they were now his personal bodyguards. They felt ten feet tall. Arthur pointed to a chest near the door. Inside were chainmail shirts and shields, their new uniforms. They quickly dressed and took their positions outside the door.
Felix Jones and The Honour of The Keeper (Felix Jones Adventures Book 2) Page 9