Love, Faith and Family

Chapter 81

It was the next day, and things had taken a turn for the worst.

Elyan had become a victim of the sickness that blighted Longstead. They'd made camp for the knight, squabbles and fights breaking out between the men to the point where Miriam confiscated their swords from them, threatening to melt them on the fire if they didn't stop.

But rather than return to Camelot and Gaius where Elyan could be treated, the knights had decided to push on east, to a so-called castle Lamia knew of that could provide shelter despite medicine being what they needed.

With not enough time to carve another message without the knights seeing, Miriam merely cut a piece of her tunic - not her tunic exactly - and tied it to a branch, another footprint for Arthur to follow. 

Arthur who'd already arrived in Longstead where he'd left Gaius to treat the plagued people. They'd also discovered a site of dead slave traders, one being alive enough to transport to Longstead for Gaius to treat and they discovered what they were up against.

A lamia.

A creature of magic of a snake-like nature, that could ensnare the mind of a man and suck all life out of them with a single kiss.

Along with his uncle and two knights, the king had set out to follow their trail, coming across their first campsite.

"Seven riders. Heading east. These tracks can't be more than a day old," Arthur observed as he saw them.

"My lord," a knight called, and Arthur moved over to a tree, running his hand over the engravings carved into the trunk.

"How does a carving of random letters and symbols help us?" Agravaine asked, Arthur's eyes never leaving the tree.

"It's a message from Miriam," he said, understanding it instantly.

"How so, my lord?"

"M7, Miriam and seven others," he translated as he pointed to the symbols. "E, heading east. ?, unknown destination. ?, unknown enemy."

"Seven others? The tracks indicate six," the knight spoke up, Arthur's bare hand still tracing the markings.

"She wouldn't have left this message unless she was in trouble. Something happened. And my bet's on whoever was in that caravan," Arthur said before pulling his glove back onto his hand.

"My lord, may I ask, how did you know what those markings meant?" Agravaine asked as they made their way back to the horses.

"We developed that code many years ago when Miriam was kidnapped by a man named Hengist. She got the idea from a book she read, but we've never had the need to use it since then. She's alive and I'm going to find her," Arthur vowed as he mounted his horse and spurred it eastbound.

Eastbound to where he found a piece of fabric tied to a branch.

"Here!" he called as the group rushed to him.

"What is it, sire?!" Agravaine asked worriedly.

"It's a piece of my tunic," Arthur said as he clutched the white cloth tightly, surprise and hope growing within him.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I don't understand how it could be from your tunic," his uncle replied.

"Miriam's wearing it. We're close."

And he urged his horse into a gallop.

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Miriam didn't like this.

Miriam didn't like this one bit.

And neither did Merlin.