Chapter 24

In the days that followed Donnie tried to keep himself busy with the plans to find and retrieve the scabbard. After all, it was his only hope at freedom.

Xander continued to tell them of rumors of Liam and his crew hanging around town, no doubt waiting for their moment to strike. To top it off the Caith Sith could still be found lurking just off the school grounds or at teen haunts too. Which made him wonder what did they expect? Was he supposed to just show up for a drink at club NYX or over at the bowling alley. Obviously both parties seriously underestimated his respect for life, especially his own.

Donnie was getting anxious; each night he laid his head down in another location never staying in one place for more than two nights in a row. Liam or the Caits couldn't stakeout everyone's place at the same time, and in this way he was able to escape detection.

Kelly hadn't said a word to him since her famous last words which still haunted him. He wished he could ask someone if they knew what they meant, but he knew talking about her private life at all would be considered a betrayal to her, so he kept his hurt and bewilderment to himself.

Kelly continued to hang out with Xander and it would appear that they were dating again, but as usual nothing was official. They hadn't stood up in front of the group and announced anything, but if the way they were constantly playing tonsil hockey was any indication, well then yeah they were dating again.

Finally when Zach came to him and said he was ready to approach Knight and ask him about Excalibur and the scabbard, he asked to come along, and at first Zach objected but Donnie insisted that the success of this part of the plan was crucial to his freedom and Zach couldn't fault his logic so he reluctantly agreed.

Now they were standing outside Knight's class at lunch hoping to corner him before he went down to the teacher's lounge. Before they had gotten here Zach explained what the holdup was. He had to make sure that he had a good excuse for asking his questions and that his excuse wasn't a lie, but the truth.

It had taken him some time to convince Ms. Long to allow him to do an extra credit paper on Excalibur, specifically, the myth versus the facts. Finally she'd agreed to give the entire class the assignment and since this class was a prerequisite class then they could all ask questions freely without suspicion of there being ulterior motives.

It couldn't have worked out better in the end, but that didn't save Zach and him from feeling nervous. There was a lot riding on whether they could get the right information out of Sir Galahad the once and noble knight of the round table and King Arthur's court, or as he is currently known, Timothy Knight, high school teacher extraordinaire.

The information he was able to provide would tell them if they even needed to approach le Fay or if they would have to start searching in another direction. Donnie had to chuckle when he thought of the two teacher's Knight was the teacher they preferred to take a chance on first, which said a lot about le Fay.

Zach knocked timidly on the heavy oak door of the class. At first there was no answer until Zach knocked again much louder, and then a crisp British timbre echoed through the door, "Enter at your own peril."

Others might have laughed, but both boys knew he wasn't joking.

Donnie gulped and turned the knob. When he swung the door open Knight was sitting at his desk eating a Subway sub and drinking a giant soft drink.

When Knight saw the bewildered looks on their faces he said acerbically, "What were you expecting boys: cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and tea and crumpets? Gentleman I think you forget that I come from a time when we ate pork off a spit."

Donnie and Zach laughed halfheartedly and approached the prickly immortal. Luckily, Zach spoke for them. Donnie tried to avoid conversations with the ancient knight if at all possible.

"Mr. Knight we've come to ask some questions."

"And you could think of no better time than my lunch break? You chose the one non-soul-crushing hour of my day to ask questions. Well fire away gentlemen. I'm sure I have nothing better to do." Knight made a point of looking at his sandwich that remained untouched.

"I-if this isn't a good time we could come back?" Zach offered, but he knew it was already too late. They'd chosen the wrong time to approach him if there ever was a right one.

Knight grabbed the bridge of his noise and addressed Zach, "As your mentor I have to make time to answer any questions you may have, but make it brief," he sighed in frustration.

"Oookay . . ." Zach began uncertainly, "Ms Long has us writing a paper on Excalibur . . ."

Zach almost faltered when he witnessed Knight's eyes narrow at the mention of the legendary sword, but he bravely continued, "The school library is great, but there are too many conflicting accounts and I'm not sure I know which is based purely on conjecture or even hyperbole. I was hoping you could tell us the true story about what really happened to the sword and if it's true that it was returned to the lake."

Knight continued to scrutinize Zach long after he finished speaking. And Zach began to fidget under his weighted stare. Knight eyes are eerie. They are the kind of eyes that look haunted by a past that is impossible to escape. To say that the immortal was a tortured soul would be like saying: 'Hey guess what? The sun came up this morning'.

Knight sucked in an exaggerated breath and let it out with a whoosh before saying, "Gentlemen please take a seat." He indicated to the lab table in front of his desk.

Zach and Donnie hurried to comply; knowing, it was always best not to antagonize the cranky immortal. Once seated, they sat back excitedly to listen. This moment wasn't lost on them. How many people could say that they would be able to listen to the true account of Camelot's Court from a firsthand witness of the time?

Knight seemed to be waiting for something and when he cocked an eyebrow sardonically and said, "Well. . ." and when the boys still looked mystified by his query, he finished with a sardonic, "gentlemen as your teacher I 'm intimately aware that neither of you can boast an eidetic memory. "

Donnie had no clue what he was saying, but apparently Zach caught on and grabbed his backpack to take out a note book to take notes.

The tale began while Zach pen was poised over the paper ready to jot down anything of interest.

Knight began, "There were up to one hundred and fifty Knights of the Round Table at any given time, but only twelve principle knights that had a seat at the round table. And each one of us was loyal to King Arthur to the last. Please remember that as I relay this sordid tale. "

Both boys nodded their heads stoically and silently and watched as Knight cut up his foot long into bite size portions. Donnie never saw one eaten that way and he nearly snickered out loud at the gentile knights table manners.

After taking a smallish bite and chewing and swallowing it daintily the gallant knight continued, "Much of this tale you probably already know, but I will endeavor to fill in the blanks for you."

Donnie's mouth started watering as he watched him eat his meatball sub between pronouncements.

"Yes it is true the Lady of the Lake did give King Arthur Excalibur, but the accounts of it being pulled from a stone by Arthur -- or myself after the fact -- are fallacies. The Lady of the Lake was not only the ruler of Avalon, but she was also deeply ingrained in the politics of the time. Our Lady as she was referred, played a pivotal role in bringing Arthur to power, enchanting Merlin, and raising, Lancelot, after the death of his father. She was known by several different names Morgaine, Morgause, Morganna, but you would probably know her by her more common name Morgan le Fay."

Zach dropped his pencil and it rolled across the table and fell loudly to the floor. Both of them were too stunned to retrieve it.

But as Knight continued Donne scurried to pick up Zach's pencil thinking he couldn't wait to tell the gang.

"Morgan is the daughter of Arthur's mother, Lady Igraine, and her first husband Gorlois , so that Arthur, the son of Igraine and Uther Pendragon, is her younger half-brother. There was a great deal of bad blood between them because Arthur's father Uther Pendragon had used an enchantment to trick Igraine into sleeping with him even as he was arranging her beloved husband's death."

Morgan loved her father dearly and hated Uther for what he had done. Later she became an apprentice of Merlin  and a vindictive adversary of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, with a special hatred for his wife Guinevere, but I do get ahead of myself."

"Most saw her as an evil enchantress, a sexual temptress, and a master manipulator, others thought of her as a heroine and a champion of the pagan ways. But no matter what they thought there was no doubt that she was considered the most intelligent and educated woman of the time."

"In that time only the priests and priestesses were taught to read and they learned about writing, astronomy, philosophy, the sciences while even the princes of the time were only educated in warfare, etiquette, physical prowess, and oratory, King Arthur couldn't even read."

When Donnie thought his story was becoming very detailed he looked over to Zach to see him concentrating hard on Knight. So hard that tiny beads of sweat were breaking out on his temple.

"After Uther learned of le Fay's hatred for him, she was packed off to be raised in a priory with a harsh Prioress. There she was well educated, but she missed her mother terribly and it was just another reason for her to hate the man that usurped her father's throne."

"Later after the untimely death of Uther Pendragon by poison, Arthur sent for his half sister and welcomed her to his court with open arms. A decision he would later regret."

"As soon as Morgan moved into court she became the mistress of Merlin. She used and manipulates him by way of seduction in order to gain knowledge of his spells. It was at that time that many historians began to spell her name Morgaine to read as the anagram, "Gain More."

"Through Merlin's tutelage she became the most powerful and gifted sorceress my time had ever known. Merlin was no fool; he portended her great power, but was powerless to stop it.

When Merlin realized his folly, he went to Arthur to inform him that he had unleashed a great beast that will tear asunder everything that Arthur had built if nothing was to be done about it. At that time Arthur was betrothed to Guinevere and Merlin was his chief adviser, the last thing he wanted to do was endanger his beloved; so he arranged a marriage between his half sister and King Lot of Orkney. Orkney being in the distant isles of Scotland."

"That was a tremendous affront to the powerful sorceress; so before she left she cursed Guinevere to make her barren and she pulled a page out of Uthur's book and slept with her half brother to impregnate herself so that his only heir would be her offspring, and then as her final blow she concocted a powerful love potion and gave it to both Lancelot and Guinevere to ensure her brother would never know a happy marriage"

Knight shook his head then and said stiffly, "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I feel like a school girl telling tales out of school."

But Donnie could tell why he was telling them everything and he hoped he would get to the end of his tale very soon, because now droplets of sweat were breaking out above Zach's upper lip and he was looking extremely strained.

After a moment Knight fell back into his tale saying, "King Lot never knew Mordred, Morgan's son, was not his legitimate child and heir to his throne, and Morgan made sure he never found out. So when a childless and barren Guinevere began to rely heavily on Christianity to find the answers to her childless state. Failing to produce an heir and unable to be with the love of her life, Lancelot, she fell into a deep depression and – hoping for salvation – became an increasingly fanatical Christian.

Morgan's aim was to restore the pre-Roman religion, threatened by the aggressive advent of Christianity and being championed by Guinevere. Much of her power relied on the pagan ways and the ancient gods and goddesses that were worshiped, and if they were weakened; so was she."

"So she went to Avalon or as other druids knew it at the time Annwn and she prayed to the Gods promising them if they gave her the power to overthrow Arthur then she would bring back their worshipers by reinstating pagan beliefs. They anointed her the Queen of the Isle and the Lady of the Lake, and she returned with a plan."

"Wait a minute," Zach interrupted, "If she wasn't the Lady of the Lake before this; who was the lady of the lake that gave Arthur the sword?"

Knight chortled . . . actually chortled which made Donnie nervous. This wasn't normal behavior for him and he could only hope it was over soon before he realized he was the one who was being manipulated.

"That's just it. It was Morgan all the time. She knew as the Lady of the Lake she would have to forge the sword and go back in time to give Arthur the very means of his destruction."

"Well that's very much a temporal paradox loop if I've ever heard of one." Zach uttered in awe.

"Yes very," Knight agreed meanwhile he was looking tired himself, Donnie nudged Zach to get his attention and gave him a stern look to tell him to wrap it up.

Zach catching his body language piped up, "Fascinating as this all is, can we get back to Excalibur and what happened to it?"

"Well yes of course," Knight said helpfully.

Knight was being too complacent which seemed to worry even Zach, but he continued and got right to the point." Firstly, she spread the tale of Lancelot's and Guinevere's betrayal throughout England marking Arthur appear as a weak cuckold.

Donnie mouthed cuckold and Zach mouthed later.

"Then when his popularity waned she reminded everyone that he was the illegitimate child of Uthur having been conceived before his marriage to Ingraine. And that her son the legitimate son of the deceased King of Orkney her beloved Lot was the legitimate heir to the throne, and as her son Mordred and King Arthur marched for Camlann to the appointed battle ground that would decide the sovereignty of Great Britain, Morgan stole the scabbard and threw it into the lake from whence it came on the Isle of Avalon."

"This left Arthur susceptible to any injuries sustained while in battle. Mordred was killed by the much more seasoned fighter on the battle field, but Arthur was not without injury, in fact he was mortally wounded. Afterward Morgan took a wounded Arthur to Avalon to heal him."

Zach interrupted again looking slightly baffled and very peaked," but why would she try to save him after orchestrating his downfall?"

"Oh she didn't take him there to save him. His return to power someday was prophesied by Merlin. HIS body is entombed on the Isle to make sure that never happens."

"Wow that story is better than the entire first three seasons of Game of Thrones, but we have yet to hear what happened to the sword." Zach reminded his mentor.

"That's simple after he was wounded King Arthur ordered the sword thrown into the enchanted lake. After two failed attempts --Sir Bedivere who was never one to let things go easily, but who could blame him, such a great sword should never have been thrown away – thankfully however he finally complied with the King's request, and when he did a hand emerges from the lake to catch it."

"I'll give you three guesses who that hand belonged to and the first two don't count," Knight said with a slight slur.

Zach looked too weak to ask so Donnie said the first words of their awkward meeting, "Sir where is Avalon?"

"Many have theorized by its description that Avalon was located in and among the Canary Islands but that I think that is too far south, and don't believe all the rumors about Glastonbury either, I was there during the time of Arthur's court and it was nothing but a circular swamp. No I think that Avalon can be found off the Welsh coast, but le Fay would be the only one able to clarify that. Good luck trying to get the location out of her, though. Damnable woman!"

"Mr. Knight there's something I don't understand King Arthur must have known that le Fay betrayed him. Why give her the sword? "

He started to actually chuckle, before he held up his right ring finger and showed them a ruby signet ring that rested there, "This is one of the gems that circled the hilt of Excalibur, before King Arthur was taken away he gave each of his most trusted knights a gem, including Lancelot – at this time he realized everyone had been manipulated by le Fay – he knew that one day if he did arise, then if any of his knights survived, they would be able to scry his location using this, but only if the sword he'd been given was given back to the Lady of the Lake."

Donnie was about to joke that the story had more twists and turns than the Pacific Coast highway of California, but then Knight listed in his seat like a drunken sailor, making Donnie's heart jump to his throat.

Zach seeing this stood up abruptly like someone had poked him with a cattle prod, and said "Okaaay . . . Thanks for your time Sir," before quickly leaving the room.

Donnie did his best to follow him, but the guy was really booking it and his stride was nearly a mile long, so even with his fae speed it was pretty hard to keep up.

Once they were outside Zach sagged against the wall and slid down it uselessly. His face was as white as a sheet and for a moment his eyes rolled back into his head and Donnie was afraid he'd passed out, but when the bell rang Zach lifted his hand to a standing Donnie and said," help me up bro."

Donnie happily obliged; the last thing he wanted to do was explain a passed out student in the hallway.

Let's get to class before we're late, I don't want to get detention today we've got to meet up with the gang after school to tell them everything we learned.

Donnie couldn't agree more, so he fell into step beside his friend.

He could tell Zach was feeling hopeful that they had found the solution to finding Avalon, but if he was thinking that they could simply scry for the sword to find the location he was overlooking one thing.

The ring was on the finger of one of the scariest immortals he had ever had the misfortune to meet.

But if Zach had a plan to get the ring . . . he couldn't wait to hear it.

Wow that was certainly a sordid tale.

So now they've figured out how to find the Isle.

They only have to get it the ring off the finger of one of the deadliest knights in the world.

But how will they do that?

Tune in tomorrow to find out.