Merlin sat in his office looking at the note that was dropped by the vagrant late the evening before. It was a troubling missive that gave the powerful Mage goose flesh all over his body, the thought of those Heathen Hordes darkening his beloved country again was not only horrifying, it disgusted him to his boots. Had it not been for the arrogance and poor strategic skills of Unaxx, there may have been a very different outcome the first time. Although the symmetry in his mind of how the last Persian threat had signaled Uther's downfall, this threat would also signal Harold's. He did not recognise the handwriting and there was a basic but effective glamour on the paper which hid the author's identity, but he felt there was the subtle signature of August Steiner, assassin and psychopath.
No matter, he felt in his bones that this was a true statement of what was going on behind the walls of the Palace. It was only a matter of time before Harold made the task of removing him so hard the effort could prove prohibitively costly. A soft knock sounded at his door and he looked up, his assistant stood there looking very nervous indeed.
"Farver, what is it? You look in a state." He asked.
"Master Merlin there is a visitor to see you and I feel very uncomfortable in allowing him access." The man said nervously.
"Well I am sure that whomever it is, I shall be safe enough between the walls of my office. Now who is it?"
"It is General Grenville Snape-Newton." Merlin was almost surprised enough to allow his mouth to gape slightly, but that would never do, so he simply smiled and waved Farver to bring him in. The General entered completely unarmed as was the requirements of the Academy, his uniform looking slightly disheveled and his face red with exertion.
"General, this is a surprise, what is I can do for the chief of the Military?" Merlin asked neutrally.
"Master Merlin, I do beg your pardon for this unannounced visit, but there are certain factors that have forced me to rethink my allegiance to the Crown. May I sit and tell you?" The old soldier asked. Merlin could tell the man was speaking truthfully and he was fearful of something.
"Please, do sit. I you have my full and undivided attention." So, after a moment to gather his thoughts, Snape-Newton recounted his story, from the Officer tortured to death because of his father's delivery round, to the visit from that unstable killer, Steiner. Once he had finished, the man looked like he had run from Dover to John O'Groats. Merlin sat there and listened carefully to the general and weighed up every word the man spoke. It was clear that he was telling the truth and that apart from his poor choice in the beginning, he was an honourable man that would not stand by and watch his country be over-run by Islamic hordes. He thanked the general for his commitment to the safety of the British Empire and his honesty in his words. In return Merlin offered Snape-Newton safe passage to the north and a small farm that he would be safe in. For this consideration he was to hand over all of his passwords and keys to the palace and the guard house. The old man never blinked, he wrote down everything and handed over the keys without hesitation.
Now it was time to put the plans they had so carefully crafted into effect, the next forty-eight hours would be the test of the Young Pendragon's commitment and desire to regain the Throne of Britain. If the first part of the plan was successful then the rest had a better than even chance of success also. If he was a religious man, Merlin would have said a prayer, but he was a Mage and Mages didn't pray. Ever!
Two hours later he was sitting in the cellar of Percival's townhouse, on a massive map table lay the plans for the first part of the plan to seize the Throne. Sir Geraint Rolph stood over the plan and assessed every aspect of the plan. Even though he devised and developed the plan he always said that no plan was worth the paper it was written on once the men left the barracks. So here he was pouring over every detail repeatedly looking for holes that he didn't see the first twenty three times. He would continue to pour over the details until the moment they headed for the palace. It was his attention to detail and his refusal to accept that anything was good enough, that led him to the top of the Royal Guard. There had never been, nor would there ever be a more selfless and committed Guardsman.
Arthur stood at the back of the room talking to Percival in hushed tones, there was something causing the young man to be very nervous. Percival was acting his fatherly Uncle Guise to try and settle the young man down and get his focus on the plan. Merlin swept into the room like a gale force wind, his eyes ablaze with excitement and determination.
"Gentlemen, the final piece of the puzzle came knocking at my door not three hours ago." He stated imperially.
"Do tell Master Mage, what has the mightiest magician in the land got for us poor lay folk this day?" Percival lambasted Merlin.
"A sharp blade for that tongue of yours Percival." All three men laughed at the Mages reply. For your information, you simpleton, the head of the Royal Military Council walked into my office and handed over all his passwords and keys. Would you like to make a smart arse remark now?"
"And why would he do that?" Geraint asked.
"Why do you think my Good Sir Knight? Harold ordered him dead, and to put the metaphorical cherry on top, the King's personal assassin has abandoned the cause. We now have the means and opportunity to bring Sir Geraint's masterful plan to fruition." Merlin could only smile at the information the Mage had just dropped on them.
"So if you are finished making jokes at my expense, I suggest we put the penny in the Christmas pudding." He finished. Geraint was the first to regain his focus.
"Well in that case we have to find a window of opportunity to strike. Clearly the best time is when the idiot King is out of the palace. Once we have that window, I have a platoon of highly trained and motivated Special Operations troops that are just waiting for the chance to hit the Royal Guard as hard as they can. I have considered all of the worst case scenarios and I believe that we can get Arthur into the courtyard with little to no losses, and with the information you have provided us, Merlin. I am absolutely certain of success, if Harold is off on one of his little jaunts. I have heard that he will be on hand to launch the new cruiser King Harold in two days' time." Geraint looked at the map of Liverpool, he had circled the Gladstone Dockyards, where all new Royal Warships were launched.
"I should think that given his hatred of flying, he would leave for Liverpool the day before in that ridiculous trailer he had built."
"I will have a Battle Mage placed in Madam Serenity's pleasure house, it is near the front gate and will have a perfect view of the comings and goings at the palace." Merlin added. "He is not known for his regimented schedule, smart in some ways, stupid in others, so the second he leaves the palace we will know about it."
"That is excellent, I will have the troops moved to a location that will allow quick and easy access to the palace, that way we can move as soon as the signal comes that he has left. He will take his usual retinue of hangers on and at least a platoon of his biggest and toughest troops. That will leave us a skeleton crew of guards in the palace grounds. No more than a platoon I would say. Once we gain access to the guard house, we can neutralise the threat they pose and we can move Arthur in and he can access the executioner's plinth. Once you are there Arthur, well, the rest is up to you. I don't know what will happen, but I feel sure that it will be the outcome we have planned for."
Everyone nodded and agreed that the plan was solid and the next phase would begin as soon as Harold left for Liverpool. It would take Harold's procession about five hours to traverse the three hundred and fifty kilometres from London to Liverpool, so it was a sure bet that Harold would not want to spend ten hours in his trailer all in the same day. He would stay at his estate about thirty five kilometres from Liverpool and drive to the launch in his armoured Rolls Royce. All they needed was to know when Harold left, once they had that information, then the rest would fall into place.
As Tryfor Umberth sat in the window, he thought about the mission he had been tasked with. It was, for the most part intensely boring and having the pretty little prostitute writhing around the bed behind him made it that much more difficult to concentrate. He had cast a small spell on her so as far as she was concerned, she was having the most amazing and intense sexual experience of her young life. With her so distracted, Tryfor was able to watch the comings and goings of the palace front gate. This was the most important mission of his four year tenure as a Junior Battle Mage, and there was nothing that was going to distract him from that mission. Should he succeed at this task, he could well be elevated to the rank of Full Battle Mage, a dream he had since the moment he took the first Battle Magic class at the Academy.
He had been here for almost three hours, and there was no sign of any important movements, but that was not to say that something wouldn't happen in the blink of an eye. He was about to send off his latest hourly report, when a huge commotion broke out in the courtyard. He leant out just a little further and he could see that the King's trailer was being brought around to the front stairs. The breath caught in Tryfor's throat, this was the moment that he was waiting for, the King was leaving the palace. He watched as the Royal Guard ran around making their preparations to escort Harold to Liverpool. There would be a traditional mounted escort to the edge of the city where the Horse Guard would dismount and be ferried to the destination to await the King's arrival. There would be at least a platoon of armoured Guardsmen in the Personal Carriers that followed Harold everywhere.
He moved back so that he could not be seen from the street or the palace walls, the guards would be more alert than usual as Harold left the palace. He decided that there was no time for notes, but he prepared to check the trailer for Harold as it passed, an extremely dangerous tactic, but if this was a decoy, he needed to know it. He could just see Harold reach the top of the stairs and stop. He was staring at the stone statue in the middle of the courtyard intensely, as he always did. It was a reminder of his failure when he took the Crown from the much loved Uther. Tryfor didn't remember the time of King Uther, he was but a young boy, but his parents had been horrified at the trickery and traitorous behaviour of the King's brother. Now he was ready to pull the trigger that would eventually lead to the downfall of the Traitor.