J. Blair - The Pendragon Murders

Petronus returned with Sergeant Ewan. Merlin explained what had happened, and what he suspected was the cause. “Have some men come and take the body away and burn it. Caution them not to touch it.”

“Should they wear armor, sir?”

“No, I do not think that will be necessary. But have them wear gloves, and warn them not to come into contact with any exposed skin. Most physicians who have known the plague think it is probably airborne, but precautions will not hurt.”

“Yes, sir. And I will send more men into town to warn everyone that there may be plague here. We cannot keep the populace in ignorance of the danger they may be facing.”

“They will panic, Ewan. That will not be good.”

“Let them. If nothing else, it will clear them all out of Dover.”

“But if some of them are already infected with plague, they will spread it to every corner of southern England. No, it would be better to cordon off the town and quarantine everyone here.”

“That would take more men than I have. There are seven major roads out of town, and any number of small footpaths.”

“You will have to find the men to staff inspection points on all of them. Erect roadblocks.”

“And you think that will not cause a panic?”

Merlin sighed. “We must take the chance, I suppose. We have never had to deal with a thing like this before. Every precaution must be taken.”

Merlin looked at the dead sailor, then back at Ewan. “We cannot be certain this is plague until… well, until it becomes a plague. But we can hardly afford to take any risks. We do not want the whole country infected. I will write a message to the king. You must send one of your men to Camelot to deliver it to him. He will instruct Britomart that we need more soldiers here.”

“And if my men panic?”

“We will have to hope they do not. England’s future may depend on what we do here. Enforce whatever discipline is necessary. Colin, here, has some experience at planning large-scale operations. He will give you whatever assistance he can.” Merlin nodded to Nimue, indicating that she should go with Ewan.

“Will you be staying to direct all our operations, sir?”

“I must return to Camelot as quickly as possible. If plague actually does break out, Arthur will need my counsel.” Again he looked at the body. “More than ever.”

Ewan and Nimue prepared plans for the soldiers of the garrison to place a cordon around the town and not permit anyone to leave. It was a larger operation than either of them had anticipated. The roadblocks required would be substantial-otherwise people could simply either walk or ride around them-and the manpower daunting. They planned shifts of men to rotate at the checkpoints. The garrison was stretched very thin. With luck, all plans would be in place by sunrise; with more luck, Britomart would post more men to Dover quickly.

A small group of men was attached to Merlin who, assisted by Petronus, monitored news from the town. The least indication of unusual illness, or of civil unrest fueled by alarming rumor, was to be reported to them. Merlin instructed them to ask discreet questions to try to determine what other ports the French ship had visited before coming to Dover. These soldiers were also to work in shifts. A small detachment of men was assigned to build a pyre and burn Jean-Gaston’s body.

Then that night another sailor from the Mal de Mer died, in exactly the same way as Jean-Gaston. Not much later a third man died, this one from a Greek ship, the Sophia , that had come to Dover after a trading stop in North Africa.

Rumor spread quickly among all the festival-goers in the town. The word plague was bandied about freely, and the town and its visitors were palpably edgy. Then, when a fourth sailor, from still another ship, took ill, complete hysteria erupted. Foreign visitors flocked back to their ships. English visitors hastened to pack and leave for their home-towns; residents of Dover took to the countryside. Merlin and Ewan scarcely had time to react; in a startlingly short time-before midnight struck-Dover was nearly deserted. The roadblocks did little good to halt the exodus or even to slow it. And the plague, if plague it really was, was loose in England.

Next afternoon, with Dover quite empty of people, Merlin decided he would be of most use back at Camelot.

Ewan was alarmed. “You can’t leave me, sir, not with all this happening. Remember, I am only a sergeant.”

“With the people gone, there is not much for you to do. Is Captain Larkin not due back shortly?”

“On the day of the equinox, sir. Tomorrow.”

“There should be no problem, then. You have done a first-class job, Sergeant, and I will make certain to tell Britomart and the king. Do you have a carriage you could spare for us?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll make the arrangements. When do you wish to leave? First thing in the morning?”

“No, now, I think. There is no time to be lost. We must travel all night to reach Camelot, if need be.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll send a spare driver along, then, so you will lose as little time as possible.”

“Excellent. We will leave our two soldiers with you. And you will of course brief Captain Larkin on all that has happened in Dover?”

“Naturally, sir.”

“Splendid. We will get our things together and leave as soon as possible, then. Our two soldiers will remain here, to replace them and give what help they can.

“Please instruct Captain Larkin that we will expect daily communications from Dover, advising us on the situation here. The residents will have to return, eventually. There may be further outbreaks of illness or, worse, riots. We will need to know what is happening here. And of course you must include any news you may hear of things in the surrounding countryside.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

It took little over an hour for Merlin and his aides to pack for the journey back to Camelot. By that time, Ewan had their carriage prepared. The three of them climbed in and braced themselves for the long ride home.

Nimue was in a glum mood. “I’ve never lived through anything like this.”

“No one has. No one here, at any rate.”

“It’s going to rain.”

“This is England. It is always going to rain.”

No one laughed at Merlin’s little joke, not even Merlin himself. The carriage moved forward with a considerable jolt, and they were off. Petronus asked still again if they could stop at Stonehenge to witness sunrise on the morning of the equinox. “I think we should get there just about at the right time.”

“We are facing a national emergency, Petronus.” Merlin looked out the window, not at the boy. “There is hardly time for sightseeing. Besides, see those clouds building up? I doubt there will be a sunrise for anyone to see.”

“The ceremony, then? Surely a few minutes cannot make such a big difference?”

“When this is all behind us, I will bring you to Stonehenge myself and give you a tour.”

Nimue could not resist. “And what better tour guide than the wizard who built it with his magical powers?”

Merlin snorted and shifted so his back was to them.

The first leg of their route took them directly through the heart of Dover. Streets were deserted; abandoned animals looked in vain for their owners; one lone ship remained in the harbor, its crew seemingly frozen into immobility; it all had the eeriest air. Nimue said she had never seen a place so melancholy.

“Hell may be coming to England, Colin. It may already have arrived. None of us will survive if we do not learn to love one another. Willful cruelty is the usual pastime of the human race. Let us hope this will change that. Arthur and I want to make a world where-” Unexpectedly he broke off. “No, this is no time for a speech. I am the greatest fool the world has known.”