The knights are riding patrol of the lands of Terrabil, in the Bodmin Moor, with no officers presiding over them. It is slightly chill but not unpleasant, and foggy. Nothing untoward occurs, until one morning when they are met by Merlin. He speaks as tersely as usual: “Greeting, good knights. I need your services. Follow me.” As usual, he offers no explanation, and he brooks no comments or questions. He strides off through the thin trees, expecting the knights to follow, which they do.
Merlin leads them through the woods on a couple of trails the knights have never seen before, even though they have patrolled through this area in the past. These are deer trails, hardly usable by mounted men.
At one point, Merlin stops, motioning for silence and listening intently. A moment later he turns to the knights and he says, “I need you to wait here. I have important business, and when I return I will probably need protection. I am counting on you to do your duty to King Uther and Britain. Will you wait here?” The knights agree.
Merlin tells them to wait there for him. “Be ready. Stay on your horses.”
They must wait a couple of hours. After some time, they hear a distant noise, as if of men on horseback, cursing as they try to ride through the fog, trees, and difficult terrain of the downs. Moments later, Merlin rushes into the clearing where the knights are waiting. Although he is walking now, he is still moving quickly, and looks as if he has been running. He does not appear particularly troubled or perturbed, however, and as he strides past the knight he looks at them and says, simply, “Delay them.” He does not stop or pause, but goes back into the trees on the far side of the clearing. Merlin is carrying something.
The noise is coming closer. Sir Sionyn hears the clank of armor, the neigh of horses, and the shouts of men can be heard clearly now. “Merlin,” they are shouting, “Come back here you traitor!”
The clearing is not large, and a lance charge would hurl the knights in amongst the trees on the far side, almost certainly harming their steeds at least. However, if desired, they can charge up on horseback and fight with sword or spear and try to surprise the enemy as they emerge from the trees. The knights split up, ready to face whoever is pursuing Merlin.
A band of well-accoutered knights struggles from the woods on the far side; they are armed, swords in hand, and looking around. “Merlin!” they shout. There is a short fight where one of the knights following Merlin is wounded. By then, they have been identified: The leader is Sir Brastias, Uther’s own bodyguard!
Brastias and his men defend themselves, of course, but they are pressing after Merlin, so when the Salisbury knights try to disengage, they can do so. Once disengaged, then Sir Brastias takes command of the situation.
He yells, “Traitors! How dare you attack the king’s men on the king’s business!” He does not accept helping Merlin as an excuse. “Where is that traitor? Where is that unmanly dog?” he shouts. Other knights are already searching for tracks. The Salisbury knights offer to help.
“Merlin has kidnapped the king’s own infant son, you idiots! The king will hear of this! Now where did he go?” The Salisbury knights can see that others among Brastias’s knights are memorizing the interfering fools’ heraldic devices to be sure they can give an accurate report later.
Brastias and his men plunge back into the forest, following Merlin’s trail as best they can. They allow the Salisbury knights to accompany them, but are not terribly friendly.
Brastias and his men run into another group of knights who react exactly as the Salisbury knights had done. This group, too, was set up by Merlin in just the same way.
Brastias and the knights do not find Merlin, but instead get lost in the woods and spend the night there. The royal household does not share their fire with the Salisbury knights or with the other group of knights who stood against them.
Eventually, Brastias return back to Tintagel to report that Merlin has escaped.
The Salisbury knights go to Terrabil and report what has occurred to their commander. Since they know the protocol, they also send word to their lord, Count Roderick.