Camelot: A Narrative Fiction

Gorrow is faced with a dilemma -- does he abandon his village to the raids of evil minions, or does he attempt to defend it?

Or could he disappear completely?

***

I took a day’s break from Camelot after the fall of the city and all the intensity afterwards, but all the time I was away, I kept thinking of my village -- Silver Drift.

So as soon as I got time, here I am again. I stand by my limestone tower on the moorland and look west to the lowlands where the city that was Camelot now glows black and evil. I hear they’ve renamed it Stygia after some place in hell.

My village of Silver Drift is prospering. The wooden palisade around the village has been upgraded to limestone, with double durability from enemy attack. There’s a

Over to the east, the enemy village of Carrionburg glows black and red, indicating an evil zone of control. They know we’re here at Silver Drift. It’s just a matter of time, now Camelot has fallen, that they turn their attention to us. It won’t be their main army, because that’s headed south after King Arthur. The last time I had news from outside Silver Drift, it was that the enemy’s army had clashed with the King’s forces at the bridge over the River Lune. I don’t yet know who won that skirmish.

“Penny for them.”

I look up to see the talking mule, Henry, who’s appointed himself leader of the mules and horses working in Silver Drift. It’s still weird to have a mule talk to you, but I smile. “What’s up,

How’ve you been? And more important, what are you doing here?”

He shrugs. “You know I came back to Camelot to look for you after it had fallen?”

“And I appreciate that. You shouldn’t have put yourself in danger.”

“Never mind about that. But…” he scratches his head. “When I tried to get back to join the King’s army, I found my way blocked by bad guys. I died a couple of times and then thought I’d come back to see my old friend Gorrow in the only safe place left in the north.”

“I’m not sure it’s that safe, Bernie. At least not for long.”

“Aw, don’t say that.” He gestures towards the settlement of Silver Drift. “It seems to be growing nicely. All you need is a few cows and some more houses and it’ll be a hamlet. Next thing and it’ll be a village.”

I point east towards the shifting line of black and red that marks the evil zone of control. “You see how close that line is coming? And Alston’s fallen.”

“Alston’s fallen? So you really are the last friendly settlement in the north.”

I nod. “There’s a band of evil control now right across the island from the east coast to the west. You have to go a hundred miles south before you get to friendly