"What have you to do with this, varlet?" he demanded.
"He is but a troubadour," Merlin interjected quickly. "A bard who will sing your praises after the tourney."
"I had forgotten the tourney," Sir Kay grunted. "But see you forget not my warning."
He reined away, knocking people aside like tenpins. Behind him the other knights followed, and after them went the common people. In a few minutes Wilbur and Merlin found themselves alone. In the distance, and in the direction the crowd had vanished, Wilbur saw the towers of a medieval castle.
"Camelot," Merlin told him.
"I don't like this," Wilbur said. "That fellow looked as though he wanted to slit my throat."
"Yours wouldn't be the first one he's slit," Merlin said. "But you stay close to me and you'll be safe enough. Although I must admit that Kay has become quite a problem since his father died."
"Is he a son of Uther Pendragon?"
"Why do you think he insists that none but Uther's sons may rule?" Merlin snarled. "But with a king like him we'd have nothing but corpses around. That's why I needed you."