King Mark's Foul Plan


Sir Neil and Sir Dagonet now loudly summoned the castle servants
before them but there were none to answer. So they prepared
kitchenward where they found the wretches in great affright not
knowing what dire fate was to befall them. Yet they, when assured that
naught was intended against them, eagerly hastened to obey the
commands of the good knights to prepare a sumptuous meal.

Sir Launcelot, Sir Percival and the other knights made, their way to
the dungeon. And truly they found a sad sight there. Though a large
place, yet was it overly crowded. In one place they found six knights,
an unhappy six, three of whom had been imprisoned for many months, two
had been made captives within the fortnight and one had joined this
joyless group but two days before.

"Aye," one of the first three explained to them, "it is through God's
mercy that we still live. There were three others with us, two of whom
were already here when this dire misfortune befell us and one who came
some weeks later. These three could not survive the foulness of this
hole."

But now Sir Percival was seen to speak to the lone knight, the one who
had been made prisoner last of all. A melancholy figure, he did not
seem to realize that release had come with the advent of these
knights. In fact, through all the hubbub he seemed to have been lost
within himself. No doubt, they were bitter thoughts that possessed him
and at such times one is verily unmindful of things about him. Nor did