The Crystal Cave Book One, Chapter 12 Summary

  • The two scamps who have kidnapped Merlin are called Marric and Hanno. Merlin tells them his real name, which is surprising.
  • The men recognize Merlin's name and now feel bad that they've been treating him like a slave (since that's what Merlin first told them).
  • Marric and Hanno want to know where Merlin was going. If he's loyal to Vortigern, there are going to be problems with this crew.
  • Merlin tells the men that Camlach supports Vortimer, but that he has no particular plans.
  • The men think that Merlin has lots of helpful information and let them in on a secret: they belong to Ambrosius, the brother of the murdered High King Constantius.
  • Merlin is freaked out by this, but not for the reason you'd think. He's horrified by the thought of crossing the English Channel in a rickety canoe to get to Ambrosius. Water's not his thing.
  • But they're not going in the coracle. Instead, they meet up with a ship, and Merlin's brought on board. (It's not a pretty maneuver to get the vomiting kiddo over the side, but we digress.)
  • Merlin spends four miserably seasick days on the ship. Before they all get to port in Brittany, it's clear that the men don't know whether to keep him alive or kill him.