Merlin is stunned when his mother, Hunith, arrives in Camelot claiming that the village of Ealdor has been attacked by ruthless bandit, Kanan, and his men. Kanan has ordered Hunith and the villagers to give up their harvest - or they must pay with their lives. But Hunith knows that, without food, they will starve to death anyway. King Uther says he cannot help the villagers as his soldiers must not cross the border to Ealdor - to do so would be an act of war. Merlin tells Arthur he can't be his servant anymore - he must go and protect his mother and friends. As he goes to collect some weapons, Gwen and Morgana insist they are coming and, later, Arthur joins the fight too. The team arrive to find Kanan and his men ransacking the village - but Kanan is forced to back down when Arthur displays his skill with a sword. Arthur urges the villagers to fight but an old friend of Merlin's, William, blames Arthur for riling Kanan and refuses. Will Merlin be forced to expose his magical abilities to defeat Kanan and save the villagers?
