Board Thread:What If?/@comment-5674726-20131121000033/@comment-5674726-20131125003930

A lot hinges on whether or not Valiant would have used the snakes against Arthur, which we can't really guess without knowing his motivation. If he had a grudge against the Pendragons, he might go for it but if he had his eye on a material prize, either the gold or a position in Camelot, he'd have to know that it would not be in his interests to kill Arthur, either with his sword or with the snakes.

Even if he might have hoped to get away with it when he started, once he was accused of using magic, his chances of being able to use the snakes against Arthur without being detected were dramatically reduced. It's a safe bet that, had Arthur been killed and had snake puncture wounds on the body, Uther would have taken the word of a commoner much more seriously.