The First Quest

Chapter 1

They had galloped at full tilt through the pouring rain. Beside them the scenery changed, from forest, to valley and back to forest again. The whole afternoon a strange eerie atmosphere prevailed in the sky above them. The number of cloud-bursts and different cloud formations; had made Merlin dizzy with wonder, as he rode alongside Mordred and a group of Knights. They were on their way to Landez a town on the edge of the White Mountains. There had been strange happenings going on there, which Arthur had wanted investigating.

Arthur himself was tied down with a meeting with Queen Annis, so Merlin had suggested himself and Mordred going along instead. From the reports that Merlin had read Mordred would be of more help than Arthur anyway. It would also give him the chance to get to know the young newcomer more.

He already knew that Mordred was an accomplished rider he was very much setting the pace. Merlin was suddenly glad that he'd given the young man the map reading duties. He suspected though that Mordred was using his magical senses as well. Merlin could already feel the atmosphere changing, and one look at Mordred told him that he could feel it as well.

"Maybe we should stop for a short break?" Mordred asked, suddenly staring up at the sky.

"Yes if that's what you want, the horses could do with a brief watering." Merlin admitted, say nothing of himself. "The village itself is not too far away from here anyway."

Merlin hated long rides at the best of times, and some of the terrain had been quite uncomfortable. As ever Merlin seemed to be the only one feeling it, as he watched the young Druid jump from his horse.

Merlin ordered Sir Laurence to water the horses while he got a fire started he motioned to Mordred to join him. Making sure none of the other Knights were near he whispered to him.

"There is something strange about this place. I take it you noticed as well."

"Yes." Mordred agreed, looking around the trees suspiciously trying to take in as much as he could.

"While I get some food done, I suggest you take a look around. But don't wander too far away Mordred." Merlin warned.

"Okay we have more than one way to stay in touch after all." Mordred smiled.

"Yes indeed." Merlin acknowledged, watching Mordred disappear deeper into the forest. Merlin was still learning about the newcomer, and in many ways Mordred had already surprised him. His keenness made Merlin think of himself, when he had first arrived in Camelot.

As he busied himself heating up the food, he briefly thought back to that time, how long ago that felt now.

While Merlin knew he had come a long way, in reality he was much like Mordred. A loner, who for the initial acceptance, was still a shadow amongst his associates and friend's.

It pained Merlin to know that despite the bit of progress he had made, he was still an outsider in Camelot. At least with Mordred he wasn't quite so much alone, but he still wondered how much they had in common. While he had already seen much good in the young man's character, he still felt a bit of unease. He knew that Mordred like himself was holding things back. Mordred's background was a mystery, and it felt as if Mordred himself found it hard to talk about.

Merlin was hoping the young man would unwind a bit more. He had certainly proved his loyalty to Camelot so far. But Merlin could not relax until he knew a bit more about him. He hoped by bringing him along, it would encourage the young man to open up a bit more.

In a lot of ways they were still feeling each other out, trying to work out what the other one was really like. Merlin felt by the end of this trip they would both know a lot more about each other. That surely could only be a good thing for both of them and hopefully for Camelot too.

Mordred tensely walked down the woodland path, concentrating and using all his magical powers. From the moment the party had arrived here, he had felt tension around the place. It was nothing he could explain to himself or anyone else, it was just a strange feeling that was there, which he struggled to understand. He had felt like this once before when he was a young boy and he recalled no good had come from it.

The memory increased his tension, as he slowly walked around trying to focus his mind on anything that was unusual. The harder he tried though, the more challenging it became; for some reason his mind felt shaky and unsure about itself. It was as if he was walking into a void, and his whole thought process felt vacant and troubled.

The trees were not helping most of them were extremely wide, and bushy. The slightest breeze blew them making them seem as though they were ghostly figures, surrounding the nervous Knight. Mordred had been brought up in the forest, yet never had he felt such nervous tension about him. At times it felt as if someone was following him, he could feel the hairs on his neck standing up on end. The breeze messed with his mind, as he slowly turned behind him, only to find nobody was there.

In the end he gave himself a tough talking too. He was a Camelot Knight now, and they were frightened of no one. He straightened his shoulders and began to walk more boldly down the path. For a few minutes he seemed suddenly more relaxed, as though he was in control of his mind again. He felt nothing but focused as he walked on his sword drawn standing high in his hand. He looked from left to right, his senses suddenly acute and alert.

The quiet around him rather than startling him, encouraged him further and further along the path. Underneath his feet the ground became somehow less slippery and cumbersome. As he continued onwards a feeling of euphoria seemed to almost take him over. It seemed as if he now felt no fear at all, merely contentment a sense of seeing the world through different eyes.

He didn't for one minute consider how it was that in a few moments, the mood in the forest changed so completely. It was like he was in a dream, walking along a path that seemed to go on forever. He was so in his zone that only when he was a few feet away, did he actually see the man ahead of him.

Mordred gave a start as he took him in. The man was tall, with very short cut hair and dressed in a long cloak, not unlike those he saw the Druid elders in, back in his childhood. But this man was not a Druid. Yet as Mordred stared at him, he felt there was something familiar about him.

He slowly brought his sword up it was a defensive move, rather than an aggressive one. Mordred felt a strange feeling about not quite knowing whether the man, made him nervous or not. There was certainly nothing threatening about him, the man himself held his hand out towards Mordred as if wanting to quell any disquiet that Mordred may have. It was then that it hit Mordred, this man was a fellow magician.

"Please I mean you know harm." When the man spoke, his voice had an almost musical quality about it, soft yet flowing. "I am here to help not hinder you."

Mordred slowly dropped his sword until it lay down by his side. "Who are you?"

"That does not matter." The man smiled, "It is what I have to tell you that is important."

"Which is?" Mordred asked, suddenly feeling more relaxed but very curious.

"The place where you and Emrys are going is dangerous. You need to know certain facts if your mission is to be successful"

"How do you know about Emrys?" Mordred asked, tension back in his features that took even Mordred by surprise.

"Mordred I think all magical creatures know about this man. He is our great hope is he not? I am a friend to you both I am desperate that your mission is successful. Please realise I am here as a friend, nothing else."

"How do you know my name?" Mordred asked, curiously.

"I know both your names as I was sent to warn you about this mission." The man explained, "You need to try and trust me and please be assured I am here only to help you."

Mordred studied him intently still a bit perturbed. But hadn't he himself been brought up on great stories about Emrys, maybe it really was as simple as this man said. He knew he had to reach a decision on whether to trust him or not. Surely there was no harm in him listening to what he had to say.

"Go on then tell me what you know." Mordred said moving a little closer to the man.

"Thank you. Landez is a village where a great wrong was done, many years ago. Before either of us where on this earth, a sorcerer was put to death. He had been accused of doing many a wrong thing. The people had demanded his demise, which the then King set out to do. They arrested a man whom they thought was the culprit, only it had proved to be the wrong sorcerer.

For six months an endless list of misfortune had begotten this town. People were killed, went missing, fires started in the forests and fields around the town, at one stage the local people were unable to grow any food. Then suddenly one day it all stopped."

"So what happened?" Mordred asked, suddenly intrigued.

"It was presumed at the time, that eventually the spirit of the dead sorcerer, found his peace. His spirit stayed at sleep, which in turn enabled the town to go on its ways in normality once again."

"Are you telling me the village we are going to is the same place in this story?" Mordred asked, attempting to take it all in.

"Indeed Mordred, the very same village with the very same happenings." The man sadly declared. "Somehow the spirit of this old sorcerer has awoken again, just like before."

"You said originally the sorcerer's spirit found peace, which brought normality back. How do we do so again?" Mordred asked, fearing the answer, as he asked the question.

"Between the two of you, you can once again return peace to this village, but only if you trust in one another and completely work together. Only the most power sorcerer's can calm the dead, Mordred. This will be one of the biggest tests that either of you will face. But together you possess the ability to conquer it."

Mordred stood on the spot letting all of the man's information delve into his mind. He was right about one thing all of a sudden it felt as if he was facing a huge challenge. For a second Mordred felt entirely inadequate.

"You say that Emrys and I can solve this. How are you so sure?" Mordred asked, sounding like a lost child and feeling like one.

"Trust me Mordred, your powers are more astute than you think. It was you after all that found me here was it not? What you and Emrys must do is to put whatever doubts you possess about each other, to the side and work as one to gain the peace that this village desperately deserves. Only you two together have the ability, you are their only hope."

With that the man disappeared, leaving Mordred alone and wondering how he could convince the great Emrys to believe in what he had to tell him.

"Wait I need to ask more questions." Mordred shouted, into the darkness, looking around in panic. "I mean where do we even start with this?"

Suddenly a voice said on the breeze. "Rest assured Mordred I will be around. Trust in your senses and when you need me you will find me once again."

Mordred realised that now he was alone in the middle of the forest, with nothing but the moon for company. He decided to make his way back to Emrys and the rest of the Knights.

His mind was still in a whirl as he confronted just what he and Emrys would face. The first problem he would have he realised would be convincing Emrys of the story he'd just been told. There was one thing that intrigued him in particular. The man had claimed that the two sorcerers would need to put aside any difficulties they had about each other.

It had shocked Mordred to hear that as he admired the older sorcerer. This after all was the man he'd been brought up to believe was the great hope of his kind. What problem did the man mean that he may have had? It completely puzzled Mordred and also upset him. How could he put something aside, if he didn't even know what it was in the first place?

Mordred was so confused that he didn't see Merlin until he walked into him. He gave a sudden start and made to go for his sword, as he did Merlin's hand pushed up in front of Mordred's face.

"Mordred were have you been?" Merlin asked, "You've been gone for ages?"

"Sorry, I lost track of time. I actually got a bit lost in truth, my senses led me into a strange place." Mordred said, realising that he was lying to Merlin. But he had decided to buy himself some time, while he tried to work out just what and how he would explain things to Merlin.

Merlin looked at Mordred for a moment or two before replying. "Well come back and have something to eat. We need to move out of here and make it to Landez before night fall. "

"Yes of course." Mordred agreed, and followed him back to the camp.

They had eaten in near silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. All around them the light had started to fade, within half an hour they were back on their horses again thundering through the forest, praying they would make their destination before the night fully took hold.

Fine rain had by now begun to come down, wetting their hair and clothes. Mordred hated this type of rain, it really got inside the bones and chilled him. But in truth the rain was the least of his problems as he considered the hole he had now got himself into.

Why had he chose to lie to his colleague he wondered to himself. He knew Merlin had not taken the bait, the slight coldness in the older sorcerer's eyes had told him that much. Was it because Mordred himself was not convinced by the story he'd just heard? Or was there something more sinister at foot. Did the elusive stranger speak the truth, when he mentioned that Mordred did indeed have a problem?

He closed his eyes and willed it away from his mind. He would not comprehend such a thing, he refused to believe it. Merlin was the great Emrys the hope of Mordred's kind, and now he realised he had done the worst of things, by lying to him when he needn't have.

As Mordred saw the village in the distance, he knew he would have to think of a way to get back into Merlin's good books and fast.

To be Continued.

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