A/N: I've had this idea festering in my brain for around a year now and I'm just happy that I've finally put pen to paper. As a Merlin fan, I've always wondered if they would ever show the infamous 'tavern' which Merlin apparently visits regularly, so I've made my own up and made it a bit more 'fantastical' than your average bar ;). The POVs will change with every chapter and they will be named after the person who's POV it is. Not Beta'd and I use UK spellings and what not (since I'm from there!) Read & review please. :)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin, the BBC does.


The Tavern Club

Merlin could never bring himself to be annoyed with Arthur when he received a scolding about his fake extra-curricular activities in the tavern. He decided a long time ago that he would rather get a scolding from the King for something which is harmless compared to having him find out about his magic.

However, in the more recent years his 'gifts' were not of much use anymore. Camelot hadn't been under a full-fledged attack in years and Merlin possessed something he'd never thought he would acquire whilst serving King Arthur- free time. Not even Gaius needed him as much anymore since there wasn't the usual influx of people needing medical assistance as consequence of the new found peace in the kingdom.

Due to his boredom, he had become accustomed to taking lengthy walks through the woods of Camelot. During these trips his mind often wondered to how others in the kingdom were coping with the lack of responsibility. His thoughts usually frequently drifted to the knights and how they were coping with not having as much 'action' as they did in previous years. He knew that they had to cope with the boredom somehow.

These thoughts were interrupted however, when he spotted Gwaine walking through the forest, following a path that he had regularly seen but never explored. He battled internally with the idea of following the gregarious knight and maybe finally finding out how his friends were coping with the monotony of Camelot. But his curiosity won in the end, strengthened by the fact that he knew Arthur wouldn't expect him back for a while.

After a 20 minute journey travelling on the discreet path and hiding from Gwaine's sudden turns and unsheathing of his sword every time the knight heard a noise, they had arrived at their destination. Merlin was not impressed at all and his theories were thwarted. He spent 20 minutes of his time following Gwaine to an old outhouse which stood alone in a forest clearing. He couldn't believe that the knight came all this way, just to flex his cheeks in the woods! His outrage quickly diffused when he heard a loud bang originating from the shabby pail closet. The noise re-strengthened his resolve and he decided to stay and observe from the bushes for a while to see if Gwaine would reappear. And if he didn't, Merlin was going to go inside and see what made the all the ruckus in the first place, even if he walked in on his friend during an awkward situation.

Fifteen minutes had already passed and Merlin became weary from waiting. He marched towards the outhouse with purpose, mentally preparing himself for what he might see inside the dingy place. When he reached the door, he paused to stop and think about what he was about to do. Maybe I'm just being too paranoid, he thought silently. He knew that during the years of war and drama in Camelot he had become war-hardened and had learnt to become suspicious of almost everyone, Morgana had taught him that. He also knew that he couldn't paint everyone else with the same brush as her just because of her betrayal, least of all Gwaine. But even his thoughts couldn't defer his temptation as he turned the handle on the door.

It was empty.

Merlin's thoughts began to race as he stood in the cramped outhouse, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for Gwaine's disappearance. At one point he even channelled Uther and thought that the disappearance was most likely due to sorcery. His rapid thoughts were stopped abruptly upon noticing a strange marking he saw on the lantern hanging from the wall. Upon closer inspection he identified the marking to be word 'enjoy' in a language from the Old Religion. As he sounded the word out, the floor of the outhouse fell through and with a scream, Merlin found himself in what looked like the underground chambers of Camelot

The halls were dark, but there seemed to be torches deliberately left on the sides of the wall for someone to light them to guide the way. He took one of them off the stone slab and whispered, "Leohtbora."

After he lit a torch, he recognised the unmistakeable sound of laughter as it filled the dusty hallway. As the raucous laughter became louder, he was able to identify the culprit. It was Percival. Merlin edged closer to the bottom of the stairs and turned left to come face to face with a large double door. He moved to try the handle and surprisingly, it wasn't locked and so he continued to push the weighty doors open.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.

It was a tavern, but it wasn't like the ones Arthur took Merlin to after hunting. For one thing, this one was huge. It was the size of the main hall in the Castle and there appeared to be more eccentric pastimes in this tavern than just your usual ale-drinking. A fighting ring occupied the centre of the room and the walls were lined with swords, shields and metal plates of armour. And inhabiting the rest of the space in the vast room was a wooden bar with a rather large rectangle table placed in front of it with the Knights of Camelot sitting around occupying the seats, staring back at the young warlock.

"I was wondering when you would finally catch on Merlin. It's about time you found this place. Now how about you get initiated into 'The Tavern Club' with a couple of pints?" Gwaine asked Merlin with a mischievous smirk.