Author's Note: Some you might recognize this fic, it was originally posted on my old account Galacticwolf, but since I don't use that account anymore I decided to rewrite it and post it on this one. I don't have a ton of time to write currently since I'm busy with school, but for the chapters I'm rewriting I will probably update once a week and then once I start writing new chapters it may be only once a month.
Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once, so here we go: I don't own Merlin or any of its characters, they belong to the BBC, the only thing I own is the plot of this story.
Arthur sighed as he waited for the members of the round table to arrive, hardly a month had passed since they had retaken Camelot, and yet there was already a new threat from Morgana facing them, he couldn't help but wonder if they would ever get a break. Noticing that the last of the knights had arrived, Arthur stood up, causing the room to grow quiet,
"As I'm sure some of you have already heard," he began, "We recently received word that Morgana is in fact, still alive" As the knights shared looks of horror, Arthur continued, "We've also learned that she's searching for something known as the Ring of Souls." As he finished speaking, Arthur noticed from the corner of his eye that Gaius had a thoughtful look on his face, and it appeared he was the only one, as Leon spoke up.
"Have you ever heard of it before, Gaius?" he asked,
"I know I've seen it mentioned before," Gaius said, "But I'm not sure where." He thought for a moment, "Ah," he said," Now I remember, it was in the same book as the Cup of Life" He stood up, "Give me a moment to go get it."
Gaius returned a few minutes later, carrying a heavy tome which he set down on the table with a loud thud, "It should be in here somewhere." he said, as he flipped through the pages, "Ah, here it is, the Ring of Souls is a magical artifact that is said to reside in the Valley of Ysbrydion, it is rumored that it gives the wearer the power to summon and control the spirits of the dead." No one spoke as the realization of how much harm Morgana could cause with that power sunk in, it was Leon who finally broke the silence,
"If Morgana gets ahold of that ring she could some summon an army of ghosts to attack Camelot." he said, the fear obvious in his voice,
"Not only that," Arthur said, turning pale, "With all the magic users my father killed she could easily summon an army of dead sorcerers." Merlin groaned and placed his head in his hands,
"Why does it always have to be a magical army?" He asked the room in general, "Why can't she just use normal humans that are easy to kill for once?" Gwaine laughed and place a comforting hand on Merlin's shoulder,
"Come on Merlin, that would be way too boring." It was then that Percival asked what they had all been wondering, but didn't want to ask.
"If Morgana does get the ring, what will we do, how can you kill a ghost?" Gaius glanced at Merlin out of the corner of his eye before answering,
"I don't know, though it's possible that magic might work." Arthur rolled his eyes, frustration plain on his face,
"Somehow I doubt we'll have any magic users volunteering to help us" he said, "Any other ideas?"
"What about Excalibur?" Elyan asked, "It's a magic sword."
"It might be able to do them harm" Gaius admitted, "But I highly doubt that Arthur could fight them all by himself." Arthur slammed his hand against the table,
"What are we suppose to do?" He demanded, for a moment, nobody spoke,
"What if" Gwaine said finally, "We go to the Valley ourselves and get the ring, if we have it, then Morgana can't get it." Everyone turned and stared at him,
"What?" he asked, confused. Arthur shook his head,
"I can't believe it," he said, "Gwaine actually had a good idea."
"Hey!" Gwaine protested, "I have good ideas all the time!" Merlin laughed,
"Like what?" Gwaine thought,
"Well...um...there was that one time.. ummm..." Leon sighed,
"It is a good idea" he said, "But there's one problem, we have no idea where the Valley of Ysbrydion is." Arthur turned to Gaius,
"Does it say anything the book?" he asked, Gaius shook his head,
"All it says is that it's past the Lake of Avalon." Arthur threw his hands in the air,
"Great! And where is that?"
"It's about half a days journey from here." Everyone turned to stare at Merlin.