"You need to eat, Father."
Merlin heard Arthur's words, patient yet firm, as he sidled into Uther's chambers. The nurse, Bess, was standing inside the door, waiting until she was needed again and studiously not watching the royal family. She acknowledged Merlin with a slight nod, which he returned before glancing toward the other two people in the room.
Uther was seated at his table and Arthur had pulled a chair up beside him. The king was staring blankly ahead, while Arthur held a chunk of bread out in front of him. "Father, eat. You cannot lead Camelot on an empty stomach."
Merlin dropped his eyes to the floor, doing as Bess and pretending not to notice what was going on. Arthur's tone was not patronizing, but it may as well have been; Uther could do little for himself most days, much less for the kingdom. However, Arthur knew his father better than most, and the remark worked. As Merlin peered up for a second, Uther took a good bite of the bread. Arthur noticed Merlin then, but he made sure Uther continued to eat before he stood. "Bess is going to step in for me now. I will be back to bid you good night." He laid a hand on his father's shoulder, waiting until Uther slowly looked up at him and met his eyes. Arthur summoned a smile for him before turning toward the door.
Bess moved forward as Arthur neared. He said in a tone low enough that Uther could not hear, "Send for me immediately if he gives you any more trouble."
"I shall, sire."
Arthur murmured a thanks to her, and then gestured with his head for Merlin to follow him into the corridor. "What is it?"
"Gaius has news about the stone Morgana is after." Arthur had stopped in to ask about it before seeing to the king, but Gaius wanted to consult a source or two before giving a definitive answer. That, of course, meant that Merlin had been sent to the archives to ask Geoffrey for the books, who had then sent him into the stacks to find them with only vague directions; and after Gaius had found his answers, he told Merlin to go retrieve Arthur.
He would have liked to sit down for a moment to catch his breath, but that was clearly not going to happen anytime soon. Not that that was an unusual circumstance.
"I take it the news is not good?" Arthur replied, apparently wondering why he was bothering to ask.
Merlin recalled the excerpt that Gaius had read aloud to him. "It could be worse, but not by much."
Arthur shot him a slightly annoyed look. "Care to explain that?"
"I could try, but it's probably best just to let Gaius tell you."
"You are very likely right."
Hesitating, Merlin debated whether to broach the subject of the king, and finally decided that caring was better than ignoring the issue. "I'm sorry that your father's having a bad day."
With a glance that hovered between frustrated and resigned, Arthur nodded, but refrained from speaking. At least, Merlin figured, Arthur had not told him to shut up. That was something.
The rest of the walk to the physician's quarters was in silence. It made Merlin a little fidgety but he figured that Arthur needed the peace. Once they were settled in his room, Gaius handed Arthur the book he had read to Merlin from earlier.
"The Stone of Thandrastyl is one of four items enchanted four hundred years ago by a warlock called Vesprian," Gaius told him. "It has not been seen for many generations, although reports have surfaced now and again regarding its location, none of which has ever been confirmed."
"What does it do?" asked Arthur, scanning the page before handing the volume over to Merlin.
Gaius's eyebrow crept up. "It has the power to raise the dead."
"I should have seen that coming," Arthur muttered, and Merlin had to silently agree.
Shaking his head, Gaius countered, "It is more extraordinary than that: it does not only revive one person. When activated, its magic has a far reach. Vesprian designed it as a personal tool. His plan was that not only would he be reawakened with its use, but that his friends and his children would be given new life, as well."
From the way Arthur was squinting at Gaius, Merlin could tell the prince was having a little trouble accepting that. "Do you mean to say that if Morgana finds this stone, she will reawaken a four-hundred-year-old sorcerer and all of his kin?"
"No," Gaius replied. "If she finds it and figures out how to use it, she will reawaken Morgause and all of Morgause's kin. Sorcerers and sorceresses she has cared for who have met unfortunate ends will all be brought back to life."
Arthur glanced away, fiddling with the ring on his forefinger as he pondered that for a moment. "My father was responsible for many of those deaths," he finally said. "Those who are brought back will head straight for Camelot."
Gently, Gaius said, "I fear that will be the case." He looked over to Merlin, who was already mentally making a list of what he would have to pack for himself and Arthur.
"Then, there is nothing for it. We must find the stone before Morgana does." Arthur gestured to Merlin, apparently wanting the book back, so Merlin handed it to him.
"That will not be so easy," Gaius warned. "It was stolen on the same night that Vesprian died. No one has seen it for centuries."
While Arthur flipped a page, possibly looking for a better answer, something occurred to Merlin. "If Morgana's going to look for it, she must have heard something about its location. Someone must at least have an idea as to where it is."
Gaius murmured an agreement. Arthur eyed him. "That's actually a rather good point."
"You do not have to seem so surprised," Merlin muttered, reminding himself not for the first time that, someday, Arthur would know exactly how many "good points" he had made over the years.
"Well, it's not entirely helpful, though," Arthur continued arrogantly, making it incredibly tempting to whisper a few words and get that pitcher on the table behind him to fly forward and knock him in the head. It would only be payback for all the things Arthur had thrown at his head over the years... Merlin almost missed what Arthur was saying, and quickly dragged his attention back to reality. "We know where she is, but wandering into Urien's kingdom to ask her what she's heard is not really an option."
"It is possible that she does not know where it is," Gaius put in. "She may not be seeking the stone, itself."
"What do you mean?" asked Arthur.
"As I said, Vesprian enchanted four objects. A set. While it is not necessary to have all four in order for one of them to be used, they can point the way to each other."
"If you have one of them, you can find the others?" Merlin asked, in order to clarify.
"Precisely."
Gesturing, Arthur asked, "What of the others, then? Are their whereabouts known?"
"Only rumors. Anyone who has one in their possession would be a fool to announce it. That is, unless they did not know what it was they possessed."
Merlin caught a glint in the old man's eye. Sensing a little mischief, the corner of his own mouth tugged up. "You would not happen to know any of these rumors, would you?"
As he began to grin, Gaius admitted, "I just might."
~x~x~
Morgana swept into Accolon's workroom, holding her cape behind her when it tried to billow in front of her feet. She did not have the patience to deal with its impertinence, nor with the sorcerer's.
Accolon caught sight of her a moment before she spotted him, and turned away from his bench to drop into a deep bow. "My lady."
"Do you have it?" she demanded.
As he straightened, she could tell by his expression what his answer would be. "Not yet, my lady, although I have every confidence that—"
She laughed; a cold, sarcastic bark. A sliver of a memory crossed her mind, of a time when she had laughed freely, warmly. She could no longer recall what it was like to be guilelessly entertained. "Your confidence means nothing to me, Accolon. When you suggested this plan, you assured me that you could find the stone and make it work. And yet every day, it is the same." Striding over until she stood directly in front of him, she tilted her chin up, eyes blazing. "It is my confidence you should be concerned with, and it slips every time you fail to give me the answer I seek."
His eyes, a startlingly pale shade of brown that appeared almost normal in the gloom of his chambers, remained even. He even dared to smile at her which, while she fought not to let show, dented Morgana's poise. "With all due respect, my lady, I am concerned with the confidence of my liege. King Urien trusts that I will solve this puzzle, and I shall. I beg you to extend the same patience that your kind host shows me."
Irritated, Morgana's jaw jutted forward. "Perhaps, my 'kind host' would not be so patient if I pointed out to him how long it is taking you to find a way to save my sister." Morgause was the one who had told her to come to Urien if anything went wrong, and the king had been all too obvious in his affection for Morgause when Morgana arrived with her nearly lifeless body.
"I have told you of a way the process could be… helped along," Accolon said softly.
His serene expression remained in place when her palm cracked across his cheek. "And I told you what you could do with that process," she snarled. "Just find me the stone."
Whirling, she stormed out of the workroom, letting anger take over the fear which had her heart thudding painfully in her chest.
