A/N Sorry, this is a short one. I had very little time for writing this week, but I decided I'd go ahead and post anyway so you did not have a huge wait. Anyway, it's all about quality rather than quantity, right? :D

Thanks very much to my awesome beta LyricalSinger for helping me to get this out to you.

Chapter 2 - Languages (Part 3)

Note: words shown in italics in places where Merlin is meant to be reading indicate that the written language is not English.

In the end, Merlin had to a wait a little longer than he had hoped for the opportunity to put his plan into action. Although the warlock had originally hoped to steal away and begin his research after having a few quick bites of dinner, once he arrived home from attending Arthur, one look at Gaius convinced him not to rush back out.

The physician looked exhausted, but there he was, still busy preparing a batch of medicine. "Merlin!" the old man said with something that sounded like relief. "I know you have not eaten yet, but do you have it in yourself to fetch some fresh water and firewood for me? I'm almost out, and I really need to finish this tonight," he said, gesturing towards the mixture he was stirring.

"Of course I will get it for you, Gaius," Merlin answered, going straight over to pick up the wood carrier that was on the floor by the fireplace.

The servant soon returned, staggering into the room with both arms wrapped around a full pile of wood, and a bucket of water dangling precariously from three fingers. Once the wood was stacked, and the water safely set on the worktable, the warlock realized that the rosemary was also running low and offered to replenish the supply, even though it grew in a section of the palace gardens that was unlit.

Merlin decided that there was no reason for Gaius to know about the tiny enchantment that he placed on his torch. It increased the brightness just enough that the servant could quickly collect everything he needed without having the fuss about moving the light around. Nor did Gaius need to know about the little spell that Merlin whispered - almost nothing really - that caused the dirt to disappear off the fragrant sprigs as soon as he put them into his basket, which would greatly speed up the time-consuming task of cleaning them by hand.

"You are back quickly," his mentor said, smiling at his ward. "Oh, to be young and spry once more," he added before bending back to his work.

Merlin chuckled, "Yes, well I hurried," he said, setting the rosemary out on the worktable. "You look tired and I wanted to make sure you could get to your bed soon." The servant helped Gaius chop up what they needed of the herb, and then stirred it into the rest of the mixture which was already simmering over the flames.

"I'm glad that's done," said Gaius, wiping his hands on a towel that was lying on the tabletop. A huge yawn split his face even before he had a chance to put it back down. "You are right, I am tired. But thank goodness I've got you here to help me."

Merlin smiled and thought about reminding Gaius that he was capable of doing more than chopping and fetching, but decided to stick with his plan of proving it.

"I think I will take your advice and stop for the night, my boy," Gaius said. "We will have plenty to do tomorrow, so you should not stay up too late either," he added.

Merlin could not help shifting his eyes away from his mentor. He really hated lying to the man, but he didn't feel he had a choice. "I need to go out and do some work for Arthur he said." At Gaius' look of surprise he added, "It's nothing very difficult; I just need to find some books for him about axe-throwing." Merlin decided he'd be best to admit he was going to the archives. After all, Gaius was good friends with Geoffrey, and the archivist could easily ask about Merlin's late-night visit.

"Ah, axe-throwing, is it?" Gaius asked, and Merlin wondered if the physician suspected the real reason.

"Um, yes. I should not be very late. Don't worry, it won't prevent me from helping you tomorrow," he said in a rush, heading to the door.

Not long afterward, Merlin found himself in the archives. He seemed to be alone, which was not really surprising given the lateness of the hour. Geoffrey was not at his desk, nor near any of the stacks closest to it. The archivist had likely returned to his quarters straight after the dinner with the King and the council.

The young servant breathed a sigh of relief. He felt much more comfortable knowing that Geoffrey was not there to give him disapproving looks every time he touched a book.

"Now, where would the books about enchanted metal be?" he asked himself. "Or maybe there is a section about French trade," he thought, turning in a slow circle to look around the massive library. So far on his visits he'd been sent mainly for books about medicinal herbs or the treatment of illnesses, but he doubted that what he needed would be near those shelves.

For a moment he regretted that he'd never had a chance to ask Geoffrey how the library was actually organized, only to snicker when he admitted to himself that he would never have dared to do so even if he had had the opportunity.

Finally, he decided to start at the same shelf where he had put away the book about French axe-throwing earlier in the day. The section about weaponry seemed as good a place to start as any.

The young servant scanned through volume after volume about making and refining weapons of all sorts, leaving to the side any he found that dealt solely with their use or care. He also skipped over any books about weapons that were not made of metal. Even so, there seemed to be hundreds to go through.

Merlin stopped, "There has to be a way to narrow them down," he thought, and followed with an internal groan. "I don't even know if this is the right section."

He pulled out a scroll on crossbows, and after unrolling it, he just stared at the words without reading for a moment before coming to a sudden realization. "These books are all written in English," he said aloud. Merlin quickly rerolled the scroll and pushed it back into its place on the shelf. "I need to find French books," he said softly, jumping down from the short ladder that he'd been on.

Once his two feet were firmly on the floor, Merlin scowled and, hands on his hips, looked around wondering where Geoffrey kept the books written in foreign languages. Deciding that the best way to find out, short of waiting for the archivist and asking, was to systematically walk past each shelf until he saw some titles written in French. He could only hope that they were grouped together.

Within a short time, Merlin found what he was looking for, though that was largely due to luck. The young man had been so intent on looking for any trace of French on scrolls and book bindings that he had not watched where he was going, and managed to trip over a small crate of what seemed to be cleaning supplies. He tried to catch himself by grabbing onto the nearest upright surface, but that turned out to be a door camouflaged to look like more shelves. Merlin ended up sprawled on the floor in the entryway of the large room behind the door.

"Ow!" said the young man, picking himself up and rubbing at the elbow that had come in contact with the floor when he'd fallen. His bruises were soon forgotten when he realized what he had found. The room was roughly semi-circular, and every bit of wall was lined with library shelves. Shelves that were full of volumes titled in the French he'd been searching for.

Merlin's mouth dropped open at his luck. "Surely there must be something here," he breathed, moving more fully into the room so he could continue his search.

Geoffrey had arranged the books by region, or possibly by dialect; Merlin was not sure exactly which, but imagined it was more or less the same thing. He knew that each region of France tended to have a different dialect. Some were quite similar to each other, others less so. The young servant did not know all of them, but his mother had schooled him in the most common ones, and in his childhood he had loved to practice both speaking and reading in the beautiful tongues.

It did not take Merlin long to find several books related to mining in France, though most seemed to be more of an accounting of the amounts and qualities of the ores found there, and the trade routes for bringing the ores into the towns that could refine them, and from there into the Five Kingdoms.

"Here they are," he said excitedly, pulling out several books about the mines in the regions of Nimes. He opened the first and scanned through it quickly. "Yes, here '… rare metal can be used in fabrication of amulets to soothe grief and ease bad memories'" he read from a scroll titled 'Properties of metals from the mines at Alès'. "And this one, 'Extreme care must be taken in transporting the metal to avoid befuddlement and forgetfulness'" he read in a book called, 'Trade and supply lines in and out of Nimes'.

In all, Merlin found four books that looked promising for his research about how the enchanted metal worked and what it could have been made into to entice Uther to purchase it. By the time the midnight bell tolled, he had worked out that the mine was nearer to Alès than Nimes, and the metal was generally used to make ornaments, usually through molding. These could be things like sword hilts, embellishments for armour, amulets used for medicinal purposes, flag posts, or even crowns and jewelry. It was not used for weaponry, as it was too soft, but it was coveted for its beautiful burnished appearance. Also, trade outside of southern France was not encouraged, due to a strong, undesired long term effect on people who were not accustomed to its properties.

He was pleased with his progress, but with a yawn, Merlin reluctantly had to admit that he would not find the rest of the answers he was looking for that night. He was too tired to keep reading any longer. So, he put the books he'd found into his bag, and headed back to his room, intending to finish his research the next day.