Hellooooo, I know I'm a little late...soooo sorry about that, was just too busy and too tired to write :D But anyway here is the next chapter for you and I hope you enjoy it!

And again thank you for all the reviews, reeeally appreciate it :D

(unbeta'd, sorry for any mistakes =) )

Disclaimer: don't own anything

Chapter 4

Back at the castle

An hour later Arthur, Merlin and the two knights entered the castle through the main gate; upon arriving Arthur immediately sent one of the guards to inform his father of his return and ordered two others to take the injured knight to Gaius.

Arthur, Sir Leon and Merlin walked to the throne room and quietly concocted a safer version of the actual events. Unfortunately they couldn't tell Uther that Merlin had joined them in the castle, as various people had seen them enter the citadel together. However, no-one would question that they had met the servant, 'who was collecting herbs', on their way back.

To say that Merlin was relieved would be a massive understatement; he was so glad Arthur had decided to trust him…well for now. Arthur on the other hand felt torn, he neither wanted to have to lie to his father nor to betray Merlin and subsequently condemn him to death. Thankfully he managed to occupy his thoughts otherwise at the moment, namely with the impending attack on Camelot.

When the three of them finally reached the throne room Uther was already waiting impatiently.

"Arthur! What happened?" he demanded to know promptly.

Exchanging a quick look with Merlin, Arthur turned to his father and started to explain.

"The sorcerers, who have been brought to our attention, where indeed hiding nearby. We managed to prepare a trap, but before we could act a third party intervened. Another group of sorcerers ambushed our targets, so we then ambushed the...ambushing sorcerers, after they had taken care of nearly all the others. However, after their initial surprise two of them shielded themselves with magic and eliminated our comrades one by one. We had no chance." Looking crushed the prince made a meaningful pause before continuing. "Sir Leon, Sir Tristan and I only survived, because the sorcerers asked us to deliver a message."

"What message?"

"Basically the sorcerers told us that they were about to find a device with which they would be able to destroy Camelot, the so-called necklace of Ériu." The very moment Arthur had spoken that name Gaius, who was standing close to the king, gasped loudly and paled considerably, whereupon the entire court looked at him.

"Gaius? You do know what this device is?" questioned the worried king.

After collecting himself and hiding his evident fear the normally composed physician answered "Yes Sire, I do. The necklace of Ériu is rumoured to be a device with the power of draining every magical being in a perimeter of fifty miles and more. It stores this energy, which then can be released either all at once or partially. The destructive power is immense, Camelot wouldn't stand a chance."

Upon hearing this Uther puffed out his chest and said confidently "Well, then it is no threat to my kingdom, as there are no sorcerers anymore, not in my territory."

Unconsciously Arthur looked at Merlin and considered if maybe he had made the wrong choice. What if there were more like him? What if their power alone could devastate Camelot? But when he was just about to speak Merlin turned to look at him and seeing his manservant's pleading, scared look, Arthur kept his mouth shut...

In the meantime Gaius had a similar problem. How the hell should he tell his magic-hating king that there were indeed still creatures, beings with magic in the country, and close enough to the city to pulverize the citadel? And all that without starting another purge...sometimes he really hated his job. Why did he always have to be the one to convey the bad news...?

"My lord, I fear I have to correct you; there may not be any sorcerers or druids nearby, but unfortunately the magical beasts, which still roam the woods, possess magic. Additionally it is possible to 'collect' the power elsewhere; therefore it is not necessary for them to charge the device close to Camelot." That being said one could watch Uther's confidence decrease a little, before he whirled around to face his son and ordered "Arthur, take a dozen knights, find this necklace and destroy it!"

Only an hour later, after packing and assembling the knights, Arthur, Merlin, Leon and eleven other knights mounted their horses and cantered out of Camelot. Not that they had any idea where to go, but it certainly looked impressive.


Review pls :D

...and I wasn't really sure how big Camelot is supposed to be, so if anyone has an idea pls let me know and I will change the range of the necklace accordingly...(cause 50 miles...ahh I don't know)