By the time Merlin stirred, darkness had lomg fallen on the forest surrounding the cave. Blinking a few times, the warlock lifted his head and stared out the mouth of the cave. It was dark, very dark, but he could pick out the faint outlines of storm clouds that shielded the moon from the earth. It was going to storm soon, Merlin realized. The clouds weren't the only hints to rain, the all-encompassing silence and stillness of the air we're other tell-tale signs to an impressive storm.
Sitting there, Merlin tried to think up a plan. It was hard, very hard; his head felt heavy and his brain was muddled. However, Merlin managed to come up with something. He'd go deeper into the cave until morning or when the rain passed, then, he would attempt to get to the closest village. The warlock didn't think he could make it back to Camelot in he condition he was in. He could hardly walk, after all.
With a hand pressed against the stone, he eased himself upwards. Wavering on the spot, Merlin gasped as he put some weight on his injured leg. Thankfully, Merlin was alone and all the Vikings had had apparently given up their hunt for him, because the sound he had just made surely would've gotten him killed. This wasn't going to be easy, not only did he have much use of his leg, but he also was quite dizzy from the blood loss.
With ginger movements, the warlock headed away from the caves's mouth. He had one hand resting on the stone wall for support and another wrapped around his torso in a vein attempt to hold the warmth in. It took him at least an hour to get deeper into the cave, but he finally found a spot that suited him.
Sliding down onto the ground, he stuck his injured leg straight out in front of him and bent the unharmed leg. Closing his eyes, he breathed in an out. That little bit of movement had left him exhausted. Breathing out , he opened his eyes and saw a fire-pit, with wood within it, before him. "Forbearnan," whispered Merlin as he held his hand out to the twigs. With eyes flashing, the wood begins to burn. At least he was having a little luck.
Now, with the fire going, the warlock could better examine himself. First thing was first, take out the arrow. This was going to hurt. Wrapping a hand around the shaft, Merlin yanked. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. That fact made him frown. Examining the stick in his hand, he noted that there was no arrow head attached to the part he was holding. As he fingered the stick, he felt not only his blood, but softened wax. The Vikings had made it so the arrowheads detatched from the shaft.
Throwing it aside, Merlin leaned his head against the stone. The coolness felt good on the back of his head. Turning his cheek, the warlock sighed, closed his eyes, and relished in how refreshing it felt. After a moment, he opened his lids again. He needed to treat, or at least wrap, his thigh and stop the bleeding.
Letting his hand hover the leg, he whispered a healing spell. It didn't work. He tried a second and a third and a fourth, but those did not work either. Giving up on the futile attempts to heal himself, he settled on wrapping his thigh. Ripping the hem of his tunic, he wrapped the strip of frayed cloth around the blood-soaked pant and wound. Tying it securely, Merlin wiped his brow.
As he moved his hand away, he frowned yet again. His wrist was wet with sweat. Placing a hand on his brow, he withdrew it quickly. The situation had gone from bad to worse - Merlin was wounded, he was alone with no medical supplies on him, and the wound had apparently gotten infected, which was causing a fever to burn within his thin and expended body.
Dizzy as well as debilitated with weariness and sadness, Merlin slid further down the wall so he was prone on the dirt floor. His eyesight was going fuzzy and his head was swimming. Just as unconsciousness was about to take him, he saw a figure enter the cave. That someone called, "Merlin." But, he didn't answer. He couldn't. The warlock was too tired and no part of him seemed to want to work properly, not even his lips. Thus, instead of fighting it, he succumbed again to the darkness.