AN: Here's another chapter. If anyone is wondering, from here on out I'll be getting all my info about the journey to find the last Dragon Egg from the episode Aithusa, but I'm going to change all the dialogue and some of the little nuances that happen, so it will be reminiscent of the episode but not a copy. Hopefully still interesting!

XxTheWhitDragonxX: No, don't worry! I could never make such a cute little baby dragon evil...! Personally, I don't think they did enough with Aithusa in the show. She could have been so amazing, but she only reappeared a few times in the last couple episodes.

Mersan123: I'm glad you approve :) I wasn't sure what adventure idea I should do, but this one seemed good, because of its more magical aspect.

Read On!

Arthur's and Gwaine's facial expressions were rather comical. Also their thoughts, though Merlin tried to stay away from focusing on the unspoken questions. After a tension-filled moment, the young warlock couldn't stand it.

"Will you all please just voice your questions so I don't have to keep trying to avoid your thoughts?!"

Gwaine and Arthur were unsure how to respond to that outburst. It still wasn't entirely clear to them how thoughts could be noisy.

"Anyway," put in Kilgharrah, sounding almost conversationalist. "You three ought to be going. Strength, Courage, Magic, I wish you a good journey." With that, and two great beats of the dragon's wings, he was gone.

"You are so going to explain." Gwaine noted.

"'Strength, Courage, Magic'?" Arthur said, "Where have I heard those before? And what is this about a dragon's egg?!"

"The gatekeeper to the perilous lands, obviously, your royal Pinkness. Or, sorry, Princess… no wait, that's not quite right either…" Gwaine was having too much fun prodding Arthur, and he grinned widely. Arthur had his arms crossed and he glowered, his chin jutting out petulantly. Thus, neither of them noticed that Merlin had pulled out his magic book. Which is why they both yelped in a rather unmanly way as the surrounding clearing and citadel wall vanished, and they found themselves in an unknown part of the forest. It had happened in an instant, and they were still in their same positions, just misplaced.

"What?" Arthur said, as he stumbled forward and caught himself on his hands and knees. Gwaine staggered around once, but seemed to have forgotten his balance back by the citadel, and suddenly found himself on his butt in the wet grass. He didn't appear to have noticed.

"Did-? That bloody warlock!" Arthur finally managed.

"He didn't teleport us, did he?" Murmured Gwaine, as the dew on the grass soaked into his trousers.

"He did!" Arthur growled. It isn't that the royal was mad at Merlin, but some warning would have been nice!

"Where is he? When I find him-"

"Princess!" Gwaine cut Arthur off. Arthur looked up, and followed Gwaine's befuddled gaze. Just a few feet away, the air was shimmering, as though it had been spliced clean through by a moonbeam. It slowly split, opening, a crack in the skin of the universe. Beyond it appeared to be just darkness.

And out of the darkness stepped Merlin. He didn't stumble or trip (So, he trips walking across the palace's smooth floors, but not stepping out of some interdimensional doorway?! Arthur was confused). Merlin dusted himself, turned around to the crack, and bent down, taking the two sides at the very bottom of shimmering opening and slowly kneading it closed. When he had finished, he clapped his hands together, as though removing dirt.

"That was more successful than I'd'ave guessed. What are you two doing on the ground?"

Arthur and Gwaine just scowled. After a moment, Merlin tilted his head slightly to the side, which Arthur was beginning to realize meant he was tuning in to someone's thoughts. He immediately set out to test this theory.

Are you listening to my thoughts, Merlin? Arthur thought. He assumed the answer to be yes upon seeing Merlin's wide smirk.

"Ok, if you refuse to speak your questions, I'll just interpret using your thoughts." Merlin said, and started walking towards them. "I mean, it is easier and more direct, but I feel like you would want your privacy."

Arthur and Gwaine finally relented. Though it unnerved them to not be able to hide anything from the warlock, the kinship they all shared was enough to assuage the discomfort.

"First of all, I'd like my clothes to be returned to their normal colors, please." Arthur requested with kingly arrogance. Merlin merely waved his hand, and Arthur felt a warm - but not painful - sensation wash over him. Is this what all magic feels like, or just Merlin's? The royal wondered. Merlin either didn't pick up on his thoughts or simply ignored them. In a few seconds, the sensation left, and his shirt was normal Camelot red and his trousers were a nice beige.

Gwaine asked, "What was that about a dragon's egg? I thought Kil-whatever-his-name-is was the last one."

"We can talk while we walk." Merlin responded.

"Where are we going?" Gwaine asked.

"While we walk!" The warlock reinforced. He began striding, pack on his back, into a seemingly random area of the forest. The knight and the royal followed closely.

"So, where are we going?"

Merlin just smiled.

"Have you ever heard of the Tomb of Ashkanar?"

Gwaine and Arthur shared a glance.

"No." They said, shaking their heads. They looked back at him, eager, almost excited.

Merlin sighed. It was going to be a very long walk.