Here's the next installment! Enjoy!

"I seek an audience with the King," Gaius bowed his head, addressing the guards standing at the entrance of King Uther's royal courtroom.

They were familiar with Gaius, he was a longtime and loyal member of Uther's court. They stepped aside, allowing the healer to enter.

As the doors clanged shut behind him, Gaius bowed out of respect in the presence of his king.

"Sire," he said cordially.

"Gaius," came the hearty reply. Uther waved off his servant, greeting his court member cheerily, "What has brought you here? We are preparing the festivities for today's celebration!"

"Yes, my King, my issue regards this matter."

Uther's brows furrowed, "Oh?"

"Sire, Arthur and Merlin were supposed to return from their hunting expedition this morning, but they have not yet returned."

"Have you received any distressing news regarding their expedition from neighboring territories?"

Gaius wrung his hands, "Well...no, I suppose not. I just have a strong inclination that they both face a grave danger."

"Oh, Gaius!" the King laughed, "you've grown worrisome in your age. I assure you that my son is perfectly fine. He has a large responsibility on his shoulders regarding this feast. We are meant to celebrate the solstice, he is tasked with bringing the best game in the land."

"But, sire, can you not task a few knights to ride out and search for them?"

"With Arthur away, the knights bear the burden of his absence. They cannot abandon their duties to leave their posts based on a mere whim."

Gaius sighed, conceding to Uther. Perhaps Gaius was overexaggerating.

"Of course, sire," Gaius bowed again, preparing to leave, "thank you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Merlin groaned, allowing himself a moment to lie there motionless before urgency dawned upon him. He opened his eyes to be greeted by bark. The inside of the log.

"Arthur…" his own voice sounded distant to him. He shook his head, trying to regain his bearings, before calling again, "Arthur!"

"Merlin, come on!"

Arthur's voice sounded farther away. He was out of the log. Merlin scrambled out of the crawl space, his head turning. His swimming vision caught sight of a large hill they just rolled down.

"Merlin!" he ran straight into Arthur, who also was clumsily searching for him.

"Are you alright!?" the sorcerer asked, panting.

Arthur didn't answer. Merlin didn't blame him. He was holding his injured arm protectively, fear etched on his face.

"Where are we?" Merlin looked around. His heart was pounding. They just rolled down roughly through a thick forest packed with bushes and trees. He was sure he was in pain, but his adrenaline was too high to register it currently. Now, it was fight or flight. They needed to flee, "We need to continue, we only have a few moments before-"

Merlin stopped when he saw a darkness cross Arthur. The Prince's eyes were trained on the hill behind them. Merlin turned around slowly, cold dread spreading through him.

His eyes saw something they couldn't believe. The hill that Merlin and Arthur rolled down was steep and long. Just at the very top of the cliff, they saw the Black Knight peeking over the edge. His obsidian sword was pointed straight towards them.

"Run," Merlin ordered darkly.

"What? He can't reach us down here. It'll take him hours before he climbs down," Arthur responded.

The Black Knight disappeared from the edge.

"Arthur. Run."

"Merlin, there is no way that-"

BOOM!

The Black Knight leapt from the edge of the cliff, plunging straight down. Arthur and Merlin both gasped. It was a steep, dangerous plunge that would surely break legs if not kill the knight upon impact.

The Black Knight's silhouette blotted the sun as he came soaring down and landed on both legs halfway down the cliff.

"Run!" Merlin shouted.

Arthur didn't question it this time. Both knight and servant went scrambling through the forest as the Black Knight bounded down the remainder of the steep slope in two more jumps. His metal boots slammed against the dirt, shaking the trees around his impact.

The trees around Merlin were a blur, he was sprinting. He could sense Arthur slightly behind him. The Prince was battling an injury and the beginnings of infection, yet he was still fighting.

They heard heavy thumps behind them. Footsteps. It sounded like boulders were hitting the forest floor. They could feel the vibrations with every step.

"He's right behind us!" Arthur shouted, "Keep going!"

Merlin kept plowing through the trees. They were running recklessly, not knowing what direction was straight. Leaves and branches whacked him from every angle, his eyes were watering, his lungs were gasping.

"How do we stop him!?" Merlin shouted, "We can't run forever, he's gaining on us!"

"Look!" Arthur pointed forward.

Merlin spotted it. The path they were running across was ending. A thundering sound was growing. A cool mist was spraying over them. Merlin looked to his left and saw rushing water.

"The river!" he shouted.

"No!" Arthur added, "A waterfall!"

Merlin saw the edge of the path and how it crested over. The thundering sound was deafening. It was the sound of thousands of gallons of river water hurtling over the edge. The Black Knight wasn't slowing. He was determined to catch them. Merln dared a glance at Arthur and saw there was determination etched into his face. He was prepared to jump over the edge. In fact, it was the only option they had left.

"We're going!" Arthur shouted, voice strong, "Jump!"

As Merlin and Arthur reached the edge, Merlin wielded Arthur's sword which he carried down with him from his earlier duel with the Black Knight.

Just as they reached the final step of the path, Merlin dug his heel in the dirt and turned around, sword raised.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, eyes wide, "What are you doing!?"

Merlin felt a new power surge through him, an innate power that wasn't a result of his magic. He wielded the sword, point raised and in the exact direction of the knight. The Black Knight was bounding towards them, he did not yet know or care to acknowledge the presence of the cliff edge leading into the waterfall.

"Here he comes," Merlin spoke to himself.

Arthur was calling him, "Merlin, come on!"

The Black Knight tore through the trees like a raging bull.

The moment the mercenary saw Merlin and his sword, he tried to stop. Yet, he was moving too fast and there was too little ground to allow his halt. Merlin raced forward, feeling no fear, sword at the ready.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled again.

SHINK!

The tip of Arthur's sword dug into the black armor of the Knight's chestpiece. He bellowed like a wounded dragon, as Merlin pulled the sword out. The Black Knight was wounded. It fell to one knee, pulling out its own sword to defend itself.

Merlin retreated fast as a hare. He saw Arthur gazing at him in full shock, but there was no time to discuss.

"Jump!" he shouted. Arthur snapped out of his stupor and followed Merlin over the edge into the water below.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The Black Knight groaned and growled with pain. His fingertips came away wet with blood from his fresh wound. The serum of the darts he injected were wearing off. His superhuman strength was fading. The Knight felt his vision blurring as he continuously lost blood.

You have a mission. You will fulfill it.

The Black Knight reached into the knapsack at his belt. He pulled out a long dart engraved with the black writing of witchcraft. He plunged the dart needle into his fresh wound, roaring with pain as the elixir stung his veins.

He felt a new energy surge through him, a dark energy. His veins ran black with the toxin, but he felt alive and more powerful than ever before.

"Yes!" he snarled, amazed at this newfound energy.

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The Black Knight stared at the cliff's edge with malice as he ran towards the end of the path and jumped over after Merlin and the Prince.