Sorry it took so long to get this up. I realized I had left out a rather important part and had to figure out where to put it and then life got in the way and well I'm sure you've heard it all before by now, but just forgive me and I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Nine
As Arthur entered the castle, he was immediately told of more sorcerers who had come and wished to meet with him. Arthur and Gwen immediately rushed to where the sorcerers waited. They entered the room and found nearly thirty people standing nervously in the middle of the room. About ten were sequestered apart from the rest of the group looking a little more nervous than the others.
Arthur stopped in his tracks when he looked at the main group. They looked a lot scarier than druids, who he decided were the ones standing off to the side. These other sorcerers seemed more confident and carried weapons. Arthur suddenly found himself very nervous.
One man stepped forward, dressed in a purple robe. He had tattoos along his neck and held a staff. He spoke with a strange accent Arthur had never heard before. "My name is Alator of the Catha. These are my men. We are at your service." He knelt on one knee and bowed his head. The rest of the sorcerers inclined their heads as well. "We ran into these druids on the way here," he said indicating Arthur's assumption was correct. "They too pledge their allegiance."
Arthur took a long moment to recover and try be confident in front of these men. "Thank you for your help. I look forward to working with all of you."
Isildur suddenly entered with a shy smile. "Excuse my my lord. I just wished to greet my friends," he said indicating the nervous druids. He walked over to them and the group immediately relaxed. Arthur didn't question how he knew they were here. He was getting rather tired of asking questions.
"You should know," Alator cut into Arthur's thoughts. "We Catha are not afraid to fight. Most of us have trained in the ways of magic for our whole lives," Alator explained.
Arthur widened his eyes slightly as did Gwen. Arthur really started thinking winning this war might even become easy with such a great force. "That sounds great!" He said unable to completely keep his excitement contained. He composed himself once again and decided to venture one more question for the day. "Who is it that convinced you to come to Camelot's aid?"
"Emrys," he said with a grin. "We met a few years back and I immediately pledged my allegiance to him," he said fondly.
"Why?" Arthur asked curious.
"The things he is destined to do...the power he has..." Alator said quietly yet full of excitement. "He will do many great things. Things I support with my whole being."
Arthur was amazed by the this man's loyalty to Emrys.
Alator smiled slightly to himself. "Where is Emrys?" he asked slowly.
"With the dragon," Arthur said as offhandedly as he could.
"Ah," said Alator uncertainly. "I see."
Arthur sat at the dining table with his wife and friends, waiting for Emrys to show up. He was fifteen minutes late, and the food was becoming cold. Arthur was just about to start without the sorcerer when the doors burst open revealing a haggard Emrys.
"Sorry I'm late," Emrys said making his way to the only empty chair. "Time ran away from me," he explained as he plopped himself in his seat. He stretched a moment before realizing everyone was staring at him. "What are all you looking at. Let's eat!" he said grabbing food and throwing it haphazardly onto the plate in front of him.
Arthur found he couldn't decide if he wanted to strangle this man or yell at him, both seemingly good choices. With a rumble of his stomach, he made a decision to do as the man suggested and eat before it went completely cold. With Arthur's first bite, Gwen cautiously began to eat as well.
Arthur studied the haggard old man. He wanted to ask him what exactly he had been doing with that dragon, but thought better to ease into it. "We now have nearly thirty druids and over twenty of Alator's men. Do you think this will be enough to win this war?" Arthur asked instead.
"Alator is here? That's good to hear. I must see him when I have time..." Emrys trailed off. He snapped back to attention and answered Arthur's question. "It's hard to say if it will be enough," Emrys said taking a large bite out of a hunk of meat. "We still have all of tomorrow for more people to arrive. I know there will still be a few more. I've nearly finished all my preparations," he said chewing in between sentences.
"What are all these preparations you have been doing. What were you doing with that dragon?" Arthur asked as casually as possible.
"Oh you know, a little of this a little of that," he said without even looking up from his food. Arthur was getting rather frustrated.
"No I don't know, so why don't you explain to me what it is you have been doing," Arthur demanded.
"Why? I've got it all sorted," Emrys said pausing for a moment.
"Because this is my kingdom and I would like to know if it will live to see a new year!" Arthur nearly screamed.
Emrys slowly put down his food and looked at the king and queen. "You're quite right," he said softly. "I have been a little inconsiderate."
Arthur didn't even try to hide his shock. He hadn't expected to be agreed with so readily.
"I guess I've just been a little too busy to think about telling anyone about what I was doing. I've had to make so many plans, and I have less time than I would like to execute them all," Emrys admitted. "Now let's see, what have I been doing..." he drifted off thinking of the multiple plans he had in place. "I've tried a few shields around the castle as I've told you, I've been contacting other friends, sorcerer friends, I've tried enchanting several weapons, though that hasn't worked very well, they keep exploding. I've been studying powerful spells of all kinds, tried predicting the weather conditions. I talked with the dragon about some of my plans and told him what he will do. I've remembered to eat most of my meals, sleep every now and then with the occasional nap. Now let me see... have I left anything out...I probably forgot something, I just can't quite remember...Oh well, it will come back to me. Is there anything else you would like to know?" Emrys finally finished.
"Yes actually," Gwen said a bit shyly. She still wasn't quite used to this strange man. Neither was Arthur, but Arthur was rather used to learning how to get along with people. Diplomacy and all that did come in handy every now and then. "Arthur said you could tell us how Merlin is doing at any moment," Gwen continued.
"Yes," Emrys said digging back into his meal.
Arthur and Gwen waited several long seconds, but Emrys didn't continue. "Could you tell us how he is doing?" Arthur prodded, being rather interested as well.
Emrys looked up and put down his food once again. "Ah yes, let's see," he said closing his eyes for a moment. "Mmmmmmmmmmmm..." he said sitting completely still for several tense seconds. OH MY!" he exclaimed slamming his hands on the table.
Arthur and Gwen widened their eyes dramatically, worried for their friend.
"Is he injured? Dying?" Gwen asked.
"Have sorcerers attacked him?" Arthur asked.
"Oh it is dreadful," Emrys said remaining still, his eyes closed still chewing little bits of food in his mouth.
"What is it?" Arthur demanded, he was nearly shouting again.
"He's...he's...hungry!" Emrys said finally opening his eyes. "And really quite tired."
Arthur and Gwen did not look amused.
"Honestly you worry over that boy far too much. He's being fed and will get plenty of sleep I assure you," Emrys said eating a little slower.
Arthur suppressed the urge to yell at this man again and instead got to a more pressing question. "Could you send him a message somehow? One he would get immediately?"
"Yes..." Emrys said cautiously. "What kind of message?"
"I want you to tell him to come home as soon as possible.. He's done well enough and I need him here," Arthur said sternly.
Emrys looked quite glum. He couldn't go back on his word and say he couldn't send a message. He couldn't even come up with a good reason why Merlin, himself, should stay there rather than come home. He could only reply with one answer. "Very well sire. Consider it done."
Hope you liked it and again sorry for making you wait so long. I did get to see the first episode of season 5 and wow was it amazing. I can't wait for the next one. thanks for reading and maybe leave a little encouragement to make me update soon again. Thanks!
