Minutes before Arthur ordered the guard to find his uncle, Agravaine himself stood below one of the outer walls of the castle. He scanned the mass of forest just outside the walls, looking for the person he had arranged a meeting with. Finally, he spotted a figure emerging from the tree line. The figure's dark green cloak made them appear nearly invisible with the trees behind them.
Agravaine had told Arthur that he was going on a solo 'hunting trip' and wouldn't be back until this morning as soon as Morgana had told him about the sorcerer from Essetir. He had ridden as fast as possible and managed to find the sorcerer, convince him to help Morgana regain her magic, and return to Camelot within a few days. Now, the sorcerer had finally reached Camelot.
The figure walked quickly towards him, sticking to the shadows. The cloak blended in so well with the landscape that Agravaine lost the figure several times, only to have them appear by his side seemingly out of nowhere.
"Hello."
Agravaine jumped in surprise.
"Malkallam, how did you do that?"
"It was a skill I learned from Will, an old friend of mine. And please, call me Malcolm," the figure said. Agravaine looked the old man up and down. He didn't look like much.
"Are you really Malkallam, the Sorcerer of the North?" he asked.
"Yes, I have been called that. Enough about me, where is the girl?" Malcolm asked impatiently.
"Right through here," Agravaine said, gesturing to a small door that opened into a narrow tunnel. The tunnel led straight into the dungeons. He had gone through the tunnel earlier, saying he was checking that the torches were lit, but what he really did was unlock the door.
"Wait a moment," Malcolm said, stopping Agravaine. "Why was this girl's magic removed? And why is she in the dungeons?"
Agravaine was surprised that the sorcerer knew the layout of the castle.
"There was an, ah, misunderstanding," Agravaine said shortly.
Malcolm raised an eyebrow at him. "You're going to have to do better than that," he said.
Agravaine sighed and said, "As you know, magic is outlawed in Camelot. She was caught using it and locked away in the dungeons for no good reason." This answer seemed to satisfy the sorcerer, although it was not true. Malcolm opened the door and gestured for Agravaine to enter.
"Remember, you have to put the guards to sleep for us to enter without being seen," Agravaine told him.
"Yes, yes. Let's go already."
Agravaine slowly entered the dimly lit tunnel, Malcolm following close behind. They crept their way to the end of the tunnel, Agravaine stopping at a corner. He raised his finger to his lips, signaling for the sorcerer to be quiet. They slowly made their way to the doorway to the area where the guards sat. Agravaine pointed at Malcolm, then at the doorway, then at Malcolm again. The sorcerer inched forward and peeked through the doorway. He raised his hand slightly and whispered an incantation. His eyes glowed gold and the guards' heads dropped onto the table, unconscious.
Agravaine and the sorcerer moved to Morgana's cell, and Malcolm raised his hand to the locked door, and spoke another incantation. The locks clinked out of place and the door swung open. Morgana looked up from her meditation and smirked.
"Well, it seems the time is upon us. Sorcerer, you are a servant to the Disir, yes?" she asked.
"Yes, I was. And I can restore your magical abilities," he said.
Malcolm reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, carefully wrapped bundle. He gingerly placed it on the ground, and unwrapped it. Inside was a small, glowing crystal. Morgana gasped as she realized what this was.
"Is that...Is that from the Crystal Cave?" she whispered.
Malcolm nodded. "Place you hands on the crystal," he instructed. Morgana slowly wrapped her hands around the crystal, feeling the raw power emanating from the small object. She gasped as her hands touched the cool surface of the crystal.
A flashing of images went through her mind, too fast for her to understand. Images of destruction, fire, and death. She could feel the pain, sadness, and loss of all those that had been wronged by her, by her blind hatred of Camelot and Uther. She could feel their fear, could feel them taking their final breaths as they were murdered by Morgana for siding with Camelot. The faces of all those she had killed, and never forgotten, flashed through her mind. Why? they cried. Just one word.
And Morgana was afraid.
Merlin, who had been flipping through a spellbook, suddenly looked up and shivered. He could feel a strong source of magic coming from below him, and there was only one person that could be causing that.
Morgana.
Merlin didn't know how Morgana was using magic, but he knew one thing: he had to stop her now, before it was too late. He jumped out of his seat and bolted out the door of the chambers, zooming past Gaius. He raced down the halls towards Arthur's chambers, weaving through the mass of servants and commoners.
Meanwhile, the same serving girl who had been delivering food to Morgana was now on her way to the dungeons with lunch for the guards. She was at the top of the stairs when she looked down and saw the guards slumped over their table, unmoving. She opened her mouth in shock, dropped her tray of food, and ran off to warn the knights.
She ran as fast as she could through the corridors, wasting no time. She turned a corner and ran straight into Sir Gwaine, who yelped in surprise as they both tumbled to the ground. He was about to say something, but the girl stopped him.
"The dungeon guards are unconscious. I think Morgana has escaped!" she said hurriedly.
Gwaine blinked at her in surprise, then quickly stood up. He shouted to the nearest guard, instructing them to ring the warning bells, and ran off at a sprint towards the dungeons.
He was not going to let Morgana escape.
"Send word to Agravaine."
Arthur had barely finished his sentence when his doors burst open, revealing Merlin, who stood hands on his knees, out of breath.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked in surprise.
"Arthur, Morgana's escaping," Merlin panted.
"What? That's impo-" Arthur stopped, interrupted by a sudden sound.
The warning bells.
Without a word, Arthur grabbed his sword and ran out of his chambers towards the city gate, where the knights would already be gathered, Merlin following close behind.
Morgana tried to remove her hands from the crystal, but Malcolm grabbed her arms, forcing her to hold on. He began to recite a long incantation that took nearly a minute to complete. Throughout the spell, Morgana had been writhing and thrashing, trying to rid herself of the images. But they did not stop. Once Malcolm had finished the spell, he carefully wrapped the crystal, stored it back in his cloak, and sat back exhausted as the warning bells went off in the distance.
"We must leave, now," Agravaine said urgently. He grabbed Malcolm by the arm and turned to Morgana, who was still sitting on the floor, shocked and afraid of the images she had seen. She had never felt more guilty or afraid of anything in her life.
"Morgana, we cannot waste any time. We must leave." Morgana slowly stood up, trembling. She followed dully behind Agravaine and the sorcerer through the tunnel and out into the warm Camelot air. Morgana tried to lock the door with her magic, but her eyes only briefly glowed gold and faded instantly. She turned to the sorcerer in anger.
"Your magic will not return instantly. You must regain your energy," Malcolm said quietly, desperately trying to keep up with Agravaine and Morgana's running. Once they reached the treeline, Agravaine stopped suddenly.
"I'm sorry, Morgana. I can't go any further."
"What?" Morgana asked angrily.
"If I'm seen in these woods with you, I will be discovered. We can't have that happen," he said regretfully. Morgana only snarled at him and continued running, Malcolm close behind her. Suddenly, Malcolm veered off to the left and disappeared into the trees towards a horse he had waiting.
"Sorry," he yelled behind him. "This was not what I agreed to."
Morgana stopped and realized that she was now alone. She could hear the shouts of the knights in the distance and turned towards the sound. She thought she could just hold them off with her magic, but then she realized what Malkallam the sorcerer had told her. Her magic would not fully return for some time. She turned back to face the forest, and took a deep breath.
And she ran.