Gaius placed the book he had been reading back on the shelf and turned walking to the pot over the fire that held the stew he was cooking for his dinner. He had just served himself a bowl of stew and sat down when he heard the door slowly open and close behind him. He turned to see a man he hadn't seen and had no desire to see in a long time.
"Hello Gaius," the man said.
"Borden" Gaius spoke with an even tone.
The Physician hadn't seen the man standing in front of him in years, he didn't count it a good thing he was seeing him now.
"it's good to see you," Borden said,
"what are you doing here?" Gaius asked ignoring Borden's attempt at small talk.
"you have some nerve coming back, you left me in a lot of trouble"
"yes," Borden said "sorry about that. Execution didn't appeal to me".
Both men looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before Borden spoke again.
"don't pretend you supported Uther"
"tell me why you are here" Gaius demanded.
Borden stepped toward him pulling a cloth out of his pocket. He unfolded it revealing something made of gold with a pattern on it. Gaius looked closer trying to determine what it was.
"save your eyesight, Gaius," Borden told him.
"it's the trescilian of Ascinar"
"you are sure?"
"I am"
"Let me see"
Gaius took it and walked over to get his magnifying glass. He started looking the item over.
"the bind runes are in three," he said "that's rare"
"I can save you the trouble," Borden said
Gaius looked up from the trescilian.
"it guides the barer to the tomb of Ascinar"
Gaius's face showed that he recognized the significance of what Borden said.
"yes," Borden told him "we both know the legend, we both know what he hid there"
"Oh do tell" a new and more Feminine voice spoke from behind Borden.
Borden turned to see a young woman with dark hair and two knights, one was very tall and muscular the other had longish hair. The man's heart sank as he realized he was trapped.
"Lady Morgana" Gauis greeted her.
Morgana walked over the physician followed by the two knights who flanked Borden one on each side of the man. Neither drew their sword but Borden still didn't make any sudden moved just in case they changed their minds. H slowly started to glance around, trying to spot his opportunity to grab the trescilian back and run out the door.
"sorry to interrupt Gauis," Percival said glancing at Borden.
"Yeah," Gwaine said. "Morgana insisted we come with her, Though I'm still not sure why"
"I had a feeling Gauis needed us," Morgana said as she looked at the trescilian that were still in the Physicians hand.
"funny," she said looking at Borden.
"it doesn't look like a trescilian"
"it's not complete yet," Gauis told her.
Borden frowned why was he telling them anything. Borden willed the physician to not tell them the trescilain's secret. It didn't work.
"legend says when it's complete it shows the way to a dragon's egg that was saved when Uther destroyed them," Gaius told her handing it to her for a closer look.
before anyone could react Borden grabbed Percival's sword with one hand and Morgana's hand that held the trescilian with the other. He pulled her to him turning her so her back was to him and put the sword at her throat, pulling her toward the door. Percival swore spectacularly at having his sword taken.
"no one moves" Borden demanded as Gwaine moved to draw his sword. The knight slowly pulled his hand away from his sword and raised them to show his assent to the demand.
"let me go" Morgana demanded.
"quiet" Borden told her moving the sword closer and tightening his grip.
"I'll let her go when I have what I came for and I am safely away," Borden said moving them toward the door. "if anyone comes after us, if I hear alarm bells I will kill her"
Gaius and the knights watched as Borden backed toward the open door, keeping his eyes on them. They watched as Merlin and Arthur who's sword was already drawn stepped into the room behind him.
Borden suddenly cried out and dropped his sword as it had quickly heated up and started to burn his skin. He fell to his knees in pain holding the wrist of the burned hand with the other one. Morgana moved to Gauis quickly using her magic to move the sword away from Borden, she turned to see Merlin's eyes turning back from gold to their regular colour.
Borden found a sword at his neck from behind and two more two more swords pointed toward him in front as Percival's had (thanks to Merlin) cooled down.
"I don't know if anyone has told you this" Gwaine said.
"but threatening to kill the king's sister isn't usually a good idea"
Borden nearly choked,
"the Kings sister?" he half squeaked. He knew she was a Lady but had no idea she was the king's sister. Hadn't Uther only had a son?
Arthur put his sword away as Gwaine and Percival took a hold of Borden and turned the man to face him. Arthur looked at him then gave his two knights a look and stepped out of the way. He didn't need to say anything. Gwaine and Percival pulled the Borden out of the room to bring him to the dungeons.
After they were gone Merlin and Arthur moved toward Morgana and Gaius as Gauis sat down and Morgana relaxed leaning her hip on the nearby table.
"are you two alright?" Merlin asked.
"what took you so long?" Morgana asked
"I telepathed that we need you and Arthur ten minutes ago"
"I had to get him up," Merlin said gesturing to Arthur with his thumb.
"would someone like to tell me what's going on?" Arthur demanded in the form of a question.
The next morning The council gather at the roundtable to discuss what had happened the night before.
Gaius explained who Borden was and that the trescilian once completed was a map to finding a dragon's egg. Then Merlin informed them that the druids had reported the theft of the first two pieces of it which he, in turn, had told the king about, He had also told Morgana just to keep her in the loop on magical stuff.
"there is something I don't understand," Lord Monmouth said.
"how did Lady Morgana know to go the Gaius's chambers with two knights?"
"I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to take a short walk" Morgana explained
"I saw a man I didn't know sneaking around heading toward Gaius's chambers, I was about to call out to him and ask what he was doing when I felt the emotion of his intentions and they were not good, though I also felt the intentions were toward an object in Camelot and not a person so I figured Giaus would be safe till I got help. So I sent a message to Merlin then went and found the first guards or knights I ran into which happen to be Gwaine and Percival"
"I'm sorry" Sir Monmouth said
"but did you say you felt the emotion of his intention?" every member of the council already knew about Merlin and Morgana's ability to talk to each other with their minds.
"yes, I started developing this empathic ability awhile ago" Morgana explained.
"once in a while, I can sense how someone is feeling. Thankfully it doesn't happen all the time, if I had to feel what other people were feeling every minute of the day I'd probably go crazy".
"so what are we going to to do now?" Sir Elyan asked
"that depends on Merlin," Arthur said turning to his advisor.
"me?" Merlin asked.
"yes Merlin, you," Arthur said.
"you and your father are after all the only Dragon lords that we know of, and it is a dragon egg that the trescilian is meant to lead a person too."
Merlin had been thinking about the trescilian and the dragons egg all night and what he hoped they would do, but he hadn't expected Arthur to leave the decision up to him.
"I'd like to go get the egg and bring it back to Camelot where I can be sure it's safe," Merlin told them.
"Alright," Arthur said standing up.
"Leon, Percival, Gwaine, are you ready to go?"
The knights all told him they were ready, the horses should be saddled and they should be ready to leave as soon as Arthur gave the word.
"wait? what?" Merlin asked confused.
"Merlin" Arthur said in the way only he ever does.
"I know you well enough to know you would want to go get the Dragons egg, I would have been shocked if you had said to leave it."
The Emergency council meeting ended and Merlin ran to pack his supplies for the quest. Arthur, Leon, Percival, and Gwaine would be going with him, while Morgana, Lancelot, and Elyan would stay behind to Assist Gwen who as Queen would be in charge while Arthur was gone.
A few hours after the group left Camelot they stopped for lunch. After Gwaine and Leon gathered some firewood and started a fire (it was their turn since Merlin wasn't a servant anymore) Merlin made everyone some stew for the meal (once again it was his turn, it had been Elyan's turn the last time).
"what do you think it will look like?" Gwaine asked once everyone was settled with a bowl of stew.
The group all sat in a spread-out circle so they could converse with each other but also keep an eye out for anyone or anything that might try to sneak up on them.
"what do we think what looks like?" Leon asked
"The dragon's egg," Gwaine told him.
"Well I imagine it looks like an egg" Arthur said
"not all eggs look the same Arthur" Merlin told him in a, you should know this tone.
"maybe its the size of a coconut and has scales" Percival mused.
"why would it have scales?" Arthur asked.
"dragons have scales," Percival said shrugging then taking a bite of his stew.
"you don't see feathers on a chicken egg even though chickens have feathers" Leon pointed out.
"so what do you think it looks like then?" Percival asked.
Leon and Arthur thought for a minute before Arthur spoke.
"Well considering how large Kilgarrah is I'd say the egg is probably really big, about the size of Percival"
"sounds plausible," Leon said
"I'd imagine it would be gold coloured or maybe green, but I don't think it will have scales. Perhaps it will look like a large rock for camouflage."
"I don't think it will be that big," Gwaine said.
"maybe the size of a wagon wheel, but I agree with Percival that it probably has scales.
"If you think it's going to be the size of Percival or a wagon wheel why didn't we bring something to transport it with, like a wagon? Merlin asked.
Arthur and Gwiane both got a blank look on his faces.
"um because I only just thought about how big the egg might be" Arthur admitted.
"don't worry Sire," Leon said.
"we don't know for sure how big it is, once we find it if we need to a couple of us can go get a wagon while the others stay behind to guard the egg"
Merlin had talked to his father about dragon pretty much every time he went to visit his family, so he had some idea of what a dragon's egg looked like. He knew it wasn't that big, only about two thirds the size of a water jug and it would be white and smooth no scales. Kilgarrah had told him that all dragons were hatched the same size but would grow to different sizes depending on their environment. It would probably fit in the satchel he had brought with him.
He considered telling the others, he really did. His more mischievous side won out, besides Arthur hadn't thought to ask him if he knew how big the egg would be to see if they needed to bring anything to carry it with. Maybe sweating it out would teach him to think more about being prepared in the future.
"what do you think Merlin?" Percival asked.
"Yeah, you are after all the resident dragon lord," Gwaine said.
Merlin thought for a few seconds, considering what to tell them.
"I think it could depend on how big the dragon is going to be" Merlin said (he said could, so not technically a lie).
"as for the colour, my first thought is white but it could also depend on the colour the dragon will be".
The group finished eating and cleaned up before continuing on their quest.
Back in Camelot, Borden paced in his cell. That dragon's egg was his, he had gotten the pieces of the trescilian. How dare they think to steal his prize from him.
The man waited for the guards to finish their checks and leave the area with the cells. The King and his men had a head start, he had heard them leaving and didn't need to guess where they were going. He needed to get out and catch up to them before they got to the egg. Considering this was Uther's son he was dealing with they would probably destroy it and he had plans for that egg.
It would be another hour before the guards checked on him again. There had been another man in the cell next to him but he had been released that morning with a warning to watch how much he drank and not try to start any fights with a lamppost again.
Borden took off one of his boots and uses his fingernails to pick a bit of the stitching once it was loose enough he gently pulled out two thin pieces of metal. The guards had been thorough when they had searched him, taking his lock picking kit and the dagger he kept on his belt and the one in his boot. In his opinion, a sword was too cumbersome so he didn't carry one. However, they hadn't thought to check the lining of his boots.
He reached his arms through the bars and slid the metal into the lock, very carefully picked at the lock until he heard a click. Borden smiled and took the two pieces of metal out of lock before opening the door and moving to step out of the cell. Suddenly he found himself being pushed back into the cell landing on his butt. The cell door slam closed loudly and Borden heard the click as it relocked.
The guards came into the room having heard the noise of the cell door closing and Borden's yell of shock as he'd been thrown across the cell. They saw him sitting there in the middle of the cell with a confused look on his face. One of them saw the two pieces of metal which were on the floor just outside the cell as Borden had dropped them when he was thrown back into the cell. He picked them up and looked over at Borden he noticed the stitching on his boot.
"looks like we need to search you again," He said.
One of the guards went and got the key which was in a locked box, something special that Morgana had designed, it would be opens with three keys in a specific combination rather than just one key.
He came back and opened the door, two guards picked Borden up off the floor holding him while one of the other guards searched him, this time taking his boots off and checking them more thoroughly. By this time Borden had recovered from his shock and was fuming about magic prison cells and hypocritical kings.
Once the guards were satisfied he didn't have anymore lock picking devices they pushed him down on the bench and walked out leaving him alone again.
"well looks like that spell Lady Morgana and Merlin place on the cells works" one of the Guards commented once everyone was back in the guard room with their poker cards in hand.
Merlin looked up at the tall tower he and the others had just arrived at. It was just standing there in the middle of the forest for anyone to come across. Which was great if someone happens to need shelter but not so much for hiding something. The warlock had expected to feel some sort of magic protection but there was nothing.
"should we go in?" Percival asked.
"There could be traps" Leon pointed out.
"there could be" Merlin agreed.
"but I am not sensing any magical protection so if there are traps they will probably be ones we can see the triggers for if we look carefully enough."
"right let's go," Gwaine said starting toward the entrance.
"hold up Gwaine," Arthur said grabbing the mans arm and pulling.
"whats the matter princess, are scared?" Gwaine asked.
Arthur ignored Gwaine's barb.
"Merlin and I will go in a get the egg" Arthur told them.
"I want the rest of you to stand lookout"
"But sire, what if you trigger a trap?" Leon asked.
"then you'll be outside and in a position to help us rather than inside and hurt or trapped" Arthur pointed out.
Arthur and Merlin walked through the entrance to the tower coming to a second door which unlike the first one was locked. There didn't seem to be keyhole or even a door nob, just a door frame and a door with hinges.
"well this is great," Arthur said sarcastically as he leaned against the door.
"you have to admit it's secure," Merlin said as he continued to investigate the door.
He carefully looked over the door frame, there was something about the pattern in the wood.
"that's it," he said taking the trescilian from around his neck.
"what's it?" Arthur asked straightening up.
"The patterns on the door frame, there all trescilian," Merlin told him as he looked over each one comparing them with the one in his hand.
"but they are all slightly different".
"so, the trescilian could be a key as well as a map" Arthur realized what Merlin was telling him.
"I just need to find the matching pattern," Merlin said Merlin compared the trescilian with one a foot above where a normal lock would be.
"got it," He said with a grin.
"are you sure?" Arthur asked.
"yes I am"
"let me see"
Merlin slightly rolled his eyes stepped aside so Arthur could get a better look at the pattern on the door and held the trescilian out for him to compare them.
"Merlin, this pattern is similar but it's backward" Arthur pointed out.
"yes which is what we want," Merlin told him.
"no Merlin" Arthur said, "we want a pattern that is the exact same."
"the patterns are only going to be opposite when facing the same direction," Merlin told him.
"what?" Arthur asked.
"just trust me on this and watch," Merlin said giving Arthur a gentle nudge out of his way.
He took the trescilian and turned it so it faced the pattern on the door frame. There was a slight give as he pushed it in then the sound of gears moving as the door unlocked and clicked open.
"how did you know?" Arthur asked pushing the door open.
The door opened to a large room, it was twice the size of the great hall back in the city of Camelot.
There were large posts every twenty feet and what looked like a pedestal in the middle of the room.
Arthur realized Merlin hadn't answered his question, he turned to see Merlin wasn't standing beside him instead he was halfway to the pedestal in the middle of the room.
"Hey, wait up" he called as he ran after his ex-servant catching up to him just as he reached the pedestal.
There sitting on a cushion on top of the pedestal was a white egg shaped like a water drop. Arthur was surprised, it was so small. Merlin reached out to take the egg but stopped and quickly looked around.
"what's wrong?" Arthur asked as his hand instinctively reached for his sword.
"I don't know," Merlin said.
"for some reason, I was almost expecting Borden to show up"
"How? he's locked up in Camelot's dungeon in that cell you and Morgana enchanted to be escape-proof" Arthur pointed out.
"I know, it was just this weird feeling," Merlin said
"this feels a bit anticlimactic".
Merlin reached out and carefully lifted the egg off the cushion, he let out the breath he was holding in relief when nothing happen. At least nothing happened for ten seconds then the room started to shake.
"run" Arthur shouted.
Merlin didn't need to be told twice or at all as he had started running at the same time Arthur did.
The poles started to shake and crumble giving way for the beams they were holding up to fall. The two men were dodging and jumping over falling debris.
The King and the warlock cleared the building and got to a short distance away when the entire tower collapsed.
Merlin cradled the egg in one arm and used his other to lean against a tree as he caught his breath.
Arthur had his hands on his knees, catching his breath as he watched the tower crumble some more.
"Well?" He asked as Leon, Gwaine and Percival ran over to them.
"Is that climatic enough for?"
So this is it, I hope this made up for the wait. Hopefully, my plot gremlins will be able to get another shot done sooner than later.
Some of you may be a bit disappointed because Athusa wasn't hatched yet,(you probably figured out what this shot was going to be about when Borden showed up), don't worry he will be.
