Blood slowly traveled down his face from one of the cuts on his head, his wrists bound by magic blocking iron chains to the wall of the small round windowless cell. There were smells of blood and urine from the people who had been there before him. His captors probably never bothered to clean it after their prisoners died, or if the cell ever was cleaned it wasn't very often.
He figured the previous prisoners must be dead because if anyone was ever released or escaped they would have told someone about this place. Rumours would have spread among the druids and someone would have told him or he at least would have overheard something.
He didn't know how long he had been there and how he had gotten there was fuzzy. There was a slight recollection of walking by a creek when he was struck with an arrow, he hadn't seen or sensed anyone nearby when suddenly he was surrounded. They had been fast and efficient having obviously done this before. He fought back sending a couple of them flying with a spell, though he noticed his magic felt off. There had been a sickening crack as one of them hit his head on a tree. Before he could cast again pain exploded in his head and his world went dark.
Athusa had escaped he knew that much, She had been playing nearby and he had sensed her coming back. She must have sensed he was in danger or heard the attack, in the thirty seconds he was able to fight he sent her a telepathic command to return to Camelot and get help using dragon tongue.
He couldn't remember clearly why he and Athusa had been out there alone. He was on the fence about if he was glad he'd been alone or not. On one hand, if he hadn't been alone he might be in Camelot right now with the people who attacked him in the dungeon, on the other hand if he wasn't alone the people who were with him might now be dead or imprisoned in this or another cell like it.
Merlin slowly looked up taking in the cell, there were no doors or windows. The only light he saw was a sliver coming from above him, it was so high the light didn't reach down to him.
But there had to be a way in and out after all he was down there and the chain he was bound with was only just long enough for him to reach the middle of the cell, and the cell was small enough that he could stand in the middle and touch each side with the palm of his hands. Which would mean someone had to have come down there to chain him up, it wasn't long enough for him to have been lowered and if he had been dropped he was pretty sure he would have broken something.
He tried to remember how far away from the city they had been, Athusa was still little and could only travel so fast, she couldn't fly high enough to go over the trees like Kilgharrah could unless she was with the older dragon. Which would mean she would be slowed down by the tree's making it so it would take her at least an hour to get there. Which meant the people who had taken him had had almost twice that of a head start.
Merlin closed his eyes and focused bracing himself to try and cast a spell.
"aspannan"
He felt his magic tingle in his body wanting to obey him then he felt the pain jolting through his body, he clenched his fists as he fell to his knees panting for air as the pain diminished it wouldn't go away completely right away, he knew from the other times he had tried to use his magic. It wasn't that he didn't believe someone would come for him but he couldn't just sit around and not even try.
His stomach started to make those little growling sounds it makes when you haven't eaten in a while. He remembered he had eaten not long before he was attacked, so he had been taken long enough ago to be hungry again. His stomach had actually been protesting for a while but he told himself it had just started hoping to trick his brain into thinking he wasn't as hungry as he was. His stomach wasn't buying it
Arthur and Guinevere watched as Sarrum and his escort rode out of Camelot. The meeting hadn't gone as well as Arthur had hoped, Sarrum had agreed to consider what Arthur said about how his opinion on magic had changed. Although he didn't yet feel comfortable about lifting the ban on magic in his own kingdom, He could not stop Arthur from doing so in his own. Arthur, however, knew how to tell when someone was humouring him. He had learned after meeting a certain servant who refused to.
There was something about Sarrum Arthur didn't trust, neither did Morgana from the way she kept looking at him during the meeting. Speaking of Morgana, the king wonder where his younger sister had taken off to. She had suddenly excused herself and left the meeting in a hurry barely waiting for permission to go. She at least, however, had shown up, Merlin, on the other hand, hadn't come at all. Arthur had known he would be late because he had gone out that morning to collect herbs for Gaius, The physician's current apprentice had come down with a fever and couldn't go.
He really should have been back already, it was times like these Arthur missed the days of putting Merlin in the stocks.
"Arthur" He heard Morgana calling to him from behind.
He turned his hand quickly going to his sword. She was panicking he could hear it in her voice, very few things could make her panic. Gwen stiffened beside him turning as well.
The first thing he noticed when he turned was Athusa being cuddled by Morgana her little wings spread out in a little dragon-like hug, The little dragon was shaking and she had blood on her but Arthur couldn't see any wounds, but then who's blood was it.
"oh my god" Gwen exclaimed as she closed the distance to her sister by law and the little dragon.
"what happen?"
"Where's Merlin?" Arthur asked the most prominent of many questions going through his mind.
Morgan looked at them worry eyed patting Athusa trying to calm the little dragon, she shook her head a little.
"I don't know," she told them.
"I left the meeting because I heard Athusa calling for me, she's to upset to speak verbally or telepathically clearly."
"George" Arthur called out to his current and longest lasting after Merlin servant.
"yes, Sire?" George asked stepping into the doorway nearby.
"find Sirs Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, Lancelot and Percival, Tell them to meet me at the stables right now. Then go to the physicians quarters and get a first aid kit from Gaius and meet us at the stables."
"yes, Sire," George said running to find the knights.
"where ever he is he's in trouble," Arthur said as he headed to the horse stables with his wife and his sister following. "Athusa wouldn't have come back without him if he hadn't sent her"
"I'm coming with you," Morgana said matter of factly.
"no your not Morgana" Arthur said.
"yes I am, Athusa is the only one who knows were Merlin was and I am the only one that can calm her enough for her to show us" Morgana pointed out.
Arthur tried to quickly think of an argument but he couldn't, she was right. To Athusa she had been mama since the day she hatched, and the baby dragon stuck like a baby chick to her and Merlin.
"Fine, go change and meet us at the stables"
Morgana ran to do as he said, he was agreeing to let her come so she wasn't going to argue.
"you and you come with me" Arthur pointed out two guards as he passed them in the hall.
The two guards quickly fell into step behind the King and Queen, each wondering what was going on but following their King and patiently waiting to be told why they were needed.
Sir Leon and Sir Percival were already waiting at the stables as they had been nearby in the training fields when George had relayed Arthur's orders to meet him there. Arthur was glad to see the stable hands and the knights already getting the horses ready to go.
"we'll need a horse for Princess Morgana and these two guards as well," Arthur said.
"Arthur, what's going on?" Sir Percival asked
"Merlin's in trouble," Arthur told them.
"what?" Sir Gwaine's voice asked from the side.
The small group turned to see Sir Gwaine and Sir Lancelot arriving from the direction of the kitchens.
Arthur quickly explained what was going on as they prepared and mounted their horses. Sir Elyan arrived with Morgana and Athusa. Sir Elyan let Arthur know Morgana had explained the situation as they had met up on their way to the Stables.
The group mounted up just as George arrived with the first aid kit Arthur had sent him for. George put it in the king's saddlebags quickly tying it closed before stepping back so the group could get moving as quickly as possible.
The horses slowed to allow a new rider to join the group that traveled away from Camelot. They had been half an hour away from the city when they had increased their speed. The leader knew that if his men had succeeded in their mission then Camelot's king would soon realize the Sorcerer was missing. He didn't know how strong the enchantment the King must be under was but he would bet part of it would make him want to rescue the sorcerer.
Not that he would mind Arthur coming after him. It would give him the perfect excuse to end the Pendragon rule and take Camelot for himself. That is if he failed to free Arthur from the sorcerer's control.
He would, of course, have to take care of the peasant girl who tried to play at being a queen. Lady Morgana would need to be consoled, once free of the sorcerer's influence she'll understand and thank him. The physician, of course, would be one of the first to be executed when he restarted the purge, this time not showing the weakness Uther had in trusting the man.
"is it done?" Sarrum asked the man who joined them.
"yes my Lord, we took the prisoner two hours ago" the man answered. "the crystal worked almost as well as promised"
Sarrum sneered at the crystal that the man held up, it sickened him to have to use something like that but Uther's way had obviously been too lenient, and ineffective considering the man's own son's manservant had practiced magic under his very nose. He didn't believe for a second the nonsense Arthur said about people being born with magic. When he was done no one would dare even think of practicing magic again.
"almost?" He asked
"The sorcerer was still able to cast" The man explained.
"I assume you punished him," Sarrum said coldly.
One side of the man's lips went up in a half smirk.
"We didn't have to".
I was going to make this a one go chapter but then the plot gremlins bugged me to make it a cliffy.
Sorry, it took so long, but you know how hard it is to get plot gremlins to focus. Hopefully, the next half won't take as much time to get typed out.
