A/n
Translation bot and me. :)
The story is set in the first year after the end of season four.
More than magic
Part 1
It must have been a hallucination. I couldn't find any other reasonable reason ... why a figure on horseback trudging through the snow could have the voice of Sir Leon. My body was being shaken by strong chills, but I was convinced that they were about to stop, that I would finally start to freeze for good. The stage after the shivers stopped was the easiest, least unpleasant part of the whole process. Simply falling asleep. This deeply engraved medical knowledge gave me a sense of calm, a rope to grasp onto so as not to panic and cause myself more suffering.
At first I tried to warm myself with magic, but I was too exhausted. Sustaining spells for a long time consumes a great deal of energy, which, in my current state, was barely enough to stand on my feet. And even for that it was eventually no longer enough, because the next moment I fell face down into the snow. A sharp pain in my side made a mournful whimper from my throat. . It hurt a helluva lot, comparable to a serket bite, if not more. Can anything hurt more than a serket bite? Well, apparently it can. And of course I had to find out for myself. The pain spread all over my side, in hundreds of thin needles, encompassing half my chest and shoulder, crawling up to the tips of my fingers, each breath giving it new strength.
„Merlin"! Leon's concerned voice was an irritating absurdity, biting into its surroundings, floating in the frosty air, offering hope. But there was no hope. I was going to die alone in this white wilderness and turn into a lump of ice, even before the wild animals got to my corpse. In some twisted way, this amused me. The amusement was extracted from a swirl of feelings and thoughts, crammed brutally into an overpowering fog of pain and cold. This is how the supposedly mighty Emrys died; scratched with his claws by a bear, looking as it had been lying dead in a cave for at least a few months and, at the exact moment of my appearance, concluded that it was already bored. After a surprisingly long fight, I managed to put an end to his abject existence, but everything pointed to the fact that his wound, combined with exhaustion and the terrible weather conditions, would also put an end to mine. What an absurdity! Not for Arthur, not in a confrontation with Morgana, not during some theoretically impossible mission. Simply during a search for the mucus of a certain rare species of snail that Gaius used to treat burns. Despite the exploding pain, I couldn't contain my laughter. What had just happened was the exact opposite of a public death at the stake. Of the many lovely possibilities for ending a life, this was one I wouldn't have come across. The burn balm ingredient only added fuel to the fire. My head was throbbing, tears flowed from my eyes, but I couldn't hold back a maddening retch. I once saw a condemned man laughing all the way to the stake. He staggered, unable to walk, the guards practically carrying him. I remember vividly his harsh, barking laughter, turning into shrieks as the flames slowly engulfed his body. After that execution, I had a great desire to pack up and leave Camelot at the earliest opportunity. The man there looked insane, which, according to Uther, was obviously due to the parrying of magic. Now the horrifying thought flashed through my head that I resembled this unfortunate man, that by lying here and laughing at the circumstances of my own death, I had crossed the line into madness, apparently (according to Uther's claims) inherent in the fate of sorcerers. It is fortunate that I am alone. Though, all in all, a dragon could be summoned. I think I could still manage. I'll probably die before he can arrive, but he should definitely see how magnificently I finished. Maybe he'll also do me one last favour, carry me to Camelot and drop me somewhere reasonably visible where someone will eventually find me. Preferably near the tavern. To crown my many years of service.
„Merlin... it's all right, I'm taking you away".
The imaginary Leon had obviously misinterpreted my laughter. I finally mastered myself when I felt a heavy hand on my back. There was something soothing about it, some kind of promise. Blimey! Why, of all people, Leon? The human mind is one big riddle.
The pain attacked with redoubled force as Leon turned me onto my back. Along with an uncontrollable scream, came sobriety. The fog filling my head gave way to an almost sharpened awareness of my surroundings. A snowflake fell on my cheek. Another on my forehead, on my eye. Great, it's starting to snow again. Somewhere nearby a rook cawed. The second replied in a quieter, snarkier voice, as if to point out to the first that trees have ears and you'd better watch what you're cawing at. He probably still remembered Uther's reign.
I tried to locate the fingers of my right hand. I was relieved to discover that they had not fallen off. I managed to move them. Encouraged by this success, I slid my hand out from under what turned out to be a red cloak, raised it to my face and rubbed my eyes. Leon was still kneeling at my side. He had not disappeared.
„H-how? Where did you come from? I asked, gritting my teeth. I was tempted to try and stop the bloody snow, but I've already done that once today, and excessive manipulation of the elements is asking for disaster. Not that I'm suggesting that the fine weather at Arthur's coronation had anything to do with the two-week downpour and waterlogging in essetir that my mother reported to me in a letter, but nevertheless... that's what it could have been, if someone capable of this kind of magic was foolish enough to think that warding off a few rain clouds would be without consequence.
„I was on my way back from my sister's and I was just passing through here", replied Leon. „Merlin, What the hell happened"?
„W-w-work accident", I muttered. I clenched my teeth and began to sit up slowly. For a moment, my eyes darkened. Leon's hand immediately rested on my trembling shoulder.
„Be careful! Where are you hurt"?
I was surprised by the note of panic echoing in his voice. Leon was one of those people whose attitude towards me I couldn't quite figure out. He behaved in a friendly manner, he hadn't made me feel the difference in status at all since the round table, but I couldn't shake the feeling that during the incident with Lamia he had said what he really thought of me. Although I knew that the knights were under the influence of powerful magic at the time, a quiet voice in my head told me insistently that, one way or another, the ground must have been extremely susceptible.
„Scratches, on the left side", I said.
„Just scratches"? Leon sent me a disbelieving look. „Forgive me, Merlin, but…" he broke off, clearly confused. „You were crying in pain. I thought you were dying. You still look like you're... You don't look well".
„Actually, t-that's what I was laughing at", I replied, before the jaws of my teeth had time to click my tongue. Leon's eyebrows went up. „Never mind", I added quickly. „You saved my life. I would indeed have died if you hadn't found me. The horse ran away with all my belongings, and that beast must have had something in its claws, for the pain is greater than it should be. I wouldn't have made it to Camelot. Thank you".
„Oh, come on. If you already want to thank someone, it's more like my sister, who kept me a day longer. Can you manage to get up"?
I grasped his outstretched hand tightly, but trying to lift myself to my feet triggered another wave of staggering pain. I violently drew cold air into my lungs and stifled a scream. I must have passed out for a moment. When I woke up, I was sitting on the ground, leaning with my back against a tree trunk. The pain had eased to its previous level, allowing me to formulate and express reasonably sensible thoughts. When I wasn't moving, it wasn't too bad.
„Shit, not really"., I hissed in frustration. „I don't understand why. After all, I was standing before I fell".
Leon threw his cloak over me again. He squatted in front of me and watched me thoughtfully. Suddenly, there was an expression of horror on his face. As cautiously as I could, I looked over my shoulder to see what had caused such a reaction. I saw nothing but trees and snow.
„Merlin, what claws! What beast!? What did you mean"!?
Well, yes. For Leon, a close encounter with the claws of a beast was hardly within the definition of an accident at work when the victim of said accident was a person described - depending on the degree of benevolence of the definer - as a "clumsy poor thing", a "skinny half-wit", or a "useless idiot".
„Have you not seen it? It lies near the cave. At least I hope so", I said.
I didn't know the nature of the creature and could not be sure that it wouldn't decide to rise from the dead again. There was a risk that, as in many similar cases, a blade tempered in the dragon's breath would be needed to finally disable it. Magic was not doing him much harm. Unsurprisingly, a dagger fired at high speed was effective, hitting him in the eye.
Leon leapt up with the agility of a wild cat and looked towards the cave. His hand went to the hilt of his sword.
„Oh, this? It's lying", he said grimly. „I thought it was a dead bear".
„Believe me, it was a very live dead bear".
„Sorcery", he chuckled in disgust. „And this in its most hideous form. In the past, sorcerers created many such creatures. They used bears, boars, wolves. I have defeated more than a dozen myself. But you can see we will never get away from it".
Leon turned to face me. His gentle face was obscured by some shadow, no doubt a splinter of terrible memories. Since I arrived in Camelot, I had seen these shadows on many faces. At such moments, I felt revulsion towards everything related to magic, not excluding myself. I kept repeating to myself that evil is not in magic, but is born in people's hearts, but it would be foolishness in its purest form to deny that magic used for evil is a far more powerful tool than any known weapon. So if my destiny boiled down to convincing people who had survived more than one conflagration that playing with fire was actually a great idea, I wasn't at all sure I wanted to follow it. So what if I knew the good, beautiful side of magic? So what if I could show it to them, if someone of Morgana's ilk was about to come along and smother all the good and beauty, leaving only unfounded fear.
„Druids wouldn't have stained themselves with something so disgusting", Leon muttered to himself. „They didn't. It must be an old case. Definitely an old case. But you'll have to look into it just in case".
„An old case, or Morgana left a surprise", I said. Leon nodded slowly.
„You killed it", he stated more than asked. I saw a glint of genuine respect in his eyes. I stored it carefully in my mind, for those days when that intrusive little voice, suggesting that Lamia had simply revealed the unpleasant truth, became too intrusive.
„I had no choice", I replied. „Otherwise you would have found a pile of bones and possibly a frozen scarf".
„Don't even joke like that". Leon patted me on the shoulder, thankfully the one that wasn't sore. He walked over to the horse, only to return a moment later with a sizable bag.
„I know you're cold, but before we leave, it's imperative that I take a look at this", he announced softly. To tell the truth, I didn't feel much of a difference in temperature as he took the cloak and pulled the wet, frayed jacket off me. The tattered, blood-soaked fabric of the shirt clung to my skin. Leon pulled it off carefully, causing fresh blood to run down my side. The three cuts, stretching from my chest to my hip, didn't look bad in themselves, given the force with which they had been inflicted, but a very large area around them was covered in a dark purple swelling. The pain, at even the lightest touch, was hard to bear. There was no doubt in my mind that it was something far more nasty than a simple infection, but without access to books or medicine, I could only rely on Leon.
„It's Not good", he said in a worried tone. „I'll put on some silver coins and bandage it up, but I can't do anything else under these conditions. We must return to Camelot as soon as possible".
„Why silver"? I asked. Of course, Gaius and I had used the healing properties of silver, but I was surprised by Leon's absolute certainty that it had to be used in this case. It was unlikely that any of the knights knew more about wound management than I did.
„Gaius claims it slows the spread of beast magic through the body. Arthur was helped when he was injured in a fight with one of these creatures".
„Well... since you tested it on Arthur, I think it's safe to take a chance". Leon laughed briefly. He acted very efficiently, almost like a medic. Exemplary training and years of practice on the battlefields had done their job. One minute he was wrapping my torso with bandages, the next he was wrapping me in blankets and furs. I thanked all the deities that I was dealing with one of the most discreet people in Camelot, for if it had been Gwaine, for example, I wouldn't have been free of comments about damsels in distress for the rest of my life.
„My dagger was left in the body of that... that thing", I said, looking at Leon with idiotic apprehension, as if the mere request to retrieve the dagger was dangerously close to bringing up some subject that no one dared to broach.
„You will have to get yourself a new one. Weapons used to defeat this creature are no longer good for anything. It simply falls apart".
I breathed as deeply as the pain would allow. Just falling apart? No, not possible! This is not really happening! This dagger was a gift from Lancelot, the only surviving evidence of its real existence. It couldn't just fall apart. I wanted to run there immediately and check it out myself. Maybe if I cleaned it fast enough, or used magic, it could be saved?
„Are you sure"? I asked in a stifled voice, fighting the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes with all my strength. Damn, that's all I'm still missing, to today's set of humiliations.
„Unfortunately, yes. I know where you got it from", Leon said quietly. „And I'm very sorry. But... Lancelot, above all, would like to see you alive. He offered you the dagger for a reason, didn't he"?
In the first moment I was swept away. Hearing Leon say Lancelot's practically forbidden name, on top of the love and respect due to a person who had sacrificed his life to save so many others, was worth everything that had happened to me. I looked straight into his eyes and saw in them a reflection of my own pain. I would have hugged him warmly had I been in a different position.
„You're right. Thanks", I whispered. He smiled in response. He pressed a bottle of wine to my lips. He rightly assumed that I wouldn't be able to hold it myself. I took a few sips and the knot in my throat relaxed.
The snow was falling more and more thickly. Leon looked up into the dark, cloud-strewn sky with an expression on his face as if he was about to throw down the gauntlet to him and wondered how to do it technically. It is impossible to describe what I felt when he suddenly, without much effort, lifted me off the ground and, after a few complicated manoeuvres, seated me on the horse. He himself sat behind me.
The pain in his side eased a little, admitting others of lesser importance; some battered ribs, a pulled muscle, skin torn off, a cracked toe? Let it go, I guess. As a result, I seemed unable to move, not even to blink. I would have started to panic if I hadn't realised in time that I was driving my nails into my cheek with all my might.
„It's been a long time since we've had snow like this", Leon muttered. He pulled my hand away from my face, held it for a moment until the bewilderment was completely gone, then carefully tucked it into the furs. „Galatea is an experienced mare", he said. „I have travelled far north on her. She will carry us safely, and she will not be frightened by any wind. So we will ride as quickly as possible, if you can stand it. How do you feel"?
„Like a helpless idiot, half wrapped up in a stinking wet dog carpet", I burped. Nothing but what he himself would have guessed was fit to be said aloud. At any rate, not without sufficient distance.
„These are furs of the best quality, not any carpet", he replied with deadly seriousness. If I didn't know him, I would think he was offended. „And they don't smell at all…" He pulled his nose slightly. „Oh, I'm sorry, they've really gone a bit doggy. They're full of them at my sister's house".
„So these are dog beds? Maybe still with fleas"?
„Eleanor's dogs don't have fleas. And besides, Merlin, you've obviously have a swollen head from serving His Majesty. Dog bedding made of such fine furs? Have you any idea what that is"?
„I don't know anything about furs".
„In that case ... be kind enough not to speak of them with contempt".
I laughed quietly. The smooth transition from Arthur's distinctive tone, suggesting that he was about to tell me to shut up, to the grotesquely polite way of speaking that others sometimes used to parody Leon himself, was an absolute masterstroke. Although I couldn't see his face, I was willing to bet he did it without flinching.
He lightly pushed the horse and we set off amidst the swirling snowflakes, leaving behind the unlucky cave, called the Devil's Maw by the inhabitants of nearby Earm. More than once I had heard warnings that venturing there might turn out to be the worst, if not the last idea ever, but, I must admit, neither I nor Gaius took them too seriously. People from these parts liked to believe that they were beset by dark forces in some special way and that they resisted them in spite of everything. The surrounding caves were mostly cursed, the forest was inhabited by a spectral pack of wolves, and a certain old apple tree induced an overwhelming desire to hang itself in anyone who tried to cut it down. The local boys, on the other hand, invented a game which involved making large circles or other patterns in the corn and spreading the word that this was the work of magic. They were caught doing this, and were not lavished with the rod, but there were some who thought that the boys had been tricked by a sorcerer, and the whole thing was hushed up for some reason.
The small town of Earm , huddled at the foot of Ifrean Hill, was a sort of eyesore for Uther. The most successful sorcerer hunters came from there, and reports of overcoming all sorts of magical threats came in regularly. One of these threats was the ravens, who, to their misfortune, had heard and learned to repeat a certain offensive rhyme about Arthur. This was back when resentment was the gentlest word to describe my attitude to the then prince. So I couldn't hold back a giggle when a low, round man, with the face of an embarrassed sheep, gave a detailed account in the council chamber. Arthur then slapped me, and I spent the next day in the dibs. Gaius claimed that I should be grateful to Arthur because I had only avoided the flogging because Uther, enraged by the ravenous affair, had not had time to realise what had actually happened, thanks to Arthur's 'swift intervention'. As a token of my gratitude, I composed another poem, but the jay I encountered in the woods, which I tried to get to memorise it, was much more interested in imitating the hooting of a tawny owl.
The caves behind the Earm I was obviously not afraid of. I sensed nothing sinister about them and had visited regularly for years. I enjoyed these trips. They required no particular effort on my part and allowed me to put my thoughts in order. It never occurred to me that any of them might end badly. What could I meet here? Wolves? I wouldn't wish such bad luck on any wolves. Being able to use magic practically unhindered gave me a confidence bordering on arrogance that almost lost me in the end.
„What were you doing here, alone, on top of such bad weather"? Leon asked.
„I was looking for something for Gaius. It's an important ingredient", I replied, a little more coolly than I intended. I was already beginning to be annoyed by the bordering-on indignant reactions of some people when they bumped into me at those rare moments when I wasn't near Arthur. The meaningful faces, the slightly chastising tone, as if they had caught me avoiding my duties. "Really, shouldn't you be with him? Are you absolutely sure he's not looking for you, terrorising half the castle in the process?" Implicit in Leon's question was more or less this kind of suspicion, with a fair bit of conviction that "such clumsy poor things" shouldn't be wandering anywhere unchecked, which aroused in me a hard-to-repel desire to give some kind of imperious answer. Leon, however, deserved an explanation. A polite and, if possible, truthful one.
„We realised last night that there wouldn't be enough to last the whole winter. I saw what was coming and decided that if I rode my horse, I would make it before the snow fell".
„Can't this be found somewhere closer"?
„Unfortunately, no. These caves are specific in some ways".
I could feel the tension in the arms holding me. I would have given a lot to be able to turn around and look at Leon. He seemed concerned about something, which I unexpectedly began to feel.
A gust of icy wind blew snow into our eyes. Branches of bare trees reached towards us, as if some nightmarishly deformed arms. From everywhere came rustling, creaking and whistling sounds, most of them not loud, fleeting but nonetheless distinct. When I was a child, I used to imagine that the trees, bored into silence, sang in this way to kill time until spring. Now my imagination gave me completely different explanations, none of which were reassuring. I thought sadly of my poor Prim, lost somewhere in the midst of a snowstorm. Even if the wolves don't get her, she will die of hunger and cold. Accustomed to royal stables and loving care, she won't be able to cope in the wilderness. It also reached me that this wouldn't be without consequences. For the reality was that Prim belonged to Arthur, and although I hadn't had to ask permission to take her for a long time, that didn't mean I was allowed to lose her. At best, Arthur would be furious; at worst, someone would start insisting that an official enquiry be launched. In the royal council itself, there is no shortage of people waiting for an opportunity to make a criminal out of me and remove me from Arthur's entourage. Damn! I think I must have been really messed up in the head. What was I thinking, taking such careless advantage of the King's horse? I was too used to the unwritten privileges, or rather, I didn't fully realise they existed until there was a risk of them turning against me.
„Are you all right"?
Leon's voice interrupted my unhappy musings.
„Yeah", I replied. „You were right. - Silver helps".
I was surprised at how much the pain had reduced. I had feared that the ride would be difficult to bear, yet all I could feel when I sat still was a dull throbbing.
„Does it stop hurting"?
„Compared to before, it doesn't actually hurt".
-„Tell me if you notice anything changing. When we pass through Earm, I'd like to move much faster. We can't let night find us. Does Arthur even know where you've been taken"?
„He knows that I went after the ingredients".
Leon sighed heavily.
„That"s, he doesn't know".
„He can find out without difficulty if he asks Gaius, but I sincerely doubt he will care".
This morning, when I brought Arthur breakfast, he was in one of his worst bad moods, and at the mention that I absolutely had to get something done for Gaius today, he told me to get out at once, since I was going to be useless for the rest of the day anyway.
„And I sincerely doubt that he would have let you go if he knew you were wandering alone in the caves", Leon threw in dryly. Weariness, spiced further by irritation at Arthur's morning behaviour made me reply without thinking.
„I asked for the day off, so what does it matter to him where I wander"?
„Oh, I suppose nothing. And if you hadn't come back today, he probably wouldn't have put half the kingdom on its feet. He wouldn't have the people searching for you until the fall and showing him no sight without you, or at least no news. There's also no way he'd go off on his own. Something was obviously brought to my mind when I saw tears in his eyes after you were attacked by Dorocha. Quite a few peculiar things have bewitched me over the years. For surely Arthur is not prepared to risk more than his own life for you at any time, and no, you are absolutely not, along with Guinevere, the axis of the world he is building"!
Leon's agitation grew with each, successive word, taking on the dangerous characteristics of an unleashed avalanche. The meaning of what he was saying, or rather what he was shouting, clumped together in a hard, heavy lump and pounded me mercilessly on the head. Sometimes pretending both to myself and to others that I meant nothing to Arthur helped to calm me down, eased the burning sense that I owed him the truth.
„Be quiet! thundered Leon, though I didn't even dare to breathe. Anger changed his voice beyond recognition. „You'd lose your tongue for that tone alone if it wasn't you! Since you have such a dismissive attitude towards your own life, at least think of those you'll leave behind in despair when you're stabbed by bandits or torn to shreds by some beast! For God's sake, finally take responsibility for the fact that you have as your friend the King of Camelot, ready to move heaven and earth should you need it! You know him perfectly well! You know very well what he is like, so don't you dare pretend to be an idiot in front of me and tell me that he doesn't care about you, you insolent little…."
He broke off suddenly and took a few deep breaths. I jerked as the pain caused by the unconscious, unfortunate movement pierced my neck. The arms wrapped around me tightened violently. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. "You insolent little servant? You are a mere servant. You are a nobody. Since you can't keep quiet, I'll silence you myself. You should have lost your tongue long ago." My heart thudded in my chest like mad, the memories of the Longstead nightmare attacked with the acrimony of hungry dogs. What if it wasn't Leon, but some magical entity that had taken his form? Perhaps I had let myself be approached by what I had encountered in the cave? I rebuked myself for my own stupidity, but this thought, like a splinter, irrevocably stuck in my tired mind. After all, there is usually a grain of truth hidden in legends, and disregarding that grain had already proved to be a huge mistake.
A heavy silence fell. Even the wind had temporarily calmed down. The big snowflakes fell slowly, even stately, as if no less shaken than me by Leon's outburst, preferring not to expose themselves to him. They were actually behaving decently, responsibly. Straight from the clouds to their destination, without any antics along the way. I stared at them, clenching my right hand in a fist hidden in mottled furs. I couldn't tell if I was scared or angry, or maybe both.
„I'm sorry", Leon spoke up as we climbed to the top of the hill. „I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a long time, but certainly not in this way. However, I can't remember the last time something threw me off balance like you did today. Though perhaps more my fear than your fault. Forgive me, I got carried away unnecessarily".
„It's okay, Leon", I replied. I was overwhelmed by an almost overpowering relief. Falling into disfavour with the first knight of Camelot was one of the last things I would have wished for. „I understand how it looks to you. But I didn't come here and expose myself to possible danger for the sake of a whim. I was doing my duty. I am not a knight, but whatever some say about my uselessness, I also serve Camelot to the best of my ability".
„I am absolutely not questioning that. Just be careful, I'm asking you very much. You're a strange creature, Merlin, but I can say with certainty that if you were gone, something in Camelot would die. Who knows, perhaps destiny brought you here from Essetir as well? It's hard to resist that thought when one watches you and Arthur. You are like... two sides of the same coin".
If I hadn't happened to be sitting on a horse's back, it would have knocked me to the ground. I began to seriously wonder if everything that had happened to me since that morning was not some ridiculous dream from which I was about to wake up.
„Perhaps you are right", I said, smiling. „Something must undoubtedly have guided this, for I myself would never have chosen to spend my life in the service of His Irritating, Cabbage-headed Highness".
„And it would be a very different world", Leon replied thoughtfully. The wind didn't agree with him. It roared furiously, hitting us with breathless force. Galatea pressed forward bravely, however, and soon we were driving down the slope, straight between the compact buildings of Earm.
The town, dominated by low-rise buildings, crowded mostly around the main square, gave the impression - like its inhabitants - of being lurking, always ready to jump. I shuddered as, guided by suspicious glances from the lit-up little windows, we drove past the gallows, beneath which lay a partially snow-covered hanging. The executioner had botched the job, the rope snapped. Overnight the wretch would disappear completely under the snow, and the more intelligent would conclude that he had escaped.
It could not have been more than a few hours since the execution; in the morning I saw the preparations. In the haste, probably caused by the approaching snowstorm, neither the tables nor the stalls, usually set up on such occasions, had been cleared away. A few feral cats fought among themselves over the leftovers of the food, howling terribly, while the wind dispersed the rubbish.
I was overwhelmed by weakness. Exhaustion came to the fore again and I found it increasingly difficult not to lean on Leon with all my weight. Moreover, I felt a foreign, evil magic seeping into my body. It relieved the pain, only to invisibly penetrate deep and weave its way into the tissues, dabbing at them, like spider venom. I was not yet able to figure out what specifically it was doing to me, but I knew instinctively that I wouldn't be able to get rid of it on my own.
A tall, Percival-like guard, in a thick, snow-dusted coat, with an old wolfhound lying by his leg, greeted Leon respectfully. I knew him by sight. Once we even exchanged a few uncivilised words, when, after breaking up a brawl in the main square, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to beat some random person with a whip as a precautionary measure.
„With your permission, my lord"! - he called out. „Perhaps it would be better to stop at the inn and wait? The wind's getting stronger, the snow's getting heavier, it's not far until evening. It will be dangerous to drive".
„Well, I can only hope to avoid the worst of the weather. I am carrying an injured man who must be attended to immediately by our physician".
The guard measured me with a puzzled look. I couldn't judge whether he had poor eyesight or simply wasn't among the sharpest, but I was willing to bet he hadn't noticed me before.
„Oh, I think you're carrying a corpse", he said. „Is it worth the risk"?
„This corpse is not too bad to hear", I replied, struggling to lift the heavy head from Leon's shoulder. The guard bulged his eyes and opened his mouth, presenting glaring cavities in his teeth. The dog glared at me, stood up with obvious effort and began to dispose of the contents of his stomach, by no means discreetly.
„I would be three times cursed if I didn't take the risk", said Leon. Why three times? You will have to ask him later.
„Really"? The guard looked at me from under half-closed eyelids. „I know this face! my lord, he's a hooligan! A rascal! I already whipped him once, because he was stealing potions from the pharmacy... stealing potions from the pharmacy. You know... for those who are not able, but want to be able to".
„What", I asked in disbelief. Many accusations had been levelled at me in my life, but this undeniably brought with it a breath of fresh air.
„Yes, you insolent, neutered cocksucker! Be glad I have a good heart, I should have chopped off your hand right up to your bottom a long time ago, you filthy bastard"!
Leon slowly, as if unwillingly, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
„Curb your imagination, I advise you well,", he growled. „Not to mention your tongue. And watch out that I don't chop off your hand or something else, if it is true that you hit a royal servant with a whip".
„By accident, in confusion"", I said aloud. I felt sorry for the man who had probably been hit over the head once too many times. „Some drunks had started a brawl and I happened to be passing by. Bad luck, that's all".
The guard nervously rubbed his moustache. He was considering something. After a moment, resignation painted itself on his face. I supposed he was very anxious to apprehend the potion thief.
„Well, indeed", he said. „That rascal was different. Fatter. And he didn't have such ears. Excuse me, my lord. I got confused".
„You're lucky I don't have the time. For the future, be careful who you raise your hand to and who you hurl insults at".
The guard bowed his head. Leon took his hand from the hilt of his sword as far as it would go, shook us both out of the snow, mended the furs enveloping me, then turned to the guard again:
„A patrol from Camelot will be here in the coming days, as it looks like there are animortus survivors hiding in the caves. Until then, remain extra vigilant. Communicate this to your commander. Have him double the guards. We don't want any tragedy here".
I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling as I listened to the eager assurances that no magical vermin would leave Earm alive. The wolfhound chuckled memorably to the accompaniment.
In the open countryside, outside the town, as Leon had announced, we accelerated. I was in pain in everything but my side and arm. I realised that I had completely lost feeling in them. They were as if they had died, and the magic that had accumulated in them filled me with such immense revulsion that I would have liked to cut them off immediately with my sword, so long as they were no longer part of my body. It was only thanks to Leon's strangely unwavering calm that I didn't give in to the growing panic.
„You'll make it through. Gaius can handle it", he assured me, and I knew from somewhere that these were not just empty words of comfort.
For a while I fell asleep, perhaps lost consciousness. I was snapped out of this state by the deafening roar of the wind. I opened my eyes, just in time to change the direction of the fall of a large tree, which broke with a shrill crack and flew straight at us. From the exertion, I couldn't draw breath for a moment. Galatea whistled and dashed forward at such a frenzied pace that I thought she was floating in the air. Leaning forward as far as possible, Leon pressed me against him with desperate strength, trying to shield me.
„Don't be afraid"! he called out, shouting through the whirlwind. „I'm holding you and I won't let go"!
Despite my sincerest intentions, I could not believe him. Galatea sped up even more, though it seemed impossible. She was breathing heavily, snoring. In truth, she was lashing. With the fingers of my healthy hand I clutched tightly at her mane. Behind us - judging by the sound - another tree had fallen. In front of us we could see nothing but furiously swirling white. We rushed blindly on.
A bough hanging low nearly swept us off the horse's back. Leon shouted. I wanted to ask if he was all right, but then something under Galatea's hooves snapped ominously. I guessed what it was. On the way we passed a small stream, which was now ice-capped. Galatea jumped over it at full speed. I wasn't quite sure if my insides were still in place. And I was absolutely right not to believe that Leon wouldn't let me go. I was tipping sideways and the horse's sweat-wet mane was slipping from my fingers. I was falling down. I was too inert to protect myself from this even during an ordinary ride. I clenched my eyelids. However, I was written to die today. A desperate scream reached my ears. I realised it was me screaming. And that would be it in terms of maintaining dignity in the face of death. I was surprised when the crash to the ground didn't happen. Leon caught me, literally at the last moment.
„It's all right! I've got you! I'm in control of the situation", he growled, right next to my ear.
I swallowed the snow that had entered my mouth, my throat burning as if I had drunk acid. The feeling was short-lived, but it made me miss the relief of not falling. Something was happening to me. Something very bad.
Unexpectedly, Galatea began to slow down. She was trembling and sweating profusely despite the cold. She was deathly exhausted. Leon stroked her neck. He said nothing. We both heard the terrible sound she was making. We both understood perfectly well how this could end. Leon made a mistake because of me. He should have waited at the inn until the weather improved. He would have done that if he hadn't found me. I was not going to let him die here. I concentrated and injected into Galatea's tortured body the little bit of magic I managed to wring out of myself. I still managed to register that she was starting to breathe more normally. Then the world blurred and disappeared.
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