Strongest of the Warlocks: Chapter Seven: The Source of Ills

AN: About Percival: He'll show up in Merlin's hallucinations next chapter, but he won't physically be in the fic until later.


It was all her fault, and even Merlin couldn't dispute that. If she had been more vigilant and less relieved, she would've removed the poultice she had placed under Gwen's father's pillow the previous night.

Why hadn't it occurred to her that it would be viewed as suspicious if a man who was afflicted by the plague suddenly was well? Why hadn't she tried to have at least tried to heal a few ill citizens of Camelot so that it would seem that some of them had developed an immunity to the plague somehow?

But Merlin hadn't been thinking.

She had only been thinking about how Gwen had been sobbing and begging for a way to save her father, and Merlin had. But it would cost Gwen her life.

All because of Merlin.

Arthur and the guards had searched Gwen's father's house for whatever had cured him in the night when they found Merlin's poultice, and of course it was brought immediately to Uther's attention.

Merlin sighed as she scowled out the window of her room, her hands clenched tightly around her elbows.

She may have been the cause of Gwen's current situation, but Gwen wouldn't be in that situation if Uther bloody Pendragon hadn't enacted a kill-on-sight order for all those suspected of sorcery (or at least, restrained-and-thrown-in-the-dungeon-until-they-can-be-decapitated-or-burned-alive order). Merlin could never understand how someone could be so blind to all the good that magic was capable of, but she had given up on Uther.

He cared not for the lives he had robbed from others in the name of protecting Camelot from magic. He wondered why so many angry sorcerers attacked Camelot, yet didn't fathom that he was the cause of everything. If Merlin had been a child who had made a butterfly out of innocence in his sight, she would have still lost her head.

It was times like these when she missed Ealdor more than anything, how she missed her mother and Will, and Percival who was so far from her now. They hadn't judged her harshly when she'd revealed what she was (though her mother had always known what she was capable of), they'd accepted her. There had to be a reason why she was so good at healing them all when they found themselves injured.

In Camelot Merlin felt more like a shadow of her former self than anything, spinning careful lies of her past around those that spoke with her. Sure, she was as outspoken as ever, but…if she was truly honest about everything, Merlin would've been a corpse lying on the ground, like Gwen soon would be.

Merlin expelled a shaky breath as she watched the soldiers carefully prepare the pyre to burn Gwen on before she came to a decision and then she threw her jacket over her shoulders and opened the door, striding down into the main quarters of the Court Physician, leaving the room before he could chastise her again what her foolishness had cost her.

She strode through the corridors until she could descend into the dungeon to the cell where Gwen was slumped on the ground, her shoulders shaking in what was no doubt tears.

"Gwen!" Merlin called quietly, and the maidservant looked up, a brief light brightening her dark eyes at the sight of her friend. She stood and tried to take a few steps towards Merlin, but she could only go so far with the shackles to her wrists that were locked to a chain on the opposite wall.

Gwen's face fell and she raised both hands to her face to smudge the tears that had fallen. "Thank you," she told Merlin, her voice shaking even as she tried to keep it steady.

Merlin couldn't imagine what she could be thanking her for, Merlin was the reason she was in this mess to begin with; Gwen should be blaming her for what happened (if she had known, that is), not thanking her.

Merlin grabbed the bars that lay over the cell. "What d'you mean?"

"For coming to see me," Gwen clarified and Merlin's face grew somber.

"I'm so sorry, Gwen," she breathed, looking more miserable than Gwen had ever seen her look.

"It's not your fault," Gwen tried to console her, giving her as slight a smile as she could manage without breaking down into tears once again. Her eyes fell to her shoes and she blinked furiously to keep them at bay, and thus missed the regretful and guilty expression that made itself present on Merlin's face.

"But—"

"It's alright," Gwen told her, swallowing thickly. "Don't worry about me. There's no point c-crying about it."

"Oh, Gwen," Merlin murmured as she reached a hand through the bars to just barely grasp her friend's fingers. "Of course I'm going to worry about you, Gaius and I are going to find whoever or whatever is doing this, and then we'll get you released."

But the smile Gwen gave her in reply belonged to someone who had already given up hope, and she held tightly to Merlin's hand, as though it would be the last bit of friendly human contact she would be allowed before her death.

"Please, one thing," she asked, biting on her lower lip, looking a little uncomfortable, "you, you don't have to, but…"

Merlin frowned in curiosity. "What, Gwen? What is it?"

Gwen's eyes found hers and she gazed imploringly into Merlin's deep blue ones, and then she said only two words: "Remember me."

Merlin's whole countenance softened for a brief moment. "I will always remember you," she promised, "but there's not going to be any need, since I'm going to find out what's really behind this plague. I won't let them kill you, Gwen, I promise."

Gwen wished she could have had as much faith as Merlin, but she was beyond help now and the King was beyond reason. But she couldn't help but feel a very faint flicker of hope spark inside of her as Merlin removed her hand and practically ran up the stairs.


The first place Gaius and Merlin thought best to start at was the source of all the water in Camelot, which led them underground to the water supply.

"There's no use sulking about it," Gaius had said, "what is done is done. The best you can do now is help prove Gwen's innocence."

And you could bet your ass that Merlin was going to do just that.

"The water from here supplies the whole town," Gaius was telling her as she lit a torch to guide them down to where the water collected. "I'm going to need a sample if we are to find a cure to this disease."

Merlin didn't offer any words to that, choosing instead to simply comply to his words as she handed the torch to him as she pulled a small bottle from her medical bag to kneel down and scoop a decent amount of water into it before straitening up to put a stopper on it.

"That enough?" Merlin asked as she held it up to Gaius.

"For now," Gaius told her, holding the torch aloft. "Now, let's take it back and examine it."

They both turned to head back towards the entrance to the underground water supply when a sudden splash of water and a cry of some unknown creature had them turning back to see what was, and Merlin couldn't help but gape at the sight of it, because she had never seen anything so grotesque.

It was malformed and brown, dripping of the water it had exploded out of and bearing sharp and chipped teeth. It released one short cry before ducking down into the water once more and disappearing from view.

"What in the name of—?" Merlin ran back to look into the depths of the water, but she could see no trace of it. "What was that?"

"That," Gaius said, appearing as though he had been suspecting this to be the cause of the plague, "I believe is the source of this illness. Come, Merlin, we need to go. We don't want to be here when it comes back."

And Merlin reluctantly conceded. The creature was rather large and Merlin's control over her magic wasn't as great as she'd like it to be, so she held her silence until they were back in the Court Physician quarters, and then she broke the silence.

"Are you going to tell me what the ruddy hell that thing was?" she demanded as Gaius began rifling through a number of his books in search of one page in particular.

Gaius held up one finger for silence and Merlin scowled briefly as his finger trailed down page after page until it came to a stop and he spoke.

"Here it is," he said, "what we saw was an Afanc."

"An Afanc?" Merlin repeated the foreign word, pronouncing it carefully before leaning across the table to glance over the tome, disregarding the upside-down words as she focused on the picture which was roughly identical to what they had seen not even moments earlier. "And what's an Afanc? A creature of magic?"

"Very much so," Gaius said. "It is a beast born of clay, and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer. Now we have to find a way to defeat it. But where?"

"Can't we just stick a sword in its side?" Merlin offered.

"And risk it making the death that follows the plague more instantaneous?" Gaius asked looking quite grim.

"Just a thought," Merlin muttered, "doesn't it say in there?" She nodded towards the book in Gaius' aged hands. "How to defeat the Afanc, I mean?"

"No," Gaius said regretfully, glancing back down to the thick tome in his hands, "I'm afraid it only has the physiology of magical creatures and what it takes to make them."

"Great," Merlin said, her tone quite dry. "And how are we going to find one bit of information in a whole bloody library before Gwen's execution?"

"I'm always open to suggestions," Gaius said, quirking an eyebrow at her and Merlin couldn't help but frown.

There was option that was open to them, open to her. She hadn't been down to see the Great Dragon in some time and dragons were very well-known for being wise. Surely he was the only option open to them at this time.

Merlin glanced towards Gaius, but his back was to her, looking through another book and by the time he turned around, she had gone and the door was swinging in her wake.

"Merlin?" he called, but she was long gone, leaping down steps so fast that several servants had to careen out of the way, a few shouting at her to slow down as she passed, but she ignored them.

There was someone she had to see.


Kilgharrah was a very old dragon filled with knowledge and hate that had simmered beneath the surface due to his captivity for years upon years. He had contented himself with the knowledge that he would never escape from the underground cave when a girl had stumbled upon him.

She was small, smaller than Balinor had been, and Kilgharrah could see her father's spirit resonating within her. And she was a creature of the Old Religion, her magic glowing a bright gold that only Kilgharrah could see. She was someone who could release him from his constraints, if he played his cards right, to use the human saying.

"Er, are you awake?" Merlin called cautiously into the darkness, the cool wind fluttering the flames of her torch as Kilgharrah descended from where he had been nestled to stand on the rocky formation in front of her. "I guess that's a yes."

The dragon released an ancient chuckle. "It is indeed a yes, young Warlock. And I see you had returned, as I knew you would."

"I'm never going to understand dragons," Merlin muttered to herself, and Kilgharrah pretended not to have heard her. "I'm sorry," she said louder, "but you do have a name don't you? I can't just call you 'the dragon,' it's just a little strange for me…"

Kilgharrah doubted she knew of just what asking him his name meant, an exchanging of names indicated a bond of trust shared, but they were both of the Old Religion, and perhaps that was enough.

"I am called Kilgharrah," he said.

"Kilgharrah," Merlin repeated the name slowly as she looked him straight in the eye, a great feat when one considered just how fearsome the dragon was. "There is a plague that is being caused by an Afanc…do you know a way to defeat one?"

Kilgharrah blinked his beady golden eyes at her for a long moment. "Trust the elements that are at your command."

"The elements at my command?" Merlin repeated, completely befuddled. "What do you mean?"

"It means, young warlock," Kilgharrah said with an air of great patience, "that you cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other.

"You have got to be joking," Merlin said with a bit of a sigh. This was just like when the dragon had told her about two months back that Arthur was going to grow into a great king, and Merlin was still doubting that.

"I do not joke much," Kilgharrah told her, more to remind her that he was still there.

Merlin tried hard not to roll her eyes but it was a very near thing. "Right, I'll keep that in mind for next time." She waved her torch carelessly in her hand, almost resulting in it toppling out of her hand and down into the lower regions of the cave (but then, she wasn't quite well-known for her grace). "See you, Kilgharrah."

Kilgharrah couldn't quite describe what he felt at hearing another being use his name, but it was not a feeling he would soon forget as Merlin rushed up the stairs and back to the Court Physician quarters to search through the books for something on elements.

And when Gaius descended from his room the next day, it was to see his ward collapsed on the books piled in front of her, her face pressed to the parchment, her arms curled around the book she was using as a pillow.

"How late did you stay up?" he asked and Merlin jerked herself awake, staring blearily in his direction, a red splotch covering a good portion of her face from resting it on the book.

"Oh, I dunno," Merlin said with a yawn, rubbing at her eyes to clear the sleep from them. "Late, I suppose."

"And what is it that you were so frantically looking for?" Gaius asked as he joined her.

"Nothing much," Merlin said in a faux-careless manner, "just a book on elements is all."

"A book on elements?" Gaius repeated and she nodded. "No wonder it took you so long. The study of base elements is at the very heart of the scientific process. You'd be hard-pressed to find a book that doesn't mention them at least once."

"Ah," Merlin said with a wide grin, tapping her index finger against the parchment with a grin. "But I've found the only one that matters, see. The Afanc is composed of clay and water, which equates to earth and water."

"Two of the base elements," Gaius agreed, seeing where she was going with her train of thought.

"Exactly!" Merlin was positively beaming. "And listen to this: 'that which it is composed of cannot aid in its defeat, only that which opposing that which creates it can destroy it.' Isn't that great? It means we just need wind and fire to kill it!"

Gaius read over the passage briefly before fixing her with an unblinking stare that Merlin found a bit unnerving. "How did you think of the elements as being the key to destroying the Afanc?"

"Oh, er, it just came to me," Merlin invented wildly. "I figured if it's made from the earth, then it might be capable of being destroyed…I was a bit off…"

The door into the main quarters banged open as Morgana swept inside, her tears red from crying, her hair hanging loose, but still looking better than Merlin who had barely slept.

"They're bringing forward the execution," Morgana said, her fear evident in her voice and eyes. "We have to prove Gwen's innocence!"

"We're trying," Gaius told her.

"Please," Morgana insisted, "please, just tell me what I can do to help."

Merlin contemplated her briefly, Kilgharrah's voice echoing sharply in her ears. "You cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other."

"We're going to need Arthur," she said suddenly. "Can you convince him to come?"

"Arthur?" Morgana repeated the name skeptically, wondering just why he would be needed. "Why?"

"The thing that's causing the plague is a monster called an Afanc, it's been poisoning the water supply," Merlin explained. "If it's killed the plague will disappear."

"Well, we must tell Uther," Morgana said, making to turn back towards the door, but Gaius' next words stopped her.

"The Afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it," Gaius replied.

Morgana couldn't deny that. She knew all-too-well how much the king hated magic. "So what are we to do?" she asked a bit helplessly.

"We'll have to find the creature and destroy it ourselves," Merlin said with contemplation. "If the plague disappears while Gwen is in the dungeon then she can't be blamed for conjuring it in the first place."

"Which is why you need Arthur," Morgana said with a nod.

"We don't know how strong the Afanc is," Merlin said, tapping the hilt of her blade with her hand. "And I'm nowhere near as good with a sword as him…can you convince him?"

Morgana's eyes gained a steely glint as Gaius handed the keys to the water supply tunnels to Merlin. "Leave that to me," Morgana said, turning on her heel and racing out of the room.

Time was of the essence, after all.


"You better be right about this, Merlin."

"And if I'm wrong?" Merlin arched an eyebrow at Arthur who tossed a scowl her way that was no doubt meant to threaten but it didn't faze Merlin in the slightest. "What're you going to do?"

"Make you clean the stables for a month."

"Oh, the horror," Merlin mocked. "Don't worry, I'm not wrong. It burst out of the water when Gaius had me take a sample; believe me, it's down there."

Arthur grabbed one of the torches, as did Morgana, and the three of them descended into the dark underground. The wind whistled around them, but even that couldn't hide the guttural growl that echoed in the silence. Merlin stiffened, Arthur looked wildly around, and Morgana released a short gasp.

Merlin pulled her sword from its scabbard, the flames reflecting off the metal, much like Arthur's, which had been out since they crossed the courtyard not moments earlier.

Arthur turned slightly to give Morgana a look that was almost firm in appearance. "You should stay here."

"I'm coming with you," Morgana disagreed.

"No."

Morgana's eyes narrowed slightly and her lips pulled upwards slightly into a smirk. "Scared I'll show you up?" she asked.

"Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you," Arthur said and Merlin stood a bit awkwardly to the side, not quite knowing if she should direct them back to the task at hand or not.

"Well, good thing he doesn't know about it, then," Morgana said in a mild voice, her eyes daring him even in the darkness.

"I'm telling you," Arthur said, straining to keep his control over his temper, "Morgana, turn back, you could get hurt."

"And Merlin won't?" Morgana demanded, jerking a hand towards the maidservant who hadn't yet said a word and blinked at having her name mentioned.

"Merlin's not the ward to the King, and she's got a sword!" Arthur replied.

"Gee, Arthur," Merlin said dryly, "I didn't know you cared."

"You—" He pointed a finger at the dark-haired warlock, "—be quiet, and you—" he pointed at Morgana "—stay behind me—"

"Don't hurt yourself," Morgana said, ignoring his order entirely as she moved past him. "How are we going to find it?"

This question was directed to Merlin who had followed after her with Arthur pulling up at the rear, muttering obscenities.

"I suspect it'll be close to water," Merlin said, "that's where it was when Gaius and I saw—mmph!"

Morgana looked back in time to see Arthur silence Merlin's flow of speech with his hand as he looked feverishly around.

"Did you see it?" Morgana asked quietly as he released Merlin who was now looking rather distinctly annoyed.

Arthur expelled a low breath. "No, it was just a shadow."

"We'd better keep moving," Morgana said before Merlin could snap something at Arthur that Morgana generally appreciated anytime but currently, and so the three moved forward as silent as they could manage until they reached where Merlin and Gaius had been before.

But there was no Afanc as far as Merlin could tell.

"Spread out," Arthur said quietly, and Merlin turned to take the south tunnel, but she had barely made it a few steps when she heard a wet and loud growl from the direction Arthur had gone off in.

Merlin rushed back to see Morgana already at Arthur's side and the prince looking a bit startled.

"What is it?" Morgana asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Arthur managed to say, "fine."

"But you did see it, didn't you?" Merlin insisted.

"Oh, yeah," Arthur said grimly, "definitely. Couldn't have been anything else, but it's-it's quick."

Morgana gave a sudden scream as the Afanc made its reappearance, swinging her torch rapidly as Arthur tried to stab it, but it was too fast and fast, vanishing into the darkness once more.

"Arthur," Morgana said suddenly. "Where's Merlin?"

Arthur whipped around to see that his dark-haired maidservant had disappeared. "Great," he muttered before raising his voice, "Merlin!"

And then there was the distinct sound of an animal-like yelp of pain.

"That way!" Arthur said, lurching towards the western tunnel to see Merlin to the ground, one of the beast's legs on her chest trapping her to the ground as she reached for her blade which was lying just out of reach from her bloodied arm. She'd clearly gotten one good stab in, if the blood oozing from its shoulder was any indication.

It leaned close to her, its sharp teeth intent on ripping through her when Arthur threw himself forward, taking a swing at it with his sword, causing it to lose its brief interest with Merlin, who rolled away. However, this cost him his sword, and Morgana's torch as well.

"The torch!" Merlin called. This was their last chance. "Hit it with the torch!"

And this time Arthur didn't ignore her, aiming a slice at it with the torch and Merlin's eyes glowed golden briefly as she uttered the spell.

"Lyfte ic Þe in balwen ac forhienan," she breathed and wind rushed past Arthur to force the fore from to the torch to the Afanc which gave a cry of agony as it was incinerated and Merlin slumped against the wall.

"Can I have a day off?" she asked weakly.

Arthur, regaining a bit of his wits, cried, "You've just had two!" as Morgana released a few shaky chuckles.

"I was working for Gaius," Merlin groaned as she sat up, putting a hand to her injured arm which was hot and sticky with blood. "That's hardly a day off."

"I think Merlin deserves a day off," Morgana said as she went to assist her friend in standing, "she helped to end this plague and free Gwen."

"Whose side are you on?" Arthur demanded.

"Not yours," Morgana retorted. "Never yours."

Merlin grinned widely.

And while the three headed back to the upper surface, a woman with cold blue eyes surveyed them through the water in her stone basin, her anger practically radiating from her.

"Merlin, you will pay for that," Nimueh, High Priestess of the Old Religion uttered, and the water trembled in the basin in response to her anger. "You will pay most dearly…"


AN: Looks like Merlin's made an enemy, oh dear! But the Poisoned Chalice is next, and that should be fun!

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