A/N: Thank you Buckhunter, PadrePedro, mersan123, and GuestM for reviewing the last episode!
Chapter 1
Arthur was woken by pounding on his door. Squinting against the sleep clinging to his eyelids, he peered around his room. It was still dark. The urgent knocking continued, so Arthur dragged himself from bed.
"What?" he called grumpily.
The door opened and a guard poked his head in. "Apologies, Prince Arthur, but the royal vaults have been broken into."
Arthur got to his feet, the news helping to wake him fully. He quickly shrugged into his trousers and slipped a coat on over his night shirt as he followed the guard out and down to the vaults beneath the castle. Outside the gate, two guards were sitting on the ground looking woozy, and Alice was there treating them. The gate was wide open, and Uther was already in the vaults. His expression held a hint of fear beneath the expected fury over such an audacious crime.
"What was stolen?" Arthur asked.
"A very dangerous artifact," his father said gravely. "A piece of a triskelion that is the key to the Tomb of Ashkanar."
Arthur furrowed his brow. He'd never heard of it. "Something in the tomb is dangerous?" he guessed.
That haunted look filled Uther's eyes again. "The most dangerous item in the world—a dragon egg."
Arthur's brows shot upward. "What? But I thought there weren't any more dragons." Aside from the one that'd been imprisoned beneath Camelot for decades that the sorcerer Merlin had recently released.
"The Great Dragon is the last living one," Uther explained. "And the egg is the last one in existence. It was beyond my father's reach during the Purge, but the tomb was buried and sealed, and the key broken into three pieces. With one piece safely locked in the vaults here, the egg wasn't a threat. But now that it has been stolen…"
"What happened to the other two pieces?" Arthur asked.
Uther shook his head. "I do not know, but if this thief has found them, then they have the ability to get the egg. We must not let that happen."
Arthur's jaw hardened. Merlin must have been behind this. He hadn't caused enough damage by releasing the Great Dragon, now he wanted to unearth the last dragon egg?
"I'll muster a troop of knights and ride out at first light," he said.
Leon entered the vaults and gave a short bow. "Sire, one of the guards recognized the man who broke in. It was the traveling merchant, Julius Borden.
Uther's nostrils flared with anger. "Find him," he commanded Arthur, who gave a clipped bow and gestured for Leon to accompany him out.
"We'll leave at first light," he said.
Leon nodded and jogged ahead to summon some knights.
Arthur's own anger fizzled beneath the surface. Merlin may not have been the thief, but Arthur knew that if the sorcerer got word of the egg being found, he'd want to get his hands on it too. And who knew what Julius Borden wanted with it.
Arthur had to reach it first and destroy it.
Merlin went about his early morning routine of walking the Sanctuary paths and checking the various ley lines that served as the foundational structure for this hidden realm.
"Merlin," a voice called in his head.
He pulled up short with a frown and turned his focus inward.
"Merlin."
The call kept repeating, and Merlin thought he recognized the voice. The Great Dragon.
"What do you want?" he called back.
"I must speak with you."
Merlin pursed his mouth, wondering what Kilgharrah's game was. They had last parted on sour terms, and the dragon had vowed to return to Camelot to exact his revenge eventually. Maybe he knew he wouldn't get away with it so long as Merlin pledged to protect the city and its people. Then was reaching out to him now some kind of trap?
Either way, Merlin needed to know, so he walked out of the Sanctuary and down to an open meadow between the mountain and woods. Kilgharrah swooped in to land, the gusts from his massive wings buffeting Merlin's face before the dragon touched down and folded them down his back. Merlin stood his ground tensely.
"Why have you come?" he asked.
"Someone has retrieved the triskelion of the Tomb of Ashkanar," the dragon replied. "I felt it when the pieces were reunited."
Merlin frowned; that sounded familiar, but something from a long time ago. "What's that?"
"The tomb where the last dragon egg was lost when the crypt was buried and sealed, locked away for the rest of time," Kilgharrah explained. "Until now."
Merlin's brows rose sharply. Now he remembered. He and Gaius had been visiting the Druids when someone had brought them two pieces of the key, the third having been taken by Constantine. The Druids had vowed to protect the secret of the triskelion so that the Pendragons would never get their hands on the lost dragon egg inside the tomb.
"What do you mean the pieces have been reunited?" he said in dismay. "The Druids had two and the third is locked away in Camelot."
"Someone has managed to retrieve them," Kilgharrah responded. "Which means it is only a matter of time before the tomb is unearthed." He drew his saurian head up austerely. "You must retrieve the egg first."
Merlin, of course, knew how vital that was, but he still frowned at the dragon. "Why come to me after what happened in Camelot?"
The dragon bristled slightly. "You are the only one who can be trusted to save the egg," he admitted, then shifted as though uncomfortable. "And should you retrieve the egg…I will forfeit my right to revenge on Camelot."
Merlin arched a surprised brow at him. "Your word isn't worth much," he pointed out.
"I swear on the dragon egg, the single hope that I am not the last of my kind," Kilgharrah said solemnly.
Merlin's heart did go out to the Great Dragon. Despite the lives he'd taken, he was also a victim of barbarity. And the fact was that unearthing a dragon egg was a threat to everyone.
"Alright, I'll do it," Merlin said.
"I can only tell you where to search for the entrance to the tomb, but the one who holds the key will show up eventually." He swung his head in the right direction. "You will find a cave that seems like a dead end, but the tomb lies behind it."
"I'll have your promise now," Merlin quickly added. "Camelot is off limits while I search for the egg."
Kilgharrah's eyes glittered as though impressed Merlin had thought to be so specific, and he canted his head in agreement.
Okay, then. Merlin left the meadow and returned to the Sanctuary where he rounded up his hunters and explained the situation.
"You really expect the dragon to keep his word this time?" Elyan asked skeptically.
"He did swear on the egg, which is the most precious thing to him," Merlin replied. "But even if he doesn't, we can't let the egg fall into the wrong hands."
That, they all agreed on.
"Any idea who might be behind it?" Lancelot asked as they went to gear up.
Merlin shook his head. "No, but one piece was locked in Camelot's vaults. I have no idea how someone got their hands on it."
"An inside job?" Gwaine theorized.
"For what purpose?" Percival asked.
"Doesn't really matter, does it?" Elyan added.
"Not really," Merlin agreed. "We just have to hope we get there first."
And so they set off toward the woods Kilgharrah had indicated to Merlin. Of course, looking for a dead end cave wasn't so easy to come by.
"The dragon couldn't have been more specific?" Gwaine groused.
"The tomb has been lost for decades," Percival pointed out.
"About as long as the dragon had been imprisoned," Lancelot put in.
They kept up the relentless trek. Merlin even sent out his dragon tattoo to scout as well, but it had yet to report back with any sightings.
"I vote your next project be creating a magical map of the five kingdoms," Gwaine huffed. "Every bloody inch of it."
Merlin was about to toss back a retort when the whoosh of an arrow sang through the air, and Percival cried out as it embedded in his thigh, immediately bringing him to the ground.
"Take cover!" Lancelot shouted as the hunters scattered, ducking behind trees and drawing their crossbows from their backs. Elyan ran to Percival and dragged him back behind a large oak. But no more arrows came flying at them.
Lancelot peered through the trees, then gestured for them to split up and circle around. He also signaled to Elyan to stay put and keep the attention on him and Percival.
As Lancelot, Gwaine, and Merlin carefully crept through the foliage, Elyan shouted,
"Hold your fire!"
There was no response. Merlin saw movement through the leaves: a figure hunched behind a large bush and fitting a fresh arrow to a crossbow. Lancelot and Gwaine snuck up behind him, but the crackle of dried leaves had the man leaping to his feet and spinning around to shoot. Merlin thrust out a hand and magically yanked the weapon out of his grasp before he could fire. His eyes blew wide as he frantically looked between them.
"Don't move," Lancelot warned, crossbow aimed.
The man gave a nervous chuckle. "Ah, I thought you gentlemen were from Camelot, but I take it you're not…" He trailed off and arched a questioning brow at Merlin for using magic.
"Why would men from Camelot be after you?" Lancelot asked coolly.
The man shrugged. "Oh, you know, Uther is a fickle-minded man. Sold him a case of prime wine but he didn't like the taste of it. What can you do?"
Merlin spotted a glint of bronze inside the man's coat pocket and stepped forward to take it off his person.
"Hey!" the man exclaimed.
Merlin held up the whole triskelion for them to see. "Where did you get this?"
"It's just a trinket, family heirloom. Sentimental value really, nothing worth much."
Merlin smirked. "I'd say you're the one who reunited the broken pieces of this. Which means you're the one who managed to break into Camelot's vaults to retrieve the last piece."
The man faltered at that. "Ah, I really have no idea what you're talking about."
"Right," Gwaine scoffed and gave him a shove so they could head back to Elyan and Percival. Gwaine kept the thief under guard while Lancelot went to help Elyan with Percival's injury.
"So…" the thief started uncertainly. "You are from Camelot?"
"No," Merlin answered.
The man eyed him curiously. "And you used magic. So, you know what that is?"
"I know it's been lost for decades."
"Indeed. I've dedicated the last twenty years of my life tracking its pieces down."
"Congratulations," Gwaine said dryly.
The interrogation was interrupted by a garbled scream from Percival as Lancelot yanked the arrow out of his leg.
The thief fidgeted where he stood. "Sorry about that. You know, the knights of Camelot will be hot on my tail. We could help each other, split the treasure that triskelion is the key to."
Merlin snorted; he didn't trust this man for a second. Tucking the key into his own coat pocket, he went over to crouch down next to Percival. "How is it?"
"He won't be walking on it," Lancelot replied as he tied off a bandage around the hole. "But it's not bleeding much."
"I can keep up," Percival insisted.
Merlin shook his head. "Don't. Besides, someone needs to stay here with this guy anyway. Gwaine, tie him to a tree."
"What?" the thief squawked. "Now, now, you need me. I know where the entrance to the tomb is, and how the triskelion works," he insisted.
Merlin shared a look with his friends. Unfortunately, that might be the case.
"What's your name?" he asked as he stood up again.
"Julius Borden," he replied amiably.
"And what kind of treasure are you expecting to find inside this tomb?"
Borden's eyes glittered. "Beyond imagination."
Yeah, he probably knew about the dragon egg. But Merlin wasn't going to let on that they did also.
"Alright, you come with us," he said resignedly. "Elyan, you stay with Percival? Hopefully we'll be back before dark and we can head home together."
Elyan nodded, giving them all a worried look.
"Excellent," Borden proclaimed and started to march off.
Gwaine jerked his crossbow at him, but Merlin waved him to stand down. They'd have to work with this guy. For the moment.
