Good morning. Here you have the Chapter 19. I thought I wouldn't have time to post it today, but here it is. Wirgen in Merin's perspective. There'll be more parts in this chapter, three, I think. This chapter will be really important. I hope you like it.

I'm not own from Merlin.

The journey was short compared to the one that awaited them to Engerd. In less than three hours, they were already on the road to the entrance of the village. The valley got narrowed every time they got closer, and at the end of the road, the walls were already on either side, with threatening expression, as if at any time those stone walls narrowed to join them in the middle.

Each time they were approaching a place with less vegetation as if there had been a fire there. Many parts of the road seemed burned and shattered, but there were also others where they seemed to be recomposed. Telvar had told Merlin almost nothing of this town they were going to, but he imagined what a town it would be.

His suspicions were reflected when, at the end of the road, they reached the entrance of the village, where the walls were quite close together, forming more a gorge than a simple way, where it then opened to a wider area, where Merlin assumed without being a genius that was the place where the town was.

Seeing the black columns adorned with runes and brushstroke drawings that made the entrance to the village, Merlin already knew what it was about, and was going to talk when Arthur came forward.

"It can't be," said Arthur, who had kept staring at the black columns in fear.

Apparently, neither Morgana nor Gwen knew what was going on, for they looked at Arthur without understanding.

"What's the problem?" asked Gwen.

Arthur kept looking at the columns without paying attention.

"Arthur?" asked Morgana.

Merlin was going to answer when Arthur came back to him again, this time heading here.

"You know what it is, don't you?"

Merlin could only nod, not knowing whether to answer or not, or tell something.

"What's going on?" asked Gwen, this time with a broken, nervous voice.

Arthur paid no attention and kept looking at Merlin with a fulminant look, able to break the columns if he possessed magic, Merlin thought.

"Welcome to Wirgen," Merlin proclaimed.

"Wait, isn´t that...?" said Morgana, who cut herself off, understanding what it meant.

Gwen still did not understand with a confused face, Morgana seemed to go pale as she looked at the columns and Arthur seemed to explode at any moment.

"Let's go on," Merlin ordered gently before Arthur jumped in front of him and made a show.

In Merlin's surprise, Arthur said nothing and followed him, following orders that Merlin should not do, and Arthur should not follow. Merlin could see that his gaze was fixed on him, looking at his neck, burning it with rays of fire thrown through his eyes. He hoped that everything wouldn't end as badly as it looked like it was going to end.

He knew perfectly well what town this was they were going to, and Arthur apparently knew it too, since surely Uther would have told him. He knew nothing of its history, he simply knew that this was the town where Telvar had lived, nothing more.

Merlin followed the first, guiding the group through the village entrance, as he had a tremendous curiosity and desire to know more about his father and Telvar, who seemed so mysterious and where his past seemed to be in the shadow of memories, which were the people who had known them. As he had told him, Telvar also did not know so much about Balinor's past, only raised him and looked after him like a brother. But it all ended when he had arrived in Camelot, when he had been about to kill himself, but thanks to Uther he was still alive. The same Uther who was now full of hate meat and blood of vengeance, where he felt nothing when he heard the cries of innocent people burning on the pyre. But at the time, he had to say that Uther looked like the hero, and he felt some thanks for him in saving his father.

The stone walls were opening more and more, leaving between seeing houses of wood, straw, and adobe. At first glance, it looked like a normal village, with its sheds, its orchards, its people, its market, its life... But there was something that made it different. First of all, it was a place where vegetation did not abound much, but it seemed to be all burned. Secondly, people did not seem as cheerful as in other villages they had visited. Not that they were bitter or rude, they just followed a methodical and simple rhythm, without too many laughs or jokes. And lastly, you could guess remains at the bottom of the village, where the place was closed in a kind of circle. Those remains looked like the same black stone from the columns of the entrance, only without ornamentations or polishes. It was just rubble that implied that there had been another population in the place formerly.

It was a particular place, Merlin thought. Not bad, just... he was missing something. Joy? Desire? Any laughter? He didn't know it, but the ambiance, the atmosphere, and the air he was breathing seemed tenser and more vitiated.

When they arrived at the market, Merlin got off the horse and set out to ask about the woman they were looking for. He asked a few vendors, who many exclaimed that they were not there to give directions, but that their job was to sell, and that, if he wasn't going to buy anything, he had to leave. Yes, there were people who weren't so kind, but there were others who at least didn't yell at your face or throw looks of disdain at you.

Merlin, already exhausted, set out to ask at the village tavern. There was a typical ambiance in which the sounds of people talking and drinking were heard as a murmur that tasted like music to the ears. But there was no laughter. No mirth.

Merlin asked the waiter, who gave no answer, and seeing that the others in the tavern looked at him in disgust, he set out to ask someone decent. At the back of the room, a hooded man looked from a distance with a pipe lit. This was the man who eventually took him to Hilda's house.

All four came to a humble but comfortable and beautiful stay. Apparently, the man, who called himself Galben, was Hilda's husband. Hilda arrived seconds later. Merlin's first feeling and thought was that if she had a grandmother, she would be perfectly like her.

She was a small old woman with gray hair and abundant wrinkles, whose gaze reminded of Telvar's experience. She had certainly met Telvar. When they went to the living room, where a cozy fire was ringing among the chimney stone and they were invited to some hot teas, Merlin could see the suffering that seemed to carry over the poor old woman, as if she had seen too much.

"And well, tell me what brought you to my humble abode," Hilda asked.

"We come on behalf of Telvar," Merlin replied.

Hearing that name, Hilda dropped her tea on the floor and looked at Merlin without being able to believe what she heard.

"Telvar?" she asked in a choked and almost inaudible voice.

"Yes. She told us to visit her with Hilda's name."

"How is it possible?" murmured Hilda, more to herself than to Merlin, for her gaze had turned to one of remoteness, without looking at anything. The last words came out with a barely audible whisper in a broken voice. "He's alive."

Oh, who really Hilda is? Why did she think that Telvar was dead? What happened in Wirgen? How did Hilda and Telvar meet? Next chapters, you will know. In this chapter, Hilda will tell the past from Telvar, which is really important also in the past of Balinor, you will see. Also, there will be a mystery in the heart of the town, which will be related to Balinor and Telvar, and Kilgarrah and Sigan will appear in it. You will see it.

I hope you liked it, and see you next time.

Next Chapter: I met Telvar so many years ago. We were very good friends, but they told me he died. Merlin's perspective. What happened with Hilda and Telvar?

LegolasHV