Don't own.

Horace was bored. There was no other way to define it. But it wasn't a lazy boredness, but one that was filled with anxious tension. Finding the Temujai camp felt like a sign that his nightmare could mean more. Oh, he hoped with everything that was in his being that it did not. He sighed as he ran his hand along Kicker's side. They had brought the horses with them further into the forest than before, in case they needed a quick getaway. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Camelot's capital was a day's ride away.

Time to think, Horace thought. Priorities. What did he need to get done while he was in Camelot? First, make sure Will didn't die. He spent countless hours studying about arrow wounds and traveling to Macindaw to speak with the healer Malcolm about what was best when it came to first treatment for an arrowhead that hadn't pierced all the way through the body.

The visions he had were as useful as they were horrible. The intricate details of the nightmares over the past several months had helped him learn. Helped him have a chance of, not thwarting, but finding the loopholes of fate. The two weeklong ride over to Camelot with Will had given him hope, because the nightmares had stopped, until last night. But even then, the nightmare was missing an ending, a definite change from before. That meant he had a chance, that his intervention could save his friend.

Priority number two, finding out what stance Camelot had on magic. He'd heard rumors that they recently decided to welcome magic users with open arms, but he'd also heard that King Arthur's manservant was a powerful warlock, so he wasn't sure what to believe. He had promised Emperor Shigeru that he would find out what he could about magic, and that included looking into someone called the Dragon Lord. He wasn't sure he believed in dragons, but they were a part of Nihon-Ja's culture, and he respected that.

Priority number three, defeating the Temujai, which really should be priority number two, but Horace disregarded that. Because first and foremost, Will's life was what was important. And second, Shigeru was a good friend as well, and that wouldn't take as long as planning for a battle so he could get the information gathering done without too much hassle. But in all seriousness, the Temujai were bad news and he would fight them whether or not Camelot was filled with stuck-up idiots.

Still caught up in his thoughts, Horace was startled (though he would never admit it) when he heard hurried footsteps heading straight towards him. He gripped the pommel of his still-sheathed sword and got into a ready stance.

Horace was greeted with the relieving yet alarming sight of Will running full pelt with an unfamiliar knight trying his best to keep up behind him.

"Horses, now!" Will shouted, aiming and shooting an arrow swiftly behind him to take down a Temujai that was getting too close for comfort. Horace didn't need to be told twice.

Will mounted Tug gracefully while Horace did the same slightly less gracefully as he helped the other knight to sit behind him. "By the way, I'm Horace."

"Gwaine." The Camelot knight responded, clutching his leg with one hand and grimacing slightly in pain. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And I'm Will." The Ranger said unnecessarily. "Now that we're all acquainted, can we focus on not getting killed?" Will's tone was impatient.

Horace grinned as they took off, feeling alive. Every so often Will would turn in his saddle and let loose an arrow into the trees behind them. They rode for several minutes before Horace had to say something.

"Just like old times, isn't it?" He yelled over the pounding of the horses' hooves. Will turned to look at him with an incredulous expression.

"That's not necessarily encouraging." Will said in return. Horace only laughed in response.

That concluded the conversation for the next half hour while they focused on losing their followers. After they had made a sufficient distance away, Will had them go ahead while he covered their tracks, instructing them to take the most unobtrusive way towards Camelot - which Will had already planned out when he started his journey - and that he would meet up with them when they stopped to make camp. Horace didn't want to leave Will alone, but his logic made sense and would ultimately be better for evading the Temujai.

"Just promise me you won't die." Horace said to Will quietly when the three of them had dismounted for a short break before they would split up. Gwaine was taking the time to rebandage his leg with proper supplies courtesy of Will.

Will's eyes met his with a strong resolve. "I will do my best."

Leon frowned as he watched the bartender shrug.

"I 'aven't seen him. Might be good to as' the kids who tend to the horses. They usually see ev'ryone who comes by." The overly large man pointed a thick finger in the direction at the entrance to the small town that Gwaine usually inhabits when he goes on a drinking spree.

"Thank you." The knight said distractedly while he set a coin on the counter as payment for the information. He then joined Elyan and Percival outside.

"Any luck?" Elyan asked.

"Only a suggestion to ask the stable boys." Leon said as he stretched his back. They had been riding for half the day and this was the second town they stopped at.

Percival had been silent throughout the entire trip so when he spoke up, the other two listened intently. "Do you think he might actually be in trouble?"

Leon and Elyan shared a look, then Elyan decided to answer the question as they walked in the direction of the stables. "I would say that he's probably just passed out in a ditch somewhere. But Merlin has good instincts and I trust him."

"And what about you, Leon?" Percival asked the third knight and leader.

"What about what?"

Percival caught Leon's arm and stopped him in his tracks. "Do you trust Merlin?"

Leon sighed and Percival let go of him, narrowing his eyes as he did so. "I think I do. There's a lot of adjustment and it came as a surprise. By all reason and from the training I've had, I should hate him. Yet, I don't. Because he is still the same Merlin who we've all known for so long. Still the same Merlin who was the only one out of all of us who knew how to cook a decent meal while we were on the road."

"Still the same Merlin who is able to make friends wherever he goes." Elyan added.

"And still the same Merlin that has saved our lives countless times." Percival finished. Leon and Elyan nodded their agreement.

They arrived at the stable. Leon waved over one of the stable boys who was heading in their direction. "Have you happened to see a knight with a bad haircut and unkempt facial hair?" This description made the other two knights grin.

The boy hummed in thought. "Yeah, I might've seen someone that fits. He left his horse here two nights ago. Hasn't returned since."

"Any idea where he could have gone?" Percival inquired.

"I don't, but I'll ask Toby if he knows. He keeps an eye on a lot of people." The boy responded. He then took a deep breath and yelled, "Toby! Someone to see you!"

A smaller boy, several years younger than the first, ran into view. "Yah, Fred?" He said as he caught his breath. His hair was red and untamed, and he had a light sprinkling of freckles.

"Some knights wanna talk to you." The first boy clapped his hand in the back of the second and left.

"Oh. Okay." Toby looked nervous.

The knights shared a look before Percival took the lead, he was the best with children. And this kid couldn't have been more than ten years old. "We're looking for our friend Gwaine, he's missing. The other bo- Fred said that he came by here."

The boy, more like child, had tilted his head when Percival said Gwaine's name. Then, when the knight had finished talking, he asked "He looked like you, right?" Gesturing to their red cloaks with the Pendragon crest on them. Percival nodded. "Then I know him. His horse is over here, follow me!" He took off further into the stables.

The knights followed. And it was indeed Gwaine's horse that was there. The saddle bag and all the rest of his belongings laying down on clean straw at the far end of the stall. This didn't feel right. Two days, Leon thought with a frown. He needed to find some answers.

"I heard that you see pretty much everybody who comes by. Anyone strange that seemed suspicious that came by around the same time our friend was here?" Leon asked the small boy.

Suddenly the child stilled, eyes going wide and breathing becoming faster. Percival quickly bent down to his level and rubbed circles on the boy's back, Toby leaning into the touch and sniffling.

"I'll take that as a yes." Elyan said quietly to Leon, who nodded in agreement. They both watched as Percival managed to calm the boy down in only a few minutes. When Toby was sufficiently levelheaded again, he wiped the tears from his face and turned to them and straightened his back. He seemed determined not to cry again.

"I… I saw this man. He was strange. I heard him talk when he bumped into Fred's old man, it was just under his breath but I heard it. I've got good ears, y'know." Toby said seriously, making sure they knew that. "But it sounded weird. He had an ax- an acc-"

"An accent?" Elyan suggested.

"Yeah, that! But one that I'd never heard before. It wasn't in any language I ever heard neither. And I've met a lot of people." The child ended, contemplatively, as he petted the side of a passing horse that was being led by one of the older boys. "And he… my friend Sean that works at the inn said that he was out walking to find some sassafras roots."

"Sassafras roots?" Leon whispered to himself, not sure where this was going.

"It's a root that when brewed it makes a sweet tasting drink. Children especially like it." Elyan filled him in.

Percival frowned at them from over his shoulder for being distracting. They stopped talking.

"He was gathering it for the kids that live it town, he's an adult but always gets along with us because he's kinda like a kid himself. Some people are like that, nobody knows why." The boy scuffed his feet on the ground.

"Yah, so some men caught him and, Sean said that he could barely understand them, they told him to go back into town and get a map. That they would let him go if he promised to bring back a map, a really good map." Toby let out a shuddering breath and continued. "He told me about that right after he stole one of the maps from a traveler staying at the inn. Then he left and no one's seen him since. That was yesterday."

Percival gave him a soft hug and the boy clung to him for a moment before taking in a big breath and pulling himself together again. The knight gave him another squeeze.

"You did very well. Good job." Percival told him. "Thank you." Then he handed him a gold coin. Toby's eyes went very round, and he took the coin with a look of awe on his face before stowing it away in his clothes.

"Thanks!" He said as he dashed away, most likely heading home to show his family what he had be given.

Leon found the first boy they had talked to and said they would be taking the horse and would pay for the stable fees. There was some resistance but with another look at the Pendragon Crest on their cloaks, the boy shrugged and gestured towards the horse and told them what was due. They paid him, saddled the horse, and were on their way.

Now they had a lead to follow.

"I would take a guess and say that it's all connected. The ones who captured his friend and the foreign man who was in town." Leon offered.

"The Temujai?" Elyan questioned.

"Coincidences have rarely ever existed in Camelot." Their leader answered. "But at least now we know that they are close by. Likely not more than a few hours away."

"And where they're at," Percival added, "Gwaine likely is as well."

They mounted their horses, Percival trying a lead rope to Gwaine's horse, and headed out. And hours went by with intermediate talking and short stops for rest.

It was dark when they decided to make camp. They were uneasy because of how little progress they had made. But they had agreed to stop for the night because continuing with no idea where to go could be less than helpful.

Leon and Elyan used the moonlight to set out bed rolls. Percival had gone into the forest to look for firewood. They planned on having a small fire, arranged to let loose as little smoke as possible. They didn't know where the enemy was, but they were close enough to the road that it was unlikely they would be near enough that the fire would bring attention. Bandits and enemies usually kept their camps away from roadways so they wouldn't be spotted as easily by patrols.

It was when Leon was about to light the torches that a voice spoke up from the shadows.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Elyan drew his sword. Leon turned around, dropping the torches, and unsheathed his own blade. They both stared out into the forest in the direction that the voice came from.

"Who goes there? Show yourself." Leon said, feeling the familiar beat of his heart that signaled its readiness for a fight.

The form of a person materialized from between the trees. The two knights tensed in ready positions.

The cloaked figure pulled back his hood and held up his hands in a peace-keeping gesture. "Hey, hey, I'm not here to harm you. I'm a King's Ranger of Araluen. My name is Will Treaty."

Will sighed. It was a few hours before dawn, and he made his way by the bright moonlight. He had covered up their tracks as best he could, and set up a few decoys to lead away from the direction his two companions were actually heading in.

While he traveled to meet up, he thought about his priorities. Number one was to help Horace with whatever was going on with him. Recent events from the missions Crowley has sent him on have given him some suspicions but nothing conclusive could be found out until his friend decided to confide in him. But he strongly suspected magic was involved, as much as the skeptic in him was reluctant to believe in it.

Priority number two, find out if Camelot has really lifted the ban on magic. This is especially important because of the recently discovered factions of Druids that had taken sanctuary in Araluan for the past thirty years. Once this was found out, Crowley had sent him to find these factions and connect them with the others. The process took months, but once it had started, it went surprisingly well. They were kind and welcoming and the more groups Will found, the easier it was to find the rest. This was priority number one because the vast majority of the Druids were set on returning to their homeland.

Priority number three, which really should be priority number one, but Will wasn't sure how much he cared yet, was to make sure the diplomatic meeting went well and that Camelot got the help they needed. He was there to determine if the Temujai really were invading, and to what extent, and if it would be safe for Erak to have a meeting with the King of Camelot. If it was safe, then they would send a message through messenger hawk to the Oberjarl. The hawk had been sent back with the party of Camelot knights that had traveled to Skandia to ask for assistance.

And last but not to be forgotten was to find out what in Gorlog's beard that giant dragon he met when traveling to different Druid encampments was talking about. Honestly, Will wasn't sure that he wanted to know. Dragons shouldn't talk. That really harmed his beliefs about magic not being real. It was something about family and how he had a relative. And how Will would have a chance to take a small part in saving Avalon. It was cryptic as hell. And the humungous reptile set one of his perfectly good cloaks on fire just because Will wasn't paying attention and was trying to ignore the apparent hallucination.

Will huffed and muttered under his breath at the memory, "I'm really starting to hate Crowley." Because he wouldn't be part of this mess, wouldn't even have been involved in the Druid situation and subsequently picked to be the best one to be sent to Camelot, if it weren't for the commandant.

Tug tilted his head to the left in the subtle way he was trained to point out something, snorting lightly as if to say, Are you awake? Pay attention, there's someone over there.

Will frowned and studied the side of the road, someone had definitely been through there recently. He signaled for his horse to stop and then dismounted.

Wary of running into any Temujai, he went slowly and was the epitome of silence.

That was when he stumbled (though not literally, because he's better than that) upon a camp of Camelot knights.

He was staring at the knights, just contemplating from the tree line of the clearing, when one of the men got ready to light a torch. Will knew that wouldn't be a good idea because the Temujai were most definitely searching the woods for their lost captive.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said. Wincing inwardly afterwards, Will realized that would sound threatening. Oops. Not his intention.

The two knights unsheathed their swords and looked ready for a fight. Will felt like smacking himself. Great first impression, Will, his inner-Halt voice said in his mind.

"Who goes there? Show yourself." One of the knights, Will assumed he was the leader, demanded. Yeah, they felt threatened.

"Hey, hey, I'm not here to harm you. I'm a King's Ranger of Araluen. My name is Will Treaty." Will said after lowering the hood of his cloak. He smiled brightly at them. They didn't drop their swords.

"A Ranger?" The younger knight muttered. "What's a Ranger doing here?"

"Are you truly a Ranger?" The leader questioned, studying Will in cautious curiosity.

"Yes. I am." Will responded.

"Then prove it." The knight challenged.

Will frowned. Then looked around for a target. There, a moth was flying in the air a foot away from the younger knight's head. After the dark-skinned man swatted absentmindedly at the moth, the Ranger made his move.

Quick as the strike of a serpent, Will shrugged his bow from around his shoulder into his hands, took an arrow from his quiver, and he loaded, aimed, and released. The arrow sailed true and pinned itself in the bark of a tree at the other end of the clearing.

And Will was tackled to ground.

"What was that?" The leader practically growled as he held him down. Will could have knocked him off easy, but he felt like that would make it worse. He really didn't want to make any enemies where there didn't need to be.

"Look at the arrow." Will said simply. Just why was it that no one ever looked to see what the arrow hit before they retaliated? He thought back to his stay with the Bedullins.

The man who tackled Will shrugged his right shoulder in the direction of the arrow, and the second man just nodded before moving across the clearing. With a small exclamation of surprise, the knight said in awe, "It's the moth that was flying near me. He wasn't aiming for me at all." Only one of the famed Rangers from Araluen could have made that shot.

"'Course not." Will said as he was let up. Sitting up, he shrugged his shoulders to stretch them. He saw that the knight in front of him had extended a hand towards him. Will accepted and grabbed his bow from where it had fallen with his other hand. Once Will was up, they retracted their hands and studied each other.

"Well, Ranger Will. I had actually expected papers of some sort or an insignia to say you were what you claimed you were, but this proves it much better in my opinion." The leader grinned. "I'm Leon."

"And I'm Elyan." The other knight said, still across the small clearing and staring at the arrow that pinned the moth to the tree straight through its middle.

"Nice to meet you two." Will said pleasantly. "What brings you to this area?"

"There's actually three of us, and we could ask you the same question-" Leon was interrupted by loud footsteps heading straight for them.

Will tensed, expecting to see a search party of Temujai when it was another knight, burly as a Skandian, who entered the clearing.

"There's someone close by, I saw this strange horse, it was just standing there without being tethered and I… who are you?" The third knight asked in confusion when he saw Will standing next to Leon.

"And that's Percival." Elyan decided he was done studying the arrow and joined them. He gestured towards Will, "This is Ranger Will Treaty from Araluen."

"Will Treaty? I've heard about you." Percival said, eyes wide.

"Good things, I hope." Will said with humor.

"Great things." The big knight responded with a grin. Leon and Elyan frowned, not sure what was going on. Although, they weren't always up to date when it came to news from other countries.

Leon coughed to gain their attention. "So, Ranger Will-"

"Just call me Will."

"Will, then. Why are you here?"

Will felt like sighing, he was the one who asked that same question first. But they were knights within their own kingdom, and he was a skilled fighter from another country. When it came to things needing to be explained, the scale would weigh more on Will's side than theirs.

"I am here on diplomatic business and I found one of Camelot's knights being held by a encampment of Temujai. A friend and I rescued him and they're on their way to the capital right now. I stayed behind to cover our tracks. Which is why I stopped you from lighting those," Will pointed to the torches, "because the light will bring attention to the search groups that are no doubt looking for me."

Leon only focused on the part about the Ranger finding a knight and immediately asked, "What was his name? The knight you rescued. And was he injured at all?"

"Gwaine. And from what I could tell, only a small graze on his leg."

Percival sighed in relief and mentally wondered about the almost magical way luck seemed to work around Gwaine. At least they knew he was safe.

"Alright! Pack up, we have to find them as soon as possible." Leon commanded his men. Luckily, there was little to pack up since they hadn't gotten far before Will had shown up.

"Got a deadline or something?" the Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that." Elyan answered, face serious.

Once they were done packing up and Will helped remove the traces of their short stay, the shorter man let out a whistle. Before any of the knights could ask why, a horse galloped into view.

"That's your horse?!" Percival exclaimed. "I saw him a ways away and he wasn't tethered and gave me some trouble when I tried to help." He eyed the animal warily.

Will smirked as he ran a hand through Tug's mane. "Yes. And he doesn't listen to anyone but me, with the exception of a few others. He's very smart. Smarter than me some days." The shaggy horse nudged him with his head and snorted. "Okay, most days."

Percival nodded. Made sense from what he heard about Rangers. And the Ranger in front of him was one of the most renowned of them all.

They all mounted and rode away, following Will. The knights trusted the man, and mostly couldn't believe their luck. Their search was almost over. Soon they would be home, everyone safe and unharmed.

That's what they think.

Thank you to flurt and Ballerninja for your reviews!

Also, very important, here is a short 'what if' scenario about Percival's meeting with Will's best bud, Tug.

Percival was just looking for firewood. Picking up a stick here, a small branch there. A large branch in front of him looked to be good firewood, so he bent down and broke it with his bare hands, didn't even need to break it against his leg or prop it up against the ground and step on it. No, the great big knight just held it in his hands and snapped it.

He picked up some good brush for kindling and noticed a horse just standing behind some bushes. The shaggy horse, that looked more like a pony to Percival, gave him a long look – the knight felt like he was being judged – and then turned away to graze on the tall grass.

"Huh." He realized that the small horse wasn't tethered to anything. "Are you lost, boy?" He questioned, not really sure why he said it out loud. It was a horse. And he was talking to it. Shaking his head at himself, he walked towards the horse and made to grab hold of the reins.

The horse danced away from him surprisingly quickly. Then from twenty feet away the gray beast tilted his head as if to taunt him. But that was ridiculous. It was a horse. Horses are just animals and do not have the ability to taunt people. Nevertheless, Percival felt slightly indignant and lurched forward to try again at catching the horse.

The horse stayed still until the knight was just inches away and then sidestepped him effortlessly and took off, neighing condescendingly from his new standing place thirty feet away.

"Alright." He frowned at the stubborn horse. Sensing that it wouldn't change anything to keep trying, Percival decided to get help. He couldn't just leave the horse there. "Don't get attacked by anything or stolen before I get back."

The little grey horse snorted, and the big knight could have sworn he was being laughed at.