The group of three followed the stairs, narrowly dodging a security officer as they ducked out onto the roof. The weren't supposed to be there, even if Arthur was the boss's son.
"Alright, let's spread out and search. We're looking for a jar with something weird inside."
"Arthur, that is probably the worst idea you've ever had. Have you never seen a horror movie?"
"No." Arthur said resolutely, and trotted off to search. Merlin rolled his eyes and walked off to look around, leaving Gwen to go her own way.
Twenty minutes passed with no luck. Lunch had ended a while ago, and they were almost going to search elsewhere when Gwen stood up with a gasp and victoriously raised her prize to the heavens. It was wrapped in a cloth, protecting her fingers from the weird sensation.
Arthur whooped, but Merlin's eyes widened, and his face turned to horror.
"Gwen!" he screamed, flinging out a hand. Arthur looked up to see a shape in front of Gwen reaching out with a spectral hand and shoving it threw Gwen's chest. She spasmed, her eyes rolling in her head. She fell limply, and Arthur had just a moment to realize she was going over the edge when he was already halfway there. He heard Merlin behind him, hopefully dealing with the plague maiden, as he dashed to Guinevere's side. He caught her around the waist and hauled her up. Her face was slack, and she was completely unconscious. Arthur growled, laying her down on the ground and turning back to the spirit and Merlin.
Merlin was alone, slumped on the ground, breathing hard. The spirit was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did it go?" Arthur called to the other man.
"Banished it. It'll be back." he gasped, and stumbled over to them, falling to his knees by Gwen's side. He turned her head this way and that, then looked at her fingers. He frowned.
"What is it?" Arthur worried. Merlin showed him her fingernails then laid his hand on her forehead.
"I did some research. The employees that fell ill all had high fevers when they were found, and later it was found that their fingernails turned a greenish yellow." Sure enough, Gwen's fingernails were steadily turning color as he watched. "Many had to go to the hospital because their fevers got too high." his voice got quiet.
"Well then we should probably get her to Gaius while we figure out what's going on, and how to get rid of the spirit."
Merlin nodded, and they picked up the sleeping woman who had been talking to them only moments ago.
Arthur and Merlin sat in Gaius's office, reading over websites and looking through old tomes, respectively.
"So what's this thing called again?" Arthur grouched.
"A plague Maiden, with the duo hydria modum(1)."
"Alright, I found the due-oh hydra whatever, but nothing about Plague maidens."
"I've got plague maidens but no jars."
"I guess we're all set then."
"What does yours say?"
"The two jar method was originally created to- okay, history, blah blah blah, oh here. 'To dissipate a spirit that has been contained using this method, use the elemental opposite to destroy the jar and its contents. Be warned: The spirit will most likely attack due to previous instruction from the instigator of the spell.' "
"Okay, so we just need to use fire and wind to destroy these, and everything should be reversed."
"Seems that way." Arthur mused, staring at the two jars that sat on Gaius's table. The one he had found, likely a water element, would need to be destroyed with wind, however that works, and the one Gwen found, which Merlin said held grave dirt and a decaying finger, would need to be destroyed with fire, which sounded easy enough.
"So, when do we start?"
"Right now, preferably. We need to get away from any buildings or people, so I suggest the park down the road. Should be late enough now that no ones should be there."
Arthur nodded and they carried the two jars to the park. The sun was setting and a few people milled about, but most were home, where Arthur wished he was right now. The night was turning cold, the world not having shaken all of winter as they progressed into spring. Arthur pulled his jacket tighter and followed Merlin into a copse of trees where they would be hidden from outside view.
"So how do we do this?" Arthur asked Merlin skeptically.
"Well I can create a wind, then we just need a flame." he pulled a book of matches out of his pocket and tossed them to Arthur. "You're in charge of lighting that match."
"So how exactly are you going to create a wind?" Arthur wondered, fumbling with the matches until he had one ready.
"I'm gonna basically gonna summon a few friendly spirits that would be willing to help us, and their combined energies should be enough to manifest in the real world. Then I just have them spin in a circle really fast so they create a small cyclone, then we add fire, and I direct them over the jars so they get destroyed. The only thing after that is making sure we don't burn anything else."
"Oh great," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Let's just go to the park, with a bunch of trees, so we can burn something and just hope we don't accidentally kill something, probably us!"
"Well we could have done in the street, but I think people would notice."
"Whatever. Let's just start already."
Merlin nodded his assent and raised his arms. He squeezed his eyes shut as he started speaking a language that Arthur didn't recognize.
"Veni sancte spiritus auxilium pacificae!(2)" Merlin shouted. His voice echoed meaningfully, but Arthur could see nothing different.
"Did it work?" he questioned.
"Oh! You can't see them. Come here." Arthur walked to Merlin, and Merlin put a hand on his shoulder and the other on his head. A weird tingling sensation, the complete opposite of the horrid sensation from the jars, flowed over his scalp and down his cheeks and neck, like warm sunlight on cold skin. He blinked a few times, and slowly forms materialized throughout the clearing.
Arthur gasped as people, semi-solid in form, drifted toward them. There were men, women, and even a few children. All were slightly tinged blue,their ghostly bodies exuding a faint white glow and a sense of peace.
Merlin again raised his hands, "Lustrant per circuitum quocumque fortiter(3)!"
As Arthur watched, the dead began to dance. The ghostly children laughed, like faint echoes of joy in Arthur's ears. They swirled together, creating a wind that blew so strongly Arthur felt it pulling at his feet.
"Arthur! The match!" Merlin yelled, and Arthur struggled to get the match lit. Finally he got it with a little pop and a smell that burned his nose. The very air around him caught fire, though it never touched his skin. A few feet away he saw Merlin similarly unharmed, his eyes wide open now and blazing a brilliant gold. Arthur felt something deep in his chest at that, a weird twinge at the sight of those golden eyes as he stood in the middle of a blazing inferno. Something like awe, but also a deeply seeded sense of love and companionship and maybe even pride for the younger man that overpowered his senses for a moment. But he had no idea why, they had only met last week.
And just as the feeling had come, it was gone, leaving Arthur reeling. Then he got smacked to the ground as the plague maiden, who he hadn't seen arrive, hit him with an entire park bench.
Arthur lay gasping and confused, body aching something fierce. He glanced up only to see Merlin, unable to release his hold on the spirits lest he burn them all, as the maiden reached for his chest. Arthur reared up onto his feet and charged her, and he had a slow few moments of thinking he wouldn't make it before he was wading through gauzy skirts and slamming into a hollow torso. He passed through and a complete sense of wrongness ripped through him, then he was on the ground. He suddenly felt to hot, his chest heaving as he couldn't get enough air. The world swirled dizzyingly around him and his skin seemed to burn and itch at the same time. His stomach twisted and he heaved, spewing the last thing he had eaten onto the grass. He heard someone someone screaming and thought it might be him, except he couldn't get enough breath to whimper let alone scream. With the thought that he was definitely going to die tumbling through his suddenly aching head, his world went dark.
Arthur squeezed his eyes shut against the light filtering over his eyes. He grumbled and batted at the hand that was touching his forehead. He heard a familiar soft giggle and shot upright in surprise, nearly knocking heads with Gwen as she leaned over him.
"Gwen! You're alright!" he gasped.
She giggled into her hand. "Yes, thanks to you and Merlin."
Arthur's eyebrows drew together. "Where is the big-eared idiot? Last I saw he was about to get smacked by a ghost then burned alive."
Gwen grimaced, "He's out getting coffee. He said you'd want some when you woke up."
Arthur grumbled and made to stand up, but Gwen pushed him back down with a gentle hand on his shoulder. He shot her a questioning look and she said, "You've still got a bit of a fever. Best to rest a bit more."
"But you're completely fine so I should be too!" he pouted.
"Well she didn't dive bodily through a plague maiden." Merlin's voice came from the door, and it was only then that Arthur noticed they were in one of Gaius's patient rooms. Merlin handed Gwen a cup, probably a vanilla chai latte if Arthur knew Gwen at all. Then one for Arthur. He took a big whiff. It smelled like cinnamon, his favorite. He took a swig and found it was perfectly even, vanilla creamer with a dash of cinnamon. He nearly moaned in delight, but caught himself. He was so distracted by the amazing coffee that he forgot to question how Merlin know their favorite coffee's.
"Merlin, if you get me coffee this good everyday, you'll be getting a raise really soon." Merlin snorted.
"Wow, I've only been working for you for a day and I'm already getting a raise?"
"Nope, you've ruined it." Arthur shook his head, taking another long drink from his cup.
"Ungrateful…" Merlin sighed dramatically and plopped down in a chair.
"So what happened after I passed out?" Arthur asked.
Merlin rubbed a hand through his already messy hair. "Well, you dissipated the ghost, and I managed to destroy the jars, then I brought you back here."
"By yourself?" Arthur questioned skeptically, glancing at the other man's skinny frame.
"Yes, by myself. I'm stronger than I look." he pouted.
"Mm hm," Arthur grunted, but in reality he really did believe him.
Two-jar method
Come help, peaceful spirit
Swirl around forcefully
(A/N) Warning: Translations are definitely not correct because I just used google translate for all these. Feel free to correct my terrible latin!I can't bring myself to watch the last couple of episodes, so bear with me if there are some inaccuracies in the rest of this series. If you want to see me do a specific episode, let me know and I'll see what I can do! Otherwise I'm just going to continue through the series.