Merlin kept pondering over the dragon's warning while he headed back to the laboratory. This was absolute nonsense. How could curing those people make the situation worse? And why did the dragon always have to speak in ridiculously mysterious riddles? If he really wanted him to follow his advice, why not explain his thoughts clearly?
He hurried into the laboratory, immediately heading for his room. He didn't know how long it would be until Arthur came there, so he'd better get Livia out of the castle as soon as possible.
"Merlin."
The warlock stopped dead in his tracks, and finally noticed his tutor, sitting at the main table. "Oh, Gaius, I... didn't expect you here. Aren't you supposed to be down in the city with the sick villagers?"
"Come sit over here, my boy," Gaius invited, indicating the chair on the other side of the table.
"I'm quite in a hurry right now," Merlin apologised. How was he going to get Livia out with Gaius still in the laboratory?
"Come. Sit," Gaius ordered.
Merlin did as he was asked. As soon as he was sitting, Gaius stood up and started pacing around the room. Merlin crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He wasn't sure what this was about.
"Merlin," Gaius finally began slowly. "I believe it is high time you and I had a little talk."
"Gaius, I really need to get going," Merlin insisted, "could this wait?"
"I'm afraid it can't."
Merlin sighed. "All right... What do you want to talk about?" he asked while tapping his foot nervously on the ground, hoping it wouldn't last too long.
Gaius stood next to him. "About secretly bringing girls back to your room at night."
"Oh," Merlin mouthed as he realised what that meant. "You... found Livia, then?"
"Yes, I am aware of the presence of that young woman in your room."
"And... somehow you don't seem to be mad at me," Merlin noted with surprise.
"I'll admit I was a little upset at first, but I understand it's only natural. Even though it was a long time ago, I have been a young man once myself."
Merlin stared at Gaius. What was he talking about? Gaius had never seen Livia before, but surely she must have told him who she was? What was so natural about bringing a woman back to -
Oh. Oooooooh.
"So, let's discuss how a gentleman should behave with the ladies," Gaius continued calmly.
"Gaius, no, I didn't... She's not..." Merlin mumbled incoherently, then sighed heavily. "She's the witch that escaped from the dungeons. I hid her there," he finally confessed.
"Of course she is! Why does it always take you so long to tell the truth?" Gaius burst out and gave him a quick slap on the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"Why did you lie to me about it this morning? Don't you trust me enough?"
"So you are mad at me," Merlin concluded with another sigh.
Gaius glared at him silently for a second. "What were you thinking, bringing her here? What do you think would have happened if anyone other than me had found her?" he scolded.
"I know, Gaius. But I had to take her somewhere."
His tutor kept observing him. "I talked with her," he eventually said. "She told me how Arthur helped her escape and then let you deal with her once Gwen was healed. I understand why you did what you did, but you should have told me what happened. She can't stay here, Merlin."
"That's why I came here: to take her somewhere else," Merlin explained. "Arthur is supposed to search the castle for her." Then he hesitated. "Did she tell you how we cured Gwen, and about the dryad magic too?"
"Yes, I believe she told me everything, unlike some young warlock I know," Gaius replied with a slightly reproachful tone. "Dryad magic is powerful but not very well documented. I'll see if I can find any information about it somewhere."
"Do you think Livia is the one responsible for this whole epidemic?" Merlin asked in a lower voice.
"You know I'm normally a rather distrustful person, but I have to admit that for once, I don't think she could be. Livia and I talked for quite a while, and along the way I discovered I knew her grandmother."
"Really?" Merlin asked with surprise. "Small world..."
"Small world indeed... Anyway, her grandmother... She was an idealist. She believed that by perpetuating magical knowledge through oral transmission only, it would be possible to filter that knowledge and to raise a new generation of sorcerers entirely unaware of any offensive magic, ultimately resulting in the eradication of dark magic itself."
"Is this the same grandmother Livia mentioned to be a little crazy?"
"She could be considered a little eccentric by most standards," Gaius admitted, "but certainly not crazy. You need to understand those were different times, during which the usage of magic was still vastly accepted. And if it weren't for Uther's obstinacy, this could have been an alternative to the Great Purge."
"So you don't think Livia has anything to do with all of this either?" Merlin asked, urging Gaius back to his original question. The lesson on the history of magic could wait.
"Back then, I personally didn't think what her grandmother was dreaming to do was possible at all. But from what I gathered from Livia's perception of magic, it seems she did succeed in raising her children and grandchildren according to that belief. And apparently there are others," Gaius began to drift again. "This group of young sorcerers, dedicated to the good in magic with no afterthought... There could be hope there..." he continued, mumbling to himself with a faraway look.
"Gaius?"
His tutor snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes?"
"Arthur could get here with guards any minute," Merlin reminded. "We really need to go."
"Oh, of course... Livia, you can come over here dear," Gaius called.
Livia stepped out of Merlin's room, looking at him somewhat apologetically.
"I trust you and Arthur already have a plan," Gaius told Merlin. The latter nodded. "The disease striking the villagers is less virulent than the one that ailed Gwen, it's spreading more slowly. That will leave us more time. I'll look for more information on dryad magic. Be careful, the two of you," Gaius concluded as parting words.
Merlin had found the lever and secret passage right where Arthur had indicated. The tunnel was dark and seemed endless. They'd already been walking for at least ten minutes now.
Livia was following him very closely to take advantage of his torch's light – though Merlin suspected it might also be due to the presence of many wide spider webs, if the occasional high-pitched screaming was any indication. Other than that, the witch had remained rather silent since they left the laboratory.
"I'm sorry about earlier..." she finally began, and sighed. "You'd been gone for hours, I thought..."
"It's all right. At least it gave you the chance to talk with an acquaintance of your grandmother's," Merlin replied.
"True. I suppose he's the same Gaius she used to talk about."
"Oh, she talked about him?" he asked with amusement.
"Yes, sometimes she told me about her old flames."
When Merlin stopped dead in his tracks, she bumped into his back.
"What? Why did you stop?"
"No reason..." he dismissed. Focus, Merlin, focus, he motivated himself as he resumed walking, trying to forget the disturbing mental image that had just popped in his head at her words.
After a couple of minutes only, Merlin noticed a ladder attached to the wall on his right. He lifted the torch above his head: the ladder led to what looked like a trapdoor.
"Here we are. Hold this," he said while handing the torch to Livia. Then he proceeded to climb the ladder.
"Are you sure? The tunnel keeps going."
"We've been walking for a quarter of an hour, we should be somewhere near the city's walls now. The tunnel continues beyond the wall out of the city, we don't want to go that far," Merlin explained.
He slowly pushed the trapdoor open and took a peek outside: he was under an alcove into what he could only guess was the western wall - he had never noticed that alcove before. Merlin made sure the way was clear then heaved himself through the opening. Once out, he held out an arm back down the hole. "Drop the torch, I'll help you up."
No answer. And now that he thought about it, no torchlight either, only darkness.
"Livia?" he called, suddenly worried she might have chosen to let them down to escape through the tunnel. But the light eventually returned and he felt a hand grab his arm.
A few seconds later, they were both out and the trapdoor had been closed and concealed.
"This was the perfect opportunity for you to leave Camelot and all this trouble behind," Merlin remarked, "what made you come back?"
"The spiders. They were huge," she joked, strangely hiding the real reason why she decided to stay.
Merlin smiled. "Then I'm glad you're scared of spiders, because we'll need your help here."
"So, were is Gwen's house?" Livia asked.
"Right over there," Merlin indicated. Arthur's estimation had been very accurate: it was only a little down the street, and they would have to get past only one group of guards. As expected this would be the trickiest part, but Merlin had had the whole journey down the tunnel to think about it. He looked around the area for the distraction he would need.
Merlin put his hood up and asked Livia to do the same. Then he headed into the flow of people, straight towards the guards. There were six of them, spread over the crossroad, examining everyone one by one, allowing no one to sneak past them.
"Merlin, they're going to see us, they'll recognise me," Livia warned, sounding distressed. "Merlin?"
"Trust me. Follow me and stay close," he instructed.
He kept advancing with resolve. Once they were only a few yards away from the guards, he concentrated all his attention and power towards a rack displaying clay items in front of the potter's workshop. When he squinted, the rack began to sway dangerously, until it finally toppled and crashed over two of the guards.
The remaining guards instantly went to help the others. Merlin seized that opportunity to stride past all of them unnoticed while they were busy. He took a quick look over his shoulder to check Livia was still following, and was stunned to see her immobile in the middle of the street, staring at something beyond the whole scene.
Merlin immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the guards' sight, beside Gwen's house. "What are you doing? What's wrong?"
"This is Dunstan," Livia explained, pointing at the back of a man walking away in an opposite direction.
Merlin looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure it's him?"
"What is he doing here?" she exclaimed. "You said you convinced him not to come!"
"I don't know, he must have changed his mind." When the witch made a movement to leave he caught her arm again. "Livia, no."
"He came because of me," the witch insisted. "He's heading for the castle, he must think I'm still in the dungeons."
"The guards are looking for you and you only. He's safe. Go after him and you'll be killed before you even reach him." Despite Merlin's arguments, she still looked torn. "You know I'm right. Come on," he insisted.
Ultimately, though with obvious reluctance, Livia followed Merlin into Gwen's house.