"Who are you?" Merlin's voice cracked, making the younger warlock cringe. He had not had a drink in God knew how long.
"Actually it's only been 36 hours, but who counts them right?"
"Y-you can read my mind." Merlin's hoarse answer rang out, making the other man chuckle.
"Of course, I can, young warlock. I am a rather powerful man." The mysterious creature handed Merlin a wooden cup filled with questionable liquid.
Merlin eyed it warily, making the other man role his eyes. Apparently patience was not his strong suit.
"Please take note of the following your warlock and make sure to pass it on to your father - if I wanted to kill you, I would've done it by now. My niece would not be in favor of me doing so, of course. Therefore, drink to your heart's content." The unknown man explained.
Merlin eyed him suspiciously once more, making the other man sigh exasperatedly, before he took a big gulp of water, making the man smirk.
"Glad to see you're listening, Emrys."
"You never answered my question." Merlin countered once he'd downed the contents of the cup.
"My name is Ronove." The man answered with an unpleasant gleam in his eyes.
Suddenly the walls around them started shaking, making Merlin yelp and the man before him chuckle. The waters nearby which were connected to the ocean started splashing wildly, hitting Merlin with their ferociousness and making him choke.
He gasped for breath once Ronove opened his arms wide and muttered an incantation. After that pouts were heard and Ronove rolled his eyes once more.
"Now, now, ladies. The idea is not to drown our guest, but to help him."
Abruptly a pair of sirens jumped out of the water, their silky wet hair splashing Merlin further and making his clothes wetter. The young warlock grumbled, but soon found himself gawking at the pair of beauties before him.
One of them was a red-head. Her blue eyes were shining mischievously at him and a smirk accompanied her sultry look. She waved at him and chuckled as Merlin waved back, but rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things.
The other siren was a shyer blonde who simply smiled at him and looked directly at Ronove her face suddenly adorning a serious expression, but the air of seduction followed as well as she bit her lip before asking:
"I don't remember killing being on our agenda, master."
'Master?' Merlin thought before his eyes widened at the mention of the word killing.
"Oh I am sure you girls will be able to take good care of my dear old friend, while Merlin is busy with his quest."
"You and Balinor know each other?" Merlin asked, making the older eye him carefully before he sighed and his eyes grew dim:
"He and I go way back. Let's just say that there were once three good friends, one of them turned against the other two and the remaining two turned against each other because they had different beliefs as to how to deal with the first friend."
Merlin felt there was a lot more to the story, but he had no time to ask as the two sirens grabbed his legs and dragged him to the water. He soon resurfaced and held on to them as he gasped for breath.
"Remind me again why this was necessary?" Merlin questioned breathlessly as the red-headed vixen chuckled whilst the blond angel looked at him with sympathy.
"They will help you get to the starting point from where you shall begin the journey of acquiring the antidote to the venom that is coursing through your beloved witch's veins."
"Forest Bite?" The red-head asked making Merlin eye her curiously.
"Oh, hon, I feel so sorry for you." The red-headed said and this time she was honest. The blond siren had small tears in her eyes.
"What do you know about it?" Merlin jumped at the chance to acquire information, any piece of it would be valuable since right now he knew nothing. He had no idea how he'd ended up here, who this man was and what his ties to the Encantado or Balinor were or these sirens. He did not know if he could trust them. The only thing he knew was that he needed to find a cure for Morgana and prevent the evil beings from taking over Camelot and hurting innocent people among those he loved and/or cared about.
The red-headed siren bit her lip before she looked him in the eyes and answered, "Enough to warn you that if you wish to cure your friend, you're going to pay a high price."
"I'm not afraid. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Even risking losing your own life?" The blond one asked, making Ronove shoot her a glare and Merlin's eyes widen for the umpteenth time today before they narrowed with resolution and turned to the two sirens and said:
"Take me to the depths of the Caves of Nymphia."
The two smirked and nodded before they grabbed his hands and with a swooshing sound of their joint tails they were off.
Ronove watched them swim off as thoughts swirled through his mind. Many, many years ago he would've gone the same for the person he loved. The misfortunate part was that the other person would never love him back.
"Where's my father?" Merlin asked as he breathed in. He'd been transported from one cave to another one, but this one was much darker and much more hostile. He reasoned he was on the other side of this island and was grateful for the magic bubble which surrounded him courtesy of the two sirens whilst they were traveling under water.
"He's completing his own quest."
Merlin recalled Balinor stating he would need Emrys' help for completing said quest, but decided not to voice it. He simply nodded, thanked the two sirens for their help and began his trek through the caves.
"Heed our warnings young warlock." A voice suddenly called, startling Merlin, "Nothing is as it seems."
He scrunched his eyebrows and wondered what this voice was referring to. The Caves of Nymphia held a lot of secrets that much was for certain and quite often you needed to look underneath the underneath to make sense of what was happening and/or why it was coming to pass, but Merlin had a hunch that this voice included what had occurred at Camelot. Were these worlds being connected somehow?
"The answer to that question I will leave to you, Emrys, to discover."
Merlin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why would any creature of magic make things easier?
Merin walked through the only tunnel he'd had access to and was starting to regret his decision. Everything was becoming darker and darker and there was no way to breathe. The air was thicker and every time he breathed in he felt something scorching the internal tissue of his lungs. Emrys created a couple of blue orbs to light up his way so as to avoid colliding into anything.
Merlin stumbled suddenly and fell into a pile of what to his gruesome delight appeared to be bones.
"Be careful, young warlock." The voice reappeared, "Not all sirens are as kind as the two who led you through the water."
"Who are you and why are you helping me?" Merlin asked as his vision became slightly blurrier. The air must've been poisoned or perhaps there was gas being leaked from somewhere to lull him to sleep.
"Where there is evil there is good. As I am sure you know the two balance each other out perfectly otherwise this world would be far too boring."
Boring? If it were up to Merlin he would be at the castle serving the royal prat and tending to his every whim than completing obscure quests at a place that was supposed to have been destroyed along with its creatures.
"My my you've been domesticated, young warlock. No worries soon you will be reminded just how powerful and raw your strength can be."
With that Merlin's path ended at a rock wall making Emrys wish to growl out of frustration. His lungs were burning and he needed to get out. Suddenly hissing sounds were heard. Merlin's eyes widened as he noticed venomous snakes coming down from the walls and cornering him. He could also very faintly pick up singing from the other end of the rock wall. HIs eyes blazed gold as he molded his fists and concentrated his energy into transforming his skin into metal. He then began hitting the rocks until they tumbled down giving Merlin a view of clear sky and waterfall coming down and meeting with a river below.
The hissing sounds were drawing nearer and nearer and the last thought that passed through Merlin's mind was to stay alive as jumped down and tumbled into the water.
"Glad to see you're finally awake." A well familiar female voice uttered.
Merlin's eyes opened and he jumped only to be silenced and coerced into lying down by none other than Morgana.
"What are you doing here? Where is here actually?" Merlin asked as he noted the change of scenery. He must've drowned and died or been transported somewhere else since he remembered a waterfall, a jungle, venomous snakes and a cave, but not a tent and Morgana smiling sultry at him.
"The sirens helped you and brought you to the shore. After that they handed you to the villagers and since I recognized you and was worried sick I volunteered to take care of you."
"But I remember how sickly you looked. Gaius mentioned you were on the brink of death." Merlin argued, trying to get up.
Morgana gently got him to lay down and brought a bottle with questionable liquid to his lips.
"Ease up, Emrys. You're safe here." Morgana said.
Merlin's entire frame tensed as he smiled in bitter-sweet fashion, wishing for a moment this illusion had been real and he and Morgana were truly safe and away from harm's away at least for a little while. This lookalike though could pass for the King's ward only for a couple of minutes. Once she opened her mouth the disaster was greater than having Arthur drink a puppy love potion and making him dance hula, whilst wearing a skirt.
"I thank you for the concern, Milady, and the reassurance as well, but I fear I must be on my way." Merlin said as he got up and attempted to pull his shirt on. The Morgana lookalike tried to persuade him once more, but the illusion was wearing off and the creature knew it.
Suddenly bolts of electricity were thrown his way as he tried to escape. Merlin jumped from their way and winced when a tree was hit and burst into flames. The creature called forth falcon which went after Merlin as the young warlock made his way through the jungle to God knew where.
He ran and ran, but the bird kept flying after him until it managed to catch up and started trying to claw its way into Merlin's shoulders, neck, ears and worst of all eyes. It managed to land a couple of scratches on the warlock's skin, but none of them were lethal. It appeared the bird was under some type of control.
Merlin cursed as his eyes blew gold and he sent arrows flying the bird's way, effectively hitting its wings and slitting its throat. The bird dropped dead on the dusty ground.
The young warlock sighed as he looked at the bird, mourning the loss of such a beautiful creature, but he could not risk losing time or efforts or magical energy, trying to break the curse over this creature and the sirens. He could hear them now even, their beautiful singing, coming from the waterfall where he'd fallen. They were trying to lure him back, but Merlin was far away to fall victim to their treacherous voices once more.
As he looked onwards he noticed markings on the trees and a mountain peak towering over. Merlin took a careful look at said markings and smiled. Hunith's name was written in the symbols of the Old Religion.
It appeared Balinor was here and Merlin had never felt more grateful for the existence of another human being than at that moment.
He decided to follow the markings, hoping he would run into Balinor. He did not question the chances of that being another illusion though and would most probably soon end up regretting it.
Merlin followed and followed the marks on the trees to no avail. He soon decided to camp somewhere since night was nearing. He could not remember exactly how long he'd been here and how much time had passed in the outer world. It seemed as though here time went by differently.
'I need to save her.' Merlin thought as his eyes drooped. He needed to get some sleep. It was rather strange, being here alone yet the primary intruder in his mind was Morgana.
On another note, the anguish and betrayal he felt towards his father had been replaced with worry only. He did not know the man after all, but he wanted him to be safe and return to wherever he needed to in one piece.
'Perhaps he has someone. Even if he does not, it would still be wonderful if I could get to know him.' Merlin thought as he questioned, 'Would he wish to find out anything about me though? He did mention he'd run away from my mom because he'd been chased by Uther. I live right under that man. Balinor can't follow me to where I live, nor could he return and stay for long at Ealdor.'
"It would be a rather unpleasant predicament indeed." Someone suddenly said, making Merlin jump with a jolt awake, two energy orbs having formed in his palms and his eyes flashing gold.
"Easy there, Emrys. I'd advise you to conserve that energy instead of mindlessly throwing it at anything and anyone." Balinor said as the boy before him gaped at him, making the older man chuckle.
"It's been a while… how has this world been treating you, Merlin?" Balinor could not seem to call him the way Merlin craved to be addressed. Still perhaps it was better.
"I've been better. I just wish I could leave this place with the potion right now."
"There's a lot more to it than just saving Morgana is it?" Balinor suddenly asked as he sat next to his son.
"Yes…" Merlin decided he would not divulge further information, feigning ignorance, "I think there is, but I'm not exactly familiar with everything it can be used for."
"It could help free Uther, Arthur and everyone else from the incantation they're under."
Merlin's eyes widened. He did not remember informing Balinor of his suspicions that Uther's son was under the enchantment as well. He breathed in deeply as he willed his energy not to spike. His mind wondered who it could be. The Encantado had already tried and failed to will him to follow their lead and fall victim to their antics. This was not a siren either. They'd failed too. Could it be Ronove?
He did mention he was involved with Balinor and knew the Encantado awfully well. Merlin's eyes widened. Could the three friends have been Uther, Balinor and Ronove? Could they have been split due to the fact that Uther had sexual relations with the mother of the sole survivor from the Encantado familia and had then denied having any attachment towards the product of their love? Ronove did mention he had a niece. Perhaps he was not all too fond of his best friend dirtying the sheets with his sister and the way said sister had been treated.
Other had slain Ronove's entire family and now all that remained were he and his niece and the two were out for revenge. Whatever quests Merlin and Balinor needed to complete would most likely help the two retrieve relics that would aid them in defeating Ronove and the sole survivor of the Encantado race.
"Very well, Emrys." The Balinor uttered as it got up and shape-shifted, Ronove's true form being unleashed. Merlin's eyes widened as he eyed the gruesome creature before him. Calling him a demon would be utterly nice.
Merlin cringed as steam rolled out of those razor sharp teeth and blood trickled down the creature's chin. With his nails he plucked a finger from his teeth and roared into laughter at Merlin's disgusted face.
"Now, now, Emrys, you should not make such faces at the sight of your father's remains. Such lack of respect. Perhaps he's not raised you well."
The mockery and the implication was enough to send Merlin into a fit of rage as he lunged towards the demon. Unfortunately that was exactly what the Earl of darkness was after and Emrys, the most powerful warlock to have ever walked this Earth, fell right into the Marquis of Hell's trap.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story. The TV series Merlin and its character, plot, etc. do not belong to me.
Please accept my apologies for taking so long to update and if there are any plot holes. I'm back now though.