Merlin couldn't help but grin when he saw Borden waiting for him by the gate to the vaults on the outer wall. He held up the key happily.
"I took it from my brother." He lied, "I can't have the future king know I'm going after a dragon."
"I'm beginning to like you Merlin." Borden smiled as Merlin unlocked the door.
Quietly they made their way through the tunnels, Merlin dismissed the guards as they went, saying Borden was a scholar who'd come to review some ancient documents for authenticity. It was a clever lie really, though the guards seemed to doubt it somewhat when they took in Borden's appearance. None the less they left, they couldn't disobey their prince.
Once they were inside Borden took the lead and lead the prince to a box, lifting the lid and gingerly lifting a piece of swirling gold metal complete with the runes adorning the others parts of the device.
Gingerly he lifted it and placed it with the other pieces, Merlin smiled in wonder as they connected together with a flash of gold light, not even a crack was there to show the pieces had ever been separate.
"Tell me Merlin, are you a good liar?" Borden asked.
"When I need to me." Merlin replied truthfully.
Suddenly there was a pain in the back of his head and Merlin felt himself fall to the ground. Borden must of hit him with something, vaguely he could hear the mans voice echoing through his head as something small hit his face.
"You'll need to be."
…
Merlin groaned as he came to, he really had to stop being knocked out it was getting ridiculous. He blinked at the soft light filtering through the doorway he was laying in. Slowly he sat up, the key he'd used to open the vaults was sitting next to him, well that explained what hit his cheek when Borden left.
Borden!
That snake, he'd tricked the prince into helping him! Now he was going to take that egg and use it for his own selfish purposes! The dragonlord let out a frustrated snarl, glad nobody was around to hear the strange sound. He had to find Arthur.
…
"Merlin! I wasn't expecting you to be back yet." Arthur smiled, the grin faded when he saw the desperate look in his brothers eyes.
"Borden, he tricked me, he took the Triskelion and now he's going to take the egg!" Merlin exclaimed, "We have to catch him Arthur!"
"I told you to be careful." Arthur sighed, "What are we going to do Merlin? We can't just announce we are going to save a dragon!"
"But, we have to!" Merlin argued, "I promised Kilgharrah!"
"What do you want me to do?" Arthur asked.
"You are regent now you could get some of the knights to come with us, the round table knights." Merlin told him, "Please Arthur."
"If I tell them the truth they will think we've gone the same way as Morgana!"
"Then…we lie." Merlin nodded, "We tell them we are going to destroy them egg, not save it. Then you can distract them and I'll sneak the egg away."
"Merlin-"
"Please, brother!" Merlin begged. Arthur bit his lip.
"Alright..."
...
Arthur gathered the knights, their usual group of Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Leon and quickly explained the 'situation'. Borden had some how stolen the key and taken the Triskelion and was now on his way to get the dragon egg. They needed to beat him to it in order to destroy it. Merlin was focused and determined the entire time; for once he was the better tracker.
"Smoke!" He called, "He's made camp!"
The young prince bit his lip when he saw the fire was old, still warm though. They were only a few hours behind him. They rode on a little further until Arthur stopped to inspect the tracks down a leafy hill.
"Deer tracks," He sighed
"Did we loose him?" Leon asked.
"It's getting too dark to see, we'd better make camp." Arthur ordered
"But we're so close to him." Merlin insisted
"We can't see in the dark Merlin." Arthur reminded him, "We'll find somewhere to spend the night."
The warlock didn't feel safe that night, though they joked around the fire and enjoyed some of Merlin's old servant style cooking he couldn't enjoy himself. He felt as if he was being watched, he swore he saw something out of the corner of his eye when he volunteered to feed the horses.
He noticed Arthur placed his sleeping mat a fraction closer to his than usual; his brother was worried about him going off in the night. It hadn't crossed Merlin's mind but now that he thought about it, Arthur was right to worry.
…
He was woken in the night by a whispering...
Emrys...
Emrys...
Emrys...
The voice didn't let up so quietly, as to not wake Arthur, he then made his way through the forest after the call.
"Where are you?" He asked quietly, the wind was his only reply, save the constant calling of his druid name. Finally after a few minutes of solitary walking he spotted them, a small group of druids.
"Do not be afraid." Said it's leader, "We know your quest."
"How?" He asked
"The man you seek also stole from us." The druid replied, "He passed through these woods three hours before you."
"Which way did he go?" Merlin asked hurriedly.
"To the East, but you must beware Emrys. The legends tell a tale that only the druids know." The leader warned.
"What do they say?"
"That Ashkinar was a wise man, he knew men would come looking to disturb his tomb." The elderly man continued, "The Triskelion is not just a key, it is also a trap."
"What kind of trap?" Merlin felt worry for his friends chill his bones.
"I do not know but you must beware Emrys." He whispered.
Merlin looked to the other druids for input they all remained silent in the moonlight. Feeling frustrated he went to walk away but stopped when the lead druid spoke again.
"One more thing Emrys, the legends say 'only when the way ahead seems impossible will you of found it'"
Trust the druids to speak in riddles.
I actually finished writing this yesterday but forgot to upload it, whoops.
Sorry it's a tad short but this is where I figured it was best to stop it, I'm finding this episode rather boring so far really.