"Aaaaahhhhh".
It seemed to Merlin that the entire courtyard turned to stare as he dragged himself out from under the horse. Then again, most of them had been staring at him for the better part of an hour as he was constantly shown up by the self same horse. Gaius had used a sleeping draught to put it to sleep, as it had gone berserk during the morning and would not calm down. And guess who Arthur had allocated the "tricky task that Merlin was just the man for"?
Yep, that's right. That's why, in the sweltering mid morning heat, he had climbed over the gate and crept up on the damn horse. All he had to do, then, was creep up closer to it, and hold the cloth under its nose, so that it breathed in the fumes. Half an hour later, when Athur had come down to see what was taking so long, Merlin was making his fifth foray into the paddock, having been chased out by the horse in several humiliating ways. Most involving dung. Finally he had managed to jump onto the horses back, from a bale of hay behind it, and held on until the salve covered cloth did its work. Unfortunately, as he went to jump of, the horse keeled over onto its side, trapping him beneath it. Fortunately, he had only been trapped by the legs, as he had managed to roll out of the way from the main body of the damn thing. He climbed out and sighed, getting to his feet. He turned to walk out, and saw Arthur stood there, trying to hide a smile.
"Merlin," he said, in a voice that he normally used before complimenting him... (then again, he did use it a lot for his lame attempts at insults, Merlin reasoned) "Nice job. Now take a bath. You cant do everything else smelling like a stable." Merlin sighed.
"Everything... else?" he asked, dreading the reply.
"Yes, You have to polish my armour, clean the floor of my quarters, catch the damn rat that has begun to sneak into my room, wash my clothes, polish the brass..." Arthur was about to continue, but Merlin had backed up a few steps.
"Fine, fine. Dont remind me..." He headed off to his room to clean up and Arthur smiled, before turning to the courtyard.
"Hey," he called to the assembled watchers, "Laughing at his expense is my job. But then agan, it is a full time occupation so feel free." He heard laughter in the crowd as they broke away to continue their work, before he head back into the castle to see Guinevere.
Morgana looked at the images in the basin before her and a spark of envy ripped through her. The people of Camelot had never respected her like that... The envy turned to anger as she watched Arthur smile as he met Guinevere... The Queen of Camelot. How the name made Morgana sick. How dare that serving wench take her place upon the throne of Camelot. She waved a hand over the top of the basin and the images vanished. She rocked back and felt her anger give way to satisfaction. The Seven Stones of Beleth lay across the belt at her feet. The belt itself was simple and made of leather, but the stones within it radiated power. Morgana laughed. The druids were no match for her, they had handed it over without much more than a few weak spells aimed at her. She had simply spoken one of the spells given to her by Morgause and watched as they all fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke, she would be gone. She grinned and scooped up the gems, before heading out into the forest.
The warning bell sounded. Merlin had just finished cleaning Arthurs armour, admiring his own work, even though he had cheated slightly... He nearly dropped the greaves as he positioned them on top of the pile to take to Arthur, so awkward they were to balance and carry. He hurriedly made his way down through the castle, nearly running into Gwen as she rounded a corner.
"Sorry m'lady" Merlin said, keeping a straight face as he imagined the exhasperated sigh that he knew would come. Sure enough,
"Merlin, how many times do I have to tell you? You don't call me by any title. It always had been and always will be Gwen." She laughed and caught neck plate that toppled from the pile in Merlins hands, tucking it back and stepping aside. "And you had better get those to Arthur before you hurt yourself. And Merlin, be careful."
Merlin thanked her, and made his way down the corridor to Arthurs chamber, knocking upon the door in a small rythm, as had become usual since Gwen had taken up residence in the chambers, and opened it as he heard a faint reply to the knock, telling him to get would have been happy to do so, but the unstable pile in his hands threatened to tumble if he shifted it. He heard someone make their way to the door and heard it open. He peeked around the pile at the amused expression on Gawain's face as he saw Merlin stood there. He moved aside to let him pass and Merlin saw his face fall into a grim look, a look which, when he looked, was mirrored on Arthurs face. Merlin helped Arthur into his chainmail, which he belted his sword onto, before helping him with the rest of his armour. This was how Merlin knew that Arthur was going to the council chamber. It was considered to be appropriate that in times of crisis, whether big or small, the king should be in appropriate attire. Merlin got ready to leave, but was surprised when Arthur asked him to accompany him to the meeting. Merlin followed as they made their way through th castle, wondering what use Arthur could possibly have for him, and wondered if the warning from Gwen to Be Careful, meant more than he thought it had.
Merlin entered the council chambers behind Arthur and went to stand in the place he normally did when invited to the room. From there, he could see everything and hear everything. When he heard what the meeting was about, his face dropped into an expression that he assumed mirrored the dismayed looks around the room. The outer villages had apparently been suffering attacks from ghostlike creatures, similar to the spirits that attacked Camelot before, but with horrifying faces and blood red colour. The news came from a servant that had been visiting relatives in the village, but had arrived to find everyone sick or injured. He had immediately hastened to Camelot to tell Gaius, who had informed Arthur. Then the reason for Merlins invitation became clear. Arthur turned to look at him.
"Merlin, with Gaius riding to the stricken villages, you become our foremost fountain of knowledge when it comes to magic. After all, you have lived wih him for several years now." The expession on Arthurs face was such that most would not be able to see what he was thinking, but Merlin knew him better.
Arthur was afraid, and Merlin felt the same feeling of dread. They couldnt be back... He continued this thought out loud.
"The spirits of the dead can not return." he stated firmly, watching several faces in the room lose some of their tension. "The rift has been closed, and the night at which it could be torn has long since passed us by this year. They would not wait if they had been released then. They are uncontrollable." He paused to consider something and caught a look directed at him from Arthur. One of relief and surprise, probably at the idea that Merlin was doing as good a job as Gaius. He turned to look at him.
"Did the person say what the wounds were like Sire?" he asked, knowing that the occassion called for proper address. Arthur turned to look at Gwaine, who Merlin knew was the one who had talked to the servant.
"He said that they were like any wounds inflicted with normal mortal weapons." Gwaine stopped for a moment, before continuing. "But he said that he was told the creatures were like mist and their weapons were the same." The fear had settled back over the table like a cloak. Weapons that were not solid, but that still caused wounds? Merlin considered this.
"Sire," he said, "I do not recall what these creatures are, though I believe I have read about similar creatures to this. I can recall the book that I read the passage from however, meaning it shouldnt be difficult for me to look them up." He was told to go and do so, and immediately left the room, heading for the small library in Gauis' rooms. It took him ten minutes to find the book, and a further ten minutes to find the right passage, but when he did, he read quickly.
Demons are often considered as servants of the devil himself (he read) though only can they be loosed upon this world by a sorcerer with power enough to control the Mayhem Emerald. One of the legendary Seven Tears of Beleth. These demons a not of this world, so do not have a solid form, yet they have enough power to use their mist-like weapons for great harm, even so far as wounding any mortal man with wounds similar to the nature of their mortal counterparts. With one crucial difference. These wounds are impossible to heal without the aid of magic, and within one day and night cycle, the wound will have drained the life force of the wounded to fuel the demons own body. They use terrifying expressions to instill fear into thir victims and are always identified by their colour, that of blood.
Merlin recalled reading the legend and immediately ran to find the book. After a great deal of searching he found the text and read the legend of the Seven Tears of Beleth. As he finished his blood ran cold. From what he had been told and what he had read, he concluded that the demons were responsible for the damage wreaked upon the village, but it was not this knowledge alone that sent him running to Arthurs chambers. The only sorcerer he knew that had enough power to unleash them was Morgana, and if she had one stone, she would have them all. Camelot had a fight on it's hands. She was back.
He reached Arthurs chambers just as Arthur himself arrived. He joined him inside and gasped out what he had found to Arthur as he was catching his breath. Arthur paled.
"Morgana?" he murmured. He quickly took in the rest of what Merlin had said. "A wound will kill without the use of magic when healing it?" he asked, and Merlin could see that a fierce battle had begun to rage in Arthurs head. On one hand, he believed magic to be evil, on the other, how could he let his people die? Merlin gave him until he had fully caught his breath before interrupting his thoughts.
"Arthur, I know that this is difficult, but there is something we have to do." Arthur looked at him, "What Merlin?" Merlin was surprised to see a new-found respect in Arthurs eyes when he looked at him. "We need to see the druids. If anyone knows about the Seven Tears, they do." He expected an argument from Arthur, so was surprised when Arthur simply told him to get a move on and pack.
The next morning the two of them rode out, leaving the knights because Arthur said that he needed them their in case of an emergency. Merlin realised tht this was the first time in nearly a year when they had actually gone on a mission without a bodyguard for Arthur and felt himself longing for the good old days. When Arthur asked what he was smiling about, he told him and Arthur joined him in saying that it was much more fun back then, before he fell to musing about his role as king. Merlin knew he would get nothing more out of him until they stopped to camp down for the night, and was happy to relax into the old feeling of companionship between them. Within two days, they would reach the druids, and would learn what they needed to in order to fight Morgana. But for now, Merlin could relax.