Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or its characters.
Chapter Four.
Merlin and Arthur upon returning to Camelot departed ways, Merlin went to his room to continue his hunch whilst Arthur went to report to his father.
"So I've got two theories." Merlin announced as he entered the quarters he shared with Gaius.
"And what is that?" Gaius said as he carried on reading the scroll in front of him.
"I found this." Merlin brandished the crested jewellery.
"And your theory?"
"Morgause must have convinced Morgana that she knew her father, or mother maybe to gain Morgana's alliegance."
"And the other theory?"
"Morgause used the crested jewellery to lure Morgana, maybe even enchant her into being loyal to Morgause."
"Both are relatively sound theories based on practically nothing." Gaius said casually as if they were discussing some new potion of Gaius'.
"Well considering I have nothing to go on, this is the best I've got." Merlin said. "And regardless of how Morgause obtained these it does provide a link to Morgana, or Morgause so it will help me find her."
"And how is that?" Gaius said intrigued as he looked up.
"Now that would be telling." Merlin grinned as he disappeared into his room.
Morgana spent the next three days spending several hours of her day with Lord Maydern whom she learned was from past the Northern Plains, the lands belonged to a group of high ranking nobles whom had sided with Uther in the Purge and were greatly rewarded with lands of a conquered King.
As Maydern gleefully told her they had tricked Uther into believing that the Lords were still there, in fact the Lords he had placed there were killed barely a year or two after Uther placed them there. In the busy years of Uther controlling his vast empire and the consequences of the Purge the absentminded Lords past the Northern Plains were of little consequence, they paid their taxes to Uther and sent letters to him regarding the area but no more.
Morgana learned that the area had in fact been a refuge of sorts for several High Priests and Priestesses of the Old Religion, Nimeuh herself spent her intervening years in those lands until she left to enact her vengeance on Uther. Morgana further learned that Maydern knew a great deal of these powerful Sorcerers himself and deduced that was what Morgause was after. Maydern however was a shrewd man unfortunately and was not giving up the details of the Sorcerers without some benefit for himself. The others that were invited as guests of Morgause were fellow Lords of the Northern lands, some even as far as the most Northern part of the lands, in a mountainous lands where it snowed for a vast majority of the year.
Part of Morgana was happy to hear tales of those that had tricked Uther, but another part of her was trying to determine what was her role in whatever Morgause was trying to do.
Merlin gave a little whoop of joy as he thought he had finally succeeded in his plan. He carefully arranged the most detailed map of the lands that he could take from the archive across his bed, in his hands he held the crested piece of jewellery that he had taken from what he thought was Morgause' stash at the Isle of the Blessed. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes to centre himself before focusing his mind on Morgana, and reciting the spell he had created for this purpose.
Merlin's eyes burned gold as the spell worked but as Merlin let go of the jewelled crest it fell uselessly on the map by no other force than of gravity.
He frowned and considered that whilst the spell didn't work, the focus was wrong.
He needed a new focus.
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