Chapter 11
You can find many roads in Camelot, and with them come many stories.
There are, of course, the main roads, which connect the castle with the other kingdoms. In those is where you would find the knights patrolling, the couriers carrying messages and the merchants moving from one city to the other.
The normal folk travel using other roads, which connect the bigger villages with the castle. Walking down these roads you can hear the latest gossip about who is dating who, and plenty useful tips, like where to buy the cheapest clothes or find the bigger chickens.
Finally, there is a third type of road which are those who lead to villages so small that people don't even remember their names. Roads that should probably be named something else, because most of them are just patches of dirt in the middle of a forest. This story starts in one of these, leading to a village that would be of no consequence, were it not that it was the birthplace of the most powerful sorcerer that would ever live.
The forest was almost silent; all you could hear was the sound made by two horses walking forward with two men on their back.
"Come on Gaius, we are almost there," one man said.
"Patience my boy, I'm not as young as you," the other one replied.
"You are on a horse!"
Gaius smiled. "What's the rush?" he asked.
"It's just… it's been a long time since I visited my mother."
"I know Merlin, I know, but I promise you that Ealdor will still be there in five minutes," Gaius said.
Five minutes? At the rate they were going it would take them another hour to get there. That wouldn't do. Merlin's eyes glowed gold and Gaius' horse started to gallop, carrying a surprised Gaius, who just barely grabbed hold of the reins and started screaming Merlin's name as he got away.
Merlin laughed and started to follow. Five minutes later (as Gaius promised) they were in Ealdor.
"That wasn't funny Merlin," said Gaius, catching his breath.
Yes it was, but Merlin didn't answer; he was immersed in his memories.
Around him was the town where he was born. It looked like it always had, but Merlin knew that was only possible because the effort of a lot of people. Thankfully, Agravaine's attack hadn't left any casualties, but there had been many houses and fields burned down in the effort to flush Arthur and the rest out. After they took back Camelot, Arthur made a priority of rebuilding everything that was destroyed in the attack, and Merlin thanked him for that. Now he could see again the roads where he had learnt how to walk, the stump of the first tree he had accidently blew up and the fields where he and Will used to play. What he wouldn't give to speak with him one more time.
"Merlin!" a voiced called.
He turned around and there was his mother, smiling as always. He got down of his horse and ran over to her.
"Mom!" he said as he hugged her.
"Oh, Merlin! You have grown so much! Look at you!" Hunith said with both her hands around Merlin's face.
Gaius joined them leading both horses.
"Hunith, it's nice to see you," he said.
"Gaius, how are you?" she asked. "Thank you so much for coming."
"It's no trouble, my dear," Gaius said.
Hunith hugged Merlin one more time, before moving on to the matter at hand.
"Alright then, I guess you want to see the sick people now?" she asked.
Gaius nodded. "It would be for the best."
"Follow me," she said.
Merlin was disappointed. He knew that they were there to cure an illness, but still, it has been so long since he had seen her mother…
"Don't worry Merlin," Hunith said, like reading his thoughts, "we'll talk more at lunch; I've even made your favorite meal."
Merlin smiled.
"Thanks mom."
.
.
.
Dragoon was moving through the forest. He looked up. It was almost noon; he had to hurry. He picked up his pace and reached for his pocket once more. The letter had been delivered to him by normal courier, which actually wasn't that normal taking in account that almost no one knew he was in Camelot and that Drake didn't really exist. Just in case that wasn't strange enough, this was the letter contents:
"I know who you truly are. Meet me tomorrow at noon outside the Ancient Temple in the Darkling Woods or everyone you love will suffer. Come alone."
Now, let's be honest, Dragoon knew this was a trap, the boy who delivered the letter knew this was a trap, the woman he asked for directions knew this was a trap, and very likely the deer that had just passed him by knew this was a trap. However, Merlin and Gaius were busy curing some disease in Merlin's home town, which meant that Dragoon had the whole day to himself, and he couldn't find anything better to do than to walk straight into a trap. Besides, someone had just threatened Dragoon the Great, and he wanted to meet the one who dared to do that.
The ruins lay in front of him. He still remembered when the Ancient Temple was just the Temple. Many of his friends had been born, gotten married and died in this place. Time was a vicious thing, but he still wondered how it would feel to be affected by it.
From the other side of the temple, a small figure started walking towards him. It was a young girl and she appeared to be lost, or at least that's what he thought until he saw that a white dragon was walking besides her. A smile formed in his face; he was going to meet the dreaded Morgana.
"Emrys, prepare yourself!" she yelled.
Dragoon looked behind him and then back at Morgana.
"Who? Me?" he asked.
It took him a second to understand what was going on, and when he did he let out a laugh.
"I'm sorry", Dragoon said, "but I'm not Emrys."
"Do you think you can fool me?" Morgana asked. "I know all about the disguising spell you used back in Camelot."
"Wasn't me," he said, raising his shoulders.
He was Emrys, she knew that much, but at the same time Morgana was a little disappointed on how he was acting. Was this the man who kept her awake at night? She decided to play his game for a while.
"Who are you then?" she asked.
Dragoon walked to a nearby rock and climbed it in one jump. He looked back at Morgana and smiled.
"I'm pleased to say that you have the honor to be in the presence of the astonishing, the amazing … DRAGOON THE GREAT!" he said, making an exaggerated reverence.
"Dragoon the Great IS Emrys!"
"Well… Not exactly…" Dragoon started as he climbed down. "You see, it's true that he called himself Dragoon the Great for a while, but he isn't Dragoon; I am."
Morgana couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"So, you are saying that you are Dragoon the Great, but you are not Emrys, and that Emrys used the name Dragoon the Great, but he isn't you."
"Exactly!" Dragoon exclaimed.
She raised her hand and Dragoon flew away until hitting a nearby tree.
"WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR!?" she yelled as she walked towards him.
.
.
.
The sick people were arranged in two lines of four people each. Gaius approached the one nearest to the door, sat next to him, not without effort, and started to inspect the patient.
"Hunith, do you have any idea what's wrong with this people?" Gaius asked.
She shook her head. "Not really, but it's strange. Maybe too strange, if you know what I mean. That's why I asked you two to come. Every morning we are finding someone on the street completely paralyzed. They are alive, but that's it; they can't move, can't talk, can't even move their eyes. Some of us have decided to stay in our homes at night, but there are others who believe that's just foolish and so this keeps happening night after night."
Gaius rubbed his chin. "Couldn't it just be something they ate, or maybe something they drank?" he asked.
"I don't think so; we share most of our food, and only a few are getting sick, and just one or two every night."
Merlin entered the room carrying a box of potions and placed them in a corner, near the other medical supplies they had brought. He looked around the house; it was the first time he was let inside it.
"I still can't believe that Garth let you use his house as a hospital", Merlin said. He didn't remember him being very neighbor friendly.
Hunith pointed to the other side of the room.
"He was one of the first people to get sick; I'm hoping he doesn't mind."
Merlin could swear he saw a tiny smile in his mom's face. She and Garth didn't get well since he accused Merlin of freeing his chickens (which he did, but that's beside the point).
Gaius kept inspecting the patient while talking to himself.
"The temperature is normal; there is no discoloration in fingers or lips; his eyes don't move, but they seem to respond to changes in light." He turned the patient around. "There seems to be a strange mark on the back of his neck." Gaius looked at Hunith. "Do any of the other patients have this mark on them?" he asked.
"What mark?" asked Hunith, squinting her eyes.
"This one, behind his neck," Gaius said, pointing at it.
Hunith got closer to the man lying in the floor and looked.
"I'm sorry Gaius," she said, "I don't see anything."
"Merlin?" Gaius asked, looking at him.
He nodded. "I see it."
"Interesting…" Gaius said, looking the mark once more. "Merlin, do me a favor, look if any of the others has this mark, and leave your bag, I need some of the books."
Merlin looked each one of the other patients and in every one of them he found that mark in the exact same spot. It was a black diamond with a circle in it, and inside this circle there was a vertical oval; it kind of looked like an eye, but if it was an eye, it wasn't human.
Gaius only had to see the look on Merlin's face to confirm his suspicions.
"Look at this," Gaius said, as he handed Merlin one of the books. "What do you think?"
"It's the same mark, but I don't understand this language, what is it?" Merlin asked.
"It's an old tongue. It says that this mark is called the Mark of the Sphinx," Gaius said.
"Sphinx?"
"It's an old creature. So old that some people think that it's just a myth. They are supposed to look like a lion with a human face, or something along those lines; it's not very explicit," Gaius said, as he pointed to the book.
"So, what are we facing? Cold breath? Paralyzing gaze? Poisoned claws?"
Gaius was reading through the text.
"Well… actually it seems that it just asks questions."
"What!?" asked Merlin.
"Riddles, and if you don't know the answer, well… that depends on the sphinx. This one appears to paralyze its victims."
"Alright, that's… weird."
"Really?" asked Gaius, raising his eyebrows. "Is it more weird than a woman killing people with her singing? Or a goblin possessing me? Or Uther marrying an ogre?"
Merlin laughed. "You may have a point there," he said, "but still, it's weird. Does it say how to cure this people?"
"It seems that if someone answers its riddles right, the sphinx disappears from this world for a hundred years, and everyone affected by his curse is cured," Gaius said while reading. "I guess that killing it also works."
"So either way I'm free until nightfall, right?" Merlin pointed out.
"That would appear to be the case," Gaius said with a smile.
"Well then, my mom and I have some catching up to do."
"Merlin! You can't leave Gaius alone with all these patients!" Hunith protested.
Merlin was starting to talk back, but Gaius interrupted him.
"It's fine Hunith," Gaius said, "there is not much we can do for now, and he deserves a break; until tonight at least."
Merlin nodded. "Don't worry Gaius, I'll be there."
.
.
.
His head hurt like hell. In hindsight, Dragoon should have probably expected that. He got up quickly and thought about his next move. If he was going to accomplish anything he needed Morgana to believe he wasn't Emrys, but how? Talking probably wouldn't do. She was getting closer; he had to do something. He stretched his arm and chanted a spell which made a golden device appear in his hand.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked.
Morgana saw him holding a golden scales. One plate was empty and on the other rested a white feather. Morgause had told her about this spell once.
"The scales of truth," she said, surprised.
Dragoon smiled. "Good, that saves us time." He cleared this throat and spoke slowly. "I, am, not, Emrys."
Morgana saw as the plate holding the feather went down; he was telling the truth.
"You are not Emrys!" she yelled.
"And you are not the Triple Goddess, but you don't see me complaining," said Dragoon, at the same time he made the scales disappear.
"Who are you? I demand to know!" asked Morgana, pointing directly at him.
"I've already told you, I'm Dragoon the Great."
"So, that stupid story about Emrys calling himself like you…"
"True, every bit of it, but don't you worry, he already agreed to not use my name anymore."
"I couldn't care less about your name!" Morgana walked towards Dragoon and pressed a dagger against his throat. "Where is he? Tell me!" she demanded.
"How would I know?" he asked back.
Morgana pressed the dagger a little bit more, but she knew that Emrys was too smart; there was no way this man knew where he was. And so she stood there, the dagger against his throat, trying to decide what to do with him.
Then she blinked.
"So, is that Aithusa?" asked Dragoon.
Morgana had to look around to see where the voice came from. Dragoon was sitting on the stairs leading to the Ancient Temple, just next to the road she used to get here, leaving Aithusa between them. She moved quickly next to the dragon.
"How… How did you do that? How do you know her name?" she asked him.
"Didn't you hear? I'm astonishing and amazing; I know things." The fireball Morgana was casting hinted him that she didn't believe that answer. "Alright, Emrys told me," said Dragoon.
Morgana's spell stopped as her eyes opened wide.
"Does he know about her?" she asked.
"Of course he does; he's Emrys," Dragoon replied.
Morgana dropped the dagger, went to her knees and hugged Aithusa. Dragoon would later remember this moment as the first time he really thought Morgana could be saved. She was crying. Did she really fear Merlin that much?
"You do know he doesn't mean you any harm, right?" he asked.
Morgana stood up and started walking towards him.
"You are wrong!" she yelled. "He is my doom! He is destined to kill me; I've seen it!"
Dragoon jumped from where he was seating.
"You are a seer! Why didn't I know that?" he asked, half to her, and half to himself.
"Why would you?" Morgana asked back.
He made a dismissive gesture with his hands. "No reason," he said, "but let me ask you something. Have Emrys ever attacked you without you doing something against Camelot or its people before?" Dragoon waited, but there was no answer. "I thought so."
"And what if I tried to conquer Camelot? It is my birthright!" she exclaimed.
"And what do you think Camelot is Morgana?" Dragoon asked. "Let me tell you, Camelot is its people, and you have murdered them; Camelot is its cities, and you have destroyed them; Camelot is its lands, and you have burned them; Camelot is its honor, and you have none. What is exactly what you want? Is it the crown? Or maybe the throne? Or perhaps this is all just a children's rant, and the only reason you want Camelot is because your brother has it."
Morgana was taken aback by Dragoon's sudden change.
"How dare you…?" she asked him. "Camelot is far from innocent, or have you forgotten all the sorcerers that had been killed just for being who they were? Do you call that honor?"
"That wasn't Camelot and you know it; Uther was the one to blame for all that, and he is no more." His eyes glow and a figure started to appear. "Do you want to know who are you really hurting? The day I arrived here I came across a kid, couldn't be more than twelve, whose face had been so badly burned that he went blind. Tell me, Morgana, how is he responsible for what Uther did?" he asked, pointing to a boy who was next to him.
Morgana just stood there, watching the illusion in front of her. It was a while until Dragoon decided that was enough and made the boy disappear.
"Look kid," he said, "I don't have any right to lecture you, Goddess know that I have my fair share of regrets, but I have to tell you that the path you are walking does not have a happy ending."
Had he just called her 'kid'? Who the hell was this man? His insolence made her want to set him on fire, but what if he was right? Could she believe in what he had said? Morgana was lost, but there was one thing she was sure about...
"You are not Merlin's uncle, are you?" she asked.
Dragoon laughed. "No, I'm not; what gave me away?" he asked.
"You are far too wise to be related to him," Morgana said.
"I don't know..., he does seem pretty clever."
"Oh, please… So, how did you convince him to help you? Did you threaten to hurt his mother?"
"What's with you and threats?" Dragoon asked. "I just used a spell to make him actually believe I'm his uncle."
Morgana shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that works too," she said.
"Why are you asking? Are you worried about him?" asked Dragoon showing a grin.
Morgana gave him a deadly stare.
"That question shows you know nothing of what we've been through," she said. "He tried to kill me; I couldn't care less about what happens to him."
"Fine… fine… sorry for asking," he said, raising both hands.
For a while they remained there, just looking at each other.
"So… what now?" asked Dragoon.
.
.
.
They were already standing next to their house.
"Welcome home Merlin," hunith Said.
"Thanks mom."
"You go inside, I'll be there in a second; I have to grab some clothes."
Hunith was already in the cloth line when she remembered.
"And Merlin," she said aloud, "please excuse the mess, this illness, or sphinx attack I guess, has me running from one place to the other."
"What mess?" said a voice from inside the house.
Hunith smiled. "Merlin, you are a good boy, but I don't need you patronizing to me."
"I really don't know what you are talking about."
Hunith walked to the house and went through the door.
"I mean th—" she started to say, but, of course, there was no mess anymore. "What happened? Did you do that?" she asked to Merlin.
"It's a new trick, do you like it?" he asked back.
"What if someone saw? You have to be more careful Merlin," Hunith whispered. "That said," she continued, "it was amazing, thank you." Hunith hugged Merlin and started kissing him in the cheek.
"It's fine mom, it's fine," Merlin said as he tried to keep her from kissing him even more.
"You know Merlin, there was a time I was scared of what would happen to you; I would have given everything for you to just be a normal kid and have a normal life." She made a small pause. "I was so wrong; this is who you are," she said, pointing around. "I love you and you make me more proud every single day."
"Thanks mom," said Merlin, a small tear in his eye.
"But enough of this mushy stuff," she said waving her hands, "tell me, what have you been doing recently? Is there something new in your life? Or maybe someone new?"
Mothers…
"There is," Merlin said, "but it's not what you are thinking. I have a new teacher."
"That's great! What does it teach you?"
Merlin raised both eyebrows.
"Oh, right!" Hunith said, slapping her forehead. "How is he? Tell me everything."
"He is a very powerful sorcerer named Dragoon. He's a little eccentric, but he's good. However, if anyone asks, his name is Drake and he is your brother."
"My brother? Merlin, what did you do?"
"Well…"
.
.
.
Dragoon was waiting for an answer.
Morgana shrugged. "I… don't really know. I came here to kill Emrys and then you showed up; I didn't really planned for that."
"Don't sound that disappointed!" Dragoon protested.
Morgana smiled briefly. "What are you doing here then?" she asked.
"You invited me," Dragoon answered showing her the letter.
"I don't mean here, here; I mean here in Camelot."
"Oh, right… I came here because I wanted to know who dared to use my name; imagine my surprise when I found out it was the great Emrys."
"How did he look like?" Morgana asked.
"Emrys?"
She nodded.
"I don't know…" said Dragoon as he recalled the older version of Merlin. "Old guy, long gray bear, a little crazy."
"That's the Emrys I know," said Morgana, nodding again. "How did you find him?"
"Emrys… Emrys… Emrys…, is that really all you want to talk about?" Dragoon asked.
"What else?"
"Let's see… I happen to be a powerful dragonlord, maybe you want to ask me something about that?"
"Really?" Morgana asked in awe.
"I'm Dragoon the Great… Dragoon" he said, like pointing out the obvious.
"Did you have anything to do with Aithusa saving me?"
"Saving you?"
"Yes, she healed me after the last battle in Camelot; I would have died if it weren't for her," Morgana said while petting Aithusa.
"I wasn't in Camelot at that time," he answered, "I had nothing to do with that."
"Oh…" Morgana said, failing to hide her disappointment. "Do you at least have any idea why she can't talk?" she asked
Dragoon looked at Aithusa. "How old is she?" he asked.
"I… I don't really know," Morgana answered.
"Well… she appears to be one year old, maybe a bit more. She probably already understands most words, but talking is a whole another deal." Dragoon studied the dragon one more time. "What you need to understand," he continued, "is that dragons don't really speak the way humans do. They don't make sound with their mouths, but rather with magic, which is a bit trickier to learn. I think it will take her close to six more months before she can control her magic enough to do that."
"You hear that darling, you'll be able to talk soon!" said Morgana, as she petted Aithusa's head.
Dragoon gave them some time before speaking again.
"Anyway," he said, "I must be going now; it's getting late and people is going to wonder where I am. What do you say? Can I leave peacefully?"
"I don't see why not…" she said, with a mischievous smile. "I can always kill you tomorrow."
"Great!" Dragoon said, clapping his hands. "I'm glad to meet you Morgana; it was interesting, and I don't' say that about everyone."
He took a bow and then started to walk away.
Dragoon was almost gone when an idea popped into his mind. It was a bad idea. He shouldn't do that. Really, really shouldn't do that. The twin gems were very hard to come by. It wasn't worth it. Besides, if one of them figured it out, they would probably kill him. There had to be a better way.
Better?... Maybe.
Funnier?... No way.
He stopped and looked around. He needed to find a tree. Luckily for him there were plenty of those around the Ancient Temple. He went to the nearest one, placed both his hands on the tree and started to speak.
He reached Morgana just as she was leaving.
"Morgana!" Dragoon exclaimed. "One more thing, I have a gift for you," he said, handing her a square object.
Morgana grabbed it and studied it.
"What's this? A book?" she asked.
"Not exactly…"
.
.
.
Merlin and Gaius were standing in the middle of the street seeing the last rays of sun disappear from the sky. Hunith wanted to be there too, but Merlin convinced her that it would be better if she stayed indoors (which by the end of the night would turn out to be even harder than defeating the sphinx).
"So, what's the plan?" Gaius asked.
Merlin shrugged. "Not to get paralyzed?"
Gaius smiled and nodded. "Good plan," he said.
"Thank you." Merlin looked around, but there was just silence. "Gaius, may I ask you something?"
"Of course my boy, what is it?"
Merlin took some time before speaking.
"I would like to know a bit more about Nimueh; the old Nimueh I mean, before the purge."
"Nimueh? What for?" Gaius asked.
"It's just something I've learned from the druids; they told me that the only way I could have used the Cup of Life to save your life that night is if you two loved each other, is that true?"
Gaius let out a small sigh.
"Life is complicated Merlin, and if you haven't noticed I have lived a long time. There were once a time, maybe, when we had feelings for each other, but this was a long time ago, before the purge, before Alice."
"You and Nimueh? Really?"
"Don't sound that surprised! We were just two apprentices in Camelot, not much older than you now; I was training to be a Court Physician and she was training to be a High Priestess. It's not like we had many other people to hang out with, so we became friends, and then some more…"
"It's weird to think that the two of you were the same age," Merlin said.
"Merlin, are you calling me old?" Gaius asked.
"So, what happened?" Merlin asked, changing the subject.
Gaius laughed, but let it slide.
"We dated for some time, but it didn't work out," Gaius explained. "We had extremely different views of the world. She always wanted to be more powerful, richer, younger… while I was content with just live in peace. Eventually we decided to go back to be just friends. It was weird at first, but as time passed it became easier and easier. A few years after that, I met Alice and I fell for her; you pretty much know the story from that point."
"And then you had to leave her because of Uther."
"That was the hardest thing I ever done, but I had to do it; Uther needed someone at his side to tell him that magic wasn't all bad, even if it was just in whispers, otherwise the purge would have been even worse…"
"Sometimes I don't understand why helped him, he did terrible things."
"He was my friend Merlin, long before he became what you knew. Arthur himself has killed people just because had magic, but you still stay besides him, because you think— no, you know, that he can do better. I had the same hopes for Uther, for a time at least…"
"So, are you saying that Arthur could end up like him?"
Gaius shrugged. "I'm saying it doesn't matter; you are not his friend just because you want him to legalize magic, you want him to legalize magic because you are his friend, because you know that Arthur wants to do what is best for his people and that making magic legal would bring peace to this land. It's as simple as that."
"That's not simple," Merlin protested.
"We are going to fight a sphinx which we know nothing about and can somehow paralyze it's victims; Merlin, simple is relative."
"I guess you are right."
Merlin looked back to the darkness trying to find the slightest movement.
"What do you think it will look like?" he asked.
"Well, I would say it has the size of two men, golden skin, huge blue eyes and walks really slowly."
Merlin slowly turned around.
"Gaius… that was awfully specific," he said.
Gaius pointed to the other side of the town. The creature Gaius just described was walking towards them.
"Here we go then," Merlin said, and grabbed the hilt of his sword.
The sphinx came closer until she was a few steps from them and then started speaking.
"You who are in front of me / covered by the veil of the night / a riddle you shall answer / to prove your wit and might."
Merlin and Gaius looked at each other and let out a small laugh.
"Great, it even talks in rhyme," Merlin said.
"Here where I'm standing / two people I see / only one can answer / who will it be?"
Merlin grabbed Gaius by the shoulder.
"I got this," he told said and started walking towards the sphinx. "I will answer your riddle," Merlin told it.
Two big blue eyes focused on him.
"There is in this world an animal / not easy to tame / which walks on four legs at morning, two at noon and three at night / what is its name?"
Merlin stood there, thinking, pondering, wonderi—
"Really?" Merlin asked. "That's like the oldest riddle ever."
"Do you know the answer?" Gaius asked surprised.
"Don't you?" Merlin asked. He turned around and looked directly at the sphinx. "The answer is 'Man'," he said.
The sphinx let out a small growl and spoke again.
"The answer you already knew / and that, human, is not fair / answer again you must / if your lives you want me to spare."
Gaius was starting to protest when the sphinx started the next riddle.
"This thing all things devours / birds, beasts, trees—"
"Time," said Merlin. "The answer is 'Time'."
"I always run but never walk / often murmur but never talk / I—"
"A river."
The sphinx froze.
"Merlin, not that I'm complaining," Gaius said, "but how are you doing this?"
"I have my hobbies Gaius, or did you think that all I do is save the kingdom and clean Arthur's armor?"
"Of course not Merlin, it's just... I thought..."
A roar interrupted Gaius rambling.
"You've disrespected me / a thing you shouldn't have done / I will make you pay / and you should start to run."
Merlin drew his sword and pointed towards the sphinx.
"Run!?" Merlin asked. "I've answered your riddles three times and you are still here. You are a liar and a cheater. I should probably cut your head off, but I'm having a good day, so I will give you one more chance. Cure the people you paralyzed and go away."
"Of all the things I've seen / this is the strangest by far / a human standing up to me / who do you think you are?"
Merlin smiled.
"I AM EMRYS," he said with a voice that resounded like thunder.
"Emrys?" the sphinx asked. "No, that's impossible!"
"And yet here I am," Merlin said, as he sent a pulse of raw magic directly to the sphinx.
The pulse made the sphinx take a step back, and then another. It wasn't until it stopped that the sphinx spoke again.
"I'm sorry," it said, "I didn't know."
"That doesn't excuse what you did here. Also, what happened with all the rhyming? It was probably the only reason I didn't just cut your head off to start with."
The sphinx stood silent for a moment before speaking.
"You answered correctly / and with that my curse is done / now I must sleep / for a hundred years more," and with that it started to vanish.
"Wait!" yelled Merlin. "What about the people who is paralyzed?"
The sphinx was gone before it could speak, but as soon as that happened noises started to come from the house where all the sick people was; the door opened and a woman came running towards them. It was Hunith.
"Merlin, Gaius, come see this, they are awake!"
.
.
.
It had been a long day. Riding to Ealdor and back in one day had been exhausting, not to mention fighting a sphinx, but Gaius had important business in Camelot the next day and Merlin couldn't let him go back on his own. The one thing Merlin wanted to do was to get into bed and sleep, which judging by the look in Dragoon's eyes would probably have to wait.
"So, you are finally back kid, what took you so long?" Dragoon asked.
"A sphinx."
"Really? Nasty creatures, although a bit funny."
"Dragoon, could we do this tomorrow?" Merlin asked. "I really have to—"
"Come on kid, sleep is for the dead! I've got something for you!"
Dragoon handed Merlin a square object and he grabbed it.
"What's this?" Merlin asked. "A book?"
"Not exactly…"
###
A/N: I hope you liked it!
Cliffhanger! (although to be fair, it's not very hard to imagine what Dragoon's plan is :p)
If anyone wonders, this is how the riddles would have been if Merlin hadn't interrupted the sphinx:
"This thing all things devours / birds, beasts, trees, flowers / gnaws iron, bites steel / grinds hard stones to meal / slays king, ruins town / and beats high mountain down."
"I always run but never walk / often murmur but never talk / I have a bed but never sleep / I have a mouth but never eat."
Thanks CHARLES CHUKU, Lady Flurryous, bubzchoc, mersan123, Patiku, Guest^3 and AJsRandom for the reviews =D
Lady Flurryous: Yes, this happens near one year after Season 4 ended. I tried to hint it a bit when Arthur went seeking the flower for Gwen for their first anniversary and some other times (a few of them to come), but I think that I'm going to put this in the story description so it's clear :p.
Patiku: Nope, Alvarr wasn't Dragoon, but good idea XD.