Chapter 3

The moon was high in the sky, casting a mysterious light on forest. It was hard to see through the trees and the occasional rustling from the undergrowth betrayed the animals hiding behind the trees. It would be almost impossible to find your way through the darkness if you didn't know exactly where you were going and weren't completely confident with the route. Or if you didn't have the help of magic.

Merlin stood at the edge of the forest. It had been ridiculously easy to get past the guards and sneak out of Camelot. After all these years they still managed to be distracted by an enchanted coin rolling past them. His eyes turning gold he saw the track ahead. His magic revealed the path to a small campfire about a two kilometres away. When his eyes turned to back to blue and he could see what was directly in front of him again, Merlin smiled. They weren't even trying to hide their presence.

Setting off at a brisk pace, Merlin got about 100 meters before he realised that even though he knew exactly where to go, his clumsiness would probably mean he would break his leg on a fallen tree branch in this darkness. Even though he knew that there would be no one around at this time of night, Merlin still whispered his spell.

Ácolitus mín ánpæþ

Raising his hand in front of him as his eyes flashed golden again. A ball of light emerged from his hand and stoped in front of him. It cast a golden light on everything. As Merlin stepped forwards the light moved forwards with him. It always stayed exactly one metre in front of him.

Now that he could see clearly see the path ahead, it was easy to make it to the campfire his magic had shown him. Merlin actually enjoyed the chance to clear his head. It gave him time to think of a plan of action. In fact, Merlin was so deep in thought that he almost walked straight into the clearing that contained a small campfire and half a dozen men.

Merlin silently back-tracked until he was hidden by the trees. His eyes glowed as he whispered

Ácwencan

The golden ball of light disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. In it's place, Merlin suddenly felt the cold and the darkness of the night. Creeping forwards again, Merlin hid himself behind a broad tree trunk, trying to determine who these strangers were.

A rough voice that Merlin did not recognize came floating out of the darkness, "Are you sure King Arthur hasn't met Emrys? Because if he has then all of this will be for nothing and we will be arrested the moment he sees us."

"Relax, Arthur has never even heard of Emrys. Well, perhaps he has heard the legends but he does not believe them to be real." The second voice was smoother, more charismatic and spoke with authority. He was obviously the leader of this enterprise.

A new voice answered him. "Well at least he has some sense. Everyone knows Emrys is just a fairy-tale that the druids tell themselves to give themselves false hope."

Merlin fumed silently. He didn't really care that they were pretending to be him. Merlin didn't exactly think that much of himself. What angered him was how these men were disrespecting the Druids. They were a race of powerful people who used their powers for healing. These men were going to destroy everything that the Druids stood for. Seething with rage, Merlin whispered a spell.

Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum

Looking down at his hands, Merlin watched as they became wrinkled and twisted. He patted his chin and felt the long flowing white beard that erupted. He even winced in pain as his joints began to pain him. If he were to summon a mirror now, Merlin would hardly recognize the eighty-year-old man that would stare back at him. After setting his face into what Merlin hoped was a menacing scowl, he marched into the clearing.

The men leapt to their feet. A few of them even drew their swords. A particularly large man who was wearing a ripped red shirt under a dark leather jacket strode over to Merlin and pointed his rather large sword at him.

"I would suggest you turn around and walk out of here as fast as you can. These woods aren't safe for an old man after dark."

Merlin let out a bark-like laugh. This was the first man he had heard. It was really quite funny how accurately his appearance matched his voice. Merlin genuinely had to restrain himself from laughing again when the man growled at him. An honest-to-god growl.

"What's so funny old man? Is your brain addled? It must be if you're out so late all by yourself."

That drew a laugh from the watching thugs. Merlin decided it was time to take them down a notch.

"Do not be offended. I was merely amused at the idea that you were trying to threaten me. However, I thank you for your concern, but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

The men stared. The one standing in front of him looked baffled. He wasn't used to people mocking him. He was more used to them running in terror and begging for forgiveness. This old man actually had the audacity to look bored. Refusing to be shown up in front of his companions, the man drew himself up to his full height and continued threatening this stranger.

"I am Ranik the Great, vanquisher of the Beast of Formidinis and bane of the dreaded Canis Crinitus! Who do you think you are to challenge me?"

Ranik had ended his small speech with a roar, just for dramatic effect. Merlin was not impressed. He had never liked people who bragged about their accomplishments or tried to intimidate others with past deeds. It was one of the reasons that he had hated Arthur so much when he had first met him. He had relished in telling Merlin who he was and who his father was. Merlin arranged his ancient face into mock shame.

"Why, how rude of me! I've walked in here and forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Emrys." Merlin smiled as he delivered he announced himself. He was getting so bored working for Arthur all day; it would be fun to humble these brutes.

As expected, his statement drew a large reaction. The braver men stepped forwards, brandishing swords, while the rest hesitantly took a step back. Ranik snarled.

"How dare you! I-"

"Enough."

Merlin started. The voice that cut across Ranik's was quiet but the effect it had was immediate. Ranik's shoulders stooped and he actually took a step back. Turning, Merlin found the source to be a small dark-haired man wearing deep blue robes who had been sitting quietly on a fallen log until that moment. When he lifted his head, Merlin saw his face for the first time. He looked to be around fifty but had aged well. His eyes were a dark green and although the small scars on his cheeks showed he had lived a violent life, he looked calm and trustworthy. Even with one word, Merlin realised that he was the second voice he had heard. He was the man he had assumed to be the leader. His thoughts were cut short as the man stood up to address him.

"That is quite a claim. Emrys is nothing but a story, is he not? My name is Mycrin, I would be much appreciated if you told us your real name."

Merlin shook his head. "Well if Emrys is "just a story" then why are you and your merry men planning on arriving in Camelot tomorrow under that name?"

The men were truly shocked at that one. Merlin smirked at their open mouths. Even Mycrin lost his composure for a moment.

"It's not that difficult to figure out. When I heard that the King believes he will be meeting with me in the morning, I came to find who was using my name. Plus you're the only group less than an hour away from Camelot so I don't really see who else it could be? Unless of course it's a complete coincidence that a band of money-grabbing thugs like yourselves are sitting out here in the woods for no reason?"

None of the men knew what to say. They all looked at Mycrin for support. Pausing for a second to collect his thoughts, Mycrin walked over to Merlin.

"So we are going to the castle tomorrow. We're going to tell the King that we're from the Druids and we need more gold to survive. He'll take pity on us and we're loaded. What are you going to do to stop us, old man?"

Mycrin waved his hand. All of his men suddenly surged forwards with their swords out. Some even let lose a battle cry.

Merlin rolled his eyes. Honestly, why did they always think that charging with swords was the answer? It never worked against magic. Throwing his hands out, Merlin send a shockwave that knocked over all of the men flying backwards.

Some flew into trees and hit their heads. Those ones didn't get up again. The other four landed on the ground and slowly sat up, groaning and rubbing their heads.

Unfortunately, Mycrin was the first to recover. He stood and murmured a spell that Merlin couldn't hear. However, he did feel its effects. The wind picked up and the leaves on the ground began to swirl upwards until there was a many tornado in the middle of the clearing.

"How do you like that? I learnt that one from a druid a long time ago. Only the most powerful of- WHAT? How did you do that?"

His astonishment rose from the fact that Merlin had calmed the winds with a few words. He really shouldn't be that stunned. Merlin had first used that spell years ago when defending Ealdor with Arthur. It wasn't that hard to master and the counter-spell was simple.

"Wh-who are you?"

Merlin smiled. That was the answer everyone wanted.

"I told you. I am Emrys." he responded simply.

The thugs, the ones who could, scrambled up and ran into the night. Mycrin stood still, frozen in terror. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. Now would be the perfect time to get some answers. Merlin stalked forward until he was less than a meter from the stunned sorcerer.

"Now then. How did you contact the King, and when?"

Breathing heavily, Mycrin stuttered out an answer. "W-we intercepted the Druids' messenger. We s-s-said that if he didn't tell the King that we wo-would be there by morning, we'd k-k-kill him. Oh god I'm so sorry! P-P-Please d-don't kill me!"

The man burst into tears, while Merlin was deep in thought. So the Druids were actually coming and they did plan to talk with Arthur.

"When will they arrive?" Mycrin answered by sobbing more. "Answer me!"

"F-Four days! He said that th-th-they had to sp-speak with Emrys first!"

Merlin sighed. There was nothing more he could get out of this man. As he looked at the man cowering in front of him, Merlin could hardly believe that he had almost been intimidating just five minutes before.

"Go."

Mycrin looked up, and sniffed.

"G-G-Go? Y-y-you aren't going to ki-kill me?"

"No. As long as you promise to leave and never return to Camelot, I will spare your life."

"Thank you! I will never return! You have my word."

The sorcerer scrambled up off his knees and fled into the forest leaving Merlin alone with the campfire and his thoughts.

Before Merlin left the clearing, he had to do two things. First he murmured a spell to bring back his ball of light. This was so that the dawn patrol wouldn't find him lying on the ground in the middle of the forest because he'd tripped on an unseen log and broken his leg. Then he changed back into his normal body because there was no way he was going to attempt to walk back to Camelot as an old man that could barely stand up straight

Merlin stretched and ran his hands through his hair. It felt so good to be young again, not eighty years old with severe back issues. Turning he walked back the way he had come, his magic showing him the way to go.

Unbeknownst to Merlin, he wasn't as alone as he thought. Hiding behind a tree was Ranik, who had returned to the clearing to collect his bag of gold that was resting against a log. He watched in amazement as the powerful, intimidating old man that he had fled from, turned into a dark haired smiling young boy. Ranik memorised every detail of the boy's face. He smiled. Someone was going to pay a lot of money for this information, now he just had to find them.

A/N Hey guys! Chapter three is here! It's a lot longer than I expected but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I originally intended for Merlin to meet with the Druids but I realised I had a chance to and some small BAMF!Merlin and who doesn't love that? And don't forget about Ranik, he will come back soon….

Thanks for all the support and love, it means the world to me. Chapter 4 will unfortunately probably come next week. I have a lot of work to do but it is in progress!

See you then!

-Indigo