Meanwhile, back at Camelot, Arthur was dining with the Sarrum. "I understand that we have a common enemy," Arthur said, getting the conversation going.

"Not so much anymore," Sarrum disagreed. "You now allow magic in your kingdom."

"I had to learn the hard way that not all magic is evil. It can be used for good. Anyone that has or studies magic and wishes to live in Camelot, is heavily vetted by our personal sorcerers. They make sure that the person's use of magic is not evil," Arthur explained. "And we do have a common enemy. Morgana."

"Ah yes. The witch," Sarrum agreed as he drank from his goblet.

"There is a rumour that you had her under lock and key," Arthur pointed out.

"She's nothing to be feared," Sarrum stated as he began to describe his time with her.


By the time Percival came back with the cure, Gwaine had found Merlin's belongings and Daegal was tending to his wounded leg.

Merlin, wake up so we can give you the cure, Mordred told the older warlock.

Merlin began to stir as he tried to wake himself up. Gwaine grabbed one of the waterskins and poured some water on his face, hoping to help him wake up faster. The warlock opened his eyes and look at the three knights staring at him, then at Daegal, who was wrapping a bandage around his leg.

Gwaine helped to lift up his head as Percival poured the tincture into his mouth. Once the makeshift cup was emptied of its contents, Mordred moved to give him some water. Merlin pushed the waterskin away as he placed the Druid's arm over his chest, indicating for him to hold him still.

Everyone shared worried glances with each other as Merlin began to convulse before going limp. Mordred took his arm off of his friend and looked over at Gwaine. "Get the blanket from his pack. We need to keep warm."

Gwaine rummaged through the pack and pulled the blanket out. He quickly unrolled it and covered Merlin with it. "How long do you think it'll take for him to wake up?"

Mordred shook his head. "I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Why don't you get some rest?" Gwaine suggested. "I'll take the first watch."

The younger knight didn't like the idea of sleeping, but he obliged. He'd been going nonstop since sunrise, without so much as a bite to eat. He was exhausted and hungry. He considered eating first but decided to sleep for a few hours instead. He could eat when he took his shift. "Yeah okay."


As the sun began to rise, Merlin became aware of his surroundings. More aware than he had been last night. He opened his eyes as he slowly sat up and rubbed his forehead. He looked around and saw Daegal and two of the three knights, sleeping, while the third knight just sat nearby looking at him.

"You had us worried there for a while," Mordred said as he got up and moved closer.

"Sorry," Merlin apologized, feeling guilty for not listening in the first place. If he had, Mordred would have been with him to face Morgana. Either that or they'd all still be in Camelot watching Gwen to make sure she didn't do anything.

"How are you feeling?" Mordred asked, kneeling down to get a closer look at the older man.

"Sore. Everything seems to hurt," Merlin replied placing a hand over his midsection. His side hurt worse than it had in the past few months, He had a vague memory of Morgana kicking him, but at the time he couldn't stop anything that she did.

"Yeah you're pretty beat up, but we'll get you back to Gaius and he'll fix you up," Mordred promised.

Merlin shook his head. "That'll have to wait. We need to stop Morgana and Gwen. We still don't know what they're planning."

"Merlin, you're in no condition to argue," Mordred said sternly, doing his best impression of Arthur. "If you couldn't walk before, you certainly can't now. Not with that gash on your leg."

Merlin glanced down at his bandaged leg. "Who did this?"

"Daegal," Mordred replied. "He did a fairly decent job. Kept checking on it throughout the night, making sure infection hadn't set in. Which thankfully, despite the black blood, there didn't seem to be any."

"Black blood was probably a side effect of the poison," Merlin pointed out, rolling his pant leg back down as he made a mental note to check on it again when he got back to Camelot. "If you're here, who's protecting Arthur?" he asked changing the subject.

"Leon, the other knights and Gaius," Mordred answered.

"We need to get back to Camelot," Merlin stated.

"Arthur is surrounded by the knights at all times. No harm will come to him," Mordred reassured.

"You're forgetting that Gwen will be with him at all times as well," Merlin reminded.

Realization hit Mordred like a brick. In all the chaos of yesterday's events, he had completely forgotten about the queen. "You're right."

The younger man went over to the other two knights and Daegal and woke them up.


Merlin looked back at Daegal, who was riding next to Mordred, whereas he was forced to share with Gwaine. The boy still looked broken. He had lied for the sake of food and money. The warlock could sympathise with the kid to an extent. Doing what was necessary to survive, but he had still been wrong to do what he did. Merlin would have to make sure Arthur knew that Daegal regretted his actions and was willing to change.

"I see you found my horse," Merlin pointed out, taking his mind off whatever the future held for the young boy.

"Yeah, someone left the poor thing tied to a tree," Gwaine replied. "Good thing we came along when we did. Bandits are everywhere."

"And even though it's my horse, I'm stuck riding with you," Merlin said, trying to sound annoyed. But if he was being honest, he was glad he was riding with someone, he wasn't feeling very steady.

"Well we couldn't have you falling off the horse," Mordred joined in. "We'd be stopping every few feet to help you get back on."

"I'm not in that bad of a condition," Merlin pouted.

"Yes you are," the three knights stated in unison.

"Merlin, you have a massive gash in your leg, a head wound and nearly the entirety of your torso is one massive bruise," Percival listed off. "If this keeps up, Arthur is going to lock you up in a magic-proof room where you can't get into any more trouble and hurt yourself."

"I'd like to see him try," Merlin retorted. Yet in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder why he kept getting hurt. He'd paid the price for freedom, didn't he? Did he still need to die to ensure magic remains free? If he needed to die, why were the gods of the Old Religion having such a hard time completing task? He'd have to talk to Gaius about it. Or maybe the Druids. Someone had to know something.