.tQuite a while after the events of the last chapter…
"They're here! Sound the- AGH!"
"Let no one escape. We need them alive."
"As you command, Sire!"
Lancelot and his men finally found what they were looking for: the Barracks. Which was coincidentally situated at the fort in the northeastern part of the city. They thought that it would be filled with soldiers, but somehow they were met by a skeleton crew who more or less were green recruits left behind while the main force went elsewhere. Easy pickings for the elite cavalry men of Camelot. Lancelot didn't even have to lift a finger in assistance.
"Please have mercy," said a young soldier who was shaking on his knees. "I-i was following-"
"Whose orders?" Asked Bart as he yanked the soldier's collar to forcefully make the soldier stare at him dead in the eye.
"Y-you don't understand!" The soldier whimpered. "You can't stop what's coming."
"Then tell me what exactly is going to happen." Lancelot asked as he made his way towards Bart. Joshua was busy tiring up the men on one corner, yet he could still hear the conversation.
"I-have strict orders from the Legate- '' the soldier continued but was then cut by a sword being pushed into his neck.
"Bartholomew, enough!" Lancelot sternly commanded. "That is no way for a knight to act."
"Forgive me, sire. But the bastard won't talk." Bart said as he shook the soldier by the collar.
"Then allow me to do something about it." Lancelot's tone lowered by a lot as he said that. He knelt down to the soldier's eye level and forced the fear of God into the poor recruit's soul.
"Will you talk now? Or shall I have my knight deal with you personally?"
Overcome by the fear of death, the soldier fainted. His mouth drooling with spit as his head became limp.
Lancelot and Bart looked towards each other and simply dropped the soldier then and there. They have other ways of gathering evidence, anyways.
Meanwhile…
Bedivere and his crew found themselves in a room filled with Roman equipment and a door not too far away from them. Torches made of metal hung on the walls. Weapons and armour were organised in one corner of the room whilst barrels of what seems to be food and drink were placed on the opposite corner.
"Could we be in the Armory, Sir?" Caleb asked as he dropped his torch on the floor after extinguishing it.
"Perhaps, yet I believe that this room is too small for it to be part of the armoury. Usually, the Romans leave no expense for their weaponry. Their storage for such is taken also into account." Bedivere then walked towards the door and noticed that it had a piece of wood that acted as a slide attached onto it. It was a window.
Whilst Caleb and Andrew were going over the stockpile they had discovered, Bedivere took this time to slowly move the wooden slide so that he could take a peek at what's on the other side. What he saw was a stairwell with flickering lights at the top end of it. It looks like the Romans weren't expecting them.
"Hey, how long are we supposed to just stand around here?" a voice from the top asked aloud. "We've been doing nothing for a while now."
"Be quiet. We don't need questions around here. Just like the Commander said: do as you are told and leave the rest to him." The fellow soldier just grunted.
"You are boring, y'know that. If it weren't for my smart deduction, you and I would stay in the dark to all this planning. I know more about the plan than you will possibly imagine." the first soldier boasted.
"Your snooping at the commander's post will get you killed one day. And I hope that I'll be given the order." the second soldier grimaced.
"Argh! I've had enough of your bullshit! All I'm asking for is some action. While the others are out there luring those damn Camelot bastards, we're here doing nothing." Bedivere's eyes widened at that. If what he said was true, then…
"And I've had enough of your yapping. Go make inventory for all I care. You're bored, correct? Then spend your time doing that." the other soldier commanded. The first soldier grumbled but started going down the stairs.
"Caleb. Andrew. There's someone coming." Bedivere whispered. The two cavalrymen did not waste a second before going towards the Teal Knight. Bedivere motioned the two of them to quickly turn off the torches that lit up the room. As soon as the torches were extinguished, the knights positioned themselves on both sides of the door. Andrew and Caleb on one side and Bedivere on the other.
Click. Creaaaakkkk…
"Hm… I don't remember this room being unlit- hu-ugh!" Cried the soldier as Bedivere pulled him towards the wall and knocked him out. Without a second to make sure of the soldiers unconsciousness - Caleb and Andrew can handle that - the Teal Knight raced towards the top of the stairs to knock the second soldier out of commision. The poor man didn't even get a chance to turn around before his head met the wall beside him.
"Andrew, tie this man up. I'll scout ahead." Bedivere said as he walked towards the end of the long corridor.
At the end of the corridor was a door that had sunlight penetrating through it and illuminating that part of the corridor. Bedivere looked through the door and found that he was at the Eastern Cemetery; just north of the Wharf they came from. Oh, and also about a dozen soldiers on patrol. He did not want to guess if there were soldiers literally standing guard by the door he was peeking through, so he simply went back to where Caleb and Andrew were at. As Bedivere approached them, he noticed that the first guard was waking up. Without hesitation, he calmly removed Caleb's hold on the man and forcefully shook him into consciousness. Much to the Teal Knight's great displeasure.
"I will ask you only once. What is Lucius Dominicus planning? And don't try screaming. You have no one to save you if you yell." Bedivere growled. He does not have the right character for such intimidation tactics. A knight must not lower himself to such brutish behaviour to get what he wants, the Teal Knight thinks. However, he will do what he must for his King's life is at stake.
"I-i-i I don't know much." The soldier whimpered. His resolve was broken at the threats of the Teal Knight. "All I know is that the soldiers will be waiting for you to enter the Labyrinth and then the rest will follow."
"Who or What will follow?" Bedivere added.
"The Legates of the two Legions outside the city will use their personal troops to take the Forum and the Barracks of the Fort at the Northwest. It will be done at the same time while Lucius will take the praetorium. But not before they capture the High King." the soldier explained further.
"Nero's palace…" Bedivere lamented as he looked away. "Merlin was right… this whole thing was a coup."
"You-you can't stop what's coming. That Lucius has something… I saw it but the mages pushed us away. It's lurking down there. Sealed in a tomb but waiting to be released." Bedivere looked towards the soldier and scanned his face to see if he was lying. After a few seconds, he found the soldier to be telling the truth.
"Is it at the Central Hub?" Bedivere asked. The soldier quickly nodded like his life depended on it. The Teal Knight then proceeded to bash the soldier's head towards his friend and stood up to address Caleb and Andrew.
"We need to find the King and fast." Bedivere said as he grabbed the torches on the floor and tossed it to the two cavalrymen.
"Light those up with the torches at the top of the stairs.. We'll leave as soon as you two are ready. Let's just hope that the King finds out about the trap soon." Bedivere said with a worried expression.
"Sir, do you think that they'll be able to avoid it in time?" Andrew asked as Caleb ran up the stairs.
"I believe in Merlin's ability." Bedivere said with utmost confidence. "He will not let the King fall into their trap that easily."
Somewhere….
"I can't believe they fell for the trap that easily…"
In hindsight, Chara hadn't expected this turn of events. She expected the inevitable deaths of hundreds of men by this time, after all. So, what she's seeing right now is somewhat of an improvement.
"I can't believe we were that close to each other…'' Merlin whispered.
"Is that the spy, Merlin? The one you spoke about?" Arthur asked as she slowly moved her gaze towards Chara.
"Yes, and she served me my drink not too long ago." Merlin said with a frown. "I can only hope she didn't poison it that time." Merlin and Arthur then drew their attention towards the man beside Chara. The one who is leading this entire conspiracy. Her boss if Chara could call him that.
The boss was a man who wore gold plating. From the helm to the boots. A sign of both his ignorance and his arrogance. He was well built, but from the way he stood it appears that he is no different from the common brute. He had a fierce glare, yet it had neither the intimidation nor the charisma to back it up.
But moving on. They were at the Central Hub. The obra maestra of the Dominican Labyrinth. It was more akin to a miniature temple rather than a base of operations. Scratch that, it was more like a Roman temple carved into a large cave to make a clearer comparison. Chara had seen something like this at Hengist's capital, so it's not much different to what she's used to.
The Central hub was expansive. It was an oval room supported by ragstone columns with torches hung on top of them. But those were nothing compared to the huge torch hanging up above to illuminate the entire hub. Originally, this area was more decorated. With the domed ceiling having magnificent art and statues made of all kinds of metals situated at the foot of every single column. There were more decorations added at the centre of the hub, but all of that was taken away. Leaving that large silver cross in the middle of the room on its lonesome.
The same silver cross that the soldiers - assisted by the dozen or so mages with them - tied both Arthur Pendragon and Merlin onto.
"It is nice to finally meet you in person, High King." Chara's boss said as he walked towards the tied Camelotian pair. " My guards told me everything. Your pitiful mage tripped and fell and you had given yourself up for the sake of his life. It is…unfortunate that our meeting had to take place in this manner."
"I believe the contrary." Arthur said with a cool, yet dismissive expression. "I would never have seen this wonderful work of art if it were not for these circumstances."
"Indeed." Chara's boss played along. "And we have no one else to thank but him." the boss shifted his gaze and Chara and Arthur found themselves following it towards Merlin. Who was fidgety for all the attention drawn towards him.
"Hey now, it was not my idea. Stilicho thought that Regulus would like it. Well, he didn't. But at least it looks nice." Merlin said as he chuckled nervously.
"You are not wrong. Father always loved to use this place back then. And look at me now, following his footsteps." the boss said with pride.
"You're following nothing but a grave, that's for sure." Chara muttered in her breath before she walked past her boss to speak to Arthur and Merlin.
"And you must be the spy. Chara, is that correct?" Arthur said with a razor sharp tone. "I have heard how skilled you are from Merlin. Your reputation with the finer details with poison and lies precedes you."
"You flatter me, your Grace. I am merely but a pawn." Chara uttered as she knelt down to look at High King eye to eye. "I am only but an informant and nothing more."
"Cease your game. I know what you have done. You've given the letter that swayed King Rhun. Do you not realise that you have doomed Britannia to a catastrophic war? Because if you do, the gallows are not too far for you." Arthur rebuked as the ropes around the King struggled to keep her at bay. If there is one thing that Arthur hates, it's subterfuge. It is simply too wicked to strike behind the shadows like what Chara had done.
"Enough." Chara's boss said as he grabbed the spy's shoulder to get her back to his side. "This is no time to bicker."
"Ah, yes! No time to bicker, yet you have time to keep us hostage while you plan your stupid coup." Merlin exclaimed. "You were better than this. Though, from what I've heard from Regulus, I was wrong. You never did live up to your lineage's greatness."
Smack!
"Your death will come quickly one day. You are fortunate that you are wanted alive." Chara's boss said as he wiped the blood off of his hand. He then looked towards the man to his left. A hooded man who looked to be a mage just like Merlin. However, the mage is old and time has worn him down.
"Do what needs to be done." chara's boss said. And the mage began chanting under his breath. A few seconds later, a powerful gust of wind emanated from the mage. As the wind howled, iron chains appeared out of nowhere and began to wrap around the Camelotian pair. The chains twisted and moved about until every single body part was tightly secured. Leaving neither of the pair able to lift a finger.
stomp stomp stomp Stomp Stomp Stomp STOMP STOMP STOMP!
The pain the chains brought caused Arthur and Merlin to close their eyes during the entire process. So painful was the experience that they ignored the fact that the soldiers were marching towards… somewhere. As soon as the pain subsided, they opened their eyes and saw that Chara, her boss and the soldiers that surrounded them were no longer standing before them. It's like they vanished into thin air.
However, they were more concerned about another pressing matter.
"So much for that idea." Merlin sighed.
"It was a necessary gamble. We've discovered the identities of the spy, Lucius' legions, and the number of mages that man has under his control with your 'folly'." Arturia said in defence to their fake surrender.
"No, not that. It was a brilliant idea mainly because I thought of it. I meant the fact that we are stuck here with these chains. Of all the things I expected they would use, it wasn't this." Merlin said as he shook his elbows to make the chains ring against the cross they were tied up against..
"What do you mean?" Arturia asked.
"We need to get these chains off of us as soon as possible." Merlin said as he tried to wriggle his hands to no avail. "I know these chains. They have the power to restrain us in one moment of time. It was used by an enemy I fought long ago."
"How did they manage to get a hold of this?" Arturia asked as she struggled in her own attempt to free her arms.
"I do not know. But I can wager an educated guess. During the days when Soissons ruled the northern portion of Gaul, Regulus - as Dux and third in command - had the authority to protect a vault of sacred relics from the time of the Empire. When the Frankish invaders killed Regulus' leader, he fled with the remaining Gallo-Romans and whatever he could get in the vault to Londinium. These chains are but one of many he kept around." Merlin stopped moving around at that point and began to chant a spell that could release the chains' hold on him. But nothing happened.
"These chains have the power to stop my magic. It's like those charms that inhibit my powers back in the Halls." Merlin sighed.
"How can we get out of these chains?" Arturia asked as she tilted her head towards the Mage.
"I'm thinking… nope. I have nothing." Merlin said as he banged his head on the silver cross. "For someone who didn't live up to expectations, he really knew how to counter my powers. Makes me wonder who tipped him off…"
"I suppose I too am at fault. It was wrong of me to underestimate Lucius Dominicus." Arturia added as she scanned the central hub.
"Oh, don't you start, my pupil. It was I who expected that all of this would be easy to stop." Merlin said as he formed a bitter smile. "It should have been easy… but my hubris always gets in the way."
Arturia blinked at that. Now more than ever is she sure that something is wrong with Merlin. She cannot take it anymore. All those times from that moment on the way to Londinium until this very moment gave her enough proof to realise this fact.
"Is there something bothering you, Merlin?" Arturia asked slowly. "Something that is important to know?"
Merlin froze at that. His thoughts rushing back to that time when he first talked to Archer. He was fortunate that Arthur was facing away from him, otherwise, she would have read him like an open book. Damn the man who taught her to be perceptive! Merlin cursed inside.
"Nope! Other than the fact that we have to stop this coup before my prophecy comes true." Merlin said as he intentionally tried to change the subject.
"I am not so daft as to accept that, Merlin." Arturia said sharply. "Ever since that day when you went out of your tent to speak with me, you have been… odd."
"Odd, you say?" Merlin quipped.
"More odd than what is usual for a man like you." Arturia frowned. Her face then moulded into one of genuine concern. "I am trying to help you, Merlin. Verily, I say this: you can trust me with what you have to say."
For a second time, Merlin was touched. This student of his is a Godsend, and he doesn't even believe in God. However, despite the good intentions Arthur had in her questioning, Merlin cannot and could not tell her what was bothering him. If it were not for the fact that he was under a lot of pressure right now simply by being Merlin, Court Mage Extraordinaire and Prophet of the end of the World, Arturia wouldn't be able to sense his distress.
That does not mean he is incapable of being honest with his student, though. He simply needs the time to sort things out before he can enlighten Arthur with his news.
"Here's a promise: I'll tell you everything as soon as this debacle is over with. Okay? We need to finish this issue first." Merlin said with resolution. Arturia meanwhile, is concerned at the dismissal of the topic. Yet, she could not find it in herself to disagree.
"I shall hold onto your promise, then." Arturia said before narrowing her eyes. "But be warned that I do not take broken promises lightly." Merlin laughed but didn't say anything to that. Arturia then took this time to change the subject.
"The sound we heard earlier was the sound of the soldiers heading somewhere. But I don't know what exit they could have taken. Our entrance is also the only way out." Arturia said as she looked around for any other exits.
"Well that is because they found a way to seal the pathways." Merlin surmised. "It is possible because the expertise needed to do so isn't exactly nuanced or specialised. There are four entrances to the hub. The south - the one we took. The east - the one that leads to the eastern wall. The west - the one that leads to the River Thames shipyard. And the north - the one that leads to the palace. I think they might be on their way to the palace as we speak." Merlin did not even need to look at his pupil to know that she is very worried about now.
"We must think of something to get these chains off of us." Arturia asked before an idea came to mind.
"Merlin… I have a theory…" Arturia said in a tone that Merlin did not like.
"Arthur, I hope what you're going to say isn't going to impale me." Merlin said in a serious tone that had a dash of fear mixed into it. "I don't want a repeat of your 'experiments' with Caliburn."
"I am serious." Arturia bit back. "If your magic is being hindered by these chains… Does that mean these chains are enchanted by Mana Draining spells?"
"No. These chains are of high quality, but not made by divine beings. It does not have Draining enchantments because that would require a special rune that incorporates the drained mana back into the main spell itself. And that special rune can only be made by-"
"-Divine beings, yes of course." Arturia impatiently interrupted. "It means it only has the power to absorb your mana as you use it, correct?"
"Yes, but-" Merlin was about to ask a question but was interrupted again by Arturia.
"What if we forced out an insurmountable amount of mana? So much of it that the enchantments cannot absorb it all?" Arturia asked. Merlin meanwhile, widened his eyes at the implication.
"You would risk death via mana exhaustion." Merlin explained.
"Lesser men might." Arturia said with confidence. "You and I, however, are not such beings."
Merlin took a second to contemplate. It was a sound idea, sure. There is a very notable risk involved here. However, with how long they've spent here under the influence of the chains, Merlin found it a risk worth taking. Because the longer they stay here debating, the more the time dilation's effects will be felt. The coup could have ended by now and they haven't even left the Labyrinth.
"Alright. Let's do it." Merlin agreed. "But only use half of your reserves. We need to save what we can for the upcoming battle."
"I will do what I must." Arturia said.
She then closed her eyes and began focusing her mana into one place: her chest. If she can focus it there, the impact would be amplified as most of the chains found their way on her upper body rather than her legs. Merlin was also focusing as well, however his process is a bit slower than Arturia's because he had been spending his mana for the entirety of their journey through the Labyrinth and also during his attempts to remove the chains beforehand. It took him about a minute after Arturia was done to gather the necessary mana to get this plan to work.
"Now, on three. If we can do this together, it might just work." Merlin exclaimed.
"One."
"Two."
"Three!"
And as soon as Merlin finished speaking, two great bursts of gold and silver with a mix of lavender shone through the room. The chains turned red as a sign that its spells were being filled to the brim with mana. And once the spells could no longer find space within itself, it tore apart. Leaving the chains that wrapped around the Camelotian pair as just that: chains. Chains that are then blown away by the sheer force of the leftover mana that was still bursting out from the two of them.
Merlin was the first to stand up. He had intended to only use his mana sparingly just in case it did not work. He looked within himself and noticed that his reserves aren't exactly dented or drained so that it would affect his magic. He turned around to see if Arthur was the same as him, but all he saw was his student on all fours panting like she ran for a hundred leagues.
"Are you alright?" Merlin asked curiously. He placed a hand on Arturia's shoulder to keep her steady whilst the other hand glowed blue because of the spell he conjured up to see if his student was alright. And what he saw made him frown.
"You've expended your reserves." Merlin said as Arturia's breathing slowed to a gradual pace. "You were supposed to use half of your mana, not 3/4s of it. Now look at what you've done. You can only fight like a normal Girl with how little your mana reserves are now."
"Does it help that I can still summon them?" Arturia asked as a white light shone beside her. When the light vanished, a sword and a shield appeared in its stead. It was her trusty Excalibur paired with her stout shield Prydwen.
"Perfect." Merlin deadpanned. "You can only fight like a normal Knight now. Well, a Knight without Armour. At least you've got your humour intact. Otherwise I'd mourn."
'
"Charming." Arturia said with dripping sarcasm.
"Right." Merlin said as he helped Arturia get back on her feet. "Moving on, we need to find the gate that leads to the palace. We do not know how much time has passed while we were under the chains' influence."
"My King! We finally found you."
Arturia and Merlin turned around to see Bedivere, Caleb, and Andrew. They looked haggard and worse for wear. Which was odd, considering they had been no short of pristine the last time the two groups were together.
"Bedivere. What has happened." Arturia asked with concern.
"We found out about the trap meant to keep you here." Bedivere explained whilst catching his breath. "As soon as we discovered it, we tried to get here as fast as we could. However, we passed by several rooms with armed resistance and had to deal with that first."
"Can you tell me how long it's been since we last met?" Merlin asked all of a sudden and caught the Teal Knight off guard.
"I cannot say. But I wager that it is longer than need be." Bedivere said with confusion. He became even more befuddled once Merlin and Arturia's face shifted into worry.
"We really need to find a way out of here and fast." Merlin declared as he started chanting. His hands started to glow blue and the wind around him started to speed up. He lifted his hands towards the walls of the Central Hub as if looking for something. With a great concentration, he opened his eyes towards the wall behind Arturia and shouted.
"Agor!" Merlin exclaimed. And with that, the blue light on his hands pulsated. The effect it had was immediate. The hidden exit was opened to them in a gradual descent downwards. Bedivere took this time to ask.
"What happened while my men and I were absent?" Bedivere asked Arthur.
"Lucius Dominicus is on his way to complete his coup d'etat." Arthur briefly explained. And it dawned upon Bedivere the gravity of the situation.
"My liege, we discovered that the conspiracy runs deep. From the Legates of the Legions to the very soldiers themselves, they wish to install Lucius as their King. The plan was to take the Barracks, the Forum, and the Palace all at the same time."
"The military, the markets, and the government." Arthur summarised. "They were planning this for a long time now…" the King then looked towards her Knights with renewed conviction and said.
"We need to follow Merlin to the Palace. We need to get there as soon as possible."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Merlin asked rhetorically as he stood at the foot of the northern exit. "Let's leave this place now."
Arthur, Bedivere, Caleb and Andrew started jogging towards the Mage of Flowers. However, they were not fast enough. Because out of nowhere, the large torch up above fell towards the cross as the centre of the Hub. Arturia, Bedivere were already a safe distance from the fire. Caleb and Andrew, however, wished to defend the rear of the King and the Teal Knight. Making them closer to the cross. Andrew was the quick one to react to the falling torch and used his time to jump towards his comrade to push both of them away. The torch fell on the cross. Caleb was unscathed, but Andrew was caught by a stray iron part and suffered from it.
"Andrew!" Caleb exclaimed as he dragged his friend towards the safety of his superiors. Merlin casted a spell on the hot iron and forcefully yanked it out of Andrew's back.
"He suffered from severe burns, but he's alright. For now." Merlin explained as he tried his best to heal the wound. "He can walk out of this alive. But he cannot fight."
"What could have caused the torch to fall?" Arthur asked as he scanned the chains that held the torch in place. However, the King's attention was misplaced. As the real answer appeared before them with a bright blue light. It was a portal.
Out of the portal came a woman wearing a black veil to cover her face. Her clothes made of the finest of cloth dyed with black and blue only enhanced the beauty of her frame. Her necklace of silver encrusted with blue opal glitter over the great fire behind her. Yet the woman felt none of the heat. Rather, she emitted her own deathly chill that overpowered the flames. The woman smiled at the sight of the Camelotians, and the only response she got was the apprehension in their faces which caused her to smile more.
"Good evening, Arthur." the woman said with murderous glee. "It's good to see you again."
Arthur could only utter one word at the greeting.
"Morgan."
