As some of you may have noticed, this story now has cover art! Yes, after all these years, I've finally learned how to make covers for my work. I'd like to thank Marcus S. Lazarus for making it possible by cluing me in to the program I used to do it, which I had somehow never heard of before even though it was apparently on my computer all along.
I've also added a link to the picture I used as the background for this story's cover to the collection of visual inspiration links on my profile, if anyone wants a better look at what I'm envisioning Trick's throne room to be like…assuming said profile update is still there. The site's been glitchy with new updates this month, so I was tempted to put off posting this until a fix was confirmed, but we'll see how it goes.
With all three pieces of the triskelion now in their possession, it was decided that Kilgharrah would take Merlin, Morgana, Bo, and her guards to Ashkanar's tomb – which was less than two days away by air – while Gaius, Alice, and the druids followed on land. As they neared their destination, Kilgharrah pointed it out – a great tower that was easily visible from the sky.
"That whole thing is the tomb?" Bo asked incredulously. "What, is this the Dark Ages' answer to the Taj Mahal? It seems like a lot just to bury one guy in."
"It'll certainly be more difficult to find the egg in such a large structure," agreed Morgana, who had also pictured something smaller. The catacombs where Camelot's past rulers were laid to rest were quite spacious, but nothing on this scale.
"I bet there's a lot more in there than a body and the egg. Rich bloke like Ashkanar was probably buried with whole rooms full of treasure," Vex speculated.
"In that case, I wouldn't mind poking around a bit," Gwaine said with a roguish grin.
"You're not suggesting looting the tomb, are you?" Dyson demanded with obvious disapproval.
"Of course not," Vex said quickly – perhaps a little too quickly. "Although, if we're already taking the egg…"
"We're taking the egg to save it," Merlin reminded him, frowning, "not for personal gain. You don't have to steal anymore."
"Right," Vex agreed, speaking quickly again, though this time it seemed to be out of embarrassment. "I know that."
They dropped the matter after that, Kilgharrah's landing at the base of the tower providing a convenient point at which to end the increasingly uncomfortable discussion, but Gwaine for one thought the topic might be worth revisiting later, when there was nothing more pressing demanding his attention. He'd assumed that the other members of his new liege lady's retinue came from noble, or at least wealthy backgrounds, but if Vex had ever been in a position where he was forced to resort to stealing, there was clearly more to him than met the eye. Then he shook those thoughts away as they advanced on the tower, focusing on the potentially dangerous situation in front of him.
After Bo located the tomb's entrance and used the triskelion to unlock it, Dyson suggested that, as her guards, he, Vex, and Gwaine should go first, but Merlin held out a hand to stop them. "Wait – let me try something first." He strode forward to the hidden doorway Bo had opened, uttered an incantation which he explained was a spell for detecting hidden traps, then waited for a moment, peering intently into the darkened interior. "There's definitely something there," he announced at last, "but I can't tell what it is."
"Why don't you and I go in together, then?" Dyson proposed. "You stay behind me, and when I set off the trap, you can counter it with your magic."
Merlin agreed and, after casting another spell for illumination, followed the wolf inside. Dyson hadn't gone more than ten paces when they heard an ominous hissing noise, and jets of gas issued from the open mouths of the gargoyles lining the corridor. Merlin summoned a wind from outside to dispel the gas, then ran forward to where Dyson stood, having halted when the aerosolized assault began.
"Are you all right? Did you breathe any of it in?"
"No, I held my breath. I don't know what it would have done to me if you hadn't been here, though. Thank you."
Merlin shrugged off his thanks, then called back to the others, "Coast's clear – you can come in now!"
They did, though Gwaine and Vex still insisted on staying in front of Bo and Morgana, much to the girls' annoyance. Together, they proceeded down the corridor, which eventually opened into a wide, circular space with several other passageways branching off from it. "Well, this is just great," Bo huffed. "How're we supposed to know which one to take?"
"I don't know," Morgana said tersely, "but something tells me that once we venture beyond this doorway, choosing our route will be the least of our problems." She cast the trap-detecting spell this time, confirming that the round room did indeed have an unpleasant surprise in store for them.
"I'll take point on this one," Gwaine offered. He moved forward with cautious steps until he was in the middle of the open space, at which point a loud grinding sound provided barely a second's warning before a pair of giant blades swung down from opposite directions in a deadly arc with him right at the center. Gwaine let out a cry of alarm and jumped out of their path, diving over one of the wickedly curved sickles as it whistled past and rolling to his feet, only for a second set to come slicing through the air toward him.
Merlin and Morgana sprang into action, their combined power stopping the blades in their tracks. Ashkanar must have infused his booby traps with magic, though (which was probably why the machinery still worked so well after centuries of disuse), because the blades seemed to fight them, requiring every ounce of their considerable willpower to prevent them from resuming their lethal motion.
"Hurry!" Merlin yelled. "I don't know how long we'll be able to hold them!"
"Where are we supposed to go?" Vex yelled back. "There's too many bloody passages to choose from!"
"Since Kenzi isn't here to tell us what a bad idea this is, I think it's time to split up," Bo decided. "Everybody pick a doorway and run for it!"
Her guards obediently scattered, but Merlin stayed where he was, fighting to maintain his magical grip on the enormous scythes until the last minute. The instant everyone else was clear, Bo and Morgana seized his arms and dragged him through the nearest archway, just as the blades broke free with an earsplitting metallic shriek.
"This Ashkanar guy didn't skimp on security, did he?" Bo asked rhetorically as Merlin wiped the sweat from his forehead. "First he rigs an entrance that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'gargoyle breath', then this twisted pit and pendulum setup… He must've been crazy paranoid about graverobbers."
"He knew how important it was to protect the egg," Merlin said gravely, still slightly out of breath.
"Well, at least he ensured no one like that petty thief Julius Borden would be able to get their greedy hands on it," Morgana replied, "but I'm sure we can overcome whatever further obstacles we might encounter. Come on."
They passed through a series of rooms (mercifully devoid of traps) that held heaps of gold coins and priceless jewels, gemstone-encrusted swords and suits of armor that almost seemed more like works of art than tools of war, and actual works of art…and then, at last, just when Bo was starting to wonder whether they were in the wrong tomb, they came to a door in the very center of the tower with a lock that required the triskelion. Upon opening it, they found themselves in a large chamber that was empty except for a stone pedestal right in its center. On the pedestal sat a roughly teardrop-shaped object, somewhat larger than a bowling ball, whose white surface gleamed with the luster of a pearl. It didn't look like any egg Bo had ever seen, yet somehow she knew that this was it.
"It's really here," she marveled, her voice muted with awe. "We did it. We found it."
"The last dragon egg in the world," Merlin murmured in a similarly hushed tone.
"It's also the key to saving Bo," Morgana reminded them, not wanting them to get so caught up in the moment that they forgot why they were there. "Let's take it and get out of here; I don't think we should linger too long in this place."
"No argument here; even if we haven't seen anything that looks remotely like a coffin in any of the rooms we've peeked in, just knowing that this whole place was built for a dead guy gives me the creeps." Bo took a step toward the pedestal, then stopped. "Do you think I'll be able to just pick it up, though? After the booby traps we had to fight our way through just to get inside, I'm pretty sure some major Raiders of the Lost Ark shit will hit the fan if we actually try to take something, and I don't want my face melted off!"
Merlin cast his detection spell once more, then said, "I'm not sensing anything that'll stop you from getting the egg, but just in case…" He and Morgana both backed up several paces.
"Hey, where are you guys going?"
"Don't worry, Bo. If anything happens, Merlin and I will do whatever it takes to heal you," Morgana said reassuringly, though her mischievous grin somewhat dampened the sentiment.
"Thanks a lot, you two," Bo grumbled. "I'm really glad I have such supportive partners."
Consoling herself with the knowledge that, if she did get a face full of acid or something equally horrendous, at least she would get lots of healing sex out of the deal, she marched up to the plinth, stretched out her hands…and, after a split second's hesitation, laid them on the egg. The instant her fingers touched its smooth, surprisingly warm surface, her whole body tensed up, and she instinctively turned her face away, cringing in anticipation of an attack that never materialized.
After a moment, she hesitantly opened one eye, then the other, and looked down at herself to confirm that she was still in one piece. She didn't have a mirror, but it didn't feel like anything unfortunate had happened to her face either. A quick glance at Merlin and Morgana banished her worry completely, because they weren't gaping at her in horror; instead, they both smiled encouragingly. Bo beamed back, giddy with relief and triumph, and lifted the egg from its resting place.
No sooner had she done so than the ominous sound of stone breaking came from above, and several large cracks split the ceiling. "Okay, time to go!" Clutching the egg, Bo ran over to Merlin and Morgana – who, despite their jokes about not wanting to stand too close in case disaster struck when she removed the egg, had made no move to leave without her – and together the trio made a mad dash for the exit.
On their way out, they met up with Dyson, Gwaine, and Vex, the latter of whom shouted, "Whatever's happening, I didn't do it!"
"I know – I did!" Bo shouted back over the din of stone chunks raining down around them.
"Guess old Ashkanar never meant for anyone to leave here with that egg," Gwaine surmised.
"He's definitely making us work for it," Bo agreed.
Their one piece of good fortune was that, by the time they reached the main chamber with its swinging blades, the collapsing ceiling had damaged the mechanism responsible for moving the giant blades, rendering them immobile. From there, it was just a short sprint down the passage where they had encountered the poison gas – luckily, the gargoyles didn't release any more of it this time, having apparently been intended only to keep people out, not to prevent them from leaving – before they reached the safety of the outdoors, just in time to watch the tomb of Ashkanar crumble into rubble behind them.
"So much for resting in peace," Bo commented. "Who the hell rigs their tomb to self-destruct like that?"
It was Kilgharrah, who had sat there anxiously watching the entrance the entire time they were inside, who answered. "I believe it was a precaution set in place to ensure that only a worthy person with pure intentions could escape with the egg. One motivated by greed, like the thief who sought to hatch a dragon in order to enslave it, would have tried to save the fabulous riches within the tomb as well, and therefore could not have made it out in time."
"Huh. I guess that makes sense," Bo said while Vex, who had previously considered doing exactly that, looked away and fidgeted.
"Since you triggered the failsafe that destroyed the tomb, may I presume you successfully retrieved the egg?"
"Yeah, here it is."
Bo held it up, and Kilgharrah's eyes widened as he took it in. It had been one thing to hear from Elaine that there was one last surviving dragon egg in the world, but to see it for himself, to have solid proof that he was no longer the last of his kind there in front of him…
When he could trust his voice again, there was only one thing to say. "Thank you, Isabeau."
###
Thanks to Kilgharrah, reuniting with the rest of their companions took less than a day. As soon as they touched down, Bo proudly presented the egg to Elaine, saying, "So this means I passed, right? When do I do the final exam in the Temple?"
"Yes, you've done very well in retrieving the egg from Ashkanar's tomb, but your task is not yet complete. The race of dragons will not truly be reborn until the egg is hatched."
"Well, how long does it take for a dragon egg to hatch?" Bo demanded, her face falling. I should've known there'd be a catch!
"It is not a simple matter of waiting," Elaine told her, which was pretty much what Bo had expected. Nothing about the Dawning had been simple so far, so why should it get any easier now?
"Of course not," Morgana sighed, echoing Bo's thoughts. "What more must Bo do?"
"Hatching a dragon requires the assistance of a dragonlord-"
"Dragonlord?" Vex interrupted, obviously surprised. "I thought they were just an old fable."
"Why, what's a dragonlord?" Gwaine asked.
"According to the stories, there are men – humans – who can speak to dragons in their own tongue and tame them," Dyson answered. "Of course, if such people exist, I've never met one. Dragons mostly kept to themselves even when there were more of them, so the king I served before I met Bo had no need or use for dragonlords."
"My parents always said those tales were a load of rubbish," Vex insisted. "They said if the Goddess wanted to give anyone power over dragons, it wouldn't make sense for Her to waste a gift like that on humans."
"The ways of the Goddess are frequently beyond our comprehension," Elaine replied, fixing Vex with a cool, piercing gaze that made him shuffle uncomfortably and mutter that this was just what his parents had said, not necessarily his own opinion, "though if I were to hazard a guess, I would imagine She bestowed this gift so as not to allow the fae to amass more power than we already possess, which in some instances is perhaps more than is good for us…and possibly to impart some humility to the dragons as well." This time her gaze swept up to Kilgharrah, though it didn't seem to affect him quite as strongly. "Regardless of Her reasons, the fact is that dragonlords do indeed exist – at least, they did. Tragically, most of them perished in Uther's Purge…save one."
"Great," Bo said in a rather waspish tone, struggling to hold her impatience and frustration in check. "Now can you cut out the suspenseful pauses and just tell us where to find this guy already?"
Now it was her turn to get that look, but it did nothing to quell her simmering temper. This was her life here – her life that had been hijacked by this stupid mystical rite of passage she'd never even asked for in the first place, and her life that would be over if she didn't jump through every hoop laid in front of her by whatever asshole entity controlled the whole process, so she didn't appreciate her guide deciding to be all mysterious now, right after she'd just had a huge wrench thrown into what was supposed to be a relatively straightforward job.
Fortunately, Elaine seemed to understand her feelings. "I could tell you a little," she said without further delay, "but there is another who is in possession of more information about the last dragonlord than I have."
She looked off to the side, and Bo followed her gaze to… "Gaius?" the succubus blurted out, shocked. "He knows the guy we have to find?"
Elaine nodded solemnly, though her eyes twinkled with amusement. "Gaius did many things during the Purge that he has never confided in anyone – not even you, Merlin – though he realized the time has now come when he must divulge at least one of those secrets."
Bo sighed. "Well then, I guess I've gotta go see a man about a dragonlord."
Gaius looked extremely uncomfortable when he saw her approaching with her entourage in tow, even as Alice patted his arm soothingly. "It will be all right, Gaius. Just tell him the truth. I'm sure he will understand."
"Who'll understand what?" Bo cut in. "Actually, never mind; it can wait. I need to ask you-"
"I know what it is you wish to ask me, and I will tell you all I know, but first I must speak with Merlin. Alone."
"Me?" the warlock asked, baffled. "Why?"
"Please, Merlin. I wouldn't ask if it were not important."
Alice, Dyson, Gwaine, and Vex obligingly moved away to give them some privacy, but Merlin reached out and took hold of his girlfriends' wrists when they started to follow, preventing them from leaving. "Anything you want to tell me you can tell Bo and Morgana as well," he said firmly.
"Very well." Gaius dithered for a moment, unsure where to begin, before settling on the most logical place to begin any story: at the beginning. "In the time of the Purge, dragonlords were among the many Uther targeted for extermination, having deemed their art of communing with dragons to be too close to sorcery."
"Of course he did," Morgana spat, her features briefly twisting into an angry sneer.
"They were hunted down and slaughtered, but I was able to help one escape. His name was Balinor." Gaius paused, watching Merlin intently. "You've never heard that name before?"
Whatever reaction he was looking for, he didn't get it; Merlin's face showed nothing but bewilderment. "No, never. Should I have?"
"I thought perhaps your mother might have mentioned…but clearly she did not. After Balinor left Camelot, he fled to Ealdor, thinking he would be safe beyond Uther's borders. Hunith took him in."
"My mother sheltered a fugitive dragonlord?" Merlin was shocked, and also rather impressed by her daring. "Why didn't she ever tell me?"
"Likely for the same reason she made me swear not to reveal any of this to you when she sent you to Camelot and placed you in my care – she feared the knowledge would put you in danger."
"I'm not surprised," Morgana interjected, scowling again. "It would be just like Uther to punish someone for a so-called crime their mother committed before they were even born."
"That may be," Gaius agreed, "though Hunith was more concerned with the dangers Merlin might face if he decided to seek Balinor out."
"Why would I do that?" Merlin wondered, his earlier confusion over this whole line of discussion, which had temporarily been sidelined by curiosity, returning in full force. "We didn't need a dragonlord until now."
"It wasn't his abilities that Hunith worried would entice you to look for Balinor. You see, Merlin, during the time that Balinor lived in Ealdor with my sister, they grew…close. Very close."
"What are you saying?" Merlin asked as Bo sucked in a sharp breath. She had a sneaking suspicion of where this was going, but she held her tongue, waiting for Gaius to say the words – which, after a moment's hesitation, he did.
"Merlin…Balinor is your father."