Back in Camelot, Merlin and Gaius had flipped his chambers upside down in hopes of finding a book that might have even a clue as to what the hell that bracelet was. Unfortunately, they were running out of options. "I'm not sure I know where else to look, Merlin," Gaius exhaled. "There has to be something," Merlin stated, refusing to give up.
"We've examined every stone imaginable," Gaius countered. Then something struck his memory. "Unless..." he made his way over to the shelf Merlin was examining and grabbed a book from one the lower levels and began flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Merlin," Gaius turned the book around so Merlin could see. Merlin's face lit up with recognition. "Gaius, that's it!"
The sorcerer jumped off the ladder and he and his mentor read what the book said about the bracelet. "That is not a stone, Merlin. It's an eye of the Phoenix," the old physician stated, voice filled with worry. "The Phoenix?" Merlin wondered in curiosity. "Some call it the firebird. It's eye burns with a fire that consumes the life force of anybody it comes in contact with," Gaius explained.
"Arthur," Merlin said in realization. "The eye will draw energy from him. If it's worn for too long, Arthur will die," Gaius informed. "I have to go after him," Merlin replied. "Merlin, this is not a task to be undertaken lightly. You'll need help," Gaius reasoned. Merlin thought about this for a moment before remembering something he'd seen on one of Arthur's maps.
Mercia.
Arthur would have to go through Mercia in order to reach the Perilous Lands. However, there was something else, too.
Gwaine was in Mercia.
And suddenly an idea formed in Merlin's head. A wonderful, stupid, insane idea.
Merlin was riding his horse out of the gates just as the sun was beginning to set on Camelot. 'Onward to Gwaine.' he thought. 'Then to save Arthur's sorry arse.'
***
Later that evening, Morgana sat in her chambers and was creating a likeness tether of Arthur. When she finished wrapping the cord around the tether, she held the head over and lit a candle and watched it burn; a smile creeping onto her face. Then her eyes glowed a hellish yellow as she bound the ashes of the tether to Arthur.
And at the same time as this, deep in the forest, Arthur had set up a campfire and propped himself up against a log and drifted off into sleep. He didn't notice that the bracelet glow an eerie shade of orange under the thick canopy of the trees.
Morgana smirked again, however it was very short-lived because, at that moment, Gwen opened up the door to her chambers making her jump up out of her chair and whip around to face her handmaiden. "What is it now?" Morgana griped. Gwen was shocked because Morgana had never spoken to her like that.
Remembering her words, she said, "I just wanted to see if there was anything you needed." "No, get out," Morgana clenched her jaw. The handmaiden was turning to leave when she caught a whiff of something peculiar. "Is something burning?" she turned back towards her mistress. "I said, get out!" Morgana snapped.
Now, Guinevere was astounded by Morgana's sudden attitude, but nevertheless, she left Morgana in peace and exited the witch's chambers, closing the door after her. She only lingered for a moment with one thought in her mind, 'Why the hell was Morgana behaving so strangely?'
***
The next morning came quickly and bandits snuck up quietly behind Arthur, who was still slumbering away.
Or so they thought anyway.
As soon as one of the bandits' blade neared his armor, the prince sprung into action, breaking the man's wrist then turning and shoved the bandit off him. Grabbing his sword, he got to his feet and lunged at the other bandit and began to engage in a duel with him. For a while, it seemed like he would win as he swiped at the man's head, forcing him to roll out of the way.
Unfortunately, right as he was getting the upper and started fighting both of the bandits, the Phoenix eye began to draw his energy. He was able to beat on of them but the other tackled him to the ground and motioned to jab him in the throat. Thankfully, Arthur blocked it and was using all his power to hold him off. But the more energy he exerted trying to fight, the more energy the Phoenix eye consumed. At last, he gained an advantage and impaled his attacker and watching his body slunk to the ground. Then, he too, blacked out into unconsciousness.
***
Merlin had been riding his horse since yesterday and looked in almost every tavern in Mercia until he came to the last one that was just downhill in the last outlying village. "Gwaine, you'd better be there," he grumbled to himself before urging his horse onward. When he got to the tavern and opened up the door he immediately ducked his head as a flying cup of Mead sailed his way. With the coast clear he quickly scurried inside and searched for Gwaine.
He didn't have to search long, because he witnessed his friend being hurled straight across a large table and skidded to a stop in front of the young wizard. "Hello, Gwaine," Merlin smirked.
"Ah, Merlin. How are you?" Gwaine smiled hopping down off the table to meet his friend. But just then, one of the thugs that Gwaine had provoked earlier cleared his throat. "Give me my money." Gwaine smiled and looked to his friend with a mischievous glint in his eye. Merlin wondered and looked between Gwaine and the thug.
'Yep. We are dead men.' Merlin sighed softly. Then again, what did you expect when you're best friend is Gwaine.
The two men quickly ran out of the tavern and darted all throughout the village trying to lose the men chasing them, and that we're closing in on them pretty fast for thugs that just came out of a stupor. "Sorry!" Gwaine and Merlin yelled, pushing past villagers and trying to make it back to Merlin's horses. As they ran through the town, Gwaine trampled objects and pushed shelves to block the path to buy them some time.
They hid behind a cart but it was no use. The group of ruffians spotted them. "Gwaine, run!" Merlin yelled. They ran into a building and up the stairs until they were on the broken balcony looking over the town square. They stopped to take a breather and that's when Gwaine spoke. "Remind me again what the hell you're doing here?" he panted. "Arthur's in trouble. I need your help," Merlin explained. Gwaine groaned, "Ah, that princess is always getting into something." "Speak for yourself!" Merlin shot back. "Whatever! What kind of trouble are we looking at?" Gwaine sighed.
"There!" they heard one of the ruffians cry out. The two men jumped at the sound of the man's voice and started back running. While they bolt across the balcony, Merlin quickly explained to him that Arthur had chosen to venture into the Perilous Lands as his quest to prove himself.
"You serious?" Gwaine asked. "Yeah," Merlin breathed. They suddenly came to a stop as the approached the end of the balcony and whirled around and saw the outlaws closing in. "Just now that sounds pretty attractive," Gwaine said, standing up on the edge of the balcony. "All right, all right, go for the horse."
Merlin gasped for air and snapped his head at Gwaine, "You have got to be joking." Gwaine shrugged then shoved Merlin off the edge and the servant landed in a pile of hay. Not wasting any time, Merlin got out of the hay and ran towards the horses. Then, right as the bandit's were about to attack Gwaine, he jumped off the edge as well and followed after Merlin. Once the two of them mounted the horses, they urged the horses to go and galloped out of the village and straight into the forest laughing like there was no tomorrow.
***
While Merlin had been tracking down Gwaine at the tavern, Arthur had regained consciousness and got back started on his quest. Now, he was nearing the edge of the forest and saw in the distance a landscape that looked like it had been taken out of the bowels of hell; the Perilous Lands. Arthur shook his head dizzily and unfolded his map again to check and see if he had arrived and sure enough, this was the place.
He rushed ahead the rest of the way on foot and was greeted with the sight of a bridge and standing guard of it was a dwarf that seemed to be smiling about something. "Who is it that wishes to cross my bridge?" the man inquired.
"A knight... on a quest to find the Trident of the Fisher King."
The smaller man smirked again. "Then you must be Courage." Arthur raised his eyebrow in confusion. "No, I'm Prince Arthur of Camelot," he clarified. The dwarf walked towards him and stretched out his hand, "I'm Grettir." Arthur approached him and shook his hand. Then Grettir took a step back to examine the prince. "I have to say, you're not as short as I thought you'd be," he said. Arthur furrowed his brow, but then brushed the thought of the strange man's comment on his height aside.
Motioning to step onto the bridge, Grettir made to block him making Arthur roll his eyes. "Before I let you cross my bridge, I'll give you a little advice. As courage, there are two more things you'll need to complete your quest-- Strength and Magic." At the mention of magic, Arthur frowned. "I don't condone the use of magic," he said. "You'd be wise not to dismiss it so freely," Grettir retorted. "The rules in the land you're heading to are quite different to those in the world that you know."
Arthur pondered his words before bowing his head, saying, "Thank you for your help." The bridgekeeper nodded and stepped aside to let him pass. As he was walking, though, Grettir noticed the bracelet on his arm and snatched him back to examine it. "That's a very beautiful bracelet." "It was a gift from someone very dear to me," Arthur answered. "She hoped it would bring me good fortune." Grettir looked like he was about to laugh in Arthur's face at the boy's stupidity. "Did she now?"
Arthur gave him a look before turning back and continuing his trek. He didn't miss how Grettir chuckled behind his back. "How very thoughtful of her," he guffawed. Arthur was about to turn back around to say something to the man but he was nowhere to be seen. It was like he'd never even been there; like magic.
However, he couldn't waste another minute thinking about that. Without any more hesitation, he drew his sword and crept further into the Lands of the Fisher King.
To Be Continued...
.....
