EXT. LOWER TOWN – DAY
Tom pushed a cart playfully down the street and snuck up behind the carpet that Gwen was beating. He popped his head over the clothes line on which the carpet was hung.
"Boo!" Tom cried.
"Oh!" Gwen exclaimed, holding her hand to her chest.
"Did I surprise you?"
"You certainly did!"
"I've got another surprise for you, too." He handed Gwen a small, wrapped cloth. Gwen opened it, revealing a fancy button.
"It's... lovely."
"Well, in case you ever need a spare. You know... for this..." He held up a colourful dress.
"It's beautiful!"
"Well, you're a beautiful girl, Gwen. You deserve beautiful things."
"But how? I mean... it must have been expensive."
"Oh, very. But we're on the up now. Things are going to be different."
"What's going on?"
"It'll be all right. Trust me." He kissed her cheek. "I won't be back for supper."
INT. TOM'S FORGE – NIGHT
Tom worked at his forge and heard lots of wind.
"Hello?" Tom called.
A man appeared before Tom, hooded and cloaked.
"Is it prepared?" Tauren asked.
"Yes, look."
Tauren approached the forge and pulled down his hood, looking at the melted lead. "Very good." He pulled out a stone with silver claws around it.
"What is that?"
"I'm not paying you to ask questions. The lead, please."
Tom took the lead off the forge and poured it into a mould. Tauren held the stone over the lead and as the stone glowed, Merlin and Colette woke in their chamber.
Tauren performed a spell.
Tom whispered, "You didn't say anything about magic! I don't want any trouble!"
"I búgan þéos... áfæren æt gylden."
The lead turned to gold.
"Gold?"
"Pure, priceless gold."
Tom drenched the gold and it steamed. Tom held up the lump of gold.
Tauren continued. "Yours, blacksmith. If you keep your mouth shut."
Arthur burst in with the guards. Tauren ran for it.
"Seize him!" Arthur ordered.
"Yes, sir," a guard replied.
"Quickly, after him!"
Tauren tossed the heated materials in the water, creating a smoke screen. He knocked over a table and dropped the leather bag with the stone in it.
"Stop!"
"He must be caught!"
"Stop that man!"
A pair of guards stayed behind, restraining Tom. Arthur turned around and took the gold from him.
"Sire, please..." Tom began.
"You're under arrest," Arthur said.
INT. KING'S PALACE – PHYSICIAN'S CHAMBERS – NIGHT
Merlin and Colette emerged from their chamber.
"Can't sleep?" Gaius asked.
"Something woke us," Merlin answered.
"What?"
"Lettie and I don't know. A feeling."
"What kind of feeling?"
"Powerful magic, here, in Camelot," Colette said.
Gwen ran into the Physician's Chambers.
"Gwen. What's wrong?" Merlin asked.
"My father's been arrested," Gwen told them.
"Arrested? What for?"
"They say he was making weapons for a sorcerer! They're charging him with treason!"
INT. KING'S PALACE – HEDGEHOG CHAMBER – NIGHT
Morgana, Uther, Anne and Arthur met up. Morgana and Anne were in their nightgowns.
"Treason?!" Morgana and Anne cried.
"Yes, Morgana, Anne, treason," Uther replied. "The blacksmith was consorting with a known enemy."
"Enemy? What enemy?" Morgana questioned.
"Tauren," Arthur stated. "The leader of a band of renegade sorcerers sworn to bring down the King."
"And where is this Tauren now?"
"He escaped."
"Well, then how can you be sure?"
"Because Arthur saw him with his own eyes," Uther said.
"Well, even if the man is who you say he is, you can't sentence Tom to death for just being seen with him!?"
"We have reason to believe he was forging weapons for Tauren."
"Rubbish! He would never do such a thing."
"Every man has a price."
Arthur slid the lump of gold across the table. "Found this on the blacksmith."
"So he was paid!" Anne cried. "He's a blacksmith. He could've been paid for shoeing Tauren's horse!"
"In gold?" Uther questioned.
"This is madness! You condemn a man with no proof!"
"I have enough proof."
"Arthur! Have you nothing to say?" Morgana asked.
"Father, the blacksmith committed a crime, but we don't know for certain he meant treason," Arthur said.
"No," Uther replied. "You're right. Nothing's certain. Save one thing. The law stands or this kingdom falls."
"But the law must give him a fair trial!" Morgana reminded him.
"He'll get a fair trial, and he'll be found guilty, 'cause that's what he is."
"You execute Gwen's father, and I will never forgive you. Never." She stormed out.
Anne glared at her father and followed Morgana.
"Maybe we should investigate further," Arthur suggested.
"Tauren slept somewhere, he fed somewhere," Uther said. "Find anyone who helped him in any way. They must be punished. The people must see the laws of Camelot are not to be trifled with."
"Yes, Father."
INT. KING'S PALACE – DUNGEONS
Gwen visited her father's cell.
"I didn't know Tauren was a sorcerer," Tom said. "I meant no harm, I swear."
"Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" Gwen asked.
"I knew you wouldn't like it, Gwen. You're cautious. I didn't want to let an opportunity pass..."
"Opportunity? You call this an opportunity?"
"I know. I've been a fool." He sighed. "I just wanted to make a better life for us. For you. I wanted to make you happy."
"But I am happy! I don't need anything else. I have everything I want."
"And I've thrown it all away!"
"It's all right. We will get you out of here, I promise."
Gwen walked away from the bars to where Merlin, Colette and Gaius were waiting.
"What did he say?" Merlin asked.
"He said Tauren came to him at the forge, offered to pay him a fortune for his help, not to make weapons, for an experiment or something," Gwen replied.
"What kind of experiment?" Colette questioned.
"Tauren didn't say. But he used some kind of stone... some kind of magic..."
INT. KING'S PALACE – PHYSICIAN'S CHAMBERS
Gaius exited Merlin and Colette's chamber and said, "She's sleeping now."
Merlin frowned. "Lettie and I don't understand it. What would a sorcerer want with Tom?"
"His forge, Merlin. It's the finest in the kingdom."
"You think Tom was lying? You think he really was making weapons?"
"No, I don't."
"Then what?" Merlin and Colette pressed.
"When Tom was arrested, they found gold on him."
"So?"
"And from what Gwen was saying, Tauren's experiment bears all the hallmarks of alchemy."
"But alchemy's impossible, isn't it?" Colette said in a questioning tone.
"To change the very nature of one thing to another has defeated all who have tried. But if you used magic..."
"Do you think that's what woke me and Merlin?"
"It is possible, I suppose."
EXT. LOWER TOWN – DAY]
Morgana walked to Gwen's home and called, "Gwen? Gwen?"
She walked to Tom's forge. "Gwen?"
Morgana saw the leather bag on the floor of the forge, picked it up, and pulled out the stone. It glowed in her hands. Merlin and Colette sensed it as they sat in a chair in their chamber. Morgana took the stone to her chambers and put it in a fancy box.
INT. KING'S PALACE – MERLIN AND COLETTE'S CHAMBER – DAY
Morgana entered Colette and Merlin's chamber. "Merlin. Colette."
"Morgana," Merlin and Colette said.
Morgana looked at Gwen sleeping on the bed. "How is she?"
"She's doing okay," Merlin replied.
"We should let her rest."
Merlin and Colette whispered, "Yeah."
Merlin, Colette and Morgana exited the former two's chamber.
Merlin questioned, "Morgana, have you spoken to Uther? He must realise this is a mistake. Whatever Tom was doing, it wasn't plotting against the King."
"I know that. Of course I do. But Uther... Uther only sees enemies."
Colette frowned. "But Tom is the most gentle soul Merlin and I've ever met."
"But he was seen with Tauren, and that makes him an enemy." She turned to leave.
"Then..." Morgana stopped to face her, "...there's little hope?"
"There's no hope, Merlin, Colette. None at all."
INT. KING'S PALACE – ARTHUR'S CHAMBERS – DAY
Morgana entered and called, "Arthur? Anne?"
She walked over to the bureau and searched for a key.
INT. KING'S PALACE – DUNGEONS – DAY]
Morgana visited Tom and said, "I bring you no relief, Tom. I'm sorry. I came only to see you were comfortable."
"How's Gwen?" Tom asked.
"She's a brave girl. She wishes only to see you free."
"I know what Uther thinks about sorcery. I'm a dead man, aren't I?"
"I cannot see the future, only the present, and one must always seize the moment." She handed him the key through the bars. "Good luck."
EXT. KING'S PALACE – DAY
The executioner and some guards escorted some men into the Square.
"They're to be executed?" Merlin and Colette asked.
"Yes, Merlin, Colette," Arthur and Anne replied.
"By order of the King?"
"They committed a serious crime," Arthur said.
"Giving a man a bed for the night?!" Merlin cried.
"Not a man. A sorcerer."
"Maybe they didn't know that."
"It is not for you or your sister to question Anne's and my father's actions. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sire," Merlin and Colette answered.
"Now go get on with whatever you're both meant to be doing."
INT. KING'S PALACE – DUNGEONS – NIGHT
Tom laid awake in his cell that night. He pretended to be asleep when the guard came by, then used the key to escape. He snuck through the dungeon tunnels, but the guard checked his cell again.
"Sound the warning bell!" the guard ordered.
Tom knocked out a guard who was closing a dungeon gate. Tom took his sword and the warning bell tolled. Uther and Arthur entered the Council Chamber of Doom.
"He's just proved his guilt," Uther said. "You will kill him on sight."
"But the trial, Father!" Arthur protested.
"The trial is a formality. Now I want him dead. And an end to it."
Tom tried to sneak up the Wrought Iron Stairway, but guards cane down and surrounded him on all sides. He dropped his sword.
"Please..." Tom begged as he went to his knees with his hands in the air.
"Kill him," the guard said.
Swords ran him though.
INT. KING'S PALACE – MAIN SQUARE – DAY
Gwen's wail echoed in the Square. "Nooooooo...!"
She ran down the steps to her father's body, which was being carried off on a cart by a pair of guards. Morgana and Anne watched from a window above.
"No, Father!!! No, Father!!!"
INT. KING'S PALACE – HEDGEHOG CHAMBER – DAY
Morgana and Anne waited for guards to open the doors and they stormed in as the former said, "You have blood on your hands, Uther Pendragon! Blood that will never wash off!"
"May I remind you that you're speaking to your King," Uther told her.
"May I remind you that a king is wise and just. You are neither. You rule only with the sword."
"You know nothing of what it means to be King. The fate of Camelot rests in my hands. It's my responsibility to protect the people of this land from its enemies."
"Then the kingdom is doomed! For one by one you make enemies of us all!"
"You speak treason, Morgana."
"Only a mad man hears the truth as treason."
"Take care, child, or I'll have you restrained."
"You just try."
--
[INT. KING'S PALACE, DUNGEONS – DAY]
[Morgana is dragged into a large prison cell by some guards and chained to the wall.]
UTHER
And you will remain here until you learn your lesson.
MORGANA
Then release me because I've learned it already! That you care not for me, or anyone but yourself! That you're driven mad with power! That you're a tyrant!
INT. KING'S PALACE – MERLIN AND COLETTE'S CHAMBER
Gwen sat on the bed in Merlin and Colette's chamber, staring off into space. Merlin and Colette entered.
"All right?" Merlin and Colette asked.
"I just don't understand," Gwen said. "Why did he try to escape? His trial was this morning."
Someone knocked gently on the door. Arthur, followed by Anne, entered and Gwen stood quickly to face them.
"Sire. My Lady," Gwen said.
"Guinevere, Anne and I... want you to know that your job is safe. And that your home is yours for life. Anne and I guarantee you that. We know that under the circumstances it's not much but, erm, anything you want, anything you need, all you have to do is ask," Arthur told her. He began to leave but paused and turned back around. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Sire. Thank you, my Lady."
Arthur and Anne gave Colette and Merlin a small smile and they gave a small smile back.
EXT. LOWER TOWN – NIGHT
Gwen walked home from the palace. She paused to take her dress off of the clothes line before going inside. Tauren stepped out from the shadows and grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth.
Tauren whispered, "I want the stone! Where is it?"
Gwen tried to shake her head, Tauren lifted his hand from her mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anything about..."
Tauren clamped his hand back over her mouth. "Now you listen to me. In two days time, I'll be at the Darkling Woods at dawn. You find the stone, you bring it to me, or you will die. Now, do I make myself clear?"
Gwen nodded and replied in a muffled tone, "Mm-hmm!"
INT. KING'S PALACE – PHYSICIAN'S CHAMBERS
Gaius flipped through a book as Merlin and Colette exited their chamber.
"Merlin, Colette, come and take a look," Gaius said. "I've been doing some research and found this."
"The Mage Stone?" Merlin and Colette questioned.
"Wonder of the ancients. Lost for a thousand years or more."
"What does it do?" Merlin wondered.
"Theoretically, it could give the bearer the power of transformation."
"Gold. The power of alchemy."
"Exactly. I believe it was the Mage Stone you two sensed on the night of Tom's arrest."
"Of course!" Colette exclaimed. "Gwen said that Tauren had some kind of stone."
INT. KING'S PALACE – DUNGEON – DAY
Morgana sat on the floor of her cell. The door opened and Arthur and Anne entered.
"You," Morgana sneered. "How proud you two must be. Son and daughter of the mighty Uther. How you both must look up to him. Do the King's little helpers bring a message? Or have you two just come to gloat?"
"Guards!" Arthur and Anne shouted.
Morgana stood and backed away, pulling on her chains. "Get away from me, you cowards!"
"You're free to go," Arthur told her.
The guards removed her manacles and left. She walked to the door.
"Morgana," Arthur called.
She paused just behind Arthur and Anne. "Yes?"
"Anne and I swore to him you'd never challenge his authority again. We swore that you'd learned your lesson. Tread carefully. Next time, we may not be able to help you."
"Thank you. You're a better man and woman than your father. Always were."