The Search ➳ Merthur

chapter three

here we go here's another

I babble on so much that barely any action ever happens and I'm sorry for that but hopefully I might make up for it here just maybe

I LOVE MY BOYS A LOT OKAY
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Arthur ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat. He stared at the parchments on the table in front of him, unable to concentrate on what was written on them. His mind refused to pay attention to the topic at hand and instead kept thinking about the sorcerer who was just out of his reach. After the search of the lower town last night, they had come up with absolutely nothing. There was no evidence of sorcery anywhere within Camelot, and though that should have made him glad, all it did was increase his frustration.

How could one man possibly evade the guard for so long? Magic could have been the answer, but wouldn't he have to have some evidence of his magic in his home? Did he know about the guard before they showed up, so he could hide all of his belongings? Arthur had no idea what magic could do, so he began to think of anything that Emrys could have possibly done to avoid being caught. All the possibilities made his head hurt.

There was a knock on his door, and he drew himself out of his thoughts of the sorcerer to speak.

"Enter." He said, and was greeted by five of his knights as they strolled into his chambers. Confused, he looked at them as they stood before him, but before he could ask why they were here, Leon spoke up.

"We were thinking about the search for the sorcerer, and we wondered if you would allow us to conduct secret watchmen to constantly be amongst the lower town in order to catch Emrys in his acts." He said, and Arthur raised an eyebrow. It was a very good idea, to have someone constantly down there to catch the criminal in his act. The people would be angry if they knew they were continually being watched, but what the people didn't know wouldn't hurt them. And it was being done for the safety of the people as well...

"I like this idea, Leon, I just have one request." Arthur replied. This would be his ticket to finding and being rid of this sorcerer, once and for all. He was entirely ready to take on Emrys as soon as he saw him. "I want to be the one to catch him. So I will go to the lower town, undercover and alone. There will be no knights with me."

"But sire, at least take some for extra knights in case you do encounter the sorcerer. You have no idea what type of powers he could possess." Leon tried to get Arthur to listen to him, but the king was already engrossed in thinking of his own plan. If he went down to the lower town, he could stage an event that the sorcerer would have to step in to, and then he could catch him in the act! But what kind of event would draw in a sorcerer? The king still had no idea what the man was after, and without that, he wouldn't be able to come up with an effective plan.

"No Leon, I cannot. It is my duty to find this sorcerer and I will do it on my own, I will not endanger the lives of my men." Arthur stated firmly. This was his decision, and he wouldn't turn his back on it. The sorcerer has tricked him one too many times, and he was going to catch him if it was the last thing he did. "I will start on the morrow, and my decision is final. Please escort yourselves from my chambers."

The knights left the room, but Leon stayed back to give a pleading look to Arthur, trying to convince him not to do anything stupid. Having grown up with Leon, Arthur knew the man was just trying to look out for him, but as king, it was his job to protect his people. If going alone on a search was how it had to be done, he would do it. Arthur sighed and nodded at Leon, who smiled before bowing and then leaving the room.

Arthur supposed he didn't know what he had gotten himself into.

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