How To Train Your Dragonlord

Concerning Bandits

Merlin P.O.V:
I came to in a dungeon cell that was closer in design to a cage than a cell. There was little space between the cold, stone, dungeon wall and the cold, metal bars opposite. There were two more stone dungeon walls connecting the bars and the opposite wall. Across the wall opposing the bars was a horizontal stone slab that was meant in lieu of a bed. The slab took around a quarter of the miniscule amount of space inside the cell. I had woken up on the slab and taken the opportunity to investigate my current abode. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious, and no way to mark the passage of time, as there was no window in the cell.
My body also felt wrong, somehow. There was a kind of weight in my chest that I had only felt once before. I had felt it when Morgana had frozen my magic in my veins, making me unable to defend myself. My heart rate increased at that memory, and the worrying thought attached to it.
Nervous and a little anxious, I silently attempted to cast a spell to turn myself invisible. As I thought the words of the spell, I realised that I couldn't feel my magic in my veins. Once I had silently cast the spell, I noticed that I could still see myself.
I cursed under my breath. They had frozen my powers, making me unable to break myself free. No doubt, any sorcerer could cast such a spell, work such a charm, or enchant an object in that way, but I had only met one sorcerer who could cast it to work to its full potential on me.
I cursed once more under my breath as I realised that I hadn't seen them at the battle for Camelot. They must've started to pick their battles, but not in the way that the phrase intends. They were a formidable opponent when I was at full strength - both physically and magically - so I was starting to hope that I was wrong.
After I'd paced my cell a couple of hundred times, and given up and lay back down on my stone slab, I heard footsteps echo down a stone staircase towards the dungeon... And my cell. There were multiple sets echoing. A few were heavy, as if they belonged to heavily muscled men. One set were more delicate, belonging to a more feminine and more regal person. I easily guessed who they could belong to.
I heard them speak before I saw them, mainly because I was laying down on my slab, staring resolutely at the ceiling. "As your information stated, he was crossing into Camelot when we caught him. I still personally think that we should have taken him when he had initially passed through the area, with his mother, but we aim to please, my lady," echoed a deep, masculine voice.
"And you had the cell enchanted, as per my instructions?" Came a female voice in reply. I recognised the voice immediately. I had held a small crush on its owner, when we first met, after all. Before everything that had happened. Before I even realised my emotions towards Arthur Pendragon.
I had to close my eyes to prevent tears from escaping them. "Of course, my lady," the first voice replied. "I don't understand why; he didn't show even a hint of magic as we attacked."
The female voice cackled. "Emrys, I know you're awake. Sit up and tell the bandit why you didn't attack them with your magic."
I kept my eyes resolutely closed and remained lying on the bed. "I should think you already know, Morgana, being a High Priestess of the Old Religion."
I heard two pairs of feet shift, presumably to face Morgana. I smiled. Perhaps she had not been as honest with the bandits as she had wanted them to believe. This, despite me still being held prisoner, had been a win for me. It had also told me that the bandits belonged to Ealdor's kingdom, not my own, telling me that I was still quite close to Ealdor.
"Who I am has no bearing on your commission, or the payment you shall receive."
"What are you paying them in?" I asked. "Leprechaun's gold?" Morgana let out an unladylike grunt of frustration with me.
I heard two pairs of feet walk a little way away from my cell. "If I didn't already have the perfect plan to ruin your life for the rest of eternity, I would kill you right now," Morgana hissed at me through the bars of the cell.
"What's your plan for me?" I asked. I knew that, if Morgana had a plan for me, it'd be nothing good. I acted blasé as I asked, but knew that I had to escape as soon as possible.
I could practically hear Morgana's smile spread across her lips. "Don't worry, Emrys. You'll find out soon enough. First, I must deal with these bandits."
I heard her footsteps echo in the direction the other two sets had gone. I turned my head to face the bars of my cell and watched as Morgana tried to sweet-talk her way back into the bandits' good books.