Merlyn's Only Hope

The Poisoned Chalice P3

Arthur let himself be lead into the caves, quickly losing track of the twists and turns, focused only on the flower. He barely noticed as they reached the end of the path, a long drop separating them from the far wall.

"The flowers grow here." The man pointed up, at the petals high above them, their colour a stark contrast to the grey stone. Arthur began to walk towards the wall, almost falling into the chasm as the ground crumbled beneath him.

"Keep away from the edge." his companion warned from behind, understandably careful with their footing.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon." the prince tried to be reassuring, mistaking the stranger's malice for fright.

He continued cautiously, stepping closer to the drop, his concentration so great that he didn't hear the incantations behind him until it was too late.

"Eorðe, lyft, fyr, waerte, hiersumaþ me."

"What are you doing?" he shouted, the ground disappearing from beneath his feet. There was nothing he could do, but jump, his hands barely clutching onto a ledge.

"I expected more." scoffed the stranger, no longer hiding his evil behind a wall of mock vulnerability.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked, still not entirely sure of what had just happened.

The stranger smirked, looking down at the prince. "The last face you'll ever see."

Before Arthur could ask anything else, he heard a sinister rattling coming from somewhere in the darkness.

"It seems we have a visitor." A dark smile crossed the face of the apparent sorcerer. Arthur's grip was failing; he needed to pull himself up, but the sight of a large spider, one around the size of his face, stopped him. Instead, he managed to maneuver himself further away from it, unsheathing his sword and knocking the spider from the edge and far into the shadows below.

"Very good, but he won't be the last. I'll let his friends finish you off Arthur Pendragon. It's not your destiny to die at my hand." The sorcerer left, taking his torch back into the caverns and plunging Arthur into utter darkness.

"Who are you?" Arthur bellowed again, but he got no reply. He was alone.

∆

"Arthur, Arthur. It's too dark. Too dark." Merlyn moaned before she began to chant again, some spell Gaius had never heard before.

"Fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme. Fromum feohgiftum."

He noticed a light, dim at first, but it brightened under the thin blanket covering his ward's arm.

"Merlyn?" he whispered, lifting the cover to reveal an orb of pure white light, the brightness dispelling all shadows in the room. "What are you doing?" he wondered aloud, glad that he'd sent both Morgana and Gwen to get some rest. Whatever it was, it wasn't legal.

∆

Arthur could hear the creature's scuttling towards him. He had no light; he could only wait to meet his impending doom. Then, he noticed a light, a ball of pure magic, travelling through the air. Thinking it was the sorcerer, back to kill him, he knew he was done for.

"Come on then! What are you waiting for? Finish me off." he cried, but the ball only glided closer, hovering just above him so that he could see his surroundings. With all the strength he could muster, he pulled himself onto the ledge, his arms barely able to move.

The ball began to fly higher, revealing a route of escape. Arthur glanced towards the flowers, a look of determination crossing his features.

"No, Arthur, leave the flowers." he could've sworn that he heard Merlyn's voice. "Go, save yourself."