Lost in Phantasm (Merlin Fanfiction)

Part 10: "Merlin To The Rescue?"

There were only a few hours of daylight left by the time Merlin and the giants reached the Wizard's castle.

Lily stopped about two giant paces away from the castle.

"This is as far as I go, Merlin." She bent down and let him step off her hand and to the ground. "Good luck."

He nodded to her and Caleb. "Thank you."

Caleb sniffed, "I just hope you find Arthur in time."

"Yes, whatever you do, Merlin," Lily warned, "Don't let the Chain out of your sight until you have the gyth. Certainly don't put it in anyone else's sight, either."

Merlin nodded, patting where the Chain hung beneath his shirt. "Right, keep it hidden. Well then," he turned around and strode purposefully toward the castle.

As with the trolls before, the gate opened at his approach. Merlin entered the courtyard, noting the emptiness of his surroundings. He walked into the atrium.

"Hello?" he called.

Instantly, a bloodcurdling scream erupted from one of the halls. Merlin knew the scream could only come from one person.

"Arthur!" he yelled, running down the hallway.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Arthur, in the great hall, heard his name called, and automatically stood. "Merlin?" he responded, but the castle was as still as ever. Arthur shrugged and returned to his honest tea. He was on his last cup already. The pot was empty.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In the dark hallway, Merlin slowed as he came to a doorway. Listening carefully, he could hear the sounds of a muffled struggle. He must save Arthur! Merlin backed to the other side of the hall and ran full speed at the door. He crashed through it with all his might—right into the waiting hands of a towering cyclops! It held him firmly; no amount of wriggling could loosen it's hold. The only other occupant of the room was a short table with a round black object*. The scuffle Merlin still heard seemed to be contained in that black object.

"Ah, is that our next visitor?" a creaking voice laden thickly with a Northern accent spoke from the blackness. "Merlin, is it? How kind of ye to join us. Oh yes, Arthur's here too."

Merlin jerked fruitlessly as he heard Arthur's voice gasping from somewhere in that thick, small object, "Merlin! Mer—"

"Yes, that's enough," the first voice cut in again. "So sorry, me lad, that I had ta be the one to tell ye this, but ye've jist lost yer chance ta save yer friend. I've arranged for ye ta visit some friends o' mine. I'm afraid they'll be dull company, but ye'll get used ta that in nae time, ye ken? I'll be seein' ya, but ye'll no be seein' me. There's somethin' I jist know ye'll be dyin' ta give me. Enjoy your stay!"

"You fiend!" Merlin screamed as the cyclops dragged him from the room, "You viper! Keep your hands off Arthur! Wizard, I'm warning you, don't you dare touch him! He's not meant to die by your hand! I'm going to—"

What exactly Merlin might have been prepared to do cannot be known, for just at that moment, the cyclops tossed him into a sort of bath. Merlin sank under the water, but when he tried to swim back to the surface, he found a cover over the opening of the pool, with a space above the surface of the water just barely big enough for him to breathe in. Merlin gulped as much air as he could manage and swam down under the water to try and see if he could find a way of escape.

He swam toward a large dark area at the side of the water, only to find that it was glass too thick to break or even be heard through.

The rest of the surface was smooth and completely filled with water. There wasn't even the chance of any sort of bath like the one he'd entered by, either. Merlin sought to conserve air by not allowing himself to panic. He took stock of his surroundings. All around him was glass. There were colored rocks at the base of the horizontal tube that made the tank, and tall stalks of sone kind of seaweed. Merlin felt a leaf. It was smooth on one side, while the back was coated in some kind of gooey snot-like material. Merlin grimaced and swam away from the plants.

All of a sudden, his senses kicked into high gear. Something had moved in the tank! What sort of creatures did the Wizard count as "friends"?

He stared deep into the shadows, but he could distinguish nothing amiss in the water.
A dark blur flashed briefly in his periphery, and something brushed against his back. Merlin twisted around in the middle of the tank, trying to discover what exactly this thing might be. He looked as hard as he could, yet he did not even see the creature hurtling through the water at him until it slammed into his midriff, crashing him into the tank wall and driving what little breath he had from his lungs.

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*Note: Just to clarify, the person who lives in this castle has figured out how to use materials from the fantasy world to make a small audio speaker. That's what Merlin is looking at.