Merthur - The King and His Guardian Angel

Chapter 25 - Two Sides of the Same Coin

The group stops in front of the castle, staring up at the crumbling structure. Much of the palace's walls are falling apart, leaving the grass surrounding the area crushed under the rubble. Almost all the windows are shattered beyond repair and out of the five towers that seemed to have originally stood only one is still intact. The place looks to be deserted and they would have thought as such if not for the footsteps leading in and out of the entrance.

Arthur looks to his men and when he sees them give him a nod he continues forward into the castle. They arrive in a large, central chamber. The room is empty save for the dust motes floating about in the air. Rocks are covering the ground from the collapsed ceiling and shards of glass are piled below the windows. A staircase leads up to the second floor in one corner while various corridors branch out on the main floor, leading to who knows where.

Arthur shifts his gaze between the different paths, trying to find clues as to where Merlin could be, but all he sees are footprints in the dust leading in all directions. He heaves a sigh, turning again to face his friends. "We'll have to split up. It'll take too long if we search all together," Arthur says.

Lancelot nods in agreement as he looks around the large room. "Indeed, Merlin may be dead by then. What do you want us to do when someone finds him?"

Arthur glances up to the sky, trying to calculate when sunrise would be. At most he would bet they have a few more hours. "If you're able to save him alone then do so and wait outside where we left the horses. We'll all meet up there at first light. If you're not able to save him then meet at the same spot and we'll go in together. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sire," Lancelot says, prompting a few nods from the others in the room.

Arthur turns to look at the chamber again, counting four areas to search. He splits the group up, sending Gwaine to the right, Lancelot to the left, Percival and Leon up to the second floor, then lastly Elyan and himself down the centre. He would have preferred to send the blacksmith with Gwaine, for they all know the drunk can get sidetracked easily, but the others had opposed the idea of him wandering Morgana's castle alone and opted for Elyan to go with him in case something happened. He didn't argue, after all he wanted to start searching for Merlin as soon as he could, and so decided to let it be.

Together, he and Elyan approach the central door. He pushes it open with a grunt, causing the hinges to screech in protest. They enter the hall to find more doors lining the walls on either side before the corridor seems to branch off in two directions. Arthur sighs and opens the closest door to begin their search.

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Arthur shuts the door angrily, frustrated that he still has yet to find Merlin or anything of use even after a few hours of combing the area. The rooms he searches are almost always barren. If he does find anything it's only ever a chair or a table.

He groans as he opens the door to find another empty room. He curses under his breath and storms down the hall, wondering how Elyan was faring after they had to split up as well in order to cover more space.

He's just about to round the corner when two guards catch his eye. He stops abruptly, pressing his back against the wall and peering out from around the corner. A pair of Saxons stand guard outside what Arthur assumes to be either the council chambers or the throne room given the fancy door. The men hold spears aloft in their hands and are scanning the vicinity, eyes focused on the task.

He's almost sure Morgana is on the other side. He considers waiting until first light so he can gather his knights, but the cry of pain coming from the other side of the door makes him give up on the idea entirely.

He pulls his sword from its sheath and charges the men. His sudden appearance startles the guards, allowing him to run his blade though the closest Saxon without any struggle. Unfortunately, he's unable to do the same with the second man. The guard pulls out his sword as well, scowling at the sight of his dead comrade and charges.