The Search ➳ Merthur

chapter one

this 100% has nothing to do with canon so keep that in mind

I haven't written a fic of any type in about 4 years so here we go

also it seems I'm very bad at keeping people in character??? expect some ooc

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I must find him, I must find Emrys.

Arthur had been on the search for the notorious sorcerer for months, only to come up empty-handed every single time. Whenever he was seen, he would disappear even before the warning bells could be rung, leaving Arthur even more frustrated than the time before. It felt almost as if the man was playing with his head, waiting for Arthur to go mad so he could swoop in for the kill. Adding to all of the frustration, he had no idea what Emrys even looked like, as he wore a variety of disguises to mess with the guards and Arthur himself.

Without knowing who he (she?) really was, there were no leads on how to find him. Therefore, he could have been within the castle at this very moment, and Arthur would know no different. If only there was some way to draw the sorcerer out from hiding...

Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and wondered exactly what a sorcerer would be looking for in Camelot. Besides an opportunity to slay the king, which Emrys had thoroughly avoided, there seemed to be no reason any magic user in their right mind would step foot into the city. There had to be some type of motive, but even if there was, why was he still in the city after so many months? Wouldn't he retrieve what he came for and then leave?

Thinking about it made his head hurt, that there was nothing he could possibly do to catch this sorcerer. He decided to stop for now, as there was a meeting with the knights of the round table in a short while, where they would surely breach the subject of Emrys again. He closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, enjoying his few moments of peace and quiet. Letting out a deep breath, he tried to forget about the fact that there was a crazy sorcerer running through Camelot at this very moment.

Needless to say, he failed.

Eventually, he was called from his chambers to attend the meeting, where the members droned on about patrols and the surrounding kingdoms and the state of the food stores. It was all very bland and boring, and while Arthur looked around as Leon spoke, he could tell the rest of the knights thought so as well. He figured he ought to put them out of their misery and put his hand up to address to Leon that he should stop speaking.

"Yes, sire?" Leon asked.

"While the state of the stores are important, Sir Leon, we must address the more important matter at hand which is the sorcerer Emrys." Arthur began. "He has consistently been evading capture for going on three months now, and we must put a stop to this. It is obvious that he has some type of plan to cause harm to Camelot, as all sorcerers do, and in order to capture him we must find out what he is going to do. Now, have there been any sightings in the past day?"

"Yes, my lord." One of the knights spoke up, "An old man was seen to be levitating a bag behind him as he walked in the lower town, but before he could be turned in he vanished."

"Alright, what about the time before that?" Arthur questioned.

"A person in a cloak was seen lurking late at night in the lower town, possibly practicing sorcery. The witness does not have specifics." Another knight said.

"Alright, and before that?"

"My lord–," Gwaine started, but was cut off by another knight.

"There was mead stolen from the tavern, but there was no evidence of anyone having been there. It was as if they were never there at all." Lancelot stated.