Forbidden Love - Merlyn [2]

Chapter Sixty-One: To Hunt For Alvarr

Merlyn had returned to Camelot not long after Morgana but by the time she was entering the castle the place had begun to wake with more and more staff roaming the corridors. Upon returning Major to the stables and finding Jackson, the royal stableman who was more than happy to feed the horse, Merlyn had raced back to her chambers. Thankfully she found Gaius awake and waiting for her. Before Gaius could berate her for her disappearing act, Merlyn explained all she could about where she had been and what she had seen. Whilst Gaius was concerned through the entire story the mentioning of Alvarr in particular got his attention. It seemed Gaius knew who the renegade sorcerer was.

"Alvarr has a fearsome reputation" Gaius responded as he sat opposite Merlyn at the table whilst she ate breakfast that he had prepared for her.

"You know of him?" Merlyn questioned with hope. Knowing a bit more about him could help them figure a plan out.

"I know he is a sorcerer with a band of renegades who have threatened to overthrow the king" Gaius said though it did not surprise Merlyn. It was clear that Alvarr did not like the king but Merlyn didn't realise that there had already been contact between the two. Openly threatening to overthrow the king was extreme and spoke to Alvarr's contempt.

"He sounded pretty determined" Merlyn nodded as she pulled free a piece of bread from her roll and popped it into her mouth.

"He is a fanatic. And his supporters follow him unthinkingly, blinded by his charisma" Gaius said which Merlyn could certainly understand. Alvarr had a way with people.

"Well it worked on Morgana" Merlyn answered, "And Mordred, the Druid boy." Gaius sighed at the knowledge and waited patiently for Merlyn to finish her point. "Alvarr is using him too, he believes Mordred can master the crystal, harness its power." An enemy who could foretell time and read the past was one no one wanted to face.

"We can't let this happen Merlyn" Gaius replied with great worry. The situation was extremely dangerous. If the Crystal wasn't retrieved then Camelot was in serious danger.

"But how the hell do I explain that I was following his Ward who had the Crystal and gave it to the renegades?" Merlyn asked. Uther would never believe her and she would be signing her own death certificate. He would claim she was trying to shift the blame to someone else and in fact she was just turning against the renegades. Uther would use her to get the location before killing her, Merlyn was certain of that.

"You don't" her mentor replied which caused Merlyn to frown and stop eating for a moment. They had to tell Uther in order for a group of Camelot knights to retrieve the Crystal but Gaius didn't want her to! She hoped that Gaius had a plan which thankfully he did. "We have to tell Uther but I can bend the truth a little."

~8~

Upon Gaius sending word that he knew where the Crystal was, Uther had swiftly gathered the council in the chambers and had Gaius stood before him, Morgana and Arthur who were all seated in their seats. The rest of the room held the standing members of the council and some knights and servants too. Whilst Gaius stood in the middle of the room, Merlyn stood off to the side beside a stone pillar. Though she wasn't watching Uther or Gaius, her gaze was fixated on Morgana.

"You know the whereabouts of the crystal?" Uther asked pushing himself to his feet.

"I believe so Sire" Gaius replied causing Morgana to shift subtly in her chair, her eyes wide.

"I see. How did you come by this information?" Uther asked curious to why his physician had heard such a thing but others hadn't.

"In my capacity as a physician, I have dealings with many people. They hear things, sire, and see things" Gaius explained, all which was true, though what he had to say next was truth though a little bended. "Last night I was confronted by one such man. He told me that the crystal had been stolen by a band of renegades, led by a man named Alvarr." Uther sighed as he placed his hands on his hips and Arthur straightened up in his chair hearing the name. They both knew about the man. Meanwhile, Morgana had closed her eyes momentarily, a look of sorrow and concern ran over her features though only Merlyn noticed such an action.