Two of Them
Chapter 22: Two of Them
"What the – what was that?!"
Lianora yelled hoarsely, eyes wide as the tavern practically rattled from the force of a wind that blew through it, holding on to the wall as the ground shook. She grabbed at her hair, shoving it behind her ears, eyes darting around in trepidation. The keening renewed, sounding pained and another great gale accompanied it, and in response Godric, Salazar, Rowena, Helga, Lianora, Della and Earna raced downstairs, running into Rowley on the way down ("what's going on?"). They ran into the back of the tavern, behind the bar and into the kitchen, wrenching the back door open to see the forest behind the tavern shaking violently, as if a storm was blowing through.
Wordlessly, Helga took off at a dead run through the woods, not a single thought for the group behind her as if she'd seen something.
"Helga! Hey, wait!"
Godric hitched Elladora's satchel higher on his shoulder and ran in after her, motioning for the others to follow him. He pushed through, following the brief glimpses of the white fabric of her shift. As the oldest of the four kids, Godric felt especially responsible to keep up after her so he held an arm over his face and kept going, dimly hearing over the crashing of his body through the leaves the yelps of Salazar as he tripped over roots and Lianora's curses.
He was so focused on running at his fastest, that he hadn't noticed that Helga had in fact stopped running and subsequently, he managed to run full speed into her still figure at the forest edge.
"Ack." Godric ran into Helga, knocking her over and managing at the same time to somehow send their entire company into a sprawling mess. Despite falling however, Helga hadn't uttered a single word. Godric looked at her briefly before hearing that awful cry again and realized with a start the sound was directly on them.
A single look up told them exactly what had been making it. Before them, stood in a clearing of broken trees, felled like twigs, was a gargantuan dragon, wailing in the middle of the wreckage. Another piercing scream echoed from the castle and the great beast practically cowered under sound.
Helga moved forward before Rowena or Salazar, stood closest to her, could grab her. Godric was able to however but nearly lost his grip when it spoke.
"I shan't bite the little one's head off , Godric, you needn't worry so much." They gaped at the creature, as if they couldn't believe it had spoken.
"Oi. The lizard spoke just now, right? I'm not the only one that heard it? I'm not losing it right?" Lianora reached out with an iron grip, holding Rowley's shoulder until he yelped in pain.
"Ow! You crazy woman! Get off me!"
Just then, a howl pieced the sky, guttural and reverberating with pain and the dragon, as regal and elegant as he was, pulled his snout back, and snarled, the sound low and guttural.
"The witch tortures him like a slave master."
"Tortures who? What's going on? Who are you?" Godric seemed to have mustered up enough courage to ask the dragon what exactly was going on.
"My name, young warlock, is Kilgrraah. And you would do well to remember it." The snarl was now seemingly a permanent fixture on his face, his great eyes fixed balefully on the castle a short distance away.
"Merlin. Your Mistress, child. She is torturing him with forbidden magic, and I cannot lift a finger in his defense!"
"Why not?" Lianora asked indignantly. "I mean, you're a great big bloody dragon, for goodness sakes. If you wanted to, you could burn the castle to cinders before anyone knew what hit them." Kilgrraah snapped forward in the blink of an eye, the movement so fast that Lianora didn't register it until his snout was a hair's breadth away from her face, his sulfuric breath ghosting over her face.
"Mark my words, female creature, that if I could, that castle would be rubble and all who dwelt there would be dead. But it is my cruel fate that I cannot even approach the town."
"Why not? What could possibly be stopping you?" This was Salazar, his youth making him reckless in his dealings with the ancient creature. He watched the dragon, hands on his hips and waiting for a response.
"Your Mistress has commanded it so. That I was never to appear in Camelot again until he said otherwise and in his current state." Kilgrraah's eyes narrowed to slits. "I doubt the man can remember his own name, much less call for me and allow my return."
Lianora gingerly took a step back, moving only when it became obvious that Kilgrraah wasn't about to savagely separate her head from her body. It seemed, in the silence, that the torture had finally stopped, at least for now. There were no more screams, and the castle was eerily silent.
Godric shuffled the bag on his shoulder, it had been a while and the heavy sack was beginning to cut into his shoulder.
"What shall we do?" Rowena paced nervously. "We can't just leave her - him – there! She, ugh, he, saved us! We would all have starved to death years ago if it weren't for Mistress! I don't care how, we need to get in there!"
"I want to help him just as much as the rest of you, but you realize that if the place is overrun by knights, we can't exactly just go waltzing through the front door, yeah? We need to find another way in."
They were all silent for a brief period of time, where they thought over their dilemma.
"There might be another way in." This was the first time Earna had spoken since they'd come out to the dragon made clearing in the forest. She colored slightly when everyone turned to her.
"What're you talking about Earna?" When the strawberry haired girl hesitated, Lianora tapped her foot impatiently.
"Quickly, girl. This is important."
"I saw, um. I saw an entrance to the castle, last week when I was in town."
"In town?"
"Okay, maybe I was with Dowling up by the moat in the upper town!" All this was said in a rush that made Helga's mumbling seem welcome in comparison.
"I've told you time and again, you silly child that that boy is nothing but troub-"
"Ahem." Realizing they had an audience, Lianora gave Earna a look that promised trouble.
"I'll be tannin' your hide for this Dowling fellow later. Right now, I need to know what this entrance is."
"It's near the moat, behind the physician's quarter's. A round square gate that opens into the hallways near the Armory."
"Oh I know that place!" Lianora snapped her fingers, before glancing up at the castle, still silent, a factor wherein Lianora wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad.
"Before you go, striplings, might I suggest something?"
It was struggle to stay conscious in the aftermath of the spell that Morgana had cast. As he caught his breath, Merlin was very dimly aware of the shouts of the other imprisoned people in the room. He could hear Arthur screaming his name at the top of his lungs, his voice colored with guilt, still believing that he condemned an innocent woman to unnecessary violence.
That, through the haze of pain that coursed through his body, was what Merlin focused on. Arthur, knowing he was a sorceress, a magic user, was trying to protect him, to protect a mage. He could still feel his magic as potent as before, just now searching for a place to go.
Merlin tried to open his eyes, feeling the sweat dripping from his brow, down his back, and matting his hair down, plastering it to his neck.
"Elladora! Elladora, can you hear me?!" Lancelot rattled his chains, in futile unconscious effort to go to her aid. Merlin licked his dry lips, wetting his throat before attempting to speak.
"I'm fi – ah!- ine. I'm fine Lancelot. Nothing to worry about. Not yet at least." His voice was absolutely ruined, rough and raspy. It made him wince just hearing it, nevermind talking with it. Clearly the screaming hadn't been the best thing for his throat. Morgana, during watching him writhe from the pain, had once again taken a seat on Arthur's throne.
"Very good. I applaud your tenacity. Really, I do." Morgana clapped from her seat, she seemed mildly impressed that Merlin had withstood it at all.
"Morgana, you don't have to do this. Surely we can talk about this, you're my sister, that has to mean something to you!" Arthur was straining against the chains that bound his wrists, imploring his sister to see reason.
"Mean something?! Of course it means something! It means everything!" Merlin watched her apprehensively, Arthur's comment about them being siblings appeared to have a struck a rather touchy nerve. Her eyes were beginning to take on a wild quality that he wasn't too sure he liked. An evil
His arms had gone painfully numb now, and a glance upwards showed him that the writhing around earlier hadn't done him much good, actually cutting into his skin now, creating bloody circles around his wrists. Merlin bit his lips as he swung there. He was beyond exhausted but he couldn't afford to let go right now. He was all that stood between Morgana and Camelot. A thin bastion of defense but it was the last one they had. He swiveled his hands around in inside the cuffs, feeling for the chain and wincing when the edges of cuts grew deeper at his movements. Upon touching it, he realized that he could feel magic thrumming through it.
A few seconds more of feeling around and Merlin realized the power he was feeling was his. Somehow, the chains weren't stoppering his magic, it was siphoning it. Now everything took on a bit more meaning. Stringing him up had been an added bonus, a clear torture scenario by coincidence rather than deliberate. It was a by product of her actual plot, which appeared to be a bid to drain him of his power. His eyes traveled the length of the cord of chain link, to the point at the ground where it was anchored. At the end, there was a small box, like a jewelry box, that held a thin circlet, one that was glowing and the glow getting stronger with every ounce of magic that Merlin pushed towards that chain.
He thought quickly. If he hadn't gotten his logic mixed up, he could find a way to incapacitate Morgana. But what would he do about the other guards in the room? And how would he help the others break out of their restraints. He shook his head, first things first, Merlin. Worry about the rest of it later. He reached up and grabbed for the chain again.
"Ouch! Aunty Lianora! That's the second time you've stepped on my foot!"
"Well than get your foot out of my way Godric, I hardly need to be the one to tell you that!"
Helga was very rarely annoyed by things, but currently, the squabbling between Godric and Aunty Lianora was close to getting her to that point. They, (she, Godric, Salazar, Rowena and Lianora) had managed somehow to find the entrance that Earna had told them of earlier, an iron gate in the castle walls behind the physician's quarters, which she suspected, by the state of the plant growth in the area, was probably a forgotten emergency exit from the castle. Either that or a secret pathway from which deploy soldiers.
Either way it worked rather well for them, since they had slipped into it virtually unnoticed and were now approaching the end of the passageway. It had begun as a walkway but quickly devolved into a crawlspace. She finally reached another grate, rusted and brittle, and which very little coaxing, it popped out rather easily. She clambered out and stood, stretching her limbs out before bending down to motion the others out as well.
"All clear?" Rowena asked, as she took Helga's offered hand and climbed out. Helga nodded, sweeping an arm out to motion the room's desertedness, but in the process nearly knocking over a rack of helmets. She grabbed it quickly and flashed a sheepish smile at the raven haired girl who raised an eyebrow while helping the others out.
"Yes, yes. Definitely all clear." She patted the shelf like she'd meant to do that. They were dusting themselves when they heard the sound of clanking armor in the halls. Suddenly they were thrown into disarray.
"Quick! Quick! Someone's coming!"
"Quick, Aunty Lianora, the thing! The sheet that Kilgrraah gave you!" Lianora fumbled around in the satchel that she'd taken from Godric and pulled out a large piece of shimmering fabric and threw one end to Salazar. They bunched their fists in each corner, careful not to let their hands peek out, and held still just in time for two guards to pop their heads curiously into the armor. They could vaguely make out the people in through the fabric.
"What?"
"Nothing. I thought I heard something. I could have sworn it, but there's nothing in here." They shrugged and walked out. It was another few tense moments before Lianora and the others breathed a sigh of relief, with Salazar dropping his end of the sheet.
"Oh, that was far too close. I don't ever want to do that again!" Rowena helped Lianora bundle the cloth up again and she shoved it under her arm, holding it.
"It's right useful this thing. I wonder where the old bat got a hold of it?" Lianora said as she walked around the Armory, picking up a couple of swords and belts.
"He said it didn't matter so I suppose we should leave it at that. Besides, right now, we've got to get to the throne room, that's where he said that Morgana would be likely to hold Mistress."
"That's righ – what are you doing?" Godric said, as Lianora started fastening a leather belt around his midsection. She gave him a cursory glance and continued.
"What? We need weapons."
"We have weapons, remember?" Rowena held up a gnarled branch of walnut wood, unassuming at first but far more interesting when it was noted at how easily it accommodated her fingers, allowing her to grip it with comfort. The others had their own versions of it. Helga held a branch of Ash wood, Salazar a section of Laurel and Godric held a wand of twisted Holly and Oak. Godric followed her gaze, looking at the strange thing in his hand. Kilgrraah had called it a wand.
Kilgrraah had sniffed too close Godric, causing him to jump and drop the bag that he'd had shouldered since they'd fled the castle. The dragon reached out to hook it with a curved claw, flipping the bag open and with some pointed shaking a bundle of twigs wrapped in cloth fell out, scattering them on the ground.
"What's that?" Salazar had said, looking at it interest but hesitant to approach too close to the dragon, not sure if he was going to get eaten if he did (it was difficult to gauge the seriousness of his words, after all he was a Dragon).
"They are the answer to the problems with your magic, wizardlings."
"What's that supposed to mean?"Godric was indignant. Sure, their magic wasn't exactly perfect but it wasn't bad either.
As if he'd read Godric's mind, the Dragon gave a snort of laughter.
"It would be appreciated, Godric, if you didn't take offense to everythingthat was said to you. As it stands we do not have the time." He used his hooked claw to push each branch toward one of them.
"Wha -"
"Helga, the Ash belongs to you, nurturer of life, of nature. Rowena, the Walnut to exemplify your endless thirst for knowledge. Laurel for ambitious Salazar, and you, Godric," The dragon turned his giant yellow eyes towards him, pushing the wand to him and observing him closely as the boy picked up the branch, turning it over in his hands curiously.
"You are both Holly and Oak, 'tis a tenuous compromise of the two but remember, wands are naught but a reflection of the desires of their masters. Use yours wisely, for power can open many doors for you." His large reptilian head swung around to survey them all. "But what matters is that you choose the door that is right for you."
Then he turned his sights on Lianora, blinking at her slowly for a minute, the woman trying her hardest not to squirm under his gaze. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, Kilgrraah unfurled a wing, and a parcel dropped out, bound with string. He used his snout to push it towards her.
"Listen well, Lianora of Camelot. Your legacy will extend beyond the borders of this Kingdom, your bloodline will change the world of sorcerers in the times to come. Take this and guard it with your life, it must be passed down to your descendants, only you." Lianora gingerly reached out and took the parcel, never taking her eyes off Kilgrraah. She peeked at the shimmery material in the package, touching it briefly.
Godric had been endlessly curious about it as well, but when Kilgrraah suddenly straightened, gazing at the castle through slitted reptilian eyes. Then he'd turned slowly, eyes full of barely suppressed rage, and said slowly to them.
"Go. Now. Do not waste any more time, you have more than enough to aid you on this journey."
He'd had no choice but to obey.
He was jolted out his reverie by Lianora shoving a sword off a rack into his hands.
"Listen you may have your branch- y things to wave around, but I prefer my pointy sticks to be sharp and stabby." She winked as gave them each one and kept a broadsword for herself. "Stabby works best, I find."
"Why are you even with us Aunty Lianora? We did tell you we could handle this on our own, you didn't have to leave Earna, Della and Rowley behind."
Lianora made 'psh' sound and unfurled the shimmery green black fabric again.
"Oh yes, sure. Merlin would kill me if he found out I let you do this on your own. Not that he won't kill me for letting you do this in the first place anyway, but you know, I'll take the lesser of the two evils I suppose."
They froze again as they heard another sound, this time more like a slithery sound. Like silk moving along a stone floor. Lianora grabbed the fabric and draped it over them, letting it expand over their bodies as they peered around the door just in time to see something overwhelmingly large and scaly sliding past the adjoining corridor. There was a large amount of hissing accompanying it as well, while bringing up the rear was a large battalion of soldiers.
They audibly gulped, realizing that the wonderful dark sorceress had much more than enchanted soldiers up her sleeve. Lianora sighed, then straightened her back, doing a quarter turn under the cloak to look at the four kids with her. She was way out of her depth here, but she wasn't about to sit by while the man who had saved her life was in need of help. Lianora sucked in a breath and rolled up her sleeves.
"Come on. We better hop to it, before these goons realize we're here and turn us into singing jail birds."
"It was you! You did this to me! You, Arthur Pendragon!" Morgana was beginning to lose some of that composure she was so proud of. Merlin still hung in the great hall while the others were chained to the wall, but he hadn't done much more to give her the satisfaction that she'd broken him. While she continued to shout abuse at Arthur, Merlin had focused on the chain that had him tied up. He realized as he tested its abilities, that if Morgana was hoping to siphon his powers, then very likely, she wasn't aware of his true capabilities.
It had been told him again and again, he didn't use magic, he was magic, and if Morgana hoped to take it from him, all crowns in the world wouldn't be enough to contain it. But if he had understood the workings of Magic correctly, he could hope to send enough power into her system, like a shock and disorient her long enough to get out of here. How would he get out? Well, that was a problem he'd solve when he reached it.
Merlin closed his eyes and focused on pouring his magic into the chain, chanting his own name, his identity over and over again, like a lifeline. My name is Elladora of Carhaix. My name is Elladora of ….No that's not right. That's not who I am. My name is Merlin. Son of Hunith and Balinor. My name is Merlin. Son of Hunith and Balinor....
"Where's the Morgana I knew? The one who was compassionate? Kind? Empathetic?" Arthur urged, looking at his half sister in bewilderment, not recognizing the dark face of the one who stood before, overcome with evil and too far gone to turn back. She, almost back to the throne, turned furiously at the words. Her eyes wild and honestly, a little frightening in Merlin's perspective.
"The Morgana you knew is dead! She died the day she realized that even her own father would see her burnt at the stake than accept magic back into the Kingdom! She died the day she realized that her own brother would happily watch her die a criminal's death!"
Arthur recoiled at the accusations, but didn't let it stop him.
"That's not true! I never would have -" Morgana was suddenly inches from his face, making him back up against the wall he was chained to.
"No?" She was suddenly smug and judgemental, like she had found a tender point in him. "Really? I mean, your faithfulness is rather scattered at best, brother. Even those who work for you don't want to risk their necks for you. I mean I don't even see clumsy little Merlin." At the widening of Arthur's eyes, she knew where to dig in.
"Oh poor Merlin. The foolish sod with Magic that insisted you were the one who would solve everything. Time after time," she said, now walking leisurely around the room, circling Merlin's hanging figure. "He would beg me, saying 'Arthur's different, Arthur's not Uther, just give him a chance! He won't kill you, you're his sister!'" She laughed, a high tinkling sound that was delighted.
"Wasn't he just the funniest creature, Arthur? So sure that you would be the one to change him, and look where that got him. A sword to the back and the promise to cut him down where he stood. I should have known, that boy was always there at the last minute. Tripping over something or bumping into something," She clenched her fingers in mild annoyance. "He managed to ruin my plans every single time. I should have seen it, he was too lucky not to have magic."
She stopped her circling in front of Merlin, hands on her hips, and a self satisfied look on her face, even in the face of Arthur's snarl. Merlin caught sight out of the corner of his eye of movement in the servants doorway behind the throne. He blinked, looked again, gobsmacked to see Lianora's pale face squinting at him from the door. Seconds later, he saw Godric, Rowena, Helga and Salazar. Before he could wonder what they were doing, he realized that it was now, this was his only shot at freedom.
"Still, he was endlessly loyal and look at how you repaid him," Morgana continued, relishing the look of broken guilt on Arthur's face and the reflections of it playing out in the Knight's as well. "And for all his posturing, I guess Merlin's seen the light as well, seen you for who you really are, King Arthur." Morgana's face was the picture of fake sympathy and all too real ridicule. "Here you are, trussed up like a holiday pheasant and where's Merlin?" She gestured around her, the large hall empty, save for themselves. Merlin took a deep breath, knowing he needed more power, and he only had very little of it left.
"Where's honest, faithful little Merlin?" Merlin's eyes shot open as the chain crackled with magic. In front of Morgana's surprised eyes, he dropped the glamour, gritted his teeth against the pain in his hands and grabbed the chain, swinging forward with his feet outstretched and hitting her in the stomach.
"Right here, you manipulative witch!" Merlin grunted as he made contact.
His kick had sent her flying back into the chains. She screamed as the magic coursed through her body, eyes rolling back into her head as she fell unconscious, while the others looked at him shock. At the exact same time, taking advantage of the chaos, Godric, Rowena, Salazar and Helga burst through the door, pointing their wands at them.
"Reducto!" Arthur's manacles exploded into dust as did those of the others. Morgana's collision with the chain had significantly loosened it, allowing the chain to unravel just enough to lower him to the floor.
"Merlin!" Gwaine and Arthur were the first to reach him. Merlin was breathless, as he turned to them. He barely got out a word however, before Gwaine grabbed him by the collar, and crushed his mouth against his own. Just as abruptly he pulled back, pink in the face and looking terrified at his own actions.
"Sorry! Sorry! I just -" Merlin just gave him a weak smile, still feeling the pain in his arms.
"It's fine, Gwaine. It's all just – It's fine."
"What are you dilly dallying for?! This isn't high tea, move it!" Lianaora yelled from her position at the door. A guard came barreling through but collided face first with Lianora's fist, dropping him promptly into unconsciousness. She gestured towards them again, shoving the four children back through the door.
"Come on!" Merlin held up a finger to signal her to wait.
"Just give me a second." He shakily lifted a foot up and stomped down as hard as he could. The ground underneath him rippled, moving like a way and tearing the stones off of the floor. It effectively dislodged the stone that held his chain in place. He wasn't out of his manacles but at least now he could move with it. On the floor near the overturned circlet, Morgana's still form moaned, as she pushed herself up, her eyes regaining their alertness.
He yanked as hard as he could, but the stone only moved a little, he was too tired to move. The torture had taken out quite a bit from his endurance and with that last stunt, he'd managed to deplete what little magic he'd had left. Ever helpful, Percival grabbed stone and lifted it like it weighed nothing, Gwaine and Lancelot ducked under Merlin and supported him from either side, following Lianora out of the room, just as Morgana righted herself.
"Stop!" She screamed, attempting to move forward and then groaning in pain when she did. Realizing she couldn't use her own strength to catch them, Morgana narrowed her eyes, and let loose a series of hissing noises, sleek, breathy and smooth.
They ran out of the room only to be met with a plethora of soldiers and behind it in a great coil was the beast they'd been looking for the entire time they were in Camelot.
"Don't look at it! That's the basilisk!" Merlin yelled as they grouped together, back to back.
Lianora tossed the Knights the rest of the swords she'd lifted from the Armory and handed a thin sword to Gwenivere. They all assumed positions with Merlin still cuffed between them, ready to fight as the men approached and the snake approached with greater speed still.They were cornered and hard pressed to find a way out. Salazar looked around in a panic to find something, anything to get them out. His gaze landed on a serpent coiled around a candelabra on a statue of a woman most likely a previous Queen, a silvery green color. It wound tighter around it as he watched.
Thissssssss wayyyhhhhhhhh.
Salazar nearly dropped his wand in shock. He glanced at Godric and Helga beside him. Neither of them seemed to have heard anything. It cocked its head and flicked it tongue out again.
Thissssssssss wayyyyhhhhhhh, Master Salazarrrrrhhh.
Salazar suddenly understood what it was trying to tell. He grabbed the candelabra and pulled just as the giant serpent, came upon them. The statue swung inwards into the wall to reveal a sloping tunnel. Merlin saw the tunnel and shoved them towards it, hands bound.
"Go! Go!"
Gwenivere fell in first, shrieking as she slid down, followed by Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, and Lianora. Arthur stood gaping at the scene around him, and kept doing so until Merlin grabbed him by the back of his collar and bodily threw him down it, pushing Helga, Rowena and Gwaine after him. He turned to find Godric standing immobile, shaking as the basilisk bore down, holding his sword out in front of him defensively.
"Godric!" Merlin screamed, running towards him, terrified he wasn't going to make it in time. Godric could hear Mistress screaming his name. Well, now it was Merlin he supposed. Except now, he was too scared to move. His feet felt frozen to the ground, while he clenched his eyes shut, praying earnestly.
Please let me be brave. Please let me be brave. Please let me be brave. Please let me be brave.
When he could hear it almost directly above him, Godric let out a whoosh of air and strengthened his grip on the sword. He braced his feet and thrust as hard as he could, and dragged the blade to the side, feeling the blade pierce the basilisk's hide and the tear of the skin as he pulled on the sword. Godric heard pained shrieking and a rush of air. He hazarded a peek, opening his eyes to see the snake tossing its head, blood pouring from the wound and raining down, moments from hitting him.
At the last second, Merlin grabbed Godric by his leather sword belt and yanked his backwards, tucking the boy under his arms, through his bound wrists and plunging through the tunnel that Salazar had opened. The warlock could hear the rush of blood behind them, sliding down the path like a river even as the doorway closed.
As the tunnel leveled out, Godric rolled out from Merlin's gasp, breathing hard, eyes wide in fright. They had fallen into a deep cavern below the castle, which Merlin recognized as connected to the place under the castle that had once held Kilgrraah captive. It was dimly lit by a fire or light somewhere deep in its bowels, though Merlin had yet to discover its source. Merlin was still collapsed on the ground as the clear, silvery blood came down in a surge. Godric grabbed Merlin by his raw wrists, repeatedly muttering apologies as Merlin cried out in pain, dragging him out of harms way.
Arthur was staring at Godric in astonishment as the boy slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
"You killed it ! You managed to kill a basilisk!" For a moment there was a stretch of silence between them. Then unwillingly, they began to laugh, a hysterical sound, a sound made in the exhilaration making it out of such a hopeless situation alive. For the time being at least.
Their relief was short lived however as they heard a low but deep rumbling that ended with a hiss. Lianora and Arthur peeked over the top of the boulder they were all huddled behind but saw nothing. Percival and Elyan tugged on Arthur's tunic, while Helga and Salazar tugged frantically on Lianora's nightshift.
"Oh for heaven – what? I'm trying to see where that noise is coming from!" Lianora grumbled as she looked down at the two.
"I don't think you have to." Gwenivere whispered, pointing beside the rock. Lianora gasped, nearly falling and managing to avoid making a sound only by Percival's quick thinking in covering her mouth.
Arthur was pressed close to Merlin's side against the rock, his voice coming out as barely more than a croak.
"There are two of them."
Two basilisks, Merlin thought, gazing at the sleeping creature.
And they were right in front of it.