"Who I am does not matter, but who you are is the key to our plan to take back the kingdom!" A crazed look appeared in Asher's eyes.

"No! What are you? Your eyes, they changed," Merlin groaned.

Suddenly, as the royal family came around the corner of a tent, Asher morphed into a falcon, and the vice-like grip vanished. Merlin fell to the ground in relief and confusion as he caught his breath.

"Merlin!" Arthur hoisted Merlin up by an arm as he asked, "What happened to you now?"

Merlin took a couple steps away from the king to get his bearings again and replied weakly, "I am not sure, but I am going to find out. I think this all has something to do with the sick children in Camelot. Someone is trying to draw me out of the city, they have so far succeeded. But I will get to the bottom of this—" He saw the resolve in Arthur's expression and added, "alone. I will not let you risk your own life for this. This does not concern you."

"You think you can tell me what to do? As your king I find that to be a joke." Arthur retorted. "Of course, I am coming with you!"

Merlin straightened and with a determined look told him, "No. You have your family to look after now." He looked toward the worried faces of Guinevere and Gareth. "This is my fight. You stay where you are needed. As king it is with your kingdom. As a husband and father, it is with your wife and son." Merlin walked past the royal family and over to his horse who was tied at a post. He stroked Evelyn's muzzle and continued, "The voices that hissed at me in midst of the fog had called me Emrys. This is to do with the Old Religion, an area of expertise for me and one that you are seriously lacking in. Despite what I may have taught you throughout these years, nothing can prepare you for a real threat. Without me you are left defenseless, but with this foreboding threat, I am unsure of anyone's safety for very long."

Arthur surveyed his Court Sorcerer, he knew that Merlin spoke the truth, but didn't want to let him out of his sight. "Suppose I agree," he hedged, "how much are you willing to bet that you will come out of this alive and unharmed?"

"Alive? No problem." Merlin smirked as he carefully walked around his mare checking for any injuries from her fall. "Unharmed may be a challenge. This Ruber may be something I have never faced before. He was excited to meet me, taste my Magic, which doesn't bode well for me. The sickness is connected. The spirit that fled came from a little girl who was suffering deep in its throes." Merlin directed his attention towards the trees to test the energy of his Magic. He didn't quite trust that this Asher left him or his Magic unscathed and certainly didn't wanted to hurt his horse. His eyes glowed as he stretched his Magic out to the tree line and beyond, combing through the woods for any type of being. Surprisingly, the rivulets of his Magic branched out further into elongated limbs trailing after presences that were in the woods and many signatures that had left for a time. His Sight was strangely improved after the encounter with Asher. Satisfied on his findings of his ability, he withdrew from his enhanced observation to inspect his mount further.

"Are Camelot's children safe?" Guinevere spoke up, her hands on her son's shoulders. Her concern was wrought for both the kingdom's children and her own son.

"Yes and no. I believe that whilst I stay on the spirit's marked trail, the rest of the kingdom should be safe, but if I tarry away from it, it may overwhelm the kingdom tenfold. The energy from the spirit was immense even for me. Like I said, it did get a taste of my Magic. It savored it and spat it out back at me stained with savagery in its wake." Merlin explain quietly as he slowly saddled his mare, averting his eyes away from his friends. He went to his tent and ducked under the front flap to pack his saddle bags appropriately.

"Ruber?" Arthur frowned and followed him into the cramped space. "You mentioned his name, where did you hear it?"

"Within the mist. He introduced himself as the Great Ruber and that he was surprised that I hadn't heard of him." Merlin withdrew from the tent, fastened his bags onto the saddle, and confessed, "I took that as arrogance. Why? What do you know about it?" He asked finally looking at his friend.

"He was a knight of my father's. Very loyal up until my mother's death. Magic was alluring to him, I think. He rebelled against my father's ruling of the prohibition of the Old Religion. Never saw him again up until now, it sounds like." Arthur grimaced. "He would be a formidable enemy now, but if he aligns himself with the Old Religion, why would he want you?"

"According to what he suggested to me, he wasn't too happy with a powerful warlock such as myself being submissive to the whims of a king. Much less the son of one who outlawed Magic." Merlin admitted.

Arthur didn't know what to say to that being that it was for the most part true, but that truth was missing a couple vital factors even so. Merlin didn't stay against his will. They were friends, brothers at heart. The twisted perspective of Ruber made Merlin sound weak, but he was actually quite brave to have decided to stay within the walls where so many of his Old Religious kin had suffered and died. "You are not submissive to me!" He nearly yelled. "The fact that we are having this conversation speaks against that! Nor are you weak, you are the strongest person I know."

Merlin only nodded. He knew where he stood. "It doesn't matter what he believes, I just need to figure out what he wants and possibly stop him if his intentions are evil." He grabbed Evelyn's bridle and she quietly stood as he prepped her further for the oncoming journey. He untied the beast from the post, threw the reins over her neck, and deftly mounted. Merlin reined his mare around as he bade farewell to his friends. His eyes glowed as he focused on to the trail Ruber left behind.