First, welcome back! Sorry it's taken a while to update, but It's been hectic.
Okay, first, in response to a couple of queries, When I have Merlin casting spells, they are actually in roughly translated Gaelic, but if you want the general translation, just let me know.
Second, Yes, I am going to have Merlin speaking in the dragon tongue, and I will use a rough welsh translation for that. I will put the translations as a footnote each chapter.
Third, Yes, Merlin will find romance, and no, I will not tell you who, though many of you may have guessed…?
Oh, and fourth, yes, I love Merlin/BAMF too, and we will be seeing more….. *grins maniacally*
So, without further ado, Fanfic no.6
_

Arthur had been pacing for nearly half an hour, and Taren and Gwen alike were getting tired of it.
Gaius had found her, giving her a brief word on what Merlin had said, and she had immediately taken off towards the lower town. She couldn't care less about the looks that the members of the court had given her, as she had rushed past them, intent on reaching Arthur.
There, he had explained what had been going on, and three or four townspeople who had heard rushed off to spread the news. Within twenty minutes, most of Camelot had heard about what was going on, in that Camelot's Court Sorcerer had vanished, literally, for a rescue attempt, an army of magical creatures were preparing to march on Camelot, and half of their knightly population, not to mention the majority of their sorcerers, were preparing to ride out.
Now, Arthur was looking impatient, and though they could both understand his frustration, they knew nothing would come of it. Eventually, Gwen had had enough.
"Arthur… You need to calm down… We're as worried about Merlin as you are, but pacing around the room isn't helping. He will contact us when he can. Taren's already said that he is still alive…"
"But for all we know, he could be unconscious… captured… anything!" Arthur ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "I know he' powerful… But the force we are up against isn't to be taken lightly. He's only one man…"
"I know…" Gwen nodded, in response, "And sometimes I think we place too much pressure on him. He's under so much stress with negotiating with the druid clans, and not just those in Camelot at the moment… As well as his usual work and the paperwork he has to fill out now that he is a member of the Court…"
Arthur realised his wife was right, ad immediately felt guilty about piling the extra paperwork onto Merlin's already loaded schedule. Gwen spoke up again,
"And there is the fact that he has been filling all of his spare time with experiments and projects and putting wards around the key paces in Camelot…"
Arthur started slightly at that, "He didn't tell me…?" Then he realised that it was just the kind of thing Merlin would do.
"Well, Sire," Taren butt in, "He knew you were already busy, and didn't want you focusing on everything else. I've been helping him out, but the power that some of the wards and shields need is… well, frankly, it's incredible that he has managed to go for so long without sleep…"
"The idiot…" Arthur sighed, and sat down, now more worried than before, to wait for Merlin to contact them.
_

Merlin opened his eyes, gasping. He was slightly disorientated for a moment, before he realised he was staring at a canopy of trees. He quickly got to his feet, scanning the area for threats. When nothing immediate jumped out, he relaxed for a moment, getting his strength back. The jump had taken most of the energy in the crystal, as well as sapping all of the immediately available strength in his body. But there was enough in the crystal to ease his normal level of energy back into him, and he felt for his magic, to determine how much he could risk.
A huge grin split across his face as he realised that he wasn't inhibited in any way, though it unnerved him slightly to realise just how much power he was gaining.
After a few more moments, he reached out, feeling for the trace he had marked on Gwaine. He located it, but before he could act on it, a screech rent the air above him.
Looking up, he saw two wyverns circling, preparing to dive. He called out, mentally as to avoid drawing notice to himself, aiming his words at the two scaled creatures above him.
"Gadewch! Peidiwch â ymosod!"
After a few tense seconds, after Merlin had to struggle through something that seemed to be guarding the creature's minds, the two beasts flew away, leaving Merlin to sigh in relief. Apparently, the control the creatures were under couldn't overcome the will of a Dragonlord…
But he could focus on that later. He broke into a run, following the small signal coming from Gwaine.

A few minutes later, he came to the foot of a series of caves and knew it would take him hours to search them all. He cast out with his mind, focusing on Gwaine.
"Gwaine… Think your thoughts and I'll hear them… where are you?"
"Merlin…?"
Merlin cursed. Even in his mind, his voice was weak. What could have happened to him?
"Yes, Sir 'I'm drunk six days out of every seven'. Now where are you? It'll take me hours to find you unless you give me a hand here…"
"Yep… That's definitely you, you scrawny git… took your time in getting here… Holly's going to come down…"
"Okay…"
Merlin cut off the connection, disturbed by the obvious lack of energy in his friend. A few moments later, and Holly appeared halfway up the mesh of catacombs. Merlin waved to let her known he'd seen her, and clambered up, unwilling to waste any more of his energy jumping if he had to heal Gwaine.
Merlin was stood, on the edge, next to her within minutes, and followed her into the cave. As he came into the dimly lit cave, his eyes focused on the pale form of Gwaine and he gasped.
"What happened…?"
Merlin took in the huge gash that had rent open the knight's armour and left him with a huge wound across his chest, from his left shoulder to his right side. His skin was pale, and his breathing was laboured.
Percival answered, also nursing injuries, but not to such an extent. Now that Merlin properly looked, Owain, Holly and the other sorcerer, Aelfric, were also sporting injuries.
"We were just keeping watch. Staying within the forest line, but Holly sensed something. Seems that the patrols travel with wyverns. Holly and Aelfric managed to hold of the sorcerers, but couldn't keep an eye on the wyverns…"
Holly picked up the story,
"One of them dived at me, but Gwaine pushed me out of the way…The claws shredded the chainmail… We managed to hold them off until we could shelter in the caves, but he has just been getting worse…"

Merlin nodded, taking a deep breath.
"What have you used already…?"
"I tried a healing spell, but the damage was too extensive…" Aelfric said, voice grim, "Then we tried herbs, but we could only make a basic poultice… We couldn't risk going to the forest…"
Merlin nodded, shifting through all of the spells he knew, and settling on one, tweaking it in his head.
"Right then, let's see what I can do…"
He sat next to Gwaine, on his knees, and raised a hand to hover over the top of the wound, before speaking into his mind again.
"Gwaine… I'm going to try and heal you, but it's going to hurt… Don't try and fight it… You trust me..?"
"Of course I do… And it can't get much worse… can it…? Fix me up, magic man…"
Merlin allowed himself a small smile, before he took a deep breath and bean to chant.
"Ddirwyn i ben gwaedu a gwella, haint atal eich pen ac yn eu galw yn ôl… cymryd frys ... gwella ..." Merlin kept a constant stream of energy flowing into the man in front of him, as he repeated the chant. Once, twice, then, on the third repetition, the wounds on Gwaine's body began to knit themselves back together. His injuries healing themselves, but painfully.
Gwaine hissed in pain, letting out a groan, but not fighting against it. After a couple of minutes, the wound had healed over, leaving nothing but a nasty scar, and Gwaine opened his eyes, groaning.
"Could you… not have found… a less painful way to do that?"
"Possibly. But I was more focused on the keeping you alive beyond nightfall kinda thing… Now come on, you need to sleep…"
Gwaine shook his head, even as he felt himself yawning.
"What about the… creatures…" then he raised an eyebrow, "Hang on, how the heck did you get here so fast?"
Merlin shrugged,
"We got the message that you were in trouble, then Holly's mind cut off. Arthur's preparing the men, but they wouldn't have been here for at least three days. I wasn't waiting that long… So I grabbed a few things and jumped…"
"You jumped it?" Gwaine, Holly and Aelfric spoke in unison, shocked, whilst Percival's eyes widened and Owain shook his head, bemused.
"Yeah…" Merlin grinned as he realised why they were so surprised. "Oh, yeah. Long story short, I got a new toy…"
"New toy-?" Gwaine yawned again, effectively cutting off his speech and Merlin muttered under his breath.
"Codladh ..."
Gwaine barely got the chance to glare before he was snoring.

Merlin rocked back, and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the awed gazes of Holly and Aelfric, and heading to Owain, who's injuries were the most dangerous out of the remaining ones. Not as bad as Gwaine's but still bad. He held a hand over Owain's leg, muttering
"Só leigheas ..."
His eyes flashed gold, and the cut healed up, leaving only a faint scar. He did the same for his arm, but decided to focus on the more serious injuries before tackling the smear ones.
Aelfric was next, having a painful burn on his shoulder, along with three claw marks down his chest.
"Fuarú agus soothe" The sorcerer gave a small sigh of relief as the wound cooled, and the burn marks vanished to reveal his skin, unflawed. He was likewise relieved when the claw marks were dealt with, and he dull throbbing pain ceased to nothing.
Percival had an area of blackened skin on his shoulder, leaving Merlin to wonder as to the best course of action. After examining it, he realised that it was a magical infection, but not a very dangerous one.
"draíocht, yn dod i ben eich gwaith ..." The black immediately receded, and Merlin moved onto the gas, ignoring the growing looks of awe from the sorcerers and knights alike.
He had just finished healing Hollys slightly fractured wrist, when she spoke up.
"Merlin… How is it that you have the power to jump the distance of the entire kingdom and still have the energy to heal…? Its… impossible…"
Merlin didn't want to say that he himself had no idea, so gave her the only answer he could.
"I'm Emrys…" She looked unsatisfied at the reply, and Merlin shrugged, sighing. "That the best I can do for now…"

Now that the injuries were l dealt with, Merlin shared out the hunks of bread he had stashed in his bag, and settled down against the wall.
Percival spoke up.
"So, you said Arthur was preparing the men…?"
"Yes. We just need to hold out for three to four days. Then we are going to try and get rid of this threat before it marches on Camelot."
"How can we do that?" Owain asked, "Those creatures are some of the most dangerous in the Five Kingdoms…"
Merlin nodded, but gave a small grin.
"If we can find out what's controlling them, we can destroy it. The creatures will all instinctively scatter. As it is, I can barely get through to the wyvern, but I can just about control them."
"Well," the knight responded, "That gives us a slight advantage at least. There are wyverns regularly scanning the skies… Most of the other creatures seem to be penned up."
"Which will make for a greater stampede… If we can get that far."
"Of course we will," Percival butted in, grinning, "You've been in worse situations than this, Merlin…"
Merlin grinned, acknowledging the fact,
"Yeah, at least this time I can use magic openly. Last time I faced wyvern was on that quest to see the Fisher King… and don't get me started on Serkets. Not a good idea to be stung by one, Trust me. Now, wilddorean-"
"Merlin?" Owain butt in, smiling widely, "Whilst we all love to hear stories about how you defeated deadly creatures whilst keeping your magic a secret from the big bad king, hadn't you better send word to Arthur…? He will be wanting to hear you got here okay…"

Merlin froze, before cursing.
"Drochrath air… Taren will kill me…"
"Then you had better move it…"
Merlin nodded, getting to his feet.
"I need a source of water large enough to scry with… You found one here?"
Holly nodded, getting up.
"In a small alcove before you reach the main cave. I'll show you."
She e dim into a mall tunnel, and then to a tiny cave, a small spring bubbling in it.
Merlin grinned slightly at their 'good fortune' in finding it. Seems fate was playing games…
He thanked Holly, who head back to the other cave and waved a hand over the small pool, focusing on the imprint on the scrying bowl in Taren's home. A few seconds later, and the pool flickered, revealing an image of Arthur, slumping down in a chair, and calling someone an idiot. No doubt who…
"Oi! What have I done to be called Idiot, this time?"
Merlin couldn't help laughing as Arthur fell backwards out of his chair, and almost lost the connection as he tried to supress the mirth. Eventually, however, he managed it, just as Arthur got to his feet.
_

Arthur got to his feet, glaring at the image of Merlin's grinning face in the huge bowl. His glare turned to a smile as he realised that his friend was okay.
"God's Merlin. Don't ever do that again…"
"What Sire?" His face was a picture of innocence, or it would have been if not for the small upturned corner of his mouth.
"Stay out of contact for so long. You idiot… We were worried…"
Merlin's face split into a smile,
"I never knew you cared Sire… Gwen? Be sure to write this down in the calendar… momentous occasion…"
"Merlin…? Can we please be serious for a moment?"
Merlin nodded, his smile fading slightly as he recounted everything.
"… But Gwaine should be fine now, and I've put him to seep, so his body can fully adjust. None of the other injuries are showing any problems, so it's a safe bet that they're fine as well."
Taren spoke up, surprise obvious in her voice,
"You're saying that you managed to jump the length of the kingdom, and heal everyone, without falling unconscious or feeling even the slightest bit tired?"
Merlin grinned,
"Yup. I mean, I 'm slightly tired, but It's nothing major… And you sound a lot like Holly… Uncannily so, in fact."
"You should get some sleep anyway…"
Merlin smiled at her obvious concern, and nodded.
"I will. I'll set up some basic wards, that'll alert us if anyone comes within a certain distance of the cave, but we should be safe aside from that… If I can sleep with Gwaine's snoring, that is. How far are you with preparations?"
The question was directed at Arthur, who spoke up.
"Pretty much fully garrisoned and ready to go. Another hour and we can leave. Hopefully cross a fair distance before nightfall… It's strange. Normally takes longer to prepare, but as soon as everyone heard you were out there, everything was done within minutes. Courtesy of some of your friends…"
Merlin grinned,
"Told you magic has more uses than just blasting away the bad guys…"
"Apparently so. With the time taken from the packing and setting up camp, we can be there by mid-morning to noon in three days. You can hold out till then?"
"Shouldn't be a problem. Anything comes up, and I'll contact Taren, via the portable mirrors."
Arthur nodded, realising that Merlin's idea of enchanting several mirrors to take the place of the scrying bowls was a stroke of genius. Not that he would tell him that of course…
"You got it… I guess it was a… useful idea…"
"What…?" Merlin widened his eyes in mock outrage, "Useful? That's your way of telling me than you think it was one of my 'rare, but brilliant ideas'…"
"I have no idea what you are going on about Merlin."
"Of course you don't Sire. That's why you have people like me to think things through for you… You could never do it alone… your head would most likely implode…"
Merlin grinned as Arthur's hand twitched, no doubt a reflex action.
"Sire, I do hope you realise that throwing a goblet at me would be absolutely pointless…?"
"Merlin?!"
"Shut up?"
"Oh, for the love of God. Only you could be so irritating from the other side of the kingdom."
"I'll take that as a compliment Sire… After all, you do so rarely bestow them upon us little people…"
Merlin turned as he heard Aelfric calling, before facing the pool again.
"I'd better go see what's up…"
Arthur nodded,
"Yeah. Me and Taren are going to head out. Gwen wanted to come but…"
"Yes, I know…" Came Gwen's disgruntled, yet resigned voice, "Camelot needs someone here… You be careful Merlin."
"Of course milady…"
"Merlin…"
Merlin laughed, before stifling yawn, the day's activities having worn him out.
"I'd better go. If anything comes up, I'll cry the mirror. Otherwise, I will see you In three days…"
Taren and Arthur nodded,
"You got it."
"Stay safe…" Taren and Gwen said it in unison, and Merlin grinned his signature goofy smile.
"Don't I always…?"
With that, his hand swept in front of the image and it faded into nothing. Arthur got to his feet, much less tense now that he knew Merlin was okay, and they head out.

Arthur gave Gwen a quick, but passionate kiss, before mounting Turbolt. The horse was notorious for allowing no-body but Arthur, and possibly Merlin, to ride him. Almost as much as Merlin's own mare, Rádala, who, since she had first carried Merlin, would not carry anyone but him.
It had used to irritate Arthur that Merlin was able to command such loyalty from the animals, but that time had long since passed. He now found it almost amusing.
Hence everyone's utter shock when Rádala had let Taren seat herself on her back without so much as a whinny of protest. In explanation, Taren had simply said
"Merlin introduced me…." before riding out near to the front of the column.
Arthur followed almost immediately, and, without further delay, the column head out of Camelot, following South-western ridge from the city.

Merlin stifled another yawn, and head back to the main cave.
"The others should be arriving by noon in three days' time. You wanted me Aelfric?"
"Yes… Just to say that I managed to get Holly's mind link back up between us. I'm not sure about the range though…"
"Okay… But we can't risk testing it out until Arthur arrives… As long as it' strong enough to send basic messages…?"
"We can do that."
"Then we'll settle for that, for now."
Merlin yawned again, realising that this must be some kind of record. Normally, he either smothered them or was asleep before he had finished yawning the first time.
But his hasty stifling of it fooled no-one, and Percival yanked him down.
"Oi, you may be the 'all powerful magic man', but even you need sleep…"
Merlin nodded, not even bothering to argue, much to the group's surprise. But it also let them know that he actually really needed sleep, if he was acknowledging it to himself. He still insisted on setting several wards, however, that, although they would not be very effective in keeping out attackers for long, they would do enough to warn them if someone passed the boundaries he had set.
After that, and checking on Gwaine, Merlin slid down against the wall, making himself comfortable.
As he rolled up his jacket, and lay it under his head, telling the others to wake him at the slightest hint of trouble, he felt his body relaxing. Typical, he thought, as he nodded off, his first chance at a decent sleep in ages, and it was when he was facing one of the worst threats e ad ever encountered. It was with these thoughts that he eventually fell asleep.
The others remained awake, discussing how impossible their friend was, and how much he had done for them. This conversation carried them well into the night, when Aelfric insisted on taking first watch.
The sorcerer wrapped his cloak around himself, thinking through their conversation, through all of his own knowledge about the young, raven haired warlock asleep at the far side of the cave, and he shook his head. He truly was… Impossibly… Merlin.

_

Bit of a dull ending, and not much of a cliffie, but I was harsh enough with the ending of the last fanfic, so I felt like being nice. Next chapter will definitely be more exciting though… Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review and let me know what you think!
Translations of spells, incantations, etc. are below.

"Gadewch! Peidiwch â ymosod!" - "Leave! Do not attack!"
"Ddirwyn i ben gwaedu a gwella, haint atal eich pen ac yn eu galw yn ôl… cymryd frys ... gwella - " -Wound cease bleeding and heal, infection halt your passage and be recalled, take haste... heal...
(Not very eloquently worded, but sounds cool when said in welsh… yes, I'm cheating and not translating to Gaelic… Whoopsie…?)
Codladh ...-Sleep. (Okay, yes, it's Irish, but I wanted some variety in there…. :D )
Só leigheas ... – Heal (Again, Irish…)
Fuarú agus soothe – Cool and Soothe (Irish again…)
draíocht... yn dod i ben eich gwaith ... Magic, cease your work (magic in Gaelic, but the rest in welsh)
"Drochrath air…"-Damn it (Gaelic, and yes, I have used it before…)

Oh, and as for the names of the horses, I thought it was about time I stopped calling them 'rides' or 'steeds', And yeah, I wanted to give Merlin a horse that is ridiculously loyal to him. Just because…
So, Turbolt… Turbulance and bolt… kinda fit with the whole nature of Camelot…
And Rádala literally means 'runner' in Irish. I was going to do something more meaningful, but the names were too long and strange. Not that this is normal, but I just… had to.

Anyway, enough of the rambling.
Till next time