Transcript:The Mark of Nimueh



KILGHARRAH

''In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. His name: Merlin.''

--

[00:12, NIMUEH'S CAVE]

Merlin: How's your father? Is he feeling better?

Gwen: Yeah, it's incredible. It's a miracle.

Merlin: His skin's clear, back to normal?

Gwen: Yes.

Merlin: Great!

Gwen: You don't seem surprised.

Merlin: No, no, I am. It's a miracle.

Gwen: But how did you know he was well?

Merlin: Er...because you're smiling.

Gwen: That's really weird because I haven't told anyone, but you know. How could you know?

Merlin: Yeah. Alright. You finally found out, I'll tell you. *swallows* I'm psychic.

Gwen: *giggle* No you're not.

Merlin: It's true.

Gwen: Alright, what am I thinking?

Merlin: That I'm not psychic.

Gwen: *giggle* You're strange. I, I don't mean that in a nasty way. You're just funny. I like that.

Merlin: Erm, er, I 'm pleased for you.

Gwen: Thank you.

Merlin: What for?

Gwen: Don't know, just for asking.

Merlin: I didn't like to see you upset. I have to...get on.

[T''he waves awkwardly. she waves back. Merlin leaves. Gwen smiles'']

Lower Town​
[18:41]

Arthur: The story is you were sick.

Tom: Not anymore.

Arthur: Perhaps you were suffering from some other ailment?

Tom: Oh, you're joking. I felt like death itself, not enough strength in me to stir the air.

Arthur: Then...what happened?

Tom: Oh, I don't know. Suddenly it was gone. I'm fitter than I was before.

Arthur: That's remarkable. Was anybody with you when all this happened?

Tom: Just my daughter, Gwen.

[''Arthur leaves and Tom goes back to work. Arthur and guards search Gwen and Tom's house. Guard finds glowing poultice'']

Morgana's Chambers
[20:01]

Arthur: Seize her.

Gwen: No.

Arthur: Guinevere, I'm arresting you for crimes and contraventions of the laws of Camelot, that you did practice enchantments.

[Morgana enters]

Morgana: Gwen?

Gwen: But what have I done? I haven't done anything! Help me, please!

Morgana: What are you doing?

Arthur: I found a magic poultice in her house.

Morgana: Oh, that's ridiculous.

Arthur: Then how else do you explain her father's recovery?

Morgana: Well, she's innocent! I know she's innocent.

Arthur: What can I do? I can't turn a blind eye!

[Arthur exits and Morgana scoffs]

[20:35, Arthur and guards drag Gwen down the Upper Corridor]

Gwen: No, please. You've got to listen to me! Please, I haven't done anything wrong! You have to listen to me, please! I am innocent, I swear! Let me go! I swear to you!

[Gwen turns her head and sees Merlin approaching her]

Gwen: Merlin! Merlin, please help me! [to guards] Why won't you listen to me?!

[Gaius takes Merlin's arm and escorts him out]

Gwen: Please listen to me!

Gaius' Chambers
[21:00]

Gaius: What've you done?!

Merlin: What?

Gaius: I warned you! Oh, I understand. You thought you were doing good.

Merlin: I couldn't let her father die knowing I could cure him.

Gaius: Didn't you think it might look a bit suspicious, the curing of one man?

Merlin: Well then, all I have to do is...I'll cure everyone! No one will ever have to know it was magic.

Gaius: It's too late! They think Gwen's a sorceress! They think she caused the disease!

Merlin: But she didn't!

[Merlin rushes to leave]

Gaius: Oh, and how are you going to prove that?!

[Merlin stops to think, then leaves]

Council Chamber
[21:37]

Gwen: Please listen to me I have done nothing, please! I swear I haven't done anything!

[Guards drop her on the floor]

Uther [to Arthur]: Well done.

Gwen: Why will no one believe me?! He got better, he just recovered. I didn't do anything!

[Morgana enters]

Morgana: I believe you. Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal. Have you thought of that? Perhaps he recovered naturally.

Uther: And what of this poultice that was found?

Gwen: What poultice? I don't know anything about a poultice!

Uther: It was found in your house. Undo this enchantment. Put an end to this contagion.

Gwen: I can't!

Uther: I will show you no mercy.

Gwen: I am not a witch. I don't know how to stop the illness!

Uther: If you will not undo your sorcery, you force my hand and I must find you guilty...

Gwen: But I told you, I...

Uther: It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgment. And under the circumstance I have no choice but to sentence you to death.

Gwen: No.

Uther: I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you.

Gwen: No! No! Uther: Take her away.

[Guards drag Gwen backwards out of the room]

Gwen: Please, no! I'm innocent! Please, please, no! Please help me! Please, I beg you! No!

[''courtiers leave. Morgana watches Gwen get dragged off, then turns to Uther'']

Morgana: I know Gwen, she's my maidservant, not an enchantress.

Uther: Have you ever seen an enchantress? Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye.

Morgana: I've seen the way the girl works. Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a sorceress, why would she do this? Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers? Like an idle king!

Uther: You have no right!

Morgana: You have no right to cast a judgment on that girl!

Uther: I have a responsibility to take care of this kingdom! I take no pleasure in this!

Morgana: But you're sentencing the wrong person!

Arthur: She's right, Father. You hear the word magic, you no longer listen.

Uther: You saw it for yourself. She used enchantments.

Arthur: Yes, maybe. But to save her dying father, that doesn't make her guilty of creating a plague. One's the act of, of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girl's heart.

Uther: I have witnessed what witchcraft can do. I have suffered at its hand. I cannot take that chance. If there is the slightest doubt about this girl, she must die or the whole kingdom may perish.

Arthur: I understand that.

Uther: One day you may become King. Then you will understand. Such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this kingdom.

Arthur: I know. Witchcraft is an evil, father. So is injustice. Yes, I am yet to be King, and I don't know what kind of king I will be, but I do have a sense of the kind of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime.

Uther: I fear you're right. She's played with fire, and sadly she must die by fire.

[''Morgana leaves. Arthur paces the Council Chamber'']

Gaius' chambers
[24:44]

Merlin: I thought I was doing good and that curing Gwen's father would help her. I thought I was saving a life. It seemed so simple.

Gaius: An easy solution is like a light in a storm, Merlin. Rush for it at your peril, for it may not always lead you to a safe harbour.

Merlin: I can see that now.

Gaius: How many times have I warned you about the responsibilities of being a warlock?

Merlin: I must see her.

Gwen's cell
Merlin: Gwen.

[''Gwen tries to get to the cell door, but her chains don't stretch that far. She's been crying'']

Gwen: Thank you.

Merlin: What for?

Gwen: For coming to see me.

Merlin: I'm sorry.

Gwen: It's not your fault.

Merlin: Well...

Gwen: It's alright. Don't worry about me. There's no point crying about it. I mean...I mean, I'm not saying that you were going to cry about me. Obviously I don't think that.

Merlin: Oh, Gwen. I can't have this happen.

Gwen: Please, one thing. You, you don't have to, but...

Merlin: What?

Gwen: Remember me.

Merlin: You're not going to die. I'm not going to let this happen.

[Merlin leaves, rushing up the Wrought Iron Stairway] --

Council Chamber
[26:37]

Uther: What if burning this witch doesn't stop the poison? How do I protect my people? My men have closed down the water pumps.

Gaius: But the emergency supply won't last for much longer. We have to find a way of cleansing the water of the disease.

Uther: But how?

Gaius: Well...

[doors open and Merlin bursts in]

Merlin: It was me! It was me who used magic to cure Gwen's father!

[council stares at him]

Merlin: Gwen is not the sorcerer. I am!

[Gaius stands up]

Gaius: Merlin! Are you mad?

Merlin: I cannot let her die for me. [to Uther] I place myself at your mercy.

Gaius: He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Merlin: I do.

Uther: Then arrest him.

Arthur: Father, please! I can't allow this! This is madness! There's no way Merlin is a sorcerer.

Uther: Did you not hear him?

Arthur: Yes.

Uther: He admitted it.

Arthur: He saved my life, remember.

Uther: Why should he fabricate such a story?

Arthur: As Gaius said, he's got a...grave mental disease.

Uther: Really?

Arthur: He's in love.

Merlin: What?

Arthur: With Gwen.

[Uther grins]

Merlin: I am not.

Arthur: Yes, you are.

Merlin: No way.

Arthur: I saw yesterday with that flower she'd given you.

Merlin: I'm not in love with her.

[Arthur puts his arm around Merlin]

Arthur: It's alright. You can admit it.

Merlin: I don't even think of her like that!

Uther: Perhaps she cast a spell on you.

[''Arthur looks at his father worriedly. Uther snickers. Other council members snicker, and Arthur smiles in relief'']

Arthur: Merlin is a wonder, but the wonder is that he's such an idiot. There's no way he's a sorcerer.

Uther: Don't waste my time again. Let him go.

Gaius' chambers
[28:21]

Merlin: Arthur's the idiot.

Gaius: No. He was right to do what he did. And, thankfully, he saved you from your own stupidity.

Merlin: What else could I do? It's my fault Gwen's going to die.

Gaius: Yes, but you don't prove her innocence by offering to jump into the flames. You do it by finding out what's causing the disease!

Merlin: Well, whatever it is, one thing's for sure: Arthur isn't going to find it. He thinks he is so sharp! But even when I told him I was a wizard, he still couldn't see it.

Gaius: Sometimes they're pretty hard to spot.

Merlin: Well, maybe I should go around wearing a pointy hat.

Gaius: I don't think you'll find one big enough. Anyway, forget that. If we're going to save Gwen, we have to find out what's contaminating the water. --

Water supply
[29:04]

Gaius: The water from here supplies the whole town. Take a sample.

[Merlin puts bottle in the water]

Gaius: Let's take it back and examine it.

[an Afanc rears up out of the water]

Merlin: What the hell was that?

[Gaius takes Merlin's arm and they leave] --

Gaius' chambers
[30:25]

Gaius: Here. It was an Afanc.

Merlin: An...a what?

Gaius: A beast born of clay, and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer. Now we have to find a way to defeat it. But where? [looks at shelves of books]

Merlin: That could take days. Gwen'll be dead by then.

Gaius: Have you got a better idea?

[''Merlin sees pyre being built in the Square on his way to the dungeons. sees Gwen lying on the cell floor'']

Merlin: Gwen? I'm going to get you out. I will.

[Merlin leaves] -

Dragon's Cave
[31:36]

Merlin: Hello?

Kilgharrah: Hello. (flies down) The great warlock returns, as I knew he would.

Merlin: I need to know how to defeat an Afanc.

Kilgharrah: Yes, I suppose you do.

Merlin: Will you help me?

Kilgharrah: Trust the elements that are at your command.

Merlin: Elements? But what is it I have to do?

Kilgharrah: You cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other.

Merlin: I, I don't understand. Just tell me what it is I have to do.

[Kilgharrah flies off]

Merlin: No! Please, help me!

Kilgharrah: I have. *lol*

Merlin: Oh, yeah, right. Thanks.

Council Chamber
[32:32]

Uther: Have you found anything more?

Arthur: I've tried. I can keep looking.

Uther: People are dying, we can't delay any longer. We must kill the witch. Bring her execution forward to tonight.

[Arthur bows his head and exits] --

Gaius' chambers
[33:03]

Gaius: Merlin, what are you doing?

Merlin: Looking for a book.

Gaius: You going to tell me which one?

Merlin: A book on elements.

Gaius: Elements?

Merlin: Yes. Which one would I find them in?

Gaius: Well, most of them. The study of base elements is at the very heart of the scientific process.

Merlin: But how would they help me kill the Afanc?

Gaius: Well, the Afanc is a creature made from earth and water. That's two of the four base elements.

Merlin: What about the other two?

Gaius: Well, perhaps they will destroy it. You want fire. Wind and fire. How did you find this out?

Merlin: Erm...I just knew, you know? One of my powers.

Gaius: What else do your powers tell you?

Merlin: That I am only one side of a coin. The brighter side, obviously.

Gaius: And who's the other side?

Merlin: I think that might be Arthur.

Morgana: They're bringing forward the execution. We have to prove Gwen's innocence.

Gaius: We're trying.

Morgana: Please, just tell me what I can do to help.

Merlin: We need Arthur.

Morgana: Arthur?

Merlin: There's a monster, an Afanc, in the water supply. That's what's causing the plague.

Morgana: Well, we must tell Uther.

Gaius: The Afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it.

Morgana: So what are we to do?

Merlin: We need to destroy it. Then the plague will stop and Uther may see sense.

Morgana: And that's why you need Arthur.

Merlin: He's our best chance. But he won't want to disobey the King.

Morgana: Leave that to me.

[''Morgana exits. Gaius gives Merlin the keys to the water supply tunnels''] --

Arthur's Chambers
[34:34]

Arthur: You alright? Sorry about all this [indicated the mess on the table]. Merlin's not been in today.

Morgana: Poor Merlin.

Arthur: Yeah.

Morgana: To offer to give up his life to save Gwen's. I certainly can't imagine any man loving me so much.

Arthur: No, I certainly can't imagine that either.

[Morgana smirks]

Morgana: That's because you're not like Merlin. He's a lover.

Arthur: Yeah, maybe that's because I haven't found the right person to love.

Morgana: Sadly the age of gallantry seems to be dead. You look around and all you see are small men, not big enough to fill their armour. There's not one of them that' s able to stand up for what is right.

[Arthur smirks at Morgana's obvious manipulative insult]

Arthur: What do you want me to do?

Water supply
[35:15]

Arthur: You'd better be right about this, Merlin.

[''they hear low growl. Morgana gasps'']

Arthur: You should stay here.

Morgana: I'm coming with you.

Arthur: No.

Morgana: Scared I'll show you up?

Arthur: Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you.

Morgana: Well good thing he doesn't know about it then.

Arthur: I'm telling you, Morgana, turn back. You could get hurt.

Morgana: You could too...if you don't get out of my way.

[Merlin's amused. Arthur rolls his eyes]

Morgana: How are we going to find it?

Merlin: I just hope we do before it finds us.

[Arthur spins around]

Arthur: Stop.

Merlin: What?

Arthur: It's just a shadow.

[''they keep moving. the Afanc creeps out of shadows behind them. they reach the water source'']

Arthur: Spread out.

[''they split up. Arthur hears growl and Afanc swipes at him from behind, then disappears. Morgana rushes to him'']

Morgana: What is it? Are you alright?

Arthur: Yeah.

Merlin: Did you see it?

Arthur: Yes.

Merlin: What did it look like?

Arthur: It, it's quick.

[''the Afanc come up in front of Morgana *scream*. Arthur goes for it, but it disappears again'']

Arthur: Where is it?

Merlin: I think it's gone this way!

[''they walk. the Afanc creeps slowly out around corner into full view. Arthur swings at it and loses his sword. it also swipes away Morgana's torch. Arthur circles it with torch'']

Merlin: Arthur, use the torch!

[Arthur swings the torch]

Merlin: Lyfte ic þe in balwen ac forhienan.

[Merlin's spell blows flames into the Afanc, incinerating it] --

[39:30 Nimueh watches in her stone basin]

Nimueh: Merlin. Mah!

[she splashes the water in anger] -

Council Chamber
- [39:36]

Uther: It's very good.

Gaius: Good news, Sire. There are no new deaths, and those that are sick are recovering.

Uther: Good. Strange, I've never heard of an Afanc before.

Gaius: It's conjured from clay by powerful magic. The type that can only be invoked by an ancient sorcerer. One that has the power to mirror the spirit of life. I found this at the water source.

[shows him a cracked egg shell]

Gaius: It bears the mark of Nimueh. We must be vigilant, Sire.

Uther: Will I never be rid of her?

Gaius: Sire.

Uther: Leave me!

[''everyone exits. Uther sits on the throne and mopes''] -

Gwen's cell
- [40:38]

Gwen: Dad! [they hug]

Tom: Oh, my little child!

[Gwen reaches to grasp Morgana's hand]

Gwen: Thank you!

Morgana: Don't thank me. It was more Merlin.

Gwen: Really?

Morgana: He's the real hero here.

Gwen: I don't know what to say.

Merlin: *shrugs* I didn't do anything.

Tom: I'm- I'm grateful to you all. Come on, Gwen.

[Tom and Gwen leave]

Morgana: Merlin. I wanted you to know, your secret's safe with me.

Merlin: My secret?

Morgana: Merlin, don't pretend. I know what you did.

Merlin: You do?

Morgana: I saw it with my own eyes.

Merlin: You did?

Morgana: I understand why you don't anyone to know.

Merlin: Well, obviously.

Morgana: But I won't tell anyone. You don't mind me talking to you about it?

Merlin: Er...no. I, I, it's, er...you have no idea how hard it is to keep this hidden.

Morgana: Well, you can continue to deny it, but I think Gwen's a very lucky woman.

Merlin: Gwen?

[Morgana puts her finger to her lips]

Morgana: It's our secret.

[Morgana smiles as she leaves]

Merlin: *sigh* --

Gaius' Chambers
[41:46]

Merlin: This fish didn't come from the water, did it?

Gaius: Well, where else is it going to come from? The water's fine now. That's not your worry. This is the work of a very powerful sorcerer. I only hope you didn't come to her attention.

Merlin: Doubt it. Well no one else seems to appreciate my skills. I just want someone to see me for who I am.

Gaius: One day, Merlin. One day.

Merlin: One day what?

Gaius: One day people won't believe what an idiot you were.

Merlin: Thanks.

[''they toast. Nimueh watches them from her stone basin'']

Nimueh: Merlin, you will pay for this.