Chapter 9
Merlin quickly and subtly pushed the shield out as far as he could and moved within range of the knights. He'd already melted much of this area of corridor on the way out but, in a moment, the group would be moving into a different area of the castle in order to exit the palace onto the main square, and that would required them all to be shielded.
"Merlin? Why are you holding that …" Arthur did a double take as he saw the mask properly. "What is that?"
"Sorry … forgot I had it." Gwaine looked at him with a grin and Merlin raised his eyebrows. "Prat," he mouthed when Arthur had turned back around and Gwaine struggled not to laugh.
"We're going to have to get the portcullis up quickly," said Arthur as they moved quickly towards the enemy. Most of the soldiers had been milling around, trying to work out why the gate was secure when they'd been told that they would just be able to walk in, and were obviously trying to decide what to do next.
"Merlin and I will do that," said Gwaine and he moved forwards quickly, whilst Merlin followed, constantly checking that his shield was still covering the whole group. "Quickly, the prat said," the knight reminded to his friend with a grin and Merlin smiled back, using a little subtle magic to move it up even faster than normal.
There was sudden panic outside as the group of enemy soldiers, all plainly dressed, decided whether or not to face the unexpected battle or flee. Surprised at the speed in which the group from Camelot attacked them, few had much choice and the battle moved quickly outside of the castle. Luckily, this meant that Merlin didn't have to worry about the shield any more and could instead keep an eye out for his friends and subtly help out if required; a few stray objects moved into the paths of the enemy to trip them up, a little heating of a sword or a push on a soldier to knock him off balance. Merlin didn't have to do much to help the famed knights of Camelot, but he was annoyed to notice that a few of the enemy had managed to run away and there was nothing he could do to stop them.
They would now be reporting back and informing their masters (or mistress, Merlin thought wryly,) that the spell had not fully worked and that Camelot was defended. Merlin now knew that it was highly likely that Morgana was involved but he did not truly believe it was all her own idea or her magic. No, that diamond was easily a match for him and she certainly wasn't.
"They'll be back," said Arthur echoing his own fears. "Probably with a bigger army." He wasn't even out of breath, Merlin noticed.
"Assuming they have the resources," said Leon wiping his brow. "If they were cowardly enough to attempt to overcome us by using magic so they could sneak in, they may think twice about fighting us if we're all awake."
"All," Arthur echoed. "Yes … " His attention turned back to his servant and Merlin braced himself. "You said that you believe the enchantment to be broken. Does that mean everyone else will wake up now?"
"I-I'm not sure." Merlin had also been wondering about that. As he'd said to Gwen when he'd first put the shield up around Gaius' chambers, it would take a long time for one person to defrost unless the enchantment was truly undone and … he wasn't convinced about that at all; the pill box in his pocket was starting to feel very cold again.
"We need to wake up the king," said Arthur firmly.
"Are you sure, Sire?" Merlin asked nervously. The prince glared at him and the other knights looked uncomfortable. The young warlock would much rather Uther stayed out of this.
"Perhaps we should check on a few more of the knights first," said Lancelot tactfully. "If they do send a bigger army back, it would help if we had a few more men."
"Maybe just a couple more, yes," said Gwaine with a confident grin.
"Fine," said Arthur, the smallest smile threatening to appear after Gwaine's comment. "So, let's go back in and try to wake them."
"Gwaine," Merlin hissed, handing him the mask. "Take this with you and try to stay close together."
"You really should come with us," he replied.
"I know but … there is so much more I need to do and I can't do it tied to Arthur and his demands. " Merlin pulled a face. "I will start by defrosting as much of the castle as I can, wake a few more knights and, most importantly, try to figure a way to get rid of this diamond once and for all. See if you can persuade Arthur to return to the conference area; get into a little debate … keep him distracted whilst I defrost your route to the knights' quarters?"
"Alright, but I do hope you know what you're doing. I was just starting to get used to being a knight, I'd hate to have Arthur take it away from me before I'd had a chance to fully appreciate the honour."
Merlin grinned at him once more and then walked briskly towards the knights' quarters taking an unusual route, quickly and wildly chanting his defrosting spell in every direction he could think of. When he'd reached their wing he quickly warmed up the general area as much as possible before darting into a couple of rooms to see what affect this magic was having. He was very nervous about still having hold of the diamond, and his mind was racing as he tried to think of a way to destroy it. That would require going back to his book or perhaps …?
Too many things to do – far too little time – only one skinny warlock, he thought to himself.
The knights he encountered were still frozen which he assumed meant that the spell was not actually broken, just held at bay. So, very quickly, Merlin started to move back towards the conference area, defrosting as he went, so that Arthur and the others could come this way to check on the knights themselves. His nerves increased as he got closer to the edge of the conference shield, wondering what he would say if he encountered the prince right now. He fervently hoping that Gwaine was managing to keeping him busy and, in that way, Arthur would continue to assume that the enchantment was being broken all on it's own.
Luckily, there was no sign of the Round Table knights as he reached the edge of the shielded area so, he quickly doubled back on himself and ran into each of the individual bedchambers in turn. He warmed each man up to a point where they were just a little too cold to wake up immediately, before quickly exiting and pushing a little extra warmth into their chambers as he left. Hopefully, by the time Arthur arrived, each would be waking up by themselves. For good measure, he enchanted a small chest in one of the central rooms of the block and created another fixed shield, pushing this one out far enough to cover the whole of the area and ensure that it didn't refreeze once he had left. Finally, he sneaked back to the door of the first knight he had warmed up and was relieved to note that the man was starting to stir. Quickly and quietly he moved away from that particular part of the palace feeling pretty pleased with himself.
What was really worrying him though was the thought of what would happen if he missed someone and they slowly defrosted by themselves. That spider would have probably been fine if the room itself hadn't been icy cold, but he was still nervous about anyone coming around from this strange sleep without his assistance. That meant that there was now only one course of action left open for him. He had to break the spell properly. He had to find a way to destroy the Ice Diamond.
~o~0~o~
Merlin went back to Gaius' chambers and from there into his own room to have another look at his book. Those few spells of destruction he could find did not seem to be powerful enough, nor specific enough for such an evil little enchantment and, not confident about trying to talk to Gaius with Arthur hovering nearby, the young warlock knew there was now only one course of action open to him. One that would, conveniently, take the diamond completely out of the castle itself.
For the third time that day, Merlin rushed out of the passageway that ran under Camelot's walls and cast the spell that would release the locks that held the gates firm against most ordinary intruders. He suddenly paused, realising that at least one of those potential intruders knew about this entrance and was most certainly not 'ordinary' - Morgana. Compared to the large gatehouse, putting a protection spell on this little gate was simple and would be easy enough for him to undo on the return journey. That job accomplished, he ran to the large field outside of Camelot and called the ancient words that would summon the great dragon to his service.
Kilgharrah arrived surprisingly quickly and landed accurately in his usual position facing Merlin and the young man looked up … and up ... to face his ally.
"You know about the enchantment on Camelot?" Merlin said without introduction.
"Certainly, young warlock. An ancient evil like that is not easily ignored."
"Ancient, yes that's what Gwen said. You've heard of this Ice Diamond then?"
"Indeed. I am curious as to how you survived it's magic, Merlin."
"So am I actually. I appear to have put up a shield in my sleep." The dragon tipped his head curiously.
"Most intriguing. Is the young Pendragon safe?"
"Yes, and awake now. I've defrosted quite a few people and found the Ice Diamond but I don't know how to destroy it."
"You cannot. Not on your own." Kilgharrah looked at him more carefully. "You have it on you now? Is that wise?"
"Where else would it be safe?" Merlin took the pill box out of his pocket and showed it to the dragon, he was slightly surprised to note that the giant creature pulled back a little as he held it up.
"It's shielded," he continued, amused at his reaction. "It's safe enough for now."
"You should not be so confident of your magic, Merlin, especially when you do not fully understand how you have managed to hold it at bay for so long. To most sorcerers this magic would be impossible to undo; not even Nimeuh or Sigan would have been able to break such an enchantment.
"I can't be more powerful than them, can I?"
"Not yet, but it is not your power that gives you the strength to defeat it."
"Fewer riddles and more facts please, Kilgharrah," Merlin replied in an irritated tone. The dragon paused again and tipped his head, initially seeming surprised and then amused.
"I do believe that is the first time you have ever used my name."
"You don't mind? I only know it because my father told me."
"I do not mind that you use it, Merlin but, a dragon's name holds great power and so I would request that you do not pass it on."
"I have not even made your continued existence known to my friends, I would hardly go around telling them your name. Now, this diamond, how are we to destroy it?"
"As I said before, first you need to understand it. Understand how and why it was created and how it was reduced to this smaller less powerful version that you see before you."
"It was bigger than this? How big?
"The size of your fist."
"Are there any other pieces?"
"No, this is all that is left but … that is more than enough to turn the whole of Albion to ice."
"So …?"
"I could tell you the tale if you wish it, young warlock? The tale of The Great Ice Diamond and the sorcerer who created it?"
"Ah," Merlin bit his lip and looked back over his shoulder at the turrets of Camelot. "I'm sure it's a very interesting story, Kilgharrah but, I'm not certain I can afford to waste time hearing it."
The dragon lowered his head and looked at him in that questioning way he often had. As if Merlin was an interesting puzzle that he hadn't quite worked out and somehow found amusing.
"What you should really be asking yourself, young warlock, is can you afford to waste your time by not hearing it?"
~o~0~o~
A/N The usual thanks for your lovely reviews. I'm glad your enjoying 'powerful' and 'assertive' Merlin. There's more of that to come.
Please R&R and speculate. Jan '11
E/N I'm really enjoying reading this again ;) And, I admit that I've always loved writing Kilgharrah! May '12