"Grooowwwlll."
"What's that?" asked Merlin.
"Grooowwwlll."
"It's the hounds," said Arthur, "you and Morgana run and get Gwen free. I'll hold them off."
The two ran to find Guinevere and Arthur turned toward the hound. As large as three hunting dogs combined and with red fur and black eyes, it was pounding in the direction of the second cage; its focus so much on its target that it was ignoring Arthur.
Arthur powered quickly into a sprint and leapt at the beast's muzzle, knocking it off its paws. He rolled quickly to his feet, drew his sword and rammed it into the hound's heart.
He took a deep breath and then tensed again.
Because bounding down the path was hound number two.
This one had seen him take down its partner and ran directly at him, lips parted to reveal its giant incisors. He grabbed his sword in both hands and faced the hound as it came toward him.
"Grooowwwlll," he heard from his right... and his left.
"Oh Gods," he muttered, "now there's three."
He judged the distance between them and then launched himself at the one in front of him. Its jaws scraped off his armour as he slashed its throat and face.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the hounds break away and take off toward the cage. He kicked the creature he was grappling with and broke his jaw. It whimpered and retreated and he ran after the one making its way toward Gwen.
He jumped and caught it tail; its giant head whipping around to view him. He regained his feet and jammed cold steel down its throat. He pulled his sword free and felt the thump as the final animal leapt onto his back. It raked down his back, mostly scratching his armour but also tearing at the back of his arms.
He lay on his stomach, the giant creature bounding over him; intent on its task once again. He crawled forward, found his knees, and then his feet and then he was sprinting again. He rounded a bend to see the hound nearly at the cage, where Merlin was just about to unlock the enchanted door with his potion.
He pulled his sword arm and threw the piece of metal at the beast, striking it in the stomach. It fell to the ground not 10 feet from where the others stood.
He walked slowly over to where the three were gathered, the wound in his arm starting to ooze and his legs threatening to give way from exhaustion.
Just in time to hear Gwen softly say, "I knew you'd work out how to save me," and throw her arms around Merlin.
"Oh," he said, "that's just not fair."