AN: Eep! The chapter was getting too long so…sorry / not sorry for the cliffhanger. Gaylelbf, good to "see" you here. Gingeraffealene, hang on to your hat. The dochraid is just as evil and nasty as you'd expect…or at least I hope I portrayed her that way! Also, I was starting to feel bad for the kobolds too, so I went back and added Merlin releasing them. I feel like he'd be sympathetic.So, anyway, enjoy! And I hope you laugh at the embarrassing situation I stuck Mina in.

CHAPTER 18: Underground

Whatever the eyeless creature was, it was powerful. I was pinned to the floor by nothing. I couldn't move, could do nothing except blink. And time was compressed or perhaps just my body was, because I didn't need to blink or pee or anything. I just had the feeling of being suspended or paused or something. In a way, it was kind of a blessing. The horde that had carried me here had barely stopped so I could go to the bathroom or take a drink, and I'd eaten nothing the entire time except a few bitter berries. Without this magic, I would be in misery, well on my way to starving to death or dying of dehydration.

The thing didn't speak to me, not really, but only muttered to herself. She wanted to know something, was trying to find my magic. I could have told her the magic didn't exist, if only I could talk. She shuffled around me, sniffing my skin, even crawling sometimes to set a long-fingered hand against me. It was horrifying, and I couldn't even cringe away. She carried an air of deep menace, or an evil that was deep and abiding. I felt like she was mostly dormant, somehow, like she didn't seek to spread her evil, she just was. It's difficult to explain, but I had plenty of time to think about it.

As I'd been dragged into her lair, I had been brought down a long underground passageway and had seen, to me horror, Leon, Elyan, and Percival stuck to the wall like flies in a spider web. The latter two had watched me go past with some horror, though their eyes were dull in a way I now understood to mean they, too, were under the spell that slowed everything. But Leon never lifted his head, and I feared that he was dead. The creature had paid no mind as her kobold slaves dropped dead from our journey, and I had a feeling that our lives meant no more to her than theirs.

The only thing that broke the monotony of muted terror was when Merlin's thoughts would brush up against my mind. I tried to reply, but I couldn't do that any more than I could dance the jig. If I could have, I would have told him to stay far away from the super freak I was hanging out with. Not that he'd listen, I thought miserably. Every guy in Camelot seems to have a hero complex.

Time trickled on, then the dochraid – no idea why I knew her name or title or species or whatever – became distracted. "They come!" she growled. "Then let them come all the way to me!"

Down the passageway that lead to us, the ceiling disappeared and the whole space filled with dust. I turned my eyeballs as far as I could. Had I seen someone fall?

"Arthur! Gwaine!" yelled a familiar voice, and my heart jumped with joy and then dropped like a stone. They shouldn't have come!

"We're here!" I could hear the king, but he sounded much farther down the hallway. "We're alright. Are you hurt?"

"Arthur! Elyan and Percival are h – " Merlin's voice cut off as the dochraid stood and pointed a long, gray finger at him.

"I can sense you. Who are you?" As her attention shifted, the pressure on my body eased up just a little, and I turned my head. Merlin was standing facing my captor, covered in dust. I couldn't see him well through the dust and the darkness, but could make out his silhouette. Despite his fall and the menace in the dochraid's voice, everything about his posture screamed defiance and strength rather than fear.

"Run, Merlin," I croaked. It felt like I'd never used my lungs before. "She has Leon and Elyan and Percival – "

"Quiet!" hissed the dochraid, and the pressure increased again. Bleeding balls, that hurt.

"You're safe now, Mina," said Merlin in a voice that was calm and imbued with an authority and confidence I hadn't heard from him before. To the dochraid, he said, "This ends now. No more forcing your will on helpless creatures. No more killing and kidnapping. No. More." He lifted a hand and suddenly my body was my own. Everything ached, but I was free. I crawled over behind him; I had no idea what he could do to that thing, but if he was confident in his own abilities, so was I.

"WHO ARE YOU?" shrieked the dochraid.

"Merlin! What's happening?" called Arthur. He was still too far away for me to see him, but I could hear shifting from farther down the way.

"Stay away, sire!" called Percival suddenly. "Don't get yourself trapped!"

"Sire?" The dochraid's attention was caught. She raised her voice higher. "Who is down there?"

"Don't do it. Don't say it, Arthur," Merlin pleaded under his breath.

But of course Arthur answered. "I'm Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot. Who are you and why have you taken my men and Lady Mina?"

Instead of answering, the dochraid laughed, and it was nails on a chalkboard. "The Pendragons would kill magic. But now you are in my grasp. Thig as an talamh!"

The ground rumbled and a figure erupted beyond us down the way. It came from the ground and seemed to be made of earth and mud and had to be 30 feet tall. It was vaguely human-shaped, with a separation for legs and arms that were long enough to brush the ground. Its "head" was just a lump on top of its body, with no features. Its muddy form shifted and slid around as it moved, but it didn't seem to lose any size. It began to swing massive arms at something I couldn't see, and I knew that Arthur and Gwaine were under attack. A single hit from their giant, unnatural opponent could be lethal.

I had only a second to process all of that, because the dochraid began to laugh again. "As for you," she cackled at Merlin, "I will consume you and consume your magic." The earth above us rumbled and the ceiling just past Merlin started to collapse. I scrambled on my hands and knees, ignoring how the sharp rocks cut me, barely getting out of the way in time.

"Merlin!" I croaked, but he was cut off from us but a huge pile of rocks. I wanted to call out mentally, but didn't want to risk distracting him. At a loss on how to help any of my friends, I sat down to rest and think; my body was truly exhausted. I realized that my hand was resting on something, and squinted to see it was a sword. I had crawled almost all the way to Percival and Elyan, and this must be one of their swords. At least I could do something with it.

I leveraged the sword carefully between the strands holding Percival and the wall and began to awkwardly saw at them. It took time, and it was extremely difficult to ignore the sounds of the fight between mud monster and my other friends, but finally I had one of his arms free. "Thank you," he said in his gravelly voice. "Let me do the rest." I handed him the sword, and he began to cut faster than I had, despite the angle he had to use. I began to search for a second sword, hoping Elyan too had dropped one nearby, but I couldn't find anything.

"I have a dagger strapped to my leg," offered Elyan. "You could...try to get it."

"Okay." I slid my arm into the semi-cocoon he was in, flattening myself against the wall and his arm to do so. The strands were sticky and I couldn't see what I was doing at all, making it a slow, uncomfortable process. I suddenly jumped, realizing that my aim had been off.

Elyan cleared his throat. "Um, that's not, um ..."

"Oh, God. I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I thought maybe I wouldn't have to face dirt man at all, because I would die of embarrassment first. Elyan turned his face to his left and I turned mine to my left so we could make sure there was no possible eye contact. I kept feeling around, pretending that I wasn't feeling up one of Camelot's famous nights. It was hard to move my hand at all because the strands were so tight. Elyan made a little sound.

"Er, it's strapped to the outside of my leg. The outside."

"Yes, er, oh, I found it!"

"Thank God."

"I agree." It was just another minute before I could maneuver the dagger out entirely. I cut his right arm free in silence, wondering how you make casual conversation after an encounter like that. The good news was that it was much easier to use a dagger for the task that a sword. With a loud grunt, Percival pulled himself totally free, and he began to help me get Elyan down.

"We have to help Arthur and Gwaine fight that thing!" said Percival, ripping some of the strands with his bare hands.

"I don't see another sword," I reported. "How can I help?"

Elyan, who was now free, handed me the dagger. "You can't. Stay back where it's safer. Take this. Thank you for freeing me. Don't worry about..."

"Yes, you're welcome," I said quickly, not wanting him to finish that sentence. "But I can – "

"You really need to stay back," reiterated Percival. "Elyan, like our drills."

The dark-skinned knight grinned. "You got it."

They rushed at the rampaging creature. Percival slashed at its ankle area. When it swung a tree trunk arm at him, he ducked and simultaneously threw the sword to Elyan, who caught it by the hilt. Elyan stabbed the thing's leg in a different spot, rolled free, and threw the sword back. Percival had a great opening and struck a mighty blow to a thigh, causing a few fist-sized pieces to fall off the thing.

"Three points for Percival, on the assist from Elyan," I muttered, amazed at their teamwork and ingenuity. As amazing as they were though, I didn't think swords were going to defeat the thing, since the injuries didn't seem to slow it at all, and even the strongest strikes only made small bits fall off. And just one hit from a rottweiler-sized fist would flatten them. I wondered how Arthur and Gwaine were faring.

Arthur and Gwaine

Arthur and Gwaine had been quite a ways ahead of Merlin when the ground had collapsed beneath them. Merlin had instinctively cast a cushion of air below himself, but they had been too far away for him to do the same for them, so they had landed considerably harder. They hadn't even picked themselves up yet when they heard Merlin call out to them. "We're here! We're alright!" Arthur had called out, then started to cough. "Are you alright, Gwaine?" he asked more quietly when he could catch his breath.

"Just lovely," drawled Gwaine. "Just climbing out from under a couple rocks that tried to make my landing softer." Arthur heard sliding sounds and squinted through the dust until he could see a figure on the ground. He offered a hand and pulled Gwaine to his feet. They gave each other a silent once-over, trying to assess the other for injuries in the poor visibility. Then Arthur saw something that made him gasp.

"Leon!" The knight was hanging, unmoving, from the wall. They made quick work of cutting him down and laying him carefully on the ground. "Leon, can you hear me?" asked Arthur.

A grating voice pierced the gloom. "WHO ARE YOU?"

"Merlin, what's happening?" Arthur called out. He still couldn't see anyone except Gwaine and Leon.

"Stay away, sire!" called Percival's voice suddenly, and Arthur felt a rush of gratitude that he was at least in better shape than Leon.

"Sire?!" that was the nightmare voice again. "Who is down there?" Leon stirred, and Arthur felt a welling of anger at the sight of the big knight looking so pale and weak.

"I'm Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot. Who are you and why have you taken my men and Lady Mina?"

There was a harsh laugh, and a bunch of words Arthur couldn't hear, then the ground burst into a creature of horror. "Get Leon out of harm's way! I'll hold it off!" called Gwaine, and charged the giant before Arthur could protest. He didn't like it, but he understood. Pulling the semi-conscious man to his feet, Arthur half pulled, half dragged him to well beyond the impressive reach of the mud creature. As he ran toward the fight, a gargantuan fist? arm protrusion? brushed Gwaine's chest. Even that glancing blow sent the knight tumbling arse over teakettle. Arthur rushed to distract the attacker to give Gwaine a chance to regain his feet.

"Careful," called Gwaine. "It's like hitting rock." The slice Arthur was aiming at an arm was too far for him to stop, and he staggered from the reverberations. Gwaine was right, though hitting it did cause pieces to fall off.

"Any idea what this thing is?" asked the king as he dodged a retaliatory swing, allowing Gwaine to make his own blow.

"I think it's called a golem. I didn't think they were real though."

"So, what's a golem? How do we kill it?"

"It's just a thing of dirt made from magic. It's not alive – it doesn't breathe or feel pain or anything. And it won't ever stop smashing and killing." He slid under a fist, stabbing the wrist area as he went. Next to him, Arthur tried to stab through a foot, trying to pin it down and restrict its movement. But its earthen hide was too tough, and he almost got kicked for his trouble. Gwaine barely shouldered him out of the way in time. "The only thing to do is get it into small enough pieces that it's not dangerous any more. I never heard of any other way to stop one."

Arthur watched a fist-sized piece fall from where he hit it mid-thigh. "I'm not sure we have the time for that."

Gwaine managed to shrug even as he somehow deflected it from smashing him into a Gwaine pancake. "Unless you see way out of here, not sure what choice we have." He smiled that infuriating, devil-may-care smile. "Personally, I like our chances!"

Arthur could already feel fatigue wearing on him from their long journey. "You would," he muttered.

There was no more talk for a while as they fought a war of attrition against on untiring opponent. Half of Gwaine's face was bloody, though Arthur didn't know if that was from the fall or something the mud monster had done. Arthur himself had a left arm that hung deadened and useless. It didn't hurt, but his hand tingled and he couldn't use it. Both men were slower on their feet than normal, too, and couldn't go on indefinitely. But they couldn't flee and leave Leon helpless. As he tried to think of some – any – strategy, Arthur saw Gwaine stumble. A massive leg lifted to stomp down on him, and time slowed as Arthur knew what was going to happen next.

Except it didn't. The monster suddenly turned, distracted by something behind it. Arthur hauled Gwaine to his feet as someone attacked from the other side. "Percival?" called Arthur, catching a glimpse of armor. "And Elyan!" called the big knight back. "Need a little help there?"

Merlin

Merlin stared at the fallen rocks, fear and concern for his friends almost overwhelming him. Sometimes the weight of trying to protect everyone rose up in his throat and almost choked him. But he knew he couldn't let his guard down in the presence of the dochraid. She was a predator, a wounded hunter seeking out his weaknesses. Merlin did what he often did when he needed focus. He pictured Lancelot, stepping into the void with a smile on his face, happy to make the sacrifice. Then he thought of the why he acted. He pictured the faces of his friends, of Gaius. He pictured the busy streets of Camelot and the children who climbed the walls to watch the knights practice. He remembered Gwen sneaking food out of the back door of the kitchen to hungry families, Arthur giving orphans work in the royal stables so they didn't have to steal, Percival giving an extra tip to the ugliest barmaid, who made less than her prettier counterparts, Elyan teaching a group of commoners swordcraft, and Gwaine spending lavishly at any booth or establishment run by a single mother. He thought of their bravery and selflessness, and honed his feelings into a sharp focus. Magic, he'd learned, was a great deal about intent. He was so much stronger when he kept his motivation, his inspiration, at the front of his mind.

"You are not who I seek, but I will devour your magic," hissed the dochraid. "I will enjoy it."

"I am Emrys," said Merlin calmly, circling the hag like a prizefighter. "I am magic, and you should fear me."

"Emrys? Pah! You are a child."

"Are you certain? Scent my magic." He swirled a small spell, sending blue orbs of light around the cavern.

The dochraid sniffed hard, then sniffed again. Though her face was drawn into a permanent sneer, Merlin thought he saw a hint of something else in her expression. Trepidation, perhaps. "You cannot kill me, Emrys," she said, maybe a bit uncertain. "I am of the earth." Without warning, she thrust a hand toward him, and a spell of great power crashed into him, pushing him into the wall behind him. He could feel the intent of the spell, to trap, ensnare, and hurt. With a small gasp of pain, Merlin sort of pushed the spell to the side and it released him to slide back down. "Impossible," shrieked the dochraid.

"Lyft sy ƥe in bǽlwylm ac forhienan se wiðere tídrénas," intoned Merlin. His outstretched hand shook with strain as he called up three elements at once, water, air, and fire. A tornado surrounded his opponent, swirling with fire and ice. She screamed again, but the tornado flattened and disappeared as she pushed back.

"Don't you understand," she growled, angry and injured. "You cannot kill me! You can fight me while your friends die, but you'll never win!" She sent a blast of pure energy at him, not honing the magic, but smashing it into him like a hammer. She was furious, he could tell, and simply bludgeoned him over and over. Merlin fought to keep a shield, but the battering was taking its toll. He trembled, his eyes watered, and blood dripped from his nose. She didn't let up, but he wasn't beaten. Holding his right hand up to keep the shield in place, Merlin crooked a finger on his left hand and twisted his wrist slowly.

"But I can hurt you," he ground out, to distract her." Not telegraphing his actions, he sent his magic into the rocks behind the dochraid, lifting a few, then more and more and more. "Hundreds of years ago, you met another sorcerer, and he took your eyes. He hobbled you, and you've never recovered." Blood trickled over his lip and he closed his left hand into a fist. With a twitch, he sent the rocks crashing down onto the dochraid. The magical blows finally stopped. The rocks started to move right away, but at least he'd bought himself some time. Or at least, he thought he had. Instead, the rock pile exploded, and a few of them struck him, causing him to cry out as his hand was hit and pain rocketed through his body. He clutched his hand to his chest, falling to his knees. At least two of his fingers were broken.

When he looked up, the dochraid was standing over him, fist upraised. "Not you, boy. You will not hurt me. But don't you know this is a place where destinies can be changed? Yours ends now." Her cackle filled his ears as she brought her hand down and unleashed her magic.