The men were ready to ride out as soon as it was light enough to see.
Merlin studied the map. It was simple and straightforward: from the village, follow the creek upstream, turn left at the oddly-shaped boulder, and continue until you arrive.
They set a brisk pace and by mid-morning came to the dwelling, which was snugged up against the base of a cliff.
There was a woman waiting for them, tall and willowy with a cascade of fiery hair that fell to her waist. The men dismounted, the knights drawing their swords.
Arthur and Merlin exchanged glances and Arthur nodded, ceding control of the situation to the warlock.
Merlin addressed the woman. "Who are you?"
"My name is Brisane."
"Are you the one who took Branwen?"
She smiled. "I am."
"Return her to us immediately. If you've hurt her…"
The woman held up a hand. "Your little sorceress is unharmed, I assure you. Won't you come in? I'd prefer to negotiate the terms of her release inside." She turned and went through the door of her ramshackle cottage. It sat so close to the cliff that Merlin was sure they wouldn't all fit inside.
Upon entering, though, his discovered that the cottage was little more than a façade and the living space inside extended far into the cliff face in a system of caves.
Brisane waited until all the men had filed in. "Now," she began, but stopped when Merlin held up his hand, mimicking her earlier gesture.
"There will be no negotiations until I see that Branwen is alright."
She gave him a calculating look, then shrugged. "As you wish."
She disappeared into a side room and returned, holding a length of silver chain that glinted oddly in the torchlight. The other end was wrapped around Branwen's wrists.
Merlin recognized the chain. It was the same type Morgause had used on him. From the way the chain was biting into Branwen's skin, it was apparent she'd already tried to free herself, and failed.
"Are you alright?"
Her eyes met his, and the defeat in them make his anger flare. She nodded reluctantly, her gaze falling away from him.
"Whatever you ask, if I possess it, it will be yours. Just let her go."
Brisane laughed. The sound was deep and rich and somehow ominous in its pleasantness. "My dear sorcerer, I do not want anything that you possess. What I desire is something you can obtain for me. And you should have no trouble at all, since my little lures have attracted men so…" her eyes raked appreciatively over the knights, "robust."
It took a moment for her words to fully register.
"Wait. You were the one selling all those cursed things?"
"Oh, yes," she purred.
"And the arrow?"
"Yes. I made that especially for you. Did you like it?"
"The dagger?"
"A happy accident, as informative as it was."
"What about the tinker?"
"A simple glamour." She seemed to be losing patience with the direction the conversation had taken. "Now, back to what I need from you. Deep within this mountain is a sacred cavern. Within that cavern is a bowl. You will bring me that bowl."
"And then you'll release Branwen?"
"You misunderstand. Your little witch will be going with you. You see, the caverns are home to a nest of attercroppes – serpent fairies," she clarified at their confused looks "and she alone will be able to see them."
"Now, before you get any ideas about taking her and simply leaving, I want to assure you that I have a guarantee against that."
She produced a short length of the enchanted chain. Set among the links was a pale, opalescent stone. She fastened the chain snugly around Branwen's neck.
"You see, my little trinkets served a dual purpose. One, as I said before, was to lure you here. The other was to see the extent of this girl's powers, so I would know how strong I needed to make the enchantment on this chain. The stone will allow me to monitor your progress and communicate with you as needed. If any attempt is made to either remove the chain or abandon the task, or if I should die, the chain will tighten and she will strangle."
She released the silver bindings from Branwen's wrists and shoved her toward Merlin, who caught her as she stumbled. He glared at Brisane, barely reining in a murderous surge of magic.
She returned his look with a sugary smile. "This way, if you please."
They followed her through a series of corridors leading deeper into the mountain, and they stopped at a thick wooden door. Brisane produced a key and unlocked it, drawing it open on creaking hinges. On the other side was a tunnel that disappeared into darkness.
They filed in and Brisane started to close the door.
"Wait," Arthur said, and she paused. "How are we to find this cavern?"
Brisane nodded at Branwen. "She'll lead you to it."
Merlin only had a brief glimpse of Branwen's startled face before the door closed, engulfing them in darkness.
The lock clicked with an ominous finality.
Merlin and Branwen each conjured a witch-light, so that the tunnel was lit by a pair of glowing blue orbs that hovered above. Branwen took the lead as they started down the tunnel.
Merlin caught Arthur studying the lights. "Look familiar?"
"Yes. There was a similar light in the cave with the mortaeus flower."
Merlin's eyebrows rose and the corner of his mouth quirked up as he waited for Arthur to put it all together.
"Wait. That was you?"
Merlin grinned in answer.
"But… but how…"
"I have no idea. I'm glad it worked, though."
Arthur gave him a soft smile. "Me, too."
They slowed as they came to a fork in the tunnel. The path to the right was level and straight. The one to the left wound down into darkness. Branwen stood, looking down each path in turn. She seemed conflicted.
Merlin went up to her. "Do you know which way to go?"
"I think so." She hesitated, then started down the right-hand path. She'd only gone a handful of steps before she hurriedly backtracked.
"That's what I thought," she mumbled before heading down the left-hand tunnel. "This way."
Merlin stopped her with a hand on her arm and drew her close. He touched her neck where the chain had bit into her skin. "You went the wrong way on purpose."
"I had to see if she was bluffing."
"And she wasn't."
"No."
He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Don't do that again." He softened the reprimand with a kiss on her forehead before they continued.
After what seemed like hours, they came to a cave that had a stream of fresh water running through it. They took the opportunity to fill the water skins and rest a bit.
Branwen waited until no one was looking in their direction, then dragged Merlin away, pulling him behind a small outcropping. Once away from curious eyes, she surprised him by yanking his head down and kissing him.
Aggressively.
His eyes widened in shock before slipping closed. He hummed appreciatively.
'What brought this on?'
'I needed to distract your mouth.'
'Mm. Yes. Well done.'
She nipped at him. 'Listen! I don't think Brisane knows we can talk like this and I don't want to raise her suspicions.'
'Mm. Suspicions. Right.' His fingers tangled themselves in her hair.
'So you CANNOT react to what I'm about to tell you.'
'Mm.' To be honest, he was having trouble paying attention to anything except taking full advantage of this unexpected situation.
'I'm going to try to break the spell on the chain.'
That got through. He stopped, memories flooding back: the tightness, the bruising, the helplessness. The fear.
'No! No no no!' She attacked his mouth again, sliding her fingers along the back of his neck. 'KISS ME!'
He complied, but his thoughts were spinning. He hands moved down and gripped her arms hard in panic. 'You can't! You'll die!'
'Not if I get it just right. I know I can do it. We'll have the element of surprise and-'
'No.'
'What?'
'I won't have you risking your life on this.' His kisses became tender. 'I can't lose you.'
'But-'
'No.'
A quiet cough drew their attention. They disengaged to find Arthur standing there, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "We should probably get moving."
"Right. Be there in a moment."
Arthur nodded and left, revealing Gwaine behind him, grinning ear to ear. He gave them a double thumbs-up before following the king.
Merlin looked down, noting that the blue glow of the witch-light couldn't disguise the blush that had bloomed across Branwen's cheeks. He laughed, then kissed her on the nose. "Come on, then," he told her.
They continued, winding so far into and under the mountain that Merlin was sure they'd reach the center of the earth before long.
Branwen held up a hand as they approached a cross-tunnel and they came to a stop behind her. She seemed to be listening. She motioned them back behind her and she hugged the corner, peering cautiously around.
Her head snapped back and she held a finger to her lips. They could hear a strange scuffling sound.
'What is it?'
'Attercroppes.'
Just then, one of the knights repeated Merlin's question in a hiss that was no doubt meant to be quiet, but that echoed off the walls.
Branwen threw a panicked glance back at them before launching herself into the open and throwing a spell into the cross-tunnel. Suddenly about a dozen snake-like bodies fell to the ground out of thin air and she turned and attacked again. Another collection of bodies materialized. She spun and overbalanced, casting another spell toward her feet as she fell back, resulting in another pile of bodies where she had been standing.
She scrambled into an alert crouch, panting and listening, for several long heartbeats before she visibly relaxed, flopping back onto the ground. "That's all of them, for now."
Merlin went to her, frustrated that he had been unable to help. "Are you alright?"
"Just tired," she smiled.
The men approached to curiously examine the attercroppes. The creatures were about a foot tall, their serpentine bodies sprouting incongruously humanoid arms and legs.
Gwaine was holding one, turning it this way and that, squinting. "Look at the fangs!"
Leon, satisfied with simply pushing one aside with his boot, said, "They're grotesque."
Suddenly, Branwen's head jerked up and she stared intently down the side tunnel. "We need to go."
They hurried on their way, listening to the scuffling that grew gradually louder behind them. They knew immediately when the bodies had been found from the angry hissing.
They quickened their pace, but it was soon apparent that the enemy was in pursuit, and gaining.
"This is no good," Arthur panted. "We need a plan."
"It would help if we could see them." Merlin answered.
"Can't you do something with your magic?"
"Not very effectively, unless I seal the tunnel altogether and cut off our own exit." He turned to Branwen. "Any ideas, love?"
She shook her head. "I don't know what it is that allows me to see them, but not you. I could cast something on them, but I'm not sure I would affect them all. Unless…" She chewed her lip as she thought, and took a sudden interest in the walls.
She stopped abruptly. "Keep going," she instructed, waving the men away. They all obeyed, except Merlin.
"Got an idea?"
"I think so." She placed her hands on the wall and, with a few words, a section of the rock dissolved into powder. The hole that was left was just big enough for her to stand in. Then she lowered her witch-light into the pile of dust, which turned a luminous blue. "When they come by, I'll coat them with the dust. It should stick to them, then you'll kill anything that glows. This should be enough to cover the majority of them and I can pick off any that are missed."
"But you'll need to stay behind."
She indicated the hole. "That's what this is for."
He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you."
"Merlin, there isn't time! Swords aren't going to be very effective against these things. You have to protect Arthur."
He couldn't argue.
"You don't have to go far," she reassured him, "but they're coming."
He nodded and gave her a quick, desperate kiss. "Be safe."
"You, too."
She tucked herself into her hiding place and he sprinted to where Arthur and the knights had stopped to wait for him.
"What's the plan?" Arthur asked.
Merlin repeated Branwen's instructions. "Kill anything that glows." He sent his witch-light to the ceiling before adding, "I'll take care of as many as I can. You'll have to clean up what I miss."
"Right."
They arrayed themselves along the passage, then directed their attention toward Branwen's hiding place.
They waited.
Then they saw it – a cloud of glowing blue dust hovering just off of the ground. The attercroppes burst through it, giving the men clear targets.
Merlin dropped the first wave with a surge of fire, but more were close behind and the battle was on. He sent a second fireball down the passage, but he'd lost the element of surprise and a good number of the creatures dodged it. He tried a flash of lightning and was pleased when the power arced from body to body.
Behind him, the knights were swiping and hacking at the enemy with only partial effectiveness, not used to fighting an enemy that stood only a foot tall.
The air was filled with the angry hissing of the attercroppes, the grunts and occasional curses of the men, and, after the glowing dust cloud at last dissipated, the incantations of Branwen.
After what seemed an eternity, the tunnel was quiet apart from labored breathing. Branwen staggered up and she and Merlin took stock. All of them had suffered multiple bites and they were starting to feel the effects of the venom. Branwen was able to create a spell to counteract it, and she and Merlin administered it, but there was little they could do about the resulting weakness and fatigue.
Merlin was particularly concerned about Branwen, knowing she hadn't had enough time to recover fully from the dagger wound. She was looking pale and shaky again and he insisted that the group take a few minutes to rest and regroup.
Branwen had just settled gratefully against the wall when she gasped. The stone at her throat glowed, and her eyes rolled back in her head before fluttering closed. When she opened them again, they were the same color as the stone, wide and unseeing.
"Oh, well done! Well done, indeed!" Brisane's voice purred out of her mouth. "You've survived longer than anyone else I've sent down there. I'm so very pleased!"
"Say what you've come to say and get out," Merlin growled.
"Mm. So authoritative. But as you like. You're close. Very close. When you find the bowl, it will be overturned. Do not right it. Keep it inverted, bring it to me, and you will be free to go."
The stone winked out. Branwen's eyes closed and she slumped against the wall. Merlin crouched next to her.
"Branwen?"
She shook her head a little and opened her eyes, blinking away the last of the opalescence. She wrinkled her nose at Merlin. "Well, that was altogether unpleasant."
"Are you alright?"
"Hm. That does seem to be the question of the day, doesn't it?" She patted his cheek. "I think… maybe." She nodded to herself. "Definitely maybe." At his worried look, she added, "Which is better than positively not."
He quirked a half-smile and settled next to her with an arm around her shoulders. "Well, you just rest for now."
"Yes, sir." She snuggled against him and was soon asleep.