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Seeing Gwaine crumple in front of him sent a wave of anger through Merlin. He let out a muffled shout, glaring at Jachira as the sorcerer was revealed to be the one standing behind Gwaine. Merlin tugged at his bindings, the cuffs cutting into his wrists as his feet scrabbled for purchase on the ground. He was doing everything he could to get himself free, but he knew while those restraints were locked around his wrists, there would be nothing he could do. After a few moments, he fell back against the pole, panting heavily through his nose and his glare no less than it had been before. Jachira was simply watching him, looking almost amused.

"It seems I took precautions on the wrong prisoner," he murmured almost gently and Merlin found his glare intensifying. He wanted to goad Jachira into letting him go, then he would see who the weak one was. But something told him that was precisely the reason he had been gagged in the first place and he could do nothing other than let out a few muffled protests. He fell silent as a couple of bandits entered the hut at Jachira's call but his hands were still twisting. He couldn't just sit there when he knew that Gwaine couldn't defend himself.

"Move the ritual forward. These two are causing too much trouble and something is pressing on our borders." Jachira's voice was low and soft, yet Merlin still caught every word and he had to grin. He knew precisely who would be pressing on the borders. And even if Jachira had shielded the area with magic as Merlin thought, he knew that would not be enough to stop Arthur. The prince would find a way through and he would find a way to get the cuffs off Merlin. All that would then remain would be to avoid the questions about the markings on them and make good on the threats he had delivered to Jachira earlier that day.

Some of his relief must have shown in his face as Jachira moved forward. His hand fisted in Merlin's hair, craning his neck back as he leant closer.

"I could almost do the ritual with just you, you are strong enough. But while I have your friend here, I may as well drain him as well. What do you have to say about that?" Jachira laughed cruelly as Merlin's muffed response, knowing full well that while Merlin was gagged, there was nothing he could so. The man left as swiftly as he had arrived, only pausing long enough to check that Gwaine was indeed out cold.

Merlin could hear sounds coming from outside of the hunt and could feel his heart beating fast. It seemed as if Jachira was setting up for the ritual. He had said it had needed to be on a full moon, was tonight that night? Merlin knew it that was the case, Arthur's arrival had nothing to do with the plans being put into action, Jachira would have planned it that way all along. The thought did nothing to soothe Merlin and he wrenched on the cuffs again. He was supposed to be the most powerful warlock, surely mere cuffs could not be enough to restrain his power?

When he felt the edge of the manacle dig into his wrist after a particularly hard tug, Merlin forced himself to sit still. All he was doing right now was hurting himself. Instead, he took in a deep breath as best as he could through the gag and let his eyes fall shut, diving into himself.

He could feel his magic and experimentally gave a tug. The power tried to rush to his defence, but then it was as if it ran straight into a solid wall when the power of the cuffs took effect. He couldn't get it to truly listen to him or come to the surface, it simply stopped. Thinking hard, Merlin carefully reached again, but this time, he didn't attempt to simply draw on his power. Instead, he began teasing it out, almost like it was nothing more than a stray thread. He had no idea that almost an hour passed while he simply sat there, gently teasing the magic. While pulling had caused it to slam into the resistance, gently working it through allowed the magic to work its way through, almost as if there was a crack in the wall.

Night had well and truly fallen before Merlin opened his eyes again. He could feel his power. Although he knew it was still somewhat dampened and suppressed, he knew he had run out of time. His eyes flashed gold in the darkness and although a fierce shock seemed to run through his body, the gag unwrapped itself and came to rest innocently around his neck. Merlin took in a deep breath, flexing his jaw as he did so and just relishing in the feeling for a moment. But as he made to shift position, he was reminded of the fact his magic was still being held back.

Curling his legs up to his chest in a hope of being able to ground himself a little more, Merlin felt a frown emerging on his face. He wasn't sure he had ever concentrated as much as he was in that moment as he tentatively reached for his magic again. He knew this had to work, or it would result in him not being of any use to Gwaine at all. It was all or nothing and the warlock gently reached for his power again. Coaxing a little more past the resistance, he let a whisper fall from his lips with the hope that it would free him.

Almost immediately, the cuffs started to flare with heat, burning into his skin. Merlin repeated the spell, feeling the sweat bead on his forehead as agony lanced up his arms. Instinct told him to move, but he knew that would only make it worse. Instead, he forced himself to think through the pain, to focus on his magic. He had to fight to stop himself from screaming and arching away from the pain, but Merlin could feel the way that his magic was breaking through. It was as if the wall of resistance was breaking, cracks appearing as his magic pushed upon it.

Just as he thought that he wasn't going to be able to take it for much longer, the wall shattered and broke as the magic flooded through his body. For a moment, Merlin could only arch his back and breathe deeply as his magic raced through every nerve in him before gradually coming to settle back down, almost humming happily now that it was back where it should be. It was only as he made to stand did Merlin realise that the cuffs were still locked around his wrists and shackling his arms behind the post. He had overcome the magic, but not the actual restraints. Now that his magic was free, it only took a mere flash of his eyes before they too fell to the ground with a clatter and Merlin pushed himself forward.

The first step Merlin took almost brought him back down to his knees as his body protested at the fact it had been forced to sit for so long without movement. As he moved towards Gwaine, Merlin eventually just gave up and let himself kneel back down, crawling to his friend. He was still out cold, but a quick check revealed there was nothing else to be concerned about apart from the blow to the head. As Merlin let his hand rest on Gwaine's shoulder, the knight gave a small moan, his eyes screwing up slightly.

"Gwaine? Gwaine, come on, wake up," Merlin implored, giving him a firmer shake. Although he had his magic back, Merlin wasn't sure how steady he would be with using it right now. He was rewarded by another groan and Merlin leant back in relief as Gwaine's eyes opened and he struggled to sit up.

"How-?" The man glanced between Merlin and the post, causing the warlock to shrug.

"You taught me a few tricks," he muttered innocently, climbing to his feet and holding out his hand for Gwaine to take. Just as he managed to get them both upright – something that was far harder than it should have been – the door to the hut was pulled open again. His magic buzzed with anticipation, but Merlin held it back. There were too many of them for him to take out in one blast as bandits spilled through the doorway, and he couldn't risk Gwaine. Two men grabbed him, holding his arms behind his back as they bundled him from the hut. Merlin caught a glimpse of Gwaine punch one of the men who tried to take him, flooring the man before three more piled on top of him. As Merlin was moved towards the centre of the camp, he could only watch as Gwaine too was forced from the hut. Jachira was waiting for them, watching Merlin closely.

Realising it might be his only chance, Merlin sagged slightly. He didn't want the man to realise that he had freed himself from the cuffs and had already had a short amount of time for his magic to settle down again. If he could catch Jachira off guard, it might be only chance they had at getting out of this.

But Merlin's courage almost deserted him completely when he caught sight of the two altars behind Jachira. He hadn't been allowing himself to think about the ritual that had caused them all the trouble to start with, but now he could see the preparations for it, Merlin wanted to be sick. This man, this sorcerer truly intended to sacrifice them and drink their blood as a way of gaining himself power.

Merlin had no idea if it would work or not, and if he was honest, he had no desire to find out. Not knowing what else to do, he started physically struggling against the men holding him, hoping that Arthur would hurry up with whatever rescue he was no doubt planning.

MMM

Arthur had originally thought that their prisoner was taking them on a wide loop to simply buy himself more time. They seemed to just be doubling back the way the knights had just come and it was only because he could see how terrified the man was of being killed that stopped Arthur from truly believing that they were being tricked. This man didn't have the nerve to try and double cross the knights of Camelot, Arthur could see it in the way he kept nervously swallowing and glancing back over his shoulder at the knights. It probably didn't help that Arthur didn't lower his sword from the man's back the whole time, but they had been caught unaware too many times lately and he was not going to let it happen again.

The prince was just about to call the whole thing to a stop when the bandit stumbled to a halt on his own. They were in a small clearing, and Arthur couldn't tell what was any different about this one than the last. Judging by the look he caught passing between Percival and Elyan, they were thinking the same.

"Walk directly between the two oaks," the bandit muttered, fidgeting. "It's a gateway through the shield, you'll appear in the camp."

"How do we know it isn't some kind of trick?" Lancelot immediately muttered, taking the words out of Arthur's mouth. "Maybe we should send him first?"

"No," the prince cut in, grabbing the man's collar so he didn't try and run. "He'll want that. It will either give him enough distance to make a getaway, or it will do as he says and let us through the shield and so warn his friends that we are coming. Leon?"

"Sire," the knight didn't even need to question what Arthur had been about to ask. He drew his sword and walked forward, shooting the bandit an incredulous look as he passed as if to try and gauge the man's reaction. He gave nothing away though, nothing to indicate whether he was telling the truth or not. Leon hitched his sword into a more ready position and strode forward. For a second, he just seem to walk between the oaks.

And then he promptly disappeared from sight.

Arthur found that his skin was crawling at the use of magic, but he now knew they had no choice to continue. It would hopefully reunite them with Leon and allow the group to rescue the two missing members of their party. Or it could lead them into some sort of trap. But even if it was a trap, he was not about to let Leon walk into it alone.

"Elyan and Lancelot, follow him through. Percival, cover me." Arthur tightened his grip on the bandit as two of his knights walked forward without hesitating. They might have been of common birth, but Arthur knew they were just as disciplined as any of the knights who had trained since birth. They followed his orders without question. But it also reminded him of the two who would have argued back. The sooner he found them, the better, the quiet was beginning to unnerve him more than he would care to admit.

When those two also just disappeared without a word, Arthur gave the bandit a shove in the shoulder blades and walked forward himself. Having Percival at his back gave him a feeling of security and Arthur just tried not to think about the magic involved as he walked forward. The bandit hit the shield first, and although Arthur could still feel that he was holding onto him, it was disconcerting not to be able to see. A pace more himself and he shivered as he passed through the magic.

But as the bandit came into view, so did the rest of the camp. There was a sprawl of huts, making Arthur realise that this must be some sort of permanent place. Bandits strolled about, some in groups some on their own. It only took a moment of looking for Arthur to realise that they were all heading the same way. A soft whistle drew his attention and he turned to see Leon, Lancelot and Elyan crouched only a few feet away from him, sheltering behind one of the huts. Not only where they shielded from view, but by some careful peering, Arthur knew they must be able to see quite a lot of the camp.

He dragged their prisoner over, and swiftly wrapped his hand around the man's mouth before driving the hilt of his sword into his head. They had promised he would live if he showed them the way, but Arthur needed to be able to focus. He couldn't spare someone to guard the man and he couldn't risk him running off to warn someone. As the man dropped and Arthur unceremoniously let him fall to the floor, Percival appeared behind them and Lancelot swiftly drew him over.

"Have you found them?" Arthur muttered quietly, knowing that Leon would not have just been hiding here since he came through. The knight nodded, his face grave. He carefully shifted to one side and pointed down through a gap in the trees. Arthur inched forward until he could see and then swore.

Whatever the sorcerer had taken his friends for, he had a feeling it was about to begin. All the bandits were standing in a circle, but the centre was clear. Instead, there were two altars surrounded by candles, the flickering light illuminating the fact that both altars had someone strapped down on them. Even from this distance, Arthur could see that the altars had runes etched around the sides and he had feeling they must be something to do with the Old Religion. He didn't know much about it – his father's attitude meant it was awkward to even ask questions – but he had been trying to find out more since Morgana had betrayed them. He didn't know whether the runes would restrict someone's power or enhance that of the spell, but he didn't really care. It didn't really matter.

What mattered was that he was fairly sure that the two struggling figures were his friends. His thoughts were confirmed only seconds later when one of them bucked up, cursing loudly enough for his voice to carry. At least they knew Gwaine was reasonably unharmed, and his movement he allowed Arthur to see that his hands were strapped down above his head and his feet were also restrained. Arthur could only assume that Merlin was being held down in the same way. The same sorcerer who had attacked them was standing at the foot of both altars, his arms raised in the air.

Arthur didn't wait to see what he was doing before he started scrambling down the hill, aware that his men were on his heels. All that mattered was the gleaming knife in the man's hand and the fact he was beginning to move towards the second altar. Arthur had no intention of letting his manservant be sacrificed by some twisted sorcerer. If anyone was going to kill him for getting into trouble, Arthur was sure it would be between him and Gaius. So first of all, he needed to get Merlin out.

Drawing his sword, Arthur let loose a cry and charged straight into the side of circle. Surprise meant the first few bandits fell swiftly, but then Arthur was aware he would have to battle through them all in order to get to the altars. He tried not to think about it, instead focusing on the swing of his sword as the rest of the knights fell in behind him, all attempting to not only keep the prince of Camelot safe, but also to get through to their friends.