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Merlin turned away, took another drink. He seemed to radiate a fierce energy when he turned again.
"And your oath? To right wrongs, to punish the wicked ..,?*'
"The longer I lived the more'difficult it became to determine what was a wrong and who was wicked. Make it clear to me again and I may go back into business." "Galahad would never have addressed me so." "Galahad was young, naive, trusting. Speak not to me of my son."
"LauncelotI Launcelott" He placed a hand on his arm. "Why all this bitterness for an old friend who has done nothing for a thousand years?"
"I wished to make my position clear immediately. I feared you might contemplate some irreversible action which could alter the world balance of power fatally. I want you to know that I will not be party to it."
"Admit that you do not know what I might do, what I can do."
"Freely. That is why I fear you. What do you intend to do?"
"Nothing, at first I wish merely to look about me, to see for myself some of these changes of which you have spoken. Then I will consider which wrongs need righting,who needs punishment, and who to choose as my champions. I will show you these things, and then you can go back into business, as you say."
Launcelot sighed.
"The burden of proof is on the moralist. Your judgment is no longer sufficient for me."
"Dear me," the other replied, "it is sad to have waited this long for an encounter of this sort, to find you have lost your faith in me. My powers are begi
"I feel something I have not felt in a long while."
"The sleep of ages was a restorative—an aid, actually. In a while. Lance, I am going to be stronger than I ever was before. And you doubt that I will be able to turn back the clock?"
"I doubt you can do it in a fashion to benefit anybody. Look, Merlin. I'm sorry. I do not like it that things have come to this either. But I have lived too long, seen too much, know too much of how the world works now to trust any one man's opinion concerning its salvation. Let it go. You are a mysterious, revered legend. I do not know what you really are. But forgo exercising your powers in any sort of crusade. Do something else this time around. Become a physician and fight pain. Take up painting. Be a professor of history, an antiquarian. Hell, be a social critic and point out what evils you see for people to correct themselves."
"Do you really believe I could be satisfied with any of those things?"
"Men find satisfaction in many things. It depends on the man, not on the things. I'm just saying that you should avoid using your powers in any attempt to effect social changes as we once did, by violence."
"Whatever changes have been wrought, time's greatest irony lies in its having transformed you into a pacifist."
"You are wrong."
"Admit it! You have finally come to fear the clash of arms! An appraiser! What kind of knight are you?"
"One who finds himself in the wrong time and the wrong place. Merlin."
The sorcerer shrugged and turned away.
"Let it be, then. It is good that you have chosen to tell me all these things immediately. Thank you tor that, anyway. A moment"Merlin walked to the rear of the cave, returned in moments attired in fresh garments. The effect was startling. His entire appearance was more kempt and cleanly. His hair and beard now appeared gray rather than white. His step was sure and steady. He held a staff in his right hand but did not lean upon it.
"Come walk with me," he said.
"It is a bad night."
"It is not the same night you left without. It is not even the same place."
As he passed the suit of yellow armor, he snapped his fingers near its visor. With a single creak, the figure moved and turned to follow him.
"Who is that?" - Merlin smiled.
"No one," he replied, and he reached back and raised the visor. The helmet was empty. "It is enchanted, animated by a spirit," he said. "A trifle clumsy, though, which is why I did not trust it to administer my draught A perfect servant, however, unlike some. Incredibly strong and swift. Even in your prime you could not have beaten it. I fear nothing when it walks with me. Come, there is something I would have you see."
"Very well."
Launcelot followed Merlin and the hollow knight from the cave. The rain had stopped, and it was very still. They stood on an incredibly moonlit plain where mists drifted and grasses sparkled. Shadowy shapes stood in the distance.
"Excuse me," Launcelot said. "I left my walking stick inside."
He turned and re-entered the cave.
"Yes, fetch it, old man," Merlin replied. "Your strength is already on the wane."
When Launceiot returned, he leaned upon the stick and squinted across the plain.
"This way," Merlin said, "to where your questions will be answered. I will try not to move too quickly and tire you.
"Tire me?"
The sorcerer chuckled and began walking across the plain. Launcelot followed.
"Do you not feel a trifle weary?" he asked."Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Do you know what is the matter with me?"
"Of course. I have withdrawn the enchantment which has protected you all these years. What you feel now are the first tentative touches of your true age. It will take some time to catch up with you, against your body's natural resistance, but it is begi
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because I believed you when you said you were not a pacifist. And you spoke with sufficient vehemence for me to realize that you might even oppose me. I could not permit that, for I knew that your old strength was still there for you to call upon. Even a sorcerer might fear that, so I did what had to be done. By my power was it maintained; without it, it now drains away. It would have been good for us to work together once again, but I saw that that could not be."
Launcelot stumbled, caught himself, limped on. The hollow knight walked at Merlin's right hand.
"You say that your ends are noble," Launcelot said, "but I do not believe you. Perhaps in the old days they were. But more than the times have changed. You are different. Do you not feel it yourself?"
Merlin drew a deep breath and exhaled vapor.
"Perhaps it is my heritage," he said. Then, "I jest. Of course, I have changed. Everyone does. You yourself are a perfect example. What you consider a turn for the worse in me is but the tip of an irreducible conflict which has grown up between us in the course of our changes. I still hold with the true ideals of Camelot."
Launcelot's shoulders were bent forward now and his breathing had deepened. The shapes loomed larger before them.
"Why, I know this place," he gasped. "Yet, I do not know it. Stonehenge does not stand so today. Even in Arthur's time it lacked this perfection. How did we get here? What has happened?"
He paused to rest, and Merlin halted to accommodate him.
"This night we have walked between the worlds," the sorcerer said. "This is a piece of the land of Faerie and that is the true Stonehenge, a holy place. I have stretched the bounds of the worlds to bring it here. Were I unkind I could send you back with it and strand you there for-ever. But it is better that you know a sort of peace. Come!"
Launcelot staggered along behind him, heading for the great circle of stones. The faintest of breezes came out of the west, stirring the mists.
"What do you mean—know a sort of peace?" "The complete restoration of my powers and their increase will require a sacrifice in this place." "Then you pla
"Would you want someone who did that at your side?" "You have a point there." "Then why ask—save as a petty cruelty?" "It is just that, for you have a