Chapter ten

The autumn sun shone above the hexagonal towers of Raglan Castle, casting the brown red stone it was made of in a beautiful glow. A Welsh flag was raised into the sky and it flapped proudly in the breeze, showing off the red dragon in all its glory. Aside from the two men laying out their specialist tools to continue the restoration works the place was shrouded in silence.

The engine of a car disturbed the peace for a moment. It drove onto the lane leading to the castle before it parked on the grass just outside the entrance building. Gary Roberts stepped out of his grey car with a smile. While throwing his leather bag over his shoulder he closed the doors. It was a good day to work outside in the open air. As an inspector of the CADW, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government, it wasn't his first visit here and it wouldn't be his last one either. It was his job to oversee the restoration works, which were to last several more years.

A good part of the late medieval castle still stood proud, but parts of it were ruined for eternity. There was no way the men and women of the CADW could get everything back which was lost, but whatever remained standing they would protect for as long as they owned it. With the money of tourists, who visited the many buildings they owned all across Wales, they could afford restoration works and make sure their castles were even safe enough for a visit. For many years now Gary had worked for the organisation and he believed in preserving the past for generations to come. History was more than stuffy books in a library. Here at Raglan Castle history was very much alive.

Making his way through the modest shop, which also served as the entrance to the castle grounds, Gary passed the young woman who manned it for the day. Her colleague was no doubt making them both a coffee. He greeted her with a smile and walked onwards through the huge gate which led into the roofless castle. Moments later he stood in the middle of the large pitch stoned court. The partly restored windows there were still a beautiful sight to him. To think they were no more than large gaps in the walls once. It was stunning what could be achieved by stone masons of these times.

Gary was about to turn to head for the Great Tower when an eerie cold feeling travelled across his spine. It was as if… his thoughts trailed off to the sight of sharp bursts of light in the air. What were those? A strange breeze touched his face, making him blink in wonder before all of a sudden a few yards away from where he stood two men stepped onto the court from out of nowhere. Startled Gary blinked at the new arrivals…

Opening his eyes Merlin stepped back in shock when he recognized the grey haired man standing in front of him. It felt too strange to him the druid he had called his friend and whom he buried a long time ago was back here today. Why had he appeared? Merlin looked to his side to find Jack had noticed the figure dressed in far too modern clothes too. So not a spirit then. In his eager to know what was going on he called out to the man in his mind's voice, "Iseldir?"

A wry smile was send his way, "Emrys… I am honoured to meet you. I may look a lot like my ancestor, but I am afraid that I am not him. My name is in fact Gary Roberts."

In the corner of his eyes Merlin saw Jack narrow his eyes and cross his arms as if he felt by far more uneasy than he was willing to admit to. The captain was about to speak up too, but Merlin stopped him with a small shake of his head. "You know why we are here. Is there some place where we can talk in private?"

With a silent nod and a gesture of his left arm Gary told them to follow him. They were led through part of the ruins and after walking up a set of stairs they ended up on a higher lying field of grass. The Great Tower rose up on the left of it, but Gary didn't walk on. He stopped at the side of the field where a wooden bench was placed. "No one will disturb us for a while here. It's still a bit early for the tourists and the workers will stay on the other side of the castle today."

"How can you be sure?" Merlin heard Jack ask in a sceptic tone of voice.

The answering calm smile reminded Merlin once more of the druid chieftain he used to know. So often in the past Iseldir had looked at him in the same way when he answered his questions with patience, but also a touch of amusement at his youthfulness. Even while Gary was many centuries younger than both Jack and he were there was a knowledge to him which was far more ancient. No doubt that was due to the huge amount of prophecies, magic and spells passed down the many generations of druids. The answer however was far more modern and straightforward than Merlin expected it to be. "Because I work here."

Merlin sat down on the bench. As an invitation to Gary to join him Merlin opened up the hand in which he held the triskelion necklace. "This is yours I believe."

Gary sat down on his right side to accept the pendant with a smile once Merlin handed it over to him. "Thank you, Emrys." In a few moves he hung the necklace around his neck and closed the lock to leave the pendant tucked safe under his buttoned up shirt.

Looking up at the sound of a polite cough Merlin found Jack staring at them both. The captain's eyes shone with many questions and his body still seemed tense, even though he tried not to let on the last day was catching up on him.

It seemed Gary picked up on his unease as well. "The mind link is broken, Captain. You have my word. When you leave here I won't be able to follow you." It did not surprise Merlin when Jack narrowed his eyes at that, because the captain had no clue on the true nature of druids. Add to that the fact he had a harsh mind set at best Merlin realised Jack needed more than just a promise. Trust was violated from the start… and to fix that…

Before either one of them could speak Gary continued. "Our prophecies foretold me that this day would come. I wish there was an easier way to say this, but there isn't. Albion's hour of need is drawing close and we all have to play our parts. I am sorry for invading and staying in your mind the way I did, Captain. It was the only way I knew of how to find you and then to help you reach Emrys in time."

When Jack scoffed Merlin saw the druid smile wryly. "I can explain everything. Will you listen to my story, the both of you?"

Eager to finally get the information he wanted Merlin nodded. Jack still seemed unsure whether to trust in it all, but even so he visibly reined in his frustrations and sat down on Merlin's other side.

"It is said among my tribe that when the time is right for a new chieftain to arise he will be visited first by the spirit of one of his predecessors. I never thought much of it until my sixteenth birthday came. My father wasn't even forty yet, so what was the point? We were all his tribe and he would live on forever in my eyes. I had never seen death before then, and father… well, to me he was immortal. That evening though I was visited by a ghost for the first time in my life. I was startled and angry at what it meant, but it was my destiny and it could not be fought."

Gary swallowed down the memory of the police officer who came to his door to inform him about the road accident which his parents had not survived, "My parents died a week later." A short pause fell at his words. More than anything he knew at least one of the men by his side would understand the pain of seeing too much. But in Jack too he saw a sharp flash of pain smashed back down again. Was it true what he had sensed while he shared the link with the other man? Was he far older than he looked, just like the prophecies suggested? The man at best was an enigma to him, just like Emrys… but then in his own right.

Setting aside his questions for the moment Gary opted on giving answers first. He turned to Merlin then. "For a moment there you thought I was Iseldir, and I can see why. It was he who came to me on that evening and now that I am getting closer to the age he was when he died I can see the resemblance between us." Gary smiled at the unasked question in the warlock's ancient eyes. "All he told me back then was that the time had come and I needed to read the prophecies, or one day everything would be lost."

To his amusement Merlin interrupted him, "Iseldir had a way with cryptic words, but for as long as I have known him he always knows what he's talking about… even now that he is no more than a spirit."

Gary grinned at that. Yeah, to the both of them Iseldir in some form or another would always stay alive. "He was right back then too, even though it took me some time to see it. My magic was an uneasy gift at first and for a while I thought I was losing my mind. Just before it got to be too much though I found my father's notes and I learned where I could find answers. Do you know where Iseldir's grave is, Emrys?" For a moment Gary waited for the answer. He saw sadness pass in Merlin's eyes before he nodded. The deep grief made him wonder if Merlin had been there when Iseldir crossed into the world beyond. But while the ancient friendship intrigued him he stayed silent about it.

"The captain was there three weeks ago." Looking at Jack he saw nothing but confusion in the blue eyes staring back at him. "The cairn near the top of the Pen-y-Fan is where my ancestor is buried. His spirit is still there if you believe in the ways of my people. I used it to visit you the first time."

"You could have just come by in Cardiff." Jack blurted out.

Gary had a feeling it was only the first of his frustrations and more were to come, so he continued before Jack could ask any of them. "I came to the cairn myself one bleak winter for answers. It was cold and miserable there, but for some reason I felt the urge to come. The gift I've inherited is the same one of Iseldir. His spirit told me what it meant to belong to our clan and to be a leader among druids. Coming down the hill with answers was the beginning of my journey to where I am now. Once I read the prophecies of old I learned my destiny was far from over. I vowed to be ready for it all, but when the time came I still was surprised."

Gary took a deep breath in the knowledge that he had to come out with the full truth now. "Captain, the apparition you saw in your mind was my message from a far. I was never there in person. I was actually up in London for work." The two pairs of eyes watching him with intent both filled with surprise. "I could only speak to your mind there, because of Iseldir's spirit. The distance was almost too great for my abilities, so I had to keep it short and simple."

"Simple?!"

Gary could only laugh at the honest reaction. "I may have inherited a little of my ancestor's cryptic nature."

For a moment silence fell. "But you were there in person for the second visit", Jack remarked with a frown on his face.

Gary could only nod his answer. There was no other way to admit to how he had used his magic to break in and that for once in his life he did not even feel guilty about doing something illegal. "I had to come by in person, because you'd lost your memory. I fear that your gift of telepathy wasn't as strong as we needed it to be. When I healed you I enchanted the triskelion to keep our minds linked. It was what needed to be done even when it made me feel ill at ease. I couldn't risk wasting more time explaining myself when all my visions told me Emrys' life was already on the line. Believe me, the link drained me as much as it did you, if not even more so."

"Yet here you are, going about your day job as if nothing is wrong." There was a trace of accusation in Jack's voice.

Gary could understand it, but all the same it hurt. "What I am, is strange to this world, captain. My gift and all the disbelief to surround it is not an easy one to bear. The only way I can be accepted is to appear normal, even while I know I am different."

Jack rose to his feet, but his sharp eyes kept a hold of Gary's. "A close friend of Merlin told me once that there are but a few people in this world to understand magic and they are the ones who have the gift of magic, so I will leave you two to talk. I accept your reasons for doing what you did, even though I do not understand your ways. The important thing is that Merlin here is alive. Thank you for being honest with me. Merlin, come and find me when you are ready." With a brisk turn the captain walked off.

Gary couldn't help but smile to himself. The prophecies had described Jack as a leader among men; one who could push himself and others almost a step too far in order to do the right thing by humanity. In this moment it was why he had not asked for an apology, because if the tables had been turned then Jack would have done the same thing to Gary…

Walking off Jack still wasn't sure about what to think of magic. He knew now it existed, there was no way to ignore it any longer. All the same it confused the hell out of him. Six months ago Arthur suggested he would never get used to it and Jack had come to see the former King was right. Telepathy was one thing, but the druid was quite another. All his ideas on his visitor being a time traveller had gone out of the window. Gary Roberts; he even lived a normal 21st century life… well, as normal as a man with the gift of magic could, Jack supposed.

Jack was happy to realise that he no longer felt any sort of presence in his mind. The key and druid necklace indeed turned out to be the only reasons for his headache and memory loss. Now that both were gone he just felt relief. His frustrations at the way Gary walked into his mind were not forgotten, but Jack could accept the reasons the man had for doing what he did. Just to be sure though that his mind stayed his own from this point forward Jack pulled up what he hoped was a strong enough mental barrier.

There was one thing though which he could totally agree on with Gary. Merlin needed to live in order for the world to survive the Zoganian invasion, whose imminent arrival was just a matter of time now. Jack had a feeling both magic and science were needed to fight whatever was coming over their way. Torchwood was always ready, but maybe this one was a step too far for just the three of them? He had to find a way to convince Merlin and his friends to help them…

Looking back towards the bench Jack saw Merlin and Gary were still sitting there. They spoke in hushed voices. Part of him was curious about what was said between them, but another part knew that he had to leave them be. Maybe this way he could show to Merlin that he trusted him and with a bit of luck it would result in the warlock trusting him in return. So far Merlin had kept his distance and each time when they met he walked out again to hide back up north. Would it be different this time around?

Jack knew he spoke too harsh to Arthur yesterday to convince him the energy transfer was needed. All the same he hoped that his point of the dangerous time ahead of them had come across. Maybe Arthur, or Gwaine, could convince Merlin to trust his team. At the very least they could fight together in the invasion to come. Everything he had seen yesterday confirmed to him how close the three friends truly were. Behind all the banter was a shared loyalty. It ran far deeper than anything Jack had ever seen before.

Lost in thought Jack sat down on a crumbled wall. He was still staring off into the distance when a polite cough announced Merlin's presence. A lopsided grin awaited him when he looked up, blinking against the sunlight. Jack rose onto his feet and he smiled back at Merlin. "Did you get all the answers you wanted?"

"Some of them, yes. There is never a chance one gets a druid to answer them all in one go. They are a patient people. So are you ready to get back to Cardiff?"

Jack nodded with eager enthusiasm. He'd been ready to go home for a while now. A glance at his watch told him that Merlin had sure taken his time with Gary. Already the best part of the morning had passed away. It made him believe that his team and Merlin's friends were back at the Hub already. "Lead the way", Jack suggested. With a smile he offered his right hand to Merlin, who grabbed it while he closed his eyes to concentrate on finding a city several miles down south from Raglan.