Merlin had stayed in the Fisher King's castle for over a week now. The quiet peace around him was soothing, but he was finding that he was growing restless. The wyverns had been hunting for him, bringing back small game for him to eat. There was not much in the Perilous Lands themselves that Merlin could find to eat.

He had, for the most part, tamed the wyverns, even befriended a couple to the best of his abilities. They were still wild and proud of their dragon-like lineage, but he found that some had kinder souls than others. Like him, these beasts were mistaken for pure evil and inhuman wildness.

He had called the Great Dragon again, when he was lonely and longing for another voice besides his own. The wyverns, while he now understood them to be just as emotional and caring as any other creature, could not speak, and were only able to succumb to his Dragonlord commands.

He and Kilgharrah had spoken and talked for a good part of the day. At first the dragon was surprised at not being summoned for advice, but for companionship. Soon though, he realized his friend's loneliness and did his best to simply converse. He had not done so for years, and even when Aithusa was still under his care before disappearing, he had had troubles simply discussing useless things for the enjoyment of company. He soon began to realize just how much he needed Merlin, just as Merlin needed him.

"I see you have not found the time to shave," said Kilgharrah, amused.

Merlin rubbed the full beard that had grown on his chin over the past six months, smiling for the first real time since his supposed execution.

"Yeah, finding the supplies to shave has been a bit hard while on the run. I guess Gaius didn't think it necessary enough to include a razor in my pack."

They sat back and talked. At times Kilgharrah would let out a rumbling laugh, while his master would simply smile. It was all Merlin could manage; he had forgotten the sound of his own laughter.

All too soon the sun was setting and Kilgharrah looked up, sensing a new presence.

"Young warlock, I believe you have visitors," he said quietly.

Merlin looked up and soon he too felt the shift in the magic around them. Someone was approaching the ruined castle.

"I will leave you now," said the dragon. Merlin looked up sharply.

"What do you mean you'll leave now?" he demanded. "You're not staying?"

"No, for I know who it is that is here, and I shall not impede their way. They are here for you."

Merlin stood, glancing at the door of his room. He too knew who would be here, knew what they would want. That didn't mean he was ready to face them; in fact, the very thought made him shake. He couldn't tell if it was from fear or anger.

All too suddenly, the dragon stood and unfurled its great wings. With a push that shook the already shaky castle foundations, he lifted himself into the air and took off. Merlin watched with a growing sense of dread as the figure of his only friend left slowly disappeared.

Arthur, Guinevere, and his knights (former and current), had finally reached the bridge to the Perilous Lands. As they approached, a small man that Gwaine and Arthur immediately recognized stepped out of seemingly nowhere and stood in their way.

"We meet again, Courage and Strength," the man in a slightly squeaky voice, looking at Arthur and Gwaine respectively. The rest of the group stirred, but didn't voice their confusions.

"Grettir," nodded Arthur, stopping in front of him.

"What is it you seek?" asked Grettir.

Arthur answered, "We seek passage into the land of the Fisher King; we were told of a man we could find there."

"You look to find the great warlock, Emrys," said the gatekeeper, after a pause. "But I ask again, what is it you seek?"

Arthur thought a moment. If he knew why we came, why is he asking again? But then the answer was right in front of him.

"We seek help. We need assistance, and Emrys is the only one who can provide us with it."

Grettir looked at them a while longer. He seemed to be contemplating what to do with them. He then turned to face the others.

"Loyalty," Grettir said, looking at Sir Leon. The knight returned the gaze with apprehension.

"Loyalty, you have stayed with Courage for many years. And he will need you for many more. I know you will not forsake him, but Albion's time is drawing closer; you must not waver now."

Leon squirmed under such scrutiny. He could feel the man looking through his mind and saw the doubt that he felt towards the King's actions as of late. Quickly he nodded to reaffirm Grettir's words. He would never truly leave Arthur or betray him.

"Bravery," the small man now turned his attention to Sir Percival. "You must not waver either. Your skill and strength must show through the battle to come if you have any hope of winning. You are gentle, yes, but as a knight you must not mistake friend for foe or foe for friend."

Percival tried to work out what had just been said to him, and soon he too nodded in acknowledgement and acceptance of Grettir's advice.

Finally the gatekeeper turned to face Guinevere. "My Lady Fairness," he all but whispered. "You are a great and just queen. While you are fair and beautiful to behold, you must keep your judgments in check; to be fair in form is not nearly as flattering as to be fair in rule. I see that you have had your own trials recently. You must not let prejudice and anger cloud your judgment."

The Queen looked back at Grettir. She knew she was being unfair to Arthur since Merlin's death; but he had deserved it. What he had done was unforgiveable. She looked back up at her husband, both understanding the true meaning behind the man's words.

"Of course," she said, without looking away from Arthur. "I will. I promise."

Grettir then turned to look between Gwaine and Arthur. "And you two," he said. "You two must set aside your differences. You two need each other and if you are to accomplish what you need you must work together. Without Strength, Courage can be nothing. Without Courage, Strength is wasted. Without any of those who surround you, you are nothing. And even together, all of you are nothing without Magic. And he awaits you within the walls of the Fisher King's castle."

Arthur's memory triggered something in his mind.

"Last time I take it, Magic meant Merlin."

"Magic will help you. He is expecting you."

With that Grettir stepped aside and suddenly disappeared. The group looked around at each other nervously, and then set off into the Perilous Lands, seeing a great winged figure in the distance fly slowly away.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Yes, we're getting there! Very, very soon will the chapter you've all been waiting and asking for come! I hope you all like it when it gets here.

I've also been making some progress with my writing, but I'm still not as far ahead as I'm comfortable with to start posting like I used to. On the plus side, I feel like I'm reaching the climax and can estimate that this will be a 40ish chapter fic, maybe but probably not in the 50s. Not sure yet. We'll see.

Hope you guys are happy with this so far; there were some questions answered here too about who's who in the bridge keeper's mind. Woo!

Also, shout out to tumblr users captainmaliyastark (told you I would) and thatisillogical and whoever else I asked (someone else answered, but it was a long time ago so I'm sorry that I can't remember who answered exactly) when I was writing this chapter because I'm lame and couldn't remember if Courage and Strength were Gwaine and Arthur or Arthur and Gwaine and they helped me through that small crisis. Thanks guys!

Next update maybe Sunday? Hope all you Americans had a nice day off and fun Presidents day! (Also you should go buy some Girl Scout cookies, idk if I can say that on here but it's just a suggestion, no need to take me up on it. Sales end in a couple of weeks, don't miss out!) Yeah ignore that last bit if it's against fanfic rules to say stuff like that, but yeah. (I just read the Terms of Service and I think that's okay? I'm just going to leave it.)

Sorry about that tangent...