Sir Galahad woke with a terrible pounding in his head. "Where am I?" he wondered. The air around him was very cold and damp, and he was laying flat on his back on a hard surface, like the stone floor of a castle. "Oh, no," he thought with a groan. "I'm not back in the Castle Anthrax again, am I? Well, might as well have some fun while I'm here..."

But when Galahad opened his eyes, he found something quite different from Zoot's warm and cozy abode. He was alone in a dark, cold dungeon cell. The only openings were two small barred windows, one on the far wall and another on the door. He attempted to stand, and cried out at the pain that burned his chest like the enchanter's fire. Lying back on the floor, he suddenly remembered what had happened. There had been these strange warriors in masks..."painted" masks, he thought it was. He had tried desperately to fight them off, but there were too many of them. Where was his servant? Did he get away? Galahad remembered him still being alive the last time he saw him.

Slowly and painfully he made his way to the door. It was locked. Great.

He groaned and set himself down against the wall to catch his breath. If his servant got away then he could find Kind Arthur and the other knights, and they would come. They would rescue him. This thought comforted him and he allowed himself to take a deep breath and relax. They would come, he would be rescued. All he had to do was wait.

But the problem was what to do in the meantime. Masturbation was always an option, but he dismissed the idea, telling himself he had a headache. He always seemed to frustrate himself that way. Then he remembered his quest. The Grail! The Grail was his first priority, before anything else. But how could he search for it while he was locked up in this dark stone prison? That would require quite a lot of thinking on his part, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

Weary and downtrodden, he laid back against the stone wall and dozed off.

ooooooo

And so King Arthur, Sir Robin and the servant, whose name was Otto, rode East through the mountainous region of Pennick. After having a conference, they had decided to search for Galahad first and ask about the Grail along the way. Several villagers had told them that the Evil Warriors in Painted Masks lived somewhere over the mountain which they were now ascending.

The fog was heavy and hung thick over the mountain top. It was nearing dusk and Sir Robin and Arthur had had to dismount in order to make their way up the steep slope. The three were on their hands and knees, crawling uphill across the perilously slick rocks that came loose and tumbled downward at even the slightest movement. With no sound of clapping coconuts to be heard, the air was filled with an ominous silence that was broken only by the rattle of loose rocks falling behind them.

"How far is it to the top?" asked Sir Robin.

Arthur was a little ahead of him, and he strained to see. "I can't tell."

"You can tell me, I won't soil my armor or anything. I'll try not to, anyway..."

"No, you nitwit. I can't see because the fog is too thick. Just keep climbing men, but carefully. Don't jostle the rocks or we'll all know how far it is to the bottom."

Sir Robin stopped climbing and was suddenly still, his face and knuckles white.

When Arthur took notice of him, he stopped. "What is it, Sir Robin?"

"I-I can't go any farther, Sire. I j-just can't do it. Who knows how far it is to the top, and our legs may give out before then."

"This is no time for your cowardness. I command you, as King of the Britons, to keep climbing!"

Otto stopped as well and tried to help, but no matter how much coaxing and commanding they poured on Sir Robin, he wouldn't budge an inch.

King Arthur sighed in frustration. "I wish now I had brought Sir Bedevere along. Surely he could have conjured up some brilliant scientific way of measuring the distance to the top from where we are."

"Sire," said Otto. "I know of a way to measure the distance to the top. That is, if I may be permitted to speak of it."

King Arthur looked at him, amazed. "How would you know this? Oh, but never mind, just tell it to me. We must get moving as soon as possible. What is your plan, brave Otto?"

"Well Sire, I figure we can tie a bit of rope around one of the stronger pieces of rock here, then when we reach the top we mark off the rope and yank the rest back up." Otto looked hopefully at his king.

"Oh, you've missed the point completely," said Arthur.

Sir Robin shivered and shook. "I can't do it. Oh, we're all done for!"

Just then, from out of the grey fog, there flew a raven. The ominous black bird flew deliberately and circled above their heads. Hypnotized, they watched in silence as the raven began to leave, then fly back again. It finally landed rather aggressively on the head of poor Sir Robin and began to peck mercilessly at his skull.

"Ahhh!!" Sir Robin suddenly began climbing again. He shook his head to try to rid himself of the bird, but it was to no avail. "Get it away. Shoo, shoo! Go away! A raven brings bad luck, we must get rid of it." Sir Robin, in a panic, scrambled up so quickly that he, along the raven, disappeared into the fog above. King Arthur and Otto, in a rush to catch up, were relieved to discover that the slope was beginning to level out; the rocks were more firmly embedded and easier for climbing. It turned out they had been only two yards or less from the top, and they gladly pulled their weary bodies onto flat land. The fog had disappeared and they could see Sir Robin standing before them, staring intently at something ahead of him. Arthur and Otto stood up to see what he was looking at, and they both gasped in fright.

There was a tall figure, cloaked and hooded all in black, standing with his back facing them and his head lowered. The raven landed easily on the left shoulder, and it was obvious that this dark being was the bird's master.

King Arthur felt he should say something. "Um, hello."

No answer.

"I am Arthur, King of the Britons."

Silence.

Arthur turned and gave his servants a strange look before continuing. "I am here with one of my knights, Sir Robin, and a servant, Otto. We are on a sacred quest: we have been charged by God to find the Holy Grail. Anything you could offer to aid us on our quest would be greatly appreciated. Also one of our knights, Sir Galahad, was taken captive not more than two days ago. He fell victim to the Evil Warriors in Painted Masks, whom we were told dwelt in this area. Can you help us?"

It looked as if the dark, looming figure before them would remain silent forever, but then the head rose and he turned to face them. No face could be seen, however, as it was still hidden in the shadow of the hood. The raven was still perched on his shoulder, and when it caught sight of Sir Robin it began to flap its wings menacingly at him.

"Stop it!"

"It's your red hair," said the dark figure.

"What!?"

"He doesn't like the color red. I don't know why, I think it's rather pretty..."

King Arthur silently motioned for Robin to put on his coif to hide his hair, which he did gladly.

"Who are you?" King addressed the cloaked figure.

"I," he said, "am of no importance. I live near here, down by the river, and I stand up here often to admire the view. My name is Treg. Your troubles are many, King Arthur, and I will tell you what I can. Of the whereabouts of these Evil Warriors in Painted Masks I know nothing. There are no Evil Warriors here. However, I have heard of their deeds. Your friend's fate is indeed regrettable."

"But we were told they lived here! Are you sure?" demanded King Arthur.

"Oh, quite. My advice to you is to find the Grail as soon as possible. Then and only then will you have the wisdom to find the Evil Warriors and save your friend. It's a win-win situation."

"Yes. Yes, you're right," said Arthur. Robin and Otto, though crestfallen, nodded in agreement. "Thank you Treg, we shall turn back and search for the Grail. Come, men."

"Good luck, King Arthur," said Treg.

But Robin and Otto hesitated. "But sire," they said, "don't you think we should search the area anyway, since we're here? This man could be loony, and he may not even know what he's talking about."

Arthur sighed, clearly mulling over the choices in his mind. Finally he said, "No, I feel that we have already been misled. He's right--the Grail is our quest from God and our first priority. All other answers will come after it is safely in our possession."

Without speaking they made their way back down the mountain.