Marian saw the young man sneak out of the Sheriff's room and followed him. He was a stranger; and he looked lost.

"Can I help you?" she asked him, smiling.

Merlin turned and smiled at the beautiful young woman. "I think I'm lost," he told her.

"I'm Marian," she told him, "who are you?"

"My name's Merlin," he replied. "Where exactly are we?" he continued. "Is this Lot's kingdom?"

"You're in Nottingham," Marian replied. At his puzzled look, she added, "England."

"Right," Merlin replied, although he had no idea what that meant at all.

"I saw you sneaking out of the Sheriff's room," Marian told him, "you could be hung for that."

"Sheriff?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked him. "You seem kind of dazed."

"Actually I'm looking for a friend of mine," Merlin told her; he hoped she could be trusted. "He was wearing a red cape, over chain mail."

"I saw him," Marian told him, "he went with Robin."

"Where can I find them?"

"Who is your friend?" a voice asked, startling Marian and Merlin.

"Just a local boy. He's helping me carry some things for my father." Marian told Gisborne. She took Merlin's hand and led out of the castle.

000

"I don't like the look of that stranger," Little John said. "He could be a spy."

"He helped us at the castle," Robin pointed out. "That makes him fine to me."

"Still," Little John said, "look at his clothes. Who wears clothes like that?"

Will, Alan and the others were also looking at Arthur warily. "I'll talk to him," Much volunteered, "find out where's he's from." Robin and Much walked towards Arthur, he was standing by a tree looking around him.

"Thank you for your help back there," Robin told him, "I'm Robin and this is my friend Much."

"Arthur."

"So why did you help us back there?" Robin asked him. "It wasn't your fight."

"I couldn't just stand by and see people put to death," Arthur replied, "the punishment seemed too great for the crime that they had committed. And besides, I was just following your lead; you sentenced the men and then turned round and saved their lives."

"Well," Robin replied, "these are strange times England's going through."

"England?" Arthur asked, "Is that where we are?" He obviously wasn't in one of the five kingdoms, so where was he? And where was Merlin?

"Yes." Much replied.

"So I take it you're not from around here?" Robin asked Arthur. Arthur looked at the men wondering how much to trust them. But he needed their help, he was in a strange land and he needed to find Merlin and get back home before Morgana destroyed his kingdom. "No," he replied, in answer to the question. And then he added, "My name is Arthur Pendragon and I'm from Camelot."

Much and Robin looked at each other in shock. They both remembered the myth, the legend about King Arthur and the Knights of the roundtable and Camelot.

"Get out;" Much told Arthur, "next you'll be telling us that you're married to Guinevere and that Merlin is - ." Much got no further than that because Arthur had pulled out his sword and was holding it to Much's throat. "Who sent you?" he asked. "Was it Agravaine, Morgana? Who sent you?"

Robin and Will had their arrows aimed at Arthur's head while John, Alan and Peter had drawn their swords. "Put your sword down," Robin told Arthur, "let Much go, you're outnumbered." Arthur knew that he was outnumbered but he was also good with the sword and could take those men.

"Arthur, put down the sword."

000