Chapter Nineteen

Both Gaius and Eryl looked at each other stunned, then back at the supine figure of Eryl's apprentice.

"Remarkable, I don't usually have that effect on people." Gaius said, as he moved to assist the young man.

Eryl poured a goblet of water from a pitcher that was sitting on the table and calmly handed it to Gaius who was lightly slapping Grigor's face in an attempt to revive him.

Grigor's eyes fluttered open and the young man found himself staring up into a very familiar face. "It's you; you're real."

Gaius opened his eyes wider in surprise. "Yes, I can assure you that I am quite real, although I don't believe we have ever met before."

Grigor sat up and accepted the water that the court physician offered. After taking a swallow he looked around and felt his face flush bright red. He quickly got up off the floor slopping water from the cup as he rose. The young man was altogether flustered and sheepishly bowed his head.

Grigor had attracted the attention of the inn's patrons as well as the inn keeper, Tom. "Gaius, is all well here?" Tom asked, as he approached the trio.

Gaius turned to speak to the inn keeper who had been a patient on many occasions. "Yes, Tom. My friend here is just feeling a little piqued. Perhaps you could send Jeremy up to the room with some warm mead and honey?"

"Certainly."

"How is the boy doing?" Gaius asked, conversationally as Eryl and Grigor moved from around the table to head toward the stairs leading up to the inn's rooms.

"Right as rain thanks to you, Gaius. He has even begun to gain some weight back. I'll send him up to you right away."

Grigor still looked mortified, but Eryl wore a knowing smile. Gaius had very smoothly diverted the attention away from Grigor while at the same time subtly reminding the inn keeper that he was in the court physician's debt. Eryl was certain that Tom would refuse to answer any prying questions about them. The druid also knew that as they were now established friends of Gaius, any undue curiosity would be reported to them as well.

Once the group had entered the room that Eryl and Grigor had rented and the door was firmly latched Eryl began to chuckle softly. "That was nicely handled, old friend."

Gaius returned a look of innocence. "I'm sure I have no idea what you are referring to, Eryl." Gaius then turned to Grigor, and satisfied that the young man's color had returned to normal sat down on a short stool across from his perch on the bed. "I don't believe we have been properly introduced. My name is Gaius. I am the court physician here in Camelot."

Grigor flushed red again, but remembered his manners. "My name is Grigor. Please forgive my alarm upon seeing you. I suspected that you were a mere fantasy that my mind had dreamed up, but now I see that you are real."

Gaius looked on completely non-plussed while Eryl stood silently in the corner of the room observing the interaction between Grigor and Gaius.

A soft knock at the door drew everyone's attention. Eryl opened up the door and looked at a young boy no more than twelve years old holding a try with a pitcher of mead, a jar of honey and three cups.

"Your mead and honey, sir," he said, with a bow of his head.

Eryl motioned for the lad to come in and set the try down on the small table in the room. While Jeramy did this Gaius got up and approached him. "Well you are looking very well indeed young man."

Jeramy looked up and smiled at the court physician. "I am doing much better thank you." Before Jeramy left Eryl pressed a gold coin into his hand. Jeramy looked at it with wide eyes. "I can't take this, Sir. It is my job to bring you your tray."

Eryl smiled down that the child. "Yes it is your job, and this is your compensation for your service. I would like to have a tray of dinner brought back later, and I know I can trust you to see to my needs as I have them."

Jeramy nodded vigorously. "Yes, Sir. If there is anything you need you just tell me. I will come back with dinner in a few hours."

Once Jeramy had left Gaius turned back to Grigor and asked him how he had come to be Eryl's apprentice.

"Eryl came to my village when I was a young boy, and after my parents were killed, took me on as an apprentice. I have long known your face, seeing it countless times through the years in visions. I never knew for sure whether or not you were real. I have come to think of you as 'The Secret Keeper' for that is the role you have played in every vision I have had. To come face to face with someone whom I previously thought of as a mere figment of my own mind was... unsettling."

"I can well imagine it would be. It is a bit unsettling to me that I am a a product of anyone's visions. How long have you experienced these visions?" Gaius wanted to know.

Grigor glanced over to his mentor who nodded imperceptibly. "I have had odd dreams for as long as I can remember. Sometimes those dreams come true, but most of the time I didn't understand what the dreams were about, that is, until Eryl took me in as an apprentice. I have seen your face many times. You have always been surrounded by mystery in my visions, hence the title of 'Secret Keeper' that I came to think of you as."

Gaius looked back at Grigor weighing what the young man had said. He did indeed hold many secrets with him, more than he cared to count. "What manner of secrets have you seen associated with me?"

Grigor didn't seem surprised by the question, but he was unsure how much he wanted to answer. This man could easily turn both he and Eryl in to the king. Once again he looked to Eryl but didn't seem to receive any sort of indication from the ancient druid as to how he should proceed.

"I have seen many different things. There was something to do with the birth of a child and the death of that child's mother. I do not know who the child is, but I know that he is someone very important. I also got the strong sense that you know how this child's mother died or perhaps why she did. You were charged to keep the circumstances of that birth secret. I don't really know what the vision is about, only that it is something pivotal to the future."

Gaius raised his eyebrows high at this. It was obvious to him that this young man had a vision concerning Arthur's birth and his mother's subsequent death. "What other visions have you seen?" the physician, asked curious to know how much Grigor knew of his role in the history of Camelot.

"I saw another child who was in danger. You saved this child at great risk and made a promise to someone concerning the child. I have seen you help many escape the fires of the Great Purge. I have seen you associated with a great beast, and with a man who was connected to the beast. I saw you in a clearing with a stone alter..."

Eryl stepped forward and caught Grigor's eye causing the young man to stop speaking. Gaius turned to look at Eryl with a question in his eyes. Gaius knew better than to ask for clarification. He had known the druid for a long time and the stone hard face Eryl turned toward Grigor told Gaius that he would not hear more.

"As I said, I have seen many visions with you, but to see a vision and to understand that vision are two very different things."

Gaius felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. This young man may not understand what he has seen, but Gaius now knew that the boy had far more information about his past than anyone who knew him, possibly. Gaius looked over again at the druid who had moved back to his place standing in the corner observing the scene with wide eyes only to have his gaze met squarely.

"Grigor has shown more promise than any I have seen in a very long time. This is why I took him on as my apprentice." was all Eryl said by way of reply to Gaius' unspoken question.

"Yes, I can see that, but we are not here to talk about me or my past."

Eryl nodded. "That is correct." The old druid moved over and sat down on the bed next to Grigor. "We discussed the issue with Arthur Pendragon, but it seems to me that you have some questions as to how we can make the situation work, Gaius"

Gaius shook his head. "I understand what you have said Eryl, but I still do not understand how we will be able to explain Arthur's loss of memory. As I have already told you, there are aspects of Arthur's return to Camelot that have far reaching consequences and are already known to both the King as well as all the knights of Camelot."

Grigor looked between the two and interjected. "Excuse me, I am a bit lost here. What is it that has happened? Where is the Prince now?"

Gaius gave Grigor a brief recap of what had happened and explained what Arthur knew and told him of the conversation that he had with the Prince before he left for Mercia with his small group of knights.

"If upon returning to Camelot, Arthur suddenly losses his memory of the trip he and his servant took, that would be very hard to explain, most especially by Arthur who would stop at nothing to explain it. Such an event could and most likely would be considered an act of sorcery by the King and that would put both of you at enormous risk as well as anyone else the King may suspect."

Grigor stood up and began pacing back and forth. "What if the Prince were to meet with an accident while out on his scouting mission? A blow to the head could easily explain any memory lapses."

Gaius sighed. "The problem with that plan is how to accomplish such a circumstance. Arthur must speak to Eryl and be made to understand the nature of the problem, and then he must agree to the incantation. How can that happen when we have no idea where he is?"

Grigor slowed in his pacing and turned toward Eryl. "I could find him. You know it is possible, I have done it before."

Gaius frowned as he looked between the druids. "Find him? What do you mean?"

Eryl nodded to the young man before turning back to Gaius. "Grigor has a unique ability. With the proper preparation he can enter a trance and physically locate someone. It takes an enormous amount of concentration and effort, but it is possible. Grigor is the only person I have ever met who can scry this way without the aide of a crystal or reflective pool."

Gaius looked at the young man appreciatively. That was a rare gift indeed. "I still do not see how that will help us. Arthur is not alone. He has several of his best knights with him. This is not something that can be done in their presence."

Grigor smiled at that. "That will be tricky, but I have an idea that should work. If I can find the right opportunity, a time when the Prince is alone, I can enchant him to follow me."

Gaius thought that he must have heard Grigor incorrectly. "I beg your pardon?"

"I will bring him back to Eryl and release him from the enchantment. Once Eryl has convinced him of the need for this measure and the incantation is complete I will enchant him once again and take him back where his knights will find him and make sure he is provided with a reasonable lump on his head to explain the memory loss."

Gaius looked at Grigor as though he had grown two heads. "Are you mad?"

"Very possibly, but unless you have a better idea I don't see that we have a lot of choice."

Gaius looked from one druid to the other. Grigor sat down again next to his master and Gaius stared hard at them both. "Is there no way to simply remove just a small portion of Arthur's memory, Eryl. The part that concerns the druid camp and Merlin's magic?"

Eryl shook his head. "I am afraid it doesn't work like that old friend. We all think in associations. If Arthur remembers the trip he took with his servant then that will tie into the experiences of the trip. For this to work Arthur must give up his memory of the entire trip. When he wakes up afterward his men will have to explain what they are doing in Mercia. He will have no recollection of the reasons for being there. There really is no other way. I must agree with you, Gaius that if Arthur were to loose that much memory after returning to Camelot there would be no way to explain it. I'm afraid Grigor is right and this is the most viable means of accomplishing our goal."

"If Grigor is caught he will be executed." Gaius pointed out, hoping that they could come up with a safer plan.

Grigor looked at Gaius and the court physician saw the determination in his eyes as well as a healthy helping of fear. "It is what must be done."

Gaius sighed and bowed his head. "All right, but let me make a suggestion. I will write a message to Arthur explaining that he must return to Camelot with you without his men's knowledge. I will say that Merlin's life depends on this. There will be no need to enchant him until after he has agreed to have his memory altered. I will make up a potion that you can take with you, Grigor. If you can slip it to the knights with Arthur, it will knock them out long enough to show him the message and get him to agree to come back with you. Do you think you can manage that?"

Grigor smiled broadly. "That will work very well. I should have no problem giving the potion to the other knights."

"How long before you will know where to find Arthur?"

Grigor looked less certain, but he raised his chin. "I will begin to prepare myself now. With luck I will be ready to leave by sundown."

Gaius stood and turned for the door. "I will be back before sundown then." He inclined his head to the druids before turning back to the door. As he left the room he thought to himself, 'I suppose this would qualify as one more of those secrets that I am keeping.'

TBC

A/N - Thank you for your patience. The holidays were very busy and then other things occurred to keep me tied up fairly well. The next chapter should be easier to write, now that I have worked out how this bit with Arthur was going to work. My betas were busy so this was reviewed by me, thus any mistakes are my own.