Merlin Comes to the Fore

Arthur turned and called: "Merlin, I have need of you." An elderly man with a long white beard emerged from further back in the column, and rode his horse to Arthur's side.

"My Liege," he said.

"My God," "Ragania" (Betty-2) said. "He not only looks just like Gandalf in the films, but he sounds like him too."

"Do not blaspheme," Arthur said sharply. Betty-2 decided that it might be wise not to mention that she was an atheist.

"Who is this Gandalf?" Merlin asked.

"A wizard of great skill, goodness and wisdom," Betty-2 said, happy to be able to combine the truth with flattery. She hoped that she wouldn't need to tell Merlin that Gandalf was only a fictional character.

"What do you make of these three women?" Arthur asked Merlin. "They appeared from thin air, strangely dressed as you can see, and claim that they are the sorceresses Bettania, Ragania and Ecstacia."

"I have never heard of any of them, which is curious. I had thought that I knew of every major sorceress in Britain. We had better:

1. "Put them to the test." None of them liked the sound of that.
2. "Play safe, and kill them." "Hey, what about the sixth commandment?" Betty-1 objected, hoping that she had got the number right.
3. "Find out where they come from and what they are doing here."
4. "Leave them be. I will speak with them."

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