The Crystal Cave Book Four, Chapter 7 Summary

  • Merlin heads back home to Maridunum after leaving Ambrosius' service. He makes a little stop on his road trip to see Amesbury, which is where Ambrosius was born.
  • Amesbury is also home to some really, really famous rocks. Stewart calls them "the Giants' Dance" or "The Dance of the Hanging Stones." You know them as Stonehenge.
  • Merlin's drawn to things of power, as we know. So off he goes across Salisbury Plain toward nightfall to check out this uber-mystical place.
  • These huge stones are sooo much bigger than the standing stones Merlin remembers from Brittany. But the power that they have is that creepy power. He really wants to get away as soon as he arrives.
  • Even though it feels all supernatural there, and even though Merlin knows all the legendary stories about the power of the stones and how they got there, he can't help but think of the human element.
  • Merlin knows that the stones were set there by men. And that's a pretty impressive feat.
  • As he's looking up at the stones, Merlin trips and finds himself in a depression that feels a lot like a grave. Smooth move.
  • It's then that Merlin feels the cold really moving up through him—and somehow, he knows this is why he came. More later.
  • Merlin and crew ride on to Caerleon (southeast of Maridunum in Wales). Tremorinus the engineer has been working his magic on the place.
  • But Tremorinus isn't just beautifying the old Roman fortifications—there's trouble on the horizon. This time, it's Pascentius, another of Vortigern's sons.
  • After Merlin leaves Tremorinus in Caerleon, he makes his way back to Galapas' cave. On the way, he stops at St. Peter's to see his mom's grave. Not that he hopes to see Keridwen or anything.
  • Merlin learns from an old nun that Keridwen is simply "gone." He doesn't know what that means.
  • Cadal is thrilled to see Merlin. And it turns out that Cadal's got the touch when it comes to good cave-keeping. The place has never looked better.
  • The bronze mirror is back in its place, and the crystal cave is exactly as it should be. Merlin settles in and has a nice, long nap.