meet King Rience: but it will not avail you, without you have my counsel." "Ah!" said Balin, "ye are Merlin: we will be ruled by your counsel." "Come on," said Merlin; "ye shall have great worship, and look that ye do knightly; for ye shall have great need." "As for that," said Balin, "dread ye not: we will do what we may."
Then Merlin lodged them in a wood amongst leaves, beside the highway, and took off the bridles of their horses, and put them to grass, and laid them down to rest them till it was nigh midnight. Then Merlin bade them arise and make them ready; for the king was nigh them that was stolen away from his host, with threescore of his best knights: and twenty of them rode before, to warn the Lady de Vance that the king was coming; for that night King Rience should have been with her. "Which is the king?" said Balin. "Abide," said Merlin; "here in a straight way ye shall meet with him." And therewith he showed Balin and his brother where he rode. Anon Balin and his brother met with the king, and smote him down, and wounded him fiercely, and laid him to the ground; and there they slew on the right hand and on the left, and slew more than forty of his men, and the remnant fled. Then went they again to King Rience, and would have slain him, if he had not yielded him to their grace. Then said the king again, "Knights, full of prowess, slay me not; for by my life ye may win, and by my death shall ye win nothing." Then said these two knights, "Ye say sooth and troth;" and so laid him on a horse-litter. With that Merlin was vanished, and came to King Arthur aforehand, and told him how his most enemy was taken and discomfited. "By whom?" said King Arthur. "By two knights,"
