A month later, Launcelot gets bored and decides to go for a swim.  Malory explains that he spent all the intervening time praying, and somewhat huffily asserts that no, he didn’t starve to death because God gave him manna, like the Israelites in the desert, okay? Is that all right with you?

While swimming, Launcelot spots a knight coming up.  It’s Galahad!  There’s a little back and forth where they don’t recognize one another at first.

“Truly, my name is Launcelot du Lake.”

“Sir, then ye be welcome, for ye were the beginner of me in this world.”

“Ah, are ye Galahad?”

“Yea, forsooth!”

That’s the actual dialogue.  You can really feel the love, right?  Anyway, Galahad and Launcelot recap their adventures at one another, and then they go back aboard the boat.  Galahad sees Mags’s body, which after a month I don’t know, maybe God has been miraculously keeping her fresh?  And he’s full of exposition about how great Mags was, but Launcelot is way more interested in Galahad’s new magic sword.

Then, says Malory, there’s a six month period where Launcelot and Galahad and Mags’s corpse sail around the ocean and land on strange islands and have all kinds of awesome father/son/corpse bonding sessions on their many strange adventures.  It’s like a Le Morte D’Arthur spin-off, which I guess makes this the backdoor pilot.

Half a year after they met up, on a Monday Malory tells us, the magic boat lands at the edge of a forest, where a knight in shining white armor has been waiting for them.  He’s got a horse, which he gives to Galahad.  Fun is fun, but now it’s time for Galahad to finish up the Quest for the Holy Grail and stop with the random aquatic strange adventures.

“Well, bye Dad,” says Galahad.  “An angel just told me I won’t ever see you again.”

“Bye son!” Launcelot waves him goodbye.  “Say Hi to Jesus for me, when you meet Him!  I’ll pray for you!”

Then Launcelot gets back onto the magic boat, and it sails him around the ocean for another month.  He sits aboard and meditates and prays for Grail-related revelations, and then, one night at midnight the boat arrives at a castle.  The back gate is wide open, right by the dock; he can walk straight in.  The only issue is the two giant lions pacing around.

Just in case he was hesitant, a disembodied angelic voice tells him to go head and get into the castle already!  So okay, he gets his armor on, and his sword, and he hops off the boat, and he’s about to start attacking the lions, when, out of nowhere, Peter appears!  Peter the dwarf.

“Geez, guy!  What are you even doing with armor?  This is a nonviolent quest zone!”

“Whoops,” says Launcelot.  “I didn’t realize.  Thanks for the correction.”  He says a quick prayer and sheathes his sword and he and the lions respectfully nod to one another, and then he goes on into the castle.  He’s been to this castle before, though he doesn’t recognize it: this is Castle Corbin, home of Pellam, Elaine, Galahad, and the site of Sir Bors’s extremely peculiar adventure back in Book XI.

Also in this castle?  The Grail!  Dun dun dunnn!