At court, the king is acting very oddly. He is rarely seen, and his courtiers carry on business for him. The doctors are seen entering his chambers, and everyone knows he is ill.
Count Roderick is charged with going to Heraut de Apres, the King of Malahaut, to formalize an alliance to fight the Saxons.
Malahaut wants help because his lands have been raided every year, even without the Saxon King Octa on his seat. However, the terms of the proposed alliance are not friendly to Logres, whose knights must provide their own food and are not even allowed to enter the city of Eburacum.
Count Roderick is not happy about these policies. As he negotiates, he discovers that other northern envoys are present, including several from the Saxons. These others are all very closed-mouth, but they are plainly excluding Count Roderick from their plans and conversations.