By morning, they were within sight of the city walls. The countess had finally slipped into the expected coma and so Vulkan was able to arrange her more decently within coach's saloon ready for their arrival at the keep.

From his eerie, the Captain of the Barbican observed the Countess Jessica's coach arriving with only a single, strange knight in attendance and immediately sent for the seneschal. The dour Maximilian duly arrived in short order at the head of half a dozen knights, all of whom appeared eager for some swordplay, by the way they strutted about fingering their sword hilts. Although, all contrived to maintain a respectful distance from the powerful knight in full battle armour mounted atop the snorting, stamping warhorse.

The seneschal looked briefly into the carriage at his apparently sleeping spouse before signalling the grooms to take the coach through to their private apartments.

He sized up Vulkan before calling him politely, if firmly to account.

"What fate has befallen my wife and what has become of the escort I sent for her?" Count Maximilian demanded.

"Your Grace, I happened across your coach at the border two days ago. The escort had already been slaughtered by a band of outlaws and the countess…" here Vulkan paused for delicacy's sake, secretly enjoying the look of pained embarrassment that suddenly clouded the seneschal's surly face as he looked quickly around at the inquisitive faces of the listening knights.

"Dismissed!" the seneschal growled at the curious throng and waited until only Vulkan and the quivering Henrik remained within earshot before nodding for him to continue with his account.

"Although heavily outnumbered, I attacked immediately and managed, by God's Grace, to slay the criminals, including the vile devil who was in the process of ill-using your wife," again Vulkan chortled inside at the seneschal's obvious discomfort, "however," and here Vulkan dropped his voice to a mere whisper, "I fear the uncouth brute had already pressed himself most grievously upon the countess' virtue, Your Grace."