Riding hard, Gawain goes quickly in the direction Kay has shown him. For Kay has returned to the court at Camelot in disgrace, wounded and without his horse. The Queen has vanished. King Arthur foolishly let her ride out with only Kay to protect her, but a fearsome knight called Meleagant easily defeated Kay and stole the Queen away. He has taken her to his own land of Gorre, which some call the Summer Country. There he already holds prisoner many people belonging to King Arthur's kingdom of Logres.
Gawain has not gone far when he sees Kay's horse roaming loose in the forest.
He grabs its bridle, and at that moment a knight comes up on a horse covered
with sweat.
'I beg you, let me borrow your horse,' the knight asks him, 'or else give it me as a gift. I will return the favour.'
Gawain gave the strange knight the horse. He leapt on at once and galloped off. The horse he had left fell dead to the ground, he had ridden it so hard.
Gawain followed him at full speed, and a little further on came to a place where the ground was all trampled and broken shields and lances lay about. The horse he had given the stranger knight was dead from exhaustion. It seemed that there had been a great combat with several knights and Gawain was very sorry to have missed it.
Not far ahead he can see the knight on foot, with his shield hanging from his shoulder, his helmet laced on and his sword at his side. Gawain spurs on his horse, determined to find out who this knight is and what he wants.
