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A week later, the King rode into the forest along the Great West Road accompanied by a small retinue of fellow hunters and attendants. In all, the party numbered no more than twenty. After several miles, the party turned off onto a smaller path and a few of the attendants began to scout around for signs of game. Before long, the air was filled with squawks and shrieks of alarm as pheasants and woodcock were flushed out to become easy targets for the King and his companions. By not by one glance or murmured word could anyone discern that the King’s party was anything other than what it appeared to be.
In the twilight, the King’s retainers erected a small pavilion among the trees and set about preparing a feast of game birds while Kosar and his companions drank fine wine and regaled eac
