Fifteen days he spent in affliction, in fasting, and in prayer, and then the prior, at the head of a procession with cross and banner, brought him to the hole. The prior said, "Knight Owain, here is thy way, go right forward; when thou hast proceeded a long distance and hast lost the light of day, still keep directly north. Thou shalt go thus under the earth, and then, very soon, thou wilt find a great field where there is a hall of stone, unlike any other in the world. Some light there is, but no more than appears when the sun goes to ground in winter. Into that hall thou shalt go and stay until folk come to solace thee. Thirteen[27] men will appear, all serjeants of God, and they will counsel thee about thy course through purgatory." Then the prior and the convent commended him to God and went forth, shutting the gate. The knight took the way leading to the field where was the hall of stone. The hall was the work of no earthly workman; it was cleverly made in fashion of a cloister, with pillars on each side. When the knight had stood a long time, marvelling, he entered. Soon, thirteen wise men appeared, all dressed in white habits and with their heads newly tonsured. Their leader, advancing, saluted the knight, and then sat down to instruct him: "I shall counsel thee, dear brother, as I have many another who has passed this way, to be of good faith, certain, and without doubt, for thou wilt see, when we have departed, a thousand fiends and more to lead thee to torment; take note that if thou dost obey them in the slightest thing, thy soul will be lost. Keep God in thy heart, and think how He suffered from His wounds. Unless thou dost as I tell thee, thou wilt go to hell, body and soul, and be lost eternally. If thou dost speak God's high name, they cannot harm thee." When he had thus counselled the knight, the leader and his fellows commended him to God, and with benign looks went forth from the hall.