He had never, for one moment, abandoned his idea of vengeance, and forthwith resolved to send Oger and Naimes, his two confidants, to the King of Acquitaine to signify to him that he must deliver the sons D’Aymon into his hands with their cousin Renaud, or suffer the effects of his anger. Arriving at the court of Yon, Oger and Naimes, being duly presented, spoke in these terms: “Sire! Charlemagne knows well that you have given hospitality to the four sons D’Aymon and their cousin, and more, you have permitted the erection by them of a fortress in the middle of your kingdom, though by so doing you have perhaps not intended a blow to the interests of your master.” “That is true,” replied King Yon. “Charlemagne will overlook it,” continued the Duke de Naimes, “but you must not afford shelter and support against his anger to men of whose crimes you probably are not familiar. Not only have they revolted against their king, but Maugis is the nephew of the Duke d’Aigremont, who murdered the son of Charlemagne, and is also the assassin of Berthelot, the nephew of the emperor.” “Noble knights!” replied King Yon, “I am exceedingly anxious to maintain friendly relations with the emperor, but I cannot buy peace by an act of perfidy. I would use all possible means to secure a sincere reconciliation between the sons D’Aymon and the emperor. I would feel satisfied could I arrive at that result.” “This then is thy answer?” demanded Oger. “It is,” responded King Yon. “Then be warned,” thundered Naimes, “thy conditions are refused, and unless thou wilt comply with the demands of thy emperor, bitter war will cause thee to feel the wrath of Charlemagne.” Oger and Naimes at once left the court, and returning to Charlemagne, rendered him an account of their mission. The emperor, as usual, flew into a violent rage and would have had his army on the march within twenty-four hours, but his counsellors called his attention to the fact that Maugis had now gained great prestige, which would have a marked effect on the soldiers sent to fight him, and that to attack Montaubon would be futile, when they had already been unable to subdue Montfort. But Ganelon and his friends sided with the emperor and encouraged his determination by all the means in their power. Charlemagne was inflexible and insisted upon war with the King of Acquitaine and his allies. It was at this point the audience of the king was interrupted by a great noise and commotion outside, caused by the arrival of a stranger and his suite. He was a young man of great personal beauty, and the rich raiment he wore could not conceal the manhood of a true knight. His suite were numerous and were dressed with equal richness, all indicating that he was of princely birth. Everybody made way for him when he appeared to present himself before the emperor.