“I will travel the world till I find my lost brother,” said Miach Lay.
“I will go with you, and take all my forces,” said Red Bow, the son of the King of Greece.
“I need no assistance,” said Miach Lay. “If I myself cannot find him, I think that no man can; but if you wish to come, you are welcome.”
Miach Lay went to his vessel; and Red Bow chose the best ship from all that his father had, and went on board of it. The two ships sailed away together. In time they neared land; and on reaching the mouth of the harbor, they saw a third ship sailing toward them as swiftly as the wind blew, and it was not long till it came alongside. There was only one man on board; he hailed Miach Lay, and asked, “Where are you going?”
“It would not be the custom of my country for me to tell you what you ask till you tell me who you are yourself, and where your own journey lies.”
“I know myself,” said the warrior, “where you are going; you are in search of the Dark King, and I myself would like to see him.”
With that, he took a bundle of branches he had on deck, and blew them overboard. Then every rod and twig of the bundle became an enormous log of wood, so that the harbor was covered with one raft of timber, and then he sailed away without waiting.
After much struggling with the logs, shoving them hither and over, Miach Lay was able by pushing with oars to make room for his vessel, and at last came to land. Red Bow and his men were cast into deep sleep by the man on the vessel that had sailed away.
After Miach Lay landed, he passed through a great stretch of wild country, and, drawing near a large forest, saw rising up a small, slender smoke far in among trees. He made for the place where the smoke was, and there he discovered a large, splendid castle in the depth of the forest, but could find no sign of an entrance.
When Miach Lay had stood outside some time, a young woman looked through the window, hailed him, and said, “You are a stranger, and will find no lodgings in these parts; but if I could at all, I would let you come in here.”