He must get the friars away, and with them a message to his master.

For himself there could be no return, for he could not shame his King who had trusted him.
In the bestial twilight of this barbaric court the memory of Louis shone like a star.

He must attempt to reach Kublai, of whom men spoke well, though the journey cost him his youth and his life.

It might mean years of wandering, but there was a spark of hope in it.

There, in the bleak hut, he suffered the extreme of mental anguish A heavy door seemed to have closed between him and all that he held dear.