Finding the naked countess Yvette hiding behind a bush was only the beginning of Sergeant Thorolf's problems. Yvette wanted Thorolf's cloak; then she wanted him to take her to Rhaetia, find her a wizard to change her appearance to throw off her pursuers, and-worse —pay for everything. She was fleeing Duke Gondomar, who had overrun her country, as he would like to do her person. Even so, she had the nerve to call Thorolf a common wage earner, a basely practical, unromantic Rhaetian, and as out of place as a nobiewoman's consort as a pig in a horse race!
Thorolf took Yvette to see Doctor Bardi, an ancient, slightly senile iatromage, to magically disguise her as a dark, dumpy female. Unfortunately, Bardi neglected to mention that Yvette should avoid alcohol. Yvette changed as promised —but into something like an octopus.