The knights pull Collum from the ceremonial pool, parade him naked through Camelot on a sword bridge, and conduct a proper knighting in the Great Hall, where Bedivere fastens golden spurs on him. Arthur's gyrfalcon Goose returns unexpectedly, taken as a good omen. Camelot itself is bustling with renewed energy after surviving Melehan's siege threat.

That afternoon in the armory, the knights present Collum with a superbly crafted Milanese plain steel armor, a mail hauberk, a crested helm, and a shield bearing a winged golden sheep gazing at the moon—a gentle joke on his origins. The knights drink, swap stories, and reveal that Sir Scipio is not actually a knight of the Round Table, having repeatedly self-sabotaged his candidacy. Collum learns that Melehan's army never existed; he had bluffed and surrendered for safety. The mysterious sword from the well bears unknown ancient script.

As evening falls, Bedivere insists the knights themselves must choose Britain's next king without waiting for Arthur, priests, or wizards. He proposes King Cador as a manageable compromise. Constantine furiously rejects his own father; Lancelot is unacceptable to Bedivere; Bors is dismissed as Frankish. The argument escalates toward violence.

Suddenly the medal Collum took from the slain knight burns against his chest and floods the room with blinding silver light. Scipio identifies the symbol as the vitis, a centurion's staff, and Palomides connects it to Saint Longinus, who pierced Christ's side with what became the Holy Lance. The medal then weeps blood. Bedivere declares this divine sign means they must quest for the Holy Lance to restore Arthur's Britain.

The knights kneel, pray, toast, and sing the Te Deum, resolving to confess and depart at dawn on this second Grail Quest. Collum reflects with relief and guilt on the knight he killed to obtain the relic, and thinks of Morgan's grief. As they exit, a servant brings devastating news: Sir Kay has hanged himself with his own sword belt.