At a roadside inn, the wandering knight Dan and his squire Vítek meet two offended former ministers of the Forest Kingdom. They complain that the young princess Jelena, who recently took the throne, spends her time hunting with her female companions, but hates men and does not want to marry—and with a capricious woman on the throne, the country will soon come to a bad end. This intrigues the young men—they have never met Amazons before—and so they set off for the capital city.