Book 2, Canto 11 Summary

Guyon, well rested and ready for anything, rides off with the Palmer to complete his quest. Arthur remains at the castle to defend Alma from the brigands, who have regrouped under Maleger. The attacker, a fearsome looking man who rides a tiger and wears a skull as a helmet, tries to shoot Arthur from afar, but is ineffective against Arthur's shield. When they get within range for melee combat, Maleger flees, but his two hags (impatience and impotence) stay behind to fight. They capture Arthur and all appears lost, but Arthur's squire holds the hags at bay until he can recover his wits. Arthur and Maleger finally duke it out, and Arthur delivers a killing blow. To his astonishment, Maleger stands back up, apparently fully healed. After this happens several times, Arthur finally realizes that since Maleger was spawned from the...