Stefan's return to Serbia was thwarted due to Ottoman hostility; returning Serbian troops were killed on their way home near Adrianople. The two brothers and about 260 remaining soldiers embarked to Serbia, with a shorter stay in Lesbos. Their first stop was Zeta, ruled by Đurađ II Balšić, the husband of Stefan's sister Jelena. Đurađ II received them at his capital in Ulcinj, after which Stefan began organizing the army for a confrontation with Branković. Stefan's mother gathered an army in Serbia, while at the same time Branković and Ottoman troops took control of roads in Kosovo to prevent the return of Stefan.