It seems that a mysterious army once covered the road to Grand Duke Dolreack's castle, so that the "Florence Highway" is also known as the "Highway of the Enchanted Troops." And now reports have filtered into town that the enchanted troops are back, threatening everyone in the area. The mayor needs someone to go to the now-abandoned castle and rescue any humans who might have taken shelter there, since the castle is a kind of holy ground for the troops and should keep them at bay. He's just about to pay Strider and Stanza twice as much as he originally bargained for when the Vampire Hunter D rides into town. With D around, the two warriors will be lucky if they can get in on the job now at half the going rate, but the mayor didn't make his town rich by being stupid. He wants the added insurance of having the warriors go with the Vampire Hunter, whether any of the three likes it or not.