The poets enter round one of Circle VII and must navigate a steep passage of broken rocks. They come upon the Minotaur, and Virgil taunts it into a fury, so that the two may pass unharmed.
Virgil tells Dante to turn his eyes to the valley where he will see souls boiling in blood. Dante sees a group of armed Centaurs galloping toward them. Virgil names them and tells a bit of their individual histories. One of the Centaurs, Chiron, moves his beard aside with an arrow and notes that Dante must be alive since he moves things that he touches, such as rocks when he walks. Virgil gives Chiron an explanation about their journey and asks that one of the Centaurs guide them to a shallow place in the river of blood where Dante can cross, riding on the Centaur's back. Chiron volunteers Nessus, another of the Centaurs. Nessus explains that the souls boiling in the river of blood were people that were kings of bloodshed and despoilment. Dante turns to Virgil for guidance, but Virgil says that he will let Nessus guide at this point. Nessus goes on to point out the names of some of the souls in the river. Nessus explains that the river grows deep again on the other side of the ford, and he names some of the other souls punished there. Nessus leaves the poets at the other side of the bank and goes back the way he came.
