491 AD: Christmas in London and the Invasion of Cornwall

At the end of the year 490, messages were sent throughout Britain to the lords of the Supreme Collegium, calling them to London. It had been many years since they had last gathered and appointed Aurelius Ambrosius as High King. Now there was another who sought that hallowed rank, and whose deeds warranted his obtaining it: his brother, Uther Pendragon, wielder of the sacred sword Excalibur, victor of the Battle of Lincoln. For long years this had been Uther's ambition, for by uniting Britain he would finally have the power needed to truly take the war to the Saxon invaders at last!

Amongst those who travelled in the retinue of Earl Roderick, who held the Collegium seat of Sarum, were Sir Aeronwy, Sir Arnulf, Sir Gherard, Sir Cadfael and Sir Albrecht - all of whom had personally been involved in aiding Uther in his quest in the previous years. Four of these knights had even journeyed to Faerie with Merlin to obtain Excalibur for Uther. All of them hoped for a united Britain.

The knights had their own ambitions, however. Sir Albrecht sought to spread his Wotanic faith. It had suffered something of a setback recently - after the destruction of Malksham, Sir Albrecht was summoned before Earl Roderick and emissaries of Gwiona of Amesbury, to answer for his attack. Saint Gwiona recognised that Christians had also some culpability for what had happened, and while she sought justice, she also desired reconcilation and an end to religious conflict. Therefore she had demanded a weregild from Sir Albrecht in order to rebuild Malksham, and an oath from Sir Albrecht that in the future he would allow no harm to come to the Christian Church, or to womenfolk. Sir Albrecht was unhappy with the oath, but recognised that he had no other choice and agreed to the terms.

Alongside Sir Albrecht rode a young woman knight who had sworn fealty to Saint Gwiona. Her name was Sir Esther, and she was the younger sister of Sir Percival. Although she had wished to become a nun, she left the monastery upon the death of her brother to manage his estates. She was also tasked with liasing with Sir Albrecht to ensure no further conflict, and with overseeing the reconstruction of Malksham. She, too, had personal goals in London - to spread the influence of Gwiona and her pacifistic, feministic version of Christianity further throughout Britain.

Sir Cadfael was trying not to attract the attention of Earl Roderick, since the Earl was furious with him after refusing a political marriage to a lady of Somerset. He would have been left behind, except that King Uther explicitly wished for the knights who had obtained Excalibur to be present at London. With his retinue was his wife, Violette, in disguise. Sir Cadfael usually spent the winter at Illwind Castle, but since that would not be possible this year, he had decided to show his wife the world outside the Campecorentin Forest and to take her to see the capitol.

Sir Gherard's goal was the same as it had been for many years - to find a rich wife of higher status to marry. Sir Aeronwy's was similiar - she was seeking a man to father her child. After years of trying, she was beginning to feel that her husband (to whom she had never been particularly loyal in the first place!) might be impotent - and there would be many lords at London to seduce. Sir Arnulf was also interested in finding a wife, but his primary concern was to help out his man - for he and Prince Madoc had become lovers after Sir Arnulf had helped to save the Prince's life the previous year.

The Christmas feast began with a day of prayer and fasting, to remember Our Lord's birth into the world. Not all of the knights believed in this, since not all were Christians, but lip service was paid. In the evening, the feasting began. Uther's court, and the other lords of the Supreme Collegium, were gathered around a special table that Uther had had prepared for this moment - a round table, where no man sat above another, to symbolise how all those who sat down were lords and heroes of note. It was a simple piece of propaganda, but popular propaganda for all that. Now that the prayers were said, and the winter celebrations were beginning, it was time for the knights of Salisbury to set about accomplishing their various aims.

Not all of these goals were achieved over the winter. Sir Arnulf took the opportunity to sleep around in the licentious atmosphere of the winter celebrations - justifying it as a way to seek allies for his Prince. For Sir Arnulf, this led to the wife of the Earl of Doncaster growing jealous with him and attempted to sabotage the knight's saddle - fortunately, Sir Arnulf's loyal squire Helbur noticed this and saved him. Sir Arnulf also made further enemies during the Feast of Saint Stephen, when gifts are traditionally handed out. Earl Roderick wished to reward the knight, who had fought so valiantly at the Battle of Lindsey, as well as bind him to Salisbury (since Sir Arnulf technically owned no land of his own, after leaving Leucomagus - he was living in Salisbury only to look after his dead sister-in-law's estate). Furthermore, the Earl knew that honouring Sir Arnulf would infuriate Sir Rhisiart of Leucomagus, whom he hated. Therefore, Earl Roderick offered Sir Arnulf the hand of his daughter, Lady Jenna, in marriage, as well as the city of Tilshead. Sir Arnulf accepted - making himself an enemy of Leucomagus (who had wished for Jenna's hand for himself), as well as the other, longer-serving knights of Salisbury who felt that Sir Arnulf was an interloper and an upstart.

Sir Arnulf's winter continued in a similar vein when the knights went hunting in the woods around London. The brave knight became separated from his companions in the thick winter fog. He heard the sound of hunting horns and travelled towards them - only to find spectral hounds attacking him from out of the fog! It was the Wild Hunt, which was said to ride over the deepest hours of midwinter! Sir Arnulf fled, his horse being slain by the hounds of the Hunt, but was unable to escape. Brought to a halt, he challenged a ghostly stag-headed Huntsman to a duel, and managed to brutally defeat the spectre - but refused to execute a fallen man, and instead showed mercy. This sign of mercy was not a good idea, and the hounds of the Hunt attacked him, tearing at his flesh savagely. They surely would have slain him - but a brilliant entity clad in light drove them in terror away from the fallen knight. As Sir Arnulf's senses returned to normal, the shining form revealed itself to be Merlin the Enchanter, come to rescue him. The bloodied knight was dragged back to the castle, and spent the rest of the winter recovering in bed.

Sir Gherard had considerably more success than Sir Arnulf. He managed, very early on, to seduce the Dowager Baroness of Devon, Lady Edwina. The older woman had been widowed, and so her son was now the Baron - but she was looking for a new partner, while Sir Gherard had been looking to marry upwards for some time. However, the match was not just one of convenience - the two swiftly grew very fond of one another. Earl Roderick approved the match as well, for it strengthened connections between Salisbury and the small barony of Devon. So Sir Gherard achieved a happy marriage to Lady Edwina of Devon.

Sir Albrecht had intended to spread the Wotanic faith. He had made a stop on the way to London to do so, to visit Dorchester-on-Thames, in Rydychan. There was another Saxon community there, also from the first Saxon settlers under Magnus Maximus a hundred years earlier, who were also experiencing a Wotanic revival as a result of Sir Albrecht's actions in London. They, however, were led by a man called Acwel Raven's-Cloak, who was putting himself forward as the leader of the nascent religious movement. Sir Albrecht went there, intended to murder the challenger to his position, but instead he found himself talking to the older man and accepting that Acwel had more experience and knowledge of Wotanism. Sir Albrecht accepted Acwel as the leader of the faith, and in exchange was taken on as Acwel's chief disciple and heir. Acwel promised that in time, he would even teach the knight the secrets of runic magic!

Once but he found himself with very little opportunity to do so. He found himself challenged almost immediately by a small, round, pink-faced, moustachioed knight - Sir Hubert (who was quickly dubbed 'the Pig Knight') Sir Hubert continually challenged Sir Albrecht to a fight over religion, but the much larger Sir Albrecht, considering how he now had a 'minder' in the form of Sir Esther, decided not to respond to the taunting. A bigger problem was the new Archbiship of Canterbury, Iestyn. This Archbishop immediately proved himself a schemer, and attempted to manipulate Sir Albrecht and Wotanism. If Sir Albrecht would lead the Wotanist movement to destroy the heretic Saint Gwiona of Amesbury, the Archbishop said, then Iestyn would raise the oath that Sir Albrecht had been forced to swear. Otherwise, the Archbishop would dedicate the church to destroying Wotanism entirely. Sir Albrecht found himself torn - he despised the Archbishop and resented being manipulated; on the other, his oath sat heavily upon him and he wished it removed, and vengeance against Gwiona for forcing it upon him would be very satisfying!

Sir Albrecht's 'minder', Sir Esther, also wished to spread her religion at London, although she had somewhat more success than Sir Albrecht did in that regard. She spoke to King Leodegrance of Cameliard, whose wife was pregnant. The King proved most amenable, and agreed that, should his wife be delivered of a girl, that Amesbury should send a nun north to Cameliard to act as her tutor. In addition, Sir Esther learned of a Saint Dewi in Escavalon, known as 'the Waterman' for his devotion to temperance - in fact, it was said that he had miraculously changed wine into water! Sir Esther arranged for a messenger to take news to Saint Dewi from Saint Gwiona, to begin talking to him about the Saint officially recognising Gwiona's movement. Day by day, Gwionaism was becoming more mainstream!

In contrast to everyone else, Sir Cadfael had a quiet winter. As usual, Sir Cadfael heard all of the major political rumours that were circulating: that the Supreme Collegium was to decide what should happen to the two seats which had been lost to the Saxons. The two major factions which sought them (in exchange, no doubt, for their support for Uther) was King Nanteleod of Escavalon, who already controlled several seats; and King Lot of Lothian, an extremely powerful land-holder north of the Wall, yet one who did not control any seats on the Supreme Collegium. However, Sir Cadfael was not very interested in the politicking. He had brought his wife, Lady Violette, along with him, and during the Christmas celebrations he slipped out of the castle with her and showed her the sights and sounds of London. A good time was had by both!

Sir Aeronwy also used the opportunity to sleep around (even managing to seduce the Duke of Gloucester!), as well as to spread her own religion. As a good pagan, she knew that the Feast of Saint Stephen was once known as Wren Day, and so she took the opportunity to hunt down a wren and parade it through the town, according to custom.

Sir Aeronwy also signed up for the great tournament on the day of the Feast of Saint Simon Stylites, as did Sir Gherard, Sir Cadfael and Sir Albrecht. (Sir Esther did not like violence, and Sir Arnulf was still recovering from the Wild Hunt). All four knights managed to reach the final eight contestants. Sir Aeronwy duelled another woman knight, Sir Diane of the Green Isles, an Irish knight whom Sir Aeronwy quickly became friends with. Sir Diane proved the more skilled of the two, and defeated the pagan woman. Meanwhile, Sir Gherard was defeated by Sir Ector, a genial knight who generally dwelt in the Black Mountains of Wales, and Sir Albrecht finally was given the opportunity to fight, and easily defeat, Sir Hubert the Pink. Sir Cadfael fought with an old adversary - Sir Cador of Cornwall, whom Sir Cadfael had insulted years earlier before the Battle of Mearcred Creek. Sir Cador handily defeated Sir Cadfael, then yielded to him to show that the old grudges were forgiven and that Cornwall stood on the side of Logres, now and forever! Sir Cadfael then fought Sir Ector, overcoming him without too much difficulty, while Sir Albrecht dealt such a terrible blow to Sir Diane that she suffered brain damage and became addled in the head. The final of the tournament was to have been Sir Cadfael against Sir Albrecht, but the wounds that Sir Cadfael had suffered fighting against Sir Cador burst open, and so Sir Albrecht was declared the winner.

While all this was happening, the wife of the Earl of Doncaster made another attempt to murder Sir Arnulf in his bed. Sir Arnulf wrestled with the assassin, and fortunately his squire Helbur had stayed behind with his master rather than going to watch the fighting, so Helbur was able to save Sir Arnulf's life. Weakly, Sir Arnulf began to consider betrothing his baby daughter to the young squire, who had done so much for him.

There were various other events during the Christmas feasting as well. Helbur told the story of how the knights had achieved Excalibur at one of the feasts, impressing lords whom Uther wished to sway to his side. Gifts were given to them, by the Earl, by the King and by the Prince. Much wine was drunk, and the knights took part in a riddle-game (which they did not do well at) and in carolling. Particularly fun was singing 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', where the lines were improvised by each knight in turn:

Twelve pink pig knights
Eleven useless squires
Ten Saxon heads
Nine shooting stars
Eight breaded plates
Seven effing pounds
Six sharpened battle-axes
Five bowls of stew
Four judgemental women
Three French pastries
Two horns of mead
And a partridge in a pear tree!

Finally, on Twelfth Night, at Feast of Misrule, Sir Aeronwy discovered the bean inside her cake and was crowned 'lord of misrule'. She ordered that the entire court should be forced to wear women's clothing! Some of the knights (like Sir Ector) took to the fun enthusiastically, while others (like Archbishop Iestyn) did not enjoy this as much. Sir Aeronwy also took the opportunity to talk to Merlin, who was attending the feast incognito, as was his wont. She asked the great enchanter about his sister, Ganeida, about whom she had heard rumours. Much to her surprise, Merlin took offence at this question, muttered that he had no sister, and stalked off!

The next day was the Feast of the Epiphany, the final day of the Christmas celebrations. On the morrow, the politicking would begin, as the question of the lost seats of the Supreme Collegium would be discussed, and as Uther made his big for the High Kingship. The mood was ebullient, for everyone knew that Uther had garnered the support that he needed, and should easily be voted to become the High King. Then... disaster struck. A beautiful woman came forward to read a poem in the Pendragon's honour. She was the Duchess of Cornwall, the wife of Duke Gorlois, the beautiful Lady Igraine. Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht, Sir Arnulf and Sir Gherard all fell in love with her immediately - as did King Uther Pendragon.

As the month continued on, King Uther stopped paying attention to the Supreme Collegium and to the task at hand, and instead spent his time fawning over Lady Igraine, while Duke Gorlois grew more and more furious and the Supreme Collegium grew more and more impatient. The promise of unity symbolised by Uther's new round table was gone. Eventually, realising that Uther's infatuation with another man's wife had blinded him to the needs of the kingdom, the lords of Britain began to disperse, with nothing decided - save that Uther should not be the High King. Uther continued to stalk Lady Igraine, who found it difficult to avoid his unwanted attentions, and yet as other lords left the castle, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall were forbidden permission to leave. Finally, the Cornish embassy slipped away in the night, and an incensed King Uther Pendragon used this as a spurious excuse to declare Duke Gorlois a traitor. He began to muster his armies - for a war with his own vassal, to seize another man's woman who did not want him as his wife.

Duke Gorlois summoned his forces to war, and prepared for the onslaught of the rest of Logres. The armies of the Pendragon mustered for the war in Devon. However, the conflict was wildly unpopular, with many feeling that they were simply serving as whoremongers for the Pendragon. Fighting between knights broke out commonly, and Sir Cadfael and Sir Aeronwy got into a fist-fight with some of the dissident knights. The knights of Salisbury felt betrayed by the King's actions, and none of them were happy with the war, but none of them wished to speak up about it, and all agreed to go along with the armies for one reason or another.

Also feeling conflicted were Prince Madoc and Merlin Ambrosius. Prince Madoc despised what his father was doing, with Saxon armies on Logres' borders, and wondered whether he should support the campaign against Cornwall or whether he should attempt to usurp his father's throne for the greater good - even though he loved his father dearly. Talking with Sir Arnulf about it, the Prince decided not to divide the kingdom any further, and to support his father - for now. Meanwhile, Merlin and Uther had argued loudly about whether Merlin should use his magic to win Igraine for Uther. Merlin refused to help completely, because he found the situation extremely reprehensible, but now he visited Sir Esther (since he had trusted and respected her brother) for advice whether he should, in fact, help Uther - for many men would die in the King's war, men might not die save that Merlin was keeping his hands clean.

The army marched westward into Cornwall, to find that Gorlois was occupying the fortress of Castle Terrabil, while his wife Igraine was kept safe in the coastal fortifications of Tintagel Castle. The siege of the castle was long and hard, and King Uther himself fell sick - from frustrated love, it was said. Then, after several weeks had passed, Gorlois and his knights sallied forth for a night attack upon Uther's encampment. The knights of Salisbury were caught largely by surprise, with only a few managing to find armour or steeds before the battle was upon them and they were forced to fight Duke Gorlois' knights. King Uther was not present, and so Prince Madoc attempted to rally the defenders in his place. However, Duke Gorlois himself was present in the raid, and attacked Prince Madoc from behind, putting his sword through the back of Prince Madoc's head! Sir Arnulf saw his lover die and, in a fury, he struck the Duke nearly asunder with a single mighty blow. With Gorlois' death, the now-leaderless raid fell apart, and Castle Terrabil fell.

The war was now over. King Uther now controlled Cornwall, and married Igraine after barely a month had passed. The Dukedom itself was dissolved, its lands divided up amongst faithful followers of the Pendragon. Gorlois' surviving followers fled or were slain. The Duke's three daughters Morgause, Elaine and Morgan were promised in marriage to King Lot and his supporters, in an attempt to create new alliances after the disastrous events in London, while Sir Cador was to be hunted and put to death as a traitor's son. It was Sir Cadfael who eventually discovered Sir Cador, hiding out in a village on the coast. Sir Cador had grown disillusioned with Logres and the institution of knighthood, and so Sir Cadfael helped Sir Cador fake his death, bringing in the knight's coat of arms as a sign that he was no more.

Meanwhile, the other knights confronted Merlin about his part in what had happened. They knew that he had gone to see Uther again shortly before Gorlois' death, and they knew that Uther had been missing on the night of the raid - in fact, his absence was what had prompted the midnight attack. Furthermore, rumours said that Duke Gorlois had visited Tintagel to lie with his wife on the very night that he had been slain at Castle Terrabil! Merlin admitted that he had used his magic to help Uther disguise himself as Gorlois, in order to rape Igraine. His visions had revealed that a great good would come as a result of their union, and the magician used this to bitterly justify his actions. One woman had been raped? Far worse happened after any battle! And the results of the one night's ill deeds would have immeasurable impact upon the destiny of the world! Everyone could tell that Merlin was simply trying to justify his actions to himself - and as they had also taken part in the campaign, they hoped that he was right, so that they could reconcile their own parts in the sordid war to themselves.

There was further ill news. Through his actions, King Uther had proven unworthy of the sword Excalibur, and overnight the magical blade vanished. Furthermore, the Saxons took advantage of the internal conflicts. King Aelle of Sussex had attacked Caer Anderida, on the southern coast, and slain all of its defenders, capturing it for himself.

The final events of the year were Sir Albrecht's. He spent a long time contemplating the words of the Archbishop Iestyn at Christmas. Should he betray Gwiona, and bow to the blackmail? Unsure what to do, he went to visit his mentor Acwel Raven's-Cloak that winter, who told him exactly what he should do. No man should try to manipulate a follower of Wotan! If this Iestyn sought a conflict with Wotan, then Sir Albrecht should give him one - by putting an axe in his skull! Sir Albrecht agreed immediately, and summoned many of his followers to lead a raid on the Archbishop in Saint Albans.

Before he left, Acwel told him that it was time he learn the secrets of the runes, for they might help him in defeating the followers of Christ. However, a sacrifice would be needed - and so Sir Albrecht tore his own eye from its socket as an offering to Wotan, just as Wotan had given his eye to gain wisdom from Mimir. As a result of his sacrifice, Albrecht gained mastery of three runes: Wynn, the rune of happiness; Feoh, the rune of cattle; and Hagl, the rune of winter.

Sir Albrecht led his army secretly to Saint Albans, and waited for the dead of night. He then secretly entered the town and carved Hagl into the streets of Saint Albans, summoning a terrible blizzard. In the middle of the blizzard, the Wotanic army entered the town and attacked the cathedral there unawares. Sir Albrecht was now forsworn, for he had broken his oath to Saint Gwiona, but he did not care. He broke into the cathedral and found the archbishop sleeping, woke him so that he knew Sir Albrecht - and then split his skull asunder with his axe.

Sir Albrecht enters Saint Albans Cathedral in search of vengeance. Art by Sir Aeronwy's player.

 

By this point, the defenders of Saint Albans, led by the lord of the town, Sir Julius, had rallied, and the followers of Wotan were surrounded, forced back against the walls of the church, and were being slaughtered. Sir Albrecht emerged and slew many of the guardsmen, withstanding blow after blow until he was the last man standing. His axe was broken asunder, and he was reduced to fighting with his bare hands, but no man dared approach him. Even a fully armoured knight charged the berserk warrior - only for his horse to be wrestled to the ground, and the man to be slain by Sir Albrecht's bare hands. Finally, Sir Julius struck down Sir Albrecht, whose spirit left his body to join the einherjar in Wotan's hall of Valhalla.

Sir Albrecht's mother is not happy about the Christians killing her baby boy - Art by Sir Aeronwy's player

RIP Sir Albrecht, 457 - 491. Slain after murdering the Archbishop of Canterbury.

490 AD: The Battle of Lincoln

While romance was blossoming in Castle Illwind, an impending battle was looming over Britain. No meaningful battle had been fought between King Octa's Saxons and the Pendragon's Cymric forces before winter had forced the armies to disband for the year, but in the thaw of 490, King Uther Pendragon sent out a call to arms throughout Logres. Meanwhile, word was that further ships were landing every day from the continent, constantly reinforcing King Octa's position. The eastern parts of Malahaut were all but lost now to the latest settlers from the mainland. Most disturbing of all was rumour that King Octa had procured an axe from the mainland that was said to be a match for Excalibur itself! Saxon raiders had slaughtered a tribe deep in the continent and stolen the Axe of Perun, the sacred weapon of their patron god. Not even the power of the Gods could save one from the Saxons, and King Octa intended to slay the Pendragon and claim Excalibur as a trinket for his half-giant brother Eosa.

The knights of Salisbury were amongst those who answered the call for war, travelling north with Earl Roderick and the greater part of his army to Lincoln, where the Pendragon had planted his war banner. Many of the greatest warriors of the kingdom were present - including, after the reconciliation of the previous year, Duke Gorlois of Cornwall! However, the atmosphere was sombre, for Octa and Eosa were marching their army south to meet them, and all knew that the Saxons outnumbered them significantly. Much blood would be spilt...

Prince Madoc was given command of an advance force and sent to secure control over a bridge fording a nearby river before the armies arrived, which would be a pivotal location in the upcoming battle. He selected a small but veteran force of knights to go with him, including Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht, Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael, and Sir Percival. The bridge was old and wide, a stone Roman bridge - and already occupied by the Saxons' own advance guards!

Prince Madoc ordered his knights to charge, and battle was joined. Spears were lowered, shields were set, and the earth shook with the thunder of charging hooves. The veteran Saxon force readied their own spears to receive the charge, and a lucky blow caught Sir Percival. The brave knight's own momentum drove the spear deep into his body, and sent him falling heavily from his steed, critically wounded. Meanwhile, a cloaked archer emerged from a nearby copse of trees, seen by few - and Prince Madoc was brought low by a coward's arrow, falling into the river. Sir Cadfael charged his horse into the current, pulling Prince Madoc on to the back of the horse before he could drown in the river, while Sir Arnulf quitted the battle to attack the archer. It took short work for the bold knight to slay the archer, and then flipped back his hood to reveal... someone. No one that Sir Arnulf recognised, in any case (though he had a feeling that he should have recognised him!)

With Prince Madoc fallen, the forces of Logres found themselves momentarily leaderless. Sir Albrecht bellowed out exhortations to them, rallying the force and renewing their assault upon the Saxons. They drove the enemy back on to the bridge itself, where a raging Saxon berserker held the span, hewed down any who stood against him. It was Sir Aeronwy who challenged him, and her swift sword cleft the man asunder - although she knew full well that had the berserker not already been wounded, the brief duel would have ended very differently!

With the death of the berserker champion, the Saxons' resolve was broken, and the bridge belonged to Logres. Sir Arnulf provided first-aid to Prince Madoc, who was none too badly hurt and returned to consciousness to find the good knight giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Sir Percivcal's broken form was taken quickly to the doctors who accompanied the army, as his injuries were grave. Meanwhile, the assassin was identified as Praetor Syagrius of Soissons! He had secretly returned to Britain to seek revenge upon the man who had betrayed him two years earlier. With his death, the final tattered remnant of the Roman Empire in the west was no more.

King Uther and the main force soon reached the bridge, and were able to cross the river. On the other side, the wolf-banners of the Saxons came into view, stretching across the horizon. The army of Logres was sorely outnumbered, nearly two to one - impossible odds. Quickly the army organised for battle. King Uther took command of the centre of the line, while Duke Ulfius commanded the left and Duke Gorlois the right. The army of Salisbury joined the troops commanded by the Pendragon. Opposite them, they could see King Octa's banner, while the half-giant Eosa's forces lined up opposite Gorlois and an unknown Saxon commanded the troops against Duke Ulfius. Champions fought challenges before the battle, which the knights of Salisbury (remembering Sir Albrecht at the Battle of Mearcred Creek) decided not to take part in. Then horns sounded, the barbaric warchant of "Wotan! Wotan!" raised in pitch, and the two lines pushed against each other...

The battle raged for nine hours, well into the night. It was a huge and chaotic affair, and it did not take long for the four knights of Salisbury to become separated from one another. Sir Cadfael fought valiantly for the first half of the battle, but was wounded heavily. Thinking of his wife and children, he realised that he had no desire to perish this day, and withdrew from the field. Sir Aeronwy, meanwhile, saw the traitor Sir Eleri in the midst of the enemy line, surrounded by other turncoats of the Yeomen Wardens. She charged then, and slew one of the elite Yeomen Wardens before engaging Sir Eleri - and being struck down by her, grievously wounded and close to death.

Meanwhile, Sir Albrecht and Sir Arnulf stayed together (as much as possible) and Sir Arnulf distinguished himself - almost single-handedly breaking any enemy force put before him! As the battle raged on, they saw King Uther draw Excalibur, sending forth a golden blaze like the sun's light breaking through a bank of storm-clouds. All those around it gained heart, while the Saxons were thrown into dismay. They were similarly dismayed when the elderly Duke Gorlois challenged the half-giant Eosa and cast him down with a single mighty blow! Seeing the tides of battle changing, Sir Arnulf and Sir Albrecht attacked the hardened Heorthgeneat warriors defending King Octa's war banner. The banner fell, and their horses' hooves trampled it into the mud.

With the fall of Eosa and the war banner, the battle was effectively over. Octa was recaptured trying to flee, and he and Eosa returned to the Tower of London. King Uther also revealed Octa's axe to be no more than a fraud, and shattered it with Excalibur into a thousand pieces. In the healing tents, Merlin himself (disguised as a common doctor) tended to the wounds of Sir Aeronwy and Sir Percival. He managed to save Sir Aeronwy's life, but Sir Percival's wounds were too severe and the brave knight perished.

As the knights returned home, Sir Cadfael found himself in trouble! Now that King Cadwy of Somerset had agreed to end his raiding, he and Earl Roderick had made a pact of friendship, to be sealed with a marriage of a noblewoman of Somerset to an important knight of Salisbury - Sir Cadfael! Earl Roderick did not know about Sir Cadfael's secret marriage to Violette of Illwind. Sir Cadfael thought about the best way out of his predicament, but in the end decided to flatly deny his lord in this matter, refusing to offer a reason. Earl Roderick was not impressed!

Meanwhile, Sir Albrecht received disturbing news about the new Wotanic movement. In a small village called Malksham in Salisbury, which belonged to Amesbury Abbey, a small cult of Wotanists had been murdered by Christian fanatics. Famous for his vengeful nature, Sir Albrecht took action - leading armed men to Malksham. There, they looted and pillaged the entire village. Sir Albrecht found the leader of the Christians present, the infamous Lady Elaine. After Elaine had left Sir Aeronwy, she had gone to Amesbury and become obsessed with Saint Gwiona. However, the Abbess realised how unsuitable Elaine was, and sent her to act as steward of Malksham, mostly to remove her from the abbey. There, Elaine had led the attacks on the Wotanic followers - and so now Sir Albrecht struck her down as part of his revenge. His work done, Sir Albrecht burnt down Malksham, before returning to his estates for the winter to celebrate his victory - heedless of the consequences...

RIP Sir Percival, 462 - 490. Slain by a Saxon warrior before the Battle of Lindsey.

489 AD: Courtship in Illwind Castle

As the year 489 began, armies began to ready themselves. Newly escaped from the Tower of London, Octa and Eosa travelled north to the shores of Malahaut. They were joined by men of Kent, by Saxons fresh from the continent, and by the scattered remants of their force of five years earlier. Meanwhile, King Uther Pendragon was readying his own army for war - against Cornwall. Too long had Duke Gorlois taken Saxon gold in exchange for betraying his feudal oaths. With Excalibur in hand, it was time to bring the wayward lords in line, and that meant making an example of Cornwall! And Duke Gorlois was sounding the call for every able-bodied man to take up arms, to hold off the invasion of his lands.

Following the hardships of the previous year, only a few of the knights of Salisbury joined King Uther's forces: Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael and Sir Percival. They joined Uther's forces in Silchester. With them went Ambrose the scholar, more famously known as Merlin Ambrosius. Merlin and Percival were friends now, and so Merlin had come to visit him again over the winter. They shared stories of the previous year's adventures, and Merlin confirmed that it was he who had travelled to Gaul and told Prince Madoc to return to Britain - even though the Prince broke his oath to aid Praetor Syagrius as a consequence. Merlin also gave Sir Percival a present: a small round rock with a hole in the middle. The enchanter gave no particular reason why Sir Percival might need it - just that he foresaw it coming in handy in the future.

From Silchester, the King's army moved into the Kingdom of Somerset, ruled by King Cadwy. The opportunistic young man had taken advantage of the previous year's chaos and sent raiders into Logres to steal livestock. All knew that it would be impossible to blame the King - at the most, he would hang some scapegoat for acting 'independently' - but instead of this, King Uther took him aside and privily delivered an ultimatum. The Pendragon would overlook this if Cadwy swore on the bones of the Saints to support his quest to become High King - otherwise Uther would simply crush Cadwy completely and install a new puppet ruler upon the throne of Somerset. It did not take long for King Cadwy to acquiesce!

From here, the army of Logres continued westwards into Cornwall. But on the banks of a broad and swift-flowing river, they found themselves opposed by Duke Gorlois and his host. Logres would win the ensuing battle, but the cost would be very high... and then Merlin emerged theatrically, revealing himself to all present. "Show him the sword," the enchanter hissed, and Uther drew the sword, its light shining across all present. Merlin then convinced Gorlois to stand down and renew his oaths, and for Uther to confirm Gorlois as Duke of Cornwall, and adding more lands to his demesne, in exchange. Peace in Logres!

The threat of civil war was gone. Uther led a large part of the army north to Malahaut, to help fight Octa, but many of the knights were now allowed to return to their estates. Amongst these knights were the three knights of Salisbury, who found themselves freee to pursue their own endeavours for the remainder of the year. Sir Percival returned to his estate and spent the year trying to improve the lot of the peasantry, with little success. Meanwhile, Sir Cadfael decided to return to Illwind Castle, to woo Lady Violette, whom he had fallen for the previous year, and Sir Arnulf agreed to accompany him. After all, Sir Arnulf's family were naturally loveably, while the less said about Sir Cadfael's efforts to gain a wife, the better!

So Sir Cadfael and Sir Arnulf travelled to the Campecorentin Forest, and to Illwind Castle. They were free of any trouble on the road - while there were reports of stragglers from the army of the previous year, no bandits wished to challenge the two formidable warriors! Soon the pair arrived at the isolated forest village, and once they were recognised, they received a warm welcome from the women of the village, especially Sir Arnulf's friend Bronwyn. (Since Sir Percival had stayed behind, his player took the role of Bronwyn for the remainder of the session.) A feast was organised that night for the visitors, simple by the standard of the visitors but sumptuous for Illwind Castle. Sir Cadfael was hoping that Sir Arnulf could begin to plead his case during the feast, but was not counting on Sir Arnulf getting a rather bad case of flatulence during the feast - and then deciding to entertain the women of the castle with it! Many were scandalised, but the beautiful Lady Violette seemed to be more amused than anything else - and Sir Arnulf could rejoice in his new epithet, "The Wind Dragon."

The next day, at Bronwyn's prompting, Sir Cadfael invited Lady Violette to a joust. Sir Arnulf and Bronwyn stayed just out of sight and hissed advice to Sir Cadfael. The Lady of Illwind was a keen sportswoman, and the only defender of the town, and so she was keen to engage in a bout against the visitor. Sir Cadfael held off talking about his feelings and instead set his lance and knocked Lady Violette clear off the back of her steed. She fell heavily and did not move, and the panicking Sir Cadfael rushed over - only to be tripped and find a blade at his throat. "Do you yield?" asked Violette, her eyes twinkling with mischief, and the valiant Sir Cadfael was forced to admit defeat. While Sir Cadfael had not yet admitted his feelings, Sir Arnulf and Bronwyn felt good about his prospects.

However, there was another obstacle. Ever since the death of her father, Violette had looked up to the wise woman Odie. Odie was like a mother to her, and it was she who had come up with the elaborate scheme that was protecting the village. She did not approve of Sir Cadfael - she doubted his sincerity and thought that Violette leaving would doom Illwind. Bronwyn knew that Sir Cadfael had to win her over - it was unlikely that his suit would be successful otherwise. The knight decided that the best way to prove his sincerity was to find some way to help defend Illwind. One method soon presented itself: there was word of a terrible giant which roamed the area, striking as far west as the Campecorentin Forest and as far east as Silchester. This giant was responsible for stealing and eating livestock, and even the occasional missing human was blamed on it! Sir Cadfael felt that giant-slaying would be an ideal task, and so the two knights and Bronwyn set out to find and destroy the giant.

Tracking down the giant proved to be an easy job - the three discovered a ruined Roman villa in the wilderness, the lair of the giant. But when the giant itself emerged, their expectations were dashed. The giant was an ugly brute, dressed in a mismatched costume. It was pretending to be a Roman legionnaire! Feeling somewhat less than threatened, the knights decided to talk to the giant rather than fight. The giant, named Onion for the hideous stench of raw onions from his mouth, proved to have the mentality of a toddler, and was obsessed with the Romans. He had only taken sheep when he was hungry, and denied eating anyone. Onion had collected all manner of Roman refuse in the villa, and delighted in spending hours in showing off the collection to the trio. They, for their part, decided that Onion could be a useful defender of Illwind, and offered him a home and a place for his collection there, as well as a bribe of a better Roman costume! The happy giant accepted, and showed off his collection a second time, before the four returned to Illwind. Initially the villagers were alarmed, but they soon lost their fear of Onion, and realised how useful having their very own giant (and one with a fondness for costumes at that) could be for them!

With Odie appeased, the only thing that remained was for Sir Cadfael to finally pluck up the courage to tell Lady Violette how he felt about her! The noble knight went out riding with Violette to tell her how he felt. Violette's response was to challenge Sir Cadfael to a horse race, the stakes her hand or his service, and she immediately kicked her steed into a gallop. Sir Cadfael followed, and the two chased each other out of the castle, through the streets of Illwind, and into the forest - where Sir Cadfael did not pay attention to a low tree branch. He was swept from his steed, and could only watch Violette vanish in the distance.

When Sir Cadfael returned to the castle, Violette was nowhere to be found. Old Odie asked him what he could do, and Sir Cadfael replied that regardless of the race, his life and his heart were always Violette's to do with as she pleased. Until she reappeared, he would wait outside the castle for her instruction. Two days passed, with Sir Cadfael not leaving his position for rain or food. Eventually, he fell asleep at his post. When he awoke, Bronwyn invited him back inside to the hall - where everyone was gathered, and Violette was waiting for him. She told Sir Cadfael that, just as his heart was hers, so also hers was his forever, and the two kissed while the womenfolk of Illwind cheered them on.

The two knights stayed at Illwind Castle for the rest of the month. Sir Cadfael and Lady Violette were married, on the condition that Sir Cadfael had to keep their marriage a secret - he could not reveal the secret of Illwind! Lady Violette would remain in the forest to look after her people, and Sir Cadfael would remain in Salisbury, but every year he would journey to see her again. At the end of the month, he reluctantly took his leave of his new bride and returned home with Sir Arnulf.

488 AD: The Bandits and the Battle of London

The armies of Logres were mustering! Word had come from London that King Uther Pendragon had decided, in the wake of Prince Madoc's victory of the previous year, to aid Praetor Syagrius in reclaiming Soissons! Prince Madoc was to lead the invasion, while the King himself went on a diplomatic mission to Escavalon. Now that he wielded Excalibur, the King was stepping up his efforts to be appointed High King over all Britain. To do this he had to be elected by the Supreme Collegium, the lords of the twenty-eight most powerful cities in Britain. He had spent the previous year at Malahaut to the north; now a visit to King Nanteleod in the west was in order.

As Salisbury began its muster, some of the knights of Salisbury gathered together. Ever since they had stumbled across the bandits of Blakemoor Wood, they had been gathering information about the widespread problem of banditry. There would always be bandits, especially in times as unsettled as these. But this fact had let the trends of surprisingly well-organised, well-armed bandits slip under the notice of many lords. There was a dark foreboding upon Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht, Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael, and Sir Percival. There was a dark motive guiding these woes to some unforeseen end - and if it were not discovered, who knew what evil might befall Logres?

With this in mind, the five knights went to see their Earl Roderick and asked to be excused from the muster. They laid out the evidence that they had gathered to him and revealed how these well-armed bandits were spread across the width and breadth of Britain, and how they seemed to be organised by some secret mastermind. Their words alarmed the Earl, who charged them with the duty of discovering who was responsible, and thwarting their schemes.

The knights held conference about their first step. They had heard about Sir Catrin and her bandit-hunting force sent out from London that they could join forces with, but decided not to for the time being. They also looked at a map and noticed the highest instances of banditry were occurring around the Campecorentin Forest. Sir Percival noticed that the weapons and armour, newly-forged as they were, must surely be sourcing its iron from the iron mines in either the Weald or the Forest of Dean. Failing that, they could seek out a group of bandits and see if they could follow them back to their leader. The knights decided to attack a group of bandits and interrogate them for more information, and after talking to Sir Barr (large of body but small of brain), they headed south to the Modron Forest, where they believed that there was a group of well-armed bandits.

In the Modron Forest, Sir Aeronwy took the lead to discover the bandit gang. Unfortunately, they were not as stealthy as they might have hoped, and the group was ambushed by the bandits! The fighting was fierce, but at the end of it the bandits were slain, fled, or captured. Sir Arnulf interrogated them in a most unusual manner - by seducing one of the bandits, Gabriel. He discovered that the bandits were given their weapons by men disguised as itinerant monks, who would operate from an abandoned chapel. The perfect disguise for these men to move about unseen! Sir Arnulf appointed his new lover as his squire, and the group set off to the abbey at Amesbury to gather more information about the monks.

There had been great changes at Amesbury over the last few years. This was the monastery to which Lady Gwiona retreated after she broke off her engagement to Sir Cadfael. When Sir Cadfael had tried to persuade her to leave, it had only deepened her religious devotion. Her faith was so strong that she was now said to have caused miracles such as healing the sick, and some had began calling her a saint. When the old abbess perished earlier that year, she appointed Saint Gwiona the new leader of Amesbury, and religious women were flocking from around Britain to join her (including Sir Percival's own sister, Sir Esther), for Gwiona had dedicated herself to protecting womankind. Saint Gwiona overlooked her history with Sir Cadfael and told the knights of how a group of strange monks had visited the monastery earlier that year - possibly the men that they were looking for.

Considering their many leads, the knights decided not to follow up the monks any further, feeling that it would be impossible to locate them. Instead they decided to head to the Campecorentin Forest - a move which excited Sir Aeronwy in particular, who had heard rumours of Illwind Castle, a hidden village deep in the forest, ruled over by a coven of witches and guarded by an invincible Black Knight, and was very keen to investigate this! However, the others decided to avoid Illwind Castle and sought information on banditry from the villages on the outskirts of the forest. There, the knights discovered that the villages were being regularly raided in force by bandits. The bandits were, in fact, acting as foraging parties! Signs pointed to a large force of organised bandits, hidden inside the murky depths of the Campecorentin Forest.

The knights decided that this problem was too big for them now. They needed help! The time had come to seek out Sir Catrin and her bandit-hunters from London. Fortunately, Sir Catrin was nearby, in the White Horse Hills in north-western Silchester. Sir Catrin was a strict veteran, who scoffed at the knights' tales of organised banditry. Once she had dealt with the banditry problem here, however, she would head to the Campecorentin Forest to investigate. The five knights of Salisbury agreed, and joined her forces.

Unfortunately, Sir Catrin's definition of 'deal with' proved harsher than they were comfortable with. The force discovered and destroyed a group of bandits - and then had them cruelly crucified to serve as a lesson. Horrified, Sir Aeronwy (who had renounced her own cruel ways after her time in Faerie) secretly killed the bandits upon the crosses, to speed up their agonising deaths. The situation became worse in the next village, however - for Sir Catrin discovered that some bandits were living within the village itself, and so she started crucifying peasants as well! Her methods might be effective, but they were morally wrong, Sir Cadfael decided - and so the next day he called out Sir Catrin before her entire task force, chastising her for her brutal methods and challenging her before God to a duel for leadership of the expedition! Sir Cadfael was a skilled fighter, but it quickly became apparent that Sir Catrin's prowess was far greater than his own. Sir Cadfael was doing all he could to withstand the mighty attacks of Sir Catrin; his shield was splintered and blood ran from his wounds. Suddenly, Sir Cadfael put all of his strength into a single mighty blow and smote Sir Catrin's head clean off her shoulders. God must have been with his cause!

Impressed by the outcome of the duel, the knights of London agreed to serve Sir Cadfael, and the army headed to Campecorentin Forest, to investigate what was going on. The knights sent out scouts, who discovered the location of Illwind Castle (though they refused to investigate further!) and an entire army of bandits, peasants and outlaws within the forest! The two were in quite different places, much to Sir Aeronwy's disappointment, who was hoping that there was some connection between the two. The knights moved against the bandit army, easily destroying a watchpost within the forest without allowing any to raise the alarm, and then dispatched Sir Aeronwy with a small group to scout out the main encampment.

Sir Aeronwy returned swiftly, alone and bearing ill tidings. The scouts had been discovered by this peasant army, which was far larger than expected - and on its way now! Fleeing in disorder would be suicide, so Sir Cadfael ordered his troops into a shield wall and to begin falling back. Outnumbered ten to one or more, the knights fought valiantly against the mob assailing them, but their numbers were too few. The shield wall never broke, however, and after hours of a fighting withdrawal the few survivors were able to escape, bearing the wounded, knowing that they would surely soon be pursued - and that would be if they were lucky. If they were not pursued, then it surely meant that the bandit army was marching, and Logres was undefended - her own army fighting in Soissons, and not expecting this new threat from within its own borders.

During the retreat, two events of note occurred. Sir Arnulf's misplaced trust in his lover Gabriel was repaid during the battle in the Campecorentin Forest when Gabriel stabbed Sir Arnulf and attempted to flee. Sir Aeronwy slew the traitor, and Sir Percival bandaged the wound, which was deep but not life-threatening. The second was that the knights saw the leader of the bandit army exhorting on his followers, and recognised him. Although he had grown leaner and crazier, the bandits were undoubtedly being led by the survivor of the Blakemoor Wood bandits!

(A note: this adventure was designed to have a number of paths the players could follow. I'd thought that the players might try to infiltrate the bandit army, or might interrogate someone, or might get captured by them -which wound up never happening. As a result, the identity of the bandit leader had to be revealed largely out-of-character. In our first session one anonymous bandit hated knights so much that he lost control of himself, started frothing at the mouth, and ran off into the woods. This fellow became an in-joke amongst our group, and I was asked when he would return! So this was it. He'd been driven completely insane by his hatred of knights and believed that he was touched by God to lead a revolution. He was not the cause of the banditry, but he had co-opted a number of bandit groups and discontented peasants, all of whom bought into his insanity, to form his army.)

The very battered few knights who had survived the onslaught knew that they had to find a defensible position to regroup, and quickly, for word had to be spread of what was to come. To Sir Aeronwy's glee and everyone else's horror, there was only one defensible position that anyone knew of nearby: the accursed Castle Illwind. Slim hope seemed better than no hope, however, and so the handful of knights headed towards that blighted place. The group travelled by day and by night to reach it as soon as possible. However, they soon began to see macabre and occult visions warning them to leave on the night as they grew close - a terrible witch appeared in a flash of green fire to tell them to depart; skulls rained from the air upon them the air, and a robed skeleton that appeared to be the Grim Reaper itself attacked Sir Cadfael, before vanishing!

When the knights arrived at the village of Illwind, they found it quiet and afraid. The buildings were decorated with demonic symbols. The peasants hid from them. One woman, Bronwyn, approached them and warned the knights to flee to save their lives and their souls. Sir Arnulf disappeared. And the gates of the castle opened, like the maw of hell itself, and from it came a terrible Black Knight! Sir Albrecht ran and hid underneath a bed, and the knights of London quaked in their armour in terror as the Black Knight set his lance and charged Sir Aeronwy, who readied her spear and...

Castle Illwind - by Sir Aeronwy's player

..."Ow!" the Black Knight exclaimed, as he was easily swept from his saddle. Meanwhile, Sir Arnulf emerged from talking to Bronwyn, to reveal that the entire village was a hoax. The supernatural goings-on were a fraud, designed by the village wisewoman, Odie. The village had always been isolated due to its location deep in the Campecorentin Forest, and at the Battle of Mount Damen a few years earlier, the menfolk had gone to war for Logres and never returned. As a result, the womenfolk had concocted this ruse to protect themselves, and the Black Knight was in fact the young Lady of the castle, Violette. The knights were impressed - particularly Sir Cadfael, who was smitten with the bold Lady Violette - and took an oath never to reveal their secret to anyone.

After a day to recover, the knights of Salisbury headed out to find out why they had not been pursued. They soon found that the Prophet had led his army east through Rydychan, making a line towards London. Sir Percival departed immediately, riding to London as swiftly as he could to warn them to ready their defences. Meanwhile, as the other knights emerged from the forest, they were met by a letter from Amesbury and Gwiona. How could she have known where they were? Perhaps it was a miracle! Saint Gwiona reported that a group of strange pilgrims had stopped off at Amesbury recently and were heading towards Cornwall. She felt certain that these were the men that the knights were hunting. Furthermore, the 'monks' were moving quite slowly along the road, so if the knights hurried, they should be able to catch up to them.

Sir Arnulf, Sir Aeronwy, Sir Cadfael and Sir Albrecht headed south with all haste, and managed to catch up to the fake pilgrims on the road in Devon. The pilgrims, when confronted, revealed themselves to be mercenaries and a deadly battle ensued, but the sellswords were no match for knights, and those who did not perish surrendered. Their wagons contained a hidden shipment of gold for Duke Gorlois of Cornwall! The Duke had been accepting Saxon gold in exchange for not taking part in Uther's wars! More importantly, however, the mercenaries were able to give information. They were hired in London, in Southwark, in a gaol there. When they needed to contact their employee, or their employee wished to contact them, they would be thrown in a special cell, where a message with instructions and the location of payment would be hidden. The perfect place for many mercenaries to enter and exit without any attention being paid to them! But this confirmed that the secret mastermind, who was in league with the Saxons, had to be operating within London!

And so, with an army of peasants and bandits lead by an insane fanatic bearing down on them from without, and a traitor plotting to strike from within, the group reunited in London. Sir Percival had already been in London for over a week when the other knights joined him, and he was able to name the only four individuals with sufficient resources to mastermind this plot - Lady Mayor Rhiann, Sir Ifan, the old captain of the guard; Sir Eleri, the Captain of the Yeomen Warders of the Tower of London; and Archbishop Hywel of Canterbury. With very little time remaining, the group decided to split up, one knight talking to each of the suspects and the fifth investigating the gaol in Southwark.

Unfortunately they learnt very little in their investigations. Sir Cadfael sent his squire into the gaol, but the ruse was discovered and his squire was murdered. Only some limited motives were discovered for the four suspects. Lady Rhiann was known to be unscrupulous in her dealings, and might not hesitate to ally with the Saxons for a profit. Sir Ifan had been appointed to his position by King Vortigern and his Saxon advisors. Sir Eleri had been appointed to her position due to the importance of her family, and was the guardian of two important prisoners - King Octa and his cousin Eosa, captured after the Battle of Mount Damen some four years earlier. The Archbishop was in exile in London after the Saxons had conquered Canterbury, and dreamed of reuniting Britain under one religion.

At this point, the revolting peasants reached the city. Sir Ifan led the defence and, although greatly outnumbered, held the rabble back from the city walls. The knights of Salisbury conferred and decided that they felt that Archbishop Hywel was the traitor, and was likely to betray them by opening the city gates to the attacking force. Indeed, the Archbishop did travel to the gates and order them to be opened - but only so that he could exit and try to reason with the mob. For his troubles, he was martyred by the insane Prophet, strangled with his bare hands.

That night, Sir Ifan charged Sir Albrecht and Sir Cadfael with leaving the city on a possibly suicidal mission. The bandit army was upset after they had been repulsed from the city walls, and now they were very upset due to the murder of the Archbishop. Sir Ifan felt that if the Prophet himself was slain now, the bandits and peasants might abandon the siege and flee. Meanwhile, Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht and Sir Percival continued to watch the city, posting friendly knights who had fought with them in the Campecorentin Forest to watch for signs of treachery.

Sir Albrecht, Sir Cadfael and a few other knights left the city by a river gate and travelled secretly on the Thames to reach the outskirts of the bandit army. However, they were not stealthy enough and were discovered immediately! As thunder rumbled in the sky, Sir Albrecht had a moment of inspiration. "I am the chosen of Wotan!" he bellowed. "Take me to your leader, that I might prove his falseness!" Intimidated, the peasants guarding them agreed and took the knights to the centre of their camp, to a large bonfire where the insane Prophet waited for them.

The Prophet laughed at Sir Albrecht, derided Wotan, and put his hand into the roaring bonfire, letting his flesh wither and melt in the flames, to prove his religious strength (and insanity)! He then challenged Sir Albrecht to demonstrate the strength of Wotan. Reluctantly, Sir Albrecht was forced to accept - and he, and the prophet, both leapt into the bonfire, burning alive! The pain was indescribable, but Sir Albrecht felt the presence of Wotan about him and stared grimly into the eyes of the Prophet as their skin blackened and charred, as their hair became a blazing halo about them. It was the Prophet who yielded first - screaming in agony, he fell down and was consumed. Sir Albrecht, still on fire but barely hurt, stepped forth from the bonfire. "BEHOLD THE CHOSEN OF WOTAN!" he roared - and in the sky, lightning flared and the rain fell, extinguishing the fires. The peasants fled and the siege was ended - but the cult of Wotan had been born.

After this drama, the mystery of the traitor was an anti-climax! A knight watching the Tower of London reported fighting, as Saxon ships from Kent sailed up the Thames and entered the Tower - unchallenged, due to treachery and the distraction of the bandit army. Sir Eleri the Traitor, Captain of the Yeomen Warders, had been swayed by her despair and the honeyed tongue of King Octa (the true mastermind of all that had befallen). Now she and her followers massacred the loyal Yeomen Warders, and Saxons took control of the Tower of London, freeing the prisoners and threatening to capture the entire city from an unconquerable citadel. Sir Percival, Sir Aeronwy and Sir Arnulf fought with traitor Yeomen Warders, but were unable to make any difference to the outcome.

However, soon behind the Saxons came the armies of Logres, led by Prince Madoc, returned from Soissons at the behest of Merlin, who had foreseen this need. The Saxons, seeing that their plan was undone, fled the city, many dying in the process. King Octa and Eosa escaped, as did the traitor Sir Eleri, and there was extensive damage to London in the fighting, but the day was saved.

487 AD: The Naval Raids

King Uther Pendragon's Christmas court this year was held in Sarum Castle. There, the young knights, fresh from their surreal experiences in the lands beyond our own, met again with Merlin. The young man walked slowly now, like a man who had suffered a stroke, but he still bore the sword Excalibur, which they had helped him retrieve. On Saint Stephen's Day, when gifts were being handed out, Merlin appeared in court unexpected and presented Excalibur to King Uther Pendragon, singling out those who had assisted him for especial praise. All present knew of the sword - some said it was the flaming sword of the Archangel Michael, others that it was Dyrnwyn or Balmung of legend. As long as King Uther remained virtuous, he would never lose a battle!

Over the rest of the winter, Merlin recuperated at Sir Percival's estate, and the two became friends. It was Sir Percival who learnt that Merlin was largely a charlatan - while he had the ability to see the future, a gift that had become keener since his foray into Faerie, most of the stories about him were superstitious nonsense -  which he himself helped to cultivate - reinforced by a superior intellect and extensive learning. He had not flown Stonehenge from Ireland to the Salisbury Plain; instead he had used his knowledge of Roman engineering. He had not created a fog to hide King Uther's army at Mount Damen; instead, he had simply recognised the weather conditions of the day! And his ability to appear and vanish at will, and to change his form - those were simply theatrics and disguise. Sir Percival gave Merlin the gift of a wooden staff to help him walk, and when Merlin had recovered from plunging himself into the water of death, he went on his way.

It was also at this time that the knights became aware of news that they had missed during their long sojourn in Faerie. King Aethelswith had completely conquered Caercolun now. The Duke of Caercolun was dead, the land was under the control of the Saxons, and was now called "Anglia". Meanwhile, the last Roman province on the Continent, Soissons, had been destroyed by the Saxons. Praetor Syagrius of Soissons had escaped the final battle and fled to the court of the Pendragon, and was currently petitioning the King for aid in reclaiming his home. In other important news, Sir Percival's uncle had vanished - Sir Gherard knew that it was because the man had eloped with Sir Gherard's elderly but still sensual grandmother, Nicolette. Sir Gherard tried to follow in his grandmother's footsteps by seducing one of Uther's royal wards, but the attempt fell flat! Finally, the obsessive Lady Elaine left Sir Aeronwy. She had returned a changed woman after her adventure in Faerie, humble and less cruel, and Elaine lost interest in her.

There were two tragic events that occurred as well. A group of heavily-armed bandits attacked Sir Neddig's estate in force, and burnt much of it to the ground. The fat knight swore revenge, but first realised that he had to find the funds to rebuild his lands. A stranger fate befell Sir Angharad, whose estate at Pitton was almost completely demolished by a Fabulous Boar! Sir Angharad rallied her companions into a hunt for the Fabulous Boar, but to no avail: they were unable to find its spoor.

At the end of winter, the knights were approached by Prince Madoc, the handsome but illegitimate son of the Pendragon. Prince Madoc was leading a small elite force by sea to attack the Saxons. They would destroy as much of the Saxon fleets as they could, to cut off the Saxon supply lines. At the same time, Sir Talferyn, the Marshal of Britain, would be launching an invasion of Kent, hoping to reclaim it for Logres. Sir Angharad, Sir Gherard, Sir Neddig and Sir Percival volunteered to join the Prince!

The expedition departed from Hantonne, commanded by Prince Madoc and Admiral Gwenwynwyn. Their first stop was at Pevensey in Sussex, where the fleet swiftly landed, scuttled the South Saxon navy, and were on their way again before any could react. Their next stop was at Dover, where they again destroyed the Saxon ships. Here the Prince intended to attack the city from the harbour while Marshal Talferyn besieged by land, but the Marshal's army was not present, and so Prince Madoc ordered his forces to withdraw. It would later be discovered that Sir Talferyn had captured Canterbury and celebrated Easter Mass there, but King Oisc of Kent had counterattacked, driven him back to London, and reclaimed Canterbury. (NB - This was the result of two games of Saga: Dark Ages played before the session with Sir Cadfael's player! In each game, we chose stakes to game - we both chose to wager land. Sir Cadfael won the first and I won the second, so the army of Logres captured Canterbury, only to lose it again. Hopefully we'll have more of these battles in the future - it was a lot of fun!)

The fleet continued north, up the Blackwater River to Maldon in Essex, where only a few ships were found. Prince Madoc was about to order these to be burned, when lookouts spotted the rest of the Saxon fleet. It was a trap: the Saxons had put out to see, and were now sailing up the river behind the Prince, cutting off his retreat! Sir Gherard had a cunning plan, and persuaded the Prince to tow the few decoy Saxon ships at Maldon into the river, and then set them on fire. This would create a diversion that would slow down the Saxon advance, giving the navy of Logres time to react, and would channel the numerically superior Saxon fleet, allowing them to be engaged one by one rather than overwhelmed by all at once!

The Prince immediately approved this plan, and a terrible battle was soon joined. Sir Neddig did well for himself, striking down many Saxons. Sir Percival was badly wounded and fell off the side of the ship! He would surely have drowned, but Sir Gherard saw him fall, and, bound by the bonds of loyalty and kindred (after the antics of Nicolette!), he leaped over the side of the ship in full armour and saved Sir Percival's life. But the saddest fate was that of Sir Angharad - who found herself face to face with a frothing berserker. Her swift sword cut deeply into the berserker's flank, but the enraged warrior did not notice and hewed her down. Prince Madoc (whom Sir Angharad had fallen in love with during the expedition) rushed to her rescue and slew the berserker, but Sir Angharad's wound was fatal, and she perished, the Prince's handsome face the last thing she ever saw.

The British forces won the battle of the Blackwater River, but casualties were high and the Prince ordered the expedition to withdraw to Logres. Their mission had ultimately been a success: the navies of Sussex, Essex and Kent had been destroyed, and for a time the British had control over the Channel. Sir Neddig made enough money from plunder that he was able to begin rebuilding his estate, while Prince Madoc paid for the repairs to Sir Angharad's home, and (after being told of her bravery) Earl Roderick granted the estate of Nether Wallop, which she had protected two years earlier, to her and her heirs. As her heir, Balthazar, was too young, Balthazar's father Sir Arnulf was appointed steward of Pitton and Nether Wallop.

RIP Sir Angharad, 460 - 487. Slain by a Saxon berserker in the Battle of the Blackwater River.

486 AD: The Embassy to Leucomagus and the Quest for Excalibur

The quest to restore peace between Salisbury and Leucomagus began with puppies.

Sir Aeronwy, Sir Cadfael, Sir Gherard, Sir Neddig, and Sir Percival were preparing for their diplomatic mission to Leucomagus. They had Sir Arnulf's invitation to the Steward's court (Sir Angharad's player forgot her character book, and so played the role of Sir Arnulf for this session), and an emissary from London was coming as well to assist with the negotiations. But there was one step that the knights had forgotten, and that was to tell their own liege lord, Earl Roderick, about their plans. Therefore they journeyed to Sarum Castle, where they found their lord in the kennels, watching his newly whelped puppies play. They asked him for his permission to travel to Leucomagus, and the Earl, pleased with their prowess at the battle of Mearcred Creek, agreed to let them try to resolve the feud.

Sir Gherard also asked for and received a gift from his Earl - the runt of the puppy little, too small for hunting. Sir Gherard, ever the gentleman, presented the puppy to Sir Aeronwy as a gift for her newborn child - for Sir Aeronwy had married the son of a wealthy merchant over the winter (although this did not end her scandalous relationship with Lady Elaine!) Grateful, Sir Aeronwy decided to name her firstborn child Gherard after him, and called the puppy 'The Questing Beast', after the supernatural being that Sir Cadfael and Sir Percival had seen in Blakemoor Wood two years ago. Meanwhile, Sir Cadfael received word from Lady Gwiona. Although he had survived the fate of being the fifth man engaged to Gwiona to perish, the noble Lady was heartbroken by his dishonourable conduct at Mearcred Creek, even though his action had saved the life of Sir Albrecht. As far as Gwiona was concerned, the Sir Cadfael that she loved was dead, and she withdrew from life by entering the monastery at Amesbury. Sir Cadfael travelled to Amesbury to try to convince Gwiona to leave the abbey (as she was free to do within the first year); his ill-chosen words served only to completely dedicate her to her new lifestyle! There was further ill news, this time for Sir Angharad. Her sister, who had married Sir Arnulf the previous year, had perished in childbirth, although the baby, a boy named Balthazar, survived.

Soon, the knights received word from Sir Arnulf in Leucomagus, inviting his companions to join him there. The party took the road north-east through the Chute Forest, where they were met on the road by Sir Arnulf and taken into the town of Leucomagus. Sir Gherard admired the remnants of Roman architecture, for he knew that Leucomagus had once been Leuco Magno, a Roman waystation. Not much of the Roman times remained. The Steward's great hall was a newly created building, a large wooden hall in the middle of the town. There, the knights met Sir Rhisiart, the Steward of Leucomagus, and at his side his mistress, who bore a disturbing resemblance to Countess Ellen, the wife of Earl Roderick. Word had it that Sir Rhisiart had also been a suitor for her hand, and that this was the origin of the feud between the two lords. The knights also met Ambrose, a young scholar from London who was the emissary of the crown. The knights attempted to put their case before Sir Rhisiart, but the Steward snubbed them, refusing to listen to their words. The matter was not much helped by Sir Neddig, who lost his temper with the Steward and had to be removed from the hall by the other knights.

The knights of Salisbury, Sir Arnulf and Ambrose plotted their next move. They decided that the best action would be to do some service for the Steward, such that he would be forced to acknowledge them and participate in the negotiations. Remembering the problems with organised banditry that they had encountered at Imber, the knights decided to ride out against bandits around Leucomagus. Meanwhile, Ambrose remained in Leucomagus - he would be of no use in a fight! Over the course of the next month, the knights hunted down and destroyed a number of small groups of outlaws and bandits. The worst of these was found near to Sir Arnulf's estates of Tangley, to the north of Leucomagus: another group of bandits who were suspiciously well equipped with iron weapons and armour.

At the end of the month of bandit-hunting, the knights returned to Leucomagus to speak to Sir Rhisiart again. This time, the Steward agreed to receive them and to hear what they had to say. They had done too much good for him to refuse them again. Just before the meeting, Ambrose started acting a little strange, but he soon recovered and refused to answer questions (making Sir Angharad in particular feel very suspicious!) In the meeting, Sir Rhisiart soon made some outrageous demands. Initially, he asked for the Countess Ellen to leave Earl Roderick and come to him - outrageous! He wanted the hand of young Jenna, the daughter of Earl Roderick and Countess Ellen, in marriage. The fact that Jenna also resembled her mother made the knights even more disturbed. In addition, he insisted that as the husband of Jenna, he should be Earl Roderick's heir. Negotiations continued for some time, with the knights reluctant to give in, when suddenly Ambrose rose to his feet.

In a booming voice, the formerly meek scholar denounced Sir Rhisiart in ringing terms. Everyone sat stunned as Ambrose revealed the innermost thoughts of the Steward - to arrange for a wedding, and then murder his hated rival on the day. For Ambrose was none other than Merlin Ambrosius, the arch-wizard of Logres! He led the knights of Salisbury, accompanied by Sir Arnulf, who was disgusted by the truth about his lord, from the hall. Merlin also sought peace in Logres, and sought to help King Uther Pendragon become High King of Britain. But he would need the help of the knights, for his path now would take him beyond the fields known by mortal man...

Merlin led the knights in a wild midnight gallop across the moors, surrounded by swirling mist. Beyond the mists, the features of the world were lost, so that all was fog - a passage to the Other World. Sir Neddig could not keep pace with the others and fell behind, and was lost to view as the other five knights pressed on (Sir Neddig's player had to leave early!), as were the knights's squires. The knights dismounted and continued on foot. When the mists swept back, the knights found themselves in a grey plain, on the shores of a vast lake whose surface was stirred by no breath of wind. In the middle of the lake, they could see a castle, but a strange castle never wrought by mortal hand. Merlin explained that inside the castle lay the greatest treasure ever known to the world. There would, however, be a number of challenges, one for each of those who was present. Strength of arms would not avail them in this place - it was strength of character that would lead them onwards...

At the water's edge, the knights found a small rowboat, only just large enough for all of them. Sir Gherard, who had the most experience with boats, took the oars and rowed them out into the lake. But once he was on the lake, the wooden oars barely seemed to break the surface of the shadowed waters, and no matter how much he rowed, the castle sat on the horizon, the shore of the lake on the other horizon, and never drew closer. The lake represented all of the challenges which threaten our lives, and Sir Gherard used his indomitable courage, with which he overcomes all challenges, to lend strength to his arms.

Soon the boat reached the castle, where two great immovable doors of iron and wood blocked their way. The doors represented all the things which hold one back. Sir Aeronwy strode to the door: her pride in her accomplishments would see these doors open. But the strength failed in her arms and Sir Aeronwy sank to the ground, broken in spirit: for deep down, she knew that her overweening pride was excessive and unjustified, and she could not open the door. Sir Arnulf stepped forth next. Confronted by visions of his dead wife and his betrayal of his lord, he drew deep on the greater loyalty that he held towards King Uther Pendragon and the wellbeing of Britain himself, and the doors swung open at his lightest touch.

Inside, the way was black, and from the pale light that shone through the door, cast by no sun or no moon, only a simple unlit torch held in a wall sconce could be seen. Sir Cadfael took up the torch, as he thought about what things light the way for us in life. The torch sputtered, as the noble knight realised that his deceitful nature, although he justified it for the greater good, only obscured what was important from him - it was honesty that would show the true nature of things and light the way. As he swore to be more honest in the future, the torch in his hand flared into light, showing the way deep down into the depths of castle, into an impossible labyrinth of tunnels made from no mortal stone.

It was Sir Percival who led the way down into the tunnels. They twisted and turned in ways that no mortal man could follow, leading ever downwards. Sir Percival used his youthful energy and exuberance to guide the group, leading them on the true path when no other man could. But his skin withered as he walked, his straight back grew stooped, and his dark hair began to whiten, for no youthful energy can last forever, and once spent it is gone.

Finally, the six companions emerged at an underground chamber, where a still black lake stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. Some of the knights recognised this place: surely this was the black waters of Styx, the river at the mouth of the Underworld itself. There was a simple boat for one person only, and Merlin went to it, and an invisible current propelled him across the water unaided by oars to the heart of the endless lake. Meanwhile, something else emerged from the lake: a monster, a thing of purest death and dark water. It took the semblance of a man on horseback as it charged towards the knights, and they drew their own blades to fend it off.

But whenever their blades cut into the terror, only water was upon their steel, and the creature was not harmed, for mortal steel could not avail them against the guardian of the Lake of Death. It was Sir Aeronwy whose steel struck true then. Despondent after her failure at the gates, she poured all of her terrible cruelty into her sword-arms and dealt a mighty blow, cleaving the monster: but cleaving herself as well, for cruelty cuts the hand that wields it. The monster fell back into the lake, vanquished, as Sir Aeronwy's lifeblood ran out into the Lake of Death.

While the knights bound her wound - which was deep, but thanks to Sir Percival's swift actions not fatal - they watched Merlin. From the lake rose forth water in the form of a beautiful nude woman, which some recognised as that one of the Fair Folk most commonly known as the Lady of the Lake. She seemed to talk to Merlin for a while - and then the mystic plunged his arm into the deathly waters. The life drained from his body, and he seemed barely alive when he drew forth from the night-dark lake a sword that shined with all the light of the sun: Excalibur, the sword of victory!

As the light faded, the knights found themselves lying under the stars, covered in dew, as the sun sluggishly rose to the east, back in the fields of the mortal realm. Merlin was gone, as were their horses. They soon found their bearings and found a nearby farmer to question - they were just north-west of Leucomagus, but a full six months had passed. Shaken by their experience, and each of them profoundly changed, they returned to Salisbury.

485 AD: Raiders from Leucomagus and the Battle of Mearcred Creek

Knighthood is a noble station indeed! To fight in defence of those who cannot defend themselves is a grand calling. But for one group of newly-appointed knights, it is the opportunities for romance which are the most appealing aspect of their rank. Sir Cadfael paid court to Lady Gwiona. This beautiful heiress had been unlucky in love four times: four times she had been betrothed, and four times her beloved had perished in battle before the wedding day. Sir Cadfael was nervous, fearing some curse might be upon the lady, but her pleasant appearance and valuable lands proved incentive for him to begin flirting with her.

Meanwhile, Sir Aeronwy sought to catch the attention of the handsome pagan knight, Sir Leo. However, disaster struck when the Bearslayer accidentally winked at his companion instead, Lady Elaine. Lady Elaine was infamous at court for having an... obsessive nature, and Sir Aeronwy became her latest obsession. Lady Elaine told lies to Sir Leo to chase the good knight off, and then began spreading stories of Sir Aeronwy's valour. The bear had been the size of a mountain! Its hide was so thick that no weapon could pierce it! It had devoured entire cities! Sir Aeronwy had wrestled it into submission, throttled it with her bare hands, and then skinned it with its own claws. Strangely, Elaine's stories of this Herculean labour tended to make most people feel that Sir Aeronwy was a braggart and behind the stories herself. Despite the damage that Lady Elaine had done to Sir Aeronwy's reputation, Sir Aeronwy decided that she was quite flattered by Elaine's attention...

The knights were assigned to patrol the eastern borders of Salisbury, under the leadership of Sir Lycus. Accompanying them would be two other young knights: the over-large Sir Neddig, and the pious Sir Angharad. Sir Lycus was a vain and insulting knight, who denigrated Sir Cadfael's father and who wanted to lead the patrol to raid neighbouring Silchester or Hampshire for personal profit. The knights grumbled about Sir Lycus, and plotted various schemes to humiliate him or remove his authority over them. However, this was soon forgotten when the patrol reached the village of Nether Wallop.

Nether Wallop was aflame. Raiders had attacked the village, killing men, raping women, stealing livestock, and burning the village. Sir Lycus, Sir Cadfael, Sir Albrecht, Sir Neddig and Sir Aeronwy gave chase after the raiders, while Sir Percival and Sir Angharad stayed in the village to look after the surviving peasants (and, when their task was done, started playing gwyddbwyll against one another while they waited for the others to return!)

A short distance north of Nether Wallop, the five knights met the raiders in battle. Sir Albrecht recognised the knights from their heraldry: they were servants of the Steward of Leucomagus, a rival of Earl Roderick's. The knights were led by Sir Arnulf, the personal champion of the Steward. Battle was joined, in which Sir Albrecht again failed to distinguish himself despite his great physical might, and Sir Neddig showed his dishonourable nature by using bow and arrow to slay enemy knights while they were distracted. Finally, the knights of Salisbury were victorious, and the knights of Leucomagus were slain, save for Sir Arnulf, who was taken alive.

It was here that Sir Cadfael had an interesting idea. Rather than ransom Sir Arnulf, they decided to let him leave unhindered - but talked to him first. The kingdom of Logres was in turmoil, beset by Saxons from without and internal dissent from within. King Uther Pendragon was seeking to garner the political power necessary to have himself appointed High King over all of Britain, to unify the feuding lords and lead them against the Saxons. Rather than continue the feud between Salisbury and Leucomagus, the knights sought Sir Arnulf's aid in reconciling the two enemies so that Logres could stand united against the greater threat of the Saxons. Sir Arnulf was convinced by Sir Cadfael's passionate words, and departed, promising to seriously consider the matter.

It was at this time that word came from London that King Uther intended to capitalise on his victory of the previous year by summoning the lords of Logres to war once more against the Saxons. This time he intended to strike south against King Aelle of Sussex. The young knights mustered their forces at the estate of Sir Albrecht, whose hall at Berwick St James was the largest. Sir Cadfael went to Sarum, where he proposed to Lady Gwiona (somewhat nervously!) Meanwhile, Sir Aeronwy began an affair with Lady Elaine. Elaine continued to demonstrate her obsessive behaviour. Learning that Sir Aeronwy had a grudge against Sir Albrecht for beating her in a duel the previous year, Elaine arranged for Sir Albrecht to be served undercooked chicken, giving him a bad case of food poisoning. Fortunately for her, Sir Albrecht was ignorant of the origins of his ailment.

Once the knights had mustered their troops, they joined the Earl's main host and began the march to Silchester, where the Pendragon's war-banner flew. Once they arrived in Silchester, they heard ill tidings. Some lords had not answered the summons to war - most notable amongst them, Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, who was reputed to be... otherwise occupied, with his beautiful new wife, Igraine. Sir Cadfael sought to learn more about this, and wound up causing a feud between himself and the token force from Cornwall, led by the Duke's son Sir Cador. In addition, a new Saxon army had arrived from the continent. Led by King Aethelswith, they had landed in Caercolun and had captured much of the duchy already. King Uther dispatched his bastard son, Prince Madoc, with part of the mustered army to Caercolun to hold back King Aethelswith's advance and allow refugees to escape the Saxon onslaught. As a result of these two calamities, the army that King Uther now commanded for the invasion of Sussex was far lower than anticipated.

Regardless, the forces of Logres headed south, along the valley of the Mearcred Creek. Before long, scouts reported another army in their way: the Saxons of King Aelle. Both forces formed their battle-lines, while champions from each side issued challenges. Chafing from his humiliation at the hands of Uhtred, the Saxon bandit leader, the previous year, Sir Albrecht accepted a challenge from a Saxon berserker. He landed a mighty blow upon the bearskin-wearing maniac - who ignored it and struck back, nearly killing Sir Albrecht! Seeing this, Sir Cadfael burst from the line and dishonourably struck down the berserker, while Sir Percival dragged Sir Albrecht's bleeding form away.

Sir Cadfael's honourless intervention in a duel of single combat incensed the Saxon army and dismayed the British. Howling the name of their bloody god Wotan, the Saxons flung themselves forward, hitting the Cymric shield-wall and shattering it. The initial knightly charge, spearheaded by the knights of Salisbury, slew many Saxons, but soon their momentum waned and the cavalry found themselves assailed by the vanguard of the Saxons. Sir Aeronwy was struck down and dragged to safety by her squire. When all hope seemed lost, King Uther's royal bodyguard managed to break through the Saxons and attack them from the rear, throwing them into chaos. The result was a victory for the British - but the butcher's bill had been high indeed, and the Pendragon was forced to withdraw his army back to Logres.

After the battle, Sir Angharad went to the healing tents. She was a skilled healer, and so she wished to see if she could help the grievously wounded Sir Aeronwy. To her horror, she found that Lady Elaine was there. Elaine had become hysterical as a result of the injuries that Sir Aeronwy had suffered, and was attempting to save her beloved through bloodletting. Realising that the 'bloodletting' could have fatal consequences, Sir Angharad intervened, only to be stabbed by Lady Elaine! Sir Angharad considered beheading the crazed woman, but instead knocked her out and saved Sir Aeronwy's life.

As the muster dispersed, word came from Leucomagus and Sir Arnulf. After the events of the year, Sir Arnulf had become convinced that the Saxons were by far the greatest menace. The next year, when the winter snows melted, he offered to send to London for a negotiator from the crown, and would host the knights of Salisbury as ambassadors of peace to his lord the Steward. To seal his friendship with the knights of Salisbury, he married Sir Angharad's sister. The year had been one of many setbacks, but perhaps the next year some lasting good might be achieved.

484 AD: The Adventure Begins

In the year 484, our story begins on a pleasant summer day at Vagon Castle, in the county of Salisbury. The army of Salisbury was away, marching north with King Uther Pendragon to battle the invading Saxons, and Sir Elad, Warden of Vagon and Marshal of Salisbury, remained to oversee the defences of the county while its Earl Roderick was absent, and to oversee the training of several promising young squires.

The five squires present were Aeronwy, a fierce pagan woman; Gherard, a handsome young man whose family hailed from the continent; Percival, an easygoing and studious young man; Cadfael, mistrusted by some as a plotter and a schemer; and Albrecht, a massive and ugly Saxon who resembled a bear more than a man, descended from the very first Saxon settlers who had come to Britain in the time of Macsen Wledig a hundred years earlier.

Sir Elad set the five squires various tasks: jousting against a quintain, and a horse-race to fetch him an apple, which Sir Gherard won. He then told the five young men and women of a task that he was setting before them. The village of Imber, on the edge of Blakemoor Wood in north-western Salisbury, was reporting a terrible man-eating bear was attacking the peasants when they went to work in the fields, and even breaking into outlying houses at night, slaying the inhabitants! With the knights at war, it would be up to the five squires to hunt down this bear and slay it.

Before they departed, however, Sir Elad made the squires fight each other to see who deserved to be the leader of the group. The mission began tragically when Albrecht and Percival fought each other: for Albrecht did not know his own strength and nearly slew young Percival with a single blow! Cadfael was forced to use a precious healing potion that he had inherited to save his friend's life before they had even set out! Albrecht also knocked Aeronwy from her horse, and so as he was the most doughty of the squires, he was appointed their leader.

The group set off to Imber, and decided to cut across-country. Aeronwy, who was a skilled tracker, led the way. However, her fall from the saddle might have addled her, for she soon realised that the group was completely lost! Fortunately they encountered Merionwydd, a travelling bard, who put them on the right direction. He also gave news of the battle to the north! The Saxons had defeated King Uther's army, who fled. The lords of Logres were only saved by the arrival of the magician Merlin, who summoned up a great fog to cover their retreat. This news was disheartening, but the squires pressed on. They arrived late at night, and were given shelter by the local priest, Old Garr.

The next day, the hunt began. Gherard caught the eye of a pretty peasant lass, and so while the others went hunting, the amorous young man returned to the town to enjoy her rustic charm! (In other words, the player had to leave early and so we decided that Gherard had succumbed to his Lustful 16 for the rest of the session!) The other squires split into pairs to hunt down the bear more quickly. Albrecht and Aeronwy searched the forest together, but once again the warrior woman failed to demonstrate her hunting prowess.

Meanwhile, Percival and Cadfael travelled together. Although neither was a trained woodsman, Percival's family had a natural proclivity towards hunting, and so by instinct Percival led his companion deeper into the forest - where the two knights soon became lost. However, in the forest they came upon an unearthly sight: a strange creature, with the head and neck of a dragon, the body of a leopard, the legs of a lion and the feet of a deer, making a sound like a pack of hunting dogs from its belly. They came close enough to touch it, but at the last minute the monster sprang away. Shortly thereafter came a dirty knight with his hound, who asked if they had seen the creature, which he called Glatisant, the Questing Beast, before continuing on his chase.

The next day, the four squires decided to remain together, and discovered the spoor of the bear! The enraged beast attacked, and a vicious battle ensued, with Aeronwy finally finishing off the monster. Proud of her victory, she gave herself the appellation of "Bearslayer" and took its head as her helmet.

However, there was more to the story than the squires had expected, for they discovered that the bear had been driven mad by a terribly inflamed wound, with a crude arrow-head still lodged inside. Also, the reports of this crazed animal breaking into houses at night seemed inexplicable. The squires realised that there was another force present as well - bandits, responsible for angering the bear in the first place, and using the rampaging monster to cover their own depredations. Although their mission was successful, the squires decided to remain in Imber and destroy the bandits.

The next day, the squires made a show of leaving the town, before secretly returning and watching for three days for signs of the bandits. On the third day, the bandits made their move, and the squires sprang their trap! The bandits put up a fierce fight initially, and proved to be strangely well-armed, with iron swords and armour. Aeronwy brutally slew several bandits, the squires took one man alive, while another fled into the forest, driven to insanity by his hatred of the aristocracy.

After interrogating their prisoner, the squires discovered the location of the bear's den, which the bandits were now using as their own base. They also discovered that a deserter from the Saxon armies was leading the bandits, a terrifying warrior called Uhtred, and that Uhtred had made a deal with an unknown benefactor for the iron weaponry that his band wielded. Incensed, Albrecht led the group to the cave where the last remnant of the bandits sheltered. The bandits emerged, and Uhtred challenged Albrecht to single combat. Albrecht accepted, but the offer was a trap - Uhtred's challenge had bought time for bandit archers to get into position, and when Albrecht emerged from the trees, they shot him. Albrecht fell, grievously wounded. The remaining three squires emerged from the trees and attacked the bandits, and Cadfael proved his mettle by capturing the giant Uhtred. He then convinced the other bandits to surrender, and invited them on to his estate to serve as men-at-arms - and so skilful was his oratory that the remaining bandits agreed and immediately cast down their arms in surrender!

The squires took the captive Uhtred back to Vagon Castle to be hanged, while the other bandits went to Cadfael's estate at Durnford. Unfortunately, Uhtred could cast no light on the identity of his mysterious patron. The squires researched banditry and found that this was not the only instance of strangely well-equipped bandits; there were isolated incidents from all across Salisbury. They had uncovered some sort of conspiracy...

As summer turned into the orange of autumn, Earl Roderick returned to Sarum with the army of Salisbury. King Uther had attacked the Saxons the very night after the first battle, and caught them by surprise, capturing their leaders Octa and Eosa and scattering their army to the wind. However, there had been many casualties, and so the Earl rewarded the five brave squires with the solemn office of knighthood! Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht, Sir Cadfael, Sir Gherard and Sir Percival joined the ranks of the defenders of the realm that winter, but their adventures had only just begun!