At the beginning of 493, a knight and squire rode into Salisbury, seeking answers. While this in itself was no strange thing, their identities certainly were - for beneath their disguises, they were Lady Violette of Castle Illwind, and her handmaiden Bronwyn. They sought to discover what had happened to Lady Violette's husband, Sir Cadfael. It did not take long for the two of them to reach Tilshead, now ruled over by the newly married Sir Arnulf, and to discover how Sir Cadfael had been taken as a slave by the Irish. Immediately, a council of war was summoned - Lady Violette, Sir Aeronwy, Sir Arnulf, and Sir George began to lay plans for how to rescue Sir Cadfael from Ireland.
The first challenge proved to be Earl Roderick. Sir Cadfael had angered the Earl a few years earlier when he had refused to marry at the Earl's behest, to form a political alliance with Somerset, and now he had gotten himself enslaved by the Irish? Leave him, commanded Earl Roderick. Don't waste any time getting that one back. Here, young Sir George shined. He was a master musician, from a family of skilled harpists, and he composed a song extolling the virtues of Sir Cadfael, so skilfully that it shamed the Earl. Roderick changed his mind; if the knights wished to go to Ireland, they could do so. However, they would have to do so on their own time, for King Uther Pendragon had requested that Earl Roderick travel to Malahaut. to reaffirm the alliance with the Centurion King, and the Earl wished for his loyal knights to accompany him as bodyguards, and to aid in winning over the northern king.
In the short amount of time that they had before setting off to Malahaut, the four travelled east to Devon, there to prepare a ship to take them to Ireland upon their return from the north. After some searching, they discovered an independent and mostly honest trader who could carry them - Kefin, captain of the Lady Luck. They also thought about seeing Sir Gherard, but the good knight was apparently still off on his honeymoon with the Dowager Countess Rowena.
The group returned to Sarum, and shortly the expedition set off for Malahaut. It was a long ride, for the Earl was expected to stop off along the way to pay his regards to every Baron, Earl and Duke whose land he passed through, but eventually the knights reached Eburacum, the Roman-built capital of Malahaut. They noted as their horses were taken to the stables that theirs were not the only horses there - the Centurion King had other visitors. Sir Aeronwy gathered information (by seducing a kitchen boy) - the Centurion King and his son Prince Berrant were jealous of Logres' power, and the knights of Malahaut considered themselves the true heirs to the Roman power in Britain. At the welcoming banquet for the embassy, the knights soon met these other visitors: they were Saxons, led by none other than King Octa and Sir Eleri the Traitor!
Insults were thrown by the Saxons, and the British nobly withstood them for the sake of hospitality. Octa revealed how it was that he was not in the Tower of London. Three years earlier, at the Battle of Lindsey, he had seen how the battle was clearly lost, and allowed another Saxon to take his 'magic axe' and crown, to be captured in his place, while he himself escaped with Sir Eleri. In the intervening years, he had created a new Saxon kingdom from the many Saxons in the north - Deira. He had also created alliances with the Saxons of Kent and Essex, and was now working on an alliance with the Centurion King, against Logres. He also hinted that other lords in Logres had been approaching Sir Eleri to discuss changing sides, as they could see who the winner of this war was going to be.
Octa also offered the knights a deal in secret. The Saxons had already established a foothold in Ireland. Octa would see to it that these Saxons gave the knights of Salisbury the assistance they needed to strike deep into the lands of the Irish and rescue Sir Cadfael. In exchange, all Octa asked for was that they deliberately fail to gain an alliance with Malahaut, and left it to him. Working with him now could ensure them their future when the Saxons had overrun Britain... the knights turned and walked away coldly, refusing to fraternise with their arch-enemy.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Earl Roderick and the four knights tried their best to defeat the Saxons at politics and to win the alliance with the Centurion King. The Earl spent much time sequestered with the King, talking with him, but the other four did their best to impress him. Sir Arnulf decided to present a gift to the Centurion King - the tattered half of Octa's war banner that he had captured at the Battle of Lindsey. This was well received, and definitely superior to the Saxon gift of weapons captured from a raid against Lincoln. Lady Violette decided to keep a low profile, and disdained from slipping something in Octa's food, as Bronwyn suggested. Sir George wrote another song, extolling the prowess of Malahaut at the Battle of Lindsey:
There was a great Centurion King,
And his grand Roman general.
When Logres was in peril,
They rode down with an army
They smashed the Saxon horde
And crushed them underfoot.
The mighty Roman King
Is an effin awesome sight.
He proudly displays his trophy
For all his men to see.
The Saxons now sit and cower
In their dirty latrines,
And now all of Logres knows
The might of Malahaut,
Who will never bend their knee
To that dirty smelly lot!
Sir George's song was certainly a success; unfortunately for him, the Saxons also had a harpist present, who sang an equally convincing song in favour of the Saxons.
Sir Aeronwy decided to go out hunting, and challenged Sir Eleri to a hunting competition. Over the course of three days, they would go out into the woods around Eburacum and bring back whatever they could find - they would try to bring back the best game they could, and whoever brought back the best game the most often would be the winner. Sir Aeronwy thought vaguely about ambushing Sir Eleri in the forest and murdering her, but decided against it - it would be contrary to her sense of honour and hospitality. On the first two days, Sir Aeronwy managed to bring down a deer, while Sir Eleri only managed to bring back one deer. On the third day, Sir Eleri returned again empty handed... but Sir Aeronwy returned not at all. She had become lost in the forest pursuing another deer... and soon heard the sounds of something pursuing her! It was a terrible lion, such as still roamed the wild places of Britain in those days. Sir Aeronwy tried to outrun the lion, but her horse was too slow, and the lion brought it down with a single leap. Fortunately, the beast seemed more interested in its new dinner than in the knight - she backed away slowly, trying not to gain too much of the lion's attention - and broke a twig loudly underfoot. The lion sprang. Sir Aeronwy got her shield up and managed to deliver a terrible blow to the lion, laying open its flank, but was herself torn by the terrible claws of the lion, whose claws were so sharp, they could tear through her chainmail. She set her shield again, as the lion stalked closer - but when the lion sprang, its strength was too great for her. Its claws ripped her shield asunder, and then tore through armour, flesh, and bone alike...
Meanwhile, the other knights began receiving mysterious letters. Someone in Malahaut was interested in making a deal with them behind the King's back. Sir George was taken to a secret meeting with a representative of the unknown nobleman, who offered a deal to him - if the knights of Logres arranged for the death of the Centurion King, then when the anonymous nobleman seized the throne, he would agree to the alliance with Logres against the Saxons. Sir George prevaricated, and when he returned to Earl Roderick and the other knights, they decided not to betray the hospitality of their host by arranging for his assassination.
Unfortunately, this meant that their efforts were now evenly matched with those of the Saxons. Sir Eleri had proven a better huntress than Sir Aeronwy, Sir Arnulf had given a better gift than the Saxons, and the two musicians had proven equal in their talents. So the decision of whom Malahaut should ally with was up to Octa and Earl Roderick's attempts at diplomacy.. and King Octa's had more successful. The Centurion King thanked the embassy from Logres, and allowed them to depart safely, honouring the display of hospitality which they had shown. Octa proved, unsurprisingly, less honourable, and as the Earl's procession moved south, they were attacked by a band of Saxon warriors intent on murdering them all. Sir George and Lady Violette held off the attackers as best they could, while Sir Arnulf slew the Saxon leader and then led the defenders to defeat the main band.
Upon their return from Malahaut, the knights found a guest waiting for them: Lady Evienne, the Lady of the Lake whom Sir Cadfael had rescued the previous year. She had come to return the favour by helping to rescue him from his own captivity. She revealed that Sir Cadfael had agreed to help the Ui Cennsealaigh raid the Ui Maol tribe; however, the raid had gone wrong, and Sir Cadfael was now a prisoner of the Ui Maol. Sir Arnulf, Sir George, Lady Evienne, and Lady Violette headed west to Exeter and the Lady Luck, to take ship to Ireland.
The trip to Ireland was mostly clear sailing, and the expedition arrived in the lands of the Ui Garrchu, in eastern Ireland. A warband of Ui Garrchu warriors awaited the ship on the beach, to challenge the intruders to their land. The knights were forced to take three challenges by the Irish: firstly, to break a large piece of driftwood (which they failed); secondly, a contest of harping, which Sir George handily won; thirdly, a duel to first blood, which Sir Arnulf accepted. However, it turned out that Sir Arnulf was not used to duelling unarmoured opponents - for what should have been a light blow wound up disembowelling the Irish champion! His brother immediately accused Sir Arnulf of murder. The matter was taken to the breitheamh (lawyer) of the Ui Garrchu, and both Sir George and the upset Irishman put forward their cases. Sir George won the case, but now found himself in the unfortunate situation of owing the breitheamh a cow in legal fees!
Fortunately, the group now convinced the Ui Garrchu to begin a Tain Bo (cattle raid) against the Ui Maol, during the course of which they hoped to rescue Sir Cadfael from his imprisonment. The battle began, and Sir George managed to claim his cow quickly, while Ui Maol defenders swarmed out from their village to defend their cow-herd from the raiding Ui Garrchu. During the confusion, Sir Arnulf and Lady Violette hewed their way into the village itself, where Lady Violette found Sir Cadfael - trussed up and in bad shape, but alive! She freed Sir Cadfael and gave him a sword to defend himself, and then the three had to fight their way out of the village again. The reunion was almost a very short one, as an Irish sword struck down Lady Violette, but her handmaid / squire Bronwyn was able to treat her injuries in time to stop her from bleeding to death.
With Sir Cadfael rescued and Sir George's legal fees paid, the groups stayed in Ireland until Lady Violette could safely travel. Once she could, it was time to return to Salisbury. There was an unpleasant surprise waiting for them there, however: a troop of guards was waiting in Tilshead for Sir Arnulf, and put him under arrest. Someone, bearing his arms, had been committing acts of banditry throughout Salisbury during his absence, and there were many witnesses who were willing to attest to it, up to and including Saint Gwiona herself! What was worse, the plunder from the raids had been planted in Tilshead to further implicate the Wind Dragon! The furious Sir Arnulf was challenged by the foremost of his accusers to a duel of honour, to the death, to prove his innocence. So Sir Arnulf and Sir Amig of Castle Du Plain faced off in Sarum. Sir Amig immediately dealt a mighty blow that made Sir Arnulf faint, and the hero knew that if he did not win the duel soon, he would pass out from loss of blood and perish! He surged forward, but Sir Amig held him off, and Sir Arnulf grew more and more faint. On the verge of passing out, Sir Arnulf struck the mightiest of blows, sending Sir Amig crashing to the ground in a swoon. Sir Arnulf retained consciousness only long enough to hear himself proclaimed the victor; then he, too, fell senseless to the ground.
Over the next few weeks, Sir Arnulf recovered from his duel. He appointed Sir Helbur, formerly his squire, now a knight in his own merit, as warden of Tilshead in his absence to protect against any further wrongdoings. Sir Cadfael and his lovely wife put their keen minds to the task of figuring out what had happened. Between them, they were easily able to find evidence that proved Sir Arnulf's innocence, and revealed that the raiders had not come from Tilshead, but from the east. The raids had been a set-up by Sir Arnulf's former lord, the Steward of Leucomagus. As the winter snows fell, an exonerated Sir Arnulf swore that he would have revenge...
RIP Sir Aeronwy, 463 - 493. Eaten by a lion in Malahaut.
Saturday 27 July 2013
Friday 26 July 2013
492 AD: The Irish Raiders
492 AD was about dealing with the consequences of what had happened the previous year. Cornwall continued to be unsettled after the invasion by the Pendragon, the previous year. Britain continued to slowly rip itself apart as more and more lords lost their faith in King Uther. The Saxons continued to reinforce their position in Caer Anderida. And across the land, reprisal attacks targeted the newly-born Wotanic movement, in retaliation for the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Saint Albans. Sir Esther sheltered Sir Albrecht's widow and children at her own estate, so that they could escape the violence, while Saint Gwiona travelled to the deceased knight's estate at Berwick Saint James, where she personally interceded with the incensed mob, in order to prevent further violence. She was accompanied by a young knight who, despite being male, also followed her cause, and when she returned to Amesbury, Sir George remained behind, appointed by Earl Roderick to watch over Berwick Saint James until Sir Albrecht's son Siegfried came of age.
The knights of Salisbury were called upon to travel again to Cornwall. King Uther wished for many knights to be patrolling the former duchy, to keep the peace. He himself was in Tintagel Castle with Queen Igraine, who was heavy with the child that he begat on her during when he, with the aid of Merlin, disguised himself as Duke Gorlois in order to rape her. It would not be long until the child was born, and all Logres was hoping for a son, a new heir to the throne after the death of Prince Madoc. So it was that Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther, and Sir Neddig headed west to Cornwall.
While they were still en route, they were stopped by an out-of-breath peasant. Glastonbury Abbey, the oldest Christian site in all of Britain, where it was believed Jesus Christ himself went as a youth, was under attack by Irish Raiders. (It is probably worth noting at this point that there was a large error in the plot for this year - based on the fact that I thought that Glastonbury was further west than it is, and much closer to Cornwall! So for the rest of the year to make sense, we must assume that the Irish had bad maps...)
The four knights headed to Glastonbury Abbey, where they were welcomed by the Sacristan, Neot - a dwarf and former soldier. The Abbey was clearly damaged by the raiders, but the damage was far lighter than it could have been. Most surprising of all was the fact that of all those dwelling at Glastonbury, only nineteen had been taken as slaves! There seemed to be no pattern as to who was taken, also - they ranged from novices to the abbot himself. Searching around the monastery showed that the Irish raiders had thoroughly looted the abbey, but they had made no attempt to take more than their initial nineteen slaves. Why? There were also signs that the Irish had headed up to Glastonbury Tor, but the knights decided not to investigate the Tor - instead, they had to give pursuit as quickly as they could to try and catch the Irish raiders.
Before long, the knights found a campground where the Irish had rested for the night. Clearly, their ships were somewhere on the coast of the Severn Sea, far enough away that they had not been able to reach them in a single night. The knights investigated the campsite, and realised that this must have been a fairly sizeable Irish force - maybe as many as three warships worth of warriors had come to attack Glastonbury Abbey. In addition, Sir Neddig found a strange brooch, a pentacle in a circle, made all of silver, on a silver chain the right size for a woman's neck. It did not appear to be Irish in origin, and it was not a Christian sign - and there were no women at the Abbey. Where did it come from?
The knights continued northwards, into the Somerset marshes. Night was beginning to fall, and the horses were growing tired, so the knights and their squires found the driest area that they could and decided to rest for the night. They were near to the coast now, and so the Irish could not be far ahead at all. The Irish were unlikely to sail treacherous waters at night - they were more likely to wait for a morning tide, and so if the knights of Salisbury set off before dawn, they should be able to catch the raiders before they set sail. Settling down as best they could in the strange marshes, surrounded by the croaking calls of frogs and other, less identifiable things, they went to sleep.
As they slept, Sir Neddig had a vision. It was as if he were somewhere else, looking through other eyes - those of the woman who had owned the pentacle necklace, who was now the twentieth slave held by the Irish. She was now held in the Irish camp, not far at all from where Sir Neddig slept, with the other slaves, watching her captors carouse next to their boats. She psychically begged Sir Neddig's help, and identified herself - as Evienne, one of the Ladies of the Lake!
However, there was a more immediate problem, as strange creatures arose from the swamp to attack the knights. Sir Arnulf, wary of attack, had slept in armour, but exhaustion had made him fall asleep nevertheless. Only Sir Arnulf's squire Helbur noticed as creatures emerged from the night - like unto frogs, but the size of a child, and sprouting terrible bat-like wings. These were the dreaded water leapers, which claimed a score of careless Somerset fishermen every year. The knights scrambled to get ready, and shouted for their squires to fetch them armour and horses. The first water leaper propelled itself into Sir Neddig's squire, its tiny but razor-sharp teeth clamping down on his face and dragging the screaming, struggling boy into the marsh... The otherwise heroic Helbur's nerve finally broke, and rather than lead Sir Arnulf's horse to him, the panicking squire mounted it and fled!
The knights were now partially armoured, and they flung themselves against the enemy with furious abandon. This was Sir Esther's first battle (during the attack on Castle Terrabil, she had hidden during the night-time raid) and she hid behind her shield, flailing frantically with her sword to try and drive back the water leaper attacking her. Sir Neddig, meanwhile, recalled that somewhere he had heard that the water leapers could be tamed, and tried to wrestle one into submission! Sir Arnulf was groggy from having slept poorly in his armour, and a water leaper fastened its teeth around his helmet and dragged him underwater, then tried to beat his head against a rock to kill him! Fortunately, Sir Cadfael was ready for the monsters - he struck down one swiftly, then went to help the others. Revolted by the monsters and the violence, Sir Esther claimed her first ever kill. Meanwhile, Sir Cadfael slew the water leaper attacking Sir Arnulf, and Sir Esther stopped him from drowning in the water. Finally, Sir Neddig, who had been torn up badly in the attempt to tame a water leaper, realised that it could not be done and slew his foe.
The water leapers were dead, but attacking the Irish, always a risky proposition, now seemed suicidal. Sir Arnulf was gravely wounded, and Sir Neddig (who had begun skinning his fallen foe in order to obtain a fancy new cloak, and was also beginning to think about painting a water leaper on his shield) was not in much better condition. Sir Esther felt that saving their lives was more important than throwing away everyone's life against the Irish trying to save the slaves, and intended to return to Glastonbury. But Sir Cadfael refused, and on his own he rode north as the sun began to rise, to single-handedly confront the Irish slavers.
The three Irish ships were being prepared for the morning tide as Sir Cadfael came over the crest of a hill and gazed down upon them. There were fully sixty Irishmen around them, and the twenty slaves about to be put on to the boats. Sir Cadfael was spotted by Irish scouts, and since violence seemed pointless, he rode down to parley with the Irish and their leader! Fortunate he was that the Irish leader, the Morholt (King's Champion) Cahal of the Ui Cennseallaigh tuath of Leinster, had taken a geas to refuse hospitality to no man. All of this meant very little to Sir Cadfael, save that instead of being slain as he had expected, he was invited in to a hot breakfast at the Irish campfire!
He struck up a conversation with Cahal, where the Irishman let slip a massive surprise to Sir Cadfael - that the Irish had been given permission to raid for slaves, by none other than King Uther Pendragon himself! Sir Cadfael was shocked, but played along, bluffing for more information - which he received. The Irish were incensed by the theft of the standing stones of the Giant's Dance by Merlin, many years earlier, which he had used to rebuild Stonehenge. They had been raiding in reprisal ever since then. In the previous year, an Irish envoy had met with the Pendragon, and he had given them permission to take twenty slaves annually, for the next four generations, from the 'rebellious' duchy of Cornwall. However, Cahal pointed out that King Uther had never specified which twenty slaves could be taken in any given year, and so he had chosen to take the first twenty from Glastonbury Abbey, desecrating a holy site of Britain in recompense for the desecration of a holy site of Irish.
Sir Cadfael agreed, and then tried to strike a deal with Cahal for one of the slaves - the Lady of the Lake, Evienne. However, Sir Cadfael did not have the greatest skill as an orator, and so he was unable to convince Cahal to risk leaving Britain with fewer than the twenty slaves that he had been sent for. Next, Sir Cadfael tried to convince Cahal to take Sir Cadfael himself as a slave in her place - but Cahal pointed out that a Lady of the Lake was a far more valuable slave than an unknown knight. So it came to pass that Sir Cadfael challenged Cahal to a duel of honour, to prove himself worthy enough to be taken as a slave by the Irish in Lady Evienne's place! Amused, Cahal agreed. He was the personal champion of the Irish High King Lugaid mac Loegairi of Tara, a great warrior-lord, and did not think that any British knight could defeat him. After the first few blows were struck, Sir Cadfael was inclined to agree! The Irish knight was a far stronger warrior than he was, constantly driving the British knight back and raining blows upon him which Sir Cadfael could not hold off with his sword or his shield. In desperation, Sir Cadfael put his strength into a single mighty blow, which struck Cahal upon the helmet, stunning him. Cahal sank to the ground insensate, and Sir Cadfael surrendered himself to the Irish as their new slave. Lady Evienne was freed, and she departed, along with Sir Cadfael's squire, to return to Glastonbury Abbey.
Lady Evienne soon met up with the other three knights at Glastonbury. All were shocked to learn that King Uther had sold his own people into slavery, and flabbergasted by Sir Cadfael's actions. They also learned a bit more from Lady Evienne about her own story. The Ladies of the Lake were a pagan sisterhood, who gathered women from across Britain who had nascent magical abilities. They dwelt upon Glastonbury Tor. Evienne herself was one of the youngest and most inexperienced of the Ladies. She was clairvoyant, but she went into trances when her power took control of her - and this was how the Irish had managed to capture her. She also shared the subject of her vision. The walls between worlds are weakening, she warned...
The knights continued on to Cornwall, where they heard disturbing news. The royal heir had been born, and was a boy - but, immediately after his birth, he had been abducted by Merlin! Merlin was declared a traitor in absentia, and sentenced to death. In addition, Sir Neddig had a second vision - courtesy of the silver pentacle, which he had forgotten that he still possessed, which shared Lady Evienne's visions with him.
Queen Igraine was sitting naked in a dark room, lit only by candles arranged at the points and intersections of a pentacle. In her hands she held an athame, a ritual knife, and a silver chalice sat before her. A cage, holding a terrified, hissing cat, was also inside the circle. She removed the cat from the cage, ignoring the scratches which it inflicted upon her arm, and then slew it with the athame, draining its blood into the chalice. Once she was done, she cast the dead cat aside, and used a wand of hawthorne wood to anoint herself with the blood. As she did so, she called down a curse upon Merlin Ambrosius. It was his magic that had betrayed her husband Gorlois and allowed another man access to her bed. It was he who had stolen her baby away from her. Invoking the darkest of curses, she called upon a woman to be an avenger for her, for women to cast down all of Merlin's mighty works, and for Merlin himself to be destroyed three times at the hands of women. Once the oath was made, she drank the dregs of the cat's-blood in the chalice, and the vision ended.
The knights of Salisbury were called upon to travel again to Cornwall. King Uther wished for many knights to be patrolling the former duchy, to keep the peace. He himself was in Tintagel Castle with Queen Igraine, who was heavy with the child that he begat on her during when he, with the aid of Merlin, disguised himself as Duke Gorlois in order to rape her. It would not be long until the child was born, and all Logres was hoping for a son, a new heir to the throne after the death of Prince Madoc. So it was that Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther, and Sir Neddig headed west to Cornwall.
While they were still en route, they were stopped by an out-of-breath peasant. Glastonbury Abbey, the oldest Christian site in all of Britain, where it was believed Jesus Christ himself went as a youth, was under attack by Irish Raiders. (It is probably worth noting at this point that there was a large error in the plot for this year - based on the fact that I thought that Glastonbury was further west than it is, and much closer to Cornwall! So for the rest of the year to make sense, we must assume that the Irish had bad maps...)
The four knights headed to Glastonbury Abbey, where they were welcomed by the Sacristan, Neot - a dwarf and former soldier. The Abbey was clearly damaged by the raiders, but the damage was far lighter than it could have been. Most surprising of all was the fact that of all those dwelling at Glastonbury, only nineteen had been taken as slaves! There seemed to be no pattern as to who was taken, also - they ranged from novices to the abbot himself. Searching around the monastery showed that the Irish raiders had thoroughly looted the abbey, but they had made no attempt to take more than their initial nineteen slaves. Why? There were also signs that the Irish had headed up to Glastonbury Tor, but the knights decided not to investigate the Tor - instead, they had to give pursuit as quickly as they could to try and catch the Irish raiders.
Before long, the knights found a campground where the Irish had rested for the night. Clearly, their ships were somewhere on the coast of the Severn Sea, far enough away that they had not been able to reach them in a single night. The knights investigated the campsite, and realised that this must have been a fairly sizeable Irish force - maybe as many as three warships worth of warriors had come to attack Glastonbury Abbey. In addition, Sir Neddig found a strange brooch, a pentacle in a circle, made all of silver, on a silver chain the right size for a woman's neck. It did not appear to be Irish in origin, and it was not a Christian sign - and there were no women at the Abbey. Where did it come from?
The knights continued northwards, into the Somerset marshes. Night was beginning to fall, and the horses were growing tired, so the knights and their squires found the driest area that they could and decided to rest for the night. They were near to the coast now, and so the Irish could not be far ahead at all. The Irish were unlikely to sail treacherous waters at night - they were more likely to wait for a morning tide, and so if the knights of Salisbury set off before dawn, they should be able to catch the raiders before they set sail. Settling down as best they could in the strange marshes, surrounded by the croaking calls of frogs and other, less identifiable things, they went to sleep.
As they slept, Sir Neddig had a vision. It was as if he were somewhere else, looking through other eyes - those of the woman who had owned the pentacle necklace, who was now the twentieth slave held by the Irish. She was now held in the Irish camp, not far at all from where Sir Neddig slept, with the other slaves, watching her captors carouse next to their boats. She psychically begged Sir Neddig's help, and identified herself - as Evienne, one of the Ladies of the Lake!
However, there was a more immediate problem, as strange creatures arose from the swamp to attack the knights. Sir Arnulf, wary of attack, had slept in armour, but exhaustion had made him fall asleep nevertheless. Only Sir Arnulf's squire Helbur noticed as creatures emerged from the night - like unto frogs, but the size of a child, and sprouting terrible bat-like wings. These were the dreaded water leapers, which claimed a score of careless Somerset fishermen every year. The knights scrambled to get ready, and shouted for their squires to fetch them armour and horses. The first water leaper propelled itself into Sir Neddig's squire, its tiny but razor-sharp teeth clamping down on his face and dragging the screaming, struggling boy into the marsh... The otherwise heroic Helbur's nerve finally broke, and rather than lead Sir Arnulf's horse to him, the panicking squire mounted it and fled!
The knights were now partially armoured, and they flung themselves against the enemy with furious abandon. This was Sir Esther's first battle (during the attack on Castle Terrabil, she had hidden during the night-time raid) and she hid behind her shield, flailing frantically with her sword to try and drive back the water leaper attacking her. Sir Neddig, meanwhile, recalled that somewhere he had heard that the water leapers could be tamed, and tried to wrestle one into submission! Sir Arnulf was groggy from having slept poorly in his armour, and a water leaper fastened its teeth around his helmet and dragged him underwater, then tried to beat his head against a rock to kill him! Fortunately, Sir Cadfael was ready for the monsters - he struck down one swiftly, then went to help the others. Revolted by the monsters and the violence, Sir Esther claimed her first ever kill. Meanwhile, Sir Cadfael slew the water leaper attacking Sir Arnulf, and Sir Esther stopped him from drowning in the water. Finally, Sir Neddig, who had been torn up badly in the attempt to tame a water leaper, realised that it could not be done and slew his foe.
The water leapers were dead, but attacking the Irish, always a risky proposition, now seemed suicidal. Sir Arnulf was gravely wounded, and Sir Neddig (who had begun skinning his fallen foe in order to obtain a fancy new cloak, and was also beginning to think about painting a water leaper on his shield) was not in much better condition. Sir Esther felt that saving their lives was more important than throwing away everyone's life against the Irish trying to save the slaves, and intended to return to Glastonbury. But Sir Cadfael refused, and on his own he rode north as the sun began to rise, to single-handedly confront the Irish slavers.
The three Irish ships were being prepared for the morning tide as Sir Cadfael came over the crest of a hill and gazed down upon them. There were fully sixty Irishmen around them, and the twenty slaves about to be put on to the boats. Sir Cadfael was spotted by Irish scouts, and since violence seemed pointless, he rode down to parley with the Irish and their leader! Fortunate he was that the Irish leader, the Morholt (King's Champion) Cahal of the Ui Cennseallaigh tuath of Leinster, had taken a geas to refuse hospitality to no man. All of this meant very little to Sir Cadfael, save that instead of being slain as he had expected, he was invited in to a hot breakfast at the Irish campfire!
He struck up a conversation with Cahal, where the Irishman let slip a massive surprise to Sir Cadfael - that the Irish had been given permission to raid for slaves, by none other than King Uther Pendragon himself! Sir Cadfael was shocked, but played along, bluffing for more information - which he received. The Irish were incensed by the theft of the standing stones of the Giant's Dance by Merlin, many years earlier, which he had used to rebuild Stonehenge. They had been raiding in reprisal ever since then. In the previous year, an Irish envoy had met with the Pendragon, and he had given them permission to take twenty slaves annually, for the next four generations, from the 'rebellious' duchy of Cornwall. However, Cahal pointed out that King Uther had never specified which twenty slaves could be taken in any given year, and so he had chosen to take the first twenty from Glastonbury Abbey, desecrating a holy site of Britain in recompense for the desecration of a holy site of Irish.
Sir Cadfael agreed, and then tried to strike a deal with Cahal for one of the slaves - the Lady of the Lake, Evienne. However, Sir Cadfael did not have the greatest skill as an orator, and so he was unable to convince Cahal to risk leaving Britain with fewer than the twenty slaves that he had been sent for. Next, Sir Cadfael tried to convince Cahal to take Sir Cadfael himself as a slave in her place - but Cahal pointed out that a Lady of the Lake was a far more valuable slave than an unknown knight. So it came to pass that Sir Cadfael challenged Cahal to a duel of honour, to prove himself worthy enough to be taken as a slave by the Irish in Lady Evienne's place! Amused, Cahal agreed. He was the personal champion of the Irish High King Lugaid mac Loegairi of Tara, a great warrior-lord, and did not think that any British knight could defeat him. After the first few blows were struck, Sir Cadfael was inclined to agree! The Irish knight was a far stronger warrior than he was, constantly driving the British knight back and raining blows upon him which Sir Cadfael could not hold off with his sword or his shield. In desperation, Sir Cadfael put his strength into a single mighty blow, which struck Cahal upon the helmet, stunning him. Cahal sank to the ground insensate, and Sir Cadfael surrendered himself to the Irish as their new slave. Lady Evienne was freed, and she departed, along with Sir Cadfael's squire, to return to Glastonbury Abbey.
Lady Evienne soon met up with the other three knights at Glastonbury. All were shocked to learn that King Uther had sold his own people into slavery, and flabbergasted by Sir Cadfael's actions. They also learned a bit more from Lady Evienne about her own story. The Ladies of the Lake were a pagan sisterhood, who gathered women from across Britain who had nascent magical abilities. They dwelt upon Glastonbury Tor. Evienne herself was one of the youngest and most inexperienced of the Ladies. She was clairvoyant, but she went into trances when her power took control of her - and this was how the Irish had managed to capture her. She also shared the subject of her vision. The walls between worlds are weakening, she warned...
The knights continued on to Cornwall, where they heard disturbing news. The royal heir had been born, and was a boy - but, immediately after his birth, he had been abducted by Merlin! Merlin was declared a traitor in absentia, and sentenced to death. In addition, Sir Neddig had a second vision - courtesy of the silver pentacle, which he had forgotten that he still possessed, which shared Lady Evienne's visions with him.
Queen Igraine was sitting naked in a dark room, lit only by candles arranged at the points and intersections of a pentacle. In her hands she held an athame, a ritual knife, and a silver chalice sat before her. A cage, holding a terrified, hissing cat, was also inside the circle. She removed the cat from the cage, ignoring the scratches which it inflicted upon her arm, and then slew it with the athame, draining its blood into the chalice. Once she was done, she cast the dead cat aside, and used a wand of hawthorne wood to anoint herself with the blood. As she did so, she called down a curse upon Merlin Ambrosius. It was his magic that had betrayed her husband Gorlois and allowed another man access to her bed. It was he who had stolen her baby away from her. Invoking the darkest of curses, she called upon a woman to be an avenger for her, for women to cast down all of Merlin's mighty works, and for Merlin himself to be destroyed three times at the hands of women. Once the oath was made, she drank the dregs of the cat's-blood in the chalice, and the vision ended.
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