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.
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