As the snows of winter melted, Sir Arnulf found himself returning to Leucomagus for the first time since he abandoned his obsessed lord Sir Rhisiart, the Steward of Leucomagus, eight years earlier. Now he wished vengeance upon his former lord, for attempting to frame him for banditry the previous year. With him was his former squire Sir Helbur, now a knight, as well as his companions Sir Cadfael (recently returned from his enslavement in Ireland) and Sir Esther (who had spent the previous year productively, arranging for monasteries following Saint Gwiona's precepts to be established across Britain, which would also act as refuges for women and orphans threatened by the worsening conflicts).
Sir Arnulf wished vengeance, but he did not intend to seek it. Before coming, he had discussed with his companions and his Earl what he should do in retaliation for Leucomagus' attacks. Most advocated dealing with the matter legally - denouncing Sir Rhisiart and demanding a duel of honour to prove his perfidy. Earl Roderick, whose hatred of Leucomagus was perhaps equal to that of Sir Arnulf, suggested using the Steward's own tactics - leading a force bearing no banners, or perhaps even banners of an enemy like the Saxons, to ravage Leucomagus and murder Sir Rhisiart. However, Sir Arnulf was mindful of the Saxon threat. Octa son of Hengist had four nations allied against Logres, and all knew that war was imminent. Even a diplomatic effort led by Duke Ulfius, which sought to placate Octa by returning his imprisoned half-brother, the giant Eosa to him, could at best only delay the inevitable. Any sort of internal strife within Logres at this point was unthinkable. While Sir Arnulf may have abandoned his oaths, it had always been for a greater purpose, the purpose his current companions had instilled in him - to save his people from the threat of the Saxons.
The embassy arrived in Leucomagus and were treated poorly. The Steward shamed his guests by making them wait, and then sitting them amongst the peasants in his hall, serving them only gruel, but the knights of Salisbury ate grimly, refusing to dishonour themselves by complaining. Sir Arnulf spoke to Sir Bertram, his former friend, who guiltily apologised for his lord's actions - and for being the one who impersonated Sir Arnulf during the raids. Finally, Sir Helbur rose to address the crowd - who had been waiting to see what action Sir Arnulf and his companions would take in response to the slights visited upon them both here and in the past. Sir Helbur, always a masterful orator, publically shamed the Steward with his words - by exposing Sir Rhisiart for the shallow, bitter, dishonourable wretch that he was. However, Sir Helbur also said that Sir Arnulf was mindful of the greater threat, and therefore forgave Sir Rhisiart his trespasses against him, so that they could both focus on Logres' true enemy. Humiliated by the truth of Sir Helbur's words, Sir Rhisiart agreed as well to end the feud between them, and let the knights return to Salisbury in honour.
As spring turned into summer, Earl Roderick summoned Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael and Sir Esther to task them with a great mission. It was not only they who knew that the hour of reckoning between Uther and Octa was imminent. Logres still sought allies who could aid her in her hour of need. For that purpose, the Earl required his vassals to travel west into Wales, to the court of King Canan of Estregales at Pembroke, and to deliver a message to him from King Uther Pendragon, beseeching his assistance against the Saxons. The three knights agreed, and prepared for the road - Sir Arnulf entrusting his city and his wife into the protection of his friend and former squire Sir Helbur.
The knights headed for the northern road through Somerset. Once, they would have been afraid of banditry - but their own activities had crushed the worst of the Saxon-sponsored bandits that had been operating throughout Logres, and those few petty groups which remained did not dare to threaten three veteran knights. However, the knights were alarmed, not far out of Malmesbury, when they heard an almighty crash on the side of the road! They headed to investigate, but could see nothing - until they heard a muffled voice asking for help above them. Looking up, they saw a bizarre sight: a monk was stuck upside down in a tree, his cassock fallen down about him. Strangest of all was the contraption that the monk was attached to - a strange kite-like affair, with the monk's arms attached to two wings!
Sir Arnulf and Sir Cadfael shook the tree to dislodge the man, and Sir Esther and the three squires failed to catch him. Sir Esther tried to help him, but the strange monk's legs were badly broken from the impact with the tree and the fall, and he needed more serious care than she could give. The man introduced himself as Brother Eilmer, from a monastery in Malmesbury. He had been attempting to fly, and had jumped from the bell-tower of the monastery, but he sheepishly admitted that as he had forgotten to attach a tail to his hinder parts, his flight had ended rather abruptly! Sir Cadfael said that if God had intended for man to fly, he would have given him wings already; Brother Eilmer retorted that if God had not intended for man to fly, he would not have created birds to provide an example and a brain for men to wonder about it with. Sir Arnulf and Sir Esther were amazed and amused by the monk, and the three agreed to help him. The knights hitched up a crude travois to attach Brother Eilmer and his contraption to their horses, and helped to take him back to Malmesbury. Once there, they had dinner with the abbot (who was exasperated rather than surprised at Brother Eilmer's injuries) and Sir Esther arranged for a monastic exchange to take place - a nun of Saint Gwiona's order to winter in Malmesbury, while Brother Eilmer could come to Amesbury.
The three companions continued north, through Clarence and into Gloucester. They knew that the Dukes of these lands often feuded with one another over their poorly-defined borders, but decided to continue along the road and attempt not to become embroiled in the dispute. They passed through Clarence without any incident, but were met once they crossed into Gloucester by the sons of the Duke: the Twin Bannerets of Glevum. The Green Banneret seemed more intelligent and indolent, while the Red Banneret seemed his opposite, impetuous and brash. They feuded incessantly, but were inseparable nevertheless. The Twin Bannerets of Glevum escorted their guests to their father the Duke, who offered the knights hospitality before having his sons see them on their way in the morning. The next day, sharp-eyed Sir Arnulf spotted an ambush waiting off the road for them, and charged to meet it. A small melee broke out, in which poor peaceful Sir Esther attempted to talk her for into submission unsuccessfully and had to be rescued by the deadly Sir Cadfael. The Green Banneret attempted to pin the attack on Clarence, and asked for the knights' help in seeking redress from the Duke of Clarence - but all three of the knights of Salisbury saw through his plot. He had organised the attack himself! An irate Sir Arnulf punched the Green Banneret in the face, and then they left the Twin Bannerets on the road and entered Escavalon.
King Nanteleod of Escavalon was a middle-aged man, and extremely welcoming in his hospitality. He arranged for his guests to sit at the high table with him, and then spoke to them constantly, offered them the finest wines and delicacies from his kitchen, laughed when Sir Arnulf revealed the true origins of his epithet 'The Wind Dragon', and asked them questions. Many questions. Sir Arnulf, not as savvy as the other two and his lips loosened by the fine wines of Escavalon, found himself telling the kindly King all manner of things about the politics of Logres, with Nanteleod nodding and listening very intently. It was only afterwards that an embarrassed Sir Arnulf realised that he had been manipulated into giving some very good and somewhat secret information to King Nanteleod!
From King Nanteleod's seat in Carlion, the road continued westwards, along the edge of the Severn Sea, into Estregales. The group stopped for the night in Carmarthen, which Sir Esther knew to be the birthplace of her friend Ambrose - better known as Merlin Ambrosius. With a presentiment that she might see him again, she decided to get him something from his home, and found a wheel of Carmarthen's famous hard yellow cheese for the wizard, knowing his fondness for it! The group also took a guided tour around the little town, seeing all the Merlin-related landmarks (and Sir Arnulf picked up some souvenirs for his children!) Sir Arnulf was most interested in finding out about Merlin's mysterious twin sister Ganeida, however, who did not seem to be mentioned anywhere in the tour, and no one in town had heard of her. Eventually, Sir Esther discovered why, when she found a headstone with Ganeida's name on it. Merlin's twin sister had been stillborn. But if that was the case, why did the Ladies of the Lake follow her, and why was Merlin so touchy about a lost sister he had never known? Clearly, there was something more to the mystery.
The knights continued further west, where they finally arrived at Pembroke Castle, and were welcomed by King Canan. That night at dinner, they met his steward, Sir Orcas, as well as the King's sons, the newly-knighted Prince Dirac and his squire, Prince Lac. King Canan received the knights's letter and promised to give thought to it, and the three decided that it would be best to win allies in court, who could help sway King Canan to their cause. They dismissed the two Princes, and decided that the best person to recruit would be Sir Orcas. The knights put arguments both well-argued and emotional to Sir Orcas, reminding him how the Saxons had landed in Estregales years earlier, where they were fought off at the Battle of Menevia. Sir Orcas was persuaded, and he promised to help Logres.
The King's decision was not forthcoming, and so the knights decided to turn their attention to the two Princes next. They agreed to go hunting with Prince Dirac, hoping to win his support. Once on the hunt, Prince Dirac suggested a hunting challenge - whoever could bring back the best game over the next three days would be the winner, and would owe a favour to the other. This seemed like an easy way to win Prince Dirac's support, the knights felt, and agreed. Prince Dirac set a condition - as there were three knights of Salisbury, and only one of Prince Dirac, one of the three ambassadors would have to hunt with him - and he immediately requested Sir Esther.
It soon became apparent that the whole hunt was merely a pretext, and that the Prince was horribly and inappropriately infatuated with chaste Sir Esther in the worst possible way. She for her part did nothing to encourage the Prince. On the second day of the hunt, Prince Dirac tracked down a wild boar. He speared it, but the boar slew his horse and began to savage him. Sir Esther attacked the boar and hurt it badly, drawing its ire and saving the Prince's life. Prince Dirac slew the boar, and then continued to proposition Sir Esther. Upset by the bloodshed, she responded harshly at last, scorning the Prince's advances. It only served to flame his ardour further. The young man came to visit Sir Esther that night, to try and seduce her to sleep with him again. Sir Esther escaped to Sir Arnulf's room, and the more experienced Sir Arnulf shamed the young prince into fleeing to his room. From then on, he left Sir Esther alone, and did not show his face again.
Time continued to pass, and King Canan still did not give a reply to the three ambassadors. At this point, the three knights had been at Pembroke for long enough that they were called upon to entertain one night at dinner. Sir Cadfael began to tell a story - and in the process managed to inadvertently offend all those gathered, not once but repeatedly, to the point where one of King Canan's knights leapt up to attack him with his bare hands. Sir Cadfael thought through his options: fighting back could insult the King's hospitality, and turning this into an incident with swords would certainly escalate the situation. The best thing to do would be to take his punishment for his ill-chosen words, and hope that he had not doomed the embassy. Accordingly, Sir Cadfael submitted to a sound beating from the irate knight.
Over the next few weeks, barely anyone would talk to the three knights, and still there was no reply from King Canan! They had one visitor: a grubby king of one of the many Welsh hill-tribes, King Gwynfor of Ystrad Tyi, who was intrigued but also dismissive of the knights' warhorses, so much bigger and more powerful than his own hill-ponies. The King challenged the knights to a horse-race, which Sir Arnulf handily won, impressing King Gwynfor mightily. He attempted to buy one of the warhorses from the knights, but when they refused, he departed with his tribesmen. It was only when they were gone that Sir Esther realised that her handmaiden, Asher, had been abducted by the tribesmen! The knights tracked down King Gwynfor, who denied everything. Eventually he 'discovered' Asher was in Ystrad Tyi, and Sir Esther had to bargain away her warhorse to get her back.
When the knights returned to Pembroke, they discovered that King Canan was no longer there! He and his court had moved on to Tenby. The ambassadors followed him, and that night the King announced that he looked favourably upon King Uther's requests and was drafting a reply to his letter. The three knights were then ignored for the rest of the month. More time passed. The court moved again, this time to Carmarthen again, where suddenly events took a change for the worst: at the feast after the first night of arrival, King Canan turned blue in the face and began to choke and wheeze. Sir Esther instantly raced up to the throne, recognising the signs of poisoning, and induced vomiting, making the King throw up the poison and saving his life. He was taken away to recover, very weak from his near-death experience, while the court turned on the man who had given him the goblet: his son, Prince Dirac!
Prince Dirac was taken to jail (and accompanied by Sir Arnulf, who suspected that more was going on than met the eye). Sir Esther accompanied the King to make sure that he would recover, while Sir Cadfael privately went to talk to Sir Orcas, who had taken charge now that the King was indisposed and the Princes were imprisoned. Sir Cadfael accused Sir Orcas of attempting to seize power, and to his surprise the steward admitted his guilt immediately. Sir Orcas had been convinced of the need for Logres and Estregales to ally, but he also knew that King Canan had decided against the union as he felt the situation within Estregales was too delicate. Therefore, Sir Orcas had seized power for the greater good. Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther and Sir Arnulf deliberated for many hours on the news. If they allowed Sir Orcas to finish off the King, they would have succeeded at their mission, but blackened their own honour in the process. They might be able to save the King and hope that in his gratitude he would change his mind. In any case they all agreed that the two young princes needed to be taken to safety - Prince Dirac had committed no crime greater than youthful foolishness in his attitude towards Sir Esther, and did not deserve to die.
After much arguing, the three finally decided that honour must be more important than pragmatism. They captured the assassin which Sir Orcas sent after the King that night, and through Sir Cadfael's cunning and Sir Arnulf's application of force, convinced him to confess who had sent him before the court. This, coupled with Prince Dirac's sworn word that the poisoned goblet had been handed to him by Sir Orcas, was enough to make the steward's guilt plain. Sir Orcas cursed Sir Cadfael for betraying him, and challenged him to a duel of honour to prove his innocence. Unfortunately, Sir Cadfael was a far more experienced swordsman, and he crippled Sir Orcas by shattering his sword-arm. The Steward begged for mercy, but the only mercy that Sir Cadfael would grant him was a swift death.
With King Canan's life saved and the plot revealed, Sir Esther led a new set of negotiations with King Canan. The King was grateful for everything that the three knights had done (especially as he realised that they could have easily let him die to achieve their goals!) and agreed to send what men he could spare to aid Logres when war broke out. With their mission accomplished and their honour intact, the three ambassadors returned home - where grim news awaited them. The duchy of Lindsey was aflame. Octa's Saxons, reinforced by the army of Malahaut, had invaded. And in London, King Uther's long sickness had taken a turn for the worse. In Logres' hour of need, its king was now dying, and armies threatened from all sides. The onset of winter snows stopped the Saxon invasion in its tracks, but everyone knew that when the thaw came, the doom of Logres was at hand...
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