508 AD: The Battle of Netley Marsh

Things were finally coming to a head with Wessex. For years, there had been enmity between King Nanteleod of Escavalon and King Cerdic of Wessex. Now, King Nanteleod was summoning his vassals to war. The time had come to put an end to the Saxons once and for all.

Young Earl Robert of Salisbury was excited for the glory of the battle. He put Sir Helbur in charge of defending the county in his absence, and mustered an army of his loyal knights to join the King's forces. Sir Donna and Sir Mabon (Sir Jeremy's recently-discovered bastard) joined the force, while Svenhilde accompanied it to serve in the first aid tents. When they reached the King's forces, which were gathering at Du Plain Castle, on the eastern border of Salisbury, Sir Donna was reunited with her comrade-in-arms and fellow Knight of Saint Gwiona, Sir Edwin.

Sir Edwin was soon approached by a young man who begged a boon of him - to serve as his squire. His name was Julius, and, although he did not say as much, he was the son of Sir Cadfael and Lady Violette, hidden away for many years in Illwind Castle, but now seeking to follow in the footsteps of his father. Sir Edwin tested him on the virtues of knighthood, and, finding the young man's answers to be acceptable, agreed to take him on as a squire and instruct him in the ways of knighthood.

Also at Du Plain, Abbess Esther came to visit, to follow up on what she had heard of Svenhilde's new magical powers. She quizzed Sir Donna and Sir Edwin about what had happened the previous year in Thornstead, then went to talk to Esther about her magic. The two got along well, and Esther offered to take Svenhilde to Glastonbury with her the next time she visited her daughter Nimue - although she had not been able to see Nimue for some time, because of the Cornish invasion.

King Nanteleod's war council decided (based on the advice of Sir Donna, who had been helping draw up plans over the winter) to march south up the Test River valley, to attack the port of Hantonne, rather than marching east along the road to attack the capitol of Winchester. With luck, the move would catch King Cerdic by surprise. Wessex was receiving reinforcements from the continent; by capturing the port, King Nanteleod would cut these continental supply-lines.

The army set off to the south in high spirits. After a day's marching, however, outriders returned to report that King Cerdic's army was in front of them. The Saxons had predicted King Nanteleod's march, and had moved to intercept him. However, their numbers were far less than those of the Cymric. King Nanteleod ordered his army to rest, rather than risking a night attack, and to engage upon the morrow. But when the next day began, King Cerdic's army fell back, drawing Nanteleod further south, towards Netley Marsh. There, a third army emerged from the woods. Svenhilde recognised the banners: the Saxons of Sussexhad come to reinforce King Cerdic. Amongst their lines were even some banners of Cornwall: King Idres had also sent troops. All of King Nanteleod's enemies were working together to defeat him, now that he had grown too powerful for any one of them to defeat.

King Nanteleod's men hurriedly prepared for battle. They were now outnumbered and facing enemies on two fronts. A shield wall was formed from the infantry to hold off the new army, while the powerful Cymric cavalry would try to destroy King Cerdic's smaller army quickly and then charge the larger Saxon army in the flank. It was a bold plan, but only boldness could lead to victory. Sir Mabon visited Svenhilde in the first aid tents before joining the line, where he clumsily professed his love for her. The Thulian maiden, feeling stressed by the situation, brushed him off, and he went to join the line. He was, unknowingly, joined by Julius. The squire stole armour and weaponry, and clad as a knight went to join the battle line.

The knights lowered their lances and charged into the Saxon ranks. A regiment of ceorls stood in their way, but were no match for Cymric valour. However, they served to dull the impact of the charge, and fresh troops rushed in to attack them. Soon, it became apparent that Cerdic's army would not fall easily. Mounted heorthgeneats rode up to reinforce the line, and fierce fighting raged across the field.

There was a brief pause in the fighting, and Sir Edwin looked around him. The Cornish troops had come to reinforce King Cerdic, and through their lines Sir Edwin could see Prince Mark himself. A strike at the Cornish leadership might defeat an entire wing of the enemy army: Sir Edwin led his fellow knights to press through the Cornish lines. He and Sir Donna hewed their way through the foe. Young Julius tried to follow, but he was struck down by a knight of Cornwall. Sir Donna went to rescue him, and Sir Mabon dragged his body back to the first aid tents (happy to avoid the fighting, and to see Svenhilde again).

Meanwhile, Sir Edwin charged at Prince Mark, who turned his horse and tried to flee. However, Sir Edwin was the more capable rider, and he easily closed with the Prince. The craven Mark immediately surrendered, and ordered those around him to surrender as well, begging for Sir Edwin to spare his life. Although somewhat tempted to exact revenge a part of his revenge upon the Cornish, Sir Edwin agreed to spare Prince Mark, and had him taken back to the supply tents as a hostage. Some of the Cornish knights laid down their weapons, disgusted with Prince Mark's cowardice. Others continued to fight. Sir Donna and Sir Edwin sought out their leader through the lines - Sir Martine, the Marshal of Cornwall and Prince Mark's military adviser. Sir Donna slew Sir Martine with a single mighty blow and seized the Cornish banner. With her death, the men of Cornwall fled the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Sir Mabon brought Julius to the first aid tents. He helped strip Julius of his armour, and recognised him as Sir Edwin's squire. Svenhilde was too busy to see him; he decided to return to the front lines to assist Sir Edwin in his squire's place. Meanwhile, Svenhilde brought young Julius back from the brink of death: he opened his eyes and thought that he saw an angel...

Back on the front lines, the knights of Salisbury were now fighting against the army of Sussex. Sir Donna was badly wounded, but regained her horse and kept fighting. Sir Mabon was lost, and found himself in the thickest of the fighting, but managed to rejoin the other knights. Sir Edwin caught sight of the leader of the army of Sussex. King Aelle had not come personally: he had sent the massive warlord Saexwulf, who was massacring his way through the Cymric lines. Sir Edwin wanted to engage him, but decided that discretion was the better part of valour at the last moment. The knights of Salisbury instead continued to battle heorthgeneats of Sussex.

There was a lull in the fighting, and the exhaused knights looked around when they heard a horn sound. What they was was terrifying. A regiment of Saxon knights emerged from behind the enemy lines, headed for King Nanteleod's command position. For years, no one had known what had happened to Prince Cynric - now it was apparent that he had been secretly training these men. The great advantage that the Cymric armies had over the Saxons was their cavalry - now, the Saxons had their own knights. With no troops in reserve to intercept them, Sir Edwin watched from a distance as they swiftly overran King Nanteleod's position. The King's banner fell...

Prince Cynric's knights now turned and attacked the rear of the Cymric line. With the death of King Nanteleod, and now this, the Cymric spirit was broken, and began to flee the field in disarray, with the Saxons in close pursuit. With a heavy heart, Sir Edwin rallied the troops around him to withdraw in some semblance of good order. Svenhilde remained in the first aid tents for as long as she could, evacuating the wounded, before escaping just as the Saxons arrived. Sir Mabon rushed off to save her, but was struck down by Saxons and rescued by Asher, who was now serving as his squire. And in the confusion, Prince Mark fled his captivity and dishonourably escaped.

The battered forces of Salisbury returned to Sarum and prepared for the onslaught. However, King Cerdic's terms, when they came, were quite reasonable. Submit and pay tribute, and be spared. With no options, Earl Robert agreed to pay tribute, and then offered to pay a sizeable amount of it out of his own pockets. Everyone in Salisbury would be tightening their belt this year. Worse still, in the chaos, the legendary Hamper of Gwyddno Garanhir was lost. Presumably, the Saxon had taken it.

As the year progressed, the Saxons took control over much of Logres. From the north, news came that Duke Corneus of Lindsey had succumbed to old age. Duke Ulfius still together a remnant of King Nanteleod's great force, but the dreams of a unified Logres had fallen with him.

As winter fell, a traveler arrived at Amesbury Abbey. Abbess Esther was interrupted by a novice who said that a man wished to see her urgently, a man called Ambrose. Recognizing that Ambrose was none other than Merlin Ambrosius, Esther gave orders that he be admitted at once. Merlin looked better than he had done for some time, and he greeted his friend warmly. He asked for a building that he could use, separate from the Abbey, where he would be undisturbed. Furthermore, he asked that someone check upon him daily, but that they should not be alarmed by whatever should transpire. Esther found him such a house near the Abbey, and Merlin laid himself down and went into a deep, trance-like sleep.

A week later, the novice who had been tasked with checking on him realised that Merlin had stopped breathing. The wizard was dead.

507 AD: The Witches of Thornstead

As the new year dawned, Saxon raiders began making incursions across the border of Salisbury. King Cerdic's offer of peace had been rejected the previous year. Now he had made an alliance with King Port, who had formerly been his rival, and the two had begun raiding their neighbours. Earl Robert dispatched his knights to the borders to skirmish with the interlopers. Meanwhile, Marshal Helbur remained in Vagon Castle, hard at work training the next generation of knights for war.

A letter arrived for Sir Edwin at his estates in Estregales, calling him to Amesbury. He had been discussing with Abbess Esther the need for a martial arm for the church, and so Esther had decided that the time was right. About twenty knights were invested as Knights of Saint Gwiona, including Sir Julius, the former lord of Saint Albans and defender of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir Donna, the aunt of the deceased Sir Cuthbert. They received a simple brown mantle with a silvery cross upon the breast as a symbol of their new position.

Following the ceremony, Esther spoke to Sir Edwin and Sir Donna privately. There had been rumours of dark goings-on in the north-west of Salisbury, around Devizes. Recently, she had received word of black witchcraft, and that Sir Thomas, the Steward of Devizes (and former squire of Sir Percival), had begun burning witches. Having experience with the inexplicable, Abbess Esther wanted the Knights to go and investigate, and also to make sure that innocents were not being harmed. Sir Donna and Sir Edwin accepted, and rode north with their squires, Elspeth and Alberic. On the way, they met a traveller: Svenhilde. The maiden had been released from her service by Sir Helbur, so that she could continue with her wanderlust, and she was curious about investigating the rumours. 

There was a thin plume of smoke rising from the town square of Devizes. Ten smoldering corpses were tied to stakes. The smell was horrific. To approach Sir Edward's hall, the group was forced to ride between the corpses, and Svenhilde nearly screamed when one of the corpses, that of a very young woman, suddenly moved - she was still in her last death throes! Before visiting the Steward, Svenhilde spoke to a taciturn passer-by to learn more about what was happening. She discovered that a number of women from outlying villages had been burnt over the last year, since Sir Edward had arrived.

The travellers went to see Sir Edward. Sir Edward was a nervous, rat-faced man, who was clearly glad to see help. He invited the group to talk over dinner. The dinner was unpalatable: with the scent of burning flesh still wafting through the town, steak was not what anyone really wanted for dinner. Sir Edward explained how the women outside had been caught naked at midnight taking part in a pagan ritual, and the bones of a child were discovered close nearby, sealing their guilt. He invited the group to accompany him to the next village, to see if they could uncover any witchcraft there.

Sir Edward gave everyone rooms for the night. Around midnight, Sir Edwin had a knock on the door. Sir Edwin drew his sword and opened the door to find a distraught man-at-arms, who wished for his help. The guard's name was Ifan, and he had just discovered that his lover, Briona, has been taken into custody under suspicion of being a witch. Could Sir Edwin help? Sir Edwin awoke the others and then had him go over his story again. Sir Donna became suspicious when she realised that there were holes in Ifan's story, and she confronted him about this. It turned out that he had been occasionally deserting his post to go visit Thornstead, and the knights agreed to keep his secret.

The knights decided not to insult Sir Edward's hospitality by leaving during the night. However, they were keen to investigate what was going on in Thornstead before Sir Edward and Brother Pwyll could interfere, Svenhilde sneaked out of the castle with the squires, Elspeth and Alberic. Ifan insisted on accompanying them. He was more concerned about Briona than he was with his post. Sir Edwin and Sir Donna intended to attempt to delay Sir Thomas, to give them as much time to investigate as possible.

It was dark and foggy when the four travellers set out for Thornstead. Even with blazing torches, they could barely see, Ifan led the way, but in the black night he lost the way  and the group found themselves somewhere deep in the Crokwood. Wind clattered the branches of the trees about them, and the group's blood ran cold when they heard an unearthly scream and stumbled across the mangled corpse of a cow. Its innards had been torn out and consumed; the ribs snapped back with unnatural strength. And there was a trail... strange footprints, like a human's but larger and with talons. Svenhilde led the others into the woods, her curiosity overcoming her sense.

Then something blew out the torch.

The next moments were ones of pure terror. Ifan screamed and fled, and the creature, invisible in the dark, seized him and tore. There was a hideous noise as blood splattered all over the other three. Alberic and Elspeth readied weapons while Svenhilde relit the torch - in time to see Alberic's shield and left arm shattered in a terrifying grasp. The monster lifted him and flung him into a tree, chuckling all the time. The girls grabbed Alberic and fled as fast as they could, hearing the monster behind them. It was clearly faster than them, and was toying with them. Just as they reached the edge of the forest, it seized Alberic's leg and dragged him screaming back into the woods - and Svenhilde got a good look at it as it attacked him. It was a hag.

The two traumatized girls found themselves on the outskirts of a village. They had finally found Thornstead. The town was quiet, but a single girl was making her quietly way through the streets. Svenhilde and Elspeth approached her and begged for shelter. The girl, Carys, took pity on the pair and found them a place to sleep in her family's byre. Svenhilde cuddled up to a friendly goat and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, the next morning, Sir Edward announced at breakfast that he would be travelling to Thornstead to investigate the claims of witchcraft there. Would Sir Donna and Sir Edwin care to accompany him? On the road, they talked to Brother Pwyll about his attitude towards what was happening. Pwyll seemed supportive of the witch burnings, but was wary about the risks of hurting innocents - Sir Edward seemed to have become paranoid in his pursuit of witches. He also spoke more about the recent discovery of the witches who had just been burned, and about the child's bones - and said that they had been damaged, as if something had been gnawing on them...

At the same time, Svenhilde and Elspeth awoke and began began their investigation. Upon waking, they spoke to Carys about their ordeal of the previous night, and told her how Ifan died. To their surprise, Carys immediately confessed to being a witch herself. There is a circle of girls who tell each others' fortunes and similar harmless activities. Rhiann, the local wise-woman, teaches them some mysticism. Branwen, the girl who had just been burnt at Devizes, was one of the circle, and the accused girl, Briona, was another, as was her accuser, Elin. According to Carys, Ifan was seeing Elin, but they had an argument and he became interested in Briona. Elin had a fit, and then said that Briona had placed a curse on her, and bewitched Ifan. After all, Elin was very fair, while Briona was quite plain. Briona was taken into custody and brought into the local church, and immediately the fits stopped. Carys was quite taken with Svenhilde, and offered to introduce her to the coven when it next met.

Before going to visit Rhiann, Svenhilde consulted her runestones. They warned her of great danger, but she paid them little heed. With the monster in the woods, of course there was great danger. She did not think that it might be referring to something else. Rhiann was a motherly woman who admitted to having some minor ability, and to showing minor tricks to the girls of the coven. She characterized the witch hunts as religious persecution - spurred on by fear of the thing in the woods. Rhiann told Svenhilde that she sensed great magic in the girl, and insisted that the girl join the local coven to take part in a ritual against the hag. Svenhilde was flattered. For years she had dreamed of having magic of her own, and so she quickly acquiesced.

At midday, Sir Edward and his entourage arrived in town and took control of the situation. Elspeth and Svenhilde reunited with Sir Donna and Sir Edwin and shared what they had learnt. Sir Edwin hurried to talk to Sir Edward, who was keen for the witch-burning to proceed immediately, and convinced him to delay for a day while guilt or innocence could be properly ascertained. With this done, the group decided it was finally time to talk to Briona herself.

Briona was locked in the basement of the church, as no one dared to let her out. When the knights saw her, they realised that 'plain' was not the right way to describe her. The poor girl had terrible scars across her face from a fire in her youth. While thus far, the group were sure that the allegations were borne of jealousy, Briona had a different theory. Some of the pagan rites were going too far. She had secretly seen a cult ceremony! Villagers, nude save for goat-head masks, murdered a child in the moonlight and drained its blood into a chalice, which they all supped from. Then the Black Man appeared - Briona thought it was Satan himself, though Svenhilde thought it more likely to be the hag - and had consumed the body of the sacrifice, before... she did not wish to go on. Sir Donna knew something of paganism from her cousin's side of the family, and knew that death and sex were the deepest mysteries of paganism. These were normally symbolic, however, not literal! This was the darkest sort of depravity of which she had heard. Even though Briona had not been seen, and had told no one, she felt sure that she had been targeted to silence her.

Next, the group went to see Wyan, the town master of Thornstead. He was the father of Elin, and the adopted father of Briona. He took her in when he parents died in the fire when she was very small. Wyan did not have much to add that the group did not already know. More interesting was talking to Elin herself! Elin was beautiful, but not as fair as Svenhilde, causing immediate jealousy. She seemed to be sincere in thinking that Briona had used magic against her, but Svenhilde definitely sensed that her relationship with Ifan had been quite shallow - while Briona seemed grief-stricken to learn of his death, Elin seemed much less sincere in her grief. The knights also looked through the girls' rooms, but did not find anything incriminating in them.

That night, Svenhilde and Elspeth went to join the young coven in the woods outside of Thornstead. Carys was pleased to see them; Elin was not. Svenhilde asked Rhiann why Elin was there, after betraying a member of the group, and Rhiann admitted that while she herself had barely any magical ability, Elin (and Briona) had a much greater gift - exceeded only by Svenhilde's own potential. The ritual began by taking turns drinking from a potion which Rhiann said could give visions. Hopefully, these visions would have the answers to stopping the hag. Most of the girls, including Carys, had no vision at all. Elspeth decided to pretend to drink, rather than actually sip the potion. Elin had a brief vision of two trees strangling each other with their branches. It was now Svenhilde's turn to drink the potion - and with a roar, the world around her vanished.

Svenhilde found herself back in Thule, on the day that the usurper Sligon took over the kingdom. She was a young woman, rather than a small child as she had been at the time, however. She was taken by the guards and dragged to where her parents were - with the usurper himself! Svenhilde never knew what had happened on that day to her parents, but now she saw the usurper sprawled on the great throne, trying to learn where the King was. Her father had personally spirited King Aguar away to freedom. Sligon slit her mother's throat, and then threatened to do the same to Svenhilde - but her father taunted the usurper, who lost his temper and murdered him.

Ever since the flight from Thule, Svenhilde had wondered what had happened to her parents. She had hated Sligon dearly, for in her heart she knew that he must have slain her parents that day. Now she knew - and with the rush of fury, a glowing white flame burst from her, exploding into the guards and slaying them. Svenhilde became frightened of what she had done, and decided to leave Sligon to stew in his impotent malice - but as she turned to leave, the usurper attacked her, and she slew him. The vision faded. Everyone watched with wide eyes. Svenhilde had been glowing and speaking in tongues before them, by far the most powerful vision. And then the hag placed her hand over Carys' head and squeezed.

Blood sprayed everyone. Girls screamed. The hag chuckled and stalked closer. The monster had snuck up upon them - drawn by Svenhilde's power and glow? - and cruelly murdered Carys. Most of the girls started to panic and run, while Rhiann encouraged Svenhilde to reach inside herself and use that same power now, to save all their lives. Finding that same righteous anger inside herself, Svenhilde began to glow once more, and the hag stopped laughing. It turned and slunk off into the darkness - leaving Svenhilde exhausted. She had no control over her powers as yet, and had the monster decided to attack, she did not think she could have held it off. But for now, she had saved many lives, including Elin, Rhiann and Elspeth.

Back at Thornstead, Rhiann talked to Svenhilde more about her power. Rhiann seemed frightened by Svenhilde and what she could do, but promised to help her learn more about herself and what she could do. Svenhilde's power was fueled by her anger. Afterwards, Edwin told to be careful of her power and not to give in to anger and hatred.

The next morning, Sir Edward changed his mind about his previous decision: Briona was to be burnt at the stake immediately. Sir Edwin rushed to the house where he was staying (Wyan's house) and found Sir Edward a paranoid wreck. The insides of the house were decorated with blood and charms promising his death - and he raved that this was not the first time that it had happened. Sir Edwin decided to talk to Brother Pwyll instead, and found the good priest drunk as a lord. The two had broken under the stress of the witch hunts - and, perhaps, a deliberate campaign to undermine them.

Time was now short. The group rushed to the church and Briona, where they questioned her. Sir Edwin exhorted Briona to convert to Christianity and to be shelter at Amesbury, and the poor girl broke down in tears and accepted. Presenting everything that they had discovered to Sir Edward, though leaving out information about the girls' coven, they convinced the knight that she was innocent. Wyan or Elin must have been responsible for breaking into Sir Edward's house and defacing it. The group now suspected that Wyan must be one of the goat-masked cultists whom Briona had seen in the woods.

Outside the church, Elin was waiting for them - and she had lost her mind as well. She was overcome with jealousy towards Briona and Svenhilde, who she accused of taking her place. Her petty rage had let her tap into dark powers. As Elspeth ran at her, Elin held out a hand and paralyzed her legs. She then did the same to all the bystanders, before unleashing her rage at Sir Thomas, who had burnt her friend Branwen but hadn't killed Briona like he was supposed to do. Elin summoned the fires that had burnt so many to consume Sir Thomas from within, and the poor man began to boil in his own body, until he spontaneously combusted.

 Elin's concentration had begun to lapse, and Sir Donna, Sir Edwin and Svenhilde were now able to act. Sir Donna and Sir Edwin began to pray loudly. The force of their faith broke through the spell, and the two began to move forward towards the witch, slowly but with determination. Svenhilde reached into the anger inside her again and found that she could see the lines of magical energy flowing between Elin and the others. Elin was powerful - but Svenhilde was stronger. She moved between Sir Edward and the witch, blocking the spell cast upon him, and then reflected it back upon Elin. The girl shrieked as she caught fire, and that released Sir Edwin from his curse. He drew out his sword and drove it into the fire, through the writhing, screaming Elin's neck. But, horribly, she did not die from the blow, and continued to thrash about until the fires had completely consumed her body. As she died, an unearthly howl came from the forest...

With Elin dead, Svenhilde rushed to check on Sir Edward. The poor man was too badly hurt, and she was unable to save him: he soon died. Sir Edwin organised the peasants of Thornstead to grab whatever weapons they could, and then he and Sir Donna led them into the forest. They would hunt down the hag and slay it at last. Then, perhaps, all of this could end.

The woods were dark. The sky was overcast, and shadows crawled beneath the boughs. Svenhilde led the way with her magical sight: she could see where the monster was. Soon it slunk out to confront them, chuckling still. Sir Donna and Sir Edwin drew their blades and readied their shields. The hag spoke a word - and suddenly, Wyan and half of the other villagers had their eyes glaze over, as they turned to attack their friends. It was chaos - and the hag ripped its way through its midst, heading for Svenhilde. The knights cried out and charged the monster. The hag was swift and deadly, but two impassioned Knights of Saint Gwiona were not to be overlooked: their shields buckled under its savage blows, but their blades found flesh again and again. Finally, Sir Donna struck the hag clean in the head, and cleft the hag asunder from the crown to the breast.

But this did not stop it. Its mangled head hanging from its body in two directions, one arm severed, it arose and began its cackling chuckle once more. It howled, and then vomited up a vile acid from its stomach which ate through Sir Donna's armour. Meanwhile, behind them, Svenhilde was desperately trying to reach her magic once more. Finally, she gave in to anger and felt the white power flow through her again. She could see that the hag could never truly be slain by force of arms. As a creature of faerie, it did not truly exist as a physical being, and it would eventually recover from any physical injury. It had to be destroyed spiritually. It had to be destroyed by her. Her soul still blazing with white fire, she reached inside the hag, as it had done to the others around them, and possessed it. The white flame consumed it from within, exploding its black soul.

In the physical world, what happened was less impressive. The hag suddenly fell over and stopped moving, and the possessed villagers laid down their weapons. Thornstead was saved from the hag! All praised Sir Donna and Sir Edwin for slaying the monster. Only Elspeth had noticed that it was actually Svenhilde who had destroyed it. The inquisition around Devizes was over. The pagan cultists were uncovered, but forgiven and baptized. They had been tempted into dark ways due to desperation from the poor harvests and the manipulation of the witches, and were now led back into the light. As for Svenhilde, she went to Rhiann to begin her apprenticeship. The older woman embraced her - and so Svenhilde never saw the evil look of triumph on the third witch's face.

For there are always three - the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Now Rhiann was the leader of her new coven, and Svenhilde had unknowingly begun her dark initiation to become the new Maiden...

Note: This was the horror-genre session. The plot for this adventure was adapted from the Dungeons and Dragons Ravenloft adventure, "Servants of Darkness."