As soon as the spring thaw began, King Arthur began marching his army south, through the heartland of Gaul. The fine old Roman roads were in disrepair, but they still made for swift progress. Supplies had been arranged during the winter as well, so there was lots of food for the soldiers, who were not forced to resort to pillaging like so many other armies. Eventually, the army reached the Alps, and crossed them like Hannibal of old to enter into Italy. Rome itself was within reach! But there were many other cities on the peninsula, and first the army marched to Milan and invested it with a siege.
One day during the siege, Sir Gawain returned to camp with a Saracen knight, Sir Priamus. They had met, fought, and fatally wounded one another on the road, but fortunately Sir Priamus had a balm that could cure any wound, which he shared with Sir Gawain. This Sir Priamus was the rightful lord of Egypt by descent from the Ptolemies, and he warned King Arthur that a great Italian army had been raised against him, and was encamped nearby. So the British troops marched to meet them, and a great battle was fought outside the city. Aelfwynn, Athewulf. Goscelin and Hugh took part in this battle and acquitted themselves with great honour. Sir Goscelin was gravely wounded - he was taken to the healers' tents, where he was tended to by a gentle Veiled Lady, but the group managed to capture an enemy champion and ransomed him back to his people after the battle. The day after the battle, the Duchess of Milan and all the other fair noblewomen came forth from the city, crying piteously and begging for mercy for themselves, their kinsfolk and the city. King Arthur showed mercy: key nobles were taken hostage and taken with all due honour north to Dover until ransomed, while the city surrendered up a portion of its wealth to the invaders and was spared being pillaged. The knights of Salisbury found themselves greatly enriched with the spoils of victory!
With the surrender of Milan, the rest of Lombardy surrendered, and King Arthur was free to continue south. Some cities, such as Urbino, were captured easily, while others such as Florence sent envoys to King Arthur and surrendered. Shortly before reaching Rome, a very great embassy of Senators and Cardinals came to King Arthur in the Vale of Vicecount, bearing rich gifts. After their departure, news went around the camp: Rome had surrendered to King Arthur, and Arthur would be made Emperor of Rome! And so it was that six weeks later, Pope Felix himself anointed Arthur as Emperor of Rome, Caesar, Defender of Christendom, and the victorious army entered the city in a great Triumphal parade such as had not been seen since the days of Gaius Julius Caesar himself.
Following the parade, Emperor Arthur gave generous gifts to each and every of the knights and soldiers who had fought with him over these past two years. Each of the knights was given vast gifts. While Arthur sent out word of a great tournament to mark his coronation, Sir Athelwulf, Sir Goscelin, Sir Hugh and Aelfwynn were able to explore the Eternal City, Rome itself! Storied city of legend, which stretched back to pious Aeneas and the refugees of Troy, that once had held sway over the whole world... to be honest, it was not very inspiring. The city resembled nothing so much as a monumental tomb: a virtually uninhabited ruin, that cannibalizes its old past landmarks to build new structures, and even these are now crumbling and falling apart. The main inhabitants were self-important Senators who acted like a living memory of a long gone age; the Cardinals and the Pope, mired in controversy and internal strife; and the urban poor. Silent, nearly feral children stared out at the knights, and fled when anyone approached them. Bandits with knives and clubs, who knew better than to attack knights. Women who sold themselves cheaply. When he heard about all this, King Arthur set about organizing charity for the poor, but there were many who refused to come forth, paranoid after long years of privation.
Eventually, the great tournament took place. The old Flavian Amphitheatre was renovated, and banners with the heraldry of the competitors were flying all around the stadium. Kings, Princes and Knights from around the whole world came to compete. An entire two weeks were given over to jousting. Aelfwynn defeated the Duke of Gascony, the Duke of Epirus and a poor knight of Urbino, but was finally brought low by a proud knight from Milan. Sir Hugh vanquished Sir Priamus of Egypt, but was then bested by the Baron of Silchester. The Baron of Catalan overcame Sir Goscelin. It was a great tournament, and in the end Sir Gawain was proclaimed the grand winner. In between the rounds, Aelfwynn encountered a group of ruffians accosting a lady wearing a veil. She chased off the brigands, and the Lady of the Veil thanked her, before begging Aelfwynn's pardon: she would not reveal her face or name at this time. The mysterious lady then slipped away.
After the jousting was done, it was time for the melees! The knights were organised into teams, each named after one of the virtues of chivalry, and all knights had to enter the team of the virtue that they most followed. After six days, the team that had acquitted themselves with the most honour would then face Sir Gawain and the Knights of the Round Table. The Valorous Knights overthrew the Generous Knights during the first day's fighting. On the second day, the knights of Salisbury were on their way to the stadium when they heard a scream and saw the Lady of the Veil being bundled into a carriage, which quickly took off out of Rome, heading west. They immediately forsook the tournament, for they could not ignore a lady in distress! It was a hard ride, for the carriage-driver was whipping his horses most cruelly, and the knights struggled to keep up with them. Finally, in the ancient port of Ostia, they saw the woman being bundled on to a waiting ship, which immediately set sail! The knights found a ship of their own and set off into the Mediterranean to give chase. Thanks to the expert handling of Sir Athelwulf and Aelfwynn, they were soon close behind the other vessel. Suddenly, the sky went black with storm clouds. Lightning blasted out, shattering the mast. Great waves washed over the sides of the ships. This was no natural storm! An island loomed out of the darkness ahead of them, as both ships ran aground upon a reef and began to take on more water. A mighty wave swept the deck of the ship, and Sir Athelwulf, Sir Goscelin, Sir Hugh and Aelfwynn were swept overboard, into the turbulent seas...
