The five squires present were Aeronwy, a fierce pagan woman; Gherard, a handsome young man whose family hailed from the continent; Percival, an easygoing and studious young man; Cadfael, mistrusted by some as a plotter and a schemer; and Albrecht, a massive and ugly Saxon who resembled a bear more than a man, descended from the very first Saxon settlers who had come to Britain in the time of Macsen Wledig a hundred years earlier.
Sir Elad set the five squires various tasks: jousting against a quintain, and a horse-race to fetch him an apple, which Sir Gherard won. He then told the five young men and women of a task that he was setting before them. The village of Imber, on the edge of Blakemoor Wood in north-western Salisbury, was reporting a terrible man-eating bear was attacking the peasants when they went to work in the fields, and even breaking into outlying houses at night, slaying the inhabitants! With the knights at war, it would be up to the five squires to hunt down this bear and slay it.
Before they departed, however, Sir Elad made the squires fight each other to see who deserved to be the leader of the group. The mission began tragically when Albrecht and Percival fought each other: for Albrecht did not know his own strength and nearly slew young Percival with a single blow! Cadfael was forced to use a precious healing potion that he had inherited to save his friend's life before they had even set out! Albrecht also knocked Aeronwy from her horse, and so as he was the most doughty of the squires, he was appointed their leader.
The group set off to Imber, and decided to cut across-country. Aeronwy, who was a skilled tracker, led the way. However, her fall from the saddle might have addled her, for she soon realised that the group was completely lost! Fortunately they encountered Merionwydd, a travelling bard, who put them on the right direction. He also gave news of the battle to the north! The Saxons had defeated King Uther's army, who fled. The lords of Logres were only saved by the arrival of the magician Merlin, who summoned up a great fog to cover their retreat. This news was disheartening, but the squires pressed on. They arrived late at night, and were given shelter by the local priest, Old Garr.
The next day, the hunt began. Gherard caught the eye of a pretty peasant lass, and so while the others went hunting, the amorous young man returned to the town to enjoy her rustic charm! (In other words, the player had to leave early and so we decided that Gherard had succumbed to his Lustful 16 for the rest of the session!) The other squires split into pairs to hunt down the bear more quickly. Albrecht and Aeronwy searched the forest together, but once again the warrior woman failed to demonstrate her hunting prowess.
Meanwhile, Percival and Cadfael travelled together. Although neither was a trained woodsman, Percival's family had a natural proclivity towards hunting, and so by instinct Percival led his companion deeper into the forest - where the two knights soon became lost. However, in the forest they came upon an unearthly sight: a strange creature, with the head and neck of a dragon, the body of a leopard, the legs of a lion and the feet of a deer, making a sound like a pack of hunting dogs from its belly. They came close enough to touch it, but at the last minute the monster sprang away. Shortly thereafter came a dirty knight with his hound, who asked if they had seen the creature, which he called Glatisant, the Questing Beast, before continuing on his chase.
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However, there was more to the story than the squires had expected, for they discovered that the bear had been driven mad by a terribly inflamed wound, with a crude arrow-head still lodged inside. Also, the reports of this crazed animal breaking into houses at night seemed inexplicable. The squires realised that there was another force present as well - bandits, responsible for angering the bear in the first place, and using the rampaging monster to cover their own depredations. Although their mission was successful, the squires decided to remain in Imber and destroy the bandits.
The next day, the squires made a show of leaving the town, before secretly returning and watching for three days for signs of the bandits. On the third day, the bandits made their move, and the squires sprang their trap! The bandits put up a fierce fight initially, and proved to be strangely well-armed, with iron swords and armour. Aeronwy brutally slew several bandits, the squires took one man alive, while another fled into the forest, driven to insanity by his hatred of the aristocracy.
After interrogating their prisoner, the squires discovered the location of the bear's den, which the bandits were now using as their own base. They also discovered that a deserter from the Saxon armies was leading the bandits, a terrifying warrior called Uhtred, and that Uhtred had made a deal with an unknown benefactor for the iron weaponry that his band wielded. Incensed, Albrecht led the group to the cave where the last remnant of the bandits sheltered. The bandits emerged, and Uhtred challenged Albrecht to single combat. Albrecht accepted, but the offer was a trap - Uhtred's challenge had bought time for bandit archers to get into position, and when Albrecht emerged from the trees, they shot him. Albrecht fell, grievously wounded. The remaining three squires emerged from the trees and attacked the bandits, and Cadfael proved his mettle by capturing the giant Uhtred. He then convinced the other bandits to surrender, and invited them on to his estate to serve as men-at-arms - and so skilful was his oratory that the remaining bandits agreed and immediately cast down their arms in surrender!
The squires took the captive Uhtred back to Vagon Castle to be hanged, while the other bandits went to Cadfael's estate at Durnford. Unfortunately, Uhtred could cast no light on the identity of his mysterious patron. The squires researched banditry and found that this was not the only instance of strangely well-equipped bandits; there were isolated incidents from all across Salisbury. They had uncovered some sort of conspiracy...
As summer turned into the orange of autumn, Earl Roderick returned to Sarum with the army of Salisbury. King Uther had attacked the Saxons the very night after the first battle, and caught them by surprise, capturing their leaders Octa and Eosa and scattering their army to the wind. However, there had been many casualties, and so the Earl rewarded the five brave squires with the solemn office of knighthood! Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht, Sir Cadfael, Sir Gherard and Sir Percival joined the ranks of the defenders of the realm that winter, but their adventures had only just begun!
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