(Session Date: 12/29/11)
In the year 488, by the reckoning of the Christian calendar, my companions and I were sent to retrieve Duke Cadwin from Somerset for Uther because he had not reported for muster. Along the way, we--with Claudus and Delan--battled Saxons at a village, and I was badly wounded by the overwhelming numbers. Luckily, a wife of the village had skill in chirurgery, and it was only a few weeks before I was well enough to proceed to Bristol.
As we neared Bristol, we found some horses from Cornwall: owned by Sirs Argive, Elthan, and Valian, who had recently been defeated by a mighty Saxon on a nearby bridge. The Saxon was taking the helms of the knights he defeated, and had amassed a string of nine helmets, and had badly wounded Argive and Elthan. We sent the knights to the village healer from whom we had recently departed, and Sir Valian joined us to make amends for his cowardice in fighting the saxon when his companions were beaten. We diced for the right to face the saxon, and through his skill at games, Giles won. We anticipated a major battle, but Giles slew the Saxon in a single hit. Luceers insisted that we bury the bodies of the knights slain by the Saxon.
We arrived at Bristol, the capital of Somerset, and found the Duke hiding in the city because a Saxon army marauds the countryside--having already killed the Duke's firstborn. In court we found that the Saxons were being led by Wolfenstan, who was under an enchantment that made him impossible to kill. Sir Varnald, the Duke's general, was in the field with the army fighting the Saxons.
That night, I sang poems to some of the ladies of the court, and was asked by on, Eloise, to continue my songs in her bedchambers. Never one to let a lady down, I agreed. On the way to her chambers, her sister, Mary, warned me that Eloise's husband, Sir Maewyn is in the field, but is a jealous man and that Eloise was hoping to provide him an heir, although they had yet to be successful. I acknowledged Mary's advice to stay away, but the lure of Eloise's chamber was strong, and I went to her anon. In the morning, she asked me for a token of remembrance, but I knew that such a token would only cause trouble, and I refused.
During the night, I was not the only one in congress with another, although Luceers' visitor was merely an elderly priest. The old man tested Luceer's knowledge of the Bible and when he was satisfied, told him that the Claihderaim, sword of the late Sir Thomas, could break the Saxon's enchantment. Nineve, a lady in a lake, knew where the sword lay. We decide to seek out this faerie, and Perrin, a commoner boy, convinces Giles to take him on as his squire. While I took umbrage at the thought of arming a cobbler's son with the accoutrements of knighthood, Luceers was even more maddened. He browbeat the young man into a duel with sticks, and the boy could only remain if he landed a stroke against Luceers. As is wont with Luceers, his guard was down at the wrong time, and young Perrin landed his blow.
We arrived at the Lake and summoned Nineve. She agreed to tell us where the sword lay, but we were forced to agree to do her a favor when she asks at Tintagel. We followed her to a ruined monastery. Along the way, a dwarf stole Giles' sword and despite the warnings from the elf that we should make all haste, Giles and Claudus split from the group in pursuit of the sword. Ahead on the path we saw a knight, Sir Pedivere, fighting an ogre, and we were tempted to stop and help, but we realized that Pedivere should still be with Uther, so we continue on, but Delan stops to aid her. A weeping woman also begs us to save her from an impending marriage with a cruel knight, but Luceers and I distrust the fae nature of the woods, and we continued on.
We reached the monastery and Nineve left us to face a large ringed serpent. Maddeningly, my father's sense of valor fell upon me, and Perrin and Luceers were left to fight the snake alone. Perrin was slain, and Luceers badly wounded before Vallian and I could regain our valor and attack the snake. Vallian, too, was badly wounded, but I finally slew the serpent. We retrieved the sword, but could not unsheathe it. We saved the sword for when Luceers awakened. We feared that Luceers would be too badly injured to wield the sword, so we looked for another pious knight, either Sir William, in a fort, or Sir Maewyn at the front. We headed to find Maewyn with Luceers packed in a carriage like a sausage and Eloise coming as a chirurgeon.
Giles and I lost our sense of direction as we looked for the army, and it took us until Saturday to find some soldiers who could tell us that the army was massacred in a battle earlier that day. We headed to where the remnants of the army were. At 4pm, we found the rest of the army. We found that the general had been killed, and Sir Gracian was now leading the army. I recognized that Sir Gracian's battle plan was flawed, but it took Luceers to come up with a better plan.
On Tuesday, we met the Saxons in the field, with Giles and I leading the charge. Luceers gave a rousing speech that stirred the blood of the other knights, all believers in the new religion.
We charged straight into the berserkers. In the first hour, our army did well, but Delan was grievously wounded in the second hour. In the third hour of battle, we managed to engage Wulfenstan, and while Giles, Maewyn,and I battled his bodyguards, Luceers defeated the Saxon leader and captured him. Giles led the troops to a marginal victory, and the Saxons dispersed.
Duke Cadwin agreed to return with us to Uther, and Sir Claudus stayed in Bristol to wed Claire, the other sister of Eloise.
When we returned, we found that Uther had defeated Aela in battle as well.
An unusually mild winter helped to temper the death of my youngest brother Marsell in the battle against Aela.
