519

At the beginning of the year, Arthur asked Snorix to join his round table.

At my wedding, we heard about the white knight, who would not say his name. We also heard that Merlin disappeared at Arthur's battle and had not been seen since. We also heard that King Pellinore had returned.

In the spring, we headed to Carleon, along with all of the knights in the kingdom. Arthur announced that this is the year when Aelle said he would destroy us, and while foreign knights were coming to our banner because of our honor and chivalry, the brothers of Aelle were massing on the continent, along with the four kings--Aelle, Aethelberht, Cerdic, and Eosa-- and their 40,000 soldiers. The people murmured, but they fell silent when two women entered--Morgan and another woman. Arthur asked why the witch had come here. She said that she had seen portents that marked this as the darkest year, and she had come to offer her aid, since Merlin was gone, and she wished to protect her people, the Britons. Arthur agreed to her aid and allowed her to accompany him into combat.

Arthur asked for a knight to volunteer to take a message to King Mark, and Giles the Younger volunteered, but then Jenna said that she would take the message.

(Baldulf)

Baron Belaus Wallingford came to visit me to try to get me to fight in the battle, but I was too weak.

(Roderik)

The army headed across the Enborn river and was ambushed by Aelle.

In the first charge, Giles the Elder was killed.

Damien was able to cross blades with both Eosa and Aelle.

We were forced to retreat back across the river to the city of Donnington.

Rain continued to fall. Morgan arrived and asked Merl to get her to the Saxon witches in the next day of battle.

We fought some more, and Basil Wallingford went down and was lost.

Doddinus died. Sagamore is dead.

The second day of battle ended, and Arthur was able to find an advantageous hill to fight from the next day.

On day 3, we saw three real giants in the Saxon forces, and a white dragon flying overhead. Arthur said today was our victory and he charged. A red dragon flew out of the clouds and dragged the white dragon off.

Posted with Blogsy

518

At court, Merl was honored for bringing Yeofun in to Arthur's vassalage.

Some knights arrived and whispered to Arthur about Baercun, in the north, falling, and he stormed out of the room, upset. Merl and Kay were appointed to defend the south while Arthur took the army north to rescue Baercun.

We went to fortify our area, while Gavin and Senorix scouted. They both found that forces were moving to meet with Cerdic in the south. Senorix also found a dead giant with a chest of money that was headed for a mercenary force. Senorix also found a yale to kill.

Reginald, the messenger, returned with Sir Doddinus, who was injured. He related that they were lured into a trap and their army scattered, and Arthur was lost.

Senorix and I headed north with Gawain and Kay to find Arthur, and Merl and Giles stayed to defend the south.

The Saxons arrived in the south, with an army made mostly of Cerdic's forces. They asked us to surrender, but Giles refused.

The rest of us made it to Lincoln, where Arthur was lost. In the woods, we could hear occasional battles. We were set upon by berserkers, but we dispatched them. We were later ambushed by Saxons, and in the battle, I saw a blue light. It was coming from a lady by a lake. I rescued her from some Saxons and she said that she had a potion that she needed to take to heal Arthur. I was forced to leave my companions to go help the woman. I followed the woman until I came by a clearing where Aelle spoke with his son. I avoided them and headed another way that took me through a barrow. In it, I was faced with a spectral warrior whom I placated with some money. I was able to get the woman, Nineveh--who I thought had died in court, to Arthur, and gave him the potion. He was healed, and he told me to rendezvous with Giles the Elder at Castor and meet again with Arthur at Eberkham.

Back in the south, Merl and Giles fought the Saxon force. Gavin was gravely wounded.

<New session>

While I found Arthur, Senorix and his crew killed many Saxons and captured one of Aelle's sons. They then proceeded to try to track me down. They arrived at a place where battle was about to be joined between Sir Kador and Aelle's troops.

Looking for Giles, I came across a pool with 7 gold cups on it, and a magpie watching me from a tree. I pondered over the pond, but eventually I moved on.

At the battle in the south, Merl and Giles managed to drive Cerdic's forces back and win the day.

At Senorix's battle, he and his men were beaten back and forced to flee, but as they fled, they saw a white haired knight, clad all in white go charging into the Saxons.

I finally found Giles and his Pict army. He agreed to go with me. We headed to Eberkham, and when we arrived, we found Arthur's army gathered outside the city. We engaged in battle with the city. We dealt massive damage with our unit, but the battle winds blew against us and we had to retreat.

In the winter, I married the daughter of Giles the Elder, to replace Courtney, who had died last winter.

Posted with Blogsy

517

Merl had been living through the winter in a tent outside, where the snow fell heavily. He tried a rhubarb experiment, but seemed thwarted by his curse no matter what he did--within a few hours the food would rot. Giles and I rode to see how far the snow extended, and Giles almost died from exposure. As we rode back, we saw two knights--Sir Gawain and his brother Gareth--who were looking for Merl. Gawain told us that they had spent the entire summer chasing Cerdic's Saxons, who refused to meet them on the field. We returned to the keep and talked to Merl. He decided to head to the woods witch with Gawain, while the rest of us headed to the Saxon village.

The witch told Merl that she thought the ward made by her mother for John may be causing the problems. She offered to help Merl if he swore an oath to never build a Christian church in his lands. Merl swore to not build a church unless directly ordered by Arthur and to give her his son Gryphon.

Merl brought the witch back to the keep. The Saxon villagers said the witch had stolen one of their children. Senorix tried to attack Merl, and I had to restrain him. Tor threatened to leave. Senorix argued that the witch and Chandler were working together to keep lords out of the manor. Merl confronted the two of them, and in a fit, Merl smashed the witch's head and then seemed to realize what he had done and ran out of the room. Gavin chased him down and tried to reason with I'm, and the two wound up getting lost. The rest of us ate and napped. We showed the dead witch to the villagers. Two days later, Merl and Gavin arrived, frost burnt.

Merl asked Chandler to show him where the Wakely's possession were stored. He showed us a pile of letters from William's wife and a chest from John.

Merl buildt a henge and I rebuilt the church. The food finally started to get better. Merl sent for Vythalin and more food. She came in the spring, bringing Gawain with her. We threw a festival, and even Sir Kay came, along with two young knight, Sir Sagamore and Sir Doddinos--also Sir Bedivere. Vythalin had organized a hunt, and the knights grouped up. Sir Gawain, Giles and I stayed behind. I saw Gawain leaving Vythalin's room.

Gawain and Giles found nothing on the hunt.

Merl and Tor found a fallow deer and beat it with clubs. They won the hunt.

Senorix and Kay found a bear and killed it.

Doddinus and Sagamore didn't return.

The party went on, and finally Doddinos and Sagamore arrived, bloodied and injured and escorting two noble women. They said that they had found these women in a coach being attacked. The young knights defended them. We mounted up and went to find the Saxons. Merl led us over the river, cutting them off before they could reach their main group. We fought. We defeated the Saxons and rescued Baron Porten. Merl rescued his daughter. We took a prisoner and he told us that their chieftain Eofan wanted to meet with Merl.

We found Sagamore and Doddinus arguing about who was better. They challenged each other to a duel.

The next day we had a jousting tourney. Giles bested me. Senorix bested Tor. Merl bested Bedivere. Gawain bested Kay. In the second round, Gawain bests Merl. Giles beat Senorix. In the third round, Giles won the Peasant's Tourney.

With the culmination of the tourney, we felt the curse on the manor lift and the ghosts leave.

Sagamore and Doddinus dueled for three hours, but the winner was undecided. They both bet they could kill more Saxons in the coming year.

We went to meet the Saxon thegn, Yeofun. Merl parleyed with Yeofun. Yeofun told us that Aelle and Cerdic would destroy us all. However, he agreed to swear fealty to Arthur

Posted with Blogsy

516

Merl took us north to our valley to start reclaiming Castle Wakely--with Senorix, Giles, Tor, Gavin, and myself. Senorix went exploring and found a lot of bones. Merl found a burnt out manor house with a palisade.

I was on the Essex side of our lands and I became lost, and it started raining, and I found myself near a cave. I chose to rest outside of the cave in the rain, and in the morning, one of my horses was missing. When I met back with the others, we discussed what we saw and concluded that a dragon must have been nearby.

The next day, we searched the lands some more, Senorix and Giles found a dilapidated bridge across the river. They also found a manor house that had collapsed but had a workable mill. He also found a Latin scroll that he was unable to read--except to know that John Wakely was mentioned. Merl found a third manor--this one was standing and the hall was mostly intact and had an intact road that led into Salisbury, apparently cleared by a number of horses. I found myself in a very thick forest. I found a house with a henge around it. An old woman in it was the seer for my grandfather, Emrys.

On the next day, Merl headed west and found a road that connected to a large road and found himself on a ridge, and below him a few hundred yards away was a Saxon village surrounding a manor house--outnumbering us and our 50 knights 3 to 1.

Senorix headed south and left the valley into Silchester and saw a number of Saxons. He turned back, and as he did he found a small Roman fort that needed some work. There was a bear in the fort. They killed it. Senorix ripped the bear pelt off. They also found a cemetery with a skeleton. Senorix found a signet ring.

I headed East. My horse stumbled in a hole, and poking around I found a mass grave.

The next day we headed east and went past the mass grave and found the castle. The stone wall and the keep were intact, but the church had been burnt down. Chandler, an old man, lived in the castle. He told us that Sir Declan killed himself after trying to reclaim the Wakely estate. Then Storn, a Saxon, came and set up a village to the east, and then the whole family left. We set the peasants to planting fields. We found out from Chandler the history of the old Wakelys. Then he took us to our rooms. When checking out the master bedroom, Senorix tried to throw himself from the ledge, but Chandler stopped him.

We explored a secret passage. When Merl went through, he heard some singing and was scared. Giles and I checked it out and found a ring with some blood on it. Chandler showed us the other secret passages.

Senorix and Tor caught some Saxon villagers, and they told us that Winferth led the town to the east. While we were talking, the mantle in the great hall suddenly dumped its contents.

We went to see the Saxon village to the east. Winferth agreed to swear fealty to Merl.

Back at the castle, we got ready for bed, and Senorix saw Chandler leaving the castle. Senorix followed him and found him talking to two men on horseback. They talked and the men give Chandler a packet, and then he returned to the castle. Senorix confronted him, and they came to an agreement.

We sent a rider back to Arthur for reinforcements but they never made it through. The rhubarb crop was good, but the food decayed quickly in the castle. We went to find where the man at arms was. We found his mutilated body and tried to find the dragon cave. Merl charged into the cave and was mauled by a massive bird. Although Senorix and Merl were seriously injured, the rest of us defeated the griffon. We also found Sir Donald's sword Aglovaine. We headed back to the keep.

Posted with Blogsy

515

My wife, Lady Courtney, asked to throw a party for the other knight's ladies, and I agreed to foot the bill for a dinner for unmarried knights and maids. The most eligible bachelors were Sir Basil Wallingford, Sir Hervis the Rebel, Sir Galligantis, and Sir Travar (son of Brian the Giant). The most noteworthy woman was Lady Jenna. The most eligible ladies were the daughters of Giles, Luceers, the daughter of Bernier, and the daughter of the eldest Wallingford.

The men jousters while the women talked. Sir Gavin jousted with Sir Travar, and Travar won by a broken lance. Then Gavin and I jousted and I won. Sir Giles jousted with Sir Hervis and won. I jousted with Basil and lost. Basil jousted with Galligantis, and Galligantis won. Travar and Giles jousted, and Giles won. Giles and Galligantis jousted for the right to dance first with Maid Megan, and Giles won.

The rest of us got drunk. We had a feast and then a dance. Sir Senorix stayed drunk the whole time, telling his story of dancing himself into the Feywild. Giles and Megan got along well. Later Wallingford returned with mushrooms and ordered Senorix to dance, and Senorix danced like a fool.

The next morning, we heard Jenna telling the women that she heard Sir Ulfius telling Ygraine that she was a traitor and Ygraine and Merlin told him that Arthur was the child of Uther.

The women told us that they wanted us to undertake a quest to see who was the manliest. Courtney put forth a quest to climb Mt Gorgon and get a piece of witches glass. Vivian said we should defeat the knight at St. Carolyn's bridge. Jenna said chastity is the best virtue, and so we should spend the night at the abbey of St. Whitemore. Vythalin said that love is most important and we would test that when we return.

We rode to the mountain. Gavin climbed to the top and got a number of black rocks. He gave me one, and Senorix climbed up and got his own. We then went to a bridge and fought a disguised Wallingford, and Senorix and I hit him. Then we headed to the abbey. Gavin and I barred the doors to our rooms and Senorix resisted temptation, but Giles gave his nun a kiss.

We rode back to the women. Gavin brought his woodland wife some doves on a stick. Senorix grovelled to his wife. Giles met with Megan and tried to romance her, but failed. Senorix won the overall quest and proved that the married men are more manly than the unmarried men.

A messenger from Robert arrived, announcing that Arthur had declared this a year of peace in celebration of the victory over the kings of the north, and that Arthur would marry Maid Guinevere of Camillard. We would be expected to bring gifts to Arthur and could ask for one in return.

I convinced Senorix and Giles to help me take back an abbey overrun with Saxons. We took it and headed to the marriage.

King Leodegrance gifted Arthur with a massive round table, able to seat 150 knights. Senorix gave Arthur the robe of Sir Ban and asked for the head of Cerdic. I gave Arthur the Abbey, and in return he gave me right to first charge next year. Giles gave him the axe of Aethelswith, and asked for the reinstatement of Giles the Elder's honor. Arthur granted the request and told the court that Elder Giles may go free and quest until he has redeemed himself. At the end, a peasant brought his strong son and asked Arthur to knight his son, who is the illegitimate son of Pellinore. The boy was named as Sir Tor, and was asked to sit at the high table. We noticed that Sir Gawain and his squire, Gareth, were angry at this, and complained that they would kill Tor for Pellinore's slaying of their father.

Gavin and Basil returned, and Basil returned with Sir Merl. Basil asked for the title of Oxford to be formally turned over to their family.

We saw Guinevere, and I was smitten by her. A white hart ran into the room, followed by a white hound, then 60 black hounds also ran in, following the white hound. Senorix and I were knocked to the ground by the rush of dogs. The white dog bit the hart, which escaped, and landed on the lap of a man who stood and carried the dog out. Then a woman walked in asking for her dog back before a black knight rode in and carried her off. Merlin said that we should send knights on a quest to puzzle out these mysteries. He suggested sending Gawain to find the hart and Pellinore to find and slay the knight to rescue the lady, and Senorix to find the knight and the dog, and get the dog, or slay the knight.

There was a tourney, with Logres side versus the rest.

Senorix quested for the dogs and ran into a dwarf guarding a path on behalf of Sir Pedapass and Sir Fellott who refused to let him pass. Senorix asked to speak with the dwarf's masters, and the knight told him that he had sworn an oath to Sir Abellas, the dog knight, to not allow any to pass. Sir Fellott and Senorix fought. Senorix won and then Sir Pedapass attacked him. Senorix beat him as well. The dwarf offered to join Senorix. He accepted Grond as his page, and ordered the knights to report to Arthur.

Senorix found a camp of four tents, and the white dog sat in the middle of the camp. A woman named Valerie came out, and called for the dog. She told Senorix that it was her dog, and things would go badly if he took her dog. He stayed the night and in the morning, she beseeched him to leave the dog lest violence befall him. But he took the dog. The next day, a terrible storms came upon him.

In the tourney over the land, Merl stumbled upon some Saxon spies, and killed them.

Giles came across a woman who told him that a lion had ravaged their livestock. He looked for it and it tried to eat him, but he was rescued by Sir Narow--the son of Rhynes the Giant.

I found Sir Lamarac and challenged him, and he defeated me, and I was taken captive.

<next session>

Senorix camped for the night and Sir Abellas found him and ordered him to give back the dog or fight. They fought with lances and then hand weapons, and Senorix defeated him and Abellas yielded his claim on the dog. Senorix agreed to let Abellas go, and then a woman came out and begged for Senorix to kill Abellas for his crimes against her and her sister. But Senorix was unmoved and took Abellas and the lady back to Camelot.

At court, there was a feast in celebration of the winners of the tourney. Sir Ablemor rode in carrying a dead woman across his saddle. He said that the knight (Gawain) who chased the hart killed the hart, which was Ablemor's pet. Gawain was going to slay Ablemor when his lady-love threw herself in the way, and Gawain killed her. A bit later Gawain returned and relates the same story, but said that he was returning to Camelot with the hart when he was assaulted by Ablemor's soldiers and they were going to kill him when four maidens came out and begged for his life and shamed him for not heeding Ablemor's woman.

Then Senorix returned with his entourage and related his story. Arthur had Alemor executed.

That night, Pellinore returned, riding next to a woman. He told his story--he found a young girl with her dead lover who had been killed by a lion. But Pellinore left without helping her and completed his quest. When he returned to the young lady, she had been killed by a lion. At this point, Merlin spoke up and said that the young lady was Pellinore's daughter, and that great doom would come upon him. At this point, Guinevere whispered into Arthur's ear, and he stood up and said that we are supposed to be the example of true knighthood to the world, obedient to our king and dedicated to the protection of women. Our three masters should be God, our king, and our women.

Some names are already on the round table. Other knights are also called to the table, including Baldulf, Gawain, and Merl. 37 knights fill the seats, leaving 113 seats open.

Sir Gawain came to Merl and asked him if he knows of Castle Wakely--a castle in northern Silchester. The last Wakely died in the reign of Vortigern, and the castle has fallen into disrepair. Arthur wanted the valley and castle to be restored. Merl would be the baron of this land. There are parcels for five manors there that should be parceled out to other knights. Arthur was willing to give Merl three years to get it running again. He would take 100 peasants with him and 50 men at arms.

Posted with Blogsy

514

We started the year knowing that we must find Sir Alain de Gros and recruit him to help the Fisher King.

We heard rumors that King Lot was furious because his wife delivered a baby, and Merlin came and stole it while Lot was gone. Lot was mad at Arthur, and everyone expected there to be a battle with him this year. Kay was now the seneschal of Arthur.

Merl and Senorix went to see Arthur and updated him on our mission. Kay told Merl that Sir Alain was in the Tower of the Boar in the Forest Savage. Merl went to see Giles to ask him about Alain. Merl told him that he heard that Alain has three brothers and an evil daughter--called the Wild Damsel--who was working for Belors.

We headed into the Forest Savage to see if my cousin knew anything about Alain. My cousin Eddard said that Alain's brother Bruenor wanted our holding. He also heard that Alain's daughter is a demon, and that there was a painted rock in the forest, and if you placed a loaf of bread under it, she would appear and grant you a cursed wish.

The next morning we went looking for Alain's tower, which was said to move locations. As we left, Eddard pulled Giles aside and told him that he was in love with Giles's sister, Christine.

We found ourselves going through a swamp and were forced to dismount. Senorix and Merl noticed some large eyes, and then Merl was attacked by a bizarre creature and pulled into the water. Senorix threw a spear at the creature in the water and hit it. We slew the creature, and Giles saved Merl from drowning.

Our passage was blocked by more frogs, and so we headed into the hills, wasting a day. We found some large human tracks. Merl tried to avoid the giants, but we were spotted. Merl decided to attack, but lost his nerve and ran into the woods, screaming. The other three of us fought the giant, and I dealt the killing blow, even though Senorix wanted to grant the giant mercy.

Senorix tracked Merl into the forest and found where the trail ended, but Merl was not there. We found a ring of mushrooms, and Senorix danced in them (oh, magnificent dance!) and disappeared. Giles and I tried to dance, but did not disappear.

In the fairy world, Senorix found a knight with a white shield and a knight with a black shield entertaining a beautiful woman. Senorix talked to the white knight, who said that he owed Merl a third pass. He introduced Senorix to the lady, Titania, and said they were entertaining her, and asked Senorix to entertain her with his skill. He showed them some mace work. He then explained he was looking for Merl. Titania explained that Merl had entered the glade, but was most conflicted. She did not believe he would return to the mortal realm without some symbol or person that would remind him of the importance of his place in the mortal realm.

When Giles and I awakened, Senorix was there. Then a wild man calling himself Gavin and his wife appeared and exclaimed that he was looking for Merl. We told him that we had recently lost Merl. Gavin was shocked to find that Merl had been found and then re-lost. We invited Gavin to join us, and he led us to the Tower of the Boar.

We were brought into the castle, and we saw people preparing for war. We met Sir Alain, and he said he was preparing to go to war in the fields of Joy. When I asked him about Eddard's manor, he said that he claimed it because his relative had been killed by my father. We almost fought, but Senorix's calm prevailed. Alain told us that if we could rescue his daughter from Belors power, he would cease to work with Belor. He told us that his daughter loved unicorns and found one slaughtered in the woods and made a pact with some power, possibly Belor, to protect the creatures of the forest.

We headed off to find the daughter's stone. At midnight, we put bread on the stone, and heard hoofbeats. A few moments later, a woman on a black pony, wearing only a cloak appeared. We talked with her, but tried not to make a wish. Finally, Senorix wished that she would be able to talk with unicorns again. She said that she would renounce her ways if we could prove that unicorns would return to her. We headed back to Eddard to see if he had any virgins that could help us get a unicorn. He said that we should check the nearby town of Etroit. We headed there.

The old woman, the wife of the knight whose hounds Baldulf had slain years before, who lived there served us some, predictably, horrid stew and asked if Eddard had changed his mind about marrying her daughter, Courtney. We told her that we were looking for a virgin to find a unicorn. Her daughter agreed to go with us.

We then tracked a unicorn and found a small one. Courtney met with it and we led it back to the stone. The Wild damsel saw it and cried, renouncing her ways. The unicorn went to her and she was freed from her evil power. She gave us a token and told us to give it to her father.

We returned to Alain and gave him the pendant, and he agreed to turn against Belor. We headed to the field of Joy and met with the Kingfisher. He told us that a fearsome battle was being fought at Castle Terrible, and we needed to decide which battle we should join. Gavin left us to help Arthur, but the rest stayed to fight with the Kingfisher.

At Terrible, Rhynes called out Arthur, and Arthur defeated him.

At Joy, we defeated wave after wave of fomorians and giants. As we fought harder, Arthur's forces won more, and Lot's forces were defeated.

We won the battle of Joy and the Kingfisher gave us a boon, but told us that we would never be able to return to his lands, but his vassal in Glass would fight for our king anytime he needed her.

When we returned, we heard that King Claudius had attacked King Ban and Bors, killing them both. Supposedly their wives were able to get their sons away without dying.

Posted with Blogsy

513

We were called by Lord Robert and told that Arthur had been given a quest, and Robert wished us to fulfill it. We were to recruit Princess Alice in Glas.

We headed out with Prince Galigantis, and Merl led us to a village, and Giles noticed that there were claw marks high up in the trees near us. We rode to the village, and the cold weather had driven everyone inside. We spoke to an old man who told us that they had not heard from Glas for months. He said that a flying creature has been seen, and it probably made the claw marks. He gave us directions to Glas, and we headed that way. We came to a bridge made of a massive sword, laying on edge, and saw the castle ahead, surrounded by blasted wasteland.

Senorix headed to a nearby forest because of something he saw, and a massive, furry creature with the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion leapt out and announced that it was Sir Karrinor, servant of King Belor, the third fairy king--a worshiper of the devil. Merl charged the creature. Merl held him off while Senorix killed him.

Senorix and Giles crossed the bridge, and I fell into the raging river when trying to cross, but Giles rescued me with his rope. Merl also fell into the water, but Giles could not save him. Luckily, I was able to use my lance to rescue him.

We found a nearby tomb, freshly built, bearing the heraldry of Sir Balan and his brother Sir Balin. We built a fire and warmed up and then headed to Glas. As we arrived, the people came out and begged for food. Merl gave them some food and we were escorted inside. We were tended by serving women, and they told us that for the last year, the lands had wilted and died, and the city had been under siege from King Belor's army. The women told us they wanted to meet with us later. We dined with them and then met with Alice. We explained, poorly, why Arthur had sent us. She listened but seemed preoccupied with the devastation of their land.

We were each visited by a lady in waiting. Belina visited Merl and told him that she wished to learn to sing like him to please Alice. A woman also visited Senorix with a wound that would not heal, and Senorix healed her. Giles would not allow his woman (Elfweena) to visit him. I was visited by Hermione and my romance won her over, but I never found out why she visited me.

The next morning, Alice met with us and told us that her maids were pleased with us, and so she would tell us her predicament. A foe had fallen upon her lord at the Castle of Joy from the Castle Mortal, and she now needed our help. We agreed to help her. The women visited us again that night. Senorix tried to feed people, Merl tried to heal, Giles prayed, and Hermione helped me work myself into vengeance. We found it difficult to leave the women the next day, but we took a map from Alice along with a healing draught, and headed off to help King Fisherman.

Along the path from the map, we found mostly more devastation. We came upon the valley of monotony, but were all energetic enough to make it across, except for Galiganthis. We came out of the valley and found a vale of gifts, each with gifts left for people we loved. Merl could not resist the gifts and took one and wandered off into the mists. The rest of us found a cliff that tested our justice, and we moved on. We found a crevasse, and on the other side was Accalon, begging forgiveness for his sin. We forgave him, and moved on, finding an old hag. She said that Senorix was the most chaste and merciful knight in the world. Senorix and Giles passed on, but I was too proud. As Senorix and Giles rode on, there was an earthquake, but their valor carried them through. We all found ourselves reunited at the end of the trail, and saw a castle, and to its right is a military camp, and to its left was a scorched field.

We attempted to ride straight to the castle. A group came out from the camp to follow us, but we rode on. A guard in the castle challenged us, but we answered their challenge, and they let us in. Inside we found that the walls were manned by brass robots. We were taken into the main hall and met the king, lying in a bed, bleeding. We were invited to dinner, and were led in by a boy carrying a white lance, dripping with blood, some children carrying candles, and a woman carrying a cup that glowed (the holy grail). The woman told us that the cup was guarded by the king. She also thought that some of Belor's army could be convinced to change sides before the army attacked next summer. She also told us that Sir Balin was the one who wounded the king. We should find allies and talk to Alain deGros to see if he would switch sides. We went to sleep in the king's castle, and when we awakened, we were back in our beds in Salisbury.

 

Posted with Blogsy

512

We find ourselves at court again. A woman came to court, dressed in Frankish style, and wearing a sword. She said that she had been wandering, looking for a knight who could draw the sword from her belt. Merl, and Senorix and I attempted to draw the sword, and failed. Then a poor knight named Sir Balin drew the sword, but refused to return it to her, and she warned him that there was a curse to the sword that he would kill his best friend. He kept the sword anyway.

Then there was a blast of trumpet and Nineveh came into court and talked to Arthur, reminding him that she owed him for giving him Excalibur. Arthur agreed, but the lady claimed that she wanted the head of Sir Balin or of the woman who brought the sword. Arthur refused. Balin returned to the court and chopped off Nineveh's head. Arthur banished Balin from court. Giles and I armed ourselves to go after Balin, and I arrived outside ahead of many of the other knights.

We found that a rich knight had already been killed by Balin, and another knight sat nearby singing about the battle. The people of Camelot built a memorial to the knight and his lover. Merlin appeared and said that at some point the two best knights in the land would fight at this spot.

Arthur sent a small contingent to distract Lot, and his main force directly to Malahaut. We prepared to fight the Centurion King's forces. The Centurion king came forth in new armor, and Pellinore led the charge, killing the Centurion King. Then he killed King Nentris of Garloth. As Giles, Kay and I were fighting. Sir Galegantis (son of Nentris) emerged from Lot's side. Merl's unit attacked him, and the Brown knight killed Galegantis and forced Lot's forces to retreat. After the battle, Arthur made peace with Barak. Galegantis was handed over to Arthur and asked for a share of his father's lands, and Arthur refused--saying that Nentris had taken the lands from someone else, and Arthur would hold the lands until the rightful heir came of age.

Posted with Blogsy

511

(Roderik)

Roderik (son of Baldulf and Jenna) and Giles III joined Sir Senorix and Sir Merl. While we were waiting at court, we saw Sir Gawain arrive with Margausa (king Lot's wife) and his two brothers (Agravaine and Geharis). That afternoon, there was a feast. Merl noticed that Arthur and Morgausa were flirting with each other. Senorix noticed that when Hervis went by, Arthur seemed to to like him. I noticed that Merlin was staring at Giles and seemed anxious, like he was waiting for something. A wild looking common woman came in and said something to Merlin, and then Merlin left.

While eating, we noticed a horse being led up the road, with a body draped on the horse. We ran out to meet him, and he told us that his knight, Sir Grifflet, had been wounded. A knight near Ottmor was guarding a road, and he would not let any pass. He had injured Sir Grifflet. We went to tell Brastius about the knight. Brastius told Arthur, and Arthur made a speech about the honorableness of knighthood, and sent us to take care of the knight.

On the way, we passed a squire bringing Sir Pennin to Court;he also had been bested by the knight at Ottmor. We arrived at Ottmor and saw the knight. He was wearing new armor and a crown, and I recognized that his heraldry was of King Pellinore. He said he was challenging knights hoping to get Arthur's attention. I accepted his challenge. I hit him hard, but he unhorsed me in the second pass. Giles took up the challenge, and was hit twice, the second shot killing him. Merl attempted to smite him with a mace, and he was also unhorsed. Senorix was also defeated.

We returned to Arthur and headed to the chirurgery. I told Arthur and he became enraged, heading off with Excalibur to find Pellinore. Damien went with Arthur. When he got there, Pellinore praised the honor of Arthur's knights, and then they battled. They passed two times, and on the third time, Arthur's sword exploded into three pieces and Arthur was laid low. We returned in silence to Camelot.

In the morning,we found that we were all healed, and Giles was again alive, although Excalibur was still broken. Over the next three days, we waited. On the third night, Senorix and Giles couldn't sleep and they wandered around the castle. They saw Arthur and Merlin talking, and then Merlin told them to go get their armor. They rode into the darkness, and Merlin talked to Arthur, reminding him of his vision, that the knight whom he trusted the most would betray him. They arrived at a lake and rowed into it, threw the pieces of the sword into the lake, and then a woman's arm appeared with the sword, recreated. For this to happen, Merlin said he had had to unloose the ties to the fairy world. And Merlin rode off again.

While riding back, Arthur told the younger knights about his vision. He had been in the woods when he saw a strange beast (perhaps Pellinore's questing beast), and then he fell into a trance and saw a vision of a great battle, where one of his knights turned on him.

Also that night, Giles the Elder was visited by a raven which told him a place to go. When he went, he found Akkalon and her other knights with Morgan, and she said that the time had come to save England, and asked each of them if they were committed to their cause. Giles said he was committed. They plotted to kill Arthur on a hunt.

The next morning at breakfast, Merl noticed that Ban's wife, Queen Elaine, was making eyes at Senorix, although he was oblivious. At the end of breakfast, Arthur announced that the men of Gannis were leaving to return to their fight against Claudius, and the knights of Camelot would be at peace this year.

Giles convinced Arthur to go on a hunt, but Arthur invited Brastius and Giles and Merl. Jenna wanted Senorix to help Queen Elaine take a pilgrimage to the Pendragon burial site.

The rest of us went on the hunt. We agreed to split into groups of two, with Arthur and Brastius together; myself and Merl, and Bors the Younger and Giles. In the first day of hunting, Giles was the only one to return with game.

The next day, Bors and Arthur hunted together, Giles and I did, and Merl and Brastius went together. Again, Giles was the only one to return with game.

The next morning there was a heavy fog, and Arthur thought we should not hunt, but Giles convinced him it would be the best challenge. Merl and everyone else agreed to team up against Giles and Arthur. Bors told Merl that he thought that morning he had seen a small woman lurking near the camp, but when he investigated, she had disappeared. Merl found some small barefoot footprints at the edge of camp. Brastius and I agreed to follow the tracks while Merl and Bors hunted.

Giles led Arthur to the clearing where Accalon waited. Accalon told Arthur he was a false king, and Arthur drew Excalibur, but it did not glow. Accalon drew his weapon, and his weapon flared a bright light.

Meanwhile, Brastius and I heard the sound of fighting. Accalon shattered Arthur's fake weapon, and smote Arthur, who took no damage. At that point, Brastius burst into the clearing. Giles intercepted him and slew him. I blew the horn and rode away, with Giles chasing me. I rode off and found Merl and brought him back towards the clearing. We found Accalon injured and saw blood leading away. Giles had followed the trail and found Arthur. Merlin asked Giles what he was doing, and Giles said he had to save Briton. Giles refused to return to Camelot and answer for his crimes, so Merl attacked him. Arthur's stroke injured Giles and Merl knocked him unconscious. We returned to Camelot.

In captivity, Accalon turned over the rest of the conspirators. When Giles was questioned, he was unable to speak Morgan's name. Bors got Baldulf to return to talk to Giles. He could not help Giles, but he convinced Merlin to go get Morgan. We returned to court.

Meanwhile, Senorix travelled with Elaine. He wound up in her wagon. He found that she had two sons, Lionel and Lansel, but they remained in Frankia. She gave Senorix some clothes to wear.

Senorix had refused to wear the clothes she offered, and Elaine attempted to woo Senorix, but he was completely oblivious. The next morning, Elaine offered him some wine in her coach. Senorix told her about the legends of Stonehenge. She continued to ply him with wine, and finally got him drunk, but he finally staved off her advances, angering her. He returned to court.

Merlin returned later with Morgan. She asked for anyone who could accuse her to speak, but none of the conspirators could do so. Arthur pondered, and said that the conspirators had sinned, but that God commanded that we forgive sinners, so he released the knights of Logres. Giles and Accalon were ordered to live in the castle and to renounce their arms.

 

Posted with Blogsy

510

(Alek)

While the celebration for Arthur's coronation took place, Giles was visited by a raven, who croaked, "Renthor." He headed to the stone of Renthor and found Morgan, two pagan women, Accalon, Sir Guigomar, and Ogier the Dane. Morgan told Giles that she had recently been wed by her mother to Sir Yurien. Morgan had a dream that said that Arthur would bring the ruin of the land if he survived another year and became king, so he needed to be removed. She said that Giles and Accalon would act first. Giles needed to get Arthur into the woods to go hunting, and she would handle the rest. (Ogier is Morgan's bodyguard, and she lusts for him; Guigomar is a Frank.)

While Merl and I dallied with women (much against my better judgment), Sir Senorix was approached by a man (Sir Baldulf) who asked him to find Sir Alek, but they did not,and so Senorix was invited to spend time in their camp. While there, he was told of a woman (Maid Finise) they are trying to woo. One knight attempted to sing and then Baldulf attempted some swordplay. Senorix challenged Baldulf to a duel to one hit, and Senorix won. They eventually found Alek. And the knight introduced himself as Sir Baldulf of Bristol, named after Baldulf for his heroic acts in his youth. He also had a mighty strong right arm. He said that he would be glad to come with us if I were tasked with an adventure.

Merl met up with Kay and went to see Arthur. He was in serious conversation with some other knights. He told Merl that they had been discussing how different knights would be employed and stationed. He told Merl that he wanted him for a special mission, to take on a leadership role and mentor some of the younger knights. He also warned that there were spies in their midst. Robert said that Arthur had devised a strategy to deal with the northern kings--it involved using a ruined, "cursed," castle as a shield in case the northern kingdoms attacked. Merl was to take some younger knights with him--including Senorix and Davos. He recruited me and Marius to find the castle--the Dolorous Gard. (It was once known as the Joyous Gard, before a tragedy took place.) The legend is that no man may take the castle until the man whose name is on the bottom of a rock comes to claim the castle.

Sir Marius had a chance encounter with Lady Vithalin and she convinced him to take her to see the sights of the city.

(Damien)

The knights headed for the castle, but couldn't find it. The next day they heard some sheep and Senorix suggested there should be shepherds nearby, but they could not find the sheep. The next day, Senorix was too tired to move on, so they waited another day. The next day, Merl finally led them to a hill where the castle sat. A lone shepherd sat nearby. He told them that some Saxons went up a week ago, but that nobody ever came back down. He also told them of some Roman gold buried a few miles away. Marius and Merl both headed off for the gold. Davos, Senorix, and Alek headed up the hill.

A long way up the hill, Senorix and Davos were so tired they could not resist the lure of a castle of beds and food. Alek continued on alone. He was finally able to see the castle. At the top, he saw a lone surviving Saxon, wearing the sigil of Cerdic, laying on the ground, dying. His vengeance rose against them, but he fought against it and moved on to the castle. He found a large black stone in the yard, which he tried to move, but failed. An old necromancer appeared on the wall and told him that he had one last chance to leave. Alek refused, and skeletons started rising from the ground and heading toward his companions, who snapped from their reverie. Alek was forced to fight the guardian of the castle. He demolished the guardian of the castle, but Marius ran like a coward from the skeletons, and Alek was forced to fight them, and they killed him. The others were finally forced to flee from the skeletons.

They searched for the hill again, but were not able to find it again.

They returned to London, and Merl told Baldulf of his son's death.

(Baldulf)

Later, Robert called me to speak with him. He told me that Arthur wished me to be a baron, and Lord of Amesbury. I accepted and retired to run the city.

(Damien)

Merl recruited me to battle against Lot and his Northern Kings. Giles and Senorix also fought with us.

During the battle, Arthur and Lot lined up and charged each other, Lot stayed in his saddle, and Arthur was unhorsed, leaving his foot stuck in the stirrup. Merl charged over to rescue him and smashed Lot, giving Arthur a chance to stand up and draw Excalibur, which gave forth a burst of light. When the light faded, peasants had rushed out of the city and helped sweep Lot's forces away.

News came through Salisbury that Cerdic had invaded Salisbury, and Robert returned to make plans. They decided to pursue Lot and secure the kingdom before dealing with Cerdic. Merl was sent out to gather aid (because Merlin convinced Arthur to keep Giles home).

Some knights were being sent to Brittany to recruit Ban and Bors, others were being sent to recruit Aelle. Merl, Senorix, Marius, and I went to Brittany.

In Brittany, we marched until we found a river we could not cross. The bridge was locked up on a tower on the other side, and a dwarf resided in the tower. He demanded 5 libra each to cross the bridge. Merl talked him down to 1 libra, and when we crossed the bridge, the dwarf ran, and we caught him and found that he was running to warn the army of Claudius' son. We returned to the tower, and found evidence that the dwarf transformed at night into a large monster. We left the dwarf on the other side of the river, tied up, and rode off to camp. In the morning, we awakened to find wolf tracks in our camp. We could not find that they had done anything, so we moved on, finding another river with another bridge, guarded by the Knight of the Moon--the knight defeated in a poetry contest by Merl in the Feywild a number of years ago. They fought, and Merl struck the knight's horse, but, after receiving a deadly blow from the knight, surrendered, and the knight rode off.

We finally reached the castle and found their knights in better armor than ours. King Ban invited us in to eat and relax. We told him of the plight of Arthur, but he said that they were hard pressed by Claudius. We asked for help in terms of armor and horses, and he agreed. We also agreed to help against Claudius once Arthur's enemies were defeated in return for their help in battle against the northern kingdoms.

We returned in order to prepare for battle against the northern kingdoms.

We headed to Bedigrane and found that Lot had brought a large number of Picts to fight us. However, he only had a small contingent of knights. Our army divided into small groups hoping to punch through a group of Picts and get at Lot's knights. Giles, Merl, and I were given a unit to command. Senorix was in Giles' unit.

We fought hard, and eventually Merl's unit was able to break thru and force Lot to retreat. The Picts did much damage to our horses, and Merl was forced to ride his rouncey.

The next day, we prepared to battle again. This time Lot put his Picts in the back and attacked with his knights. Before the battle, Arthur gave a rousing speech to rile up the troops. He announced that, unlike the Nothern knights, we acted not from the idea that might makes right, but that of honor and chivalry.

During the battle, we heard a trumpet and then a mist appeared, and both sides saw the banners of Ban and Bors coming out of cover. Lot's troops broke, and we charged after them, scattering them. After the battle, we recovered much loot, but Arthur gave it all to Ban and Bors, leading to much grumbling among our knights, including Wallingford, who suggested we should loot some nearby monasteries.

Arthur called Merl to him and told him that he wanted to reward our own knights, and there was a cache of silver hidden nearby, in the faerie lands--hidden by King Oberon. Merlin told Merl to gather knights and go get the treasure. When Merl said he would ask Giles, Merlin suggested to Arthur that another knight would be better. He gathered me, Senorix, and Marius to go with him.

Arthur met with Giles and told him that the army needed a rest. A local lord had some manors that could be used to rest. On the other hand, Brastius believed that Lot could be completely destroyed if he were pursued. Arthur asked for Giles' opinion and Giles suggested that the knights rest.

Senorix went to Arthur and told him that Wallingford wanted to loot the countryside.

We headed off to look for Oberon's silver. Senorix got us lost, but we stumbled upon a pool, with three women and a young child, with one of the women dressed as a knight bearing the arms of Mancetter and one of the women being a giant hag. But our knowledge of fairies suggested to us that none of these girls were fey. The girl told us that her lord, Oberon, had heard that Arthur had instituted chivalry, and he wished to test us. The child would test piety; the beautiful woman would test love; the warrior would test valor. We all agreed to the tests.

I went with the child. We went to a small chapel with a purple dragon being attacked by dogs until all that was left was a forked tail which turned into a cross. I interpreted that the dragon represented Arthur being beset by enemies, and all that would remain is the religion which would destroy paganism. We moved into the chapel where we saw a frightened mouse and a hawk above our heads. It swooped and missed the mouse. It turned for another attack and grabbed the mouse and ate it. There were three caskets--one of wood, one of iron, and one of gold, representing the true cross, the warrior's glory, and material wealth. I opened the iron one and found a beautiful weapon. The young girl turned into a beautiful woman and told me that she was free, and I had passed the test. We wandered off to a bower.

The woman led off Senorix and asked him if he had ever been in love. He replied no, and she asked if he would ever do anything deceptive for his lady. He said yes, and she said, "Good," and asked him to follow her. She asked him to close his eyes and hold her ribbons and follow him. They walked off and heard a beast. She told him to ignore the sound, but Senorix did not trust her and opened his eyes. She was disappointed, but they walked along. She blindfolded him and kept walking. At some point, he felt like he had lost hold of the ribbon and was falling backwards. He fell down the hill, and the woman rushed to him and healed him, and then a knight in black armor rode into the clearing and challenged Senorix. The girl asked him to ignore the knight and stay with her. The knight taunted him, but wandered off when Senorix ignored him. The girl said the spell was broken, and she agreed to return home with Senorix.

The warrior woman told Merl and Marius that a wyvern plagued her people, and she asked the knights to help her and not flee. They agreed, and she led them to a cave with a wyvern. Merl ran away, but Marius stayed to fight with the woman. The woman did most of the damage, but Marius dealt the final blow. She gave him an ancient Roman sword that cannot be removed from his hand, and will do more damage in the hands of a lazy knight.

The hag asked how we did, and we each lacked a little bit but had passed (except Merl). The hag asked what favor we would ask of her, and we asked where the cache of silver was. We got the silver and returned to Arthur and he distributed the silver to the knights.

While we were recovering, the Frankish knights suggested that we should have a tournament, using their strange new "lance" weapon. We gathered some knights, made a wager, and began the tourney. Basil almost killed the son of the Frankish king. But we won the tourney. Brastius later told us that Arthur had said there should be no more tourneys.

Giles heard Arthur and Merlin arguing about whether Arthur should send aid to Leodegrance. He could send Giles to handle it, but Merlin said that Giles must be kept near him. Giles talked to Arthur and convinced Arthur to go on a hunt with him, but Merlin arrived and led Arthur away with plans for the hunt left unfinished.

While most knights were in church, Merl and I attempted to build a henge. Merlin talked to us and told us that King Lot had sent Ryons the Giant to attack Leodegrance. Arthur wanted us to take 100 knights and help Leodegrance. Merl and I went to scout Camillard.

We met with King Leodegrance. He told us that Morgan le Fay had told Ryons of a horn hidden nearby that would tear down the walls of Camillard. They were searching near Northshire. Marius remembered a tale that told of the horn in an abbey, and we headed there.

We found the town of Northshire, and it was burned. Ryons had already been through there, taken a priest and headed west. We searched the village church. We found some books, but could not read them. Senorix and I headed for the abbey, while Merl and Marius chase Ryons.

When we reached the abbey, we found nuns hanging from the walls. We found a dying nun who told us we must keep Ryons from the horn. She told us where the horn was. I looted the abbey and we headed back to find the horn.

Merl and Marius caught up to Ryons. They attempted to ambush the giant, but failed the attack, but did get them to chase them. They managed to wear out the numbers, but Ryons and five of the knights caught up to them, and Ryons gave them a chance to surreneder. They decided to attack. Ryons smashed Marius to the ground and the knights smashed Merl.

Senorix and I found a shrine with a knight in front of it. He told us that only a just knight may take the horn, and if he used it unjustly, he would be cursed. I decided to test his mettle to see if he could worthily defend the horn. We fought, and he wounded me, but I managed to win and get the horn. We headed back to Northshire but found that Merl and Marius had not returned. We headed back to Leodegrance.

Merl and Marius awakened to find themselves bound as captives. Marius freed them and proceeded to stomple one off the knights. But they managed to kill him. Merl grabbed the priest and his shield and managed to escape.

The squires of Merl and Marius found us and told us of the battle with Ryons. We asked the priests about the books we recovered. They studied them for a day. While we waited, Merl returned and was sent to Leodegrance's daughter, Guinevere, for chirurgery, but it was Senorix who helped him most.

While Ryons was still away, we decided to attack his forces, hoping to scatter them while they had no commander. The battle turned against us, and I was forced to blow the horn. The blast turned the tide of battle, and the enemy army fled.

When we returned to Salisbury, we heard that Arthur had defeated Lot and chased him north, and Aelle had followed, raiding Lot throughout the winter. Cerdic had continued to raid Salisbury. Arthur congratulated us for our victory and gave us gifts. I gifted the horn to Arthur.

My squire Semple was knighted.

Posted with Blogsy

509

We heard that there would be a grand tournament in London, to see about the matter of the sword in the stone.

With the army scattered after the last battle, Salisbury found itself prey to Saxon raids.

Alex took two new manors and fought off a Saxon raid.

Baldulf and Robert were visited by Sir Brastius. Brastius told us that there would be a non-lethal tourney in London on New Years and whoever won would have the blessing of the collegium to be High King. Robert had the right to fight in the tourney or to fight on behalf of another man.

Robert called for the Brotherhood of the Band to meet. He asked who we should support in the tourney. When we told him that he should support no one, he agreed to join the tourney. We held a feast to celebrate Robert's knighthood, and Giles knighted Robert.

The Salisbury entourage headed to London. Brastius explained how the tourney would work. Our team would be Bellaus, Giles, Baldulf, Merl, and Accalon, with Robert leading us. At the feast, Merl accidentally spilled ale on one of Mark's knights, Sir Ryons the Giant. They agreed to fight each other in the lists.

The next day, the bohort took place, and Reginald participated, but we never paid much attention to who won.

Giles and Merl acquitted themselves well in the hunt.

Basil did well at falconry.

Baldulf, Alex and Giles did well at horsemanship.

Baldulf and Alex and Giles did well at lancing.

We drew Logres for the tourney, facing Duke Ulfius and his team. We talked some with King Afion's son. Then Merl talked with King Lot and met his son, Sir Gawain. Gawain and Merl went off to find women together.

The next day we prepared for the tourney. Lot defeated Iner. The Centurion King defeated King Allen (Nanteleod's son). The day ended.

The next day, we fought Ulfius. We won, with Merl managing to knock out both Accalon and Ulfius. Eskin defeated Durfel.

The next day we drew Lot. The Centurion King defeated Eskin. We convinced Brastius to let us fight in the afternoon, to avoid Sir Gawain's prowess at noon. I fought the Pict. Giles fought Gawain. Merl fought the giant. We were doing well, when a call went up from the crowd that the sword in the stone had been drawn. We halted the fight to go see what was happening. Older knights were trying to pull the sword from the stone. Finally, Brastius let a nearby boy try. He pulled the sword from the stone, and when he did, trumpets from heaven blared and a beam of light beamed on the boy and we realized the boy was Arthur. Lot and the Centurion king complained. Some knights bent their knees to Arthur, but Lot and the Centurion king swore they would never bend knees to Merlin's fake king. Robert told us to walk away from the scene, and we all did, except Giles who walked to Lot.

Merlin called for calm, and told us that the most honorable knights would keep watch over the sword until Candlemass, when the best knights in the land would get another chance to pull out the sword. Merl was asked to provide the honor guard. He picked Aleks and eight other knights to serve as watchers with the knights of the other nine most honest knights.

We heard that Arthur's most ardent supporter, Leodegrance, had left in order to defend his kingdom against Sir Ryan's assault. We talked with Robert and convinced him to support Arthur if he could draw the sword again.

At Candlemass, Arthur removed the sword again, and many knights swore allegiance to Arthur, including Robert. Lot forced the ceremony to repeat a number of times until, on Pentecost, the people rose up for Arthur, and Lot and the dissenters were forced to leave. Arthur was knighted and given the arms of the Pendragon.

Giles received a letter with the name of Castle Garloth on it. When he went, the castle appeared abandoned, except for a huge black rock. At the end of the hall was Morgan. She told Giles that Briton was in great danger: if Arthur became king, it would be the end of Briton. She told Giles she would have need of him in the future.

 

Posted with Blogsy

508

We heard that Mark and Cerdic had allied. Nanteleod said he was determined to finish off Cerdic. We rode to battle and I noted that King Aelle was there. We had about 18000 troops and they had about 27000 troops.

We took the Salisbury knights to face the Cornish knights. Early in the battle, things went poorly for Cerdic. After pushing back the Cornish knights, we spotted some Saxons led by one of Cerdic's sons, and we moved on them. We pushed them back, including their giants (I was knocked unconscious) and found some Saxon knights fighting Nanteleod and his bodyguards. We engaged them, but were unable to stop them before they killed Nanteleod. Nanteleod's forces broke, and Sir Giles and Sir Parrigin were captured by Saxons.

We also heard that Duke Corneus of Linsey had died, poisoned by an unknown assassin.

 

Posted with Blogsy

507

Aleks

In the winter, we were told that King Nanteleod wanted to hold court at Sarum this year. We thought it was so he was within striking distance of Cornwall.

Merl and Kay approached me with a joke to play on Arthur and my sister. But I suggested that a better way to "toughen up" Arthur might be to have a squire tournament. Kay approached Giles and got him to agree. My squire, Ardwen --my younger brother--was defeated by an unknown squire.

At court, there was not much business. But we did hear that Cerdic had gone to parley with Aelle and they had formed an alliance. Prince Mark arrived as well,but there was great tension between him and his knights and those of Nanteleod. Prince Mark asked Baldulf to renounce Nanteleod and join Cornwall. Otherwise, he feared that Nanteleod would attack Cornwall and leave us all weakened against the Saxons. We had a grand feast, but Morgan appeared disgusted by all of it.

Baldulf talked with Morgan and tried to convince her to not war with Cornwall. She played coy, but said she would consider it.

The elder knights met with Nanteleod and convinced him to war with the Saxons this year.

In the hall, Sir Parrigin said that he would go to ask Baldulf for his daughter's hand in marriage. He asked, offering the sword of a king in the north, and Baldulf told him he must prove himself in battle first.

Nanteleod announced that we would fight Saxons, but first we had to fight Cornwall. We all gasped at the change in plans. Then Nanteleod collapsed and was rushed from the room.

The young knights prepared to go find Merl a wife. We traveled to the Feywild, but Merl remembered that there was a huntsman who sometimes helped knights traverse the forest. We traveled and found Sir Marin, the huntsman (the same knight who had his dogs slain by Baldulf years ago). He offered us his hospitality, even finding that I was the son of Baldulf. But he offered us the damned stew again, and we insulted his wife again, and so he exacted our help in a quest in order to get his service. We went to hunt a horned lion. I was knocked unconscious, but Merl and Marius managed to down the beast.

We returned to Sir Marin's house, and Merl took over the stew duty (which seemed rather un-knightly). Marius and I mocked him. We stayed for three weeks and rested, and finally we were able to head into the Forest Savage. We passed the towers of the knights we found earlier, but their towers were in ruins. We stopped at Southhampton, but found that Leslie was away, and all the men had left to go to war with Oberon's kingdom. We headed on to Magogs castle, but found that the king was off at war, as well. Merl played chess with the dwarf, and Merl lost, but the dwarf told us how to get to the king.

We reached the king, and he told us that he could not release Lady Vythalin, without a replacement, for she guards the magic of the spring. Magog told us that Oberon had a knight who was immortal and could only be wounded by a virgin knight, and Sir Marius announced that he was a virgin. Magog asked what Marius would want in return for his service, and Marius said that he would like Vythalin. Merl expostulated, and wracked his brain for another way to defeat the Knight of the Moon. Titania finally told Merl that the knight was also quite fond of poetry, and Merl set off to meet the knight before Marius. Merl sent a loose fairy woman to Marius, and she seduced him, making him unfit to fight the Knight of the Moon.

Merl rode out to meet the knight. They had a poetry competition, and Merl won. The Knight of the Moon rode away. Titania then told Merl that he owed her a favor for her help. Renee took a rose of hers and she wanted it back. Merl agreed to return it to her. Titania told Marius that if he could get the rose and give it to Vithalin first, she would love him first.

We headed north to the edge of Logres and the manor of Sir Renee. As we arrived we got the sense that something in the forest was following us. We tried to track it, but even with Merl's dogs we had a hard time catching it. We heard a man weeping in the woods, and we approached. We found a man of noble birth, completely naked, bawling for Mona. Merl and he wrestled, and Merl appealed to his pride and finally brought him to his senses. He told us that he was there to get the rose to win his Mona. Merl invited him to come along with us. Sir Vincent, the naked knight, told us that Sir Renee had a guardian who protected the rose.

We rode to the garden, and found a suit of rusty armor, which came to life as Merl entered the garden. It challenged Merl and told him that we could only enter the garden if we swore to not take anything from the garden. I agreed to the oath and was able to see the rose, and all the other flowers that inspired passions, but I took nothing. Merl announced that he would take the rose and the rusty armor attacked. Merl and I fought the armor, and Marius sneaked past us to try to get the rose. We defeated the rusty guardian, and Merl and Marius attempted to get to the rose, fighting snakes and a maze to get through. Marius failed. Merl made it through the maze, but when he got to the flower, the woman convinced him to get a flower to incite his hatred for Saxons instead of the rose. Merl also took a flower for Marius that would invoke his passion against Vithalin.

We returned to get Vithalin,and Merl told her that she had been released. Merl went to find Titania and told her that he failed at his quest. She told him that it was of no concern as the flower was not hers.

When we returned, we heard that Giles and the Duke had taken London. The rest of our knights went with the king and attacked Somerset, taking the city of Dorset. We heard that King Ydris had brought reinforcements for Mark. Raiders from Cerdic disrupted our crop production. In the north, King Lot invaded Malahaut, forcing the Centurion King's army to retreat.

Posted with Blogsy

506

Baldulf

Court this year was held in Eschavolon, where I had to go to swear the fealty of Salisbury to Nanteleod's kingdom. Everyone of importance in Salisbury went.

At court, we noticed that Morgan had a number of ladies waiting on her, but none were nobles. Also, a number of knights followed her around, including Giles.

A group of knights from Cornwall were also in attendance, and made everyone nervous.

Nanteleod announced that the Collegium had voted that he should be High King. He also said that he was going to give the land of Avalon to his wife, Morgan, and he announced that Sir Elain was his son, and he named him his heir.

During the night, Prince Mark of Cornwall and Prince Elain taunted each other throughout the night, and they seemed to hate each other.

Leslie

Late at night, Kay told us (me, Marius, and Merl) that Morgan had told him that there was a creature in the woods called the Great Huntsman and that we could get great glory from killing it. We headed into the woods and waited, but we didn't find anything. While we were joking around, we heard laughter, and realized that we had been followed by Robert and Arthur. And at that point, the Huntsman appeared with his pack of spectral dogs. We battled.

We demolished the dogs, but could not hurt the Huntsman. Marius grabbed Robert and rode away. The Huntsman charged after them, and an old, bearded man stepped out of the woods and scared off the creature. In talking with him, we learned that his name is Merlin.

He told us that the way to kill the Huntsman is only known by Magog of the Forest Savage. Marius suggested that we could give Robert to Merlin for safekeeping until we found a way to kill the Huntsman. We refused the suggestion and headed to the Forest Savage.

Kay and I argued about who was smarter before we ran into some laughing magpies. One of the magpies said that it was watching us, and I slew it. The other magpies flew away, and we continued on. The road got darker. We crossed a dangerous bridge and found ourselves in front of a castle. A man stood by the road and called out to us, and invited us into the castle of Sir Garmin. In the castle, we found all sorts of pleasures: gaming, oratory, singing, dancing, etc.

Two days later, Kay snapped me out of my reverie two days later. But Marius and Merl were trapped in their dreams.

Back at the castle, the older knights realized what had happened. They sent Giles, Akalon, Damian, and Reginald the watchman to go track the missing knights. Before they left, Giles and Akalon stopped to talk to Morgan. She told them that she sent the knights out to fight the Huntsman, but she saw no reason why Robert would have gone. She also told them that the Huntsman could only harm his single prey, and all wounds inflicted on others would disappear in the morning. She and her ladies were trying to confuse the Huntsman, so he would not find his prey.

On Day 4, we roused Merl from his dream gaming. And Marius awakened as well. We moved on, looking for Magog. We eventually came across another mott and bailey castle, with the drawbridge up. The knight of the castle, Sir Eave, said that we could only pass over the river if we bested him in a riding test. We raced, and I fell off, of course. The others raced on, avoiding pits and spikes. While the rest continued on the horse race of death, I went into the castle and attempted to lower the drawbridge, while the guard tried to stop me. I got the drawbridge open, and shut the gate and told Sir Eave that he could have his keep back when he brought back Marius. He collected Marius and we crossed the bridge.

As we rode, we saw a dove fly across the bend, and when we turned around the corner, we came across a small, walled city. We rode through the city. A citizen told us that we should see Sir Felix. At his house, he invited us in, to the sound of women's laughter. We went in and saw many women. Merl wrote some poetry and Felix invited us to stay for dinner so Merl could read some of his poetry. Arthur tried to stay, but we dragged him away, and we headed on.

A day later, we arrived at a massive castle worked by silent peasants. Merl made a fart joke and a peasant laughed. When he laughed, a griffon arose out of the woods and attacked the peasant. Merl leaped to defend the peasant, and we all joined the fight. Robert and Marius were almost killed, but Kay slew the griffin with a well-placed arrow.

The peasant told us that Magog is a turbulent man whose temperament changes day to day. We arrived at the castle which is huge, but only a dwarf is there. He told us his lord would be here soon, and then disappeared. A dandy in the corner welcomed us and told us that he was the one who decided who could see Magog. The first day we had to best him in falconry to see the king. I, for a change, was magnificent and was allowed to pass into the private banquet hall of Magog.

He offered me a castle if I joined him. I made sure that he would tell the others how to kill the Huntsman. I became The Lord of Southampton in service to Magog. Magog told the others that they must go to the town of Stevington and dip their weapons in the fountain.

A servant told the group how to get to Stevington, and the group headed off. They followed the directions and arrived. They met Lady Vithelen, a most beautiful woman, who handed each knight a chrysanthemum. She told them that only an honest man may draw water from the well, and only one man may come with her. Sir Merl went with her to the fountain. She asked Merl what he is most afraid of. He said, "his father." As she talked, her gown fell slightly open, and Merl and the woman made love. She asked Merl to remain with her and marry her. Merl refused and took the water from the well.

After leaving the well, they became lost, trying to get out of the fey wild.

Damien

Meanwhile, I caught the trail of the missing knights. We headed into the Forest Savage, but got lost. Five weeks later, Giles led us into the Feywild. We came across a castle where the castellan told us that there was a man in the castle that said he is the best warrior. Giles did not rise to the bait, and we rode on by. Next we came across the castle of Sir Eaves, but we rode across the drawbridge. Next we arrived at Southampton, ruled by Sir Leslie. Leslie told a long story to delay us, and Akalon was enraptured. Reginald and I were ensnared by Leslie's wife's sisters, and Giles moved out on his own.

Finally Giles arrived at Magog's castle and passed the falconry test. Magog attempted to sway Giles to join him. He also told Giles that Giles was ensorceled, and could use his one wish to remove the effect of the spell. Instead Giles asked to have everyone transported out of the Feywild. We were all reunited, and we heard the horns of the Huntsman. Merl sprinkled the holy water, and we went to battle.

Merl and Akalon destroyed the Huntsman.

We returned to court and told our story. Morgan seemed visibly relieved when she heard the Huntsman had died. Salisbury swore fealty to Nanteleod, and we finally headed home in late September. It was obvious that there would be war between Mark and Nanteleod the next year. Kay was knighted, and Arthur became his squire.

In the winter, Sir Giles's wife died, ending the betting about whether Giles would die in battle or at the hands of his wife.

Posted with Blogsy