Well, That Escalated Slowly - A Run through the GPC (+BoU)

[SaxBasilisk]

In attendance: Sir Betrys, Sir Sara, Sir Cerise, Sir Gwefrfawr, Sir Roderick
Absent: Sir Cerise (player), Sir Roderick (player)

(SPOILERS for the Quest of the Red Blade adventure)

This is a first-hand account of the adventure of the Red Blade found in the stacks of unknown provenance. Dubious as it is, it is the only surviving account. Here it is, in its entirety:*

"Let me, Torver of Eburacum, now tell of the great deeds of Sir Betrys, lady of Kirkby Hill and Cundal, Knight of the Golden Apple, and most humble servant of the glorious King of a Hundred Knights. 

“We begin at the mighty Battle of Saussy, the final clash of the armies of Britain and Rome.  There Betrys could be seen, laying left and right, slaughtering dozens, more marvelous than the valiant Sir Ancelote** or the unkillable Sir Marhaus. She and the other Knights of Peril boldly attacked a battalion commander, but Sir Sara and Sir Cerise were unhorsed and separated. Betrys and the knights were unable to reunite until after King Arthur killed the Emperor Lucius and sent his body back to Rome in a lead coffin for his tribute.

“At the camp, Betrys spoke with me about her brave deeds and worked with me to compose a song (still in the formative stages). Sir Roderick bested her in arm-wrestling by employing a foul trick best unmentioned. Sara sought information on the Green Cloak mercenaries, while Gwef bet and lost heavily on arm wrestling and other events. Doubtless, Roderick profited much, despite rumors of massive gambling debts.

“Betrys next attended the execution of Count Uffo, conducted by Sara. She noticed that the disgraced and treacherous noble whispered something into his executioner’s ear… What passed through the lips of the dying man, no one shall ever know, though perhaps he lamented ever standing opposite Betrys on the field of battle.

“Afterward, Betrys took on the task of helping Sir Cerise seek out the Red Death Blade at the Castle of the Kite, high in the Pyrenees.  Our brave knight of Malahaut and the others made their way to Toulouse, where I introduced them to my close friend, the famous troubadour Guilbert. Guilbert reminisced with them of how he had met their parents at the first performance of ‘Owain, Owain.’ Then he cautioned Betrys and her friends to be circumspect in their dealings with King Koldo.

“On their way up the mountain path, the Knights met with local raiding knights. Sir Sara first mistook them for Round Table knights, only to have them ask if a raid on Koldo’s holdings was possible. Combat broke out, with one foe driven unconscious and others captured. Betrys watched, nonplussed, as the other knights and the learned doctor Hypatia failed to heal the wounds of the Knights Perylous. Regardless, Sara’s offer of cash to Sir Eneko of Pamplona was enough to bring him on board.

“Betrys then led the Knights to the Castle of the Kite. There was King Koldo in the depths of his hall, and a vast bulk swathed in cloth sat behind his throne. Sir Cerise moved to speak, but wisely deferred to Betrys who announced them as the Knights of Peryl and offered to pay a vast sum for the Red Death Blade. King Koldo considered this sage advice, before admitting he was overwhelmed by it and needed more time to consider it. They also informed him of the impending raid. Koldo asked them to swear fealty and ride forth against the raiders, but they considered Betrys’ counsel and demurred. The king offered to treat the wounds of the unconscious prisoner, and then stabbed him.

“The next day, the Knights were left to their own devices in the castle. Sara was approached by a slovenly young man called Pig Boy, who claimed to be Koldo’s son. Gwefrfawr took a look under the cloth, finding a vast paw. Curious and canny, Sara proposed they all pretend to get drunk and accidentally pull off the cover. Only Sara and Betrys succeeded in the ‘pretending’ part of this, but those two pulled off the cloth. Underneath, there was a massive stone monstrosity with the head of an elephant and the sucker of the lamprey at the end of its trunk.*** Sara and Betrys left the room to discuss the matter and left the creature in its slumber.

“When King Koldo returned, he was furious with the group - until he learned that Pig Boy had vanished! The Knights agreed to help find his son, promptly losing themselves in the darkness. Fortunately Pig Boy found them, revealing that his father planned to sacrifice him for his continued youth. Reluctant to abandon the tenets of hospitality, Betrys reluctantly decided to send him away with Roderick and Eneko while they dealt with King Koldo.

“So came the confrontation with Koldo and his knights. The fight was difficult, with Sara reeling under the Red Blade’s blows, but surviving. Having slain her foe, Betrys leaped in to slay the foul king. Koldo’s hall burst apart as the shrouded monstrosity slammed through the wall, grabbed the king, and drained him with his trunk. With her usual aplomb, Betrys led the other Knights away from the castle, speedily scouting the route without a horse to slow her departure.

“So it was that Betrys gained the Red Blade for comrade in arms, Cerise. Who can deny the depth of her loyalty, to put aside her oath to avenge King Pellinore to aid her friend? Keening women on an island could not hope to understand this, and should not be treated as reliable sources.****

“More information is available for another shilling."

The accuracy of this passage is in dispute.

-Excerpts from Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.
 

* My chronicler player was out,  so I had to improvise.

** I think half the players have figured this out.

*** I may have swapped the Wild Hunt for Frank Belknap Long's Chaugnar Faugn.

**** They gave up on the Island of Fairies. But the repercussions are not over.

[SaxBasilisk]

527

In attendance: Regis of Britain; Sir Sara of Shrewton; Sir Cerise of Cholderton; Sir Gwef of Broughton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill

The house of Staplefort became preoccupied with Sir Roderick's gambling debts and he paid the scutage to return home, receding into the margins of the Knights Perylous story as his family worked to win at mercantilism. This is a shame: the Parisian court that year was an elegant but boring affair, and many of the knights made sport with low-stakes duels and contests, like a horse race that Sara won by a league. So it was that Sir Gaheris staked a duel over the name of a pig that shared his name, against the origin of the name: Gwef. On the day of the duel, Gwef placed the pig in question at the edge of the jousting ground. Seeing it, Gaheris stormed off, alternating between disturbed muttering and loud outbursts about bacon.

Sara, Gwef, and Betrys were called to attend their king and held to account for being branded oathbreakers for not fulfilling a vow. Speaking for the group, Betrys equivocated and the king let them go before they confessed their targets.

In the spring, Arthur's camp was struck and they marched over the Alps to battle in Milan. There, Rome brought out a chariot of massive proportions, seemingly designed for elephants (but pulled by horses), which the Perylous knights dreamed of seizing. They never got the chance to face it, as Cerise was grievously injured in the first sally. The remaining knights Perylous found challenge after challenge to overcome, but Sara found her zeal fading by the end of the day, ending the battle unhorsed, and was remarked to be unusually subdued in the aftermath of their victory over Rome.

Cerise recovered enough to attend Arthur's coronation as emperor with her comrades. Sara, ever devout, was granted an audience with the Pope. She petitioned for her father, Nidian the Hammer, to be sainted in death and, most glorious of the glorious, to become Nidian the Holy Hammer.

The pope asked if she and her companions would visit Monte Cassino to find why the construction of the monastery was slowed down. Upon arriving, the abbot Benedict said Mass before Sara and Gwefrfawr. Gwefrfawr noted a blurred inscription below the altar, and Benedict admitted that the site had formerly been a deserted temple of Apollo.

The next morning, the abbot had a request for his visitors: to move the boulder standing nearby. Squaring their shoulders, Betrys and Sara rolled it, only to find a hole underneath that might fit a pillar. Descending on a rope, Sara found a bronze statue of one of the Kabiri. Conferring with the monks and nearby peasants, they were warned not to anger Apollo lest they suffer a plagued arrow. Cerise expressed some hesitation. Her father died at her age, so she was paranoid she would die before she married. Still, they removed the statue from the pit and went to bed, except for Gwef, who kept watch with Regis and Eneko.

The statue was quiet until dawn, when it released a great belch of flame. Gwef managed to dodge the  brunt of it and extinguish her hair. They found a daughter of the old priests of Apollo in town and she guided them to an obscured mural: the god Apollo firing arrows at a multi-headed reptilian monster.

The ground rumbled, and the knights faced the hydra that burst through the ground. As one might expect of the legendary hydra, when one of its many heads was removed, it began to grow two more. Thinking quickly, Cerise realized that the flame of the statue had been a ward against the hydra. Thinking far more quickly, her squire realized any flame would suffice and lit a torch. The twitching body and its cauterized neck stumps fell to the ground. The knights rolled the body back to the hole from whence it came and shoved it over the edge. The sound of its impact on the ground below never reached their ears and the bottom was not in sight. Unnerved by this aberration in reality, they rolled the boulder back in place.

The peace of Rome ensured, the knights took their leisure in the city. Cerise was known to wander the city and behold its mysteries, while she nervously anticipated her upcoming nuptials and gave thanks to the gods of love and marriage. Sara found a fountain dedicated to Neptune, though she continued to give her worship to God. Gwef was known to have exhausted the patience of the booksellers while looking for new texts to bring back for her mother, Sir Nerys. Betrys sought special gifts for Sir Harri.

There is a most amusing- perhaps apocryphal- anecdote about Regis being made a cardinal of Britain by the pope and [This section is marred by a beer stain.]

-Excerpts from Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.
 

[Tizun Thane]

On 12/27/2023 at 9:37 PM, SaxBasilisk said:

he pope asked if she and her companions would visit Monte Cassino to find why the construction of the monastery was slowed down. Upon arriving, the abbot Benedict said Mass before Sara and Gwefrfawr. Gwefrfawr noted a blurred inscription below the altar, and Benedict admitted that the site had formerly been a deserted temple of Apollo.

Good Idea! The monastery was built at the time, isn't it?

[SaxBasilisk]

On 1/15/2024 at 12:19 PM, Tizun Thane said:

Good Idea! The monastery was built at the time, isn't it?

I think I'm two years ahead of RW history, but there were just too much odd supernatural occurrences in Benedict's life to be bypassed.

[SaxBasilisk]

427 Session 2

In attendance: Regis of Britain; Sir Sara of Shrewton; Sir Cerise of Cholderton; Sir Gwef of Broughton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Girom of Hurcot

The year continued at a relaxed pace and Arthur's court in Rome indulged itself in games, as warriors from around the world came to the city to see its new emperor. The knights wandered the grand, ancient city at leisure. Betrys offended some strangers by expressing hatred of Saxons to a Danish warrior, before discovering they were native to the same land, and backpedaling with a flurry of apologies. Taking a liking to the architecture, Sara convinced her king to bring the Pyramid of Romulus back home with them to Camelot.

Upon his arrival in Rome, a young Pictish squire by the name of Girom had a dispute with Sir Queuex, the king's confidante, seneschal, and foster brother. Girom grudgingly gave way to the knight, but the Knights Perylous, who had seen the whole event, asked the prideful squire about what had happened. Regis took a liking to the lad and it was decided: He would join their number. They spent the next month in various affairs about the city, with Girom particularly intrigued by Trajan’s Column.

On the eve of the tournament, our knights watched Girom take his oath from King Arthur. At the subsequent feast for the knights, due to some grievous error, Sara was seated with the squires, apparently too embarrassed or modest to mention it, but she charmed her new acquaintances. Many writers mentioned Betrys' winning smile and Gwef's inebriation.

The games began the next day with the joust. Perhaps fatigued (particularly Gwf), only Betrys of the Perylous managed to make it past the first day, before being unhorsed towards the end of the second day, before the championship.

The next day came the challenges for love (and vengeance). The young Girom challenged Sir Queuex; although the king's seneschal was not struck, his own blows didn't even leave a memory. Most of the knights Perylous challenged members of the Orkney clan. Gwf fought Gaheris, apparently a reprise of their duel earlier in the year, and beat him. Betrys challenged Agravaine and unhorsed him; Sara fought Sir Gawain, whose peerless skill ensured his victory. Cerise challenged Sir Ancelot, whose reputation for skill at arms was growing (and Cerise promptly lost).

The next game was the melee, where the knights of Britain fought as a team against everyone else. Girom joined them and proved his worth. Betrys was unhorsed early but sang a song in honor of her comrades. Whenever one of their number was unhorsed, the rest would go back to help, putting the team above their own glory. It was an eventful day. The Carcassonians unmounted all the knights Perylous except Cerise, who charged them alone so the others could remount. Among the various injuries they suffered: Sara was shot by a Berber mounted archer, Gwef was overrun by a member of the Order of Dannebrog, and Girom was knocked down by a camel rider. Their victories included Sara unhorsing King Ritzard of Friesland and causing the Count of Urbino to flee. Girom made it to the final day, but was disqualified by a scimitar blow to his chest. Only Gwef and Sara remained in the end, with no spare horses remaining. Still, Sir Ancelot took the day, outperforming even Sir Gawain.

Girom came to Rome not just to aid his king, but to seek a torc taken from his people long ago and rumored to be in Rome. Pigboy spoke with locals and led Girom and the other knights to a sacred fountain where the torc had lain for centuries. Following Betrys’ inspiration, Girom offered the nymph of the fountain a gift in exchange and took the prize for his tribe.

There was a peculiar song which the knights Perylous first heard this year, recounting the courtship of Tyngyr and Lady Llylla. Rather than considering what parts are inaccurate, I'll let you consider what, if anything, is accurate.

Long long ago, the Silver Knight’s foes
Sought to keep him from his sweet lady Rose,
Come lords, and come ladies, come lend me your ear
For this is the tale of Llylla and Tyngyr.

For Llylla was fairest of maids in the land,
The dearest of prizes for knights was her hand.
She’d go down to chapel each evening to pray
Each person she gave a kind word on her way.

Sir Tyngyr, he saw her walk past in twilight
And sought to impress her with wit sweet and light,
Yet ne’er his way did she cast her fair gaze,
No matter how lofty and truly he praised.

As he could not win her with gold, song, or cattle,
So bravely he sought her favor in battle.
The bravest of barons sought her as his bride,
And Sir Tyngyr asked him to meet him outside.

The bold baron shouted, “Let us to the field,
“We’ll clash steel ‘gainst steel, and I’ll make you there yield.”
“I wish you no ill,” our kind Tyngyr said.
Two minutes later, the Baron was dead.

He rose up again, a demon revealed
With black iron sword and fire-breathing shield,
The pious Sir Tyngyr did pray to the cross,
That horrible demon found out that he’d lost.

So Tyngyr did bear that shield to the Rose
And on the ground ‘fore her he did repose.
She looked in his eyes as he hoisted his lance,
And her hand brushed his gauntlet, ‘twas not by chance.

Long long ago, the Silver Knight’s foes
Sought to keep him from his sweet lady Rose,
Good lords and good ladies, now be of good cheer
And sing ye the tale of Llylla and Tyngyr!

-Excerpts from Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

[SaxBasilisk]

AD 528

In attendance: Regis of Britain; Sir Sara of Shrewton; Sir Cerise of Cholderton; Sir Gwef of Broughton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Girom of Hurcot

King Arthur's Court was held at home for the first time in years. There were continued tensions between the Orkneys and the knights perylous, as Sir Agravaine confronted Cerise about her mother's engagement to Sir Lamorak. He believed it to be a sign she was allied against the north with her comrades in arms, seeking to avenge King Pellinore. She assured him she wasn't and she was also taken aback by the news. (Agravaine didn't care.) She was disturbed by what she saw as an admission of guilt from Agravaine, and consulted with the other knights, who then confided in Bishop Baudwin.

Sara was elevated to Baron of the Pinnacle for all her great deeds in service to the king. The festivities were interrupted by Archbishop Dewi, who told Arthur his peace was being attributed to a dead man, named Bran, whose head was buried outside London and who foretold that Britain would never fall so long as his head rested there. It is unclear what Cardinal Regis's opinion was, but Gwef's hawk apparently disapproved of her hairstyle, attacking her hair when she went hawking. Cerise's half brother Romulus was knighted this year.

That year was the test of Girom, to see if he was ready to join the Companions of Arthur:

• Sara offered him a test of valor: Girom proclaimed he would die to save the realm. 
• Cerise offered a test of justice: Girom was unsure who to compensate for an injury to an unknown party and was unconcerned with the question of whether failing to check on someone constitutes harm. 
• Betrys offered a test of vigor: Girom claimed that his passions would drive him beyond his own limits.
• Sara offered a test of generosity: Girom was unsure if he would sacrifice his horse to save his squire, as he “owned them both.” 
• Betrys offered a test of modesty: Girom would not correct the bards if they sung unearned praises.
• Cerise offered a test of mercy: Girom would take the life of a peasant who shot his eye out by accident.

Girom was sadly judged unfit for the order.

Betrys was given a cloak as a gift from a young lady, but as he moved to wear it, the Lady of the Lake spoke at his elbow, suggesting that it would suit the young lady better. Betrys put it around her and she became wrapped in flames. Horrified, Betrys tried to extinguish her, but she died anyway. Nineve suggested this was because he had stabbed Morgan when she attempted to steal Excalibur.

When the Round Table sat down to the Pentecost feast, they stopped to wait for a miracle, as per the custom. Perhaps famished this year, they accepted the appearance of a lady offering a proposition to the court. She brought a challenge to help an unnamed lady, at which Arthur demurred.  Suddenly the young man nicknamed Prettyhands rushed from the kitchen, covered in flour. The king, amused at his brashness, granted the young Sir Gareth of Orkney’s appeal to take the quest, sent out messengers for Ancelote so he could be knighted on the road, and bade him luck. Sara and Queuex went after him, Queuex to prevent his pastry chef's departure and Sara to ensure he knew what he was embarking on. Both returned to the feast after a brief meeting which left Queux injured.

There were rumors of a well possessing healing qualities at the site of Saint Nidian's death and the knights rode to investigate it. There, they found a monk, tonsured and barely concealing gold chains beneath his robe. The monk was Sir Roderick, their former companion. Sara took a second before telling the monk's acolytes that she would make conventional medicine available to those who asked, but the well was no miracle. She took Roderick into her service, though whether she did so as a measure of respect or as a method of restraint is unclear.

This was the year of Cerise's marriage to Queen Sibelle of the glamoured lands, after a decade of courting. But it was also, just days prior, the marriage of Llylla to Lamorak (who was a quarter century younger). Cerise was known to have suggested Llylla had "taken her subject's hearts," a phrasing with no subtext and unrelated to the proximity of their weddings.

Although the new Baron Sara was occupied with her duties and Nerys excused her absence with an elegant letter, all the other knights Perylous attended Cerise's wedding to Queen Sibelle in the forest where they met. Almost all of the court including the Emperor and Empress were there, as was Regis. They all sat on Cerise's side, however. The other side was filled with the diverse residents and royalty of Sibelle's lands.

The feast was raucous, starting as Gwef leapt atop a table as the last guests started to file in, downed a flagon and roared. Betrys riled the crowd into a chorus of "Fuck up the single life!" As it quieted down, Cerise introduced her queen wife to the Emperor and Empress, who seemed most pleased. Lamorak, perhaps prodded by his wife, Llylla, started a small scene, but Betrys intercepted and calmed him. Girom found himself challenged by a fellow veteran of Rome, but he called upon his chivalry and shared history to make peace. Somehow, as the evening was winding down, Betrys managed to incite the whole bunch into song, even travelers from distant lands, but all fell silent as Sir Eneko and Cerise turned the chorus into a duet by sheer mastery of the art. And then, the air was dispelled as the most debauched started a final eating contest that left Cerise and many others heaving. 

Queen Sibelle found Cerise in the shadows of the great hall's buttresses and asked her if she was ready to go, leading her to the courtyard where an entourage waited. Surprised and unsure of her destination, Cerise said yes. The Queen suggested Cerise bid farewell to her companions. Her feet next led her to the Emperor and she begged his leave to go, entrusting her duties to her allies. The queen gracefully touched the arm of her steely-eyed husband, who softened and granted leave of his service. Guenevere wished the daughter of Llylla and Tyngyr luck. Cerise made short goodbyes to her other acquaintances, and she asked her friends to look after her children in her absence.

When they asked where she was going, Cerise supposedly said: "I have given her my hand and I trust her to lead me."

In the note she left for her mother, she indicated that she intended to return, though she did not know when. Whatever other failings she may have had, she was not known to lie or take her oaths lightly. She was a trusted vassal of King Arthur serving in some of the bloodiest battle, after squiring under Sir Brastias, but she was enchanted by her own beauty and deep love; it is said that the three interlocking rings on the family's standard were for love, honor and beauty. Love always led Cholderton astray. The delusion of an immortal lover in an immortal land must have had great allure to Cerise. Some assumed that other obligations must have bound her to the far lands, though I must assume that she simply ceased to care. I put no stock in the later rumors that she was questing for our kingdom's salvation.

Whatever the truth of the matter, Sibelle's kingdom must have been far. Despite castigating King Pellinore for abandoning his lands and his children, she did the same. Her lesser sister Cass became steward. They say that the roses near Cholderton's spring grew silver from this year forward and that Cerise's young daughter, Ashlea, loved them. There is no grave for Cerise la Souris in Britain.

-End of Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.
 

Edited February 14 by SaxBasilisk

[SaxBasilisk]

In attendance: Regis of Britain; Baron Sara of the Pinnacle; Sir Gwef of Broughton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Cass of Cholderton; Sir Mary of Shrewton; Sir Girom of Hurcot

Betrys began romancing Dame Eleri of Rydychan, but was also seen boating with Nimue, the lady of the lake, perhaps receiving counsel. Aside from Sir Mary confusing Gawain for his younger brother Gareth, there was little of note in court. 

This was the year that Bran's head was excavated outside London. There were misgivings, with both Gwef and Girom failing to sway the course of events because Arthur's resolve was strong. Accounts of the excavation describe confusion, wheeling crows, and a sudden storm as the head supposedly rose from the ground and spoke dire warnings. At the moment Bran’s head burned on the pyre, messengers from across the land converged on London, bringing tides of invasion and insurrection. 

Baron Sara separated from the rest to ride to Tintagel with her eldest daughter, where she faced Sir Marhaus, an esteemed knight of the round in the service of King Anguish. Marhaus had come for a long-neglected tribute for the children of the Cornish nobles - including Sara’s daughter Rhian. Sara knew Marhaus was destined to die only to the blade of Tristan, then a squire of Cornwall. She sought and  found him at a camp in the woods. The Baron asked the squire to take up arms and be knighted, exhorting him to meet the moment. The squire, grasping at a better life for himself, asked what was offered. Promising him the hand of her eldest daughter, she knighted Sir Tristan.

The two combatants met on Saint Samson’s Isle among the Scillies. As the two readied themselves, Sara saw Marhaus’ squire treat the knight's lance with a cloth. She cried out against treachery, but the knights were already riding towards each other. Marhaus struck Tristan a grievous blow with the poisoned weapon, but Tristan persevered with the injury and the fight was brought to the ground, sword to sword. Tristan struck Marhaus with a mortal blow, and the man fled to the waters in terror, bleeding all the way. Tristan fell to his knees and asked to be put on the waters in a boat before he succumbed. Sara granted this request.

The other Knights of Peryl rode to Surluse to meet the traitorous Malahaut and ambitious Galeholt who had aid from the Knights of the Golden Apple. Betrys kept her oaths to King Arthur and saw herself expelled from the Golden Apple - ever a kingsguard, but twice an oathbreaker. There were several new knights of Peryl: Sir Mary of the Pinnacle, Sir Cass of Cholderton and Sir Girom of Hurton. With Cerise missing, Sara absent and Roderick in Sara's service, only Gwef and Betrys were veterans. The group's strength was much diminished.

They were hard pressed to meet the challenge of Galeholt's army. Mary was separated from the group after being unhorsed, leaving her struggling in a tide of enemy forces. Victory seemed uncertain until a knight armored in black and bearing no device joined the battle of Surluse on the side of King Arthur and turned the tide, but when Galeholt retreated to a castle, the black knight joined him. As the siege was about to be called for the year, Galeholt, Malahaut and Sir Ancelote of the lake left the castle and parlayed with the king. Galeholt surrendered and Malahaut begged the King for forgiveness for his treachery, which was granted. Sir Betrys’ lands were restored and Arthur appointed her to the round table in Marhaus's place.

As celebrations began at Camelot, Girom was seen speaking, as though in conversation, with a Raven. Some named it a Ysbrid in their correspondence.

The knights, burdened with free time after the uprising, decided to visit the Forest Sauvage, perhaps hoping to find some of the Saxons revolting in Anglia against Hervice.  Instead they found a castle called Felicity and its head, Sir Felix. Despite splendors and games, they took their leave, and returned to their duties.

-Excerpts from Volume 7 of Brother Reginal’s Annales Sorvioduni.
 

[SaxBasilisk]

In attendance: Regis of Britain; Baron Sara of the Pinnacle; Sir Gwef of Broughton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Cass of Cholderton; Sir Mary of Shrewton; Sir Girom of Hurcot

530 AD, the year of Arthur's invasion of Ireland and the year of Baroness Llylla's death. In winter, the Saxons laid siege to the Castle behind the Waters in the fens of Anglia, where Llylla made her home. The siege continued until the overcast day the Saxons began constructing a catapult. They had no defense against a siege weapon and it was out of archery range. Her daughter Cass, marshall of the fortress, tried to lure the Saxons away by posing a servant in Llylla's clothes and putting the servant in a barge, leaving only Llylla and a skeleton guard in the castle. Unconvinced, the Saxons kept their siege while a violent tempest approached the castle. Cass made land and charged down the Saxon's camp, scattering them and seizing the catapult moments before the storm hit the castle with a great sound of stone breaking. When the storm had passed, the castle was nothing but rubble and all the inhabitants dead except Llylla. Her body was missing even after every rock was overturned because the Saxons had taken her.

Cass went to court in a most foul mood, but ended up sitting as a model at Queen Guenevere's suggestion, regardless. It was a normal year for Camelot despite the looming conflicts in Ireland and Anglia. Girom, brooding in the forest, found Queuex and Betrys practicing falconry. Mary attempted to practice her flirting skills with some knights, who were more off-put than taken with her. Gwf was harassed by Agravaine for failing to join them in Ireland, but she asked who he was commanding and embarrassed them. A servant's letter of that year complained about the presence of dwarves in the castle, sent by the wife of King Pellinore. Sir Joran from the land behind the mountains offered Queen Guenevere a decorated belt, but when she declined, he had a fit of pique and offered the belt to anyone who could best him. Cass took the challenge and unhorsed him. Perhaps still in the moment, she made an enemy of the Saxon knight Sir Braith with a bigoted comment.

The knights of Salisbury rode to Anglia and took command of the troops stationed there, scouting and preparing for conflict with the Saxon uprising. King Yffi of Deira was in charge of a large contingent and, meeting for negotiations, was still upset about his treatment by Baron Harri. Gwef and Mary soothed his ego and negotiated a withdrawal, giving their forces the advantage in the coming conflict with the rebel Anglian Saxons. 

The battle was fought at Thetford, with Cass leading the initial charge to devastating results. Through the keen tactical minds of Gwf and Betrys, they were not just successful, but took several important hostages, further demoralizing the scattered rebels. However, young Mary suffered a grievous wound from one of their bodyguards, laying her low for a full month. Despite questioning their prisoners, the Knights were not able to find out how to contact the rebels holding Llylla and resorted to scouting the land. Girom found a castle at the edge of the fens where there had been none a month before.

An squire's account of the day:

"The castle flew no colors, answered no hails, and its drawbridge remained steadfast. We stood outside the enigma until nightfall, when the bushes came alive and asphyxiated all of us with their roots and branches clogging our throats. Bound by iron, we woke to a scream in the tower above: the lady Llylla had died and her ritual sacrifice summoned forth a horde that sounded like rolling thunder.

"The Wild Hunt laid waste to England once more."

-Excerpts from Volume 7 of Brother Reginald’s Annales Sorvioduni.
 

[SaxBasilisk]

In attendance: Regis of Britain; Sir Gwef of Broughton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Cass of Cholderton; Sir Mary of Shrewton; Sir Girom of Hurcot

The Knights of Peryl missed court in 531 AD, as they were suffering in the prison of the Saxon enchantress Camille. The castle was cloaked from view by magic and it seemed as though it was trapped in an eternal summer. Cass was delusional after she lost her mother Llylla, the last of her extended family. She treated the knights perylous as though they were her missing and perished family at a social affair, not comrades at arms.

There were several escape attempts. In the first, Gwef wrote a letter in her own blood and Girom lured a raven of his acquaintance to the window and gave it the letter. It's said that Cass was upset to see her own mother cut herself, a testament to the depth of her delusions. That attempt appeared fruitless, and they remained imprisoned for some time.

From a nearby cell, the squires recorded how their knights handled confinement (which another scribe has called "an attempt at character assassination"). Gwef was obsessed with Regis' absence and asked about him at least twenty times a day. Girom became convinced that Merlin was going to be their savior (it should be noted he had no experience with Merlin). Mary described many different and increasingly unlikely scenarios where they saved themselves using barrel hoops. Cass was upset that Girom was adamant he was not her long-deceased father Tyngyr (and confused why everyone wanted to 'escape' the party). Betrys' squire was impressed that her patron convinced Cass that it was the other knights who were delusional.

The cell became crowded as the magical flora captured more denizens of Camelot. First Sir Lamorak sought his missing wife and was taken. He learned of his wife's murder in the cell, and his sorrow was overwhelming and awkward. Next, King Arthur, Ursus, Agravaine, and Gaheris sought to parley with the Saxon rebels and were met with betrayal and capture. Finally Ancelote sought her king, only to be bound and shut in her own cage, followed by Galeholt, Ector, and Gawaine.* All the while, the king was terribly abused by his captors, and he forswore food until he was sure he wouldn't be poisoned or ensorcelled.

Camille spoke to the Knights of Peryl only once. She revealed many secrets that the group had kept from each other, such as the reason Black Annis poisoned half of Uther's court and King Uther himself and that it was not the Saxons as widely believed. She also revealed that Nerys had acquired a deadly necklace from Morgan and that she had given it to Roderick’s wife Carys, who used it to murder many. Roderick himself was a spy in the service of Cornwall. She knew many other secrets the knights had kept from each other, but the group stayed true and refused her offer of safe and final passage to the continent, under the condition to never return.

With this many worthies imprisoned and no attempt at ransom made, the Knights Perylous sought to make their own escape: Regis (the dog) had not been captured, and infiltrated the household after rolling about in the dirt. Through him, they sent a message to the army, with Regis wearing the king's necklace to verify it.

Meanwhile, Mary had seduced the maid Haehflaed, who freed them after some violence. They met the army en route to the castle. There are apocryphal claims, doubtless spread by his cultists, that Regis was seated on the throne by Queux “just in case” the king had been transformed.

They took the top of the castle and found the foul enchantress there, armed with a magical hat. The hat transformed her into a new animal each time she donned it. After seeing her transform into a bear and then a lion, Cass seized the hat and transformed into a bull**, trampling her mother's killer beneath her hooves. Girom had to stab the bull repeatedly to force her transformation back. Meanwhile, Gwef was sacking the library for her mother's collection.

There was a feast that year, in honor of the marriage of Mary and the maid, Heahflaed. Even the king attended, given the service the couple had rendered his kingdom. The knights were all granted boons by the king. They served rose water at the feast, a fad after Cass spent most of her imprisonment drinking it and insisting they were all at a "tea party". Yet Queux left that evening to prepare for the visit of the mysterious “King Today.”

-Excerpts from Volume 7 of Brother Reginal’s Annales Sorvioduni.

* Gawaine: "And then we were attacked by flowers!"

Gwefrfawr: "We wrote 'Beware of Plants' on the map!"

Gawaine: "We thought that meant, 'Don't eat local food!'"

** And now a PK has a magical hat. I'm thinking about this.

[Morien]

12 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

Gawaine: "And then we were attacked by flowers!"
Gwefrfawr: "We wrote 'Beware of Plants' on the map!"
Gawaine: "We thought that meant, 'Don't eat local food!'"

OK, I had a good chuckle about that. 🙂

[SaxBasilisk]

[SPOILERS for The Adventure of the Heart Blade]

In attendance:  Sir Sara of Shrewton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Cass of Cholderton; Sir Girom of Hurcot; Squire Edra of Broughton

Several events occurred in the winter of 531. The monks of St. Peter’s revealed a copy of Baroness Llylla's will. She bequeathed her barony to the heir which inhabited the Castle by the Waters for a year - unlikely, given that the Castle had been destroyed and there were reports of a giant nearby. Girom, disdaining the company of men, seemed to have developed a bond with the raven that he had entrusted with the group's plea for salvation from Camille's castle. 

While allowances must be made for pagan superstitions prevalent in those days, the records of 532 contain many more. I will leave them in for color. 

Gwef had a duel at Broughton with Gaheris over her porcine insults. He failed to overcome her, even when fighting outside the agreed terms.  Following her duel, Gwef opted to spend her free time this year with her husband, Harri the younger, rather than ride with the Knights Perylous. 

Whispered rumors hold that the whole group had an argument over what to do with the imprisoned Roderick. The knights opted to hold him without hearing him out, knowing he would only lie and fearing what he would do with a chance at liberty.

Arriving at court the next year, Betrys was greeted by a young knight named Sir Mordred. He wanted to express his gratitude for the Knights Perylous in saving him as a child on the beaches of Brittany. Cass was approached by Sir Lamorak and Sir Aglovale, who informed her that she was to fight for de Gales in an exhibition match against the Orkneys. Sir Girom witnessed Sir Queux in a ridiculous pantomime with some mute dwarves, and gave him suggestions - but only bad ones.

King Today arrived at court with his entourage. Sir Tustin, the silver knight, bore tidings from Cerise and her wife, presenting a harp as a gift for Cerise's lonely daughter. Sir Garmon of the Castle of Ease had also arrived to take Cass up on an offer of hospitality at Cholderton extended by Cerise. Sara exchanged angry words with some of the entourage described as “goblins” over a matter of land. 

Betrys met with Sir Tustin, who knew her father, and the two exchanged memories of the baron. Edra, daughter of Gwef, was greeted by Gaheris, who decided that the squire needed a fencing lesson - or a beating. 

Girom was tasked with showing a fairy named Sir Gorse around Salisbury. He was unfamiliar with the land, so he recruited the battered Edra to aid him. The foreigner was unimpressed with Sarum, but they happened upon Roderick’s statue of Hector. Breaking into sentimental tears, Gorse explained that he was Hector's father. Edra did her best to comfort him, then escorted him to her grandmother, Sir Nerys, who could share more about her companion.

The exhibition match between de Galis and Orkney occurred before both kings. The two teams met in the middle of the field, but as they quarreled, a fairy host assembled and bore down on them. Cass organized a countercharge, but King Today's host soon unhorsed most of the knights. Still, they were praised for finding common ground.

Being warned by the foreign knights, Sara journeyed outside Camelot into a pavilion in a thicket of trees. Inside, horror dawned as she recognized the deformed hands of Black Annis, the child-eating beast who poisoned King Uther's court. Sara refused the monster’s assistance in finding the Valley of Grief, where the magician who attacked her family lived, and she fled to the sound of laughter. This news reached Cass, whose hatred of Black Annis was fresh. Her friends cautioned her that Black Annis was both deadly and protected by the hospitality granted King Today's court. 

Betrys sought the counsel of one of Today's vassals on the matter. Sir Tustin gave cryptic advice, but Betrys was able to glean the truth from it. Black Annis was still banished, but she acted through her vassals, a cunning woman named Medi from Staplefort, and Amhar, son of Owain. The bonds around the young man could be broken, but someone needed to take Medi's place, as Owain had offered her to Today's court in exchange for his abducted mother.

The knights debated who could take Medi's place. Many agreed that Roderick was ideal, but he was too far away to bring in time. Nerys was in poor health and bore some guilt in the original conflict with Black Annis. She offered herself in Medi's place. As for Annis's young squire, Betrys supposedly threw a knife above his head to break his bonds. Black Annis shouted in powerless rage. The cunning woman, freed after four decades of bondage, was beyond grateful.

With this reminder of generational guilt and pain, Gwef wanted to reconcile Sara and Una, the daughter of Uffo she had concealed from Sara’s wrath. Sara felt the guilt weigh on her, but she was not yet ready to forgive her for Uffo's crimes.

Both courts joined in a hunt, all coursing after a single prey: a unicorn. Calling upon the crow spirit, Girom was the lead of the pack and the only one to reach the quarry, but it eluded even him as he struck at it. 

Betrys lost her way in the hunt and happened upon an unhorsed noblewoman. Betrys found her a horse, but she claimed later it turned out to be a fairy that rode away with the woman. Betrys stumbled and foundered as she tried to capture her horse, and both riders were thrown into a pool of water. The woman thanked Betrys for her aid regardless and introduced herself as Ahvielle.

There was a great feast to celebrate the friendship between the two peoples. Sir Sara gambled with the goblins she spoke with before. Girom brooded along the walls, but it seemed even he enjoyed gossip. He heard tell that Betrys's child Tegwen had won Joran’s belt from Cass by strength of arm, which seemed unlikely. Cass gifted Camille's hat to the Queen. Hearing the rumor that Sir Gorse was a cousin of hers, she also extended an invitation to him to visit Cholderton. Squire Edra got drunk early in the feast and decided to gamble; she ended the evening stricken with drink, grief, and debt, trying desperately to flirt. At the end of the night, King Today announced that as the knights of England came to his lands for adventure, his would visit England from that day forward.

Betrys left the feast early at the invitation of Lady Ahvielle. After a walk in the brightness of a full moon, they came upon a hedge maze. Ahvielle offered a kiss to Betrys if she could arrive at the center of the maze first. Betrys accepted and gave pursuit, but through the magic of moonlight, Betrys found the path difficult. Despite the passionate thoughts racing through her mind and the unexpected countenances of shadowed topiary testing her resolve, she arrived at the center of the maze a moment before Ahvielle.

Lying in the cool grass with Ahvielle, her long hair veiling their faces as they kissed, Ahvielle revealed their connection: she was the daughter of Sir Bryn of Stonesleigh, the longtime nemesis and victim of Owain. Poets of far greater skill have described the emotion that gripped Betrys in that moment: a flush of guilt, empathy and love that many claimed outshone even Tyngyr and Llylla. Dawn found them still lying in the maze, no longer transformed by the dark of night and graced by dew.

When she returned to court, King Today and his entourage were already gone.

Sir Nerys le Sorciere was a founding member of the Knights of Peryl, riding with Tyngyr, Owain, and Rhian before Baron Harri had arrived to name the group. By far the most learned of her peers, she was diffident to her duties at first, more concerned with knowledge and books in particular, but after a series of tragedies and slain husbands, she became more invested in the feud with the Saxon invaders. Her career spanned three kings, and she rode in the battles at Salisbury, Saint Albans, Cambridge, Netley Marsh, and Bassus River, among many others. She was known for helping to found the college of Oxford and her Vita Merlini, and previous volumes of this very history were greatly informed by her writings. She also committed to writing her philosophy of serving her subjects beyond just noblesse oblige, which would inspire the new king toward later reforms. She gave them access to physicians and midwives, not to mention providing a double bailey to ensure the safety of her subjects during invasions. She served as Seneschal of Salisbury and (briefly) the Sheriff of Silchester, and she was a long time friend of many powerful figures, including Duke Ulfius. Her education, skill at intrigue, fascination with Merlin, and insight - not to mention her decision to read the Red Book of Cyprian - earned her a reputation as a witch. Probably the most sensible of her companions (except when it came to books), she was rarely direct unless she was wrothful, but she never flinched when the moment came for valor. Perhaps that reputation stems from the fact that she wrote her own history.

-Excerpts from Volume 7 of Brother Reginal’s Annales Sorvioduni.

[DMMori]

Love it and keep up the good work!

[SaxBasilisk]

(SPOILERS for "The Adventure of the Best Wine in the World")

In attendance: Sir Sara of Shrewton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Cass of Cholderton; Sir Girom of Hurcot; Squire Edra of Broughton

Once the foreign visitors had departed and the royal court was adjourned for the year, Arthur had a task for the Knights Perylous. The court at Cameliard had been sacked and the queen mother's jewels lost. The culprits had last been seen heading west to Cambria.

In company with Ywain and his lion, the knights departed for the City of Legions. En route, they met a most remarkable madman: a young peasant with curiosity for the mundane, unsure of what a shield, sword, court or nearly anything else was. Apparently taken aback by the peasant's arrival from the trees, Girom had a moment's difficulty with his reins and ended up thrown from his horse and bruised for his efforts. As best they could discern, the peasant's name was "dear boy," for that was how his mother addressed him. They let him be and continued.*

The court in the capital of Gomeret received them. Queen Morffyd, daughter of Morgan La Fey was there to meet Edra and express gratitude for Nerys's kindness. Sir Sara toppled a chess board by accident while the king pursued a spirited hunt with Girom. Afterwards, Maelgwyn requested that the knights accomplish one tribulation while he sought the missing jewels on their behalf: acquiring a bottle of wine from Count Gwyddno Garanhir. The knights assented and departed for Gwaleod.

As they crossed the border, a frightful crone stopped them to warn them of the consequences of stealing away with the countess, something which probably hadn't crossed their minds until then. Otherwise, Gwaleod was a land of plenty, kindness, and generosity. Seeking shelter for the night with some peasants, they were welcomed with no introductions, with no caution towards strangers.

The court was also welcoming. Count Garanhir and his wife Countess Tryamor opened a bottle dating back to Troy to celebrate their unexpected arrival. However, two of the knights recounted visits from the countess that night, begging for their aid in freeing her from her husband's tyranny.

Over their stay, their hosts tested the virtues of the knights: their generosity, lust and temperance. Over two days, a chess competition was held, with Sara thwarted in victory at the last contest on both days. At the same time, other knights toured the dike at the sea border, noting how the waves rose and rose…

On the final night of their stay, the count uncorked a bottle of Noah’s wine (from Genesis 9) and served it in the cup of Ogmios. Others drank from it, including Girom, who partook so deeply he fell fast asleep. After the count’s advisor drank the rest before the count could, Betrys seized the cup and made for her mount, leaving the remaining knights and squires to dash for their own while hauling Girom.

A pack of knights came after them, but after a short skirmish, Betrys felled the count. The overwhelming and approaching sound of the ocean came to their ears as the sea claimed the land. Fleeing and calling a warning to the peasant homes as they went, they watched in amazement as Gwaleod vanished below the waves.

Piecing the story together, the knights came the conclusion that the count had been holding a hag hostage as his wife, restrained by the holy artifact; that it was her powers and bondage that had brought prosperity to the land against her will; that the lack of the count's preferred virtues is what gave the hag the courage to approach some of their number; and that by taking the artifact from him, they had doomed the land and many who dwelt upon it. The knights stopped by Maelgwyn’s court and collected the jewels that the lord had 'found' and returned to Camelot.

Betrys recounted what they had learned and presented the king with the cup. Similarly, she struggled to accomplish what her lover, Ahvielle, had tasked her to do as proof of her love. She may have lacked focus after seeing Gwaleod's fate. She once said, standing on the shore, she could still hear its church bells from the depths.

I have doubts about the link between the cup and the natural disaster and over the next three chapters, I intend to…

-Excerpts from Volume 7 of Brother Reginal’s Annales Sorvioduni.

* Percival: "Why are you the Knights of Peryl?"

Betrys: "We ride toward the peril, and we bring peril with us!"

Percival: "So you're a danger to yourselves?"

Betrys: "Basically, yes."

Edited August 7 by SaxBasilisk

[SaxBasilisk]

[SPOILERS for Adventure in the High Wastelands]

In attendance: Sir Sara of Shrewton; Sir Betrys of Kirkby Hill; Sir Cass of Cholderton; Squire Edra of Broughton

Some letters dated 533 suggest that Sir Mordred approached Betrys in court and asked about the feud between Gwef, his brother and a pig. Betrys explained that his brother had taken umbrage with Gwef naming a pig after him. Mordred thought it was childish of Gwef and disapproved. Cass, meanwhile, was snooping around on her brother Romulus's attempts to kill the giant holding the ruin of the Castle by the Waters. He found his efforts frustrated.

While at court, Sara heard of an impersonator bearing her family's coat of arms. Seeking him through the woods, she found Sir Tristram. Sir Sara had offered Tristam her daughter's hand in marriage in exchange for defeating Sir Marhaus, but he was (apparently) fatally poisoned in the duel against King Anguish’s champion. Sara laid the Shrewton arms on him as she put his body out to sea. Having apparently survived, Tristram had made his way back through the Irish court as “Sir Tramtrist.” [1] Now returning to Camelot, Tristram resolved the de Ganis charges against King Anguish to everyone's satisfaction through winning a duel against Sir Blamore. When King Anguish promised him his daughter’s hand, Tristram accepted on behalf of King Mark, to preserve his promise to Sara.

The Knights of Peryl made their way to Paris as part of Lady Elyzabel’s entourage. Sara bought some beautiful purple fabric for her daughter’s wedding dress, while Cass spent her time in secret dealings. 

Eschewing the elephant fight at the tournament, the Knight’s decided to explore the enchanted forest in Brittany. At Merlin’s isle, the crossing to the far shore presented a problem again, but Betrys once again displayed her family's skill at swimming. Cass and Edra tried and failed to draw the sword in the stone floating in the water. They crossed to the glass city and met the inhabitants. The people there told of the threat to King Fisherman. The knights rode to his defense, but were met with a series of tests: offering mercy to Agravaine, modesty to a hag, courage to a stone, perseverance to poppies, and fellowship to each other when they faltered. I recommend Brother Reverence's poem on their trials; his language elevated Squire Edra's mercy and Sara's camaraderie in the Vale of Gifts beautifully. [2] 

They all arrived at the field and saw the castle with the armies of the enemy gathered outside. King Fisherman offered them welcome after Cass led them safely through the enemy lines, but their attention was seized by a vision of the Grail which inspired such awe that it could never be transmitted by speech or fully understood by mortal ken without nearing the realm of the divine. Even the pagan Betrys found herself wanting to express something, but found language itself lacking. Its description must then be left to our inadequate imaginations. The non-believer Girom's experience was quite explicable: it was an unremarkable rock.

After consideration, they were allowed to ask questions, but whatever question the Fisherman King hoped they would ask, they did not. Dame Brisen expressed her displeasure, but tasked them nonetheless. Without the proper question, there was only one hope to save the realm from annihilation by the Adversary. They were given a list of those who would join the enemy and those who could stand against them. They were to gather their allies and turn their enemies. 

Leaving the castle, they found themselves in distant Cumbria. After recruiting Lord Eurain of Brandigan by promising him battle against King Balor of the Foomorians, they split into two groups in order to find everyone before the hour grew too late.

Sara, daughter of the sainted Nidian, rode with the squire Edra, while Cass rode with the heathen Girom and pagan Betrys. Sara's group found King Guinebaut of Roestoc, whose main goal was to fight Alain le Gros and who readily agreed. Next, they found Bishop Baudwin, who agreed to help and suggested they ride to Estoite to find Alain. 

Cass and Betrys attempted to convince Duke Bruenor of Castle Pleure to desist, but only served to remind him of his vow to his allies, despite his history of oath breaking. Riding to the next location, they ran into a man blocking the path with his arms hidden. He demanded a duel, and Sir Lamorak promptly unhorsed his stepdaughter. The details about Lamorak wanting to love again after Llylla's demise and other concerns do not merit retelling. [3] He had a ring from the Silver Knight and also directed them to Estoite. Before Estoite, both groups met at Wharfedale.

-Excerpts from Volume 7 of Brother Reginald’s Annales Sorvioduni.

[1] "Look, I had to pick an alias while delirious, OK?"

[2] I anticipated one person making it through - but they all did. Good job to the Knights!

[3] Lamorak: "Ah, so, I loved your mother very much..."

Cass: "Look, if you want to see other people, I get it. If Llylla were alive today, she'd want... no, forget that."

[Morien]

3 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

[1] "Look, I had to pick an alias while delirious, OK?"

This checks out.