518 Ad

Dramatis Personae

Sir Carabad, as played by James
Sir Emarause the Hunter, as played by Chris
Sir Hervis the Fleet-Footed, as played by Dan
Sir Pellandres the Proud, as played by Adrian

The year of our Lord 518 opened with Britain facing her darkest hour. The High King of the Saxons had landed on the southern coast, and with him traveled 30,000 of his most savage and unruly tribesmen. With King Arthur and his noble army wintering in the northern Kingdom of Gorre, the invaders had free reign to plunder and burn the County of Salisbury and the Duchy of Silchester.

On the first week of March, King Arthur rode south to Camelaird, where he assembled the combined might of Logres, Cumbria, and the Outer Isles. Yet his force was incomplete without King Pellinore and his army of long-knived Cambrians. Alack, neither of his sons, Sir Tor nor Sir Lamorak de Gales, could divine their father's whereabouts.

CHAPTER the FIRST

In which Sir Pellandres brags of his newfound fortune and Sir Carabad recounts being stabbed.

In Earl Robert of Salisbury's camp, Sir Carabad was reunited with Sir Pellandres the Proud, Sir Hervis the Long-Legged, and the dashing Sir Emarause. Over flagons of Old Sack, the joyous company recounted their years apart. Sir Carabad told the story of his triumph in the Battle of Lincoln, in which his former squire, Cibno, had distinguished himself as a lion amongst men. Sir Pellandres spoke of his new bride, whose dowry of two manors and a chest of gold had made him wealthy beyond imagining. Sir Hervis spoke fondly of his newborn son and his doughty wife. Sir Emarause, strangely obsessed with hunting after the Adventure of the Bear, described in great detail the various heads and pelts now adorning the walls of his country manor.

Their revelry was short-lived, however, as Earl Robert called them to his tent for conference. With knowledge circulating throughout the camp that the knights of Salisbury were some of the best horsemen in the realm, Arthur had requested Earl Robert to form squads to act as outriders to search for the Saxon army, as well as a team to search for the errant King Pellinore, who had failed to answer the call to arms.

After a lively debate, the knights decided that searching for King Pellinore was the more pertinent task, and in his excitement, Sir Hervis vowed to subside on only water and bread until he was found.

CHAPTER the SECOND

In which Sir Pellandres almost comes to blows with Sir Lamorak de Gales, thus beginning the quest.

After a brief discussion with Sir Lamorak de Gales, it was revealed that King Pellinore was last seen searching the Perilous Forest for the Beast Glatisant, also known as the Questing Beast. The king was most thoroughly obsessed with hunting the strange creature and often disappeared into the wilderness with his hound, Jake, for months at a time.

And so, their quest began. They traveled to Perilous Forest, where on the first night, each knight received a vision of his most vivid desires — a sure sign that they were crossing the mysterious faerie veil.

CHAPTER the THIRD

In which our heroes meet the King of Swine.

With Sir Emarause leading the way, the party discovered copious signs of boars roaming the forest, but no sign of either Pellinore or the Glatisant. Hours later, they were ambushed by a strange group of boar-knights — bipedal boars dressed in armor, wielding swords, and carrying shields adorned with a truffle-eating pig. They demanded that the knights pay homage to their liege lord, the King of Swine. They agreed.

The boar-knights led the company to a boar-sized castle deep within the woods, where inside they found a well-decorated feasting hall at the head of which sat the boar-king and the boar-queen. The knights greeted their host and told him the story of their most noble search for King Pellinore. The boar-king expressed concern over the news of these strange foreign kings and bode that the visitors spend the night in his hospitality while he ruminated upon their quest.

CHAPTER the FOURTH

In which our knights provide a rousing evening of entertainment for their porcine host.

A strange feast ensued, in which buckets of slop were poured into large troughs before the knights. Sir Emarause sampled the fare and found it strangely appealing. Truffle mead was imbibed in vast quantities and much merriment was had.

Following the meal, entertainment was requested by the king, and the visiting knights were asked to perform. Sir Carabad recited a song about Lady Elaine of Aquitane's bountiful larder, which left the boar-knights enraptured with visions of butter tubs and apple tarts. Sir Hervis joined in a dueling lute duet with one of the boar-bards and revealed that he was not only fleet-of-foot, but fleet-of-finger as well.

The boar-king was most overjoyed at their performance and offered to make these strange foreign knights his vassals. After some discussion regarding their loyalty to both King Arthur and Earl Robert, they agreed. In a grand ceremony, they were dubbed Sir Pellandres the Pig-Nosed, Sir Carabad the Truffle-Hunter, Sir Hervis de Javelina, and Sir Emarause the Pot-Bellied. Moderately intoxicated on truffle mead, the king then proceeded to tell the knights that, if their quarry was within the Perilous Forest, there was a tower half-a-day's ride to the north that would surely reveal it.

CHAPTER the FIFTH

In which Sir Pellandres and Sir Hervis steal a giant's wife.

The next morning found our knights standing outside of the tower, on top of which hunched a rock-throwing giant. Determined that they were mercenaries from Baron Brookston, the giant bade them to go away and leave him in peace with his beloved wife. Refusal to do so would result in their deaths.

Nonplussed, the knights charged the tower, and although Sir Carabad was unhorsed by a flying boulder, all four made inside. There they found the skeletal remains of Lady Anna Brookston, whose journal revealed that she had been kidnapped by the giant some 80 years prior. She had tragically spent the rest of her years chained to a chair.

In a most cunning ploy, Sir Pellandres and Sir Hervis wrapped the skeleton in the tattered remains of a dress and rode off with it, taunting the giant that they were kidnapping his wife. Most wroth, the giant began to climb down the tower to do battle with his tormentors.

CHAPTER the SIXTH

In which Sir Carabad goes mad and Sir Emarause finds his quarry.

Sir Carabad was outraged by the giant's villainous acts and sought to incite his honor, but in doing so, couldn't help but feel awful about Sir Pellandres's and Sir Hervis's questionable behavior with poor Lady Brookston's corpse. With a snarl, he grabbed the corpse and disappeared into the forest… now thoroughly mad.

The remaining knights joined the giant in battle and swiftly defeated with their swift swords. Sir Pellandres beheaded the poor lout and busied his squire with preserving the head as a conversation piece for his summer manor.

As the boar-king prophesied, Sir Emarause soon spotted the Questing Beast, Sir Pellinore, and his trusted Irish wolfhound, Jake, a mere mile away.

CHAPTER the SEVENTH

In which Sir Hervis tells a sappy tale about his family and Sir Pellinore gives up the hunt.

Within the hour, the three remaining knights had caught up to King Pellinore, who scarcely paid them any heed as he rode through the forest after his quarry. Sir Hervis lectured him about his duty to King and country, but Pellinore argued that the Saxons could wait until he had finished his quest. Only when the young knight gave a rousing speech about his newborn son and the duties a father has to protect his family did the spell on Pellinore seem to break. He reigned in his horse and called Jake to his side.

Two days later, King Pellinore and his army rode into Camelaird with the knights of Salisbury at his side. With the army cheering, he knelt at Arthur's feet and pledged his sword in the upcoming battle against the Saxons.

And so, the knights of King Arthur marched south….


Dramatis Personae

Sir Cibno, as played by James
Sir Emarause the Hunter, as played by Chris
Sir Hervis the Fleet-Footed, as played by Dan
Sir Bledri, as played by James
Sir Carwyn, as played by Dan

And so it was written that on March 3 in the Year of our Lord 518, King Arthur led his army in glorious battle against the Saxon horde that had decimated southern Logres. On one side stood the noble knights of Britannia with their gleaming armor and slashing swords. On the other stood an unruly mob of axe-wielding Saxons, Jutes, and Angles clad in stinking pelts.

CHAPTER the FIRST

In which our heroes lead the charge agains the Siege of Silchester

In the middle of the morning, King Arthur's army encountered the Saxon horde besieging the City of Silchester. Although his position on the opposite side of the Enbourne River was disadvantageous, the order to charge was given, and King Pellinore, leading the vanguard, rode valiantly into the surging waters and met the enemy head-on.

The knights of Salisbury, led by Sir Hervis, rode at Pellinore's side and distinguished themselves with their valorous conduct. Sir Emarause, clad in bear pelts and antlers, made a wild sight as he cleaved through mobs of ceorls, heorthgeneats, and thegns, at one point forcing King Aescwine of Essex himself from the field.

Sadly, in the second hour of battle, Sir Cibno was skewered in the stomach by a boar-spear and was forced to withdraw from the front line.

For six hours, men fought and died on the banks of the river, but night began to fall and a tremendous thunderstorm broke over the battlefield. The Saxons fell back and King Arthur paused to regroup his forces for the following day.

CHAPTER the SECOND

In which Sir Emarause leads a raid against the Saxon war priests

Seeking to gain an advantage against the Saxons, Sir Emarause and Sir Hervis hatched a cunning plan: they would take a small force of 30 knights into the Saversnake Forest and attack the enemy's flank. This ruse was born from the story of King Arthur's previous victory against King Lot in the Battle of Bedegraine, in which Merlin hid the armies of King Ban and King Bors in the forest, thus allowing them to strike unexpectedly.

King Pellinore was most enthusiastic and bid the knights good luck as Sir Emarause, a most skilled woodsman, led his men into the forest under the cover of rain and darkness. Their movement was hampered by weather, which made the wild forest even more treacherous, and it was well-past morning before they were in position behind enemy lines.

From their vantage point, however, Sir Emarouse noticed a group of Wotanic priests atop a nearby hill playing drums, which seemed to be in sync with the storm that was raging overhead. Determined to disrupt their sorcery, he led Sir Hervis, Sir Bledri, and the rest of his men in a charge, slaughtering both the priests and their bodyguards.

As the prayer to Thor was broken, the storm began to dissipate and the Saxons were once again forced to fall back. Once again, King Arthur paused to regroup his men as they struggled to maneuver in the knee-deep pools of mud and blood. The knights of Salisbury, having fought for two days straight without rest, quickly fell asleep in their saddles.

CHAPTER the THIRD

The Battle of Badon Hill

King Arthur's army awoke early the following day and pursued their quarry, catching them at the bottom of Badon Hill. An order to charge was issued and once again battle was joined.

Sir Cibno, still grievously wounded and barely capable of staying upright in his saddle, was determined to rejoin his unit, and fought bravely for several hours. During the fourth hour of battle, however, Sir Jaradan, the marshal, was wounded most savagely in combat against Yffa of Dierda. An argument ensued as he struggled to regain the saddle, but prudence prevailed and Sir Cibno escorted the aged knight to the rear for medical assistance.

The fighting continued well into the night, which was moonless and black. The men could scarcely see who they were fighting, and the echoes of dying men and horses echoed through the blackness. Bewildered, the remaining knights fell back to their lines to reform their units.

CHAPTER the FOURTH

In which King Arthur beheads King AElle and Sir Bledri goes mad

As dawn broke over the battlefield, it was revealed that the Saxon army was decimated — only the kings and their bodyguards remained. Determined to make their final stand, they charged for a final time.

Sir Bledri led the final assault, which found the knights of Salisbury fighting alongside King Arthur and the remaining Round Table knights — Sir Lamorak, Sir Kay, Sir Gawaine, Sir Tor, Sir Griflet, the White Knight, and many others.

At the very climax of the battle, King Arthur himself beheaded the Saxon Bretwalda, sending his head bouncing down the hill. Sir Bledri, caught up in his loyalty to his lord, suddenly and unexplainably went mad with passion for his king. He snatched the head and ran off with it like a dog with a bone.

With their king dead, the remainder of the Saxon horde broke and was quickly eliminated by the remaining knights. The Battle of Badon Hill was over.

CHAPTER the FIFTH

The death of Sir Jaradan and the plunder of Sir Emarause

The knights returned to their camp, where they found both Sir Cibno and Earl Robert kneeling over Sir Jaradan. With a rasping gasp — "The bears!" — he died, which left the Earl most stricken with melacholy.

King Arthur bade his men to take the Saxon ships and plunder the continent in revenge. Sir Hervis and Sir Cibno had their fill of war and decided to stay behind to bury the dead. Sir Emarause, however, joined in the sacking of several villages until the White Knight gave him a lecture on the nature of forgiveness. Most ashamed, he put his golden candlesticks in a sack and returned to Logres.

And so, the year came to a close….

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License