Year 485: The Whispering Path
General Summary
For the prior session, see Year 484: A Good Team. For the following session, see Year 486: The Sword in the Lake.
"There's a witch in these woods; I thought you'd like to know." - RalfIn 485 in Logres, all competent fighters have been knighted after the loss at the Siege of Eburacum. The legendary Gyddryd the Green, the large wyrm that terrorized Cumbria for many decades, was slain in an epic duel with Sir Rolant the Wyrm Hunter late the year prior at the expense of the knight's life. In Salisbury, a few months after returning to Oxenwood following the funeral of his father Sir Rolant, Sir Gwyn finds himself in an argument with his new squire Bowen - a petulant pacifist who refuses to assist in any combat-related matters. At Idmiston, Sir Artaire attempts to teach his new squire Mervyn the basics of sword-fighting, but he complains that he would rather be a sorcerer like Merlin the Magician - citing a recent rumour of a cursed baroness in Wuerensis who gave birth to a baby that crumbled to clay. The knights are summoned to Sarum Castle to meet with Earl Roderick and Countess Ellen of Salisbury, who tells them that they are to attend the Easter Court of King Uther Pendragon at Leir's Castle in Lambor. As Sir Amlyn of Winterbourne Stoke got in a fight with Duke Edaris of the Marche the last time the knights visited Leir's Castle, Earl Roderick has placed him on garrison duty instead. Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire bond with their old squires Sir Rickett and Sir Ren over the new unsatisfactory squires the four of them have. As the guests arrive at Leir's Castle, Duke Edaris exhibits the same strange bizarre behavior and fixation on his castle dungeon as he did before, still blaming it on the no-longer-recent death of his father. Sir Gwyn asks about the duke's daughter Lady Rosalyn and learns that she no longer lives at the castle - she was married in 483 and widowed in the Siege of Eburacum in 484. King Uther arrives, and court begins. Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire seek out Lady Marigold to find out if she has been spreading their rumors about Sir Blains of Levcomagus murdering Sir Elad of Vagon. They also try to pay her to spread lies about the sexuality of Sir Jarren of Burcombe, but she refuses to do so. Sir Gwyn runs into his brother Sir Maddog ap Rolant, who tells him that things have been difficult at his family home of Fishlake since he left; his brother Sir Calder has been missing since Sir Rolant's funeral, so Sir Calder's five-year-old son Nai has been tasked with running the estate with help from Sir Maddog and occasionally their brother-in-law Sir Yorath of Hallington. He confesses that he doesn't know what to do, and Sir Gwyn promises to help come up with a plan. Sir Artaire leaves to seek out Sir Jarren, but is distracted by the arrival of his sister Baroness Viver of Slayersfort, the new wife of Baron Landri of Slayersfort. He jovially starts a conversation with his sister about her new position, but quickly realizes that she is the rumoured baroness who lost her child. Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire offer their condolences, but Baron Landri is hostile towards the knights and abusive towards his wife. Sir Artaire pulls Baron Landri aside to talk to him and learns that his uncle Sir Eiffin of Lighthorne arranged the marriage as Lady Viver was having difficulty finding a match. The baron believes he lost his child due to marrying what he perceives as an inferior bloodline well below his position. Sir Artaire attempts to make peace with the baron, but he walks away. King Uther announces the grave news that they are facing new Saxon threats inspired and emboldened by the actions of the warlords Cyning Æsc, Cyning Octa and Cyning Eosa: a warrior named Cyning Ælle who had taken Pevensey and renamed it the Kingdom of South Saxons or "Sussex" years prior with aspirations of enslaving all of Britain, and a Saxon warrior named Æscwine who has been sailing near the island with unknown immediate plans, and ultimately intends to unite the other Saxons under his forceful rule. King Uther announces a muster at Sarum to fight Cyning Ælle at Mearcred Creek in Sussex, and Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire are placed under the charge of the new marshal of Salisbury, Sir Amig of Tilshead. Sir Artaire finds Sir Jarren and challenges him to a duel. Confused, Sir Jarren accepts and they set the date for the following morning before they return to Salisbury. That night, the royal huntsman Ralf wakes Sir Artaire and tells him that there is a legendary witch in the nearby Leicester Forest, and that he remembered Sir Artaire's story about his missing sister Lady Orcade of Lighthorne and thought he would like to know. Sir Artaire wakes up Mervyn, Sir Gwyn, and Bowen and they decide to leave to investigate the forest. As they tell ghost stories and make their way down the haunted forest trail known as the Whispering Path, Ralf asks if they know the legend of the Cŵn Annwn. Sir Gwyn informs Sir Artaire that in Paganism, the Cŵn Annwn are the ghostly hounds of the dark faerie king, and that hearing their cries signifies that the listener is about to die. Not long after this tale, the party begins to hear barking and howling. They find themselves surrounded by gigantic, horse-sized faerie dogs with glowing red eyes, which they recognize with some relief as creatures that do not match the description of the Cŵn Annwn. Though frightening, the dogs prove not to be hostile and let them pass without a fight. Further down the path, they encounter a spectral woman who warns the group to turn back. Ignoring her warnings, the group continues until they reach a crossroads. They decide to head west, the path towards the cave of the witch, but find themselves passing the same faerie dogs, guardian ghost, and crossroads. They instead decide to turn north. As they ride towards an abandoned village in the distance, the sun starts rising and falling at an extraordinary rate. In the daytime the knights appear safe, but in the dark they find themselves facing the spirit from earlier, joined by a ghostly male knight. The spirit of the woman kills Ralf's horse and claws him deeply, but they are able to temporarily destroy the spirits. Bowen reluctantly practices first aid on Ralf. Suddenly, King Pellinore de Galis rides through the forest on his hunt for the Questing Beast, Glatisant. The knights question the king about his quest but he is flippant about his many years spent away from his kingdom, insisting that it hasn't been very long and that he would be embarrassed to return empty-handed. He agrees to join their voyage and find a way out of the forest, and tells them that they need to destroy the bodies to stop the spirits. The knights enter the burial mound and are attacked by the undead physical bodies of the ghosts they fought earlier. King Pellinore dispatches them quickly. Sir Gwyn remembers that they need to bring a religious figure to bless and reconsecrate the barrow to stop the restless spirits, but Bowen casually offers up the alternate solution of chopping up the bodies and burning them while watching closely so they don't reanimate. Sir Gwyn is confused by his squire's knowledge on the subject, and Bowen is surprised that Sir Gwyn hasn't dealt with ghosts before. Despite the faerie hounds closing in on them and the enticing allure of gold in the barrow to distract the knights, the bodies are watched closely and disposed of ceremoniously with no reanimation. Sir Artaire loots and distributes the several golden statuettes he discovered, and they leave the barrow. As they pass through the overgrown village, King Pellinore tells them that it was once called Borewell before the forest took it over. Learning that the fiefdom is unowned, Sir Artaire claims the manor for his own. Eventually, the party reaches the cave and Sir Artaire calls inside. Instead, they find the hag Black Annis crouching in a nearby tree, gnawing on a human leg. Drawing on his knowledge of Paganism, Sir Gwyn realizes that she isn't a faerie at all, but the incarnation of an evil pagan goddess and was likely once an innocent human that was possessed. Sir Artaire demands answers about Tydfil the Witch and his sister Lady Orcade, but Black Annis instead attacks the knight and spits acid on him, completely destroying his armour. As King Pellinore's powerful blows barely scratch the hag, Sir Artaire is frozen in fear by her bloodcurdling screech and is slashed savagely by her long metal claws. Severely wounded, he insists on staying and fighting, but Sir Gwyn drags him away and wisely orders that they retreat. At the edge of the forest, King Pellinore says his goodbyes and retreats into the forest on his endless hunt. As the knights return to Leir's Castle, they are confused as it begins to snow in early spring. They find the castle empty, and head into the local city of Leicester. They have Ralf and Sir Artaire's wounds treated at a chirurgeon, who is puzzled and tells them that it is now winter. They tell him of their adventure in the forest, and he informs them that it is nicknamed The Forest Sauvage and is known for being a hotbed of magical activity. The knights leave Ralf with the chirurgeon and return to Sarum, where Earl Roderick is shocked to learn they are alive and scolds them for disobeying his orders and failing to report to duty at the Battle of Mearcred Creek more than half a year earlier. His infant daughter Lady Jenna is brought in by her lady-in-waiting Lady Aoife, so he dismisses the knights and promises that he will decide their punishment later. Sir Gwyn returns home and everyone at Oxenwood is surprised that he is alive after months away. He is told by his household knights that the Battle of Mearcred Creek against Cyning Ælle was not a successful battle; Duke Gorlois of Cornwall didn't arrive, and it's possible that the fight may have been a decoy so that a temporarily allied Cyning Æsc and Æscwine could attack Colchester in Caercolun. The army of Duke Lucius of the Saxon Shore was entirely unprepared for the ambush, and many knights were slaughtered and enslaved. Before returning home, Sir Artaire journeys to Burcombe to fight Sir Jarren in his duel scheduled for seven months prior. Lady Adwen of Burcombe is stunned, and divulges that they held a funeral for Sir Artaire months ago. Sir Jarren refuses to fight, recognizing that Sir Artaire is wounded and delirious, and has one of his household knights escort him home to Idmiston. As Sir Artaire prepares to sleep, Baroness Viver bursts in, saying she has been looking for Sir Artaire and announces that they have located the witch Tydfil. The siblings begin to form their plan. Sir Artaire's wounds continue to be treated by the local chirurgeon in Sarum, but not without infection. A few months after the reveal of Sir Artaire's survival, he marries Countess Ellen's lady-in-waiting Lady Gwiona in a small ceremony at the new chapel at Idmiston arranged by Earl Roderick, all while still secretly longing for Lady Adwen.
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