Year 486: The Sword in the Lake
General Summary
For the prior session, see Year 485: The Whispering Path. For the following session, see Year 487: The Lucky Ones.
"The boy was not his father's son; the boy was not anyone." - Tydfil the WitchIn 486, half a year after Sir Gwyn of Oxenwood and Sir Artaire of Idmiston mysteriously reappeared in Salisbury, Sir Amlyn is returning home to Winterbourne Stoke from a ride when he discovers his stepfather Teacher Brugyn bloodied and begging Sir Amlyn to help; two bandits are attempting to kidnap his wife, Sir Amlyn's mother Lady Arianwen. Sir Amlyn chases down one of the assailants while his esquire Collin subdues the other, and Sir Amlyn is able to tackle the man off his horse and rescue his mother. The man escapes, and Sir Amlyn decides to brings Collin's captive to Sarum as a prisoner of Earl Roderick of Salisbury. Meanwhile at Oxenwood, Sir Gwyn is treated to a visit from the county sheriff Sir Bedwor of Llud's Hall. Sir Bedwor is making his rounds to ensure that King Uther Pendragon's peace is being kept, and threateningly implies that Sir Gwyn's half-Pictish sons Jesse and Jordan are unwelcome in a Cymric county like Salisbury. As he leaves, he tells Sir Gwyn that Earl Roderick would like to speak with him. Sir Gwyn asks his household knights Sir Lycus, Sir Leo and Sir Bar to guard the estate from nationalist attacks and departs for Sarum. At Idmiston, Sir Artaire and his sister Baroness Viver of Slayersfort have been planning their trip to Cambria to visit Tydfil the Witch and learn the truth about their missing sister Lady Orcade of Lighthorne. Baroness Viver explains that in the Cambrian kingdom of Brycheiniog there once was a princess and religious leader named Tydfil who was killed by Saxon Pagans in a small village that has since been named after her, Merthyr Tydfil. Princess Tydfil was cursed her whole life with a faerie cowalker doppelgänger bound to her, who is now unable to leave the village. Sir Artaire is ready to leave, but Baroness Viver reminds him that he should ask Earl Roderick's permission first, as he is still on garrison duty as punishment for deserting the Battle of Mearcred Creek. The trio arrive at Sarum and discover that the earl is unavailable - King Uther is planning to host a Christmas celebration at Sarum Castle later that year and Earl Roderick is busy making arrangements. Countess Ellen of Salisbury holds court in her husband's stead. Countess Ellen tells Sir Gwyn that there are reports that his missing brother Sir Calder of Fishlake has ran off and eloped with someone, despite already being married; she promises that Earl Roderick will look into it more when he is free. Sir Artaire and Baroness Viver - in disguise as the Silver Wolf of Lighthorne - ask for leave for the party to travel to Cambria, and the countess grants it on the condition that they return for garrison duty by the time King Uther's Easter Court starts. She reveals that court will be held at her childhood home of Wynchbank, which is now a royal demesne after the death of her father Baron Gwylon. Though she is glad to have the opportunity to show her daughter Lady Jenna her former home, she laments that it may bring back difficult memories for herself as well as her ladies-in-waiting Lady Gwiona and Lady Aoife. Sir Amlyn mentions that he is not bound to garrison duty as he served at the Battle of Mearcred Creek, and agrees to accompany the countess to Wynchbank to provide emotional support. As the knights prepare to head west to Cambria, Sir Jarren of Burcombe approaches them and demands that Sir Artaire and he repair their friendship; he points out that they are now both married, so their rivalry over Lady Adwen is in the past. Sir Artaire has no time to speak, so Sir Jarren defiantly decides that he will ride with them. In Merthyr Tydfil, the group is directed to a crumbling tower. Inside, they discover many magical traps attempting to prevent them from reaching the top of the tower, but through ingenuity and the curious faerie knowledge of Sir Gwyn's squire Bowen they are able to find the empty chambers of the witch Tydfil. Prompting the witch to reveal herself through the mirror, Sir Artaire finds himself trapped in the mirror with the cowalker herself. He demands to know what happened to his sister Lady Orcade, and Tydfil sadly tells him the harrowing tale: Years ago, Sir Artaire's father Sir Pelledak of Lighthorne had met with the faerie before Sir Artaire's birth; he had five daughters and was concerned that he would never have a male heir. Tydfil fashioned him a baby golem out of clay and breathed life into it - this baby became Sir Artaire. Sir Pelledak agreed that when the time came to pay his debt, he would trade the life of his eldest surviving daughter Lady Favour and give his second surviving daughter Lady Orcade to Tydfil. Lady Favour died; however, before Lady Orcade could be taken, Sir Pelledak's brother Sir Eiffin killed her so she wouldn't have to live as Tydfil's slave forever. Since the deal was never upheld, all of Pelledak's heirs are cursed to be stillborn and crumble to clay, as Baroness Viver's son had done the year before. Tydfil offers Sir Artaire a choice; if he doesn't accept the curse, he can either return to being clay or provide his eldest surviving sister Baroness Viver as payment. Sir Artaire considers attempting to kill the witch to break the curse but instead promises to bring her Sir Eiffin, the man who sabotaged her deal. As Sir Artaire returns to the real world and explains what transpired, his squire Mervyn points out that Sir Jarren is missing. Sir Artaire pays this no mind and the group parts ways - Sir Amlyn and Collin head to Wynchbank for court, Baroness Viver goes looking for Sir Eiffin in Wuerensis, and Sir Gwyn, Bowen, Sir Artaire, and Mervyn return to Salisbury to serve their garrison duty. At Wynchbank, as Countess Ellen shows Lady Jenna around, Sir Amlyn probes ladies Harley, Anne and Marigold for court gossip. He learns that the European kingdom of Soissons, the last Roman stronghold of Gaul, fell to the Franks and the entire region has been renamed Francia. He also hears rumours that a young girl named Nimue was allegedly sent to be raised by the benevolent otherworldly sorceresses known as the Ladies of the Lake after exhibiting the ability of second sight. During his conversation, Sir Amlyn is interrupted by the arrival of Sir Hubert - the current lord of Sir Amlyn's childhood home of Appleton Thorn - and his esquire Dervis. The knights argue over their claims to the manor, before Sir Hubert hints that he was behind both Lady Arianwen's attempted kidnapping and the rumours that led to her expulsion from the abbey where she served as nun. Enraged, Sir Amlyn challenges him to a duel for the ownership of Appleton Thorn and the date is set for the following morning. On garrison duty in Salisbury, Sir Artaire and Sir Gwyn are recognized by an elderly goatherd who claimed he used to serve in Sarum. He asks them to retrieve his goat who has climbed into the foundations of a old ruined manor on a nearby hill. The knights reluctantly agree to help with the small, unimpressive task but consider giving up after the goat bounds towards Blakemoor Wood. They are startled by a loud cry and discover that a small, horned three-eyed giant has captured the goat. Sir Artaire rushes forward to help, and after some deliberation, Sir Gwyn assists. Dodging attacks from thrown boulders and swung tree-trunks, they slay the monster and retrieve the goat. Much to Mervyn's delight, the old goatherd reveals it was all a test; he was Merlin the Magician in disguise, and asks them to join him on a very important quest. Meanwhile at Wynchbank, Lady Wynflaeth pulls Sir Amlyn aside and directs his attention towards a romantic altercation between a knight and a lady. When the knight starts getting physical, Sir Amlyn steps in, so the knight draws his sword. Prince Madoc ap Uther and his bodyguard Sir Moneval come to restore the peace, and recognizes the knight as Baron Landri of Slayersfort, who sits on his father's war council. Sir Amlyn tells him that he was harassing this lady, whom Prince Madoc identifies as Lady Dyanne, King Uther's mistress. He brings the baron to his father, who challenges him to a duel the following day. Merlin asks Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire to leave their squires with their horses and accompany him through the Blakemoor Wood. He insists their mission is of utmost importance. As they approach the lake where the knights encountered Glatisant the Questing Beast many years prior, Merlin begins pushing a boat onto the lake and orders the men to guard him with their lives. They are confronted by a knight astride a green horse, which they immediately assume is Prince Melwas of Somerset as Blakemoor Wood shares a Somerset border. They quickly realize that the knight isn't Prince Melwas or even a man at all, but a horrific skinless faerie creature attached to the horse at the waist known as a nuckelavee, and is green with moss. As they dispatch the creature into a puddle of swamp water and algae, they notice that Merlin is already on the boat in the middle of the lake, speaking to someone under the water's surface. As they strain to listen, a woman's hand from the lake grants the grateful wizard an impressive sword that gleams so bright that the knights have to look away. He thanks the maiden and returns to shore, remarking that the knights have just saved the future of the realm. At the duel the following morning, Sir Amlyn is not pitted against Sir Hubert as he intended, but Sir Hubert's champion Sir Argan ap Maelgad - a legendary knight who served as High King Aurelius Ambrosius Pendragon's dueling champion and the personal "problem fixer" of King Uther. Annoyed that Sir Hubert would play such a dirty trick, Sir Amlyn initially attempts to find his own champion before deciding to act like a true knight and fight the duel himself. He promptly loses the first-blood fight against Sir Argan, and punches Sir Hubert in the face with his gauntleted fist as he storms off. King Uther personally wins his duel to the death against Baron Landri, but his moment of glory is short-lived; he is informed that the Logrian county of Caercolun has fallen to the Saxon Æscwine, and that the child Duke Lucius of the Saxon Shore and his guardian Sir Marvis de Revel were slain. Archbishop Dubricus attempts to convince him that knighting the boy was what was best for the realm, but the king quietly dismisses court. That winter, the exiled King Syagrius of Soissons arrives in Britain as a refugee and begins asking for help in retaking Francia from King Claudas of Francia. King Uther instead sends Prince Madoc and the captain of his King's Guard Sir Bellias to Colchester in an attempt to recapture Caercolun. As a result, Christmas Court at Sarum Castle is postponed until early the following year.
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