Year 490: Prisoners of Courtesy
General Summary
For the prior session, see Year 489: The Fair of the Woods. For the following session, see Year 491, Part I: Castle Terrabil.
"Sir Gwyn of Oxenwood, you are under arrest for crimes against King Uther Pendragon and his people." - Sir Bedwor of Llud's HallEarly in 490, "Centurion" King Héraut de Après of Malahaut has barricaded the city of Eburacum to protect against invading Saxon warlords Cyning Octa of Nohaut and his cousin Cyning Eosa of Deira, who have been pillaging their way through Malahaut towards northern Logres near Linden in an attempt to draw out King Uther Pendragon and claim his magical sword Excalibur for Cyning Eosa, to match Cyning Octa's magical axe. In Salisbury, Sir Artaire of Idmiston is visited by Prince Melwas of Somerset, who instructs him that his father the Magician King has sent him and Princess Alene on a rare visit outside Somerset to assist Sir Artaire in capturing his uncle, Sir Eiffin of Lighthorne. The prince tells Sir Artaire that they have met with Tydfil the Witch for information, and their plan is to take place at King Uther's annual Easter court at the Red Tower in Wuerensis. He warns Sir Artaire to stick to the plan no matter what happens, and Sir Artaire agrees. At Oxenwood, Sir Gwyn is asleep, having sent his sons Jesse and Jordan off to become pages for Sir Murdoch of Horsington. Suddenly, Sir Gwyn and his heavily pregnant wife Lady Aoife are awoken by someone outside the house. Sir Gwyn gets up to investigate and discovers the Gallic King Syagrius of Soissons, who has been wandering the countryside demanding hospitality. Sir Gwyn reluctantly agrees to let the exiled king stay the night, planning on depositing him upon Earl Roderick of Salisbury in the morning. He awakens to the king attempting to seduce his wife and decides to take him to Sarum early. Sir Artaire, Sir Gwyn and King Syagrius arrive at Sarum Castle and are told that Sir Amlyn of Winterbourne Stoke has requested local garrison duty to watch over his ill wife, Lady Elaine. The two knights are to report to the Red Tower, where King Uther will detail his plan in fighting Cynings Octa and Eosa. King Syagrius immediately demands the earl's support in exacting his revenge on Prince Madoc ap Uther for abandoning him at the Invasion of Francia years earlier. After politely avoiding the increasingly pushy demands as they discuss what to do with the exiled king, the knights and the earl eventually tells King Syagrius that they will not be assisting his quest. He emptily swears vengeance on them as well and leaves. At the Red Tower, Earl Roderick of Salisbury coldly admonishes Earl Artgualchar of Wuerensis for executing his nobleman Sir Jarren of Burcombe without notifying him. Earl Artgualchar, unfazed, admits that he didn't feel it was necessary. Sir Artaire tracks down his uncle Sir Eiffin and asks to speak to him without his guards, but Sir Eiffin again pretends he is unaware of any problems between himself and Sir Artaire. Surprising the court, Prince Melwas and Princess Alene arrive from Somerset. Princess Alene tells Sir Artaire that they are ready, and that his job is to distract Sir Eiffin's guards upon Prince Melwas' orders. She warns him not to be distracted or to falter and leaves. As Sir Artaire and Sir Gwyn formulate a plan on separating Sir Eiffin from his retinue, Sir Artaire's deceased sister Lady Orcade walks by. Confused, Sir Eiffin starts to follow her. Sir Artaire is frozen in shock, but snaps out of it as he receives the order from Prince Melwas. He pulls a knife on Sir Gwyn and the two pretend to argue, distracting Sir Eiffin's guards as they attempt to break up the fight. Once all is resolved, the guards are mortified to realize they lost Sir Eiffin, but the knight quickly returns to his post and tells Sir Artaire to go outside. At the stables, Princess Alene sits astride her horse with the real Sir Eiffin as her prisoner. Using a technique learned from Merlin the Magician, Princess Alene and Sir Artaire travel the great distance from the Red Tower to Merthyr Tydfil in Cambria at a supernatural pace. After conquering the trials of the tower once more, Sir Artaire delivers his uncle to the witch Tydfil. Tydfil pulls the man into her mirror and lifts the curse on the Lighthorne family. Young again, she then steps out of the mirror, ominously declaring herself free and disappearing in a flash of lightning. Choosing to confront that issue when later faced with it, Sir Artaire instead attempts to seduce Princess Alene. The princess awkwardly admits that she considers her debt to him paid. Bored and dejected alone at the Red Tower, Sir Gwyn seeks out Lady Harley, Lady Anne and Lady Marigold. They tell him that the kingdom of King Pellinore de Galis is falling into ruin as the king refuses to abandon his eternal pursuit of the Questing Beast, and discuss the incredible beauty of Duchess Ygraine of Cornwall and the rumours that she is a descendant of the Queen of the Land Under the Waves. They then tell him the strange news that King Uther has refused to let the duchess and her husband Duke Gorlois leave his court since appointing them guests of honour last year. Sir Artaire and Princess Alene arrive back at court just in time for King Uther's announcements. King Uther announces that all the knights of Logres are to report to Linden Pool in Linden, where he will lead an army alongside Duke Gorlois and Duke Ulfius of the Vale and fight until Cynings Octa and Eosa are finally captured. In Linden, the Saxons have received reinforcements from Saxony and Frankish mercenaries and now outnumber the Logrian army. Sir Gwyn arrives with his knights Sir Leo, Sir Lycus and Sir Bar while Sir Artaire leads Sir Ren, Sir Rickett and Sir Bernas. Merlin intimidates the Saxons with a large illusory dragon of fire, and the fighting begins. The battle is hard fought, with the Saxons overpowering the Logrians and putting them on the defensive. The tides of the battle turn when Duke Gorlois breaks through and is able to capture Cyning Eosa. Seeing their opportunity, Sir Artaire, Sir Gwyn, and their men seek out Cyning Octa and begin to fight him. Sir Bernas is killed protecting Sir Artaire, who is heavily wounded, but the knights are able to take down the warlord. Sir Gwyn is wounded by a fleeing Frankish mercenary as the Saxons begin their retreat. The battle is declared a great victory. Cynings Octa and Eosa are taken to the dungeons of the royal White Tower in Londinium. At Linden Pool, the castle's lord Duke Corneus of Lindsey honours Prince Madoc, Duke Gorlois, Sir Artaire and Sir Gwyn as the heroes of the Battle of Lindsey. The king is very pleased with his victory, and discusses titling Prince Madoc as a duke. As they feast, Duchess Ygraine leads a group of noblewomen in a song about the battle. Sir Artaire and Sir Gwyn are immediately smitten by the duchess' legendary beauty. Sir Artaire realizes that King Uther appears to be in love as well, and that Duke Gorlois has appeared to notice. Drunk on victory and wine, Sir Gwyn ends up being unfaithful to his wife with a serving maid. The following morning, Earl Roderick and Sir Artaire accompany King Uther to Eburacum where they relieve the Centurion King from his siege. The kings agree to become allies, and feast together at the newly recovered city of Catterick, bordering Cyning Octa's former land of Nohaut. King Uther is introduced to many Cumbrian and Caledonian kings, including Lord of the Marsh King Adair of Maris, King Nentres of Garloth and King Uriens of Gorre. After hours of feasting and merriment, King Uther draws Excalibur and asks the kings to support his bid for High King of Britain. They agree, and finally having enough support in favour of King Uther, decide to assemble the Supreme Collegium for a vote the following year. Meanwhile, Sir Gwyn leaves with Prince Madoc to Nohaut and Deira to pillage the former Saxon kingdoms. They discover King Lot of Lothian doing the same, rather than meeting with King Uther. Later that year, King Uther hosts Christmas court for many days at the White Tower in Londinium. Tensions are high, as the king is irritable, and despite many requests over the last year and a half he still has refused to grant leave for Duke Gorlois and Duchess Ygraine to return to their lands. On the night of a terrible snowstorm, Sir Gwyn wakes up in the middle of the night to see a mysterious woman, which he recognizes as a Lady of the Lake, helping the duke and duchess secretly escape. Unable to travel due to the snow the next morning, King Uther is furious that the duke has broken the law of hospitality and promises revenge. Sir Artaire suspects that the king has gone mad with lust over the duchess. Once the snowstorm subsides, Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire return to dine at Oxenwood and meet Sir Gwyn's new son, Brodie. Suddenly, the festivities are interrupted as the king's sheriff Sir Bedwor of Llud's Hall arrives and places Sir Gwyn under arrest, taking him into custody.
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