Year 499: Black Annis
General Summary
For the prior session, see Year 498: On Moral Grounds. For the following session, see Year 500: Knighthood, Redefined.
"I remember you. I can smell it in your blood." - Black AnnisThere is an uneasy air in Britain. Half the island breathes a sigh of relief now that their bogeyman Merlin the Magician has finally fled to Europe and beyond, and half worries about a bleak future without the powerful archdruid. Tensions are rising between the southern Saxon kingdoms who are occupying former counties of Logres, and the undefeated King Idres of Cornwall is steadily expanding his kingdom as he marches east and conquers Logrian counties as well. In Idmiston the county of Salisbury, the unruly household is again in chaos with the addition of Blaen's controversial new Saxon wife Lady Audrey and their daughter. Blaen's cousin Dowager Lady Viver of Blackdown is stressed because her seemingly cursed, troubled young son Dafi of Blackdown - now resembling a man 20 years of age - has been killing animals again. Their ward Lady Clover of Meadowstream has also gone missing, alongside a substantial amount of money. At wits end, Lady Viver asks Blaen to let Dafi accompany him to the Inner Council of Sarum meeting to teach him how to be a proper knight. Observing the interaction, Lady Audrey asks Blaen why they keep Dafi around, insisting that he is not Lady Viver's son. Blaen explains that other members of the council had encountered a creature named Gorboduc the Fiend who bore similarities to Dafi, and that he was born of a woman and an incubus - meaning that despite being half-faerie he is, in fact, Lady Viver's child. Lady Audrey mocks Blaen's Cymric lack of understanding of faerie lore and points out that Merlin himself was the son of an incubus and a woman and doesn't resemble Dafi at all; she claims that Dafi appears to be what Saxons refer to as a "Wechselbalg" - a type of faerie doppelgänger that Cymri know as "cowalkers", like Tydfil the Witch. She notes that cowalker faeries normally don't age at such an extreme rate and wonders if the human person he is tethered to is hidden away in the Faerie Realm, where time moves differently. Blaen resolves to take Dafi to the Forest Sauvage to solve this puzzle before it is too late. In Oxenwood, Sir Alwyn of Oxenwood is awoken by the missing Lady Clover, demanding that they get married as soon as possible. She claims that her father is the late baron of Meadowstream, which is why she was high enough status to become a ward of King Uther Pendragon, and if Sir Alwyn marries her, he will become a baron - on the condition that he doesn't ask any questions. Eventually, he is able to draw the partial truth from her: The money she is claiming is her dowry is actually money she had stolen from Idmiston when she left, and she is looking to launder it through Sir Alwyn. Satisfied with the answer and amused at the prospect of stealing from his former squire Blaen, Sir Alwyn agrees to accompany the lady to a Pagan priest and elope. After consummating their marriage, Baron Alwyn leaves to Sarum for the Inner Council meeting. At Sarum Castle, Blaen, Dafi, and Baron Alwyn arrive and are quickly joined by Countess Regent Ellen of Salisbury, Sir Edward of Upavon, Sir Drystan of Tilshead, and Brother Bowen. They are informed that Teacher Bolton is attending to other business and will join them later. Blaen notices Lady Jenna of Sarum in mourning black over her betrothed Sir Blains of Levcomagus, who was secretly killed by Baron Alwyn the year prior, but is believed to have died in a Saxon raid. He comforts the daughter of the countess before his socially inept cousin Dafi uncomfortably inserts himself in the situation. Calling the council meeting into session, Countess Ellen introduces two new members of the council - elderly spinsters Lady Indeg, a long-standing resident of Sarum Castle, and Lady Harley, a former lady in King Uther's retinue who relocated to Salisbury following the Feast at St Albans. The council receives summons from the powerful Saxon warlords Cyning Ælle of Sussex, Cyning Æscwine of Essex, and Saxon prince Ætheling Kinniarc of Kent, and chooses to ignore them for now. For their first order of business, the knights of the council instead decide to meet with their own Saxon ally, Cyning Cerdic of Wessex. At White City, which the Saxon king has now renamed to Winchester, Cyning Cerdic reminds the knights of their assassination of Sir Blains, the citylord of Levcomagus. He details his plan to capture the now-lordless city as a strategic stronghold during the inter-Saxon tensions, but explains that it is in the county of Silchester - which puts it under the ownership of Cyning Ælle of Sussex and Duke Ulfius of the Vale, and under protection by the strongest military force in Logres. The knights decide to travel east and answer the previous summons from other Saxons, hoping to forge an alliance that will allow them to take Levcomagus. First, the knights decide to stop by Canterbury in Kent to answer the summons from Ætheling Kinniarc. The prince is surprised to see the knights, claiming that he was expecting to travel to Salisbury and was not prepared to receive them at the castle, and asks to to meet in a field outside Kent instead. The knights eventually acquiesce. In the field, Ætheling Kinniarc reluctantly explains that he personally reached out for an alliance behind the back of his father Cyning Æsc of Kent, because the king hates the Cymri and is bitter about his own father Cyning Hengest's death at the hands of Duke Eldol of Glevum, his own defeat at Battle of Salisbury by Duke Gorlois of Cornwall almost 20 years prior, and both dukes' deaths before he could enact his revenge. The prince then details his terms for the alliance, which he intends to hide from his father until the deal is complete: Salisbury will help replenish and rebuild Kent, a kingdom which has been falling to ruin in recent years, and in turn will gain access to one of the strongest Saxon armies in southern Britain. However, he insists that they are to break their alliance with Wessex, refusing to allow them to ally with any other Saxons - even his own cousin, Cyning Cerdic. The council considers the offer, but when they press the prince over his bizarre condition, they learn that Ætheling Kinniarc is fully convinced that the armies of Kent, Wessex, Essex, and Sussex will meet on the battlefield the following year to determine the Bretwalda or "Britain-wielder", the Saxon version of High King of Britain. He refuses to ally with other Saxons because he believes that they will be forced to kill each other, as only one Saxon king can wear the crown. Instead, he is seeking help from Cymri knights and mercenaries. With their illusions of the prince's intelligence quickly disappearing, they find themselves unable to take his conspiracy theories seriously and decline his offer. Pressing on south to Pevensey in Sussex, the council meets with Cyning Ælle. He again extends his offer for an allegiance and the two parties begin renegotiating - until the council learns that the king's terms have not changed at all since they last refused his offer. He explains that he is only reaching out to Salisbury again as a courtesy, as he intends on going to war against Kent next year and conquering the unsuspecting neighbouring kingdom - at which point he will have an unstoppable army, and will crush Salisbury for not joining his alliance. Baron Alwyn openly mocks Cyning Ælle, revealing that Kent is already preparing for what they believe will be a war against three other Saxon kingdoms anyway. Blaen scolds Dafi after the youth attempts to personally accept the deal on behalf of Salisbury. After thoroughly ridiculing the king, the council refuses Cyning Ælle's offer and ride to Essex. In Colchester, Cyning Æscwine openly admits to the council that he and his armies are still recovering from their battles against the lords of Hartland and do not have the strength to both continue his war against Salisbury and fight off increasing attacks from neighbouring Saxon kingdoms. Knowing that Salisbury is also weak and open to attack, he states that he is willing to waive the previous demands for tribute if Salisbury agrees to ally with Essex - however, future tributes will still be expected. Refusing the conditions, Baron Alwyn instead offers a stalemate, where the Saxon kingdom and the Logrian kingdom will not be allies but will not openly pursue war against one another, either. As a show of good faith, he divulges the plans of Kent and Sussex's armies for the next year. Despite Dafi's chaotic attempts to sabotage the deal, Cyning Æscwine is intrigued by the revelation, and agrees to the stalemate. The war between Essex and Salisbury officially ends. Making the long trip to Wessex once more, the council informs Cyning Cerdic of the developments and plans of the three other southern Saxon kingdoms. Cyning Cerdic points out that since they are preparing and seeking mercenaries, Kent just might have enough men to fight back against the powerful army of Sussex. The councilmembers suggest that the best time to seize Levcomagus will be when the armies of Sussex are distracted by the fight, and Cyning Cerdic agrees. The knights decide to return home to inform the countess of their missions. At Sarum Castle, the knights meet Countess Ellen's new lady-in-waiting, Lady Saffron - who Blaen and Baron Alwyn immediately recognize as Baron Alwyn's new wife, Baroness Clover. The new baroness claims she has never met either of them in her life, so they set out to prove to the countess that she is not to be trusted. Baron Alwyn leaves to find the priest who performed their wedding ceremony, discovering that he was a vagrant that was paid off and not an actual officiant, and realizes that he is not actually a baron at all. Blaen returns with his other wards Kyffin of Winterbourne Stoke and Nyneve of Idmiston, whom he expels from his household after they refuse to identify their adoptive sister. Eventually, Sir Alwyn is able to goad Lady Clover and catch her in a lie, and Countess Ellen dismisses her from service immediately. Meanwhile, at Winterbourne Stoke, Teacher Bolton is showing Mars his research into female warriors from Rome. He deduces that, as Mars is Roman, there should be no reason she can't be knighted as a technical loophole. They leave to the capitol city of Sarum, where Countess Ellen agrees to knight both Mars and Blaen the following year. The council meeting resumes, and Teacher Bolton informs them of new developments in the realm - King Nanteleod of Escavalon is marrying Princess Alene of Somerset next year, several hundred mercenaries from Europe have been camping at Uther's Shame and trying to find the best rates from Saxon kingdoms, King Idres of Cornwall is sieging Salisbury's neighbouring county of Jagent in his conquest of Logres, and Dowager Baroness Rosalyn from Behind the Waters - the acting duchess of the Marche - is requesting aid in destroying the hag Black Annis in the Leicester Forest. Recognizing that Leicester Forest is a known gateway to the Forest Sauvage and the Faerie Realm, Blaen persuades the council to take up the latter cause, and they agree. The councilmembers arrive at Leir's Castle in Leicester, where Baroness Rosalyn reveals that Black Annis attacked and badly wounded her daughter Lady Winnie when playing in the forest, so she has consulted with priests and historians to find a way to defeat the monster once and for all. She explains that in order to prevent the hag from rematerializing days after her defeat, they first must kill Black Annis, then a priest must soak a dead black cat in aniseed oil and drag it from Leir's Castle to her lair. Noting that this task has been made considerably more difficult by the emergence of the mysterious winding Forest Sauvage, the dowager baroness intends on using a secret tunnel that was installed in the castle dungeon that leads to Black Annis' lair. She admits that her father Duke Edaris of the Marche was obsessed with defeating Black Annis, and fixated on this tunnel - and by extension, the dungeon - as a result. Stating that Black Annis would know they were coming if they used the tunnel, they form a plan to attack Black Annis in the forest, then use the tunnel for the cat ceremony. With Sir Alwyn using Merlin's Sundial to prevent the strange time-bending effects of the Faerie Realm, the council enters Leicester Forest with a group of Leicester knights. Following the trail, they stumble across Borewell - an abandoned village and manor belonging to Blaen and Dafi's late relative Sir Artaire. Noticing a candle burning in the window, they decide to pay a visit and clear the place of squatters. When Blaen attempts to open the door, he is swiftly attacked by an old man - whom Mars recognizes as Lady Viver's old esquire Mervyn, esq., but much older. Mervyn explains that he has lived in the forest for many years, as he was tasked to raise Lady Viver's son Dafi. He calls into the manor, and the real Dafi emerges from the manor and reunites with his cousin Blaen, while the faerie cowalker hisses and scrambles off. Mervyn shocks Blaen when he reveals that he received his orders from Blaen's own mother Lady Briant of Lighthorne. As Blaen tries to process this information, Mervyn and the real Dafi are invited to join them in killing Black Annis and returning to Idmiston. Remembering that his very first outing as squire involved performing first aid on Sir Artaire after he was almost killed by the hag, Mervyn resolves to join the fight. After some time, the party arrives at Black Annis' lair, where she is eating a child. Noticing the group, she states that she recognizes them through their bloodline - having fought Blaen's cousin Sir Artaire and Sir Alwyn's uncle Sir Gwyn before. She paralyzes Mars with a bloodcurdling screech, and deeply wounds and incapacites her with a slash from her metal claws. The knights fight bravely, but Sir Drystan and Sir Edward are also severely injured and several of the Leicester knights die. Eventually, Mervyn is able to kill the hag with his spear. Retrieving their dead and wounded, they return to Leir's Castle to instruct Baroness Rosalyn to begin the ritual. The heavily scarred Lady Winnie is grateful, and thanks the knights for killing the hag so no one else needs die. Sir Alwyn, realizing he isn't actually legally married, flirts with the young lady. The council parts ways and returns to their homes in Salisbury. They are informed by messengers that Jagent has surrendered to Cornwall, and fear that Salisbury may be next. Sir Alwyn finds his home looted, presumably by a departing Lady Clover, but verifies that she did not discover his hidden cache. Over that winter, the European mercenaries at Uther's Shame pledge to join Kent in their battle against Sussex. Sir Alwyn marries Lady Winnie and gains a peerage, becoming the baron from Behind the Waters, and lord of the Castle from Behind the Waters. They give birth to a daughter. As Dafi and Mervyn struggle to assimilate to normal life outside the forest, Lady Audrey bears Blaen a son.
Rewards Granted
Through marriage, Sir Alwyn of Oxenwood gained the title of baron.
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