CDLXXXV - Ruisseau de Mearcred

General Summary

In this year, King Uther fights against the South Saxons, into a draw. Caercolun is invaded by a new group of Saxons, and the ducal army is defeated in battle.
COUrt Court is held at Leicester, in Lindsey. speCial gUests Sir Madoc, son of Uther Duke Lucius of Caercolun gOssip “It’s so terrible! I heard that a thousand Saxons landed to reinforce King Hengest! He’s the devil’s son, that’s for sure.” “I’ll trust Prince Madoc to take care of us. He’s hand- some enough, and he talks boldly enough. But the truth will depend on how he fares in battle, of course.” “Well, I’ll say it’s too bad he is illegitimate. No bastard will automatically inherit. It’ll be difficult, you can be sure, unless his glory is truly great when the old king dies.” “Listen, darlings, it’ll take something monstrous to get rid of tough King Uther. Madoc will have to be waiting a long time for any inheritance!” “But don’t you think it’s bad luck to talk that way?” “Say, did you know that Merlin has gone away?” “Well, he comes and goes at his will.” “Yes, but he is gone again, and at such a time…” news Madoc: “Spies say another Saxon army has landed in the east! Is there no end to these devils? His name is Aeth- elswith, but we don’t know his plans. The king has ordered Duke Lucius of Caercolun to be ready. But our army isn’t going to be distracted. We’re going to attack King Ælle, as we’ve planned, even though certain of our cowardly vas- sals are not reporting. Disloyal bastards, that’s what they are! Caercolun won’t be there, but that’s at the king’s or- ders. But that Cornwall — he’s the worst of the lot!” The army will assemble at Silchester. rOYal COnversatiOn “We are going to attack the Saxons under King Ælle. We will march out as soon as the roads are clear, with whatever troops have mustered. We do not need those errant nobles. No doubt they too are under attack from the Saxons, who must have emptied their lands to all come over here.” intrigUe “Merlin is absent because he is so exhausted from using so much magic last year to help King Uther win a victory in the Battle of Damen. But the king has prom- ised to help Duke Ulfius of Silchester. “You do know, don’t you, that the mages must sleep when they use their powers to such a great extent? And the king is so impetuous without the magician’s guid- ance. I hope he is not acting too hastily!” events Uther summons his army to meet at the city of Salisbury in early summer. Earl Roderick comes with all his knights, including all the player knights. The earl assigns them to a unit led by Sir Amig (Battle skill 19), the old knight who taught them. The new knights should feel comfortable with him leading. He is a ban- neret and also has his own 6 vassal knights. It is noted before the battle that some of Uther’s vas- sals did not show up for the muster. Among them, the most prominent absent lord is Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. Battle Of mearCred CreeK Mearcred Creek is located in Sussex. The First Charge is against Saxon footmen, deter- mined randomly using the Saxon Battle Enemy Table (Pendragon, page 213.) The rest of the fight is against ran- dom Saxon troops. However, all the Saxons are on foot, so mounted knights get a +5 modifier to all Combat skills. Player’s Unit Size: 7 + player knights Unit Commander’s Battle Skill: 19 Length of Battle: 5 rounds Battle Size: Medium Commanders King Uther (Battle = 19) Ælle (Battle = 17) Modifiers Uther has superior troops: +5 After the Battle Victor: None. Plunder: None. Glory: 30 per round. Battle Of COlChester King Aethelswith takes a short sail from Kent with his continental army and also many warriors from King Hengest. They land near Maldon and pillage widely un- til Duke Lucius musters his army and meets them south of Colchester. The fighting is fierce, but the Saxons pre- vail and the duke has to retreat to Colchester. British refugees flee into the Quinqueroi Forest but are pursued and enslaved by the hundreds. Christmas COUrt Royal Court: The mood at the Christmas court is gloomy — one Saxon victory in Caercolun and one standoff in Sussex do not add up to good cheer. The king is absolutely foul, holding many secret conferences with his barons, and afterwards they are also in an ill mood. Salisbury Court: Earl Roderick is pensive; he urg- es his new knights to practice hard at the arts of war. “This is no time for poetry,” he says. speCial winter phase mOdifiers Because of the fighting, the following counties suf- fer the following modifiers to the Starting Bad Weather roll in the Winter Phase. Hampshire, Sussex: Land was raided (+1d6) Caer Colun: Land was pillaged (+2d6)

Date du Rapport

01 Jan 2025