Pendragon: 585-586 Recap

Starting with the wife and some friends playing a proper Pendragon game (in other words, I actually got all the charts and prep and so on I wanted before we tried playing). Game was a fricking blast, we ended playing two nights in a row we got so into it.

The PKs were:
Sir Renaurd du Beaumont du Bordeaux du something else I can't remember. Aquitanian Arian knight known for his good looks and pleasant dedication to his faith.

Lady Brienne, pagan British knight, known for her incredible good looks (APP 20) and lustfulness. She even seduced Renard against his will in the course of a feast (critical APP roll).

Sir Dewi ap C-something long. A diligent and all-around-good guy type. High skills, chivalrous before it was cool, likes to spend time polishing his sword and grooming his horses type. Good British Christian to boot.

In our preliminary adventures the knights investigated a Saxon raid at behest of their knightly trainer, the Marshal Sir Elad, Castellon of Vagon castle. After dispatching the human-sacrificing raiders, the knights received their knighthoods and were elevated from squires. Lady Brienne made a name for herself during the Saxon-hunt by slaying a bear, wearing its claws, and then sacrificing some Saxon heads to Epona while dancing in the blood. They met Count Roderick, who I'm interchangeably referring to as Count and Earl, who happily agreed to knight them as he seeks to strengthen the county and realm by conferring title on any who can bring a skilled sword-arm against the Saxon menace. Bishop Roger of Salisbury introduced himself to the Christian knights, but they bored quickly of him.

Then the knights travelled east to Uther's nearby camp, where they met the Duke of Silchester (see his coat of arms there) and learned of the animosity between Silchester and Salisbury (based on Roderick's rivalry with the Lord of Levcomagus). After hearing his manner of talking mocked by the Duke, Sir Renard challenged him to a joust, inflaming the Duke's propriety. Renard was victorious, to the pleasure of all true Salisbury men! Silchester seemed to only redouble in his hatred of the knights.

The battle of Meacred Creek, however, did not go so well in Renard's favor. The three intrepid knights took to the field for their first battle, led by Marshall Elad as the lance commander. Things went well at first, the knights cutting through a band of wealthy heorthgenats with bearded axes and golden torcs. Then they found themselves in the center of the battle in the shallows of the creek proper, and here they met a group of long-spear wielding Saxons frothing with hate. Lady Brienne and Sir Dewi cut through the spear-shafts of their enemies, but Sir Renard was greviously wounded by a spearmen, and dragged back to the rear by his squire Black Peter. Sir Elad allowed the remainning two to fight on and the knights got their revense when the Marshall noted an opening in the field after withdrawing, allowing the knights to charge the long-spearmen's rear. Many were hacked down gloriously and gleefully by two remaining knights.

As Renard recovered, the knights headed back to their manors, hiring professional stewards as they were bachleor(ette)s and knew little of counting pennies. The winter harvest was not kind to Brienne and her charger died. Generously, Dewi heard of her troubles and gave his friend from Meacred Creek his second charger. The next year the knights went on patrol, after Count Roderick was not convinced of the prudence of their request to raid east into Caercolun where the knights had heard the Saxons had evilly slain the British Duke there.

Once on patrol, the knights discovered a group of Silchester knights had been impersonating Saxons and burning the hamlet of Sir Bars on the London road. After the discovery of the true nature of these "saxons," they sought leave from the Count to retaliate, which he granted while disavowing any real knowledge. They captured a nearby Silchester knight after he rode out to defend his peasants and forced him to ransom himself, earning a fair amount of libra for themselves and to recompense Sir Bars.

Additionally, the knight encountered Merlin, whom they helped to slay a giant and a nukalee water-creature. They were able to then see Merlin receive the Excalibur from the lady of the lake, and learned of his crotchety and sarcastic attitude towards knights.

After all these adventures, the knights invested the ransom-money into apiaries and dovecotes. Sir Brienne found herself an ambitious pagan gentleman to wed, as she would not be able to marry a dowry-holder anyhow. Hopefully his skill at stewardship will make up for it.