Chronicle of the Year of Breaking Trusts,

Five Hundred

Being an Account of Trolls Hired, Alliances Broken, and One Very Large Man With a Very Loud Mace

Session Summary

• The knights entered the forest above Oddstock and found no tracks — confirming their suspicion that the raiders were arriving by river, not overland.
• Deep in the wood, Arianrhod spotted one of Seaxwulf's men watching them. Emma's flawless courtesy persuaded him to lead the party to Seaxwulf's camp.
• Emma revealed her theory to Seaxwulf: this was no monster, but humans with axes. Seaxwulf grudgingly agreed to split the search, sending the knights to the north bank while his men took the south.
• Arriving at Bodenham, the knights found the gates smashed and villagers bloodied. Seaxwulf had visited first, killed the headman for refusing entry, and slaughtered more out of spite.
• Sir Aur, his hatred of Saxons at full boil, formally challenged Seaxwulf to a duel. Seaxwulf accepted. Sir Aur rolled two criticals in succession and knocked the Saxon berserker unconscious in a single blow, then stripped him of coin, axe and chainmail.
• The knights crossed the Ebble by boat and waded through the northern marshes on foot. On a camouflaged island they found a stockade — inside, two trolls, long-armed and obscenely strong, with four families of captive Saxon villagers. The trolls had been hired by someone unknown, were paid in gold, and were targeting Saxons specifically. The knights killed both.
• Returning to Sarum, the knights reported to Countess Ellen. She dispatched a diplomatic gift to Cerdic to smooth over the Seaxwulf incident, and revealed that Princess Morgana of Cornwall — stepdaughter of Uther, now residing in Amesbury — may know something of the trolls' origins.
• Winter phase completed. The year 500 ends.

Dramatis Personae

• Lady Drusilla of Figsbury, the Devout
• Sir Euric of Aquitaine, the Ardent
• Sir Aur of Lambor, the Steadfast
• Lady Arianrhod, the Sharp-Eyed
• Lady Emma of Caerwent, the Far-Sighted
• Seaxwulf — Saxon warrior of Wessex; formerly terrifying; currently recuperating from a sucking chest wound
• Countess Ellen — Lady of Salisbury
• Princess Morgana — stepdaughter of Uther Pendragon, daughter of the Duke of Cornwall; resident of Amesbury; reportedly knows things about trolls

A Chronicle of the Year of Betrayals,

Five Hundred

Being an Account of Saxon Wolves, a Monster That Walks, and a Town That Was Not There Last Year

Set down by the Clerk

Session Summary

• Countess Ellen's court convened to distribute Salisbury's first real surplus in living memory. Euric's exceptional stewardship advice unlocked 40 libra for kingdom investment.
• The knights split their vote along fealty and self-interest lines, forcing a compromise: Sarum's central keep was completed, and a port town, Brenicote, was founded near Amesbury to draw pilgrim trade. Drusilla topped up the last libra needed to finish the moat around Sarum.
• Two Saxon embassies arrived at court seeking Salisbury's sword-arms for other people's wars. The knights declined both and chose instead to raid Ryderchan on their own terms.
• Lady Emma timed the raid with extraordinary precision, but the execution fell short; the haul was modest. The plunder was quietly redirected to Salisbury's treasury regardless.
• Countess Ellen summoned the knights alongside Seaxwulf, a formidable Saxon warrior sent by Wessex, to hunt a monster attacking border villages. Seaxwulf refused cooperation and rode out alone to claim the glory.
• The knights rode south, questioning villages along the Ebel. Rumours spoke of a night creature that tears down walls and steals women and children.
• At Oddstock, they found a palisade wrenched apart and two buildings still smouldering. Emma examined the body of Odric, a Saxon settler: split by a single blow from a massive axe. The knights exchanged a look. This was no monster.
• News from the wider world: King Nanteleod has broken the Irish hold on southern Wales and founded a new kingdom. The year is not short of portents.

Dramatis Personae

• Lady Drusilla of Figsbury, the Devout
• Sir Euric of Aquitaine, the Ardent
• Lady Arianrhod, the Sharp-Eyed
• Lady Emma of Caerwent, the Far-Sighted
• Countess Ellen — Lady of Salisbury, their liege
• Countess Eloise de Wallingford — rightful lady of Ryderchan, exiled, currently a guest of Salisbury
• Seaxwulf — Saxon warrior of Wessex; terrifying; not interested in allies
• Godhelm Ashmere — newly appointed mayor of Brenicote, formerly a secular clerk to the nunnery at Amesbury

A Chronicle of the Year of Mary Triumphant,

Four-hundred and Ninety-Nine

Being an Account of a Demon Slain by Lance and Faith, and of Fire That Blessed as Well as Burned

Session Summary

• Drusilla fumbled her Prudence and immediately charged Gorboduc across the open field, invoking her Devotion to the Virgin Mary.
• Her lance shattered on Gorboduc's shield; his shattered equally, but his horse did not survive the exchange — Drusilla's force doubled his endurance and he was unhorsed.
• Sir Euric rode in with Devotion to God blazing, scored a critical strike; Gorboduc fumbled his defence and took catastrophic damage. The demon-knight fell.
• Gorboduc erupted in demonic flame on death, burning Drusilla to within an inch of her life. Sir Euric was untouched by a miracle of spiritual resilience. Arianrhod arrived one beat behind and extinguished the flame by the grace of her own spiritual fortitude.
• Emma shot Drusilla's Andalusian charger to drag it clear of the fire.
• The remaining bodyguards and mounted reinforcements were defeated; Sir Aur held the flank throughout, body-blocking two bodyguards to protect the others.
• Drusilla attempted to consecrate the freed village church but fumbled — St Helen of the Wells, the church's established patron, was not pleased by a Marian override. A magpie led the party to Lonnazep, a priest was fetched and the church was reconsecrated properly.
• The bandits' liberated coin was donated to the church; all five knights received ten glory each. The session closed as the year turned to 500, with Drusilla undertaking a barefoot pilgrimage to Holywell in London as penance.

Dramatis Personae

• Lady Drusilla of Figsbury, the Devout
• Sir Euric of Aquitaine, the Ardent
• Sir Aur, the Steadfast
• Lady Arianrhod, the Sharp-Eyed
• Lady Emma of Caerwent, the Far-Sighted