Year 491, Part II: Castle Tintagel

General Summary

For the prior session, see Year 491, Part I: Castle Terrabil. For the following session, see Year 492: High Treason.

"I don't feel right about this. Perhaps we should reconvene at another time." - The Centurion King of Malahaut

Days after the death of the Salisburian knights Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire, the elderly Sir Amig of Tilshead steps down as the county marshal and is replaced by Sir Hywel of West Lavington. King Uther Pendragon discovers that Cyning Ælle of Sussex and his son Ætheling Cissa have invaded further north into Hantonne and tortured, murdered, and enslaved the residents of several small towns while he fought his own duke, Duke Gorlois of Cornwall.
Sir Gwyn's half-brother Sir Penwyn arrives at Oxenwood and is surprised to see Sir Gwyn's family still occupying the manor. The widowed Lady Aoife offers to leave and stay at a house in the village, but Sir Penwyn insists they stay. Sir Gwyn's old squire Tathan offers his services.
Leaving her estranged husband Sir Bellangere at their home of Blackdown and her cousin Sir Rhyladd in charge of her family home of Lighthorne, Lady Viver and her handmaiden Lady Rosemary travel to Idmiston to watch over the holdings of Lady Viver's deceased brother Sir Artaire. Upon arriving, they find Mervyn, esq. squatting in the property. Mervyn recognizes Lady Viver as both Sir Artaire's sister and the mysterious knight known as the Silver Wolf, and declares himself her esquire.
Distracting himself from the death of his wife and companions, Sir Amlyn of Winterbourne Stoke is on garrison duty at Tintagel Castle. The garrison commander, a knight from Marlboro named Sir Thebert, tasks Sir Amlyn with checking on the safety and wellbeing of the daughters of Duke Gorlois and Duchess Ygraine in light of their father's death and their mother's sudden engagement to King Uther. When the beautiful eldest daughter Lady Margawse stoically professes her undying loyalty for the king, Sir Amlyn unsuccessfully attempts to force her to drop the charade. Frustrated, he moves on to her younger sister Lady Elaine, who is emotional but safe. She expresses concern for her youngest sister Morgan, who is with her nanny and is not handling the news well. Sir Amlyn checks in on Morgan, finding the young child throwing a tantrum because she isn't allowed to become a page while in mourning and wants to see her dad. Sir Amlyn calms down the girl by giving her some coins when another patrolling knight, a knight from Clarence named Sir Verius, informs him that he has been granted leave to travel back to Salisbury for the funeral of Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire.
Sir Gwyn and Sir Artaire are buried at Amesbury Abbey and are heralded as heroes of the Battle of Lindsey and the Battle of Terrabil. Sir Penwyn comforts Sir Murdoch of Horsington, the father of Sir Gwyn's first wife Lady Illy of Oxenwood, and reminds him that he has grandchildren to live for. Thankful, Sir Murdoch decides that with no better heir, Sir Gwyn's brother is a fine substitute.
Shortly after the burial, Prince Madoc ap Uther has a royal funeral at Stonehenge and is buried next to his uncle High King Aurelius Ambrosius Pendragon. The legates of the Supreme Collegium attend. Curious, the king's distant cousin and tenuous ally "Centurion" King Héraut de Après of Malahaut asks the knights the circumstances of the prince's death. After debating whether or not to tell the truth, the knights eventually admit that King Uther started a war against one of his own dukes and sent his son to the front-line while he remained behind. Duke Eldol of Glevum calls for the Supreme Collegium to vote for High King of Britain, but the Centurion King doesn't feel right after this recent revelation about King Uther, and asks for his fellow Cumbrian lords to return to their lands and reconvene at a later date. King Uther is furious.
Returning to Sarum Castle, Countess Ellen's new lady-in-waiting Lady Elidia pulls Lady Viver aside and reveals that she knows her secret: that she is the Silver Wolf. She threatens to tell the countess unless Lady Viver obeys her commands; first, she must find her a baron to marry. Defeated, Lady Viver reluctantly agrees. Wondering who is spreading her secret, she confronts first Mervyn and then Lady Rosemary, but learns no new information about her blackmailer's informant.
Later that year, the group attends the wedding of King Uther and Queen Ygraine at the White Tower in Londinium and quickly realize the queen is both still in mourning and already pregnant. Lady Viver recognizes a prominent wedding guest as Lady Nineve; a dark, rebellious Lady of the Lake who, unbeknownst to the other guests, had helped Duke Gorlois and Duchess Ygraine escape King Uther's castle the year before. Lady Viver starts seeking out barons for Lady Elidia to marry, and has a fruitless conversation with the confused and already married Baron Brychan of Longridge, the deputy marshall to Duke Ulfius of the Vale. While reminiscing about his deceased friends with Lady Harley, Lady Anne, and Lady Marigold, Sir Amlyn is accosted by Sir Dervis, the knighted former esquire of his rival Sir Hubert of Appleton Thorn. Sir Amlyn thoroughly humiliates the dim-witted knight.
At the royal wedding feast, as Lady Viver helps a girl find her mother, Sir Penwyn is pulled into a conversation with a drunken King Uther, who marvels at the tale of a poor farmer becoming a respected knight. Annoyed by his father-in-law Teacher Brugyn being crowned the feast's "King of the Bean", Sir Amlyn picks a fight with Sir Dervis, who is attempting to flirt with Lady Marigold. As the festivities die down, King Uther makes the announcement that Duke Gorlois' trusted knight Sir Brastias will be taking the place of the deceased Sir Bellias as the captain of his King's Guard. He also controversially announces that he has secured an alliance with his distant Caledonian cousins King Lot of Lothian, King Nentres of Garloth, and their peer King Uriens of Gorre in his fight against the Centurion King of Malahaut by arranging marriages between the kings and his new step-daughters Lady Margawse, Lady Elaine, and the young child Morgan, respectively.
After the feast, as Sir Penwyn returns home to Oxenwood, he finds King Syagrius of Soissons awaiting to duel Sir Gwyn, as his other self-declared rival Prince Madoc has died. Sir Penwyn reveals that Sir Gwyn has died as well, and the foppish king arbitrarily decides that Sir Penwyn is his new nemesis before departing.
Later that winter, Sir Penwyn and his brother's widow Lady Aoife begin a courtship.

Report Date

20 Mar 2020

Primary Location

Tintagel Castle

Secondary Location

Londinium