The Wolves of Rydychan County

Political event

Our knights adventurous ride into Rydychan county to find and rescue Lady Rhiannon, but are swept up into the local political struggles and strange magical. Sir Bradwen is thrice taken to deaths door but revived by a white stag, a werewolf knight and Lord Gwawl are killed, and Lady Rhiannon is saved.

After long waiting and searching, allies of Sir Bradwen report to him that Rhiannon was spotted in Rydychan County. Sir Bradwen's friends, Sir Felix and Dame Maylene, swear to help him recover his lost wife and ride with him to Rydychan.   When they crossed the border to Rydychan county, they were attacked by local knights on the road, who tried to extort them with an exhorbitant toll. While they were negotiating with the robber knights, other knights of Rydychan came from the woods and attacked the robbers. Our knights aided those from the woods and defeated the robbers, but Sir Bradwen was gravely wounded in the fight.   The knights from the woods revealed that they were in service to Countess Rydychan, whose lands had been stolen by the usurping brothers de Wallingford. Our Knights adventurous proceeded with the knights of Countess Rydychan to her hideout in the woods.

Countess Rydychan gave rest and healing to Sir Bradwen, and told the knights that she would give them info on the whereabouts of Lord Gwawl, as well as manors in her lands, if they would help her defeat the de Wallingford brothers.   While in camp, Sir Felix's turn towards darkness continued, as he tortured one of the Robber knights whom they had captured. That night, Lady Morgan appeared to Felix in a dream and put a geas on him, “Keep thee pure of woman’s flesh till you draw forth that which you lost from the lower-world and ye shall have strength of arm, but stray from this path and a curse shall lay upon all you have." She told him she wants the de Wallingfords killed for trying to kidnap her and her mother.   The same day, Sir Bradwen had a vision of a white stag that evoked in him an even greater longing for his lost wife.   After Bradwen had recovered somewhat from his injuries, our knights set out on the road in order to seek Sir Bege, the youngest of the Wallingford brothers. They took with them the captured Robber knight in order to ransom him.

On the road, they met an old hermit, dressed in rags and wearing a bucket on his head. The hermit challenged them to a duel. The rules of this duel, however, were peculiar. The knight must fight him naked with swatches for swords. Whoever was able to strike the other on the nads first would win the duel. Sir Bradwen took the challenge and managed to win. As a reward, the hermit told them that Sir Beleus, one of the de Wallingfords, had previously hired the Saxon Randwulf for mercenary work and had not paid him. Randwulf would certainly be eager to get his revenge on Sir Beleus.   Further down the road, our knights were met by Sir Bege. Sir Bege challenged them to a duel, with the conditions that Sir Bege would pay the ransom of the captured knight if he lost, and our knights would become his guests at his castle if they lost. Sir Bradwen again dueled and was once more greviously wounded, and so our knights became guests of Sir Bege at Shirburn castle.
  During their stay at Shirburn, Dame Maylene was visited by Lady Siefe, who used her strange magics to turn Dame Maylene into Sir Monroe in truth. The next day, Sir Monroe sired a bastard on a serving wench.   Over the next several days, our knights were feasted by Sir Bege, and learned that he and his brothers took over Rydychan County and tried to capture the Queen and Princess Morgan because they believed they could become rulers in Britain and save the land from Anarchy and the Saxon menace. The plan had been to marry Sir Bege to Morgan.   They also met Sir Bege's parmaour Kena, the daughter of a Berber Silk Trader and attempted to manipulate Sir Bege into turning against his brother's plans by using his love for Kena.

Eventually, they also learned that Sir Bege had been cursed by Princess Morgan to turn into a werewolf every full moon and on the two nights surrounding it. They were told to stay in the castle on those nights.   On the night before the full moon, however, Sir Bradwen again saw the white stag out in the fields and was filled with the same longing for his wife, even as the howls of the werewolf were heard chasing the stag.   Our knights adventurous thus rode out into the night and fought Sir Bege in Werewolf form. Sir Bradwen was taken to deaths door a third time by the claws of the Sir Bege, and Sir Felix and Sir Monroe, inspired by their love of their friend, struck Sir Bege dead.   Free from the fear of its hunter, the white stag made its third appearance, walking up to Sir Bradwen and breathing on him. He was immediately healed by the stag's breath and then the stag led the three knights through strange paths into the fairy wood to the encampent of Lord Gwawl.
  Our three knights approached with caution, until at an opporunte time Sir Bradwen challenged Lord Gwawl to a duel.   As Lord Gwawl and Sir Bradwen dueled, Lord Gwawl attempted to manipulate his allies and revelaed to Sir Felix that he had a son from the woman with whom he had had an affair, and the sickly child who had died had been a changeling. Somewhere in the Faerie Kingdom in the Forest Sauvage, his true son yet lives.   Filled with passion for his wife, the thrice slain knight quickly defeated the evil faerie Lord Gwawl and rescued Lady Rhiannon.

Sir Bradwen and his wife returned home to rest, care for their land, and heal from their trauma. Yet, the next full moon, Sir Bradwen discovered that the curse of Sir Bege had passed on to him.