Summer Questing

The forces of King Lot had been beaten back, but they were far from defeated. With a large army still in his land, High King Arthur heeded the advice of Merlin the Magician and asked for knights to volunteer to reach courts all across Britain. Envoys were sent to local Kings like King Idres and King Pellinore, but some were sent further abroad, with one group accompanying Nineve to France in order to ask for help from King Ban and King Bors. On this quest went Sir Matthaus, Sir Djaq O’Liam, Sir Peregrine, and Sir Glorn.

The boat ride to France was mercifully calm, though no knight is ever happy to be on the water. Upon landing, Sir Djaq immediately set upon finding French luxury goods and other fashion items that caught her eye, and instructed her squire to stay behind to secure these goods for her. Setting off for the deGanis Kings, Nineve cautioned them to keep focused on their goal, for forces might try to distract them from their quest. Some days later, the knights all spied a mighty lion in the forces that roared at them in challenge. Though Sir Djaq fired an arrow at it and prepared to ride it down, the other knights called on her to return, and they were able to remain focused on their objective.

The deGanis court of Kings Ban and Bors were quite welcoming to the foreign knights, and the two kings pledged to bring their armies to assist King Arthur in Britain in the name of friendship. As their forces gathered Sir Peregrine and Sir Matthaus each excelled in tournaments of hunting and falconry, while Sir Djaq made very close relations with one of the French cousins of the king, eventually extracting a promise of courtship to be made for the future.

Mindful of the time constraints, after two weeks the Knights set off for Britain with their new companions, but Nineve seemed agitated – complaining that they would not arrive in time. Diverting the convoy to a nearby forest, they walked in it some distance when a great fog arose and the company seemed to lose its way. When it faded, the assembled knights found themselves in Britain – on the outskirts of a battle between King Arthur and King Lot. Wasting no time, the knights rode into battle, and King Lot – sensing another classic Nanteleod Claw closing around him – was forced to retreat.

The celebration at Bedegraine lasted long into the next day, with Arthur in particular drawing the eye of Lyzianor – daughter of the Earl of Bedegraine. The next day, Merlin instructed the knights as to the hidden location of chests of Roman silver which they dutifully and honestly retrieved. Arthur made gifts of the silver to all who were present, though awarded the bulk of the money to the French knights who had turned the tide.

With friendship between the two Kingdoms, Ban and Bors returned to France, along with Sir Djaq who realized her squire would still be waiting for her across the ocean. As the army began to disperse, Arthur received word that King Leodegrance was under siege by King Ryons. Remembering that Leodegrance was among the first to swear fealty to him, Arthur swept up what knights remained and made a hard ride to assist his ally.

The Logres knights arrived at Cameliard in time to join the Battle of Carohaise. Sir Dragain led the remaining contingent of Goblet Knights into the battle, but the fatigue from riding as well as the large number of King Ryons’ barbaric fighters meant that the battle was gradually turning against Logres. A combination of Leodegrance riding in to assist the King as well as the late hour finally forced King Ryons’s hand though, and he withdrew from the battlefield, though in better shape than the Logres forces he was leaving behind.

Finally winter came, and with it 510 came to a close. Much had happened over the course of the year, and the destiny of Britain had been mightily changed as a result. Everyone felt that after years of Anarchy, a new age was finally about to dawn…