496 - The Anarchy Era

Dylan remains silent but has a grim look on his face. Starting this pattern of paying off our enemies is sure to snowball into an avalanche of vultures picking over Salisbury. If Lady Ellen will not heed the advice of her most senior knights, then nothing Dylan could say now will do anything but harm Dylan’s standing in her eyes.  After leaving court, Dylan will approach Sir Hogarth.  “Sir Hogarth, would you allow me to escort the Prince. I feel we should send a sizable patrol with him, to impress upon him Salisbury’s strength. I hope to show him their will be easier targets for his father’s schemes next year.”

"Is there a particular border that we are escort the Prince to?" Owain enquires.

"We believe he arrived by boat up the river from the South. Itchen, Avon or Test, we do not know."

Sir Ullin gives a gentle nod of his head as he listens to the young Earl proclaim the payment to the Saxons.  By his expression, it is clear he does not disagree with the move.  Internally, he is conflicted by it but ultimately yields to the decision he liege has made. Without hesitation, he states, "As you command.  How soon are we to leave, how large of an escort do you want to attend to our guest, and where is the Prince staying?"

"I'm having the silver brought up from the vault, the cattle will not take much longer to gather, the men from the fields can drive them behind you, so prepare to go in an hour. As for how many you need, that's your decision to make Sir knights. This is your area of expertise and I would ask for your advise on such a question. Decide who is going, the house knights of Sarum are at your disposal, and if you wish to go, then you may go as well, otherwise organise those who are." ((Now we are out of the tutorial period that is the Uther Era, you will be given much more freedom as to which tasks you want to take on personally. If you have a personal matter that you feel is more important, or just would prefer to do this year, then allocate NPC's to this job and have the adventure that you wish to have. Not every year will be like this, many will still direct you as to exactly what you are doing, but many others will give you freedom. The general rule is - 1 adventure per year, all PK's together for the adventure. Solo's in the Winter phase are explicitly for giving your knights experience if the campaign demands experienced knights in the coming years until the Romance Era, when it adds in the new Romance rules as well. So for example, if one of you has an outstanding issue, say a missing spouse, and you don't think that this mission will be all that important, and if you all agree - then send some NPC's to do this and go look for the spouse. You'll never know when the next opportunity will come around. As for how do you know if a particular years mission will be important or not, the clues are always available to discover through courtly skills during winter. So have a discussion about your outstanding storylines, decide whether any of them are more important than escorting this prince and decide what you want to do.))

Owain, as the silver is brought up from the vault, so is the piece of cloth you requested. It is much grubbier than when you last held it, and seems... stained, as if it has been wetted and left to dry somewhere quite dirty over and over.

(As Will has indicated, the outstanding storyline that I would like to resolve is Owain finding his missing wife. I am biased, but believe that it is more important than escorting a Saxon through Salisbury, which seems like a task any knight could complete).

(To me the missing wife seems like a solo, not one that would occupy all of the knights)

(If I recall correctly, she disappeared around the same time as one of Ullin's relatives, Cubeth's sister Sebiree {a knight character, which I assume she did not show back up since Will had not said so} who went missing back in 493.  Since I have not been playing Cubeth, the matter has not had much attention paid to it.  Would it be safe to assume the two are related Will?  Also, would this be a chance to get her off of the benches?)

They set out to attend court together, and have not been seen since. You were told that they never arrived at Sarum, though you also discovered that the gatekeeper who told you this was not in fact on duty that day, another guard was. As for which character gets played this year, now that the Uther storyline has come to it's conclusion, you are free, for the first time since Tintagel to choose for yourselves again. I'll usually summon the Officers, but who they delegate to do the work is up to them. As always with Cubeth, her Silchester location needs to be explained, and she certainly will only be in Salisbury as a guest now, not a knight on duty.

Sir Hogarth nods. "A difficult decision to stand firm against your own advisors my Lord, but a necessary skill your father used to great effect. I shall summon Saxonbane to escort the party. Between him and the ever ready Sir Dylan I see no issues with their safe passage. Now if you excuse me, there is much to be done within my new role." (Sir Hogarth will be organising a steward for Cholderton, assessing his new castle responsibility and the library of Fae knowledge it undoubtedly contains and also pressing the flesh to look at building effective agreements with the neighbouring lands. After that it's keeping an eye on the oddities he uncovered in his survey last year of Salibury, bolstering the supply of future knights and anything else he can think of that means he's not having to deal with the fact Salisbury is giving cattle and silver to Saxons...)

Sleepy Will said: They set out to attend court together, and have not been seen since. You were told that they never arrived at Sarum I thought that they arrived okay, but after attending a meeting with Lady Ellen they failed to return home, and that no one can confirm that they left Sarum?

(I think he was sharing the information which I had.  Was that extra info you dug up?)

Ah, yes, sorry, I gave the information that Ullin uncovered, not Owain! It seems likely that the pair of you would have compared notes at some point though!

It sounds to me that the offered options are: Escort the Prince and his tribute Making a deal with a neighbouring land Seek out the missing Ladies

I am on the fence of Escorting the Saxon and Seeking out the missing people.

Following up clues seems like a job for one person. The other two, escort or diplomacy, seem better suited for a group of knights. 

Aside from the vested interest, seeking out the missing ladies resonates more for two reasons. Owain is a chivalrous knight, and this chimes more with the concept of chivalry. Secondly, ladies disappearing from Sarum is worrying from an internal security point of view. Now more than ever Salisbury needs to understand what is happening within her borders.

I’m not saying it shouldn’t be looked into. I just think the spymaster should send a guy. 

If no consensus is agreed, then we will go by the knight with the highest glory - that would be Ullin or Owain I believe.

Work has taken off (which is a good thing) so I might not be around as much over next couple of weeks so happy to go with the majority. Will stick my head in when I can! 

That's good news! We'll keep you along with the adventure and safe, so dive in as and when you're able. Alright, I gave Ullin as the knight with the highest glory plenty of time to come to a decision, I told him I would if he didn't come to one soon, I would decide, so you'll be sending your knights to escort the Prince and his tribute. Unless you tell me otherwise, I shall assume the roster is Dylan, Balen, Owain and Ullin (with Taron along as above). Let me know how you prepare! You have an hour or two.

Dylan will have Twyla prepare his riding clothes and equipment to be in as immaculate a condition as possible. He wants to impress on the Prince that knights of Salisbury are not to be trifled with. 

Owain is distracted as he mounts up. He frowns at the stained token, before tucking it away. He leaves a request to speak with the Armello after he has returned from this duty, but otherwise the time spent is used ensuing his horses are fit and properly saddled, and making sure that his usual patrol equipment is ready to go.

Sir Ullin will have his squires prepare the horses and gather the appropriate gear.  He also sees if he can round up a couple more knights to accompany them under the pretence of gaining experience of escorting high profile guests to the county.

Whilst Sir Balen readies his charger, his armour, bronze sword, spare sword and shield. Sir Hogarth sends word to Sir Dylan and Sir Taron to join him at Sarum’s chapel.

Ullin, you can pull knights from their scheduled garrison duty or try to convince knights to join you on top of their days of service - if you pull knights from garrison duty, just tell me how many (up to 7 - the full count of knights on garrison duty at the moment). If you try to persuade knights, then give me an intrigue roll.

(I would suggest Sir Maxwell. Another knight of Saxon descent, Hogarth’s former squire.)

(Before I roll, can I try to persuade knights and if I do not succeed then pull from the garrison?  Or is it a one or the other?  Also, anyone is known to be rather indifferent of Saxons on garrison duty at present?)

I don't see why not - and no, most knights of Salisbury are famed for hatred of Saxons, none are famed for indifference

Ullin Intrigue Result: rolled 5/13 threshold

Also, one of Hogarth’s ‘second chancers’ is a knight famed for his Saxon blood and gigantic size...

Ullin, you persuade a single knight that by joining your escort, he will gain experience. It is Sir Lovel - half Saxon by appearance, though he denies it.

(Any named knights we know on Garrison duty?  Or are they all nameless cogs?)

Sir Valter, Sir Tanwyn and Sir Joel, along with four distinctly average knights

Sir Ullin is disappointed he is only able to persuade and acquire one additional knight for the escort.  Though he does not think it necessary to have that many more knights with the escort, he figures having more than needed would impress upon the Prince that Salisbury can afford to have knights pulled to engage in such tasks easily without compromising security, thus making them appear stronger.  However, looking at the roster for garrison duty, he is reluctant to draw from that well as the majority are inexperienced knights.  He does have half a mind to see if Sir Owain would prefer to stay behind so he could start on his work as spymaster and take Sir Tanwyn for the escort in his place, but he resigns to the decision to not bring that topic up unless Sir Owain chooses to do so.

(This should not be a long affair; escorting the Saxon prine to the boundary of Salisbury from Sarum is likely a few days at the very most. Plus I really doubt that you want another passionate Saxon hater on hand. You've already got Sir Balen, and I think Sir Lovel might be another)

You set out then, the cattle being driven by common herders behind you, the silver in a small chest carried by the prince. The journey is completely uneventful. Do any of you try anything during the journey?

Does the Prince have a bodyguard of his own?

No, he is alone

Owain will nudge his horse alongside the Prince and will attempt to engage him in conversation. "I am surprised that you travel without guards Prince Aescwine. Most people of Logres do not look too kindly on Saxons, and the badge of an emissary may not be an effective shield for some."

"My father fully expected me to be taken hostage.. or worse. He only needs lose one son to unleash fury, not a few warriors as well. He is a pragmatic man, and Sir Owain..." He pauses to ensure he has your full attention. "Salisbury made me the envy of my brothers and cousins. You are known to be men of your word, knights of honour. Let's put it this way, my father would send no son, not even a cousin but a simple messenger to your neighbour." He gestures to the East, towards Silchester and Levcomagus.

"A word of caution if you are to return here. Whilst our knights will hold to their honour, there are those who have turned aside from the law of the land. Although we patrol, bandits and other dangers are a threat to travellers. Not so much as in the wilderness, but I would prefer that your father does not swear a blood oath against Salisbury because you fell foul of such hazards." "I assume that you will sail directly to Essex?"

"I understand. We too have these problems in our lands. We have a saying, 'there is no society if there is no criminals', the more you build, the more people will desire to take it from you. We see this in humans, even in animals, I watched two hounds circle each other growling fiercely whilst the runt of the litter mated with the bitch they vied over. I am grateful for your escort, but the risk was worth taking. Fear not, my father is a man of reason. He would not swear a blood oath without proper investigation." "Yes, we will sail straight home, with maybe a stop in Sussex for supplies and trade."

Dylan spends the journey riding near the Prince, observing the man. When Owain rides close, he moves a respectful distance away. When Owain moves off he will approach closer again.  “I am curious, what have your people been saying about the aftermath of St. Albans.”

"I think we both know I would be lying if I claimed that there was anything other than jubilation at the loss of Logres. A High King of Britain, legitimately elected by the Council invited us here, gave us lands in good faith and married into our peoples, that king was overthrown by the Pendragons and they attempted to usurp his throne. They failed and we anticipate their war on us will now end. We now look forward to resuming our life, on our lands and cordial relationships with our neighbours."

“If by your definition of cordial you mean through extortion, I think that despite short term gains, you will find yourself disappointed in the end. Unlike some, I see the need for getting along with our Saxon neighbors, but as equals. If you should ever come to the same conclusion, I, for one, would welcome speaking to you.”

"But we are not equals, so why should we treat you as one? You are weak, we are strong. You look for others for protection, and pay for it. You paid the Pendragons, and now you pay us. Did the Pendragons extort you with the tribute you sent them? Or did you welcome the benefits of those taxes? I seem to remember Uther putting an entire Duchy to the sword because the Duke wouldn't give him his wife. What do you imagine he would have done to little Salisbury with his armies had you decided that you no longer needed his protection?"

"I trust you have made sufficient arrangements to ensure safe passage? I doubt any of us would be amused if this tribute failed to reach Essex."

"My boat lies at your border, my men aboard. It will be safe."