A campaign recap linking the major arcs, mysteries, and political shifts. Updated through Session 021.
Year 480 - The early days: squires of Salisbury (Sessions 000-002)
- The campaign opens in the Uther Period with a group of squires serving the household knights of Count Roderick of Salisbury. (See: Session 000 - The Young Squires of Salisbury)
- On patrol near Woodhouse and the King’s Road, they discover a wagon massacre and warn Vagon: “Wolves are about.” Their knights do not return. (See: Session 001 - Wolves Are About)
- Searching the Forest of Gloom, they fight Cambrian Hillmen, discover a cannibal camp, and find signs of an Ogre (Forest of Gloom). Gregory dies heroically, and the squires return to Woodhouse with grim news as Irish invasion rumors spread. (See: Session 002 - Wolves, Hillmen, and the Ogre’s Trail)
Year 480 - Silchester mysteries and the road to Winchbank (Sessions 003-005)
- After recovery and reorganization under Sir Jerem, the squires travel to Silchester Castle to discreetly investigate Lady Ellen of Winchbank as a potential marriage match for Roderick. The castle is eerily under-staffed due to levies marching south; a white-cloaked woman is admitted with deference; Saxon-looking ladies-in-waiting raise suspicions. (See: Session 003 - The Empty Castle and the Forest Ambush)
- En route through Purdue Forest, they are ambushed by Saxon warriors.
- At Winchbank Castle, Assterius is saved by Lady Rachel of Carbonog’s unorthodox healing. Ellen is beloved by townsfolk but unconventional-and secretly jousts in disguise. A feast raises the question: what should be reported to Salisbury about Ellen? (See: Session 004 - The Lady’s Secret and the Feast at Winchbank)
- A “gift” from Sir Blaine becomes a Fairy Dragon (Winchbank) attack. Its blood transforms Drustin’s appearance. Blaine claims the egg came from Lady Niev (woman in white). The squires perform an appeasement burial (cow sacrifice; Liam buries a silver dagger gift from Ellen). War news arrives: Irish under Pascent threaten Salisbury. Near Figsbury, an ogre is sighted with Irish forces; Noah is killed in the opening clash. (See: Session 005 - The Fairy Dragon and the Ogre’s Return)
Year 481 - Downton: holy relic and a wyvern (Session 006)
- At the siege of Sarum, the squires recover the Shield of St. Crispin near Downton.
- In battle, a Wyvern (Downton) seizes and drops the Aurelius. Pedivere rescues the king; Beon finishes the wyvern. (See: Session 006 - The Shield of St. Crispin and the Fall of the Wyvern + Session 006 - Player Synopsis)
Year 481 - Knighthood and court life (Session 007)
- The shield is returned at Downton; an angel reclaims it. The party completes (or avoids) their vigils and is knighted by the High King with Excalibur present.
- They are granted the honor of becoming household knights of the High King’s household. The Baron of Winchbank is dead; the High King takes wardship of Ellen. A feast in the royal household deepens rivalries and court intrigue. (See: Session 007 - The Vigil and the Knights of the High King + Session 007 — Player Synopsis — Nightly Business)
Year 481 - Three quests; Deira; Rosalyn; faerie road; winter at Caer Bannog (Session 008)
- Court issues three threads: (1) accompany the High King to Lindsey (Angles campaign prep), (2) investigate Lady Rosalyn at Lambor Castle as a marriage prospect, (3) hunt the escaped wyvern.
- The party defeats Eosa “the Giant” Horsason’s Saxon warband near Newark and accepts a Golden Torque (Eosa’s ransom).
- At Lambor, Rosalyn appears generous and perhaps more interested in Millicent than male suitors.
- The wyvern hunt leads into increasingly strange rumors and a faerie clearing (“rabbit road”). The party winters at Caer Bannog with Rachel and Sir Ector. (See: Session 008 - The Giant King of Deira and the Fairy Road + Session 008 — Player Synopsis — Giant King of Deira)
Year 481 - Bedegraine shatters the realm (Session 009)
- News breaks: High King Aurelius is betrayed and killed by Bedegraine. Uther Pendragon musters at Leicester and destroys Bedegraine with shocking brutality.
- Assterius later vanishes (madness). The party investigates Lady Llylla (Shisha) and hears Uther intends to invade Summerland. (See: Session 009 - The Death of Aurelius and the Fall of Bedegraine + Session 009 — Player Synopsis — Bedegraine)
Year 482 - Wells and the Glastonbury underworld (Sessions 010-011)
- Uther sends the party to Wells to compel oaths. The town is empty; the abbot is found hanging; villagers have fled into marshes after killing a threatening “messenger.”
- Horses vanish into the swamp. The party kills a Cu‑Sith (Wells) (Sir Leo dies) and an Ogre (Wells Marsh). A hidden passage points toward Glastonbury and Tor of Glastonbury (Ynys Wydrin). (See: Session 010 - The Silent Town of Wells and the Ogre of the Marsh + Session 010 — Player Synopsis — Wells)
- Deeper in the passage complex: the party kills a goat-eyed hag, defeats a druid and ambushers, finds Merlin caged, captures a Red Sorceress (Glastonbury), and encounters Undead Knights (Glastonbury).
- Liam bargains with the Lady of the Well for “fame and success,” taking a Chest of Rubies (Liam) in exchange for a future debt. (See: Session 011 - The Hag of the Passage and the Lady of the Well + Session 011 — Player Synopsis — Hag and the Well)
Year 482 - Dunkerton, Shepton, and the Peace of Summerland (Session 012)
- Sir Geraint warns of Dunkerton: burned by Caradoc; a Giant (Dunkerton) slaughters the conroi.
- 13 ragged children from Shepton appear with the party’s missing horses.
- The captured red sorceress escapes by swapping places with Brother Maynard.
- Uther signs peace with King Cadwy of Summerland (made Count of Somerset) and promises Lady Ellen to Roderick in marriage. (See: Session 012 - The Burning of Dunkerton and the Peace of Summerland + Session 012 — Player Synopsis — Dunkerton)
Year 483 - Assassin winter and Ellen’s escort (Session 013)
- Bruce questions Drustin about witch-deals; Drustin protects Liam.
- Assassin attack on Roderick grievously wounds Millicent.
- Escort Ellen from White Tower: ambushes in Purdue Forest show false-flag raiders (Deiran shields freshly overpainted; Silchestrian accent). An ogre attack is beaten with Ellen fighting alongside the knights. (See: Session 013 - The Assassin’s Winter and the Escort of Lady Ellen + Session 013 — Player Synopsis — Assassin Winter and Ellen Escort)
Year 483 - Easter court and the duel (Session 014)
- At Sarum’s Easter court: Lucius (Duke of Saxon Shore) (age 4) is knighted and made duke; court intrigue intensifies.
- Lady Rhianneth forces a kiss on Madoc; Sir Marius of Caerwent duels Assterius and is beheaded in one stroke. (See: Session 014 - Easter Court at Sarum and the Duel of Sir Marius + Session 014 — Player Synopsis — Easter Court and Sir Marius Duel)
Year 484 - York campaign begins (Session 015)
- Envoy reports Eboracum (York) fell to Saxons; Malahaut’s request for Uther’s aid signals escalation.
- Drustin and Liam are detained; “holing” pits appear.
- In Bath, plans reveal a possible infiltration route via the River Foss.
- Drimant joins as neutral chronicler; warns of the Black Dog of the Moors.
- Sherwood ambush: Ælflaed (Eosa’s daughter) appears; Millicent nearly dies; Drimant intervenes. Lincoln is found under siege. (See: Session 015 - The Road to York and the Ambush in Sherwood + Session 015 — Player Synopsis — York Road and Sherwood Ambush)
Year 484 - Brodin, Wilderspool, and the brain-hag (Session 016)
- The party meets King Brodin of Malahaut (Centurion-King) and parleys at York with Eosa. Eosa claims a Merlin-like Cymric man suggested taking York.
- Eosa hires the party to investigate Wilderspool (5 gold now, 5 later). Brodin rides south to confront Uther.
- On the road east: thirteen hanging knights and a trap-filled clearing. The party kills the Hag of the Dead (Wilderspool). Drustin’s horse Brass (Drustin’s horse) dies in a trap. Three infants are found near a mortar/pestle used to grind brains. (See: Session 016 - The Centurion-King, the Well of Wilderspool, and the Hag of the Dead + Session 016 — Player Synopsis — Wilderspool and Hag of the Dead)
Year 484 - Wilderspool’s serpent surgeons and the Wyrd Pool rite (Session 017)
- The company carries three brain-fed infants into Wilderspool; Drustin beheads the hag and buries the head beneath a marked stone when the corpse resists burning.
- Wilderspool has no church and treats worship as personal choice. Ælflaed, Madoc, and the infants are entrusted to serpent-marked surgeons; that night Drustin wakes with strange marks on his neck.
- By morning, Ælflaed, Madoc, Drimant, and the squires have vanished. The trail leads to the taboo-ridden Wyrd Pool, where disobedience kills the company’s horses.
- At the summit, cultists conduct a serpent rite: a red-haired priestess cuts Madoc’s throat and casts him into the pool as a serpent-woman rises. The company attacks to free the captives.
- Millicent beheads the priestess; the serpent creature is slain (final blow from Maewyn Succat’s staff). Madoc and Ælflaed survive but remain dazed/unresponsive—and Liam wanders into the forest in madness after the battle. (See: Session 017 - The Wyrd Pool of Wilderspool)
Year 484 - The Serpent Lodge and the fall of Ælflaed (Session 018)
- The conroi returns to Wilderspool and confronts the serpent-marked healers of the Serpent Lodge. The “surgeons” reveal themselves as serpent-things and call forth another manifestation of the serpent goddess.
- Ælflaed teleports into the melee and is mortally wounded; the knights cannot reach her in time and she dies in the fight.
- The serpent lodge is destroyed and the serpent goddess slain (final blow from Maewyn Succat’s staff).
- In the aftermath, the squires are discovered murdered and skinned on tanning racks.
- With chirurgeons gone and wounds mounting, the conroi flees south to the City of the Legions; Sir Madoc is saved there, and the company winters in the city. (See: Session 018 - The Serpent Lodge and the Fall of Ælflaed)
Years 485–486 - The well of bargains and the demon princess (Session 019)
- After wintering, the conroi returns to Wilderspool seeking the true well with the Latin inscription. A refurbished crossroads well yields “Constantine Rex” stones (a false lead), but the knights ultimately identify the ancient ritual site: Wilderspool - True Well (Qui non dat quod habet).
- They offer Ælflaed’s preserved body and other sacrifices (including Liam’s druidic spear). The well answers with eerie silence.
- In York, King Eosa “the Giant” Horsason celebrates and claims his daughter has returned — but Millicent and Assterius perceive the “princess” is wrong: a hollow revenant/demonic impostor.
- The conroi confronts and slays the creature in a desperate bedroom fight (decisive blow by Sir Geraint with Eosa’s golden axe). The reveal drives Geraint into madness, and the company flees.
- Returning south, Count Roderick of Salisbury shows them the grim truth: Excalibur is broken into three pieces and Merlin is missing. The new quest is to find Merlin and/or restore the sword. (See: Session 019 - The Well of Bargains and the Demon Princess)
Year 487 - The Road Beneath the World (Session 020)
- At the start of 487, the realm shifts: Saxons retreat on some fronts; the King of Deira is said to have gone mad; Linden is left desolated and unable to support civilization.
- The conroi is invited to join Uther Pendragon’s royal progress — and refuses, committing instead to the Merlin/Excalibur quest. Uther takes this as disloyalty (+10 Contempt) and suspicion of Roderick’s faction.
- Following a lead through Pitum and back to Wells, the knights discover Lady Wells is one of the Ladies of the Lake and that Merlin has crossed over (not in this world).
- With Excalibur shattered, the only path to Merlin is the Otherworld: the conroi enters via the Frome Stones cave with Guido (The Guide).
- After a long underground trek (mushroom rations, dreams/visions, an abyss descent, and a hobgoblin battle), they open an iron door labeled “Exit” — and step into Maybe future city (London?).
- Their only guidance: find a church with a golden angel. (See: Session 020 - The Road Beneath the World)
Year 487 - The Glass City and the Man in Vitriol (Session 021)
- The conroi confirms the Otherworld “glass city” is Cardiff, finds the golden angel atop Llandaff Cathedral, and follows leads for “Merdwyl.”
- A museum exhibit reveals Merlin’s body preserved in vitriol — but dead in this future, soon to be cut apart for study.
- At Pengam Green’s Reawakening Fair, an elf-smith repairs Excalibur and takes commissions for new kit.
- Returning below, the conroi defeats a many-handed abomination that becomes Guido when slain; Millicent and Liam are grievously wounded, with a lethal timer once they exit. (See: Session 021 - The Glass City and the Man in Vitriol)
Year 487 - The Mine of Blood and the Dragon’s Vigil (Session 022)
- The conroi emerges near Caerleon; the squires insist only ~7–7.5 hours have passed since descent, sharpening the sense that the Exit is warping time and memory.
- A chirurgeon is hired immediately (Liam pays), addressing the immediate wound crisis on the surface.
- At the copper mine near Caerwent, the conroi battles small green sling-creatures whose spiked shots spawn more bodies when they draw blood; the creatures’ blood is discovered to heal, and some is collected.
- Deep below, Merlin is found encased in crystal and guarded by a dragon; the conroi withdraws to regroup rather than fight it in the depths. (See: Session 022 - The Mine of Blood and the Dragon’s Vigil)