In-game year: 480
missing synopsis, inferred from memory and other entries
Summary
The squires, left behind in Vagon after warning the Castellan of Vagon that “Wolves are about,” wait for their knights to return by dawn—yet the knights never come. Refusing to abandon their masters, the squires slip out (quietly alerting a stablehand rather than formally reporting) and ride back toward Woodhouse to investigate.
Near Woodhouse they find the original ambush site: wolf tracks, blood, and signs the bodies were eaten where they fell. They also find long dart-like missiles pointing to Cambrian Hillmen skirmishers. The trail leads into the Forest of Gloom where a second battlefield shows broken lances, a slain horse, and evidence the knights were unhorsed, dragged away.
Deeper in the forest, the squires are ambushed by hillmen who hurl weighted darts before closing with knives and shields. The fight is brutal: Gregory is grievously wounded but makes a final reckless strike—killing an enemy—before dying of his wounds. The squires prevail.
Scouting ahead, Liam and Assterius find a cannibal camp: butchered human bodies, piles of horse meat, and a cauldron boiling with human remains. They recover their knights’ equipment and shields, confirming the knights’ deaths. Enormous footprints lead away from the camp—too large for any man—revealing an Ogre (Forest of Gloom) has been feeding there, with the hillmen possibly allied to or serving it.
The surviving squires gather Gregory’s body, the wounded Drustin, and recovered gear and return to Woodhouse to report. Word spreads that an ogre lurks in the Forest of Gloom. Separately, news arrives that Irish Invaders have invaded Britain under the son of the deposed High King Vortigern. The squires spend the rest of the year recovering from wounds while armies march west without them; Gregory’s death brings honor and glory to his house, and his younger brother will soon take up his place.
Scene / Beat Log
- Wait in Vagon; knights do not return by dawn
- Quiet departure; ride back west to search
- Ambush site near Woodhouse: wolves + blood + eaten bodies; Cambrian darts found
- Trail into Forest of Gloom: second battlefield; knights dragged away
- Hillmen ambush and battle; Gregory dies after a heroic strike
- Cannibal camp discovered; knights’ gear recovered; huge footprints reveal ogre trail
- Return to Woodhouse; warnings spread; year ends with recovery and wider war news
Consequences & New Facts
- The household knights investigating the road killings are dead
- Cambrian hillmen were involved and may have been working with an ogre
- An ogre is active in/near the Forest of Gloom
- Gregory is dead; a younger brother is expected to step into his role
- External threat: Irish invasion under Vortigern’s son
Timeline entries to add
- (480) — The squires return to Woodhouse, trace their missing knights into the Forest of Gloom, and fight Cambrian hillmen; Gregory dies heroically. (Source: Session 002 - Wolves, Hillmen, and the Ogre’s Trail)
- (480) — A cannibal camp and enormous footprints reveal an ogre feeding in the Forest of Gloom; the knights’ deaths are confirmed. (Source: Session 002 - Wolves, Hillmen, and the Ogre’s Trail)
- (480) — News spreads: Irish forces invade Britain led by Vortigern’s son. (Source: Session 002 - Wolves, Hillmen, and the Ogre’s Trail)