In-game year: 483
Player synopsis
Summary
Winter at Salisbury
As the realm settles into uneasy calm, winter brings personal trials.
Bruce-an unsettling man in Earl Roderick’s service-asks Drustin if he has noticed anyone making deals with witches. Drustin chooses silence rather than betray Liam’s bargain.
Liam shows generosity to a young knight who lost his liege, giving him £1 and basic supplies.
An assassin attempts to kill Earl Roderick. Millicent chooses immediate action; the assassin’s poisoned blade knocks out one of her great teeth and grievously wounds her. Sir Kenian is also struck before the killer is subdued.
Assterius, strained by recent horrors, wanders the countryside among peasants and woodlands, regaining composure and improving survival skills before returning by spring.
Spring mission: escort Lady Ellen
In spring, the company is ordered to Londinium to retrieve Lady Ellen of Winchbank and escort her back to Salisbury for her arranged marriage to Earl Roderick. With the Kenroi’s temporary command structure dissolved, Millicent leads the conroi again.
Ambush in Purdue Forest (false-flag signs)
In Purdue Forest they are ambushed by bandit archers and “Saxon” spearmen. The bandits get an opening volley off, but the conroi breaks the trap. After the fight, they discover shields painted with Deiran Saxon symbols-yet the paint is fresh over older designs. Millicent keeps one shield for investigation. The attackers may not have been Saxons at all.
The White Tower
The company retrieves Lady Ellen from the White Tower in Londinium and begins the return journey. Millicent orders armor and tighter formation.
Ogre ambush and “Shield Biters”
Millicent spots another ambush; the conroi charges and finds two “Saxon Shield Biters” and an ogre wielding an uprooted tree. Drustin’s spear shatters on the ogre; Geraint is knocked from his horse; the ogre is disarmed; Liam wounds it; and Lady Ellen herself joins the fight, striking the ogre’s legs and knocking it down. Millicent finishes it.
Assterius captures a surviving “Saxon” and notes the prisoner’s accent sounds Silchestrian, reinforcing the possibility of deliberate false-flag raids.
Timeline entries to add
- (483) - Winter: assassination attempt on Roderick; Millicent grievously wounded; Drustin refuses to betray Liam’s bargain. (Source: Session 013 - The Assassin’s Winter and the Escort of Lady Ellen)
- (483) - Escort mission: retrieve Lady Ellen from Londinium; ambushes in Purdue Forest show signs of false-flag Deiran shields. (Source: Session 013 - The Assassin’s Winter and the Escort of Lady Ellen)
Next: Session 014 - Easter Court at Sarum and the Duel of Sir Marius