Wednesday Pendragon Campaign

Session 036 - The Sun-Water of Loch Lomond and the Road to Merlin

10 min read

In-game year: 490

Summary

The northern questers pushed beyond Appleby toward Loch Lomond, choosing the road through Gorre despite its hostile reputation and history against Uther. At Gaiholm, seat of Gorre, they returned the shield taken from dead Gorre knights and won hospitality from Prince Urion. They learned the shield may have belonged to the king, that Gorre’s fighting men were away under the elder prince Bademagu, and then continued by boat past Alclud to Loch Lomond. There they saw silver scales in the water, followed a silver-haired woman into the woods, and found a strange fountain-and-altar site where Love-Sun Water cleansed a stained altar and opened the next stage of the quest.

Meanwhile, Liam and Drustin tried to understand the war’s missing pieces around Tintagel, Exeter, and Glastonbury. Exeter proved empty, recent tracks ran east, and Glastonbury felt cagey, with the Duchess watching from the shadows as they left. On the road to Wells, three woad-marked maidens barred the way because of the men’s allegiance to Uther. Drustin’s Merlin-devotions persuaded them to reveal a hidden route to Merlin — Taunton, the River Exe, Exmoor, and the Standing Stones of Exmoor — with the warning not to wake him unless the realm depends on it. In the north, Geraint agreed to baptism in the fountain and vanished; Millicent and Asterius followed, entering visions of Aurelius, family, duty, and Sir Madoc.

Scene/Beat Log

  • North from Appleby: After killing the auroch and advising Lady Appleby, the northern party heads toward Hadrian’s Wall and Loch Lomond. Gorre lies beyond, known for pilfering raiders.
  • Gaiholm chosen: Asterius strongly urges the group toward Gaiholm, seat of Gorre. The party debates avoiding it, but continues.
  • Gorre background: The company recalls that Uther failed to conquer Summerland and Caledonia, and that he fought Gorre but was sent back south.
  • Prince Urion: A young chainmail-clad man on a pony stops the party. Asterius seeks hospitality while Millicent presents the shield taken from the dead Gorre knights, explaining only that its bearer was found slain in southern woodlands. Urion raises his lance and grants hospitality.
  • Inside Gaiholm: The party is bathed, fed, and lodged. Millicent learns the shield was apparently the king’s shield. She also notices the fighting men are gone; Geraint learns they went south under Bademagu to strike Saxons during planting season. Edinburgh is hostile to Gorre.
  • Boat north: Asterius’ courtesy helps, and the party gets a boat. They travel north on the Clyde, pass Alclud, and continue when its inhabitants speak strangely and Brother Nerovens judges them “not God’s people.”
  • Loch Lomond: The lake is beautiful, calming, and otherworldly. Asterius sees silver scales beneath the boat. Geraint critically spots a beautiful naked silver-haired woman walking into the woods.
  • Ritual clearing: The group lands and follows the woman’s direction, finding no tracks. In the woods they find a fountain set in white marble tiles and a seven-stepped pyramid or ziggurat with a brown-stained altar.
  • Altar and fountain: Brother Nerovens calls the altar the Devil’s work. The altar has a body/chest-shaped indentation and seems chipped by crude repeated blows. The fountain has no visible jet and no visible bottom.
  • Fountain visions: Geraint looks in and sees his past ending in France, where a wolf makes eye contact. Millicent sees her childhood, squiring, first battle, knighting, France, a chateau or woods, and the same wolf. Asterius initially sees nothing.
  • Dagger and sun-water: Millicent and Geraint see a black glass dagger at the altar. Asterius drinks from the fountain and feels the water contains love; sunlight becomes visible within it. He collects the shining water in a goblet.
  • Altar cleansed: Asterius pours the Love-Sun Water over the altar indentation. The brown stain turns red, washes away, and the stone heals clean.
  • Geraint baptized: The party considers using the water to cleanse or rename Geraint. Brother Nerovens performs a full-body baptism; Geraint disappears into the fountain. Millicent follows after a fumbled Loyalty to Companions and a critical Homage to the High King; Asterius follows with a critical Loyalty to Companions, holding his nose as he cannonballs in.
  • Millicent and Aurelius: Millicent appears at Stonehenge on a cold night beside Aurelius. He asks why she is there and how he lived; she says he was noble, cared for the land, and that the realm is lost without him. She feels she may also be dead and chooses to walk north with him.
  • Geraint’s mother: Geraint appears in a hot wheat field, young again, hearing his mother. She seems younger and poorer than expected and tells him boys leave by becoming squires: through Bravery, Valor, Honesty, and Devotion to Duty.
  • Asterius enters the dream: Asterius falls from the sky into Geraint’s dream. They encounter a road split between Duty and Pleasure and both succeed at Station.
  • Millicent and Madoc: Millicent appears on a stony beach at night. Madoc applauds her singing and seems more concerned about his failures as a future king than about relationship mistakes. They both fail Devotion rolls to return home and remain stuck.
  • Black knight at the well: Geraint and Asterius reach a road with battered peasants and a knight blocking passage to a hilltop well.
  • Tintagel boat problem: In the south, Liam and Drustin consider finding a boat to inspect Tintagel’s seaward side, but the cliffs are perilous and boats lie about thirty miles down the south coast.
  • Missing mounted knights: Liam asks about the missing mounted Cornish knights and learns nothing useful.
  • Exeter empty: Liam and Drustin inspect Exeter and find it empty. Liam tracks recent road traffic only a few days old, heading east.
  • Glastonbury cagey: At Glastonbury no army is present and Drustin finds no signs of one passing through. The monks are helpful but eager to move them along. Liam critically notices the Duchess watching from the shadows as they leave.
  • Wells barred: On the forest road toward Wells, three white-dressed maidens with woad-marked faces tell the men Wells is closed to them. They stonewall Liam’s questions about Diana and Lady Wells because of his allegiance to Uther.
  • Merlin clue: Drustin appeals to his devotion and loyalty to Merlin/Merdwyl, succeeding two of three checks. The maidens reveal to him — but not truly to Liam — that Merlin can be found by going to Taunton, taking the River Exe to Exmoor, and finding the Standing Stones. They warn not to wake Merlin unless the realm depends upon it.
  • Warminster rumors: Liam and Drustin head toward Warminster/Salisbury. They hear of an army about a month past, a fox-girl driven into the Forest of Gloom with cold iron, and a naked woman on a mighty white horse who rode toward Warminster two weeks earlier. The duo concludes the army likely circled back toward Tintagel.

Characters (appeared / impacted)

  • Millicent — Travels through Gorre, helps win hospitality at Gaiholm, sees the wolf in the fountain, follows Geraint into the fountain, meets Aurelius at Stonehenge, and ends stranded with Madoc on a night beach.
  • Sir Geraint — Sees the silver-haired woman and the wolf vision, agrees to baptism in the Love-Sun Water, enters a dream of his mother, and is pointed toward Bravery, Valor, Honesty, and Devotion to Duty.
  • Asterius — Urges the Gaiholm route, parlays successfully with Urion, drinks the fountain water, cleanses the altar, and follows his companions into the fountain.
  • Brother Nerovens — Judges Alclud’s people suspiciously, calls the Loch Lomond altar the Devil’s work, and performs Geraint’s full-body baptism.
  • Drustin — Tracks with Liam, is barred from Wells, proves enough Merlin-devotion to receive the hidden route to Merlin, and learns the warning against waking him lightly.
  • Liam — Investigates the missing mounted knights, tracks eastbound traffic from Exeter, spots the Duchess at Glastonbury, and is magically blocked from hearing the Merlin clue.
  • Prince Urion — Grants hospitality at Gaiholm after the party returns/presents the Gorre shield.
  • Bademagu — Elder prince of Gorre, absent with the fighting men on campaign against Saxons during planting season.
  • Aurelius — Appears to Millicent in a Stonehenge death-vision and asks how she remembers his life.
  • Sir Madoc — Appears to Millicent on a night beach, preoccupied with his failures as a would-be future king.
  • Merlin — Revealed to be findable at the Standing Stones of Exmoor, but not to be awakened unless the realm depends on it.
  • Ygraine — Likely the Duchess glimpsed watching Liam and Drustin from the shadows at Glastonbury, though the session notes only say “the Duchess.”

Loot / Rewards / Glory / Notable Rolls

  • Drustin and Liam begin with major wound/stat rolls: Drustin DEX 1d8 = 2; Liam CON 1d8 = 4.
  • Millicent learns by Intrigue that the Gorre shield was apparently the king’s shield.
  • Asterius succeeds at Courtesy in Gaiholm and secures the boat route.
  • Geraint critically spots the silver-haired woman at Loch Lomond.
  • Geraint and Millicent each succeed at Spiritual and see wolf-linked life visions in the fountain.
  • Asterius drinks from the fountain, perceives love and sunlight in the water, and collects Love-Sun Water.
  • Millicent fumbles Loyalty to Companions but critically succeeds Homage to the High King before following Geraint into the fountain.
  • Asterius critically succeeds Loyalty to Companions and follows, feet-first and holding his nose.
  • Drustin succeeds with Devotion to Merlin and Loyalty to Merdwyl, unlocking the Merlin route.
  • Experience improvements: Millicent Recognize; Drustin Devotion (Merlin) and Loyalty (Merdwyl); Asterius Stewardship; Geraint Intrigue, Loyalty (Companions), Love Family, Station; Liam Awareness.

Consequences & New Facts

  • Gaiholm is established as the seat of Gorre/Gore.
  • Prince Urion grants the questers hospitality after they present the dead Gorre knight’s shield.
  • The Gorre fighting men are absent under Bademagu, campaigning south against Saxons during planting season.
  • Loch Lomond holds an active supernatural site tied to a fountain, altar, black glass dagger, silver scales, and a silver-haired woman.
  • Love-Sun Water cleanses the altar and may be tied to restoring Geraint.
  • Geraint, Millicent, and Asterius have entered fountain/dream/death spaces and are not safely back in the mundane world.
  • Millicent’s visions tie the quest to Aurelius, Stonehenge, Madoc, and a possible dead-king/future-king thread.
  • Geraint’s path points toward Bravery, Valor, Honesty, and Devotion to Duty.
  • Drustin has a guarded route to Merlin at the Standing Stones of Exmoor, but waking Merlin is explicitly dangerous or forbidden unless the realm depends on it.
  • Wells is closed to Liam and Drustin because of their allegiance to Uther.
  • The Duchess is secretly present or watching at Glastonbury.
  • Rumors connect a naked woman on a white horse near Warminster with the wider lake/fountain/fae imagery, but the link is not confirmed.

Timeline entries to add

Graph View

Backlinks