518: Battle of Bardon, Day Two

Squire Amadis here...

Where are they all coming from?!

King Arthur and his illustrious knights smashed a huge Saxon army outside Silchester...a couple of weeks later he fights another huge Saxon army on Bardon Hill, here in our own backyards. And the very next day, another huge Saxon army takes the field against us!

Where are they all coming from?

My knight and I gathered under Count Idar's banner. We were ready to fight, and some of us were making sheep noises at the men under Count Derfel's banner until our count made us shush. Then we charged out onto the field, right into a pack of howling, hating veteran Saxon warriors. We triumphed against a mass of archers. Those damable traitor British knights gave us a tough fight, and we fell back into a group of grunt Saxon spearmen before emerging, triumphant, into a line of badder berzerkers. One of them I swear was the spitting image of my knight's lady, and he paused—and the bastard cut him down, him and the bishop-knight riding nearby. I leapt off my horse and dragged my knight from the field. When I got him to a clear space, I tried and tried to render first aid, and even though I have considerable talent with a bandage and leech, I was unable to revive him. I don't think I got all his parts off the field, which didn't help.

I spent the rest of the day watching the steady stream of dead and wounded being hauled into camp.

Brandegoris the old here....

So many dead. Sir Edward the pious, Sir Franklin de Auburn, son of Padern, Sir Aramis, Sir Wimund the priest who was to be my new war chaplain, Sir Kolgrim the Dane, bodyguard to Count Derfel, and Sir Florent the young and ambitious knight. (After we removed his body we discovered it to be Esmerelda, Padern's daughter and last living family memeber), and Sir Bruenor knight of the Medlar, a young and promising knight who nearly killed a King in his first battle (we hear he actually has a twin brother who is even braver than he was).

The Saxons are defeated , once and for all it appears, but I am still hesitant to believe it. It's like finding a cure for smallpox. Never happen. The knights of Lincoln died almost to a man, and it will take a decade to fully restore that county. I took a vicious wound from a Saxon Hero's Bodyguard that left me missing two of my frontmost teeth and gave me a cleft lip. If Brianna thought me unattractive before she will probably now find me ugly. I feel so terribly old. All of the Candlebees are dead and gone except for Count Edar and myself, and we are downright elderly. He's over 50! I wish I could retire and live in peace but a lot of our youngest knights died, and so I will have to stay on long enough to help the young ones get up to par. My son is nearly old enough to be squired so when he is knighted I will give him Tilton, and I will try to wed him to my Ward the daughter of Richiard, who owns Folkingham and Lenton. That should give my son a fine start on life. With the Saxons destroyed he might grow up in a peaceful time and get fat and happy with 12 kids. I hope so. I think that as soon as I am able I will go and visit Matilda, my daughter in Surrey, and see that she is doing well. I must also appoint a priest to take over the duties of Edward's church to St Christopher. There is a lot to do but I am not sure if these old bones can handle it. I promised Edward that if we lived through the last battle we would track down Black Annis and slay her next year. Edward died but I will hold to my vow and destroy her next year. I owe it to my good and generous Lord Edar. Maybe I will get lucky and she will kill me, and I can go to paradise and see all my old friends.