536: Adventure On the Continent

Sir Extavias here......

Well.....what a foul year it has been. My half brother Sir Arddur ap Brandegoris was slain in battle while pillaging the franks of Aquitaine( Ganis). High King Arthur had all his troops go to the continent and make war on the franks there for generally being belligerent and finally angering him too much by imprisioning our Queen Guinevere's own cousin Elyzabel falsely. Our King could take no more and so we marched on France. Many of the De Ganis clan wanted permission and Aid in taking back their homeland of Benoit and Aquitaine. Arthur granted it. The knights of Leicester were not exactly summoned to the continent by Arthur, but Our Lord Count Edar sent a small contingent under the command of his grandson and heir Edar the lesser. It Consisted mainly of 10 knights and about 100 screaming and well equipped Irish Kerns under the command of Prince Aedon son of King Anguish of Ireland.
We heard , as we landed at Nantes , in Brittany, that there was war between mighty Vennatais, and its King Conan, and Duke Hoel of Cournailles. We didnt necessarily want to get involved but when we heard that the mighty and chivalrous Sir Tristram was helping defend the righteous Sir Hoel, we decided then and there to aid him as well...... for a fair price of course....... well..... our upkeep doesnt pay for itself after all.
I am squired to sir Quillam, and I accompanied him to the battle of Nantes, where we fought long and hard and ended at a standstill. Indecisive. But Vennetais left to lick their wounds and were damaged enough that we, in effect, saved Duke Hoel. Our Friend , the mighty, Sir Cynfan, was hurt sorely and could not travel . He was too near death, so he would stay with Sir Tristram and Duke Hoel, while the rest of us would travel to Aquitaine to pillage and raid the Franks there. My Brother Arddur was well wounded and I urged him to stay behind with Cynfan, but he felt that he would be safe to raid. He is large like myself and I think often overestimates his prowess. Well we recieved much plunder over the next two weeks, but as we were returning with it , the famous Aquitanian banneret, called The Banneret of the Green fields found us and ambushed us in the woods we were traveling in. He had much in the way of archers and infantry and outnumbered our weary band by at least 5 to 1 and we fell quite easily I am afraid. My Brother, the mighty Arddur was slain in the battle as well, and now we are all captives of this banneret. I have sent this letter to you my friend so that you know what has become of me. Please tell the rest of the family. I cant believe Arddur fell. He was so like our father in size and ferocity. But many people did speculate that he was softer because he was raised all those years in Camelot. I am just as large and I was raised in that hellpit called Tilton-on-the-Hill, so I vow that I will make my father proud, by becoming a candlebee, and by garnering such a reputation in battle that men will know me as my father's ONLY son. I swear it by all the Sons Of Thelos...... Damn these franks to hell. Since sir Quillam was killed as well, I am a free squire, and will ask to be made a knight. I must avenge all the wrongs done to my family and make the Lineage of Brandegoris Tilton ring through all the Land!!!!!!


Sir Gede here...

How quickly the fortunes of men turn! Sir Quillam, rich from jousting, only a few months later laid low with a spear to the side, never to rise....young Boots, beloved grandson of Count Edar, bloodied and held captive by the Banneret of the Green Fields in Benwick....mighty Sir Arddur, gone to sit at the right side of St Guinefort in Heaven....

I don't see what good we are doing for our liege lord now, sitting prisoner in Aquitaine instead of collecting the funds to pay the fine levied by King Arthur. At least Sir Aiden, the Irish prince, is hale and seeing that we are well taken care of. Boots was not badly hurt, and was up and about in short order—he has his grandsire's constitution, surely—and when I was newly on my feet again we received word of Sir Cynfyn's presence, and were much cheered. The man himself looked haggard, and explained that he'd left for Leicester as soon as he was recovered from his own grievious wound, but the word he brought back from court was not encouraging. After years of war and plunder by our beloved high king, Leicester's vassals said they would raise the ransom as soon as possible...hopefully within five years, perhaps seven. Seven years! I will be an old man of almost 30 by the time I gain my freedom.

Heaven help us, and Leicester!


Sir Amadis here...

The tide goes out, the tide comes in, and once again I ride for King Theudis of Spain. Two of my cousins and my dear squire Julian survived the shipwreck, as did the captain and several of the crew. The horses did not, being tied into their stalls and drowning when the ship broke apart on the reefs. I shall miss Eustice; he was a fine animal, battle-hardened and true.

The Gascon peasants who live near where our ship sank took us in, gave me a new pair of shoes, and took us to the local lord. I was nervous showing up unarmed and unarmored at the hall of someone who could very well be a deadly enemy, for I did not know if the lords in these parts were friendly to King Theudic, the de Ganis, the King of France, King Arthur, or some other lord of high repute. Fortunately for me and my men, now that the de Ganis are mostly dead, the region has splintered as each lord fights and squabbles to assemble his own little fiefdom out of the carcass, with the Kings of Spain and France on either side. Our host, a Sir Childeric, dubbed the Girthy, was himself engaged in skirmishes with his neighbors over lordless lands. He was happy to outfit us in spare armor and mounts in exchange for news and the chance to play the generous lord.

Three days later, Julian, Garza, Rodrigo, and I rode off to find Theudic....when the army saw us riding up, they started shouting "Torres! Torres!" until the king himself came out to see what the commotion was all about. We were warmly welcomed back, and are once again fighting for the king as he pushes north.