Edward turns an interested eye to Raedwald. "A chronicle of our adventures eh? We should begin teaching our stories to the bards, that's the majority of being famous isn't it?" Edward laughs. "I'd like to see it sometime."
You circulate through the Winter Court sharing small talk and gossip with the knights and lords of the lands. You hear the news of the county from births to deaths and most of the sordid affairs in between.
Eventually, you discover a new addition to the court, the cousin of Lady Ellen, the Countess of Salisbury. Lady Elaine is the Countess of Rydychan and niece of the Duke Corneus of Lindsay who is Lady Ellen's father. While Lady Elaine is about a decade younger than her cousin, they could be sisters with how much they share their good looks.
Evidently, Lady Elaine barely escaped her county this summer, smuggled out with loyal servants. Three brothers who served her father used the chaos of the Battle of St-Albans to seize the county for themselves. Sir Bege holds Wallingford. Sir Belleus holds Shirburn, while Sir Basile bolds Oxford. It is all very sad.
Edward struggles to recall of the names and titles being thrown at him, reciting them in his head and smiling to anybody he comes across. He stays in the back of the group, paying more attention to the fringed of the party and the entire mood of it. Oh good, another name and title to forget. "I suppose we should go introduce ourselves to the fair lady."
"We should. Perhaps she will be in need of champions in the coming days. The realm is falling apart."
Raedwald sighs. There was so much going on in Britain that was wrong, and it had all started after Saint-Albans. The land needed a King again.
"Would that someone could heal the land. Do you think that the sword in London could prove who the rightful king is? Of course I'm wary of magic. I don't know if it's a miracle from God or the witchery of someone like Merlin, but the land is so broken that I'd trust the word of a sword in a stone to say who the king is to rally behind."
A short stocky man approaches you two with a chest like a barrel and arms thick as some people’s legs with a short black hair and a bushy mustache speckled with gray to show his age of the mid thirties. His normal affable nature that had been scoured clean by the death of the earl appears to have returned for Winter Court and the lovely Lady Elaine on his arm. Sir Amig d’Imber says, "Gentlemen, it's good to see again. Lady Elaine, this is Edward of Cholderton, Raedwald of Broughton, and Bran of Tisbury. These three were on the Patrol that first defended our county from the Saxons, and to think that were only knighted at the beginning of August. Among our best." He smiles broadly, clearly proud.
Sir Amig turns back toward you, "Gentlemen, this is Lady Elaine, Countess of Rydychan. She is the cousin of Lady Ellen, the niece of Duke Corneus of Lindsay who is Lady Ellen's father. She is our guest, because some villains have taken her county from her, since her father died with Earl Roderick at St. Albans. We are trying to devise a plan to assist her." She smiles to you three but clearly has eyes for Edward.
Raedwald bows.
"My lady, it is an honor and a pleasure. It is a great tragedy that your lands have suffered since your father's passing. If there is anything we can do to aid you, we would be more than happy to render it."
He notices the Countess' glances and nudges Edward forward with a slight smile.
"Thank you for your kind offer. It would be greatly appreciated if you would knock those three hideous brothers out of my castles." Her laugh sounds like the harmonious peel of silver bells to Edward.
Sir Amig makes a noise halfway between a cough and a laugh. "Yes, well those three brothers hold a castle each with a garrison. We would need more than bravery and luck to carry the day."
Edward greets Sir Amig d'Imber warmly, both because he remembered the man as well as liked him. "Good to see you indeed, well met!" However, then the Lady Elaine is introduced Edward zones out, losing his senses for a moment. He comes back with a bright smile. "My lady, it's the greatest pleasure to be in your presence." He gives a light laugh to Sir Amig. "Sir, that is all I need by my side whatever the odds. My lady, tell me of these irksome siblings and the rest will be taken care of."
She reddens and demurely smiles replying, "The oldest is Basile the fat. He's taken my personal keep at Oxford. I had to be lowered over the wall and escape by boat across the river. It was dreadful. Then, there is Belleus the bald. I'm told he holds Shirburn, nominally for his fat brother. Finally, there's Bege the boy. He's the youngest and strongest of them, but he's usually drunk. I'm told he plunders Wallingford daily. They are awful."
Edward finds himself enjoying Elaine's company, and in the honest sort of way that he appreciated. He smiles at her shyness, but a brief flash of anger at the serious fighting amongst siblings flashes across his mind. "Well their titles already make them sound like charming individuals." He hesitates, then gently takes her hand in his strong callused ones, giving her reassurance. "I'm sure we can work together a force that can help to...inform them of the errors of their ways. Would you like to find some food and a place to sit? I'd like to know more about them, and I'd love to know more about you." He gives a small, friendly smile.
Sir Amig clears his throat and says, "Easy there, Sir Edward. I'm her chaperone tonight. Lady Elaine is a very eligible heiress, and Lady Ellen would not take kindly for me leaving her with any interested knight. Why don't you start thinking about how to reclaim her lands." He concludes with a smile and steers her away to more senior knights.
Lady Elaine gives you a smile over his shoulder as she leaves that tells you that your interest is mutual.
"Ah, of course. My apologies Sir Amig. Perhaps another time my lady." He watches her go, then turns back to the others as he realizes there's still a grin on his face.
Asking the senior knights around the Winter Court, this is what you discover:
Wallingford is a large town
Shirburn is a town
Oxford is a walled city
I'm putting a section in the Campaign Info tab for "Coping with Castles"
Sir Basile thinks very highly of himself and is very ambitious. He would have forced Lady Elaine to marry him if he had caught her. He commanded knights at St-Albans but was so large that he needed significant help to mount a horse, which had to be very strong.
If you RPed your questions with a gather information (Diplomacy) roll, I would give more details. As it is, you are getting the DC 10 information.
Edward turns to the party members. "Would either of you know a good person to talk to about the lovely lady's siblings?"
Your earl has troops. Specifically, nobles who have multiple manors and towns have troops and money. Merchants have money. Disgruntled soldiers (almost bandits) could get by on a promise.
You could raise a couple troops from your lands, but your manor primarily supports your relatively lavish lifestyle compared to peasants. Upkeep for you and your horse is relatively expensive. In the Pendragon game, there's nothing excess unless you have a bountiful harvest, which I didn't use those rules yet.
Bran approaches Sir Amig. "Excuse me, Sir. I was wondering if I might speak to you for a moment." If the elder knight gives him leave to speak he continues. "Me and the others would like to aid Lady Elaine in taking back her lands from the three brothers who have usurped them. As the Earl's Marshall I was hoping you could intercede on our behalves to help us secure us some fighting men. We won't be able to accomplish the task with just the three of us."
You can Sir Amig getting a drink but still keeping a constant eye on Lady Elaine who is speaking to a few knights. "Bran? That's bold of you. We've been looking for a solution to that problem. We could spare some soldiers but too many would attract attention, especially with the reinforcements that we've had to put in the south to protect against those damned Wessex Saxon devils." He spits in the rushes covering the stone floor.
"Lady Elaine's father was popular, so there may be some still loyal to the family. Lastly, Lady Elaine has some jewelry that she can use as collateral to secure a loan from a Sarum merchant to purchase some sell-swords." You see why he's the marshal as he computes troops and options.
"The trick is to hit them separately before they know what's going on. It would take the entire county army to fight them if they assemble."
"Well, there are three of them and three of us. Each of us knights might lead a force of men, and attempt to infiltrate the brothers' various fortifications before they know what's happening. How many men do you think we could gather if we leverage the jewelry and call in her father's loyal retainers?"
"We don't know how many are loyal that's why we didn't try something this summer. Someone would have to go and collect support. As for the jewelry, Lady Elaine is wearing it and is loathe to part with it. If she agrees to the plan, we could get them appraised."
Raedwald hangs by Bran and listens patiently.
"Would any of them be...rash enough to be lured out to a challenge of single combat? That would allow us to remove him quickly without the need for a siege."
"So we need to organize the attacks to all happen at once, or we need to hit them quick enough that they don't know what's happening." Edward frowns at the idea of pawning off her jewelry. What a good second conversation to have with her. "What challenges does the geography around and the buildings themselves present?"
You enjoy the evening pleasantries of Winter Court at Sarum. The usual rowdiness after the women retire that gets more reckless when the young earl retires, too.
In the afternoon of the next day, while you are out in the cold and wet courtyard tilting, sparring, trading stories with fellow knights, Afan and Blaen, pages in the service of Sir Amig, collect and escort you to get cleaned up before joining the regency council of the county. In attendance:
Lady Elaine watches Edward. Although she does not smile, her eyes are bright and interested. Sir Amig waves you to sit in three of the empty chairs. "Gentlemen, last night you expressed interest in assisting Lady Elaine recover her birthright. We would like to know how you would intend to do that."
"It's been discussed that when we attempt this, we'll have to hit all three simultaneously to catch them off guard. It's abundantly clear that we don't have the resources for sieges at this time, especially since if we turn our back to Cerdic, we'll find a saex in it. I propose, as an option, that figuring out which would be most amenable to settle the matter via single combat would be an effective strategic component. Tell Sir Basile that a knight seeks to challenge him one-on-one for the Lady Elaine's hand, mayhaps. I'll be the first to admit this relies on a lot of faith and luck, trusting that one of these dastards has just enough honor to respect such a challenge and won't just try and ambush a lone challenger with a brute squad or something. But if there were enough witnesses, and you were to deliver a solid enough drubbing to the challenged knight, it might be enough to get him to back down."
Raedwald smiled a bit sheepishly. His plan all but screamed "This'd make a great story for the bards."
"Yes, we need to hit all three at once. However, that doesn't mean we can't use the same force." He smiles. "I'll volunteer for the one on one combat. Anyways, I only think the youngest might accept that challenge, which is a shame since he holds the weakest ground. We intend to gather any men still loyal to her family as well as possibly hiring some mercenaries and making some arrangements for other loyal allies. Depending on how far away each of the holds our we can hit them quickly with the same force, switching between them fast enough that news doesn't spread. That would allow us to use our full force on each hold."
"Or hit one with the majority of our force and set the mercenaries to guarding the roads from the first target's keep to the second brother's holding. If the messengers never get away, neither does any warning. Edward is right in this I believe," Bran says. "If we are lucky we might swell our forces by the addition of those we liberate from the rule of these unworthies as well. Meaning we should start by attacking the weakest brother, and move to the strongest."
"Weakest to strongest is the best route in my opinion as well. Blocking messengers is a good idea, but remember that silence for too long can tip them off as well."
All but Sirs Leo and Cadfannon smile and nod along with you. Sir Amig summarizes Bran, "So you want to use speed and surprise to your advantage hitting them weakest to strongest, the old ways," he looks toward Sirs Leo and Cadfannon. Then, looking at Edward, he continues, "You want to challenge the youngest to single combat, an even older way. You'll probably have to goad him out of his comfortable castle." He finishes looking at Raedwald.
After a bit of silence, Sir Cadfannon clears his throat, "It's a broad plan. You would best to go to Wallingford as hungry knights and listen. It's a good-sized town, so there's got to be some resistance to the brothers. At least some they may know the Boy well enough to goad him into single combat."
Sir Leo picks up, "Try to attract soldiers with hope and loyalty to the old earl. Gold only motivates until you run out."
"And I have gold," Lady Elaine replies. "The merchants are appraising my jewelry now."
Sir Amig smiles to Lady Elaine like a proud uncle, "Thank you, m'lady. We have several months before Spring. You might want to visit all of the towns to understand where you want to go. Maybe go to Oxford first to avoid doubling back. We can supervise your stewards while you are away and obviously replace you on the Patrol."
"Reconnaissance wouldn't be undue. We'll want to disguise ourselves, of course. Perhaps as mercenaries?"
"I'd rather not sully our honor with such a gross lie. I prefer the idea of posing as hungry knights. That way we don't imply our loyalty and honor are for sale. I agree that we should observe and perhaps make contacts within the occupied cities. If we can get the ear of one of these usurpers so he'd be willing to accept a challenge, so much the better. But this will be dangerous. And while we're scouting, we can't patrol Salisbury."
"No of course you cannot patrol the county." Sir Amig replies to Raedwald. "While you conduct this precious mission for Lady Elaine, your fellow newly minted knights will ride patrol: Sir Quintus de Falt, Sir Martin of Berwick, and Sir Sion of Pitton. Then, it's settled. After the festivities of Winter Court close, you will make your way to the three towns and gather information during the winter season. You will become familiar to the locals and hopefully gain some alliances. At the beginning of Spring, you will return to Sarum to secure the gold from Lady Elaine to pay for mercenaries. I would advise keeping this plan to ourselves in this room unless necessary. Perhaps the brothers have friends or informants at our court." You all communicate your agreement and confidence in the plan and are excused from the earl's regency council, so they discuss the next topic.
You enjoy the festivities of Winter Court over the next week, while preparing your gear to appear as landless knights. During the time, Sir Edward spends as much as allowed with Lady Elaine who delights in his company. His excuse is to learn more about her county for the upcoming mission, but everyone understands what is going on. The regency council appears to have given its informal consent to relationship, assuming Sir Edward is successful returning the County of Rydychan to Lady Elaine. If Sir Edward becomes the Earl of Rydychan after the marriage, he will continue to be liege-man of the Earl of Salisbury for Cholderton assuring loyalty to Salisbury.
Raedwald starts getting excited as the preparations for the mission begin. Danger! Adventure! Romance! The righting of a great wrong! These were the makings of a great story. He keeps to himself for much of the Winter Court festivities, drilling and reading to prepare for Spring. When he notices Edward and Elaine he smiles knowingly. It was good to see some happiness in these dark days.
After the New Year, you slog through the snow-covered trails for a week to arrive at Wallingford looking like mud-splattered and beleaguered poor landless knights. This is what you learn .
- Troop numbers
- Fortifications
- Brothers' habits and vices (anything that could be used to manipulate or blackmail them)
- Potential rebellious factions in each place (unhappy with harsh rule)
Wallingford is a large town
Shirburn is a town
Oxford is a walled city
When you return to Sarum, Lady Elaine’s jewelry secured enough gold to hire the two dozen mercenaries and several landless knights in Shirburn.
Glad to have intelligence, Bran turns to the task of gathering soldiers.
...enough gold to hire the two dozen mercenaries and several landless knights in Shirburn.
You are at Sarum to make your plans, so you would need to return to hire them. When hired, they will be hard to conceal.
The Wallingford garrison will probably fall with Sir Bege's capture or death.