Review the Customs of Knighthood in the campaign info to align yourselves on "honor"
Edward suggests they go into the town and pretend to just be common travelers, then spend some time at the local bars/brothels where the first brother likes to go to to scout the area.
Raedwald agrees to the plan, noting if Bege does demand single combat, Edward should be the one to fight him.
"Should we not recruit our woman-friend before we go?" Bran asks his companions. "There are probably more courtesans around here than in a small town like, Wallingford."
"It'd probably be simpler to get one of Wallingford's local "women-friends" for this job. It'd draw less suspicion from Bege if he visits one of his regulars and it looks like nothing's amiss. A new woman would probably start him asking questions. Besides, while Bege IS a regular customer, the townsfolk hate him, and if the burden of his taxes is removed they probably won't mind the loss in business as much."
"True. Clever, Raedwald, clever." Bran looks around at the others. "Who wants to go tell the Lady our plan?"
Edward stands up quickly; so quickly he bumps the table and muffles a curse. "I'll tell her! Uhh, I'll go inform the Lady..."
"As expected. You're head-over-heels in love with her."
"As expected. You're head-over-heels in love with her."
"Well, uh, I don't know if..." His ears turn red as he quickly turns to leave.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Edward. I think it's adorable!"
So Sir Edward awkwardly shares the plan to deal with Sir Bege with Lady Elaine while she is chaperoned by Sir Amig. Edward relaxes when she starts laughing and Sir Amig smiles. "Worthy of bards to snare the Boy in his own pride and vice."
The regency council is informed and approves your plan. Lady Elaine entrusts her gold to Sir Edward, and you are ready to go.
Bran makes sure all his gear is in good repair, says goodbye to the friends he's made and stocks up on rations for the journey to Wallingford. He wears the clothes of a common soldier or mercenary, disguising his armor and weapons as best he can. During their journey, he sings in his poor voice and stops to appreciate any animals or objects of natural beauty they come across. Bran seems to be in a good mood, as their plans are finally set into motion.
On the third day they arrive in Wallingford and Bran goes with the others to the farm of their contact from their reconnaissance trip, where they plan to hide during the operation. He greets the loyal farmer with a smile and handshake. "We've returned, and this time we're here to free you. It's imperative that as few people as possible know we're in town, so we'd appreciate your discretion."
Raedwald gathers his gear and gathers the sheaf of notes he'd taken during their reconnaissance (which include some choice descriptions of the settlements they visited suffering under grip of the tyrants for his later writer. He noticed he'd been observing more and more things as he started writing. He was nowhere near the peerless scouts Bran and Blaidd were, but he knew that he'd be the one making them look it in ink. He too appears excited to get underway, looking forward to humiliating Bege and helping Edward find love.
As they arrive in Wallingford, Raedwald mostly keeps to himself, humming a bit to keep up the adopted persona he'd developed during their time scoping out Rydchan of an amateur poet who mainly followed the more grizzled veterans. He tried to seem as foppish as possible, no easy feat considering his burly Saxon masculinity.
Edward checks his gear and horses, making sure everything is in working order and his horse is in good health. He keeps spacing out about while working and thinking about why he's doing all of this, but eventually gets ready to leave.
Edward is in good spirits on the road, joining Bran's rough voice with his own untrained one to make a ballad of badassery as they travel along.
Edward lets Bran take point on talking, staying to the back and looking around. When they're done and have some privacy he inquires of the others "So how do we want to get a...brothel worker to work for us?"
"Given the Boy's vice and iron fist, I imagine he simply takes from the workers as he pleases, or if he does pay for their services only offers a pittance. I suggest we simply offer more than he does. If there's one language people who work in brothels speak, it's the language of commerce, and they don't appreciate lordlings who run roughshod over commerce to suit their whims."
"Indeed, money ought to do it. Perhaps there is a girl that he's particularly abusive towards, who would like to see him punished. She'd have additional motivation to aid us. Perhaps we should take a scouting mission to the brothel, eh, Raedwald?" Bran says, raising his eyebrows a few times. "Could be fun."
"No. You can if you're so eager, but I'll not sully my soul that way. Besides, that makes us little better than Bege."
"Ah, so predictable. Your dead god is so boring," Bran teases the saxon. "I will go and talk to them if it's too dishonorable for you all."
"Bran, I'm not interested in a theology debate, but for the record, The Lord is not dead. His son Christ Jesus died and rose from the dead."
"Then why is he nailed to that cross thing?" Bran asks, seeming confused.
He said he's not interested Bran. Edward holds his tongue and nurses his drink, quietly listening.
Bran can feel the tension building, but he doesn't want to start an argument with his fellow knights, however strange he finds their beliefs. "Whatever, am I on my own to go chat up the whores?"
"Then why is he nailed to that cross thing?" Bran asks, seeming confused.
Raedwald just rolls his eyes, not willing to dignify Bran's stupid question with a response.
So Sir Bran makes his way alone to the best brothel in Wallingford. He enjoys the best supper the town has to offer, because the brothel is actually in the most luxurious inn. Even Blaidd in his fancy barding eats well from the scraps under Bran’s table. After ordering the most expensive entertainment package on the menu, Bran finds himself in a fancy bedroom that rivals the countess suite in Sarum castle.
When Gwendolyn arrives, it is very obvious why Sir Bede visits her. Her long curly red hair, alabaster skin, face make-up, and dress would make her the envy at any court. Fortunately for Sir Bran, he does not need to persuade her to betray Sir Bede and offers to complete his transaction to celebrate. He discovers that her dress and make-up hide bruises and lacerations that she assigns to Sir Bede’s pleasures. She also is greatly relieved, because she is his third favorite girl. The first two favorites have not been seen since their last visit to his keep. She has been dreading that invitation.
When dressing, Gwendolyn advises not to involve her managers, because their only concern is profit. They would be concerned for safety of their property and future clients. However, all of the girls and boys would be ready to help.
"Alright, Gwendolyn, you won't need to fear much longer. The next time Bede comes to see you, make sure you get us a message at ________'s farm," Bran says to the girl. "We'll be waiting there for your word."
Hmmm, she starts, "that probably won't work well, because he never gives me much warning. He just shows up for supper."
There are probably several loyalists where you can stay in town nearby. You can move every couple of days to avoid being a burden to any one household.
"What would you suggest then dear? A sedative in his food? Some other method of alerting us?" Bran asks the girl.
"I don't know." She replies getting flustered. "I'm just saying that it takes longer for one of the girls to get to your farm and back than the Boy takes to finish his supper and with me."
"Alright. We will try to move closer. Do you know anyone who would take us here in town?"
"You're welcome to stay here, honey. Just have to keep paying the house." She smiles.
There are probably several loyalists where you can stay in town nearby. You can move every couple of days to avoid being a burden to any one household.
Raedwald watches Bran go and looks at Edward with a sigh.
"What is it about my faith that bothers you people? Becoming a priest was decision that was made for me before St. Albans happened. The only reason I'm a knight instead of a priest was because of St. Albans. And yet you two look at me like I'm crazy. Or at least boring to be around..."
"Well one, you refer to us as "you people". Two, you abandoned the old gods because of some fairy tale about a different faith that requires nothing beyond your acceptance that you're a bad person because of your distant ancestor's sins and that you're lucky to have somebody taking the punishment for you."
"Aye, that and the whole no sex thing. Love your enemies? Heh, sounds like a recipe for losing to me," Bran replies. "I mean, if it does it for you, whatever. But don't expect us to get it."
He pours himself a cup of water, "So, let's move into a loyalist's house in town?"
"I meant no disrespect Edward. But you forget that I wasn't raised in the same faith as you. When I was a boy, before my mother died, she told me stories of her gods. Of Wotan, Teiwaz and Thunor. Those were the gods I abandoned, not yours. They're as much fairy tale to me as Christ seems to be to you. And we're all sinners in our way. Even Christ had his moments of weakness. That is why I have faith in him. I'm more like him than I'll ever be like Beowulf or Sigurd. And you're more like him than you're like Gwydion ap Math or Bran the Blessed."
"You missed a lot of points in there, like being held responsible for your ancestor's sins and being able to do whatever you want as long as you ask forgiveness. Sometimes "I'm sorry" doesn't cut it."
"I'd say I'm being held responsible for my ancestor's sins. My "ancestors" killed the king. And that shows in how others in court talk about me...or rather don't. They're afraid of me, Edward. They don't say it, they don't say anything. They either think I'll get angry at them or that I empathize with my "kind." Despite my upbringing, despite the generosity all have shown me, I am still a Saxon to them. I am still the enemy. And so I have to be better than the best, if only to avoid suspicion. To "be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect." The shame they heap on me comes from the Old Faith and Christian alike. What does the Old Faith have that makes it better? Their gods and heroes fight and bicker of the most trivial of grievances, constantly in conflict, conflict like we see now. That's not what Britain needs, it's not the Britain I want to live in. Though it's an honor to be a knight, I hope for a time when we're not needed. When there's true peace at last."
"So wouldn't it be nice to not be held accountable for your ancestor's sins?" Edward stares at Raedwald as shows the Saxon how he shot himself in the foot. "Nobody's perfect, including the gods. To pretend anything else is blissful idealized ignorance."
"You missed the point, Edward. The Old Faith holds people accountable for the sins of their ancestors too. Or have you forgotten what happened to Pryderi and all of Dyfed because of the actions of Pwyll and Rhiannon?"