Stories with Dice
Stories with Dice is an actual-play podcast where a fellowship of everyday gamers explores fantastical worlds, distant futures, and parallel realities through tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) from Free League Publishing, Chaosium, Modiphius Entertainment, and more.
Over the years, we’ve told stories around our virtual table in the worlds of Tales from the Loop, Pendragon, Mutant Year Zero, Star Trek Adventures, The One Ring, The Electric State, Forbidden Lands, Legend of the Five Rings, and Symbaroum. Going forward, we’re focusing on a smaller lineup of games, giving us more opportunities to return to each story sooner. As campaigns reach their natural conclusions, we’ll add new stories from the worlds of Twilight: 2000, Vampire: The Masquerade, The Walking Dead, and more.
We’re not voice actors, professional entertainers, or trained performers—just friends from around the globe sharing virtual dice, stories, and a laugh or two as the game unfolds.
Stories with Dice
The Sword Campaign S1 E1: A Pendragon Actual Play Podcast
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In this debut episode of The Sword Campaign, our Salisbury knights set out to find young Count Robert, only to discover a chilling scene that hints at betrayal. As they encounter a strange storm and ominous circling ravens, they face choices that could shape the future of Salisbury County—and all of Britain. Join them on their journey to St. Albans, where destiny awaits at the Tournament of the Sword in the Stone.
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Welcome to Stories with Dice. This is the Sword Campaign, a Pen Dragon actual play podcast using the sixth edition starter set from
Introduction to the Sword Campaign
SPEAKER_01Chaosium. If you're enjoying our actual plays, please subscribe to Stories with Dice so you'll never miss an episode. Don't forget to rate and review us, it really helps others discover the podcast. Follow us on social media to stay updated, share your thoughts, and join the conversation. You'll find the relevant links in the description of each episode. As always, thank you for listening. Before we begin, I'd like to mention that most of us are new to Pendragon and we're all new to the sixth edition. We're playing a slightly modified version of the Starter Set campaign, designed to teach the game as we go, so we hope you'll come along and learn with us. With that said, your Pendragon may vary, this is ours. Now imagine for a moment that we're watching a film. The cinema lights dim, a title card fades into view on the screen, displaying the following text. The old ways are dying. Magic fades. The one god sweeps in from the east to cast out the ancient gods of wood and stream and wind. The land is divided, bereft of a high king, ravaged by strife and lawlessness. Lesser kings vie for dominance. Yet in the ruin lies Excalibur, the sword in the stone, forged at the dawn of creation, when there was harmony in the world, and men knew neither the horror of war nor the sting of death. Many have sought to claim its power. None have succeeded. The camera fades to black. We hear the haunting caw of a raven. Slowly the scene brightens and we open on Lady Ellen at a window framed in morning light. Outside a large raven perches on her son's banner, a dark visitor that has returned each morning to haunt the young count's standard at the gates of the castle of the Rock in Serum. The camera lingers on her face for a beat and then follows as she turns from the window. We track her down a spiral staircase and into the great hall. The morning meal has ended, and besides the servants who are clearing the hall and moving the trestles and boards to the side, only three of her household knights remain as ordered. The others have already been assigned their duties for the day. So let's meet our player
Meet the Player Knights
SPEAKER_01knights. Ed, who are you playing today?
SPEAKER_03Hi Marco, so I am playing Sir Ian. Sir Ian is this tall but young and imposing uh gentleman. He's got sort of blonde flowing hair, uh he's sort of horrendous scar down his right arm. And he is uh from a place in Salisbury County called Tisbury, and he is known for being quite a chaste knight for also his valour on the battlefield, and his homage to his um his uh his lord, which is Camp Robert.
SPEAKER_00Tony, how about you? Hello. So today I will be playing Sir Karadoc, which is also a quite young, newly appointed knight of 20 years old, Christian, and he has distinctive features. One positive one, which is the charming accent, as you can hear now. And Segur has a negative one, which is red hair, which makes him, you know, probably for some people believe that he's witch, or course, you know, red hair. You can never trust a red-haired person.
SPEAKER_01Or a left-handed one.
SPEAKER_00Or left-handed one, exactly. And that also is not helped by him being very arbitrary. So basically, you can never know what's gonna come out of it. Either he will kill you on the spot, or he will just mercifully let you go. You know, it's and I think it's quite a nice passion, a trait to have. And then I'm also well known for you know being very devout to Count Robert, which is our lord.
SPEAKER_01Okay, sounds great. So you're famously arbitrary and loyal to Count Robert, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And Pete, who are you playing today?
SPEAKER_02I'm playing Sir Histolin, who's the uh the son of a knight who was previously uh fought for uh Count Robert's father, who came from the northwest and settled down in the court down old Serum. So he's been brought up with expectation of being a knight. He's done his training, age of twenty one, he's since been knighted. He also has red hair, but it's not really seen as a negative trait
Lady Ellen's Dark Dreams
SPEAKER_02with his pagan background. He's a good speaker and talker. Um he's known for being hospitable, generous, and lustful. Somewhat lustful. Probably has a bit of a reputation. Yeah, he's also valorous, yeah, still proud of his pagan ways, but gets along with everybody quite well.
SPEAKER_01So Lady Ellen takes her seat on the raised dais, and she glances at the empty chair beside her where her son usually sits, uh, and he left two days ago with a retinue of Serum's household nights for a grand tournament at St. Albans, and it's a contest that, as you understand it, could decide the next high king of Britain. So Logoris hasn't had a king in about fifteen years since King Uther died, and most of the lords of Logris also died on that day in St. Albans. So she turns from the chair to all of you and she says, My dreams have been dark of late. I fear that something terrible has befallen my son. He should have heeded my warnings and stayed here. You will ride swiftly to St. Albans, find my son, and do everything in your power to keep him safe. And so then your your squires all sort of immediately jump up, they're in the back of the hall, they immediately sort of jump up and they they leave the Great Hall to prepare your horses, they're grabbing all of your gear for the journey. Except for Felix. Felix is Sir Ian's squire. He's sitting in the back like daydreaming or something, you're not really quite sure. So so for the moment, if any of you want to make, we could we'll sort of start with like a basic mechanic of the game. It's a roll under, roll it's a T20, roll under. You want to roll beneath whatever the value is, if you get the actual, the exact number of the value. So let's say, for example, your intrigue skill is 10. If you roll a 10, that's a critical success. Anything below that is just a normal success. If you roll a 20, it's a fumble. So if you if you'd like all at the moment to roll, we can roll all roll intrigue, give yourself a plus five. So when you add the modifier to your value, you're not adding it to the die roll, you're adding it to the actual value. So if it's 10, it becomes 15. So now a 15 is a critical success. Just to see perhaps what you might have learned during your morning meal. And this could be something about Count Robert, it could be something about Lady Ellen herself, or the raven that's been visiting for the last several days. I did. Okay, so Sir Ian, what is it that might have perked your ears up? Something about the raven, something about the count, or later.
SPEAKER_03Probably something to do with the um the count because uh he's probably about as close to uh almost a friend, I suppose, but in a sort of working way, so it's professional, but I really, really care for him. How old is he? He's uh he's eighteen. He's eighteen, so he's the same age as me. Because I think I'm the youngest out of all of us. So I'm I'm I'm kind of probably have uh that little bit of you know, we kind of probably grew up at the same time, even though he kind of was from a different station. So I'm kind of really curious as to what the problem is, I suppose, as to why she's concerned about his state. Presumably she's worried because he's the mum, but also she must know something more than she's letting on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you've heard some scuttle butt with among the servants as they were preparing the hall for the great for the morning meal, that a lot of the people in Sarum think that he's that because of his age and that his mom when he came of age, she basically had him invested. Invested, yes, thank you. So uh uh you know before he came of age, she was like the the the regent of of Salisbury since her husband had died at St. Albans. So because he's because of his age and how sort of quickly she had him invested, a lot of people think that he's too eager to prove himself and might lead to port judgment. So there's not a lot of faith in him as a leader at the moment. That probably makes sense, because I'm probably very similar to that. And then also they've heard that he he didn't go to St. Albans to participate in the tournament, but he desperately is looking for a king who could legitimize the title that he inherited
Preparing for the Journey
SPEAKER_01from his father. Okay, right. So he's so he's the de facto count, but it has not been confirmed by a king since there is no king. So he wants to kind of get that kind of like official status. Exactly, yes. And his mom, you know, was uh didn't want him to go to St. Albans at all, and so and he sort of defied her wishes. Is there anything else that you guys want to do before you head out? The living daylights out of Felix.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he's just kind of daydreaming or something. I'll I'll kind of I suppose when we kind of break um and she says go be gone kind of thing, I will sort of like wander past Felix and give him a good boot in the leg and go, prepare the horses, Felix. What are you doing here?
SPEAKER_01Sorry, Seren. Uh uh I I I lost track of I lost track of the time. I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm so I'm so I'm I'm I'm so I'm so sorry. And then he just scurries out the door to the to catch up with the other squires at this at the stable.
SPEAKER_00So yes, probably will we'll talk to to Lady Allen. Okay. Uh but more in the sense of just brown o brown nosing in a way, like, oh, I'm so honored that you want me to go and help your son. Oh, of course I will do it. I mean, this is no problem, and it's part of my fealty to your house and as part of my job to do. I'm I'm very honored that you have brought me to this situation with my fellow knights, and I'm sure we'll do our best to keep it in the best health. Is there any specific requirement that you need of us? Do you need us to support him in the combat during the contest, or do you just want us to provide, you know, good sense on him?
SPEAKER_01If my son is foolish enough to participate in the tournament, then yes, I would like you to to ensure his safety, but I would impress upon you to convince him otherwise.
SPEAKER_00Are there ways that we can use him to convince him of this? Because I'm sure he will be you know, like every knight, you want to prove yourself in combat and and fight with the best. So it's gonna be complicated that we come to him and as simple knights, tell him this. It can be seen as something cowardly.
SPEAKER_01I understand the difficult position I have put you in by making this request. Simply tell him that his mother forbids it.
SPEAKER_00The love of a mother is something to hear. And to be obedient is very important. I will use this. Thank you so much, Lady Allen, for guiding me in this difficult situation. I'll do my best and my uh my arm, my my my hand on my on my heart and salute her. May God be with you, Sir Caradoc.
SPEAKER_01And with your fellow knights.
SPEAKER_00Sir Histel.
SPEAKER_02Well, while my squire's getting everything ready, I'll probably pop past the kitchens as provisions for the journey are probably foremost in my mind, especially uh make sure we've got enough ale to go with us. Ah, he doesn't trust his squire, I see. Oh, I trust my squire to pack all the stuff on the horses that squires tend to do, but yeah, I have other priorities at times, so Okay. So yeah, so you plus plus the young ladies who serve in the kitchens, you know, uh say farewell to them as well.
SPEAKER_01Ah, okay. So I see. I see where we're at. Why don't you give me a let's roll your lustful trait. Let's see if uh Hesselwin stays late. Yeah, so you've there's like so there are two housemaidens, I guess, who are in the kitchens that you have both had sort of trists with, but neither one of them know that you've that you've been with, you know, they don't know that you've been with both of them. One of them sort of is eyeing you and gives you a smile, and the other one starts to get a little jealous of this woman. So how are you reacting to the two of them?
SPEAKER_02You know, they're they're both sort of they both start fawning over you as soon as they see you, and then they sort of realize like that they're both I will sort of blank any jealousy that's there and treat it as if you know it's quite normal that you know both could gain my attentions equally, and I don't see why there's any reason why they should be jealous of each other. There's enough of me to go around.
SPEAKER_03I can see someone's gonna be getting us into a lot of trouble.
SPEAKER_01And where where where are you off to, sir Histelwin? Ah.
SPEAKER_02Off to St. Albans for the tournament. Oh, to the well will you be fighting in the Grand Melee? Well and I I may have other tasks to do while I'm there, but uh be assured if I am called upon to do so, I uh I shall equip myself very well.
SPEAKER_01I do wish I could be there, and then the other woman steps on the girl's foot and and like n nudges herself in into the you know into the conversation and gives you a peck on the cheek and
Provisions for the Road
SPEAKER_01and wishes you good luck. And and she says, I'll have uh I'll have your favorite I'll have your favorite pie uh ready for you when you return. Well, that's very generous. I look forward to it.
SPEAKER_02His favorite pie? I look forward to returning to both of you.
SPEAKER_01So you ride east from Sharem on the King's Road. It's an old Roman road. Wildflowers are blooming through the cracks in the cobblestone, is early May, by the way. The air is cool, and the green fields of Salisbury Plain are you know stretching out on either side of you. In about a day's journey, as as night begins to fall, you reach the eaves of the Harwood, and beyond that forest lies Silchester
A Horrific Discovery
SPEAKER_01County. And your squires are setting up camp and the night passes quietly. And at dawn you enter the dense wood, and at about an hour's ride through the wood, you come upon a horrific scene. You see several dead bodies and horses dead in the road, and there's a raven on one of the corpses.
SPEAKER_00Quick question, is there any card or anything, or is it just people?
SPEAKER_01Just people and horses, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So no card, they we cannot assume that they were like merchants or anything like that just by looking at them, just travelers.
SPEAKER_01No, not from this distance anyway, no. You can't you'd you'd have to sort of get a good look at their the corpses to sort of try to identify them.
SPEAKER_00You see what they see, sirs? There seems to be something on the rope ahead of us.
SPEAKER_03I will turn to Histelwin, as he has the most amount of glory, and he's also the oldest. So I will defer to him, regardless of what we're discussed as, as the lead of us for some kind of guidance on what to do, sir.
SPEAKER_02Something terrible has happened. These bodies, they've not been buried, they've been left to be picked apart by the animals. Some evil has done this. We should be cautious. Maybe bandits, maybe raiding parties. Or my sword. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Are you like approaching the bodies? Like what are you what are you doing?
SPEAKER_03I'll I'll approach on horseback. I feel more comfortable on horseback than I do anywhere else. And I look at Sir Carado. What were you looking at, sir?
SPEAKER_00I think I shall check these bodies to see what kind of treatment have they had.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you approach and you are immediately horrified to see one of these bodies is the knight that squire you.
SPEAKER_00Oh, so that means he's Sir John. Sir John, exactly. I'm like shocked. Is he dressed? Can I see the the heraldry? He has no as you said, he has no armor, no nothing on him.
SPEAKER_01Right, it appears it appears that all of his armor and weaponry have been he's been stripped of all of it. And he has some terrible, terrible stab wounds. He's b he's lost, you know, he all these all these individuals have have bled out. And it would appear that the the younger bodies you would imagine are the squires. See how many? You see you see four dead adult bodies and then four younger bodies, and then they're horses.
SPEAKER_00I'm afraid this looks very dire. I recognize here Sir John, the knight who squire me, and I look around. I'm very suspicious. One of my traits is like I'm 14 suspicious, so immediately I'm looking around and trying to see, are we alone in the forest?
SPEAKER_03So I'm I'm I'm kind of like doing a bit of a a loop of the battle area. Just on the horseback, kind of looking around, twirling the horse around, just sort of, I guess, being on on guard around everyone, so they can kind of search and do what they need to do while I kind of am on the defense, I suppose.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Yeah, why don't you make a make an awareness roll, Sir Ian? So awareness. I rolled a 15, I needed a five. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Oh, your awareness is terrible. Clue I'm I can't see the wood for the trees.
SPEAKER_00Can I roll two? Because I'm I'm looking around after I see what has happened and I'm suspicious.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And give yourself um let's give you let's give your your role a plus five. So you'll add five to your skill value. Okay, so there's at the moment you you hear nothing in the woods. There's just the raven who sort of flew off up to a tree and is sort of squawking at you, but you apparently at the moment are alone in in the forest, but you now recognize the other knights. There is Sir Elliot, who squired Sir Ian, and Sir Wynne, who squired Sir Histelwin. And then there's Sir Godfrey, and you know that he squired a knight that is also a household knight in Lady Ellen's court, Sir Nigel, who is not with you at the moment.
SPEAKER_00I shared this news with Sir Ian and Histelwin in case they be unrealise yet. Ah look, isn't this Sir Elliot and Sir Wynne? Look at them. Even though their features are totally changed because of the trauma. You can't tell.
SPEAKER_03Um when when he says it's Sir Elliot, I'm gonna turn my horse to where he's pointing, uh ride, drop the sword, drop off jump off my horse and be really kind of like stressed and worried to just make sure that it is actually Sir Elliot. And I just recklessly throw stuff off just to kind of do it. I don't think about anything else apart from checking on on my on my old board.
SPEAKER_01And your reckless role was a critical, so put a check mark. Oh yes. Okay, cool. Put a check mark next to that next to that fate. Yeah, so So yeah, so you you get down off your horse, you sort of throw caution to the wind, drop your sword, sh you know, your shield, also all of that, all of those accoutrements, and and you kneel besides the dead body of the knight that who squire you. And he's very angry. He also has all he's also has like a horrible gut wound. Sir Kistolin, what are you doing?
SPEAKER_02I'll call back to the squires and uh tell them to stay back for now and to stay cautious, and then I'll go forward to meet my fellow knights and discuss what we should do. Does it look like they had a chance to fight? It definitely looks like there was a pitched battle here, yes. The force that took down four good knights like this would be fairly formidable. How would how how would they even be here?
SPEAKER_00Oh looking around if I see any kind of clues uh in the sense of tracks or something that can say shed some light of what happened here. I'm guessing right on the space where we are where they are dead, there's not much to see, but I try to move aside
Investigating the Scene
SPEAKER_00looking around to see if I see the trucks coming in or out of people. I mean I guess it's not easy, but I'll see.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So you you had previously had a successful awareness check, right?
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so roll roll for hunting and give yourself a plus five. So add five to the hunting value.
SPEAKER_00Thank God because I have only five for hunting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm a bit better.
SPEAKER_00I fail.
SPEAKER_01There's too much debris and animal tracks and everything else on the sides of the road into the woods that you you can't really you can't see, you can't find any sort of any evidence of who the who the perpetrators were who committed this heinous act.
SPEAKER_00Can we know if why somebody would attack these knights? I mean I mean, because definitely they are robbers. Do have we heard of a band of robbers or thieves in these woods or anything? I mean, the rumors or uh the events in the latest months?
SPEAKER_01So there has been nothing but sort of anarchy since Uther died. So the the land is quite dangerous outside of most towns. You also do know as Knights of Salisbury that Salisbury has a contentious relationship with the neighboring county of Silchester, which is just beyond the woods.
SPEAKER_00So I will talk with Sir Estalwin, Sir Ayan. Well, seeing that we don't know where the perpetrators are, we most definitely should be sending these bodies back to be properly taken care of. Perhaps we can send one of our squires or two of our squires to do this. Although I could be honored to actually go and protect the bodies until they reach Bak Sarum. We cannot leave them here.
SPEAKER_03No, we cannot leave them here, but we also cannot tarry. We we are we are we are told we have to go and find Cal Robert. I I suppose we could we could send one of our our our our our swies back.
SPEAKER_00There are horses, we can put at least the bodies on the horses that they left.
SPEAKER_03Well this we there is a town nearby, I believe Tidworth is is is not far. Perhaps we we can make our way there and then get some get some of the the the pest folk for Tidworth to to come here and and I agree.
SPEAKER_00That's a good idea. I will send my squire to get somebody from Tidworth to bring a cart or something.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Okay, so you send your squire to the neighboring village or gamlet, and as you're waiting, that raven is still up the tree pawing
The Raven's Sign
SPEAKER_01at you. Then it's joined by a few other ravens and they're just watching you.
SPEAKER_03I'll I'll grab my s I'll grab my spear, wander over to it, and just like wave the spear wildly in their direction so they kind of fly off.
SPEAKER_01Okay, yeah. So they they fly off for a little bit and they circle over over the the corpses, you know, in the above you, and then most of the the they all fly off except for one, and it it flies to the other side of the road and it lands on the ground and it starts picking at something in the dirt, and then it looks at you and it caws. And then it flies up and then it flies up to the ch it flies up onto a tree branch and just looks looks at you and looks down at where it at where.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'll I'll go and basically follow it and then still go to like wave the spear at it, but also look at what it was kind of like picking at.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you see in the in the ground there a leaf with some dried blood on it and footprints. I look over it.
SPEAKER_03It's a pagan. Uh-huh. He spends a lot of his time in the woods. Sorry, and this be someone who's just who got away. Head over and look at the track.
SPEAKER_01It appears that the raven has pointed out some some tracks and it looks like you know the tracks of a man.
SPEAKER_02We may have found our perpetrators. What is that? Tracks of someone leaving the site, someone injured. Which direction? North. We should follow them. Okay. Yeah. I'll follow the tracks away north, see if you get an idea.
SPEAKER_01Are you gonna wait? Are you gonna wait for the squire to return?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yes, we'll not wait.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So Yes, because we'll have to keep all the the ravens away from the bodies and stuff, and uh sword and shield.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so it takes about an hour for the squire to return. He's got a uh push cart, and he's got a few people, a few townsfolk. What would you like them to do with the bodies? Soin, these knights, were they all Christian? Yes. Except Sir Sir Wynne, who n who squire you. He was a pagan.
SPEAKER_02Headman of the village, do you have uh a chapel anywhere near your village? Somewhere where uh these bodies can lay in wait somewhere. We would be grateful if you took care of these bodies, watched over them until we have a chance to return and take them back to their families.
SPEAKER_00Perhaps they should send notice already to Sarum.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I could I could send our best our best runner.
SPEAKER_00Perfect in that case.
SPEAKER_02Is there anything else, my lords? I'll look regretfully down at the uh the skin full of ale that I've got with me. Here, take this for you and the men. It'll be thirsty work taking these bodies.
SPEAKER_03Very kind of you, sir, very, very kind. I look sideways at him.
SPEAKER_01It's their station to do that. So they go, they they collect the bodies into the push cart, take it back to the chapel in their in their little village, uh, and then they they send one of their best runners to uh to send word to Serum of the death of these knights. And then the the three of you follow the tracks into the woods north for about an hour or perhaps two hours when Presumably we can't ride, we'll have to like lead the horses and stuff. Correct, yes. And without warning, a fierce storm erupts. Howling winds, torrential rain, whipping through the trees, obscuring all visibility. And you lose sight of the tracks, so I'm gonna need one of you to make a hunting roll. I do that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we need to find shelter, wait out the storm.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you lose your bearings trying to find these tracks in the storm. You wander helplessly for another like 20 minutes, maybe a half hour. You're not really sure how much time has gone by. And when you just start to sort of lose all hope, that you spot this flickering light in the distance through the storm, and just like that, the storm lists, it's gone, poof, like it had never been there. And all of a sudden it's sunset, you've lost the whole day, and ahead of you you see Amesbury Abbey. And you all know that Amesbury Abbey has a long association with the former high king Aurelius, who had ordered its construction
Arrival at Amesbury Abbey
SPEAKER_01long, long ago. It's a double abbey, so it houses both the monks and nuns.
SPEAKER_00What do you do? This is most strange. Clean back on ourselves. That's really odd. Very strange, very strange. But they feel tired and hungry. Perhaps we should seek the shelter of the Amersbury Abbey, get a refreshment. Yes, definitely. I think that seems like a good plan.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you approach the abbey. It's got like a palisade all around it, and the gates, like as you approach, they swing open. And there's a the abbot, abbot Benedict, he introduces himself to you. He's a sort of broad-shouldered old man, sort of like a grandfatherly presence. Uh he welcomes you and has one of the other monks show your squires where the stables are, and they they take your horses to the stables, and he ushers you into a kitchen, and he says, What brings you to Amesbury Abbey, good sir? Chance Chance on the road. A storm. Storm, you say? There's been no storm, sir. Clear skies today. Look at the rain and guess what dredged through and stuff. Aye, but you are wet. Very strange indeed. Do not lie, my lord. No, no, I I I I meant no offense. It's just it it hasn't rained today. Where were you? We were up north in the uh woods above Biddison.
SPEAKER_03In the Harwood? Indeed. On the King's Road, I should hope. We were just off the King's Road, and we got turned around in the woods. There was unfortunately a fearsome battle, not with us, but with the knights that that swite us, and they were all lost. We fear that Silchester may be to blame. Silchester.
SPEAKER_01What benefit would they have in slaughtering Sil Salisbury Knights? And look at Sir Caradoc. Sir Caradoc.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's well known the enmity between both counties.
SPEAKER_01It's a terrible tragedy. We will pray for their souls this evening. And then a nun enters, she introduces herself, she's abbess Beatrice, and she offers you all cups of wine, plates of bread and cheese, and then she says, Excuse me, and she takes another plate of bread and cheese and a cup of wine, and she sort of hurries out the door. And you notice that she was a little maybe perhaps a little nervous. Yeah, just look at the abbot. Everything okay here? Oh yes, yes, yes. There's just been this unkindness of ravens that has circled Stonehenge for these last few days, and always at dusk they seem to gather, and then he gestures for you to follow him up a narrow a narrow staircase. Part way up he pauses at a small window with a view over the palisades of the abbey, and in the distance you can see Stonehenge and the dark silhouettes of ravens swirling above the stones. We are all on edge, the abbot says. Something wicked stirs in that place. Perhaps our Lord sent you here to reveal it to us. But then almost as quickly he just kind of shrugs. Evening prayers are in an hour. You are welcome to join us in the chapel. This is most strange, sirs.
SPEAKER_03I don't know what to make of this. It's indeed very strange and I dare say horrible potent of things to come.
SPEAKER_01So, Sir Histelwin, you as a pagan, you you would know that since you f you know since you follow the old ways, that those who who follow your religion say that a raven is a bird of wisdom and prophecy, and that its arrival uh is a sign of change. Whether that change be death or transformation, only the gods know for certain. I I'd I look at Hestel and Sir?
SPEAKER_02What what
A Message at Stonehenge
SPEAKER_02what should we do? Well in the old ways, the uh these birds are bringers of foretelling of change, for good or for ill, but obviously something important is happening. Do we do? Well, we'll rest here the night then. Count Robert. He's for all his use, he is a good knight. We we should hope that he'll be alright for now. Yeah, s we should investigate to see what was the cause of the fate of our fellow knights.
SPEAKER_03We will have to go back to try and find the footprints, although I I imagine in such things that the brain will wash that away.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I I I fear any tracks may have been lost in that storm. Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, then I suppose. We would just have to Are you saying we should go and investigate the ravens, or or or we are we just just staying here this evening? So Ian looks very kind of confused as to what to do.
SPEAKER_00Well, I've never been to Stonehead, so I wouldn't mind uh having a look before the the prayer later. Uh I I guess we still have time for this.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. You have do you have time before evening prayers, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um how long would it take to get to Stonehenge? Not that long. That's a half-hour ride on horse or whatever. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I've never been there. Me neither. It's from the old times. No one's too sure about who built it. There's many different stories, but it's definitely important. Oh, we shall see.
SPEAKER_01Well, you let the monks know that you're gonna visit Stonehenge, and your squires get your horses ready and they accompany you. So you see these m the massive stones of Stonehenge standing tall and weathered against the uh Salisbury Plain. And the closer you get to Stonehenge, the air fills with the sounds of battle. You hear the clashing of swords and the cries of the wounded, and the desperate shouts of men that are fighting for their lives. Yet there are no soldiers, there's no battle around you at all. Everyone make a valorous test. So that's a trait.
SPEAKER_03I failed. So just need to get underneath my valoris. So yes, I've got a success. I needed a 16 and I rolled a thirteen.
SPEAKER_00Perfect winner, critical.
SPEAKER_01So, Pete, put a check mark next to your valorous traits. I think he does that already in the case. Oh, it does it automatically. Oh, awesome. That's very helpful. Thank you to the person who made this virtual tabletop. Tony, you are frightened, overwhelmed by fear. It takes hold of you, and you are unable to approach any further to Stonehenge, and in fact you flee in panic. And a monk from the Abbey comes to your aid and he says, Fear not, young knight, for the true test of your heart lies on the road ahead. Feed it well and let it not wither. Come back to the abbey, have some more wine. So he takes you back to the abbey. Sir Ian and Sir Histelwin, you step into the you dismount from your horses, something just sort of draws you into Stonehenge, this sort of strange, sort of supernatural experience that you're having where you're hearing this battle, and you all know that there was a famous battle here ages ago, the story the story of Vr uh Vortigern's treachery, when he called for a feast of peace at Stonehenge and then betrayed all the nobles of Britain to the Saxons, long before you were born, long before perhaps your fathers were born, but it is a story that you know is told and retold over the ages. So you step into the standing stones, and uh where moments ago there were the st there were the the the large stones of Stonehenge, you are now in a clearing standing before a a large tree. It is an ancient tree. Its branches are wide and sheltering, and at its base is a young sapling that's struggling to grow because it's overshadowed by this large tree. Ravens circle overhead and they collide into each other and shift and form into an old man who steps from the shadows and his voice is like the wind through the leaves as it speaks and he says to you, The old must yield to the new This is the way of things But the worthy only thrives if nourished will you Sir Ian and you Sir Histelwin, will you tend to the sapling or will you remain in the comfort of the shade of the old? And as his final words hang in the air, his form dissolves into thick swirling smoke and the tendrils of this smoke hoil and then burst apart as ravens fly into the air, cawing and circling overhead once more. And then the tree is gone, and you are standing alone, the two of you in stonehenge once more.
SPEAKER_03And and sort of I think I might have had some bad cheese.
SPEAKER_02Did my friend it was not bad cheese. It's a message. Some kind of message to us. The spirits, the old ones, it's the way they communicate. We heard the sounds of the battles around here.
SPEAKER_03It's an important place. I'm I'm I'm at a loss. I take my uh my crucifix, which I have round my neck, and I kiss it. It all seems a bit like witchcraft to me. Yeah, yeah, it does. I'm not sure if if I like this. But I still wanna I know this is something that uh that you believe with your with your gods, um, and I will defer to you if you say it is a good thing I'll take that with a a large dose of scepticism. But you are the more experienced of us, and I am happy to lower in your lead if that if that is what what you think is the right thing to do.
SPEAKER_02But the voice gave us a choice to tend to the sapling or to shelter in under the old oak. What does that mean? As yet we do not know. But hopefully it will become clearer.
SPEAKER_03Hopefully it will become clearer. Okay. Well, it's not clearer now than it was several hours ago. Um I am uh this may be something that you were used to. I I give me a good sword and a spear, and that's that that that's what I
Encounter with Count Robert
SPEAKER_03am at. And a Saxon to drive him through, right? The Cornish. The Cornish is we know what the Cornish are like.
SPEAKER_01My mistake. Um Let's go back to the Abbey for a moment. Yes. Saccharadoc. The monk takes you back into the kitchen, he's gives you a cup of wine, some more cheese, and some some warm bread, you're sitting by the fire, and and there you see someone else is sitting in the corner and his back is to you. And uh when he speaks, you recognize his voice instantly. It's the count, Count Robert. He says to you, What did you hear at Stonehenge? What did you hear, Sir Karadoc? Vortigorn's treachery. I heard it too, and I fled. I am not a lord worthy of your trust nor your loyalty. My cowardice runs deeper than you know.
SPEAKER_00Totally overwhelmed by what he says, and I go to his feet, I go to him and I kneel and say, No, don't say this. Myself I was also coward and run away from this witchcraft or hellcraft, whatever it is. You cannot say this is you, it's just a higher power, not you. I'm sure that against human opponents you are courageous like any of us, but this is from beyond.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And then I will go back to Sir Ian and Sir Histowind. Your your squires are standing outside of the stone outside of Stonehead and it's just sort of like Sirs, are are you all right? You've just been standing there for staring at into into space. Yes, we're we're fine. Yes, yes, yes, good, good, all good. I think um Sir Karadoc has gone back to the abbey. Yeah, you realize now that that Sir Karadoc is not with you.
SPEAKER_03I think perhaps uh less cheese, more bread, and some more wine will probably be the order of this evening before going to sleep and continuing tomorrow morning. Less cheese, sir. He looks at Felix and says, just tend to the horse. Hi, sir. That that's let's let's go back.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you you return to the uh you return to the abbey and and in the kitchen you see Sir Caradoc kneeling before your liege lord, Count Robert, who's sitting by a fire, and y and and your the count sees you and and motions you over. Driver, Robert, we're glad to see you safe. But what what has brought you here? Sir We were seven, bound for St. Albans. Some of the finest knights of Sarum at my side, they they squire you some of them. The road ahead was clear, or so we thought. But soon we found ourselves in the midst of an ambush. Saxons. His voice falters. Then came the true betrayal. Sir Owen No, Oswolf, as the Saxons called him. He turned on us. In the heat of battle he drew his sword, not against our enemies, but against us, an imposter. A traitor posing as a knight in my court, an enemy, hidden in plain sight, and I failed to see it. He cut down those he once called brothers. We were outnumbered and undone from from within. I fled, of course, in cowardice while the blood of my knights soaked the road. I couldn't return to the castle. Not like this, not in disgrace, dishonored, broken. To face my mother, my people I was not ready to bear that shame. So I sought refuge here at the abbey, holy ground, where even the guilt of a coward might find some measure of peace. I thought perhaps I could pray for forgiveness, or at least for guidance, but now I realize I cannot remain hidden here forever. Why would the Saxons seek to stop me from attending the tournament? I have only ever wished to witness the sword drawn from the stone and to kneel before the one destined to pull it forth. Oswald, of course, knew this all too well. Will you ride with me to the tournament? I cannot command it. I have lost that privilege. But I hope to earn it back. I believe answers await me there. It may be the only place where we can expose the fullness of this villainous plot.