Campaign Summary:	Turn to Stone

This is a Pendragon campaign which ran from November 1993 until March
1994. The campaign summaries here follow the adventures of knights
until mid-January. They were originally written for a new player who
was joining the campaign midway. Thus, the final months of play are
missing; I never got around to doing summaries of the rest of the 
campaign, which died a somewhat ignominious death. Suffice to say 
that the knights failed to glean any more information about the 
sword, but did manage to help out Sir Vanomere and his men, escaped
London on the heels of the plague, and went on to Dover, where they
were thoroughly confused by the Inquisition (an anachronism, but an
interesting one), and Taliesin's elf-friends who made an unexpected
appearance at a banquet.

Mike Simpson was the GM, and the players were:

Sir Darius of Lincoln                  --    Lydia Leong
Prince Hagthar MacMaelgwyn of Wales    --    Doug Bellew
Sir Jean-Paul de Blanche               --    Bill Weaver
Sir Remmic of Kent                     --    Pete Kitchin

Sir Darius is a knight of Arthur's army, from the city of Lincoln in 
Lindsey, still a relatively civilized bastion of the Roman ways. He
hides a dark secret:  he is not, in fact, Sir Darius, but his twin
sister Dara, masquerading as a knight (and a competent one at that,
too) since Darius' disappearance on a Grail Quest.

Prince Hagthar is one of King Maelgwyn of Wales' youngest sons, sent
away to Britain to hopefully learn a thing or two, or die trying. 
He is known for his almost foolhardy valor.

Sir Jean-Paul is a fiery Frenchman who came to Britain with Sir Lancelot's
forces. He is a man of great passion, with a fondness for wine and heroic,
sometimes rash, behavior.

Sir Remmic of Kent is a calm and cautious knight, already settled down
with a wife and estate. Quietly competent, he serves to balance the
excesses of some of his companions.


		THE RETURN TO CAMELOT

	October 31st, 565 A.D.  A fateful day for all of Britain. On the
field at Camlann, the flower of knighthood lies dead or dying. Amidst the
carnage, four figures emerge. They share but a few things in common -- 
loyalty to the Pendragon, exemplary skill with the sword, and the sight
of Arthur's death. Amidst the carnage, one final, climactic confrontation.
The Pendragon, old and tired now, facing his son Mordred, facing the 
physical representation of the evil he has introduced into the world,
facing the end of the dream, yet unable to kill the man he still loves.
Mordred, with no such reservations, cutting him down. Lancelot, arriving
too late, avenging Arthur, killing both Agravaine and Mordred.
	It is a hopeless battle, with nothing left to win; exhausted,
wounded, the four knights, scattered about the battlefield, pass out,
and share a vision. They see the shield of Sir Lancelot explode into blood,
raining over a wasteland, and the Beast of the Apocalypse rises to swallow
the world, and all goes dark... yet soon after the vision changes to a 
lush garden. Beneath a tree is a sleeping man; into the garden comes a man,
dressed in a robe of white upon which is a cross of blood  [ Sir Galahad? ]
and he awakens the sleeping man, who weeps and cries to the heavens.
	Consciousness returns, and with it, the awareness that the battle
is over, with some twenty or thirty score knights dead, countless others
wounded, and the usual foot-soldiers massacred upon the field. Sir Hagthar
MacMaelgwyn doesn't quite accept this, and goes charging about the field,
cutting down foot-soldiers, screaming, "Traitors!"  Sir Jean-Paul de Blanche,
not long at Camlann, having arrived with Sir Lancelot's party, encounters
Hagthar by the dying form of Sir Lucan the Butler. The delirious, dying man
burbles something about faerie queens, disappearing bodies, and finally
gasps out, "The sword! The sword... *ack*".  A return to the location of
Mordred and Arthur's encounter reveals that, indeed, the bodies of the two
men have disappeared, as have the swords both carried -- the Sword of Victory,
and Excalibur, respectively. Lancelot also seems to have disappeared, much
to Jean-Paul's chagrin.
	In the meantime, two of the more cautious knights are busy trying to
deal with matters in the rear area. With the battle over, the few surviving
knights are commandeering horses and squires, most of them planning to return
to their homes, since, with the destruction of the representatives of law and
order, the land has a new lord -- Chaos. At the rear, a slightly effete and
all-too-efficient Roman knight, who introduces himself as "Sir Valis of
Provence", is attempting to recruit knights to command squires in a burial
detail. Sir Darius of Lincoln makes apologies, and strides off to the corrals,
where Sir Remmic of Kent is facing down a huge, arrogant man, the Baron Gordon
of Kent. Remmic and the Baron come close to a duel, but Remmic eventually lets
him have the two horses he wants, and the Baron storms off in a huff.
	The four knights meet up in the rear area, and encounter yet another
knight, this one a freshly-dubbed young man named Sir Rand. Recognizing each
other from the court, yet not knowing much about each other, they discover
that they have a common goal, for the moment -- to find out what became
of Camelot; smoke from that direction indicated that the city was burning,
earlier. They decide that it might not be prudent to enter Camelot that 
night; instead, they encamp at Stonehenge, where they encounter the Archdruid
Taliesin, who leaves them with a number of cryptic statements, and then
vanishes.
	Despite their discomfort at staying at such a pagan place, the knights,
exhausted, sleep. The morning of November 1st dawns cold and gray, with a 
light drizzle; the English winter is upon the land. It is but a short ride 
to Camelot. At the main gates of city hangs a strange shield, that of the new
Lord Mayor of the city. The device on the shield is a strange one, containing
a circular black band; none of the knights are able to recognize its owner.
The knights enter the city warily, and seek solace in St. Stephen's Cathedral,
where they discover that the Lord Mayor is a man called Sir Angirad of the
Out Isles, appointed to that position some months previous by Mordred, and
thus under suspicion of treachery. Camelot has been deserted by much of its
population, although the Jews, some of the peasants, and some of the guildsmen
remain. There is a curfew in place, and crimes are punished mercilessly. A
brief look around the city shows that the stone cross in the center of town,
placed there by Arthur to signify God's place in this city, is now being used
by Angirad for crucifixions. Furthermore, Pendragon Castle has been burned
to the ground. In the razed courtyard are the charred remains of the Round
Table; the Siege Perilous is still partially intact, the inscription 
remaining.
	A brief digression into history is needed here. In 563, Mordred,
together with Agravaine, arranged to trap Lancelot in Guinevere's bedchamber.
Lancelot, unarmed, unarmored, nonetheless managed to kill one of the knights
that Mordred took with him, and, taking the knight's armor and weapons,
escaped. By Arthur's own law, however, Guinevere had to be sentenced to burn
at the stake. Arthur anticipated that Lancelot would rescue Guinevere, and
indeed he did, although in the process he killed Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth,
of the Orkney clan, and thus brothers of Sir Gawain, who urges Arthur to
revenge. Arthur marches out to lays siege to Lancelot's castle of Joyous Gard.
The result is that Lancelot is banished and Guinevere returned. But Sir Gawain
is still not satisfied, and the next year, Arthur again marches out his army
to lay siege to Lancelot's castle. Mordred, left behind as regent, usurps
the throne, and Arthur is forced to turn back and fight his way home.
	Britain is split between Pendragon loyalists, those who stand with
the Usurper, and those who elect to remain above the conflict. Among other
acts, Mordred enters St. Stephen's Cathedral, taking the fragments of the
Sword of Victory, and has the sword reforged. This is the sword that Arthur
pulled from the stone, declaring his birthright as king; it shattered when
Arthur tried to use it against King Pellinore, one of the Fisher Kings.
	Mordred himself was Arthur's bastard son by his half-sister Margawse
(a singularly unlucky woman, once married to King Lot of Orkney, who, after
his death slept with just about any man she could get her hands on, until
she ended up taking Sir Lamorak, King Pellinore's son, as her lover; her son
Sir Gaheris caught her in bed with Lamerok and beheaded her, while Lamerok
himself was later caught alone in a forest by Sir Gawain and his brothers,
and stabbed in the back by Mordred.)  Merlin prophesized to Arthur that his
child by Margawse would eventually be his destruction; Arthur, young and
scared, tried to have every baby boy of a certain age in Britain put to
the sword. The knights charged with this task were unable to perform it,
and instead put the babies in boats and shoved them out to sea; among those
children rescued was Mordred. While not a completely bad knight -- he was
a member of the Round Table -- Mordred always resented his position in the
world, and was unwilling to wait for Arthur to die before taking the throne.
He also hated Sir Lancelot, and wished to destroy all that Arthur had created;
when Mordred took the throne, he even attempted to marry a horrified Guinevere.
Nonetheless, Camelot itself was left mostly untouched by the war; the smoke
seen from Camlann must have been Pendragon Castle burning.
	Returning to our story:  the knights are told that any knights
entering the city must register with Lord Angirad's men. There are some two
score Roman mercenaries holding the city for Angirad, and the knights warily
approach Wolvesey Keep, where Lord Angirad has set up operations. In front of
the Keep is the headquarters of the mercenaries. There, a table has been set
up, and a bored clerk is taking names. The five knights are informed they must
register, and, in addition, they need to wear Angirad's badge. They hedge for
a bit, and then Darius, nervously eyeing the competent-looking mercenaries,
registers, putting on the badge. After some discussion, Remmic and Jean-Paul
are persuaded to do the same. But Hagthar, one of the younger sons of King
Maelgwyn of Wales, and thus a Prince, is outraged, refusing to wear the badge,
sputtering at the rudeness of the mercenary captain. He demands to see Lord
Angirad, and this request is granted in the form of a dinner invitation
for that knight. It is also discovered that Sir Valis reached the city before
they did, and has already entered Wolvesey Keep to speak with Angirad.
	The knights ride off to find an inn, their good behavior ensured by
the threatening presence of two huge Moors, lieutenants of Angirad. They
change into their best clothing, polish their armor, and make ready for their
dinner audience; at the appointed hour, the Moors turn up at the Dragon Inn,
and they are escorted to Wolvesey Keep.
	They enter a huge hall, decorated with dozens of shields. The 
collection is extensive, even containing a shield with an old device used
by Mordreed in his youth. At the end of the hall sits Angirad. Extremely tall,
he has black hair, strangely green eyes, and an unhealthily pale complexion.
He is accompanied by a  swarthy little Italian, who says nothing. Lord Angirad
himself is a model of courtesy and politeness. He also sets an excellent
table, and the knights fall to heartily, with the exception of Darius, who,
pleading the necessity to fast in purification after his slaughter of so many
at Camlann, eats and drinks little.
	The subject of the knight registration comes up quickly, and Sir
Hagthar makes his outraged complaint to Angirad, ending with, "I want that
man flogged!"  Angirad considers for a moment, then replies that he'd rather
not flog one of his mercenaries, but is willing to offer weregelt (blood
money) in apology. He offers Hagthar the choice of any one of the rings he
wears; Hagthar greedily picks the largest, and then proceeds to get extremely
drunk.
	Lord Angirad seems a polite enough man, and the knights are almost
beginning to relax, trading idle conversation. Angirad's shield collection,
it turns out, has been won from jousts; he fancies himself quite a skilled
jouster, despite his rather unorthodox practice of "two out of three" to win.
He regards himself as a disciplined man, although apparently not an idealistic
one, and he's certainly not fond of the Pendragon.
	One of the knights casually inquires what has become of Queen
Guinevere, to which Angirad casually replies that the queen's right in the
keep; he's raping her nightly. There is a stunned silence, and then Jean-Paul
says, "_Excuse_ me. Did you say that you are... raping the queen?"
	Calmly, Angirads answers in the affirmative, claiming that it his
right, as owner of the spoils of war. His is a lusty nature, he says; his
claim is that his father is a fomori (an Irish demon), and although he
tries to be a good knight, he has a few weaknesses. Remmic and Darius can
do nothing but gape; Hagthar, oblivious, continues to eat cheerfully.
	Sir Jean-Paul works up a slow boil, while Angirad, still quiet
and polite, offers to bring the queen down, saying that the queen herself
believes that this is her rightful punishment, that this is what she 
deserves for her part in the downfall of the Pendragon. When the queen
is brought down, all five knights realize that this is not the queen at
all, but rather one of her ladies-in-waiting, named Elisabet. Nonetheless,
she is a lady and must be defended -- but as the knights reach for their
swords, the Italian steps out, cocked heavy crossbow in hand.
	Hagthar continues eating, and Remmic and Darius watch uneasily
as Jean-Paul faces down Angirad. Jean-Paul claims that the woman is not
Queen Guinevere; Angirad insists that it is. Jean-Paul wants the woman
to be given over to him; Angirad refuses. Jean-Paul gets more and more
insulting, making numerous allegations about Angirad's mother. Remmic,
seeing a fight inevitable, desperately tells Jean-Paul, "Sit down. Have
some _turkey_. The _turkey_ is very good..."  Jean-Paul can only glare
at his fellow knights, and continue to shout at Angirad, in hopes of
provoking Angirad into issuing a challenge. As the challenged party,
Jean-Paul would have the right to pick the conditions, including weapon
used; Jean-Paul believes himself to be the superior with the sword, but
the shields on the wall warn that Angirad is almost certainly superior
with the lance. However, after considerable provocation, Angirad issues
a challenge, agreeing to a joust to first blood, with Elisabet and Camelot
itself as the prizes. The challenge is set for a field outside of Camelot,
at dawn the next morning. As a token of his good will, Angirad also offers
to give up Elisabet to the knights immediately; Jean-Paul accepts.
	Refusing Angirad's offer of hospitality for the night, the four
knights take the drunken Sir Hagthar and haul him back to the inn to get
a few hours of uncomfortable sleep. Rising early the next day, the knights
ride out to the field, where Angirad's mercenaries are busily setting up.
The jousting field is laid out east-west, with a large, colorful pavilion
near either end. Inside each pavillion is a generous selection of food,
as well as some barrels of wine; Angirad, it seems, always sets an
excellent table. The five knights, ever-suspicious, check out the clumps
of trees around the field, and flush out some hidden mercenaries, although
Hagthar, hung over and apparently unable to properly sit a horse this 
morning, manages to acquire a few bruises in the process. When Angirad's
retinue arrives not long after, the knights angrily confront him; he merely
shrugs and calmly sends the mercenaries back to the city. There are, however,
the two Moors present, serving as Angirad's seconds, as well as the mercenary
captain and some other mercenaries, acting as servants.
	Uneasily, the knights take up their positions, keeping an eye on
Angirad's seconds. They note Angirad's swarthy little Italian take up a place
in Angirad's pavilion, uncocked crossbow in hand, but can do nothing. Angirad
and Jean-Paul take their places, and begin their charge. Jean-Paul realizes,
to his horror, that he is riding directly into the rising sun, while Remmic
realizes too late that no one thought to check that Angirad was using a
rebated lance.
	And, indeed, the lance is not rebated; a cry of "Treachery!", and
the battle is joined. Sir Remmic and Sir Darius cut down the Moors, although
not without some difficulty. Sir Rand and Sir Hagthar attempt to hold off
the mercenaries, while Angirad and Jean-Paul hack at each other.
	The swarthy little Italian gets himself chopped down before he can
fire the crossbow, but the knights have a few extra problems to worry about.
The mercenaries in the pavilion pull off the tops of the wine barrels to
reveal a supply of javelins, and attempt to turn Hagthar into a pincushion.
Hagthar simply attempts a charge, but at the last moment, his horse founders,
sending him flying into the air, crashing into the center tent-pole, bringing
down the entire pavilion, trapping himself and the mercenaries in it.
	Meanwhile, Darius has dispatched the mercenary captain, and Remmic
and Jean-Paul have managed to knock Angirad off his horse, leaving the man
at their mercy. Angirad's armor is magical, flaring with green light and
absorbing all but the mightiest of blows; against both knights, though,
Angirad, not an unusually skilled swordsman, is quite helpless. Jean-Paul,
intent on vengeance, leaps off his horse and attempts to drag off Angirad's
helm; Remmic tries to prevent him, responding to Angirad's pleas for mercy,
insisting that King Arthur's justice would call for the man to be tried in
court at Camelot.
	Jean-Paul and Remmic argue, the former shouting at the latter to
get out of the way. Remmic refuses, and Jean-Paul attacks him, attempting
to push him out of the way. Lord Angirad takes advantage of this distraction
to crawl some yards away, where a grim-faced Sir Darius stops him. The 
enraged Jean-Paul begins to attack Remmic in earnest, and Darius watches
the two fight in horror, before making a decision. Either he can watch his
newfound comrades hack each other to pieces, or he can personally remove
the issue of contention, who, after all, is an evil half-demon. Sir Rand
arrives just in time to see Darius draw his dagger, but, not feeling
particularly merciful this morning, does nothing as Darius calmly slits
Angirad's throat.
	All motion stops ont the field as a wail rises into the air, cold
wind gusting about, as the soul of Sir Angirad flees shrieking to hell.
The light on Angirad's armor flares and dies. Sir Rand watches, aghast;
Remmic and Jean-Paul can only stare. Eventually, the knights recover (in
the case of Jean-Paul, with the aid of some wine carefully taken from
Angirad's tent), and go back to Camelot. There, they discover that the
mercenaries, realizing their employer is dead, have fled; the city, and
Elisabet, is won.
	Jean-Paul, Remmic, and Hagthar take some measures needed to
consolidate their rule, calling a town meeting for that night. Meanwhile,
Darius goes to St. Stephen's, to arrange for the burial of the dead and to
spend some considerable time grovelling in confession; he takes Sir Rand
with him. By the time those two get back, the meeting has started, and
plans are being made for the defense of Camelot. The knights organize
squadrons of militia, but realize that they will be largely ineffective
against a serious attack, and make plans to hire mercenaries as soon as
possible. They promise that they will uphold Arthur's justice, and agree
to leave the Jews in Camelot alone. After the meeting, the knights retire
for the night, although Jean-Paul first foolishly gets drunk and is rebuffed
by Elisabet.
	The next day is spent in more preparations. The knights find what
equipment they can, and managed to salvage some off the battlefield at
Camlann. They draw up a new shield, four-quartered, with the Pendragon's
symbol in the middle, and "In Memoriam Artorius" inscribed below -- the
new shield of the Regents of Camelot. A search of the castle reveals 
generous provisions, a moderately large treasury, and, chained away, Sir
Valis of Provence.
	Sir Valis explains that he encountered Lord Angirad once before,
and that Angirad was treacherous then. When he rode into Camelot, he was
recognized immediately and taken captive; he fought fiercely, and sustained
a number of grievous wounds. Being chained up with minimal sustenance really
doesn't do wonders for him, either. The knights do what they can for his
wounds and put him to bed.
	The next week gets spent in preparation, organizing the militia,
checking on the state of various city affairs, and other such details. Sir
Hagthar also writes a letter to his father, King Maelgwyn of Wales ("Father.
Have taken Camelot. Send help.")  Everyone else makes preparations to journey
home to check on the state of their family. It is decided that everyone will
go to London together; Remmic and Jean-Paul will continue on to Remmic's home
in Kent, while Hagthar and Darius go north to Darius' home in Lincoln. The
first pair, whose journey is far shorter, will pick up the mercenaries on 
the way back. Sir Rand and Sir Valis get left behind to supervise the city.

		LONDON ADVENTURES

	The knights set out on a cold November morning, riding east. The
King's Road is mostly empty, and the journey not difficult. At dusk, the
knights are at the outskirts of the city of Silchester. They decide to find
a manor to stop at, and eventually settle on a villa of Roman design. The
shield hanging outside is a gryphon rampant on a gold field, a device that
none of the knights recognize. Everything looks to be in good order, though.
Remmic accosts a peasant and asks who the lord of the manor is; he is told
that it is the property of one Lord Theraloi.
	Hagthar sends his squire Hobart to announce the party. Some time later,
the squire returns, saying that the knights are invited to spend the night.
The knights enter the manor proper, and are extremely impressed. Lord Theraloi,
it seems, is one of three wealthy Byzantine merchants who have taken up
residence in the area; the merchants' titles have been bought. A chamberlain
appears, and informs the knights that since Theraloi has another guest, one
SIr Paranoios, so dinner will be served as High Feast. Accordingly, the
knights are offered changes of clothing, and baths, complete with serving
girls.
	Darius panics mildly over this, and somehow manages to explain to
a somewhat shocked chamberlain that he's not able to have any bath-attendants
because he's in the middle of some heavy penance for his sins. Having said
this, he hastily enters a bath-room and shuts and locks the door behind him.
There are a number of raised eyebrows, but the other knights are escorted to
their baths. Hagthar makes an attempt on a serving girl, who turns him down
rudely; he consoles himself by outfitting himself in the most flamboyant
clothing that Theraloi has to offer. Jean-Paul and Darius settle for plain
black robes of costly fabric, while Remmic chooses an outfit of deep purple;
Lord Theraloi's wardrobe offerings are lavish.
	The knights meet down in the courtyard of the villa, where baskets
of oranges have been set out. The knights admire the decor and the efficiency
of the servants, before the other guest, Sir Paranoios, appears. Hagthar
approaches him with a, "Welcome!"  The Greek knight apparently speaks no
English, and cheerfully points to himself, saying, "Paranoios!", then points
to Hagthar, saying, "Val-com!"  Hagthar nods enthusiastically, "Welcome!"
Sir Paranoios nods a bit more, gesturing, then glances questioningly at
the other knights, who introduce themselves. Darius succeeds in communicating
with the fellow in Latin, but the others merely give their names; Paranoios
cheerfully repeats the names, mangling the pronunciation. Hagthar, realizing
that Paranoios was expecting introductions, hastily tries to tell the man,
"Hagthar MacMaelgwyn."  Paranoios considers this momentarily, and then says,
more firmly, "Val-com."
	A cold appetizer of animals-stuffed-within-animals is brought before
the knights, who eat while waiting for Theraloi to arrive. When he does, he
greets the knights cordially, and explains that they have arrived at a 
fortuitous time -- Sir Anaes the Byzantine, the local banneret knight, has
just put down a peasant rebellion, and has declared three days of feasting.
Theraloi regretfully informs the party that they've arrived slightly too late
to witness the crucifixions. The knights consider this, make the appropriate
polite noises, and try not to think about it (but at least it explains how
Theraloi got such efficient servants).
	The knights enjoy an excellent repast. The dinner entertainment 
consists of a production of "Agamemnon", performed by a theatre troup 
brought from Theraloi's homeland. It's an excellent performance, although
shortly before the climactic scene, where Clytemnestra throws Agamemnon's
shirt over his head, in his bath, and then stabs him, the knights notice
that the person brought on stage looks and sounds different from the actor
who was playing Agamemnon earlier.
	The death scene is well-played, and Agamemnon dies quite realistically
when stabbed. A little too realistically -- the knights realize with horror
that they've just witnessed a real death, as around them, everyone else
applauds enthusiastically. Theraloi informs them that it was a peasant rebel;
such acts help keep the serfs in line. Jean-Paul bangs his fist on the table,
swearing, "Goddammit! Goddammit!"  Paranoios looks thrilled with this display
of enthusiasm, and begins to do the same. "Valcom! Goddammit!"
	The other knights are decidedly unhappy, but the rules of hospitality
prevent them from doing anything to their host. The exception is Hagthar, who
continues eating and drinking happily, totally oblivious. Jean-Paul eventually
manages to persuade Paranoios to find another phrase to display his enthusiasm.
Theraloi makes polite conversation; he notes for the benefit of the somewhat
aghast Remmic that the Britons are quite odd people, very serious about
certain things -- his own personal belief is that Christianity is merely
a useful tool for keeping the populace in line. Dinner continues uninterrupted,
save for a minor interruption when a serving girl makes a mistake and is about
to be beaten by Theraloi, but Jean-Paul looks decidedly upset, and Theraloi
graciously spares her. Eventually, having lost their appetites, Remmic,
Darius, and Jean-Paul retire to their rooms.
	Some time afterwards, Jean-Paul gets a knock on his door. Standing
there is the young serving-girl that he earlier rescued from Sir Theraloi's
anger. With heroic restraint, Jean-Paul reminds himself of Elisabet and
politely turns her down.
	Darius isn't quite so lucky. He's just settled down for a couple
of hours of prayers, in an attempt to purge himself of the sins of the
night, when he, too, gets a knock on the door. The rather paranoid Darius
grabs his sword before answering, but it's only a servant boy, accompanied
by a note, in Latin, from Theraloi, informing him that Theraloi was told
about Darius' apparent lack of enthusiasm for the serving girls, and that,
as a Byzantine, he quite understands, and since he feels obligated to provide
for the entertainment of his guests, he's presenting Darius with the servant
to do with as he likes for the night. Darius firmly shuts the door in the
servant's face, and pens a note back to Theraloi, saying he's in the middle
of doing heavy penance and regretfully must decline  [ prompting the comment
from our friend the GM, "Hey, he does heavy penance too!" ].
	Oblivious to the goings-on upstairs, Hagthar cheerfully continues to
stuff himself, and he and Paranoios manage to get roaring drunk. Eventually,
the two men manage to stagger upstairs to Hagthar's room. Hagthar tries to
enter his room and shut the door, but Paranoios has other ideas -- "Valcom!
Goddammit!"  [ in a tone which our friend the GM, who's apparently having
_far_ too good a time with this, translates as, "C'mon, sweetykins, I know
you're not like the others." ]  Hagthar is _totally_ oblivious to this,
nods his head, and shuts the door, locking it behind him. Down the hall,
the other knights hear Paranoios hammering on the door, yelling, "Valcom!
Goddammit!" (with an intent that's quite obvious to everyone but Hagthar),
repeatedly, while inside the room, Sir Hagthar blissfully passes out.
	The next day, the knights meet in the courtyard, and breakfast.
Theraloi's left them with a couple of bottles of an excellent French wine;
Jean-Paul greedily takes them all, earning a glare from Sir Darius, who's
still a bit shaken from his encounter of the previous night. Sir Hagthar is
nowhere to be found; eventually, the knights go up to his room. Sir Paranoios
has passed out in front of the door; he is tactfully "removed" to the side,
and the hung-over Hagthar is roused from bed.
	One more complication marks this departure from Lord Theraloi's manor.
Jean-Paul, feeling guilty over the abused servant-girl, wants to purchase her
from Theraloi. This earns him a shocked look from Darius and Remmic, but he
nonetheless seeks out Theraloi and offers to purchase her. Theraloi sets a
high price, and, even with the money that Jean-Paul took along to buy a
present for Elisabet with, the knight has insufficient funds. Hagthar 
generously offers him a loan, and the deal is concluded. As the knights
leave, Jean-Paul protests to his companions that he intends to free the
girl, who would serve as an excellent maid to Elisabet; the others are rather
dubious about this (and Remmic is eyeing the girl thoughtfully.)

	This done, the knights ride for London. That city seems to still be
in good order, the bustling commerce largely unaffected by the war. Near
the gates of the city, though, they encounter a wizened old man, who looks
up at them and speaks a warning. Despite the form, the knights recognize 
Taliesin; the archdruid warns them that London is an extremely dangerous
place at the moment, and that they should not enter the city dressed as
knights. Taliesin then promptly vanishes [ is this guy related to Dungeon
Master, or what? ].  The knights decide to take a room at an inn outside
of the city; they leave their shields and the servant-girl Klyra with the
squires and Sir Remmic, although Jean-Paul insists that the latter swear
an oath not to touch the girl. Hagthar is disguised as the foppish son of
a merchant, with Jean-Paul and Darius as his bodyguards; dressed thus,
the three enter the city, noting that the gate is unguarded.
	It is dusk as they ride in, and, oddly, the street-lamps are being
lit not by the City Watch, but by the shopkeepers. Darius urges the others
to first stop at St. Paul's Cathedral; just as they near it, three cloaked
figures ride by. The elaborate blue tatoos on the face of the leader indicate
a Pictish knight; exchanging wary glances, the three companions enter the
cathedral, to find a number of priests clustered around a senior priest,
Father Ritter. After the knights convince the priests they mean no harm,
they are told that the Father was attacked by the Picts they saw earlier,
who were demanding news of "the one-armed knight."  When the Father claimed
to know nothing, the Picts assaulted him. The priests tell the knights they
have no knowledge of this "one-armed knight", but do give further information
about the state of affairs in the city.
	London has always been a free city; it is ruled by a council of twenty
aldermen -- wealthy merchants selected from the city -- who select another
not of their number to be the Lord Mayor. When the civil war broke out three
years previous, the Lord Mayor, Niall Biric, renounced the Pendragon,
preferring to keep London as neutral ground; those who supported him became
known as the "London Firsters". Order is kept within the city by two hundred
miltiamen, the City Watch, captained by a man called Sir Vanomere; the Watch
answers to the council. The city is also guarded by the five hundred
professionals of the City Guard; recently, a Saxon named Torth has been
appointed as its captain. The Guard is answerable only to the Lord Mayor.
	Recently, the Lord Mayor has changed the method of citizenship in
London. Previously based on patrimony, it is now based on the amount of
taxes a man is willing to pay; there are different "levels" of citizenship,
and an outspoken alderman named Maximian Catelline the Younger is claiming
that this accords the poor no rights at all. However, only four other alderman
support him, although he does have the support of the Watch, who come mostly
from poor families and thus have a stake in the issue. The hostilities have
intensified to the point where a curfew has been declared; anyone caught
outside with a weapon after dark will be summarily executed. Knights are
also quite an unwelcome presence, and the priests regretfully inform the
three companions that they cannot be offered sanctuary, as Torth's men do
not respect the sanctity of holy ground.
	An argument ensues. The hotheaded Jean-Paul wants to go to the aid
of the Watch, while Darius claims that their first responsibility must be
Camelot, and they will do no one good if dead. Darius wants to get the
mercenaries and leave as quickly as possible; Jean-Paul insists that Arthur's
ideals require that they assist the Watch. Darius fails to see much difference
between feudalistic oppression of the poor and capitalistic oppression of the
poor, and wants no part of the enterprise. Hagthar, of course, is oblivious,
as usual.
	They finally agree to return to the inn, where they fill Sir Remmic in
on the news. They also meet another knight, one Sir Edmond of Salisbury. He
fought at Camlann, and had reached Camelot just in time to receive word that
its protectors had gone on to London; he offers to join them, and they accept. 
The cautious Remmic also feels that hiring mercenaries should be the first
order of business, though Jean-Paul vows to seek out the men of the Watch and
offer them his aid. They decide to leave the servant-girl Klyra behind with
the squires; Jean-Paul explains to the innkeeper precisely what will happen
to him if he allows harm to come to the girl.
	The next morning, the five knights ride into London, once again in the
merchant-and-bodyguards disguise. While attempting to reach the docks, they
run into a blockade; several members of the city guard lie dead, killed by
multiple stab wounds. The bodies are newly-discovered but several hours dead;
after a few minutes of rubbernecking, and their first sight of a huge Saxon
who can only be Torth, the knights ride around the crowd, going through the
Jewish Quarter, eventually entering a large inn by the docks.
	There, Darius is surprised to recognize Sir Lanoric de Galys, a Knight
of the Grail, cousin to Sir Lamorak de Galis, the Fisher Knight. He, too, is 
in disguise, but recognizes the others as having fought for Arthur at Camlann.
He explains that he would long have left this world, but he must fulfill
Arthur's dying request -- that Excalibur be taken and returned to the Lady of
the Lake. He also tells the knights that Arthur's body was taken away by
three queens; they realize that the information about the sword and the
queens explains Sir Lucan's last words. Sir Lanoric is now looking for the
bearer of Excalibur -- the one-armed knight, whom he has tracked to London,
but lost in the city's teeming population.
	Sir Lanoric tells the knights that he first believed the one-armed
knight to be Sir Gryflet, but has since decided that it is Sir Bedivere, who
lost his right arm to Sir Agravaine at Camlann, a blow which should have been
mortal. Sir Bedivere, it seems, is no longer sane; only his driving need to
fulfill Arthur's request is keeping him alive. Sir Lanoric says that, for
his own part, he should be gone from this Godless, sinful world. He continues
in this vein of overbearing piety for a while, eventually becoming too much
for even Sir Darius. Yet, this _is_ a quest given by Arthur, and the knights
agree to help.
	Sir Lanoric wastes no time; leaving the inn, he mounts a snow-white
charger, and informs the knights that he intends to search London person by
person, if need be. To the mild astonishment of the party, he does so,
starting by threatening a longshoreman with a sword. However, another
complication shows up, in the form of a Saxon warrior who tells Jean-Paul
of an opportunity to make two thousand pounds -- nearly ten times the size
of the entire Camelot treasury. The Saxon plans to make money the easy way --
by stealing it. The disgusted Sir Lanoric stalks off to question more London
residents, and the party splits up, Darius going with Sir Lanoric, Remmic
and Hagthar and Edmond going together in the opposite direction, Jean-Paul
going off alone to seek out the Watch, and the Saxon wandering off to rob
a store or two.
	Jean-Paul eventually manages to find someone who can tell him where
Vanomere is. He enters a street and knocks on a certain door; when it opens,
he is immediately surrounded by suspicious Watchmen. He is instructed to
drop his sword, and complies, insisting he wants to help. The figure in the
doorway says that if Jean-Paul is sincere, he will return at midnight, bringing
his companions; his sword must be left as a token of goodwill. Jean-Paul
agrees, leaving his sword and setting off to rejoin his companions.
	In the meantime, Darius and Lanoric have been questioning London
folk, with no luck. The trio of Hagthar, Remmic, and Edmond, fare better;
after evading a greedy beggar, chance upon someone who tells them that there
is a crazed one-armed man in a nearby alley. Dismounting, proceeding single
file down the alley, Remmic in the lead, followed by Hagthar and Edmond, they
walk down the narrow, dark alley. At its end is Sir Bedivere, crouched around
a cloth-wrapped scabbard containing a bastard sword, obviously quite mad.
Out of the darkness comes a whisper, an inquiry to the identities of those
who enter. Remmic answers, and the voice claims to be a friend. But as the
three knights approach, they discover that the Picts they encountered earlier
are waiting for them. They are instructed to leave, but refuse to comply;
the Pictish leader rushes Sir Bedivere, intending to take the sword.
	Sir Bedivere struggles to his feet, trying to draw the sword. At
the last minute, he gets it out of its scabbard. There is a blinding flash
of light. Across the city, Sir Jean-Paul falls to his knees, the scar from
a demon-wound in his side throbbing painfully. Elsewhere, Sir Darius is
stunned to see Sir Lanoric fall off his horse, dead, bleeding from every
orifice in his head.
	The sword explodes into flames, over and over again, destroying the
Picts who wait in the alley. As it does so, the three knights back out of
the alley; the explosive flames have set fire to the buildings on either
side. Sir Hagthar considers the inferno, and realizes that Sir Bedivere is
trapped in there with the sword; he tries to run in, but is restrained by
Sir Remmic. Sir Remmic's courage fails him, though, and Sir Hagthar pushes
past him, rushing into the alley, making it to the end of the alley only to
discover that both Sir Bedivere and the sword are gone. He turns around and
runs back out, only to collapse a few feet from the alley mouth. Remmic
recovers his valor and drags Sir Hagthar out, although he, too, suffers
terrible burns.
	Somehow, the knights manage to evade the City Guard converging on
the location and make it back to the inn where they met Sir Lanoric. They
are joined later by Sir Jean-Paul, and lastly by Sir Darius, who first
visited a chapel to ensure that Sir Lanoric would be properly buried. They
exchange stories, and are both puzzled and horrified. Jean-Paul puts forward
the theory that Sir Bedivere doesn't have Excalibur at all, but rather the
Sword of Victory, wielded by Mordred at Camlann. Yet, neither sword has put
on a demonstration like _this_ before...