Previously in the Dark Age
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In my best gravelly American voice...
Previously in the Dark Age...
In an attempt to rescue a kidnapped druid the heroes learned from Myrddin that Blaise was probably being held captive in Saxon territory. With the help of Sagramor (who responded to an enigmatic message from Myrddin) they disguised themselves as Saxons and crossed the border. There they uncovered the place where Blaise was being tortured by a foreign mystic (from somewhere in the Mediterranean area). They were aided in the battle by Myrddin who appeared out of the blue and who seemed equally interested in taking a table from the building as he was in rescuing his mentor. Blaise too seemed adamant about taking the table.
The heroes also discovered that Aelle was launching a raid on Powys. Though they were still the enemy the heroes decided to side with Blaise who felt they should be warned, rather than Myrddin who was happy to let both foes kill each other. They took the warning to Arthur, who led them and a cavalry force to the defence of the Powysian town of Ratae. They then went as Arthur's emissaries to the court of Powys, only to get embroiled in the court politics. Fearing a Dumnonian/Powysian alliance some lords, possibly including Lord Valerin, attempted to kill them. In an attempt to get them to safety, while simultaneously gaining them credibility with the king, Prince Cuneglas sent them on a quest to find the Ring of Eluned, which might heal the King's severed arm.
So far their task has sent them north, through lands they have never visited before. They were pursued by a psychopathic werewolf named Hengist, who attempted to give his lord revenge for their rescue of Blaise. As they crossed into the land of Elmet they ran into what they supposed was a new threat, a man named Menas and his henchmen called Mentors. These Mentors were acting as advisors to the king and claimed to come from the far-off court of Byzantium in the Eastern Roman Empire. However, in their attempts to persuade the king (who did not need much persuading) to destroy symbols of the old religion, they destroyed a stone circle that was holding back a gate to the Otherworld of the druidic faith. With the country being attacked by creatures of the Otherworld the group also found themselves under attack from the same Nipponese mercenaries that had previously fought them in Kernow. Why they had resumed their attack was unknown but the heroes were aided by other Nipponese who claimed to be from a rival band of ninja (as they informed the heroes their style of fighting to be called). When Cuan announced he was going to stay and help seal the gate one of the ninja, Ashikage Kyuzo, opted to take his place and protect the others.
As they attempted to find some texts that the Mentors were hiding Gwydre was hurt saving several peasants from a burning building. The heroes were forced to leave him with the youngest 'wise woman' they had ever met, and travelled on in search of a prophetess who it was claimed could aid them in discovering where the Mentors were hiding. It turned out they were working from an ancient fort called Dolorous Gard, which the heroes headed for, now accompanied by the prophetess' son, Taliesin.
Dolorous Gard turned out to have an unusual design, and one which confused and disoriented the heroes. The first foe they faced within was a giant shadowy hound, exactly like the one that accompanied the mystic who had held Blaise. This time though there was a second shadow hound, as well as several fiery dogs which appeared to be guards against the monsters in the lower levels of the fort. They also killed two mentors who taunted them, before the monsters of the lower levels realised the guard dogs were dead and stormed up to retake what they claimed was their fort. As the heroes sat outside the fort the fort's new (old?) owners cleared out anything the mentors had brought with them, including the tales of the whereabouts of the Ring of Eluned...
