"I would love no more than run them down, Sir Dalan, but what if they defeat us? Oh I am not talking about saving my own skin, but if they defeat us and we have not send word to Earl Roberts then he will not know where to deploy his forces and this opportunity will be lost. Oh I agree we can pursue them as far as we can, but we must also get word to Earl Roberts."

Sir Gracian points in the direction of the tracks. "Besides if they are that many men on both horses and foot, then I am sure their camp must be close."

"My friends, what if we do both?  By all means send for our Lord, but we should also endeavor to find and pursue the enemy.  If as you say, their camp is close, then we should find it and attack.  We leave them nowhere to return to and acquire their supplies for ourselves.  Then when they return, men and horses exhausted from a day of raiding we strike."

Sir Gracian looks at Sir Dalan with a huge grin on the face. "What about it my brother? Shall we not listen to the words of young Sir Perin and wreck havoc on the enemy so that they are weakened when our Earl Roberts arrive with his forces?"

Turning to the rest of the men he calls out with a grin on his face. "Men of Salisbury! I do not know what Gods the Irish pray to, but I hope they have said their prayers because I think it is time to show them some true Salisbury hospitality!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Mon 11 Sept 2017.

"Yes!" Sir Dalan cries enthusiastically, his grin echoing Sir Gracian's. "Well said good Sir Perin, let us do the work of knights this day!"

"Decisions made in the blind are foolish at best. Wisdom would dictate that we determine their exact numbers and ground before attacking. Normally, I would say that we should be cautious, but it seems the saints did bring us here for this purpose. I am no hunter, or so keen of eye that it could not be any other way. By Gabriel's horn, a valiant charge through their camp with the men following. We could wreak such damage that they would not be able to strike a counter offensive. The success of our endeavor depends on the quality of their perimeter guard. If spotted early, the battle will be dangerous indeed." With that said, Garym kneeled on the ground with his sword in the position of the cross. Garym was not normally a religious man this was just a ritual a god faring knight did before battle, but this time it seemed to mean more than it had when he was a squire. Maybe as a squire, he was so concerned at just serving he was oblivious of the danger. Plus, he as a knight had responsibility of the men that served with him.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:12, Mon 11 Sept 2017.

"I am of course not suggesting we rush in blindly my friend, but it seems to me that we have a rare opportunity here.  If indeed the raiders are all out, then a strike to their camp could all but cripple them.  However if things look too bad, we can simply not engage and begin to slowly pull back, allowing time for our reinforcements to arrive."

After praying; Garym gets up. "Perhaps, we should consider a twilight raid. The Irish will either be sleeping or drunk. The darkness will give us the opportunity to approach without being scene more likely."

"Good idea Sir Garym but first we must track them and find them." says Sir Gracian.

"My only concern would be that if we attempt such an attack, their raiders and the forces guarding their camp might have merged.  Still, as you say Sir Gracian, we need more information.  So shall we hunt some Irish?"

It is around 4:00 p.m.

Sir Cadlew rides off in search of their contact with the main body as the remaining knights start tracking the prints back toward their source.  Given the number of tracks involved, it is usually fairly easy but a couple of times the trail seems to disappear . . . in fact it seems to have been purposely obscured.  Sir Garym and Sir Sejanus are able to pick up the trail again.  After an hour or so, the tracks seem to disappear once more.

The knights spiral out from the spot and eventually, Sir Tyreth spots the remnants of a campsite about a hundred yards from where the tracks disappeared.  The campsite is fairly well hidden and has mostly been swept to avoid detection.  It looks like the group camped for a single night and moved on.

From observing the tracks, the knights determine the following:

The trail meanders as if purposely not heading in a straight line.

The party appears to be moving fairly slowly.  There are clear indications of groups going off to hunt or gather firewood and water the horses and men.

The party had probably been traveling for about 3 hours at the point you picked up the trail.

Some things about the surroundings:

The camp is a ways from the river.  The land near the river is marshy at this point although it becomes dryer and hillier as you move North, which the party appears to be doing, in general.

There are not a lot of settlements in this area and it is mostly woods.  One would not normally expect a large force of knights or men-at-arms here.  In fact, having a large force of knights from outside of the area (you) is highly unusual.

Heading back to where you originally found the tracks, you discover Sir Cadlew and five other knights have just arrived.  At this point, it is around 6:30 p.m. and you think that the tracks are now about 8 hours old.  You have a few hours of daylight left.

Five more knights and 30 men-at-arms will arrive here in the morning (although if you notify them prior to dawn, they can go somewhere else instead).

Given your guess about their pace, if you continue tracking them until it gets too dark to do so, you might catch up with them before it is too dark to see.

You have been traveling all day, so the men-at-arm will be fairly tired if they march for another 3 hours.

Fighting in the dark is a bad option for knights in the woods.  Traveling in the woods at night requires torches, which can be seen for up to miles.

Sir Sejanus gets a check in Hunting.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:11, Wed 13 Sept 2017.

The group decides to await reinforcements and camps where they first came across the tracks.  They set up a defensive perimeter and sentries and stagger watches.  The night is uneventful.

Around mid-morning, five knights and thirty men-at-arm arrive.  Expecting that they are about a day behind the raiders, they cautiously follow the tracks.  Once more, the trail meanders about but heads generally north.  Tracks go off occasionally, presumably for hunting or scavenging.

On a couple of occasions, the tracks disappear completely and once more it seems that they were obscured on purpose.  Sir Tyreth is able to pick the trail up, however.

Around mid-afternoon, after the group has been traveling for about 5 hours, the tracks disappear completely.  It takes about half an hour until Sir Garym discovers the scattered remains of their camp.  Like the previous camp, it is hidden from view and some effort was made to hide evidence of it.

It appears that they had a sheltered fire, which would have been hard to see from any distance.  There are buried bones that include a deer and some small animals.  There is a stream running nearby.

The group searches for the tracks again but can't seem to find where the raiders went from here.  After about an hour, the knights have carefully searched the area 100-200 yards from camp, especially heading north and have not found any sign of the horses or men.

There was evidence along the way that the group stopped for water.  There are streams every so often.  The ground here is becoming a bit more marshy, suggesting that you are getting closer to the Severn River again.

Heading to the east for about a mile, the group then heads north once more.  The terrain becomes a bit more open, although more hilly.  They make good time, skirting the base of hills and taking advantage of the reduced number of trees.

After a few hours, it is time to stop once more for the night.  Camp is made in a defensible position with guards and watches.  The night passes uneventfully.

Based on a rough estimate of the enemy's movements, you would guess that you should be about an hour or two behind them if they kept to the same pace.

The party gets up before dawn, has some cold rations for breakfast and heads out as soon as it is light enough to see, hoping to get ahead of the raiders.  After traveling north for about an hour, they come upon a road.  And by road I mean single-lane dirt track heading East-West.

Since the raiders are almost certainly to the west and roads mean civilization, the group heads west.  They pass a few farms but no signs of life, or indications that raiders have been here.  A little over a mile down the road, they come to a small village.  Basically a small collection of buildings next to the river.

There are a large number of people in the streets, seemingly having a debate of some kind.  Seeing the group approach, an older man who seems to be in charge comes forward while the others cheer.

"My Lords," he begins, "bless you for arriving so quickly and with such force, our small town is honored by your response," he bows low.

This is all rather baffling and it takes several minutes before the confusion is cleared up.  It seems that everyone in town went to bed as normal last night but woke up this morning to find that Ole Whalen, who runs the ferry, is dead (his throat was cut) and the ferry, which is usually on this side of the river, is on the other side of the river.

There is a rope that goes across, which is used to guide the ferry, but there is no way to get the ferry back here without sending someone to the other side.  The closest crossing is Gloucester, which is about 10 miles north of here.  (On the Main Game Map you are South of Gloucester along the river where it bends in a semi-circle to the west.)  The river is fairly narrow here but that also means that it is moving quite quickly.

The townfolk sent a runner to their lord, seeking help an hour ago and then you showed up.  They have not seen nor heard anything about any raiders.  They are the southernmost settlement in Gloucester.  This is a lesser-used crossing, mainly used by smaller groups or those who wish to avoid the expensive tolls at Gloucester.

As the knights and townsfolk try to figure out what is going on, Sir Sejanus notices some familiar-looking hoof prints near the ferry dock.  Sir Sejanus gets a check in Awareness.

Garym could tell there was little chance of crossing here. He started to speak with the locals hoping that they knew a safer place to forge the river. They were so close to over taking the Irish. He could not accept a river was going to block him.

While Sir Garym talked to the locals, Perin conversed with his fellow knights in a low tone.  "Does anyone else find it suspicious that the Irish completely ignored the village, and instead are making their way further inland?  That suggests more than simple raiders to me, they have a clear objective in mind.  And the bit with the rope, they're either on to us, or taking no chances at all.  Neither of which bode well for us..."

Sir Gracian has been sitting on his horse quietly studying the river. Sir Perin's words seems to bring him back from his thoughts. "I agree Sir Perin. I fear their leader is a cunning barstard. You think they knew they were being pursued by us? Think about it ... their old camp hidden, tracks covered and now this. Lets say that any of you were leading those raiders and you knew that you were being pursued because one of your scouts stumble upon the enemy by chance but escape without being noticed. So you want your pursuers off your back and still be able to raid. So what do you do? You make sure the enemy head for a crossing 10 miles away. It will give you a chance to get rid of your pursuers and leave a village open for a raid afterwards."

He sighs. "I dont know ... perhaps I am just imagining things. Perhaps the raiders are not even trying to raid villages but are after a greater prize. Blasted! What happened to a simple battle?"

The townsfolk don't know of a better crossing than the one at Gloucester.  The bank on this side is pretty marshy south of here and very steep north of here.  The bend in the river makes this a good place to get to the river easily, hence the ferry.  They think they can rig up something with the barrels and logs they have but they are not eager to try crossing themselves.  Above their pay grade, as it were.

As the knights and townsfolk discuss the situation, a rider can be seen galloping up the road the knights just used.  His horse is lathered and he looks very much as if he has been riding for a long time.

The townsfolk begin murmuring that this must be a response to their petition but as the man draws reign, you recognize him as Sir Ceredig, one of Earl Robert's knights.  They did not recognize him at first as he is on a Courser (more of a hunting horse than a battle horse or riding horse, they are the fastest of the horses) and is wearing no armor or pack.

Out of breath, he slides from the saddle, staggering somewhat but catching himself before approaching the knights.  "Sir Gracian, Sir Dalan, the raiders, they are heading to Escavalon for the Princess, you have to stop them at all costs!"

Sir Ceredig has, in fact, been riding for most of the last day.  Once he has caught his breath and questions are asked and answered, the tale spills out.  Earl Robert is courting Princess Gwendollyn of Escavalon and it was her who requested his aid in dealing with Irish raiders.  Muirchertach Mac Erca, the High King of Ireland, is also courting the Princess and seems to have taken a rather more forceful approach after the Pentecost feast.

Some Irish ships were seen heading East past Cardiff and it was believed that they were going to attack Bristol.  The Princess asked Earl Robert to help deal with the situation while her own troops dealt with additional raiders to the west.  When Earl Robert received news that your group had discovered raiders, he had also just gotten news of the fleet attacking Bristol, so he sent a few forces to you while most of the rest of the knights and men headed south to help defend Bristol.

It turns out that the attack on Bristol was just a feint, meant to draw attention away from the group you were following.  Sir Robert captured part of the group attacking Bristol, which did not expect so large a force to be close by.  He found out that the plan is to have a large force attack Kynedunne and Cardiff to draw out Escavalon's army while a smaller force sneaks into Carlion to capture the Princess.  The Irish navy is blockading the Port of Bristol and there is no way to get word out except overland.

Earl Robert and most of his troops are coming but they are still at least half a day behind you.  You need to stop the raiders before they can get to Carlion.  It is also likely that a second group of raiders has or will join up with the ones you are following.  So, good luck and God speed.

 Sejanus, the quiet one of the newly minted Knights, only spoke when he thought it worthy of the words. He sat atop his horse, and studied the far shore where the ferry was located. He studied the terrain and places that might provide concealment.

“Perhaps I am in error, my brothers, but a clever leader might have left a small detachment of archers to guard this ferry. The swift current would make the slowing go, for anyone attempting to cross.  It would be the Devils own time, winning the opposite bank, in the teeth of arrows.”

"Sir Ceredig, how many troops does the princess currently have. Remembering what he had been told." It seemed that there was no way to get ahead of them. "Sir, do you know the terrain better than I is there any route that could ridden that could reach the Princess with a warning?"

Perin nods at Sir Sejanus as the man broke his long silence to raise a point about archers "Aye, that's a good point, but only if he's willing to lose those men.  The force seems small enough as is, I'm not sure they'd be willing to split their forces like that.  Still, it's worth being aware of."  Turning to Sir Garym he adds "Are you thinking of doing the same thing as Sir Ceredig?  It might be wise to get word to Escavalon as soon as possible."  The suggestion made perfect sense of course, Sir Garym was the finest rider that Perin had ever seen; he had no doubt that the man could make it to Escavalon in time to get some sort of defenses set up.

The townsfolk get to work creating a raft of sorts.  They take a couple of barrels standing upright and lash a couple of logs between them at the top opening.  They place the logs over the rope that spans the river so that one upright barrel sits on each side with the rope beneath the logs.  One person can stand in each barrel and pull themselves across with the rope.  It looks relatively secure but getting across will take a while.  The ferry itself looks like it can take 4 horses or 10 soldiers at a time.

Sir Ceredig responds, "I do not know for sure but I don't think there is more than a token force of a dozen or so guards in Carlion.  Trying to get a message through is risky as the enemy is between us and there and will likely be moving quickly and probably guarding the road.  If they can get to the bridge above Caerwent before a messenger, there will be no way around."  (It is about 20 miles straight on the trade road from the ferry to Caerwent.)

It is absolutely possible that the raiders left archers but that assumes that they expected pursuit and had men to spare at this point.  If they really wanted to screw you they would have cut the rope and sunk the ferry.  They seem to have made an effort to leave as little evidence of their presence as possible.

It is currently still relatively early morning.  If things go according to plan, you could get a couple of people to the far side, get the ferry back, and ferry men and horses across in a few hours.  You could then make it down to Caerwent before nightfall if you pushed and didn't run into anything.

Tipping his hand in acknowledgement of the man's point, Sir Perin turned to his fellows "Then it sounds like we need to move quickly."  Glancing about, he motions to one of the sergeants, calling the grizzled veteran over.  "Tell the men to rest while they can during the next few hours, we have a day of hard marching ahead of us once we get to the other side of the river."

Sir Garym calls his fellow knights over. "We will have lost much time moving with the main body. We can not defeat the Irish with just our knights, but perhaps we could cause them to stop their movement thinking that they had been overtaken. What I propose may be foolhardy, but I doubt that we can catch the Irish as is. We proceed on horse in pursuit. We attempt to deceive them in thinking we are a larger unit. They will use scouts to determine our size, but the standard tactic would to prepare lines for battle until the scouts report."

The group from Salisbury has 17 knights plus 50 men-at-arms, and Sir Ceredig, who is unarmed/armored and not in much shape to ride hard right now much less fight.  The townspeople build the makeshift raft and two of the men-at-arms volunteer to take it across the river and return with the ferry, which they do.  It is somewhat time-consuming but works well enough.

When the ferry is brought back over to the east side of the Severn River, sixteen of the knights quickly ferry over to the far side, using ropes attached to spare horses to speed the ferry along.  Sir Cadlew, still on the east side, offers to bring the men-at-arm along behind if the knights feel it a good idea to ride ahead.  Sir Ceredig will await Earl Robert and the others on the east side of the river to let them know what is going on.

Recovering the ferry and getting the knights to the west bank takes about an hour.  If they want their squires and spare horses, it will take another hour.  Getting all of the men across will also take about an hour.  If the knights are going to go on their own, sending the men-at-arms next and then the squires would mean the men-at-arm start an hour behind the knights and the squires could probably catch up with the men-at-arms before arriving at the bridge.

“If we are to offer pursuit, they enemy have no idea of our exact numbers, so I offer the following counsel. We travel in a loose order. We get whatever rope, leathers straps, etc., and tied branches to them. If each of us drag as many branches as we can, the dust kicked up will give the impression of a large body of mounted men. “

"It is indeed foolhardy Sir Garym but do we really have a choice? The Princess is in danger and we are the only one that can come to her aid. We can never defeat the enemy just us knights, but we do indeed have a chance to make them halt their advance and turn around to face us in battle and perhaps we can make them halt for long enough for our men-at-arms to catch up with us.

And with Sir Sejanus' cunning plan we may even make the enemy think twice about their chances and cause fear in their hearts. And then when our men catch up with us we can make them pay for their folly."