The ride to Bristol takes a couple of days. Although it is only 15-20 miles as the crow flies, the roads are a little less direct and the siege engines slow everything down to a crawl. With summer taking hold of the land, the roads are dry and dusty but it is better than rain, which would turn the paths into a sea of mud.
Although the knights are mainly there to guard the siege engines, there are no threats to be seen. The King of Somerset and his knights have secreted themselves in the marshes and the footmen are guarding the castles and cities.
Arriving at the outskirts of Bristol, the young knights find a rather different situation than at Wells. Bristol is on the far side of the River Avon and thick walls and tall towers protect the only bridge in the area. Although King Idres has setup siege engines, they seem to have had limited impact so far.
The closest bridge is to the west, near to the sea. However, it is adjacent to the Lamplighter's Marsh, which is currently inhabited by a large number of Somerset knights. It seems unwise to cross a large force in the area for fear of ambush or getting your supply-lines cut.
There is another heavily guarded bridge at Bath to the east, where the remainder of the Cornish knights are besieging the city. About halfway between Bath and Bristol there is a bridge at Keynsham. Scouts have reported that it appears lightly guarded and is the obvious place for a large force to cross and come around to the rear of Bath and Bristol. However, King Idres believes it to be a trap and has proposed an alternate plan.
About halfway between Keynsham and Bristol, the river curves in a wide "C." The engineers believe that it would be an ideal place to setup a ferry as the river's change in direction would make getting a boat across far easier and the curve in the river would provide natural barriers on three sides of the beachhead.
It is decided to send a dozen of Earl Guinier's knights, including Sir Abloc, Sir Aeddan, Sir Daron, and Sir Rhydwyn. The small group of knights and engineers head upstream at dawn with a few wagons filled with equipment for the engineers.
Arriving at the spot that has been chosen, the engineers construct a couple of flat-bottomed ferries from the wagons, each ferry capable of carrying four horses and four men at a time. The knights and their squires setup camp.
When the ferries are ready, the engineers explain that the ferry will be attached to one of the knights' horses by two coils of rope. The knight will ride his horse upstream along the riverbank while the ropes are played out. If done properly, the ferry will maintain its place relative to the camp but be pulled across the river as the horse moves upstream along the curving bank.
Sir Abloc is the first to attempt this. It does not go well. Despite the assistance from the engineers (+5), Sir Abloc has a lot of difficulty letting the rope out at the proper speed and that seems to cause him to lose control of his horse and they have to pull the ferry back to shore.
Sir Abloc, rolled 18, 19 using 2d20. Boating / Horsemanship.
Sir Rhydwyn does a little better than Sir Abloc but seems to have similar problems coordinating the letting out of the rope at the proper speed and keeping control of his horse.
Sir Rhydwyn, rolled 10, 14 using 2d20. Boating / Horsemanship.
Sir Aeddan, having watched the others and listened carefully to the instructions from the engineers, masterfully plays out the rope and has successfully gotten the ferry halfway across the river but forgets to pay attention to where his horse is going. The horse ends up in the river, throwing Sir Aeddan in the process. Fortunately he is able to catch onto the rope (+5) and half swims and half drags himself back to shore.
Sir Aeddan, rolled 6, 20 using 2d20. Boating / Horsemanship.
Sir Aeddan, rolled 3 using 1d20. Swim.
Take a check in Swim, a point in Boating for criticalling, and a point in Horsemanship for fumbling.
Sir Daron is a bit apprehensive when it is his turn but he takes his cue from Sir Aeddan and successfully lets the rope out at the correct speed in order to keep the ferry on the right track. Having also learned from Sir Aeddan's mistakes, he keeps an especial eye on his horse, and masterfully controls it until the ferry is on the far side.
Sir Daron, rolled 2, 15 using 2d20. Boating / Horsemanship.
Take a check in Boating and a point in Horsemanship for criticalling.
Once the ferry is properly secured on the far side, the engineers set to work on a pulley system that will allow them to pull a ferry from each side at the same time. As they are doing this, Sir Abloc, Sir Aeddan, and Sir Daron notice a man watching the proceedings from the far side of the river. There are no farms in the immediate area
Sir Rhydwyn, rolled 14 using 1d20. Awareness.
Sir Daron, rolled 8 using 1d20. Awareness.
Sir Aeddan, rolled 5 using 1d20. Awareness.
Sir Abloc, rolled 1 using 1d20. Awareness.
Sir Abloc, Sir Aeddan, and Sir Daron take a check in Awareness.
It would be bad if the enemy were to discover what the knights are up to, as they could probably disrupt the ferry and increase guards around the backs of the cities. The knights can immediately cross the river in the ferry before it is tested (requires a Valorous check) and attempt to apprehend the 'spy.' They can wait until the ferry is tested and search out the spy but this will require hunting rolls. Or they can return immediately to Bristol and have the invasion force immediately make for the ferry.
For the Battle of Wells:
Sir Abloc - 20 Glory for two rounds of battle and 25 Glory for capturing the enemy commander.
Sirs Aeddan, Daron, and Rhydwyn - 20 Glory for two rounds of battle.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:53, Sat 05 June 2021.
