Connects to: 29.07.
One day Sir Alard of Oldstones set out into the Kingswood to prove his bravery by hunting the gilded butterflies, hoping that brave deeds would win the heart of his beloved when his handsome face alone had failed. While riding through the woods, he caught the eye of one elven lady who had crept out of the Holt (29.07) to walk in starlight. After aiding in his hunt while remaining unseen in the shadows, she came to him in all her beauty and he lay with her. Several hours later, Sir Alard rose and told the elf that he must hurry out of the woods if he was to leave the forest before dawn.
The elven lady was angered at his sudden departure but promised Sir Alard that he would leave the forest that very night. Sir Alard was very pleased with himself and did not notice glint in the elf’s eyes as he left with his squire and men-at-arms. Since then, Sir Alard has ridden through the Kingswood for uncounted hours, never finding its borders and never seeing the sun rise. His fine armor is tarnished, most of his horses have died, grey has crept into his beard and his face has grown pale.
If he meets other travellers he will beg for news of the outside world and help in leaving the forest. He has a great deal of knowledge about many of the locations and dangers of the Kingswood, but he is no help when it comes to directions. He will not become violent unless mocked or disrespected, in which case his pride and frustration will lead him to try to teach any offenders a lesson.
Sir Alard, the cursed knight, wanders widely across the Kingswood, but he often finds himself back where he incurred the curse of the elf lady: a secluded leafy bower in the southwestern reaches of the Kingswood (i.e. this hex).
Hooks:
- How does the curse work exactly? If travellers meet Alard is the night that he set out into the forest the present day or many years ago (from the travellers’ point of view)?
- What’s up with the gilded butterflies? Why would hunting them prove your bravery?
- Tell me more about the elf lady and the human woman that Alard hoped to marry!
