Valerius disguises the Vavasor and then leads the devastated magician out of town—after razing his darksome house to the ground. Meanwhile, the rucks of the Ebon Quill are summoned from their encampment in Wimm Copse and secretly move into position a few miles outside of Lownell Manor. St. James and Mendelor scout the area around Lownell for hidden ruckish armies, but are discovered by the forester Yorick, who has been tasked by Sir John with a similar mission.

The consortes travel to Lownell Manor and find the place much changed: elaborate facilities have been constructed to house the tournament, and enormous crowds have traveled from all across the Frounter to enjoy the festivities. Amidst the carnival atmosphere, a spirit of comity prevails and recent enemies rub shoulders without serious incident.

Our heroes are brought to the Great Hall and given an audience with the seneschal Claudius and Sir John himself, before being escorted to an assigned pavilion area, where armed camps of ruck-men sit beside camps of Pentian knights. The consortes spread out and soon requisition a large back tent. Two young boys, Pyers and Jacob, are hired to serve a grooms and general errand-runners. Friar Sidrach searches for a champion and finds a down on his heels knight, Sir Enoch, who eagerly signs on with the Gerardian. The friar provides the impoverished knight with a horse and a coat of arms displaying the Ebon Quill. Meanwhile, Valerius attempts to keep the Vavasor under wraps, although the one-eyed sorcerer seems to take an unnatural interest in St. James. The Vavasor even makes an unsettling prophesy, claiming that Sir Enoch will die during the tournament.

That night, a grand feast is held in the Manor House, and the consortes are invited. They are seated in a place of honor, just below the great table where Sir John, his father Sir Richard, and Princes Wenric, Nestor, and Busirane are seated. Sir John opens the festivities with a speech welcoming everyone, and the night's entertainment includes a series of valedictory songs praising the fallen Prince Briareus. Friar Sidrach, Dirk, and St. James get violently drunk and are ejected from the hall. Dirk and St. James seek revenge on the pavilion grounds by pulling out the pegs from the tents of strangers.

Sir Steven, the disgruntled eldest son of Lownell, approaches our heroes. He expresses his disgust at the entire scene—and particularly disparages Sir John's newfound prominence. Sir Steven suggests that the consortes should be prepared to turn against the Bastard . . . when the time is right.

The next day opens with the stone-carrying competition. Ten brawny participants sign up, including Dirk, Mendelor, Renton, Mot, and Sir Enoch. The contest goes for several rounds, but in the end Dirk alone carries the largest stone ten paces, and is awarded a huge emerald for this feat of strength.

The same men enlist in the second competition, the log toss. Only Mot and Mendelor last until the final round, when Mot hurls the massive log the farthest of any other competitor, winning a bejeweled silver pentifix.

The third competition is a wrestling match. Although Renton distinguishes himself among the grapplers, in the end the palm is won by a stout Black-Blade captain.

The fourth and final competition of the day is an archery contest. Although untrained with a bow, Mendelor enters on a lark—but soon displays a natural aptitude, even besting Yorick and the Gory Moon ruck, Nod. The victorious woodsman advances on to win an enchanted bow.

That night Mot, Dirk, and Mendelor are invited to sit at the great table with Sir John, and Valerius assumes Mot's place among the honored. There Valerius gets to shake the hand of Prince Busirane, who has to summon all his self-restraint in order to avoid exploding in a red rage. Sir John hints that, despite present arrangements, he may be agreeable to a future alliance with the consortes. St. James, barred from the great hall, adopts a disguise and unsuccessfully attempts to sneak in to the banquet.

The next day of the tournament features the equestrian events, beginning with the Loop O' Hoops. Sir Garnfellow and Sir Enoch both enter, along with Sir Hamral who rides Fiasco. The first contest goes to one of the Knights of the Scarlet Banner, who easily out-rides the rest of the knights.

During the Headless Ride, Sir Hamral and Sir Garnfellow tie in the first heat. However, in the second run the Five are with Sir Hamral, who chops down the most cabbages to win the event.

One of the Knights of the Scarlet Banner then challenges Sir Hamral to a friendly jousting match. Sir Hamral stays with his opponent for the first pass, but on his second pass is unseated. The Knight graciously accepts Sir Hamral's loss. Afterwards, Prince Nestor's captain, Sarpedon, enters into a duel with Renton. The mighty ruck-man is a fearsome opponent with his spear, and after a flurry of blows triumphs over Renton.

The last event of the day is the Villein's Run, which is a treacherous obstacle course and maze, complete with guardians placed to obstruct all competitors. St. James, Valerius, Mendelor, Friar Sidrach, and Renton all enter. Unfortunately, none of our heroes are able to navigate the run before the allotted time expires. Only Tim and the ruckish scout Nod are able to make it all the way through in time, and Tim is awarded the prize by the judges.

That night at the feast, Valerius is able to speak quietly with Nod, who broaches the possibility that his mistress, the Lady of the Keep, may be open to an alliance. Nod further suggests that she may have far more in common with the consortes than they realize.

Valerius also takes a moment to speak with Tim. The magician, trying hard to turn over a new leaf, gives Tim the opportunity to apologize to Mot for the vicious beating inflicted on the poor henchman several months earlier. However, Tim haughtily spurns this offer of reconciliation.

The highlight of the third and final day of the tournament is the much-anticipated Grand Melee. The contestants are divided into two bands of fighters. The home team consists of Sir Burchard, Sir Walleran, Sir Grimpate, Sir Edgar, and Sir Steven—as well as the ruckish captains Orestes and Sarpedon. The visitor team includes the two Knights of the Scarlet Banner, Sir Hamral, Renton, Mendelor, Dirk, and Sir Enoch. At the last minute, Friar Sidrach—concerned about Sir Enoch's safety—decides to enter on the visitor's side. This move is answered by Prince Busirane taking the field for the home forces.

The battle that follows is fierce and brutal, but ultimately ends without degenerating into true combat. The vengeful Prince Busirane immediately charges at Sir Hamral, and soon batters Hamral down. And although the rest of the visitors fight valiantly, they are soon subdued by the overwhelming strength of the home team.

That night at the farewell feast, Sir John presents rewards to all those who had distinguished themselves during the tournament. During a quiet moment in the revels, Valerius is able to speak further with Sir John about the proposed alliance. Sir John seems disposed to betray his ruckish masters, once the time is right. Valerius ponders sending the rucks of the Ebon Quill to Lownell, to reinforce Sir John's standing army of Rotting Eyes.

During the middle of the feast, Sir Enoch suddenly clutches his throat and keels over. All attempts to revive the knight are unsuccessful. Naturally, the consortes suspect poison, but further examination reveals that Sir Enoch had simply choked to death on a chicken bone. Despite this gruesome bit of bad luck, the feast continues late into the night.

All values are given as 3E experience points. The Roleplaying Award (RP) includes PBM responses, as well as participation in the live session.