Medieval Hunt and Quest

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Location:	Dreiburgen Glen Helen Park, Riverside, CA
Date:	November 6-7, 1976

Event Announcement

(Hand-drawn provided by Bjo of Griffin)

On Nov. 6 & 7 you are invited to attend the Grand Hunt & Medieval Quest sponsored by both the Principality of Caid & the College of Equestrian Ats in Caid. Althugh we cannot promise windmills at which to tilt, we can promise an exciting & very different afternoon. The committee had devised a special Quest, with teams consisting of a Fighter, a Lady, a Herald & a Magic-User. (More people may be on the team as Sorcerer's Apprentice, Lady-in-Waiting, Squire, etc.) At the end of the Quest, the team must still have the Fighter, Lady, and the Herald; winners will be determined on the basis of best time & how many people are still on the team. (Dont worry: more elaborate details will be explained at the Quest itself.) There will also be equestrian events & an on-foot "boar" hunt; the volunteer "boar" will be pursued by a pack of hunters (girls with water bombs) & "hounds" (the men).

There will be an overnight with hot showers for the hearty souls who can stand the weather at Glen Helen Park in Nov. Do not worry if you hate weather; Baroness Alison von Markheim can arrange for places to stay if arranged well ahead of time. Also warm clothing is advised unless we continue to get unseasonal weather & have a heat spell.

SCHEDULE:

Fri, Nov. 5 - Preliminary set-up
Sat, Nov. 6
- 8 AM - Set-up
- 10 AM - Opening Court & Quest Sign-up; Equestrian Demonstrations
- Noon - Lunch
- 1:30 PM - Afternoon Court
- 2:00 - The Quest
- 6:00 - Dinner
- 8:00 - Bardic Circle, Skulking, etc.
Sun, Nov. 7
- 9 AM - Demonstrations, Falcons & Wolfhounds
- 10:30 - Archery & Spearthrowing
- Noon - Lunch
- 1:00 PM - Boar Hunt
- 2:00 - Trail Ride
- 3:00 - Being closing down

Note: To reserve horses, the stables much have a $5 deposit on rentals by Oct. 30. Call Cliveden d'Cheux for details

The Committee hopes you will attend this event. It will be a unique experience & one which will derive its success from the participation of Principality folke (& very welcome visitors!) The Bardic Circle will have some special surprises, too.

From the Crown Prints

(From the December 1976 issue)

The College of Equestrian Arts and the Principality of Caid sponsored a Quest and Grand Medieval Hunt on November 6 and 7 at Glen Helen Regional Park in Dreiburgen. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day. A short informational session was held, followed by a demonstration of equestrian skill at the Equestrian Center. Prince Morven, Princess Bevin, Cliveden d'Cheux, and Katie Twohey, able assisted by Hondo and Happy (more about then later) exhibited their ability at dressage, lunging, and jumping. Several weekend participants wee given the opportunity to practice riding.

At 1:00 the innovative Caid Grande March was held, to the accompaniment of Raoul the Urbane and his Troope of Recorders (which include Baroness Alison von Markheim, Brann Morgan Dunmore of Galloway, Phalea, and others--we would like the names, please! There is absolutely not truth to the rumor that this is Lord Conrad von Regensburg's favorite type of march! Announcement were minimal for a change and as Prince Morven was about to disband the gathering, a creature known as the Wicked Whatever (Fiona stepped forward and challenged him. He had neglected to invite her to any event during his reign, she charged, and so she was gonig to take her revenge. She placed the Princess under a spell which promptly put her to sleep. (Thank heaven for the willing suspension of disbelief on the part of all the participants!) Morven beseeched his people to go on quest to find the antidote to Bevin's magical sleep.

The quest groups formed and check out at a little store that Lady Eyana bat David had set up. She had stocked all manner of paraphernalia that the questers "might" need such as gold coins, magic potions, and crosses--"Hedgia's out there, you know," remarked Eyana. Armed thusly with a map and various important things, the question groups set out.

The first station they came to was a Druid (Gwydiaan am y'Gorlwyn in a black caftan with hood, and face completely masked in black) and a Magic Bird (Su of the Silver Horn) who could be heard all through the forest. From here, it was on down a twisting path to a Troll (Arrigan of Kerry who had donned a waist-length red wig, no less.) His name, not surprisingly, was Irwin (well, it's anachronistic, isn't it?) You had to get his name, which was spelled out by the first letter of each line on the clue you got from the Druid.

Then it was on to the Horse Goddess (Cliveden) and her faithful blacksmith (Katie Twohey) who was cleaning her horse's hooves. (Happy is her beautiful black horse who is in the process of getting his winter coat and who now has the cleanest feet in California!) You had to name a famous horse in order to get the Horse Goddess' help. (Ask Lord Daniel the Bard how to pronounce "Bucephalus"!) She gave you a Golden Horseshoe to be delivered to the Frost King. From there it was up a hill to the Gypsy Camp. You were met along the way by a truly gruesome-looking old woman (Ann Christopher of Cheshire). The Gypsies were led by a fellow with an unpronounceable name (Auberon Cirin). Other recalcitrant Romanies were Lord Charles of Dublin, Lady Marguerite the Uncoordinated, Hedgia du Loup, Matilda, and Katherine. By far the most frightening was a tall, rangy boy with long pale white fingernails and hair sprouting all over his hands and face--he looked like a Werewolf with a severe case of moult! (Tristram of Ravensgate, about whom more will be told anon regarding this particular guise.) Bargaining with the Gypsies, as always, was difficult, not to mention that one slim fellow placed a needed clue somewhere on someone's person and then you all had to figure out where! (Charles, where DID you learn how to do that???)

Down the hill again and across a small field to The Oracle (who sounded suspiciously like Mistress Bevin--it could not have been the Princess, because SHE was under a spell, remember?) She gave you a clue and sent you over hill-and-dale to the lair of the Frost King (Prince Morven elegantly disguised in ice blue, of course) and the Snow Maiden (Lady Gabrielle nicChlurain, also in ice blue satin. Also in attendance was His Highness' horse, Hondo. (Hondo is a very nice Palomino who was extremely well-behaved during the quest, due in no small part to the cold stream that ran along the site.) He sent you to the Blazoning Beast, which almost defies description--Lord Renfield and Lady Joan of Crawfordsmuir under a kelly-green piece of cloth which had holes cut in it for eyes, nose, and mouth of each, with a long chain around the neck of both so as to make it look like a two-headed monster. Stuck in the chain at random intervals were yellow construction paper trumpets. The opposite arm of each rested on the table, having been painted a bilious green (the arms, not the table!)

Lord Renfield's beautiful herald's cloak was spread out on the table. To the uninformed observer, they looked like a two-headed, ski-masked bank robber! Before you could get a clue from it/them, you had to guess about whom they were talking in heraldese. (Example: Prince Morven's arms are Check, gules and or, a bear sejant erect proper. Clues being tossed out: "He beareth arms of a local university" and "If you don't believe us, you can check it out.") One other choice piece of dialogue ran as follows:
Renfield: "Do you want to give the clue in English or in Unison?"

Joan: "You KNOW I don't speak Unison!"

The last station was the Black Knight (Lady Anna McAyre of Gorabh who was hold two maidens captive: Kate of the Silver Dragonfly, the Fair and Karen of the Silver Dragonfly, the Sweet). Either you killed the Knight in a boffer fight, or he killed your fighter (whom you revived with a Golden Apple which you had gotten from the Druid and the Bird) and died laughing. In any event, the two ladies sent a clue wafting on the breeze to you from their tower and then it was back to camp to find the person indicated by the clues and clock in. The Offical Clocker was none other than the Baron of Dreiburgen, Waldt von Markheim.

The quest being ended and everyone having returned in varying states of exhaustion (after all, it was a 2-mile quest course), it was time for dinner. Well, almost time for dinner. A little glitch had developed. It appeared that the Gypsies and most especially the creature poor Tristram had created had scared the h-ll out of a group of 9-to-11 year-old Girl Scouts, who were on their first camp-out and were now afraid to sleep out of doors at the site for fear of these gypsies. Mistress Bevin and Fiona went to the rangers and suggested that the Girl Scouts come to the campfire that evening and meet us all and find out that the gypsies were just grown-ups playing a dress-up game.

The culmination of the quest was held at the camp fire/bardic circle. Prince Morven led a group of devoted fighters who were carrying the sleeping Princess on a cot. He was distraught, of course, and Lord Gwydiaan, still in the guise of the Druid, tried to use "magic" to revive the princess. He used some powders and flash paper and the Girl Scouts love it. Then the Wicked Whatever stepped forward and challenged the Prince, declaring that no one would ever awaken the Princess. The Wicked Whtaever herself was armed with a long pole on the end of which was a piece of flash paper which gave off a lovely simulated ball of fire (and scared the Wicked W half-to-death!)

Suddenly, Lord Randolph the Devious stepped forward, declaring that he had solved the quest question and demanded the cure for Princess Bevin. Reluctantly, it was given up and revealed to be--you guess it--CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (what else??) Her Highness was awakened and the Wicked W., overcome by the devotion and perseverance of the Caidans, asked to be admitted as a subject to said Principality. Prince Morven graciously accepted her and presented her with a perfectly loathsome plastic thing which resembled a long, bulbous purple eggplant. ("I couldn't resist it when I saw it," quoth HRH.) There is absolutely NO truth to the rumor that it is going to be worn at the belt of one of Caid's oldest living cornets¹ the next time she does Grand March to beat anyone with an unpronounceable name!

The bardic circle ensued, and the Girl Scouts, who by now had decided that the gypsies weren't all that bad, graciously presented a gruesome little ditty entitled "My Little Bumblebee"--we were doing fine until they got to the verse about barfing it up on the kitchen floor! (They never taught ME that at Girl Scout Camp!) Al Caid Sir Martin the Temperate was pressed into service and sang his lilting version of "Happy Birthday" (well, we told him to find a clean song, for Heaven's sake!) The Girl Scouts were then treated to something very special: Lord Charles of Dublin sang "Mary O'Meara." The singing caused the usual goosebumps to rise and the song ended with all of us humming to Charles' singing.

The Girl Scouts departed (but not before Tristram was treated to a very severe lecture from an irate 10-year-old who informed him that she NEVER wanted to see him dressed up and scaring people again, unless it was Halloween!) and peace was restored. Then it was time for grown-up entertainment--Hedgia du Loup read from Dracula (full moon, of course). Heartier souls than I camped out and remained around the circle singing until late into the night. (I have it on the best authority that I was smart to seek shelter indoors because a very stiff breeze, well, wind came up and Lady Eyana managed to vacate her tent seconds before it collapsed.)

Activities resumed on Sunday morning with a trail ride. Those of us who were scheduled for the afternoon ride sat around under sunshades (it was hot!) and discussed 12th Night and the SCA and such. After lunch, there was a Boar Hunt. (Oops, I forgot--in the morning, there was also a game or two of Hedgehogs and Flamingos², and a small group was seen in the distant bushes hunting for His Highness' fiberglass arrows which they had borrowed, shot, and subsequently lost.) Then it was time for the Boar Hunt. Coordinated by Lord Robear du Bois, it went something like this: The boar (Duryn the Red) armed with his tusks would emit a spoor (flour) that was to be followed by hounds (gentlemen) and huntresses (ladies) who were armed with boar pikes (water balloons). If the boar goared you (by throwing flour on you) you were dead. In order to kill him, you had to hit him squarely on chest or back with said weapon (water balloon).

Imagine a group of about 25 people, dashing through the brush, the men barking and howling, and the ladies shouting encouragement to their hounds! I'm sure you can imagine the stunned look on the faces of a few mundanes who were wandering around in the area. The boar was finally cornered by two magnificent hounds (Sir Martin the Temperate and Duke Henrik of Havn). He was killed by Karin von Schatten, but not before he gored Lady Su of the Silver Horn. We all walked back almost all the way to camp and then the boar demanded to be carried into camp properly, so clinging like a three-toed sloth to a jousting pole, he was carried towards camp until there was a loud crack(!) and the pole broke. (Don't tell Erekose von Dragasus--it was his favorite jousting pole. In fact, I think it was the one with which he decapitated the quintain several weeks ago!) So, the boar had to walk into camp. Awards were given to Karin for the kill (large 'boar's' tooth on a fluorescent pink ribbon) and to Martin and Henrik for cornering the boar (an animal tail that looked suspiciously like something off of someone's Daniel Boone hat.)

The afternoon ride went on as planned, except for one small difficulty. At the head of our group was Duke Henrik, who is among other things, the head of the College of Equestrian Arts³ Croquet; at the back of the group on a small beast named Stubbs was Lady Suzanne Justine, who had bravely gone on the ride although it was only her second ride in her adult life (she admitted to having ridden on a pony once as a child). So there we were, dashing across an arroyo with His Grace at the head, the College of Equestrian Arts banner flying in the wind. Unfortunately, Lady Suzanne's horse decided that he wanted to be down on a slightly lower part of the road. Now he could have walked down but no, he wanted to JUMP down, so he did just that. Unfortunately, he had not consulted Lady Suzanne, so he jumped and she went flying. After reassuring us all that she was ok, the group went on, and Lady Suzanne rested up a few minutes before the ride back. Fortunately, she was able to trade Stubbs for a white horse named Snowball who was slower than molasses running uphill in January (out-of-period reference, but apt). Only, Snowball was too slow, so Lady Sine of the Singing Hands led him back and he didn't seem to mind the fact that she was astride a fellow beast--he walked along happily and obviously glad not to have anyone on his back to hamper him. Lady Suzanne rode back with Cliveden d'Cheux and the day ended without further mishap. (There is absolutely NO truth to the rumor that Lady Suzanne has decided it will be safer to saddle up her little green Honda with her new side-saddle, rather than a real horse!)

To finish out the day anachronistically, a group of us went to the Betsy Ross Inn in Upland for dinner and dessert. Ask Prince Morven about the fudge-covered creme puff--or was it an eclair? Well, if you weren't there, you missed a lot of fun (unless, of course, you were at Heyercon).

P.S. The prize for the winning Quest team was wooden trenchers. The team was Lord Randolph, his lady wife JaneAnn, Marcus, and Lord Conrad von Regensburg.

P.P.S. Yes, Viginia, there is such a thing as a parallel universe. In the November issue of the official newsletter of The Pale (Kingdom of the Middle), it read: "The Quest will take place Saturday afternoon, in Glen Helen, . . . the Quest will cover a lot of ground. . . " How's that for coincidence--it was scheduled for Nov 6th!⁴

--Chronicle by Brynnda of Starre (Fiona Gregorovna)

¹ Fiona Gregorovna was a heraldic cornet at the time, specializing in conducting Grand Marches.
² Croquet
³ For the West Kingdom
⁴ Glen Helen (http://glen.antiochcollege.org/glen_helen/visiting_the_glen.html)