The Knights of the Round Staircase

Four Knights met at Bodyline Castle and mounted their coconut warhorses to set out on a quest to find Wizard Steve. As dusk was approaching, Annabel, Steph Ducat, Sevan and Kash went around the dim forests of Walpole and Lammas fast to escape the monsters lurking in the darkness.

They arrived at St Mary's Church, known for its secrets and a tower with a long Round Staircase. Wizard Steve welcomed them to his fortress and introduced them to his adept wizards, Mike, Shan and Rohan who also appeared at the church, looking for an adventure.

Steve told the knights and wizards about a terrifying drigeon terrorising Ealing and recently breaking into the church through a gap in netting and a fragile window. The monster resided for some time in the Round Chamber and fouled the holy place. The traces of its outrageous presence in the church had to be removed. Annabel, Sevan and Rohan volunteered to exorcise the corruption left by the winged demon with water, buckets, clothes and latex gloves. They climbed the stairs to reach the Round Chamber and have been trapped in it.

In the meantime, the rest of the Knights were asked to remove the Cursed Scaffolding from another secret chamber. Steve had brought the scaffolding inside the church as a treasure but over time it had become a liability. It was taking space and attracting monsters like the drigeon. The Knights started moving the treasure down the Round Staircase, fighting the weight of the scaffolding parts and vertigo. Luckily, the reinforcements arrived: Claire on her coconut steed and Divya on a mechanical mount.

When the treasure that had looked like gold inside the church was moved outside, it turned into a stack of metal poles and wooden planks. Steve directed the Knights to the back of the church where they were going to bury the treasure in a den, hopefully not occupied by any demons. When they thought their path was clear, a shadow emerged from the church walls and blocked their way. In the darkness, the Knights thought that the shadow was a homeless person squatting at the back of the church. But he was the Denkeeper. And he had questions.

Who would cross the Path of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.

The Knights were not up for mental games and let Wizard Steve deal with the puzzle. They didn't hear the answers but Steve managed to get the Denkeeper out of the way.

After all the Cursed Scaffolding was left in the den, Steve and the Knights climbed back up the stairs to rescue others from the Round Chamber. St Mary's has been cleansed of evil, dust and drigeon waste. Wizard Steve was amazed by the Knights' bravery and efficiency. He awarded each of them with the title of the Knight of the Round Staircase and with exclusive access to the top of the tower. Of course, to get there, they had to climb the Round Staircase which seemed to have no end. At the roof awaited a stunning panorama of the nighttime Ealing and its surroundings.

The vista was magnificent but the Knights were longing to get closer to the ground level and find a cosy inn. They descended from the tower and found themselves in front of The Rose & Crown pub. There was another obstacle on the way! No monsters, no challenging questions, and no proving one's strength this time. The Rose & Crown only accepted royalty as its patrons and refused the Knights to go inside. Someone had to wear the crown for the team. It was decided it would be Kash who had accomplished the most Feats of Glory in the crowd, five hundred. She disguised herself as a queen and the other knights as her lords and ladies. The innkeepers let the merry men and women in and everyone had fun and a piece of Round Cake at a Round Table.