[2022] Unable to Load Game

I've been playing through Valhalla for the second time. Everything went fine until I got to the scene in "War Weary" where the player has to choose to whom he will give some silver. I saved my progress and exited at that point this AM. This afternoon I can't get any of the half-dozen latest saves to load. It looks normal until I click "Continue" -- about five seconds later, the game closes. This was true after I verified game files. It may be coincidental, but I recall a short "update" being downloaded and installed while I was playing this morning; this is the first time I've tried to load the game since then. As far as I can tell, I'm playing version 1.5.1.

My system specs follow:
   CPU: Intel Core i7 10700F 2.90GHz (4.80GHz Turbo Boost), 8-Core 16-Thread
   GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
   Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming B460M-Plus, WiFi 5
   RAM: 16GB DDR4 3000MHz (2x8GB)
   SSD: 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
   HDD:   Western Digital Blue 1 TB   
   CPU Cooler: RGB CPU Cooler
   PSU: 700W 80 Plus Gold
  Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

   Monitor: LG 24GM77
   Mouse: Steelseries Rival 310 eSports
   Keyboard: Steelseries Merc Stealth
      Controller: Razer Wolverine Ultimate
      Speakers: Philips SPA 2210
      Microphone: Blue Yeti

Case: Thermaltake Level 20 MT ARGB CA-1M7-00M1WN-00 Black SPCC / Tempered Glass ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case    Dimension: 18.54" x 8.00" x 17.90"
WiFi: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
VR Ready: Yes

Internet connectivity:

   2022 02 22 -- Ping 25, DL 13.13, UL 0.83
   2022 04 27 -- Ping 29, DL 13.14, UL 0.81