Robin Hood: Shrove Tuesday 10

The day of the festival was the first warm day of the since Autumn. The whole shire came to St. Mary's to see each other and to participate in the final revelry until Easter. The sky was the clear blue of precious stones, and the field was festooned with ribbon of yellow and lavender. Children ran amok laughing and screaming, looking at the sweets and the feast being laid out for the revelers. There were events like a three legged race, the egg relay, ring toss, there was to be a fishing contest; games with balls, and of course, archery. There was also wrestling and other feats of strength.
The sheriff and his men made their presence known. They would brook no disturbing the peace, but there was revelry and drunkenness, and couples slipping off to be alone. Bill's real concern was to monitor how freely people spent their money. He couldn't believe his luck. He would make out better than if he had never been robbed in the first place. He would have to make this a regular practice. Roland, his main enforcer and most trusted man was participating in several events. He was wrestling, He was in the archery contest, he was in the quarterstaff games. He would win them all. There would be a sword fighting contest. The sheriff would have won that, but he decided he'd best not enter on the chance he could be bested. He knew it was ridiculous, but better to be feared as sheriff and not risk it. If he lost, people would lose the awe in which they held him. That was more precious to him than gold.
Gladys had given Marian the cloth she wanted as a gift, and insisted she make her dress and wear it to the festival. Marian had reluctantly agreed. She wore the light blue finely woven wool under her deep blue cloak trimmed with a cunning Celtic knot design of dragons in yellow stitching. Her hair was plaited up around her face, and when she put her hood down, her long bare neck held her head regally.
Tuck was collecting plenty of coin but he was also being more than generous with the wine. he himself shared many a goblet with the patrons, yet he remained sober as a, well as a churchman. He had employed Eric and Johnny to run the coins back to the church vestry where there was a strong box for safe keeping. In return, the boys got to sample some pies, some hen, and even a bit of wine.
The wrestling started first. It was a circle near the edge of the field farthest from the church. Will Skarlett fancied himself an able wrestler and so he was. He won match after match and his mates cheered him on. As the morning wore on and the lists narrowed it became clear that the man to beat was Roland. He was a giant dark haired lummox. He won through brute strength and had little skill. Will was a slight fellow and relied heavily on skill and cunning. In those days there was no weight divisions, it was one field, one champion.
Little John, as everyone now called, him was a fair wrestler, but wanted to save his strength for quarterstaves. He and Will were the best of mates by this point. Will came to Little John during while others wrestlers muddied themselves. "Any advice on how to beat that big fellow?" he said.
"He has the advantage of reach, so get in tight. He's a heavy bloke and not to quick on his feet. Take his legs out from under him and he'll drop like a stone. Use his own weight against him."
"Thanks mate! That's sage advice indeed!"
It was the last match. The winner would be the champion of the day. Each man was slick and smelly and looked forward to cooling off in the creek after the match. The judge was unknown to the lads of the greenwood, but he seemed fair enough. Will stood at one edge of the circle, backed by Robin and the lads and Roland stood across backed by his lot. Roland had a mean smile on his face. He was a cruel fighter who enjoyed causing injury. There were those who bowed out rather than face him. The judge signaled for the fight to begin, and the two circled in slowly as fighters do.
Wrestling is not a punching sport as anyone can tell you, but rules were scarce in those days and it was not unheard of. Roland decided to take advantage of his reach while he could and threw a fist the size of a brick. He had projected his punch and Will leaned out of its path. Will came in and hugged Roland close to make it hard to hit him. Then Will swung his leg behind Roland and kicked the back of his knee as hard as could, buckling Roland's leg. The big man was clearly surprised by this move and completely lost his balance falling on his butt. The crowd laughed and cheered. Will didn't waste a moment; he threw himself over Roland's shoulders, bringing him down. The judge began his count to three.
Roland wasn't really hurt though, and threw Will off of him easily. Roland was furious. He hadn't expected anyone to pin him, particularly not a twerp like this. He hated being laughed at. His father used to laugh at him when he would cry from being beaten. He came at Will with a fury. Will was up in a flash. Roland chased him until Will cut back unexpectedly and circled tightly behind Roland and kicked him behind his knees again. This time Roland only fell to his knees, so that he was about even with Will. Will got him in a headlock and the crowd roared as Roland stood up with Will on him. Will came off the ground and it looked like Roland was wearing him like a stole. Roland spun around to get Will to fall off, but he hung on like a badger. Roland lost his balance and fell again, dizzy. Again the crowd laughed; this time the dizziness added another layer of humiliation which automatically translated into rage. Will twisted his grip to try to force Roland down and slipped. Flailing, Roland grabbed Will's wrist almost by mistake and pulled him in front of him. He punched Will in the face knocking him unconscious. Still, Roland pummeled Will, even as he fell limply to the ground. The crowd was silent now. Roland forgot about everything except wreaking his anger out on Will. Robin and John rushed in. The fight was over. They weren't strong enough to stop Roland. Others joined in and finally managed to hold Roland back long enough for him to come to his senses. Still in those days, beating a man to death in a battle of strength wasn't unheard of. There were those present who thought that Roland should have been left alone to finish Will off.
Marian had been passing by and saw Robin come to Will's aid. She recognised him from the shop and wondered what part he was playing in today's events. Was he the rogue she thought. Tuck had said not to be quick to judge, but that was what clergy always said. Tuck was a good man with a big heart, but she knew Robin was some kind of scoundrel.
Next came the midday meal and some lighter games; the fishermen had caught enough for much of the crowd to enjoy, and there were stalls selling their wares and other distractions for a while. Robin saw Marian in her new dress and recognised the fabric. He smiled to himself. "Keep dreaming." said Little John. "She'll never go for an outlaw like you."
"What kind of outlaw would she go for, then?" Joked Robin, though the truth of it was like a blow to him.
"No outlaw at all, you fool!" said John.
It was time for the quarterstaff games, and once again, Roland was the man to beat. Little John was skilled and won all his matches but he had seen what Roland was like and set his task ahead of him with grim determination. Will had regained consciousness and was beat badly, but he would recover. "Get him for me John." Will said. Robin advised against looking for revenge.
"Don't be blinded by hate. You'll lose. Give him your best and that will be enough" he said.
This field was bigger. Roland seemed as fresh as ever. He had eaten and rested and no one had even landed a blow in the quarterstaff. Maybe they are afraid to make me angry again. he thought. Good. Little John was big, but Roland was bigger. Much bigger.
The two faced each other and the judge yelled: "Fight!"
Each combatant held the staff two handed so that they had two evenly weighted ends to parry and thrust with. As they sparred, John noted that Roland actually had poor posture, but hit very hard. As in wrestling, he wasn't skillful, just powerful. As in wrestling, it was usually more than enough. John knew Roland was easily angered and remembered what Robin had said.
John moved suddenly inside, thrust his staff under Roland's and pulled. Usually one hit with a forward movement. People didn't expect a backward pulling movement. In real fights, an unexpected move could really give you an advantage. The backwards blow to the staff had the result of Roland's staff coming out of his left hand, leaving his left side open. John came in and boxed Roland's ear. Hard. Roland touched his finger to his ear and it came away bloody. John could have pummeled Roland while his guard was down, but he wanted the blow to register in Roland's thought process. It did. Roland glowered at John and held the staff like a long sword swinging wildly with a ferocious swoosh! that John easily ducked. Now came John's real attack: He smiled. This infuriated Roland. The crowd wasn't laughing, but that didn't matter. Roland felt as if they were. This time John was making Roland mad on purpose.
Roland swung and missed again. He swung so hard he threw himself in a circle. That was when John came in. As Roland completed his circle, John hit him in the stomach, pirouetted for momentum and with an uppercut, knocked Roland's staff completely out of his hands. Roland did not give up as John knew he wouldn't. Roland came at John barehanded and John swung a backhand arc that landed on the side of Roland's head and knocked him out cold. John twirled the staff like a drum major and bowed. After a moment of silence the crowd cheered wildly.

Robin Hood: The Dream 7

The journey back to Sherwood started off normal enough; the four men spent the night at the hermit's cave in the woods of Derby. Wulfhere, the hermit needed to get his medicines and things for the journey. It was generally believed that once the healer arrived at the burgeoning community, he would choose to join them. But that night, Robin had a strange dream. He dreamed he was betrothed to the Virgin Mary, and that Pontius Pilot was chasing him through the woods. Deeper and deeper into unknown territory he ran. He couldn't lose his pursuers because he was leaving a trail of gold coins everywhere he went. The Virgin Mary kept telling him to feed the poor, but the game in the woods was becoming more and more elusive. Although he was unable to help the poor, who were multiplying in numbers and were impeding his getaway even more, they loved him and wanted to help him and sing his praises. This only resulted in Pontius Pilot hating him more and using the cheering of the poor to locate Robin even more easily.
Robin woke up in a sweat, despite the cold. He turned over to shake away the nightmare and saw Wulfhere staring at him, wide awake himself.
They left before first light, in a dense fog and journeyed in silence for hours. Robin was unsettled by his dream, and kept turning it over in his head, trying to figure it out. By midday, the fog had not cleared, and the terrain was overgrown and dense, making it difficult to tell if they were making good progress or even going in the right direction. The hermit seemed to dose most of the time and Robin wondered how he stayed on his horse. Will and John were unusually quiet also, as if troubled by dreams of their own.
"We should be in sight of Sherwood by now." grumbled John.
"Aye." said Will. The journey would take about a half a day by foot by road. They were horseback, but traveling through the woods, and they were taking a different rout to avoid showing the stranger any hint of the gold about which they had told him nothing.
"I would have thought experienced forest dwellers such as yourselves would know the way." said the old man. He was sleight and weathered. His coarse woolen clothes were the color of dirt. Robin wasn't sure at first if they were just dirty or dyed that color, but after seeing how fastidious and clean he was at his cave, Robin realized the hermits clothes were like that on purpose. It was as if the man wanted people to think he was dirty and reclusive and crazy, when he didn't really seem to be any of those things at all.
"We know where we are, old man." said Will as if he hadn't just admitted the exact opposite. A moment later there was a surprisingly bad bird call from the trees just ahead. It sounded exactly like a person who had no idea how to make a bird call making a bird call.
"Sounds like a cuckoo." said Wulfhere.
"That's our man." said John. "He's signaling the others that we're here." As they walked on, people began to appear out of the woods.
It had been about a week since people had decided to bring their families and make a more permanent home in the forest, and some of the wives and children had begun to arrive. It was an odd tableau; not unlike a scene in Robin's dream. In fact, since he had woken from it, it had been hard to shake. The journey home, the memory of the gold, the eyes of the hermit all seemed tied to the dream somehow, and now these smiling faces, so glad to see him as if he had wrought this community from thin air all on his own. Were they the poor from his dream that he was unable to feed and yet seemed to love him for things he couldn't quite take credit for?
Presently, Tom, Audrey, Maggie, Bridged and Hank met the four horsemen. Audrey handed Maggie to Robin, who kissed her forehead, noticing the fever that burned there, and he handed her gently to Wulfhere. Wulfhere looked from Robin to Audrey to Tom and surveyed the crowd. Finally, he gave his attention to Maggie.

The hermit took in the way they all looked to Robin, and Robin's own expression was not lost on him. As he turned his attention to the babe, he wished they had gone into a tent or somewhere private to carry out the examination. He had seen far more civilized looking crowds turn ugly at an unsuccessful healing. These people looked like murderers to begin with. The child had a high fever, her nose was red and runny, and she looked miserable. Her eyes were sunken and dark as if she hadn't slept. She had no lesions. There was nothing to indicate she had anything other than a cold, though it was clearly a severe one. He handed the child back to her mother and right there on his horse began to mix a concoction from pouches he had with him. It was mostly honey and an bark like herb from the Indies called cinnamon. He asked for some fresh goat's milk and mixed the potion in with the milk. He tasted it and thought it would make a fine desert. He hoped his experience with these mixtures held true, for this cured most colds. He gave instructions to feed it to the child, promised to make more, and said to give it some time.
"That's it?" asked Robin. the hermit shrugged.
"We will see. She should respond well to the potion, but if the sickness persists, we may have to try something else. All we can do now is pray." Then he changed the subject. "So, are you the leader of this band of outlaws?"
"Aye. That he is." said a man that Robin didn't even recognize.
"And we came the way we did to avoid the scene of your latest crime, eh?" Robin and John exchanged guilty looks. "Well, you're not exactly living extravagantly here. What do you do; Rob from the rich and give to the poor?" Robin and John exchanged looks once again.

Robin Hood: The Tavern 6

"We can't take the cart through the forest, the wheels need to be on a road; And we can't take the road or we'll be seen." said Will.
"These boxes are too heavy to carry without the cart." said John.
"We'll bury the men in the woods. We'll take apart the cart and use it for firewood. We'll take some money and bury the rest, and come back for it later. We have to get to Derby to find the hermit. We will take the horses and sell them there. Let's get going." said Robin.

The journey to Derby went with no further incident. John and Will were at times animatedly regaling each other with ever more vivid and exaggerated renditions of the adventure of the day, and at times quiet. Robin was fairly grim the rest of the journey. He was not by nature moody person, but he had never killed anyone before and he was sure that nothing but trouble could come of that gold. There had to be a way to be rid of it.
Upon reaching Derby, the party visited Audrey's sister, gave her some of the money as she was as nearly destitute herself. They traded the horses for three fresh mounts. Dierdre, Audrey's sister, wasn't sure exactly where to find the hermit, but told them where the wood could be found where he was generally believed to live.
After a short time in the Derby wood, the party became lost and decided to head back to town to see if they could find better directions in the tavern. None of them had been to a tavern since they had been outlawed and they were all looking forward to a tall ale. Neither the innkeeper, nor his wife knew of the hermit and there was only one other patron there besides themselves, and he seemed surely, so they decided to enjoy a hot meal and a pint of ale and wait for more customers to arrive.
Robin enjoyed his ale as much as the next man, but didn't want to waste the afternoon drinking when they were on an errand after a sick little girl. He approached the lone patron nursing his beer. "Hello, friend." he said. "I wonder if you can help me?" The man looked up without lifting his head or otherwise moving at all. "My friends and I are looking for a man who lives in the wood...."
"Then you should be looking in the wood, no?" replied the man.
"We were hoping he might help us to heal a sick little girl." said Robin.
"Ah so you're drinking the afternoon away, eh. You must be quite concerned about your sick little girl" came the response.
"Well, we looked in the wood, but as we were unsure where about in the wood to look, we thought there would be people here who might know the man."
"Am I so fierce that you had to finish your pint to screw up the courage to talk to me, then?"
"Why are you wasting your time talking to that tattered old man?" said John from across the room.
"Least I don't smell like a bear that ate some bad eggs, anyways" grumbled the man. Robin couldn't help but chuckle at that, but John did not find it humorous in the least.
"You had best be careful who you through your insults at!" said John.
"Me? You said I was 'tattered!'"
"Well, you are tattered!"
"And you really do smell!"
"All right!" Robin said. "Calm down! The both of you! You are like children!"
There was a moment of silence, then the old man said, "What's the matter with the child?"
"It started as a cold. High fever, sneezing, coughing. But it has gone on too long. She's not sleeping through the night. Her parents are worried they might lose her." Robin said.
"'Her parents?' What do you mean? None of you is the father? Why would you come all the way from Sherwood for someone else's baby?"
"How did you know we were from Sherwood?" John asked.
"You are not the only ones who come to the tavern to hear the gossip." said the man.
"Look, do you know where to find the hermit or not?" said John, exasperated.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Will. "He is the hermit."
"That is ridiculous!" said John. "A hermit in a tavern? Hermits like to be alone!"
"Aye and I was alone, until you lot showed up." The three looked at the old man incredulously. "What? Where am I supposed to get my ale, eh? I live in a bloody forest! what would you know about it?"
"That is a story that might surprise even you, old man." said Robin. "We all live in Sherwood Forest."
"What the baby too? No wonder it's sick."
"Aye, the baby too. Though she was sick before she moved to the forest." said John.
"Will you come to have a look at her?" said Robin.
"I reckon I will."

Robin Hood: Robin Catches a Fish 2

Robin's Oak Sherwood Forest, UK

When Robin woke in the morning, he wondered if he had dreamt the incident, but there in the soft dew covered ground, was the unmistakable deer track. From that moment on, whenever doubt or fear entered Robin’s head, any uncertainty about the future; he remembered that night and that provisioned him with such courage as to forge ahead, no matter the odds.
As Robin cooked a spitted fish over a fire for breakfast he though about finding a place to stow his belongings so he could move more freely about. He could sustain himself indefinitely, by creating new arrows and even a new bow when he needed. There was plenty of game, and wild nuts and berries. The forest would provide everything he needed to survive. However, Robin wanted more than to survive. He wanted his land back. He wanted to get rid of that fat sheriff and live among people. He wanted coffee, beer, and fellowship. He had been runoff unfairly. The more Robin thought about it, the more it had seemed deliberate, as if the taxes were set too high, so he would have to forfeit his house. He wasn't the criminal, the sheriff was. Robin wanted justice.
Just then, Robin heard a twig snap. Whoever was watching him was no woodsman. He had been making noise ever since Robin had arrived. Robin got up and pretended to clean up his breakfast. His brown hair was due for a cut and it was uncombed and blowing in the morning breeze as he crossed the camp with the bones of the fish. Suddenly, in a fluid movement, Robin dropped the fish, picked up a long branch that lay across the camp and lunged at a bush at the edge of the clearing.
"Oof!" said the bush.
"Who's there!" demanded Robin.
"John." said the bush.
"Well, John, you must be a little fellow to be hiding behind that bush. Come out if you don't want to get hurt.” From behind the bush stood a man. He had been crouching and as he stood, he just kept standing up. Up and up. He was quite large and in fact towered menacingly over Robin. "Well, that's quite a lot of John to be hiding behind such a tiny bush!" said Robin. Robin held the branch up defensively to keep the giant at bay.
John grabbed the branch and deftly poked Robin in the stomach with it. "See how you like it!" John said.
"Why were you spying on me?" Robin demanded, aware that without the branch and dwarfed by John he was in no position to demand anything. 'That is precisely when to make demands' Robin always would say.
“I wasn’t!” John Lied.
“What were you doing, then?”
“That fish smelled good. I was hoping for a bite.” John said truthfully. “If you had killed that deer, we could feast for days.”
“So you saw that, eh? That wasn’t exactly a hunting situation, was it? I think that deer was welcoming me to its forest. Which is more than you have done.”
“Well it didn’t give me a welcome when I got here.” John complained.
“Maybe he thought you would eat him, eh?” said Robin.
“Maybe.” agreed John.
"So if it was the fish that attracted you," Robin said, "How did you know about the deer?"
"You ask too many questions!" John said, poking Robin with the branch. Robin grabbed the other end of the branch and they began a tug-of-war, which culminated in John lifting Robin off the ground as he clung to his end of the branch while John tried to shake him off.
"I give! I give up! You win! Damn, Little John, you are too strong for this outlaw!" At that, they both fell to laughing.
"Let's get you a fish to eat." Robin said. They went to the stream and in two shakes, Robin had put an arrow through a couple of fish for both of them.
As they ate, John asked; "How did you come to be an outlaw?"
"They taxed me out my home." Robin said.
"The sheriff is a thief." said John.
"Aye. That he is."
"I'm a thief too" said John.
"Really?" said Robin. "You're so noisy; I don't see how you could be any good at it."
"Not by trade, really. I was sick, too sick to work, so they docked my pay and I couldn't afford to eat. So I stole a loaf of bread." said John.
"Aye, you're a thief alright." said Robin.
"Well, all the game in the forest belongs to the King, so I guess you're a thief too." said John.
"That's a fact." said Robin. "In that case, everyone I know and me; we've all been thieves all our lives." Robin thought about this. "It doesn't leave a man a way to make due for himself, does it? You have to buy bread, we're not supposed to kill the King's deer or aught else I reckon. If you can't work, you can't eat." Robin thought some more. "I'd like to steal my land back." he said. "And all the taxes sheriff William has put in his pocket!" Color came into Robin's face. John nodded agreement.
"That's what we should do. Steal it back. It was ours to begin with."
"Aye." said Robin. "That's just what we should do. What can they do; outlaw us again?"