Shedding some light

[millers_son]

Who: The outlaws and Lucatz
What: Djaq drops off her note to Lucatz, with a band of boys in tow
Where: Nottingham-town
When: September 30th, noon - early afternoon

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[lucatz_of_arun]

After his chat with Allan and Cathrine, Lucatz was eager to get the rest of the day over with. He headed down the main road away from the castle further than was required, just in case he was being followed. Then he looped around a building, then another, and finally headed towards the drop point. If anyone was tailing him, then hopefully they would tire quicker than Lucatz.

He turned the corner and started for the tree, his mind mostly on his thoughts. He glanced up a few paces from his destination- and realized he was not the only one there. Dammit, he wasn't late, he was right on time. At least that made things easier, since he could just tell her about Robin's whereabouts.

"Polida, we simply must stop meeting this way," Lucatz grinned as he neared the tree.

[scarlett_outlaw]

Will saw the man coming and straightened, preparing to leap out and attack if it was nescessary. The man who walked towards them- Djaq's contact, he had to assume- was shorter than him, with lanky brown hair. Will's hand went to the dagger at his belt. He could probably take castle-boy without much of a fight, if he needed to; how much trouble could he be?

He grinned at Djaq, and Will did his best to ignore the jealousy boiling somewhere in the pit of his stomach. He snuc a look over at Djaq- she seemed friendly enough, smiling back. How happy was she to see him? Was it just because he was their key to finding Robin, or did she genuinely like him? Will shifted uncomfortably. He had no right to be jealous- it wasn't like he had declared himself to her or anything- but something about the other man just rubbed him the wrong way.

He saw the man's mouth move, and Djaq said something in return. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seemed friendly, at least. No need to jump out and attack. Will found himself oddly disappointed.

[millers_son]

So that was the squire? The cook's shoulders slumped. He wasn't as… tall as Much had imagined. Though that wasn't saying much, as he looked like half the boys that went to Palestine. He didn't recognize him from the ball, either, but that may have been because Much had spent most of the evening with his eyes on the buffet. Either way, the gang could take him easily if things went south; he was alone and outnumbered.

Djaq felt some small wave of relief when she spotted Lucas walking towards her. Now they could get a reply immediately, rather than wait around for an answer and perhaps put Robin in more danger, if he was where they suspected.

"I did not think I would see you here," Djaq said, wearing a cheerful smile. She drew the note from its hiding place and held it out for him to take, though there hardly seemed a need for it now that they were both present. "But I am glad that you came." She paused to craft her words carefully. "We think something has happened, and we may need your help."

[lucatz_of_arun]

Polida greeted him with a smile and Lucatz was very pleased to see it; he needed her well-dispositioned towards him. He had intended to drop off a note stating he would be staying and could pass word to Robin, but since they were face to face, she might ask how he managed such a task. Which meant that he might as well come clean about his position and identity, too

[millers_son]

Djaq was surprised that Lucas wasted no time revealing his knowledge of her role in Robin's gang, and he was surprisingly upfront about his true identity. So Lucas - Lucatz - had lied about his name, but so had she. But right now that did not interest her; what intrigued her was his offer to aid the gang and Robin.

"You know where Robin is?" she asked, her dark eyes suddenly very grave. It would be logical for her to assume, then, that Lucatz had been at the ball. "Is he in danger?" Djaq had a terrible feeling that Lucatz would say yes.

Much watched as the tone of the conversation took an abrupt turn; both of them appeared quite serious, but he was not concerned that Djaq was in danger. She seemed to trust this man well enough, and so Much would have to trust him as well.

[lucatz_of_arun]

Lucatz sighed with relief when Polida seemed to take the news in stride. She didn't seem that bothered actually, though it could just be that she was so used to deception that she didn't mind it in others.

"Yes. He is in the castle dungeon. Gisborne and some other men captured him during the ball," he said, his expression softened with sympathy. "I think he was injured in the fight too, and if he wasn't, then surely he was overnight."

As he spoke, he stooped and withdrew the note from his boot, and offered it to her, "That's what was in my note for you. I cannot free him myself, but I can bring him food and bandages, and perhaps a message if you have one."

[millers_son]

So it was just as the gang had feared; Robin had been captured after the heist, while they had escaped safely. Djaq took the note from Lucatz and quickly scanned the words - indeed, he had told her everything.

He had also offered to take a message to Robin, but she would have to consult the gang before they made their next move. And she was not sure that it would be smart to tell Lucatz that the rest of Robin's men were hiding only meters away, so Djaq deflected, for the time being.

"Why are you helping us?" She was genuinely curious, and of course suspicious (one always had to be). Why would Sir Lucatz want to help a pack of outlaws? Undoubtedly he knew the dangers if anyone found out that he had given any sort of aid to Robin and his men.

[lucatz_of_arun]

She just had to ask that, didn't she? Lucatz hadn't been expecting it and didn't have a planned answer; in retrospect he really, really should have. He shifted uneasily, then sighed, and decided to just go ahead with a similar tale to the one he'd told everyone. Half truths were easy to keep up.

"I am the servant of the Earl of Arundel. Last night he was murdered and I think the Sheriff is framing Hood for it. He may be a criminal, I don't know, but he should not be punished for crimes he didn't commit." Lucatz thought it best to leave off the whole 'using the Sheriff because he tries to use me' aspect, because there was always the chance that it would come back to bite him later.

[scarlett_outlaw]

Djaq raised her eyebrows. Clearly whatever was going on at the castle was bigger than what they had imagined- who was this Earl of Arundel? Why had he been murdered? What was the Sheriff's plan? And why was this man so willing to believe that Robin was innocent? He believed that they were criminals, so why was he so quick to believe in Robin's innocence?

No matter. What was important now was freeing Robin, not dissecting the power games being played in the castle. But before she did anything, she needed to consult the others- Much especially would want to know his master's fate. She lowered her voice. "Come over to the shed." she said, gesturing so that he would know where she meant. "My friends are there; they need to hear this."

[lucatz_of_arun]

Follow her? Over to the rest of the outlaws? If he did that and someone saw, he could no longer plausibly deny his associations with Hood's gang. Lucatz lifted his hand and rubbed at the lower half of his face as he considered refusing. He closed his eyes, sighed, then dropped his hand away and nodded

[scarlett_outlaw]

Will stiffened as Djaq and their newfound ally came over to where they were standing. On the one hand, if she trusted him enough to introduce him to the gang, he must be willing to help them. On the other . . . shamefully, he'd been secretly hoping that he would turn out to be useless, or a spy, or both. It didn't help that the man was almost as pretty as she was.

Still, the unease the man was obviously feeling didn't sit well with him. Personal feelings entirely aside, he was helping them, and they owed him for that. Besides, they didn't kill, and they didn't attack unarmed men.

"We're not going to hurt you." he said stiffly." He held a hand out. He wasn't planning on introducing himself- he wanted to be welcoming, but not stupid- but he could at least offer a friendly greeting.

[lucatz_of_arun]

The boy offered his hand and Lucatz's eyebrows went up. He didn't seem all that friendly, and yet, there was a friendly gesture. He responded in kind, reaching out his hand and giving him a firm handshake.

"Sir Lucatz de Clarmont d'Auvèrnhe, at your service. Well, to some extent," he said before releasing the man's hand and refolding his arms.

Almost as soon as he finished, Polida was speaking, clearly not willing to wait for pleasantries. He didn't blame her; time was greatly limited. "It is as we feared," she said, "Robin's been captured! Lucatz-"

"Lucas," he gently corrected her.

She gave him an odd look, and he wasn't sure if she was appreciative that she could still use his nickname or frustrated at being interrupted, but continued, "Lucas says he was wounded, but he can bring Robin aid and a message."

[scarlett_outlaw]

Will grasped the other man's hand- probably a little harder than was nescessary- and shook it firmly. "Will." If he was going to introduce himself, it was good manners to trust him with his own name, even if he declined to offer his family name.

He bit his lip. So Much had been right- Robin had been captured, and probably tortured. Djaq had said "wounded," but Will could read between the lines, and he knew that the Sheriff would never have dropped Robin in the dungeon and left him there. He'd want to savour this.

"Do you know where he's being kept? How badly injured is he?" Depending on how extensive the wounds were, they might need to carry him out. Hopefully he'd still be able to walk.