Just cause? [closed to Nico, Will and Much atm]

[scarlett_outlaw]

Who: Nico, Much & Will
What: Will’s curiosity gets him in trouble
Where: Clun
When: 14th of June, morning

NOTE! Edited on May 13 to include Much

Comments

[nico_debeaumont]

Nicholas was bored. June was a relatively quiet month for the manor itself; the days were plenty long enough that rarely was he left with tasks at sunset to be carried to the following day

[scarlett_outlaw]

Will cursed his luck. No, it really wasn’t the fault of his luck, but his lack of attention that had caused him to be seen. No doubt the tall, proud-looking man was the lord of the manor. The question threw him off. If anything, he'd had expected to hear a command to leave or to stay, the latter being one he wouldn’t have obeyed. But to ask him where he was from... Will found himself - unwisely - pausing to consider the answer.

Should he say Locksley? Should he lie and mention some other village? Then what? To explain why he was here? He could still flee to the shadows before the lord was close enough to stop him. There was no possibility to warn Much, but they always had back-up plans for situations like this.

So he ended up replying nothing, eyes simply fixed on the other man. His hand rested on the wall of the stable but ready to pull out the axe if necessary.

[nico_debeaumont]

The boy - man, he supposed, although he barely warranted the description, so young he looked - remained silent. Nicholas frowned and strode towards him.

"I will warn you; if you have plans to abscond with my horse, he might well have his own opinion on the matter. I will have no need to punish you once he has had his chance."

[scarlett_outlaw]

Will shook his head. "You have no cause to worry, I'm not interested in your horse." Of course the gang only ever borrowed horses. While good for fast escaping, they were hardly ideal for keeping in the forest. And often vanishing into thin air did the trick of escaping.

"Warning about his foul temper must mean you don't consider me a foe. Which I'm not. Just passing through, going from village to village."

That was essentially true. Will stepped away from the building. Though he had several weapons on him, Sir Nicholas could clearly see that he wasn't holding any in his hands.

[nico_debeaumont]

Nicholas was not convinced that the boy had been listening properly. He had no need at all to worry about his horse, whether or not this lad attempted to abscond with it. But he let it pass, interested in the boy's train of logic. Although, in a very real sense, he was right. A trained soldier could hardly consider a young villager a fitting foe. He inclined his head.

"And what, then, is the purpose of this travel?" It had not escaped his notice that his first question had remained unanswered.

[scarlett_outlaw]

Now that was a frustrating response. True, Sir Nicholas had a right to ask why a stranger was trespassing his village, but Will had hoped his words would have appeased the lord. He didn't want to deliberately lie, but thinking up roundabout ways to explain himself was not his strongest suit.

"No purpose other than seeing how the people of Nottinghamshire are faring now. Times have been hard and some places need help. Sometimes I can provide that."

He dropped a hand on his thigh where the small hatched was tied to. There was no need to point to the large axe on his back as it was clearly visible. He would let Sir Nicholas assume he worked in exchange of food. The carpentry work he did was true anyway.

[nico_debeaumont]

The boy seemed confident enough in his words; if he was a liar then he was an excellent one. Nicholas could sense though, that there was yet more to this lad than met the eye. Why else would he simply hint at his profession and purpose, rather than naming it outright? And similarly his home village; if he hailed from beyond Nottinghamshire, why would he not say? And if from a local village, there were even fewer reasons he could have for not stating the location of his home. Nico stared at him critically. He looked innocent, almost naïve; it could be that some matronly goodwife had seduced him into her bed, and now he fled an angry husband.

"You are a woodsman, then?" Nico asked, nodding towards the hatchet the boy indicated. "And are you intimate with the knowledge and skills of coppicing?"

[scarlett_outlaw]

Being a woodsman would certainly have been better than being an outlaw, and Sir Nicholas was generous of assuming him to be the former rather than the latter. However, Will was done talking by now and his reply came out rather bluntly.

"No, I was trained in carpentry, but I haven’t had the chance to practice it properly." That was as far as he was willing to discuss it. "Didn't mean to intrude. I best be on my way. Good day to you."

He nodded politely and started to walk away. He didn’t want to appear to be running away, but in no way would he linger on unnecessarily.

[nico_debeaumont]

Now, Nicholas decided that his suspicions had indeed been justified. In these straitened times, with the peasants and even minor nobles struggling with the constant taxes required to sustain Richard's abortive game of soldiers, the offer of a job would make no man walk away; regardless of whether or not the one offered suited. Would not the average peasant in this boy's situation reply in the negative, but then suggest an alternative employment that he might fulfil? A nobleman offering work to a wandering peasant was a gift to that class of individual; regular, guaranteed and perhaps even generous income?

"I am not yet finished speaking with you, boy," came Nicholas' voice, deep and icy. "Tell me your name, and your homestead."

[millers_son]

Much was glad that Clun was faring better, though some families were still struggling. It would take some time to repair the damage caused by Gisborne's cruelty. But winter had passed with fewer deaths, and the overall mood had improved with Nicholas's return.

After speaking briefly with a few villagers, he headed toward the manor house to rejoin Will. To his surprise, he found the younger man talking to Nicholas himself.

"It's all right, Nicholas," he called, hastily approaching the stables. "He's a friend of mine. And Robin's."

OOC: If you don't think this is a good time for me to jump in, just tell me and I'll delete.

[scarlett_outlaw]

Will merely glanced back as Sir Nicholas insisted on knowing his name. For a moment he thought the man would come after him, in which case Will was ready to take to his heels. But then he heard Much’s familiar voice and saw his friend approaching across the yard.

He knew of course that both Robin and Much were acquainted with Sir Nicholas. How friendly they were was a different matter. As far as Will knew, visits to Clun had always been as discreet as visits to other villages and they had never before stopped to speak to the lord. To hear Much talk like that made Will wonder what kind of friendship there was between these men. He said nothing, however, just waited to see what would happen next.

((ooc: It’s fine by me, thanks for resuscitating the thread. I ended up having much less internet time this week than I thought I would.))

[nico_debeaumont]

Nico could not believe his eyes. He'd known the young man had returned with Robin and joined him in the forest, of course - Much would follow Robin into the jaws of Hell itself, and gladly too - but he'd never expected...

"Much!" he exclaimed, closing the distance between them in a few short strides and deciding at the last moment that a bear-hug was possibly a little overenthusiastic and settling instead for a hearty clap on the shoulder as he offered his hand for a handshake. "It has been far too long since I set eyes upon you, my friend."

He stepped back a pace, placing one hand on each of Much's shoulders and examined him at arm's length, quasi-critically. "The forest has been kind to you, apparently." And it was true; Much looked...he looked as hale and hearty as he always had, and Nico couldn't stop his grin from breaking forth and half-splitting his face.

[millers_son]

Much had been a bit anxious about seeing Nicholas again because of the history between him and Robin, but he couldn't help smiling as he reached out to shake his fellow Crusader's hand. "It has been a long time," he agreed. "I'm glad you're back. Not as glad as your people, I'm sure."

He glanced away sheepishly as Nicholas studied him, then chuckled at the compliment. "Thank you. I like to think I'm doing well for someone who sleeps in caves and eats rodents for supper."

Nicholas didn't need to know they weren't actually sleeping in caves anymore.

OOC: Sorry for the delay! Had an unfortunate combination of limited online time and writer's block.

[scarlett_outlaw]

Much wasn't the only one who looked sheepish for a while. Will's eyes went back and forth between the two men and his own evasive responses to Sir Nicholas appeared in a different, in a rather childish, light now. Maybe he should have been up-front about everything. But... they had not discussed what to do in a situation like this. It had seemed like the best thing not to reveal who he was.

Will held his tongue about caves and rodents, though he almost objected to Much's words. "I didn't realize you and Robin were in such friendly terms with him," he said nodding his head towards the lord.

[millers_son]

Much gave Will a reassuring smile. "Of course. We were all in the king's private guard together." There was no need to mention that Nicholas and Robin hadn't had the smoothest of relations; that was in the past, though the thought of it still made him slightly uneasy.

Turning back to Nicholas, hoping the earl would realize that Will meant no harm, he said, "This is Will Scarlett. He's one of the gang. A good lad."

[scarlett_outlaw]

"Is that so?" Will said, his tone lighter now. He managed a decent smile as he nodded and held out his hand to Sir Nicholas. If the lord wouldn't take his peace offering, well, that didn't matter so much to him.