Lost in the Woods

[jamesoftaversal]

Who: Sir James, Robin, and a brat (closed)
What: A poor little lamb has gone astray, and needs some help
When: June 12
Where: Sherwood Forest

Comments

[robin_hood49]

Robin returned the raised eyebrow. "Yes, I will." Not all peasants of Nottinghamshire supported Robin and his gang, but none were likely to go against them unless coerced by threat or substantial payout. He could see no reason for either to come into play here. Still, he intended to ask a few trusted residents of Wadlow to keep an eye on the situation. If it came down to it, there was the orphanage not far from Locksley to which he could take Wat; however, he would much rather try to sort things out with the family, first

[robin_hood49]

Robin's eyebrows went up at the shift in subject. Had Sir James truly not heard anything further about his reputation and exploits, that he thought Robin's life consisted only of random robbery? Well, at least the knight was apparently not one for gossip, which was something of a first in Nottinghamshire. After checking on Wat as Sir James had done, Robin chuckled

[jamesoftaversal]

“That’s not what I mean,” Sir James said impatiently. “Everybody knows Robin Hood takes from the rich and gives to the poor and hates the sheriff of Nottingham. I’d heard stories about that before I even reached this district and laid claim to Teversal. No, I’m talking about something bigger, involving Prince John maybe overthrowing King Richard and taking the crown. There. I’ve said it out loud. There have been murmurs and whispers and fingers along side noses, but I haven’t been able to draw a bead on how seriously I should be concerned, and that’s the first time I’ve been able to actually say what’s been on my mind. I can’t even ask my friends what’s going on for fear of compromising them, and the Good Lord knows it’s too dangerous to ask anybody who’s less than a friend around here, so that leaves you. Between that stunt of yours at the Michaelmas ball and now that contretemps with Vaizey over this fake Richard, I thought maybe you’d know more than most if there really was some kind of plot. So I put it to you: What the hell is

[robin_hood49]

Robin's eyebrows went up a fraction at Sir James's initial reaction. The way he had phrased the question, as if the gang did nothing more than rob innocent passengers, was what had led him to reply the way he did.

All the same, he could see where the confusion Sir James was apparently experiencing came from. "You should be very concerned," he said. "Prince John has an active interest in keeping the throne-- and the money he is collecting from his position there. Vaizey has already instigated one attempt on the king's life in order to replace him with John, and continues to work toward that goal by organizing Richard's enemies in Nottinghamshire. I am determined to stop him."

[jamesoftaversal]

Sir James kept his slow pace, and kept his eyes on the ground, the better to think. Vaizey, of course, was involved, but who was the tail and who was the dog in his relationship with Prince John? In other words, was he acting on the prince’s orders, or was he manipulating the prince for his own gain? He started to ask Robin, but thought better of it. First of all, there was reason to doubt Robin’s judgment regarding Vaizey in general because of his own losses at the sheriff’s hands; Sir James rather wondered if Robin tended to inflate Vaizey’s importance in his own mind. Secondly, Robin hadn’t been in Nottingham that much longer than Sir James himself, and must have been awfully young when he left to go on crusade. Given that, and given that he had lived ever since as an outlaw in the forest, there was no reason to think he had his finger on the pulse of royal politics, at least any more than the next man

[robin_hood49]

Robin glanced at Sir James in surprise... yet, found that he was not really that startled. So, it would seem that Vaizey's reach definitely extended beyond his own shire. He had to be stopped, but it was not an easy prospect.

He briefly considered the request for names of Richard's enemies, but realized there was little to lose. "Whether or not I trust you, giving you names of men I know to be working against the king is not exactly going to implicate me in anything new," he said wryly. Losing any humor, he nodded. "We need to avoid civil war, yet we will not be that much better off under John as king." Without explaining the pact or the Black Knights, specifically-- that could prove to be an issue-- he offered the names he could remember off the top of his head. "I believe them to be organizing," he concluded.