"Eat it!" the sheriff forced the chicken leg between Robin's parched lips. The smell and the feel were like ecstasy to the prisoner and he allowed himself just for a moment to succumb and take a single bite.
"Good. Now drink!" Vaysey held the jug of water towards his desperate captive and grinned wickedly as the so called peoples hero drank greedily; two days without water and 14 days without food had left Robin weak and the temptations being offered to him now were simply impossible for him to resist, he had no choice but to accept the sheriffs gifts, if only for survival.
"You can have as much of these things as you like. More, how does jugged hare sound to you hmmm" the evil man taunted, Robin could feel himself salivating at the very thought of food but he deliberately refused to show this to his captor.
"All you have to do is tell me where your little camp is."
"No!" Robin replied as forcefully as he could, his voice cracked with dryness despite the liquid he'd just drunk.
"Then you will die. Your little friends will never find you here; it's a location that is known only to me and my private guard. What are a few lives compared to yours? You are the peoples hero, they depend on you… are you going to let hundreds down for the sake of a few?"
Robin smiled then and chuckled lightly temporarily putting the evil sheriff ill at ease. "You think that by getting rid of me you will stop the revolution. I am one man sheriff. You can kill me, you can kill my friends and my loved ones but there will always be someone who is prepared to stand and fight for justice whether in my name or alone. You cannot defeat what is right!"
The sheriff glared at his prisoner then and angrily kicked the half full jug of water onto the floor spilling its contents around the desperate man. "Your spirit is strong Hood but your body can only go so long without food and water. We'll talk again in three days, see how willing you are to fight when your soul is screaming out for water and when death would be a welcome release from the pain that you are feeling now."
Robin glared back at the balding man before him with eyes shadowed from a lack of sunlight "I'll look forward to it!"
Back at the outlaws camp Much, Alan, Little John, and Tuck gathered once again after another day of searching for their friend.
"Where is he?" Much twittered nervously, as Robin's oldest friend and former servant the blonde man missed their leader more than most and was not afraid to show it.
"We know the sheriff has him, Guy has alluded as much in his 'announcements' but we've searched everywhere." Allan added tiredly, he knew the castle better than anyone and had spent the last two weeks sneaking into the highly fortified building searching for some clue as to Robin's whereabouts.
"Well wherever that weasel is keeping Robin we can guarantee that it is not in comfort. Are you sure you checked all of the dungeons Allan?" Little John joined in gruffly. Robin may be impetuous and over confident at times but he was still a friend and in John's mind you never gave up on a friend."
"Of course I have. Every dungeon that is marked on the castle maps and a few more that I just happen to know about. He's not in any of them." Allan spoke sharply back his hackles raised by the thought that one of his fellow outlaws could think he would lie at a time like this.
"Then we have to assume that there is at least one more dungeon that is not marked anywhere and that only a few people are aware of. Maybe only the sheriff knows of its location?" Tuck calmly spoke interrupting the tension building between the uneasy gang.
"Or maybe Robin's dead and has been for days and we are just wasting out time and energy looking for him" Allan snapped again, his eyes flashing dangerously as his anger flared. Only Robin could persuade him to calm down when he got like this and Robin was not there…
"He's not dead!" Much spat, trying to look as angry as he could despite his naturally babyish features
"How do you know?" Alan asked pointedly.
"I just know. I would feel it in here if he was" Much patted his chest, sure that his master and friend was still alive somewhere and that it was up to them to rescue him.
"Please, we will not help Robin by fighting among ourselves" Tuck held up his hands for peace and the other gang members fell silent. "If there is a dungeon that only the Sheriff knows about then the logical action is to follow him and let him lead us to Robin" the tall black monk spoke thoughtfully and gazed into the fire's embers as if trying to see something there.
"Vaysey would know it was us, he wouldn't just lead us to the secret dungeon, not after keeping Robin hidden for so long." Allan argued tiredly, sometimes Tuck could be as bad as their missing leader for stupid ideas.
"That is true but if John is right and Robin is being tortured for information … well he would not get his hands dirty doing it himself. He likes to watch not take part. That means there must be at least one guard whom he takes with him, one that he knows we cannot bribe either because he is very loyal or because he is incapable of helping us anyway." The friar gently set out his thoughts, they did not make much sense, he knew that, but maybe his friends would be able to offer some more information after all they knew the castle and it's guards better than he did.
"There is one; I think he is Vaysey's private guard or something." Much mentioned thoughtfully
"Yeah I know. He's always dressed in fully livery and a mask to hide his face. Isn't he a mute or something?" Allan asked picking up on the thread, hope sparking once more as Tuck's idea became more plausible.
"Yeah, Gisborn cut out his tongue as a punishment and then the Sheriff employed him as a body guard because he is strong. If I were going to tell someone a secret, he'd be a good choice." Little John finished, he'd known the man, a long time ago when he had been a farrier for the kings troops. Gisborn had accused him of lying and cut out his tongue rendering the man unable to make much more than grunting sounds and leaving scars on his face that were now covered with a black mask. It was not known whether the man was loyal to the sheriff or not, he did not have much choice, mute's were generally looked down upon and lived at the bottom of the ladder begging for food. Hated for the strange noises they emitted and the disfigurement associated with the problem.
"So we need to get to this guy and persuade him to swap places with one of us and hope that the sheriff shows us where he is keeping Robin." Allan asked, trying to understand what he was hearing.
"That is the plan. we do not know how close Vaysey keeps him but there must be a moment when they are apart and we do not know when the sheriff next plans on visiting Robin, we have no way of knowing what he has been doing to get the information he wants" John joined in the with plan immediately, his own skills of leadership taking him forward.
"I'll go" Much quickly spoke up; he didn't care what it took if it meant getting Robin back.
"No Much. I do not think that is a good idea" Tuck spoke gently
"Why not? Robin is my friend…"
"That is the problem, like John says we do not know what the sheriff has done to Robin. He may be badly hurt or sick. Whoever goes has to be able to control his feelings and show no emotion when faced with whatever horror he sees. You and Robin are close Much; I fear that you would not be able to stop yourself from protecting your friend. If we get found out the Sheriff will lock whoever is in disguise away and we would not get the information we need."
Much nodded quietly, he could see his friends point, his loyalty was a good thing but it could also ruin the whole plan if he couldn't control his temper.
"Anyway, that guy is huge. I think the sheriff would notice if his private guard suddenly shrunk and lost a load of muscle mass in one day." Allan added sarcastically
"I think Tuck should go. If you are happy to do so. He is the most controlled of all of us and tall enough that Vaysey may not notice a difference." John stated wisely, he may have the muscle to take the guards place but his temper was as fickle as Much's when it came to his friend's lives.
It was agreed; they would go in the next morning and take up there position in the place of the private guard.