Maybe this chapter is a little short, but I guess the next will be longer. Hope you enjoy it. Tell me what you think.
Chapter 9 – Sherwood Forest
Wheeler sat up with a groan and at once Linka was by his side and helped him to stand up.
"Are you okay Yankee?" asked she worried.
"Everything is all right Babe", replied he with a smile. So much he enjoyed that she was so concerned about and taken care of him, it was gradually a little irritating for him to be handled like an rawly egg.
"We have ten days here and it looks as it will rain. We should search for a accommodation. Do you mean you can go?" turned Gi, after a short look at the remote control, to Wheeler.
"If I can go?! I'm dead or invalid?" asked he grumbling and looked demonstrative at himself down.
"Calm down Wheeler. We want only to avoid that your state becomes more worse", said Ma-Ti.
"Then let us see, that we find something to pause", said Kwame and pointed the way.
The forest, where they were landed, was so tangly that they only slowly came onwards. They struggled with the tangly bushes and coppices, before they finally arrived on a way.
"Are you all right Wheeler?" asked Linka and turned, but from Wheeler, who was at the end of the group, was nothing to see."Where is Wheeler?"
"No idea. Ma-Ti is gone too", replied Gi.
"Wheeler needed certainly a break. Let us go back a few metres and look for them", submitted Kwame.
But all searching was for nothing and finally they found themselves again on the way, as a coach with bestriding escort came from a bend.
"Who you are strangers?" asked the equestrian and dragged his sword, and at once the others dragged theirs too.
"We are pilgrims", picked Kwame Ma-Ti's idea up and lifted his hands to show that they were weaponless."We have lost two of our friends here in this forest."
"You have not lost them. The outlaws will have grabbed them."
"Outlaws?!" asked the three like one mouth.
"They live here in the Sherwood Forest and they grab all of the travelers to mug them." They turned to the voice, who rang out from the coach, and they could see a young, but lankly man, who was dressed like an king."Come with us to Nottingham. If the outlaws have what they wanted, they will your friends release and send over there. It is the only colony in the vicinity of miles," said he and clapped his hands. At once one of the equestrians dismounted and kept open the door of the coach."The two ladys will drive with me. You can sit down by the coachman", said he to Kwame.
"But we have to find our friends", objected Gi angry.
"Forgive her Mylord, but our friends are the husbands of this two women", replied Kwame quickly, as he observed the view of the man, who was obviously not familiar with objections; and he harvested an inconspicuously slap on the arm from Gi, during he had to smother up an grin – he had a huge fun to josh the four with it, unfortunately only Gi and Ma-Ti let themselves so annoy, because Wheeler and Linka seemed very contentedly with their destiny.
"Then their worry is justified. But our husbands will not enjoy it if you fetching the death out here. Get in", ordered he as it began to rain and they could take from his voice that he would no more tolerate any objections. So did the three, like them was ordered.
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Wheeler was straight still behind Ma-Ti and in the next moment he found himself again surrounded in a gang of men. Only a short time later arrived Ma-Ti to them.
"We couldn't grab the others. They have attained the way and Prince John approach with his coach and his escort", said a young guy, 17 or 18 years old at the most.
"Then let us see, what these both have in their pockets", replied the big guy with a long wooden baton in his hand and stepped forward.
Before Wheeler and Ma-Ti could react or say something the men ransacked their pockets, but they found nothing.
"How is it that you are so fine and clean clothed, but you have none penny with you?!"
"We are pilgrims. We live from that what we can get in the villages, who we traverse", objected Ma-Ti.
"Who you are, that you tug travelers into the bushes and mug them?" asked Wheeler.
"We are the outlaws of the Sherwood Forest! My name is John Little." Wheeler and Ma-ti look at each other surprised.
"Now is only Robin Hood missing", muttered Wheeler then.
"Robin? We have here no Robin. Only a Rob and his brother Will", replied John and he pointed at the young guy and few years younger boy besides him.
"Let me guess, you are outlawed, because you have hunted the game of the king or you could not paid your taxes?!" said Wheeler.
"Or both, yes. You are good informed about the states here, for pilgrims."
"We have pick up this and that", replied Ma-Ti cool.
"But why mug you travelers? You know how much people are there, who have probably only that what they carry with them?"
"And whom should we approach redhead?"
"On that, who have money and have left you out on this limb", replied Wheeler and a murmur went through the crowd of the circa 30 Outlaws.
"You can talk smart-ass. You talk thereof to mug the Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John."
"They are only humans too and you have to know, how you shall tackle it."
"John, John," called a boy excited as he come running."Prince John and the Sheriff have the other three picked up on the way. They take them away to Nottingham."
"We have to exempt them", called Wheeler angry as he remembered as what fiends Prince John and the Sheriff was featured in the books and the movies. Who knows what they did to them.
"Are you crazy boy? We have less weapons and we are only simple farmers. These men are trained to fight and they have swords, crossbows, lances and what know I what else", said John and grabbed Wheeler at his shoulder, to hold him back with force if necessary, but Wheeler had lived on the streets too long and wrest so fast and agile from his grip that every guys mouth flipped open – one of the many tricks, who he had learned in all these years.
"That's our friends…and my wife. We can't leave them to this fiends." Wheeler held his side with one hand, because his evasive maneuver let his wound hurt again.
"What want you to do against it? They will kill you, first of all because you are obviously weakened. And we have enough problems, there we have not to aim at Prince John."
"But what have you to lost? You are outlaws yet and your families starve. It can be only better."
"Wheeler, what are you up to?" murmured Ma-Ti quietly.
"To exempt our friends and help this people to pursue a better way."
"Do you mean that this is a good idea?"
"Ma-Ti, with the knowledge what we have got to ourselves in the last few years, how to tackle dangerous situations, and our proficiency with the bow and in fighting, what we have learned at Camelot, we can help them. And maybe they will help us to exempt our friends."
"In ten days?!"
„Ten are better than none."
"Forgive me, but we have consult. If you mean you two can help us and it works, then we will help you. Promised friends", said John and offered Wheeler his hand. Ma-Ti only shrugged and Wheeler gripped it.
"How should we call you?"
"My name is Ma-Ti."
"Call me simply Robin", replied Wheeler with an evil grin.
