"The men are hiding down by the river", a voice rang out right next to Gisburne. The knight did not bother to look around for his companion or ask him if he was sure. He was aware this would be of no use. However, this was only on account of the fact that he was also aware that he could definitely rely on the information that the other had passed on to him. The man had never been wrong before, and he had never lied to him.
"We're advancing to the river!" the sheriff's steward ordered his men, then took his place at the head of the group. He was not one to shirk a fight, and he also knew that the risk to him was much less than to the others, for he was much better protected than the soldiers. Unless someone shot at him with one of those damn longbows.
His men lacked the ability to advance without making a sound, but in this case, it didn't matter. The outlaws he was after had maneuvered themselves into a hopeless situation when they picked this very spot by the river to lie low. It was quite possible that they had believed that no one would suspect them in the immediate vicinity of Nottingham, but in that respect, they had been mistaken. There was one man who had been able to track them down, and so their fate now awaited them in the form of Sir Guy of Gisburne and his soldiers.
In the end it became a simple matter, for the scum was no match for the men from Nottingham. Those of them who survived the battle were taken to the town and ended up in the gaol. And there they would wait until the next court day came to be tried and sentenced. After that, they would hang without a doubt, for their guilt had been sufficiently proven. Too many people had witnessed their misdeeds, so the sheriff would have no trouble passing a just sentence. And no one would shed a tear for them or come to their rescue. Not even Robin Hood.
Normally, Gisburne would have been pleased to receive praise from de Rainault; after all, it was rare enough for the latter to express himself in this way to his steward. Although he had been very successful in fighting ordinary outlaws over the past four years, the sheriff was annoyed with him most days. For in fighting the exceptional outlaws, he regularly failed miserably.
In this case, however, the knight couldn't quite enjoy the praise, and that was due to the season. Once again it was summer, and at this time of year it was especially hard for him to do his work in Sherwood. And the closer the day approached, the more Gisburne sought refuge in wine. Or even in beer, for he was not particularly choosy in that respect. He would have preferred not to leave the castle at this time, but in this respect, he had no choice. He had to do his work, but he was also aware that he could not have stayed away from the forest even if that had not been the case. He had tried to do that every time for the past three years, and he had failed every time. So, this year he had resolved to stop resisting it, but he would take something stronger with him to get drunk. That way, he hoped to keep the memories at bay.
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"I don't think that's a good idea, Robin", John protested one more time as his friend and leader prepared to leave the camp.
"I'll be careful, John", the other tried to allay John's concerns. "I don't intend to do more than observe, and I won't get involved in anything else. But if indeed a messenger from the earl is on his way here to the forest, I need to know. My father would not send me a message unless it was something important. Nor do I find it suspicious that the man cautiously tried to make inquiries. After all, it is not easy to find us in the woods. And we wouldn't want it to be easy, John."
The giant shook his head, for he was not yet convinced. "Can't you wait another day, Robin?" he asked the young man with the long fair hair.
"For what reason should I do that?" came the prompt counter-question. "If it's really as important as I suspect, I don't want to blame myself later for waiting too long."
"We can't back you up today", Will suddenly interjected. You couldn't tell from his expression if he was as unhappy about Robin's plans as John was, since he always looked like he was displeased with everything.
"I know you can't, Will", Robin conceded. "And I'm not asking you to do that. I understand that you can't do that today. Do you think I didn't grasp that this day has great significance for you? I would never ask you not to remember him. But you also know that I cannot participate in it. On this day, I prefer to be occupied with something else. The search for the earl's messenger suits me just fine."
Nasir briefly laid a hand on his young friend's shoulder. He too had realized that the other did not see himself as a part of their fellowship on this particular day, but he had also understood the reason for it.
"I will be careful. I promise!" his leader answered the Saracen's unspoken request. "Herne will protect me", he then added with confidence. He was quite sure that he was right in this respect. In the last three years, after all, he had learned to move in the woods as if he were a ghost. Therefore, he was not afraid of a man to whom this terrain was unknown. Of course, he had considered that this could be a trap, but he didn't believe it, after all, this would be far too subtle for Gisburne and the sheriff would never get his own hands dirty and carry out such a plan on his own. He always used his steward for this sort of thing, though mainly for the reason of having a scapegoat on hand in case of emergency.
Tuck finally determined that they wouldn't be able to stop Robin from his plan anyway, and thus ended the discussion. Then, before the young man left the camp, he handed Albion over to Marion. This, however, had nothing to do with the fact that he was perhaps secretly afraid of walking into a trap after all. He knew he would not necessarily need the sword that day, but it was very important for his friends to have it with them. Of course, he would not set out unarmed, as Will literally forced his blade on him. As if he thought he could refuse to accept it.
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"I'm going to kill him", raged Will. "I'm going to kill that damn bastard. This year I'm not letting him get away with this. This year he' s going to get it. I'm not gonna put up with him defiling this place with his presence anymore."
"Stay calm, Will", Tuck tried to dissuade his hot-blooded friend from making a hasty decision, even though he was annoyed as well.
"You want me to stay calm?" the former soldier retorted. "Every year on this day, he sits there. What's the point? What is he trying to prove? He hasn't even been there after all."
"Maybe that's why he comes here? Because he missed it then?" attempted Much to find an explanation, but no one listened to him.
Will had had enough. He didn't care what his friends thought, he had to act and so now he charged forth.
"Gisbuuurne!" he roared. "I'll kill you."
The knight was sitting right in the middle of the hill, a flask in his hand, while his black stallion grazed not far from him. Hearing Will's shout, the man raised his head and looked around, but his movements didn't seem particularly directed, nor did he look especially alarmed. Instead of jumping up, fearing an attack, he raised the flask to his lips and took a big swig. Then he turned his head away again and stared instead at the spot where Robin of Loxley must have died four years ago. None of those here now, however, had been there then, not even the knight. He had stayed with the captured outlaws in Wickham while Marion and Much hid in the woods. But the soldiers who had accompanied the sheriff that day had not remained silent. Not a surprise, considering that it wasn't every day that one saw Robin Hood die.
Gisburne had visited the spot the day after Hood's death, though the ride had not been easy for him, for he was wounded. Nevertheless, he had had to come here and he was also quite sure that he had located the right spot, even though he could not detect anything there. There was no trace of the corpse that the sheriff had left behind. The knight assumed at that time that Robin Hood's friends had taken him away to bury him in the woods. He could not know that they too had no idea what had happened to their friend. Of course, they had searched the area as well, but they had had even less information about where Robin had died than Gisburne had. Only gradually had they learned where their friend had made his last stand. Every year on the anniversary of his death, they now gathered here. Only to find Gisburne here every year as well, apparently getting drunk in this place. Of course, the outlaws believed he was celebrating the victory over his adversary in this manner, and this was naturally utterly repugnant to them. Simply desiring to commemorate Robin in peace, they had avoided calling him to account for it in recent years. This year, though, Will wasn't going to let him get away with it anymore.
"That's enough, Gisburne!" the red-haired outlaw roared once more as he charged toward the knight with his weapon raised. But then he suddenly stopped, for the other man still did not respond to him as he expected.
In the meantime, the rest of the outlaws had approached as well, and now they surrounded the knight, who stared at them out of small, red-rimmed eyes, as if he neither knew who they were nor what they wanted from him. Then he turned back to his flask and took another big swig.
"Why isn't he here?" The outlaws flinched, for they had not expected Gisburne to say anything. And his words were even more surprising than the fact that he could even express himself intelligibly in his condition.
"He's drunk beyond belief!" observed John in astonishment.
"I can kill him even in this state", Will tried to maintain his aggressiveness, but he didn't really appear like he was actually planning to do that anymore.
"Forget it, Will", John retorted.
"What are we going to do with him now?" demanded Marion, but none of her friends had an answer to her question.
"Why isn't he here today?" again Gisburne made himself heard, as if it weren't Robin of Loxley's friends who encircled him. These stared at him again, puzzled.
"We're going to do what we came here to do", Marion decreed all at once. "And then we'll take him with us. I don't want him left here alone. And you'll make yourself miserable if you kill him in this condition, Will. Therefore, we have no choice but to take him with us.
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It was much more difficult for the outlaws to take Gisburne with them to their camp than they had previously expected. Not that he resisted them, but rather that he was no longer able to move without help, although he was still able to utter intelligible words. Finally, they came up with the idea of maneuvering him onto his horse. They were then able to lead it through the woods without any problems, because the black stallion did not cause them any difficulties - surprisingly enough. It almost appeared to them as if he sensed that his rider could no longer manage on his own.
When they finally succeeded in reaching the camp with their captive, there was no question of not tying him to a tree. But unlike the previous occasions, when this always served to prevent him from attacking any of them or escaping, this time they did it so that he could remain sitting upright. This, after all, would have been quite difficult for him to do otherwise, since the booze he had obviously consumed had by now taken full effect.
Even Will refrained from attacking the knight at least verbally any further, for by now he had grasped that none of his words were getting through to the other. Gisburne was so drunk that he was now completely blanked out. None of the outlaws had ever seen him in such a state, nor could they explain why he had gotten that drunk on this day and in this place, of all places. It didn't fit at all with the image they otherwise had of him.
But before evening came, Gisburne started talking again. At first the outlaws paid no attention to him, until they realized that he was asking the same question over and over again. The same one he had asked on the hill. "Why isn't he here today?"
It was immediately obvious to the others that he was talking about Robin of Loxley, but they didn't understand now any more than they had before why he was asking that question in the first place.
Eventually it got to be too much for Will. "He's dead, Gisburne. He's not here because he's dead. You killed him four years ago. He will never be here again."
The knight stared at him uncomprehendingly, and then he shook his head vehemently. "He's not dead. He's just not here today. Why isn't he here today?"
"Why won't he shut up?" muttered Will. "I can't listen to this anymore. He's almost acting like he's lost a friend."
"He's not dead!" the knight repeated with vigor.
Tuck shook his head. "Why is he even able to utter anything? If you drank that much, Will, you wouldn't be able to utter anything intelligible."
"He usually can't, either", John asserted, causing his friends to laugh. Except Will, of course, who glared angrily at him.
"Gisburne", Marion now spoke up, "Robin's dead." She couldn't stand to hear the knight's question either.
Gisburne shook his head again. "He is Herne's son, he cannot die."
Marion stared at him, dumbfounded. She couldn't remember Gisburne ever seriously considering Robin's status as Herne's son. And now he was talking about how that was the reason Robin couldn't be dead. "What was he drinking?"
"I don't know about that", Will admitted. "Is there anything left?"
John tossed him the flask and the red-haired outlaw unscrewed the stopper and sniffed at the opening. Instantly he had a coughing fit. "I wouldn't even touch this stuff if there was no beer or mead. Where could he possibly have gotten it?"
"I guess we'd better ask the question, how long before it kills him?" contributed John, who had also sniffed at the opening, only to shake himself immediately afterwards.
"Those aren't the right questions to ask", Tuck corrected his friends. "Why can we still understand what he's saying?"
"It's all bullshit", Will exclaimed. "Why are we even listening to him?"
"Because it's Robin's death anniversary?", Much answered him, although Will didn't actually give the impression that he wanted an answer to his question.
"Today of all days, we shouldn't be listening to him," Will tried to convince the others of his point of view.
The knight had obviously been listening to him, too. "I'm not talking to you either, Wolfshead. I'm talking to him. Why isn't he here today, of all days? I need him, after all. Why is he abandoning me today?" Exhausted, he closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.