The hall looked exactly as Robin recalled it. He couldn't discern anything different from the first time he had seen it in one of his visions, and he exhaled in relief. But then he admonished himself not to fool himself simply by wanting it to be that way more than anything else.
The Master of the Castle, the noble host, made an amazing appearance in his costly robes, something even Robin could not deny, even if it did strike him as a bit eccentric that he was walking the hall with a falcon on his arm. He considered it rather exaggerated, but what did he know, he wasn't a noble after all. On the other hand, he was pleased to note that the man looked much better than the last time he had seen him. Which was not in the least surprising, since he had been grieving for his son at that moment.
But they had not yet reached that point, for the younger Huntingdon was still enjoying perfect health. Robin had already spotted him, for just like his father, he circulated among the guests who had already arrived. And just like the earl, he had draped himself in a costly robe. He also moved through the crowd with the kind of casual arrogance that seems to come naturally to the Normans. At least, that was the impression they gave Robin.
This time, the former outlaw had resolved to take the time to examine the hall more closely. Last time he had been too distracted by the events, which were after all entirely new to him, and moreover he hadn't had much practice in dealing with this kind of visions. This time he wanted to approach the whole affair with more control, and so he now took the opportunity to look around at his leisure, no differently as if he were also one of the invited guests and not just an invisible observer.
And so, he admired the tapestries that hung on the walls and on which could be found very different scenes, created with multicolored yarn. He noticed that the earl seemed to prefer hunting to war, and Robin appreciated that. After all, he was a hunter himself, albeit of a somewhat different kind. Then he eyed the tables that had been set up at the sides of the hall. Scarlet had always talked about how the tables would bend under the food, but Robin could see nothing of that. He had to admit, however, that there was plenty of food and drink, offered to the guests by numerous servants dressed in clean livery. And then, in a corner of the hall, he spotted the minstrels, who were playing soft music to the murmurings the men and women made. However, they could not do more, since their music was indeed so quiet that it could not disturb anyone, for already after a few paces there was nothing more to be heard of it. There were just too many people around for that.
Nevertheless, more guests were still being announced. A short squeal from a buisine to lower the noise level a bit, and then the herald called out the name and title of the person who had just arrived, whereupon this person posed so that everyone could take a look at - and admire - them. As soon as that was done, everyone returned to the subject with which they had previously been occupied.
Robin also looked at the guests with interest, for he had never seen so many well-dressed and well-fed people in one place as had gathered for this event at Huntingdon Castle. But at the same time, he also noticed that many of them seemed thoroughly discontented and were apparently complaining at length to their talk partners. Robin couldn't tell if the misfortunes and disasters they mentioned had actually happened, but if they had, these people were all rather unlucky.
However, needless to say, Robin had not gone back to this event for the reason of looking at what he might have missed the last time. He was here to discover how this vision differed from the one he remembered. He had not personally experienced this feast, for he had not been alive at that time - and no one would have invited him if that had not been the case - but he had witnessed it earlier. By now he had come to terms with the fact that the past had been altered. But he had also come to terms with the fact that he himself was the culprit, and now he found himself searching for the cause. He absolutely had to learn what he had done to trigger these changes, and then he had to undo it. That was the only way he could avoid losing all his friends. Even if at the same time it meant also keeping someone alive whom he definitely did not count among his friends. But he was willing to pay that price.
Now he had to turn his attention back to the entrance, however, as more guests were announced.
"Robert de Rainault, Highsheriff of Nottinghamshire", the herald's voice rang out and the sheriff was already positioning himself. But he did not remain alone for long in the center of the other guests' attention, for he was already joined by his brother, the Abbot of St. Mary's, and the third to appear was the sheriff's steward, Sir Guy of Gisburne. All three men displayed the arrogant expressions common among Normans, of which Robin was convinced they were born with.
For a brief moment he could detect no difference from his first vision, but then another person was announced whom Robin had not expected. At least not in the company of these men. "Lady Marion of Leaford, ward of Abbot Hugo!" the herald exclaimed, and then, just like the men, she posed, right next to Gisburne, and the former outlaw could only stare at her, dumbfounded. What the hell was she doing in this company? And where was her father? Last time she had attended the feast alongside Sir Richard, but this time it looked like she was still living in Nottingham. Had her father not yet returned from the Holy Land? And then Robin caught a glimpse of a figure behind Marion, and he recognized Tuck, whom he definitely would not have expected to see here, no matter in what company. He had not appeared in his previous vision as he had been living in Sherwood at that time. He was the only one of the outlaws who had remained there after Robin Hood's death - that is, after his own death. The fact that he had not died in reality did not change this. Nevertheless, he was to blame for the fact that Tuck now appeared here as well.
So far, however, Robin had believed that Tuck had returned to Nottingham only some time later, but now it looked quite as if this return had taken place much earlier than he had suspected. Could he have gone back after his death, after all his friends had left Sherwood? The former outlaw did not want to rule that out any longer, but still the question remained not only why he should have done that, but also why de Rainault had taken him back. This made no more sense at an earlier date than it did at a later one. Strictly speaking, it made no sense at any point in time.
And then Robin had to grin all of a sudden - despite the serious circumstances - for Abbot Hugo had just tried to be the first to move forward, passing the sheriff, only to be stopped immediately by his brother with an imperious gesture. The latter was clearly unwilling to let anyone else go first. Hugo immediately gave the impression that he had bitten into something sour and Gisburne, who had witnessed everything at close range, could not help grinning contemptuously, but neither the sheriff nor the abbot could see this.
Meanwhile, the earl had also reached the sheriff and his entourage and did what his duties as host required of him, although he made no effort to conceal his distaste. Only Lady Marion received a reasonably kindly greeting. Robert and Hugo de Rainault, however, apparently reciprocated the earl's sentiments and only just managed to satisfy courtesy. Robin wondered about this, for he had always viewed the sheriff as someone who could hide his true intentions and feelings in any situation. But then it occurred to the outlaw that he probably didn't consider that necessary in this case. He was not - in his opinion - in a position where he wanted to fool the earl, so the men exchanged a minimum of words. After that, these guests quickly moved away from the entrance - and the host.
No sooner had they cleared the area than the next guest was announced, and this one attracted much more attention than the sheriff, much to de Rainault's chagrin. "Baron Simon de Belleme!" the herald exclaimed, and immediately all conversation in the hall fell silent as the eyes of those present turned to the entrance and the man who had just appeared there. Or rather, the man and his attendant, for the baron - dressed in black as always - was accompanied by his Saracen bodyguard, who let his attentive gaze wander over the assembled nobles, but also over the servants. He seemed to take the task of protecting his master quite seriously, although Robin was sure that he was not with the baron of his own free will. But whatever de Belleme used to keep the Saracen at bay was obviously extremely effective.
In this case, the Earl of Huntingdon would probably have liked to give the impression that he was pleased with the arrival of this guest, but for once he failed in this. Everyone could easily tell that he had no choice but to invite the man, but he probably hadn't expected him to accept the invitation, and the other guests obviously hadn't either. Even Robin was surprised by his presence, until he realized that this feast was held here some time before the attack on Clun Castle, and thus before the ritual in which the baron had killed Morgwyn of Ravenscar. Lately, the former outlaw had been jumping back and forth in time so often in his visions that he sometimes lost track.
The baron greeted his host politely and then started a small walk around the hall. In doing so, he gave the impression of looking for a spot where he would be undisturbed, but perhaps he just enjoyed the fact that the others immediately moved out of his way as soon as he came close to them. But if he really didn't want to be disturbed by anyone, it wouldn't be hard for him to do so, since there really didn't seem to be anyone among the other guests who wanted to stay near him. For this reason, they kept a close eye on the baron as they now moved through the hall as well. The sheriff and his entourage also tried to move away inconspicuously, but they were unsuccessful as de Belleme seemed intent on exchanging a few words with the brothers de Rainault, even if they would have liked to avoid that. Then Robin noticed that the baron was mainly trying to talk to Lady Marion, and the deceased outlaw did not like that at all, because he immediately had the idea that at that moment the sorcerer was already making the first preparatory steps for the ritual. Still, he could not bring himself to go near the baron, although this was only a vision, so he could not listen to what it was about.
Having said that, he turned away from de Belleme, for he could do nothing at that moment to affect what was yet to happen. Besides, at that very instant, the one in whose honor this feast was given by the Earl of Huntingdon had entered. Standing at the entrance now was Owen of Clun, accompanied by his pet wizard and a fierce horde of warriors. He did not wait to be announced, however, but strutted straight into the hall, greeted the earl with a hug that was far too intimate, and downed the wine that had been handed to him by a nervous servant. In other words, he provided more entertainment for the guests than the minstrels and jesters the earl had called upon. Probably in response to the Marcher Lord's presence, Robin found himself in close proximity to Marion. Of course, he couldn't help but notice that she looked nowhere near as pale and unhappy as she had the last time he had seen her in a vision of this feast. Whatever had changed in her life, it had obviously led to the fact that she had not had to go through so much suffering. Unfortunately, Robin still had no idea what had caused it all.
What followed the arrival of the guest of honor then differed only in minor details from what Robin remembered. Again, there was dancing - though it did not escape the former outlaw's notice that this time Gisburne behaved rather politely to Marion - and Lord Owen did not take his eyes off her once he had caught sight of her for the first time. Again, she was forced to dance with him - or rather for him - which in this vision also led to a quarrel between the Marcher Lord and the young Huntingdon, who until then had stayed fairly in the background. However, this time only words were exchanged and not blades crossed, since Robert de Rainault suddenly interfered - to Robin's astonishment - and then the earl was already on the spot to reprimand his son.
Robin could well remember how little Robert had been amenable to his father's words the last time, but there was nothing of that now. The younger man ducked his head and then even apologized to Lord Owen, which only led to the latter mocking him, while the other guests looked at the young man with pity. Robin overheard Hugo mutter to Gisburne, "The fool is lucky his father would never agree to such a union. What can she offer him?" at which the sheriff's steward grinned nastily. The two men apparently did not seem to have a good opinion of Marion after all, even though she lived at Nottingham Castle and had not gone into the woods. She herself hadn't noticed any of this, however, as she was focused on the earl and his son and gave the impression of being annoyed that Robert had been called back. It had not escaped Robin's notice how interested she had been in the younger man, whereas she obviously felt nothing but contempt for the Marcher Lord.
This, however, was not lost on the sheriff, nor was Owen's obvious interest in Marion, and a sly smile appeared on de Rainault's face. Quickly he went to his brother and took him aside. "We should seize this opportunity to put ourselves in a good light with the king. Owen is quite crazy about the girl, and he will not forget it if we hand her over to him."
"But her lands ...", Hugo commenced, but his brother did not let him finish.
"Tell me, what is Lord Owen to do with her estate? Do you think he'll bother to manage it himself?" The sheriff shook his head. "He'll be glad to have us take that job off his hands, Brother." Again, that sly smile appeared on his face.
The abbot still looked displeased, but even Robin knew that expression said nothing about what was actually going through his mind. 'He probably came into the world with that expression on his face', the former outlaw thought. He was unaware, however, how similar his thoughts were at that moment to those of the sheriff, at least regarding his brother.
"When are you going to make him the offer, Robert?" demanded Hugo de Rainault to know. He was now evidently willing to support his brother's plan after all.
"This very evening. I would consider it immensely convenient if he were to take his bride directly to Clun. On no account do I wish to have to receive him as a guest in Nottingham, nor do I wish to travel to the Welsh Marches myself. We can't rely on Gisburne for such an important matter either. He always finds a way to screw up the best plan", the sheriff explained, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his steward hadn't overheard anything. Not because he might have hurt the latter's feelings, rather that nothing could be jeopardized by his incompetence of which he was unaware.
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Robin was suddenly unable to linger any longer at the feast at Huntingdon Castle. He had learned what he had wanted to know, and eavesdropping on more people's plans and intrigues would have been just too much for him at this point. He knew now that the event that had changed everything else must have happened before that, though unfortunately he still did not know what it was exactly. He had noticed that Tuck was already back with the sheriff. But he had also seen that Marion was the abbot's ward, although he remembered exactly when Sir Richard had returned to England. Or rather, when he had been brought back to England as a prisoner of Prince John, for Robin had rescued him from Nottingham Castle at that time and enabled him to escape to Normandy to speak with the king. Only later had Marion and he learned that Richard the Lionheart was dead by that time.
The former outlaw had gone back under the Hill, for even though he had not learned very much that was new, he still felt the need to reflect on everything again at his leisure. He was aware that he still had no idea how to figure out what he had done. But he couldn't give up, for only if he discovered the cause of all the changes could he undo them. So far, he had shimmied his way along Marion's fate - and before that, Gisburne's - and in doing so, he had had to discover that he could no longer rely on his memories. Nevertheless, he did not believe that this had brought him any closer to his goal.
Once again Robin wished there was someone he could talk to about his problem without being afraid to give himself away. But he couldn't bring himself to trust any of his people. Maybe it would have been different if they didn't still make him feel like he wasn't their equal. But this attitude had not changed all the time and slowly Robin had reached the conviction that it would not change any more. Therefore, it was not surprising that he could not bring himself to confide in these people and tell them what abilities he possessed. Besides, he wanted to be sure himself in this respect and he was not ready yet.
For this reason, he had returned to the lake, sitting once again on the promontory and gazing out at the water, that for once was not hidden in mist, for it was an exceptionally sunny day, even by the standards under the Hill. For the first time, this enabled Robin to admire the full beauty of this body of water. It did him no good, however, for it filled him with a great sadness, reminding him of what he had lost by dying. He simply could not forget how often he had sat on the shore of the lake in Sherwood and looked out over the water. This sense of loss was not changed by the fact that the two bodies of water did not really resemble each other - except for the mist that so often shrouded them both - yet he was overcome by homesickness, made worse by the fact that he knew he would never be able to return.
He wished he could undo everything. And by that he meant not only the event, which he had obviously changed without realizing it, but the whole matter of his death. But he knew very well that this was nothing he could affect. This desire sprang solely from the sense of loss that had just assaulted him. He missed his friends and he missed the woods, and he had come to realize that visiting it in a vision was not the same thing. He not only wanted to see and to listen to the sounds of Sherwood, he wanted to touch it and smell it, but a vision didn't work that way.
Eventually, this urge became so overwhelming that he could no longer resist it. He gave in to his need and opened a portal that would take him to Darkmere. For a moment he hesitated, but then he stepped through and immediately had the impression of coming home. At that moment, he realized with all clarity that this wood was the only place he would ever consider home. He had never experienced this impression in the hut under the Hill, it was just a place to sleep, but in no way more than that. Even the small grove where he retreated to in order to have his visions never gave him the same kind of feeling that Sherwood did.
But now he found himself here again, and he inhaled so deeply as if to memorize the fragrance of the woods for all time. Once again, he came to the realization that it was unique and could be compared to nothing else. And then he got down on his knees and dug his fingers deep into the soil. He sighed and then brought them very close to his face to sniff at them - and the earth - and then he dug them into the dirt again. He sat like that on the shore of the lake for quite some time without moving. He just looked out over the water, listened to the wind, watched the birds, sucked in the smell of the woods, and felt the soil between his fingers. And although he was well aware that his stay here could not help him solve his problem, he just felt good - for the first time in a long while. In addition, the woods also gave him the impression of returning some of the strength he had mustered lately. Only now did he realize how exhausting it had been for him to experience all that he had been shown in his visions. This sensation strengthened his determination to find a solution, and that finally made him smile, for now he understood that his trip here was not so pointless after all as it had seemed to him before. And not so selfish either.
Finally, he rose again and stepped closer to the lake. He wanted to take a look at his reflection just as he had done at the lake under the Hill. He simply had to find out whether he had retained his changed appearance here in the human world or whether he still wore his old face here. No one had wanted to tell him anything about why he had changed when he returned to his people, so he had no choice but to set out on his own to find an explanation. Therefore, he was determined not to let this opportunity go to waste while he was here in the human world.
He crouched down right next to the water, took a deep breath - to push back his nervousness a little bit - and then took a look at his reflection. Immediately he felt disappointment welling up inside him, for he looked no different from the last time he had looked at himself under the Hill. The pointed chin, the larger eyes, but especially his ears showed all too clearly that he was not human. He pinched his eyes shut as he felt tears welling up in his eyes, but it was no use. He couldn't stop them, for he had wished so much that it would be otherwise.
It took him a few moments to get himself under control again, then he wiped the tears from his cheeks with his fingers and his nose with his sleeve as he sniffled. Only then did he dare to open his eyes again. Again, he looked at his reflection, simply to prove to himself that he would not let it bring him down.
Robin's eyes snapped open, for what was now staring back at him was his old self. He couldn't believe it and examined his reflection closely while carefully touching his ears. To his great astonishment, he could feel nothing but normal ears under his fingers, human ears. His face also looked the same as he had been used to in the past. What had just happened here? He was quite sure that he had not been mistaken when he first looked into the water, but he was also quite sure about what he just now saw. Was this possible? Could it really be that his appearance had just changed? And for what reason should this have happened?
He could not imagine that it had anything to do with his stay in the human world, for then he would have seen his human face the first time. Had he perhaps triggered this change himself, since he had so ardently wished for it?
There was only one way to determine whether he was right in his assumption: he had to change his appearance one more time. But how should he do that? He had just wished to look like he used to, and now he wondered if it would be enough to wish for his Sidhe face to return. However, that seemed easier than it was, for actually he did not wish for it at all. Nevertheless, he had to try that now, for no one under the Hill would miss it if he looked like a Human again.
Robin concentrated on undoing the last change, but this time he didn't close his eyes as he tried. This time he continued to watch his reflection and so he didn't miss how his face changed all of a sudden. He had assumed that the change would be slow, but in this respect, he was wrong. One moment he looked like a Human and the next he showed his new appearance again. Briefly he ran his fingers over his ears and there he could feel the tips, which he could also see. So, they were really back.
He focused again to get his human face back and there it was. Once again, the change occurred from one moment to the next. Now he could no longer deny that he had caused this himself, and it wasn't just happening unwittingly, he could actually control it. But he had to be sure, so he closed his eyes once more and concentrated again, and then when he opened them again, he caught sight of his new face once more. He swallowed, perhaps because he hadn't been quite sure. No one had said anything about such a possibility. Had they deliberately kept it from him, or did they not know? He couldn't answer that question, of course, but then he had to swallow again, for he just realized that there was now something else he had to keep from the others. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized how lucky he had been not to have accidentally changed before. He wondered how the others of his people managed to keep their wishes from coming true unchecked, hoping that the solution might be as simple as just having more practice with it than he had.
But now he was curious to learn what he could do with this new ability of his. He once again closed his eyes and refocused, for something had just occurred to him. He had remembered what had happened to him on the shore of the lake under the Hill. However, this time he didn't dare to observe the change, he was much too nervous for that. He also had to suck in another deep breath before he could take a look at the surface of the water.
Although the result was exactly what Robin had imagined, he was startled when the face of Guy of Gisburne now met his eyes. He brushed his fingertips over his cheeks and nose, but he couldn't really tell if it felt different from his own face, but then he sensed the thin scar under his left eye and at that moment he was sure. Now he knew he couldn't just switch back and forth between his old face and his new one. And then he gathered his courage and ran his hand over his neck and there under his fingers he traced the rough spot where there was a burn scar. When he now looked at his hands more closely, there was no longer any doubt, for they did indeed look like those of the knight.
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The realization that he could turn into Gisburne - at least on the outside - had given Robin quite a fright, although he also thought the whole affair was very exciting. Who would have guessed that he now possessed so many new abilities? He would never have dreamed of such an idea. But then he remembered all at once that he was no longer human, and all his joy at what he had just discovered immediately vanished. He would much rather be a Human without his new abilities than a Sidhe with everything he was now capable of.
Robin had made his way back under the Hill through the portal, and he was relieved to discover that no one was waiting there for him. But he also felt relief because he knew now what to do next. Until then, his approach had been to move from one vision to the next in search of answers to his questions. But in doing so, he didn't really had a sense of control over where he was going. Now he wanted to see if it wasn't possible to do it differently. To this end, he wanted to go to a spot in his own past, not one from another person's past. He wanted to go to a place in Sherwood, but not to one of the camps or the caves they had used, because he definitely did not want to run into Herne. The one time had been more than enough for him, so he had to be careful to keep enough distance from him. However, he assumed that this risk was much smaller in Wickham. Moreover, he wanted to go back to a time before his death.
Having come to this decision, he now made his way as quickly as possible to the small grove, but then it still took quite a while before he finally felt calm enough to call up a vision in which he might be able to observe himself. He had been in the village so many times that this was a distinct possibility, even if he wanted to try to seek out Wickham on one of the other days. He had even considered going back to the day John supposedly went fishing and stayed with Meg instead, where he was promptly surprised by Gisburne in the morning. In doing so, Robin suddenly realized that he was more likely to encounter the knight in Wickham than himself; after all, the knight had often paid the village a visit as well.
But then he was ready and hovered once again over the wood where he had lived for so many years and where he had found happiness. Right away he noticed that he was indeed exactly where he had wanted to go, very close to Wickham. However, he had no idea what day it was, and he didn't know if he could figure that out that quickly if nothing special were to happen. However, he was still not sure if he should wish that this was not an ordinary day. Actually, yes, he had hoped he would be able to pick out a specific event, but he had been in Wickham a lot, and his visits had often - if not always - been pretty similar, so he couldn't tell them apart now. And the few times that stood out from the rest had mostly turned out not to be particularly pleasant.
Since he had just not settled on anything in particular, he was then all the more amazed when he arrived in the village proper, for all the huts were festively decorated and the people had set up tables with food and drink between them. At first, he wondered if a wedding was being celebrated here, until he understood that this was the time of the blessing, of all things, and he was startled. After all, he could not rule out the possibility that Herne would appear in the evening to bless the villagers and this would not be a good thing for him personally. Robin had not forgotten how he had sent him back under the Hill on the last occasion and he had not been able to do anything about it.
But then it struck him that the sun had only recently passed its peak and there was still plenty of time before the blessing. Very likely he would then already have left this vision. Thus reassured, he was able to set about exploring the vicinity, very quickly reaching the majestic oak tree, sacred to the Lord of Trees, which had been decorated even more than the villagers' dwellings. Herne was still commemorated in most of the villages within the woods - despite the Christian church and its priests - but it was in Wickham that the people were most zealous in that regard. Only now did Robin ponder whether this was perhaps why he and his friends had visited this village so often. In any case, he could not deny that he had had a bond with these serfs through Herne.
At the edge of the woods, Robin glanced around intently, but there was nothing to be seen of his friends - or himself. For this reason, he went back to the village, but even there he could not spot anything of them. Maybe they came later, but it was odd, for usually they were already in Wickham by this time, helping Edward and the others with the preparations for the feast. If only he knew to which year his vision had led him?
Suddenly he heard the clatter of hooves, and before he could figure out which direction it was coming from, a troop of horsemen charged into the village, heedless of the people in their path, who were just able to jump to safety. At the head of the riders Robin spotted a familiar figure, for it was Sir Guy of Gisburne, unmistakable in his armor and with the obligatory blue cloak. But he was not accompanied by mounted soldiers of the sheriff, but by heavily armed and brutal-looking men, whom Robin also recognized, however, for they were Bertrand de Nivelle and his mercenaries. At the sight of them, the former outlaw suddenly got cold. But not due to the arrival of these horsemen, but rather because he had just realized that the change he had triggered must also have preceded this event. At that moment he remembered that he had been in the forest near Wickham when Gisburne and the men he had hired arrived. But he had just taken a look around there and found no trace of himself or his friends. Whatever he had done was already affecting this day.
While Robin pondered the consequences of his unwitting actions, Edward had approached the riders and inquired about their wishes. Unsurprisingly, Gisburne demanded food and drink from him.
"Anything you wish, my Lord", the village headman replied to him, and had already half turned when he added something else. "Except venison!" And then he set off to organize everything. Since Edward had his back turned, the knight didn't notice his impertinent grin.
But that was probably not necessary, for Gisburne's next words showed that he certainly knew what the serf was thinking. "We'll have to keep an eye on him, Bertrand", he informed the man standing next to him. "He's always causing trouble, just like the village he speaks for. If it were up to me, I'd have had them all thrown in the dungeons or declared outlaws by now, but de Rainault still has hopes that Wickham will make him money."
De Nivelle laughed, which did not come out in a very pleasant way. "And now you want us to scare the people here?"
Gisburne, meanwhile, had taken a seat at the table to which he had been led by Edward, and de Nivelle and his men had followed him.
"Not only that, Bertrand", replied the knight. "At this time of year this scum celebrates one of their pagan holidays. They call it the time of the blessing, and until that blessing is done, they must not shed blood. This is the opportunity to show the vermin where their place is. You're here to stop this festival, this blessing, and make sure they don't pray to their pagan gods in the future either."
The mercenary leader downed the ale that one of the villagers had handed him, while at the same time attempting to pull the woman onto his lap, which she managed to prevent. Gisburne scowled at the other's actions, but then just sighed and downed his ale as well.
"I didn't know you had become such a devout believer, Guy, that you wouldn't let these people have a little fun", de Nivelle teased him, which didn't improve the knight's mood.
"It has nothing to do with faith", he retorted angrily. "As far as I'm concerned, they can enjoy themselves in the woods while naked, if they otherwise do as they're told. But the pagan rituals they perform here make them more rebellious every time. And this rebellion is like a contagious disease, it spreads throughout the forest. You shall put an end to it, Bertrand."
"Why don't you do it yourself, Guy?" The mercenary set about the food that had been placed on the table. His table manners proved as uncouth as his appearance and Gisburne eyed him disapprovingly, but again remained silent. Robin suspected this was due to the fact that he needed de Nivelle. If he remembered correctly, it was Gisburne himself who had chosen and hired these men. Robin just didn't know where he had found them. Such men did not normally associate with a sheriff's steward.
But had not the mercenary just addressed Gisburne by his name, and hadn't the knight addressed the other one likewise. That meant the two had known each other from the past. What had Gisburne done before he came to Nottingham? Robin did not know, for it had never interested him previously. But the man must have had a life before he entered the service of the brothers de Rainault. And in that life, he had obviously met de Nivelle. And now that the sheriff was away from Nottingham, he was going to use the mercenaries to harass the villagers.
"My men are Saxons themselves. They're quite good for the normal stuff, but this ... no. They still believe in these pagan rites themselves. That's why I need you."
De Nivelle laughed. "You should have stayed with us, Guy. Then you wouldn't have had to deal with those bloody Saxons."
Robin didn't think the knight seemed to like that, but again he remained silent. But the mercenary hadn't been paying attention to him, so he didn't notice that Gisburne wasn't exactly eyeing him kindly. But probably it wouldn't have bothered him anyway, as to the former outlaw he seemed quite taken with himself. This surpassed even the knight's image of himself, and Robin would never have envisioned this.
"We should not wait any longer, Bertrand. This is easy money for you after all. So, set about showing the scum here that they must not stand against their masters."
With these words Gisburne rose and headed for a wooden bench that stood a little apart between two houses and on which lay, among other things, the skull of a stag with its antlers still attached.
"What is that?" the knight wanted to know.
"An altar, my Lord", Edward answered.
"An altar? There isn't such a thing here among your filthy huts, only in a church. Nor is there such a thing as this on it!" The knight lifted the stag's skull high, only to slam it full force to the ground. Since the animal had been killed a very long time ago and the bones had become quite brittle, it shattered into many small pieces.
This act, however, aroused the anger of the villagers who had gathered behind Edward. Their furious mutterings grew louder and louder, but Gisburne did not seem to care, for he had already set his sights on something else. Terrified, Robin realized that he was approaching the oak tree that the people had decorated in honor of Herne.
"More pagan mischief!" the knight exclaimed. "Blasphemy!" If Robin hadn't just heard what he had said to the mercenary, he would actually believe him at that moment that this was about faith. But then, he knew that the Norman didn't care about that at all.
One of the mercenaries, a young, fairly slender man, was already climbing into the tree and then began throwing the offerings onto the ground. The angry murmurs of the villagers swelled anew, but again Gisburne was not bothered by it. He simply stood next to the tree and waited until the young mercenary had climbed back down, and then he had an axe handed to him.
When the people caught on to this, they didn't just proceed with angry murmurs. As soon as the sharp blade of the axe dug into the trunk, they began to yell loudly and then they rushed over to the tree and formed a circle around it. They obviously didn't care if they were in danger of being hit by the axe, for the knight didn't stop his attempt to cut down the tree. At least not until it dawned on him that he could never bring the oak down in this manner. Its trunk was much too thick for that. Only then did he cease his efforts.
"You'll wear yourself out, mon ami", de Nivelle teased him, but Gisburne just shook his head.
"There are other ways to get rid of this so-called sacred tree, Bertrand. It is made of wood and it will burn. And if the village burns down in the process, I don't care. Nobody will miss these miserable huts. And if those people give us any trouble, you'll be there, after all. So far you haven't had to do much for your money except ride around and eat and drink."
"These people won't cause you any problems, Guy. They won't get a chance to. And maybe we'll have a little fun, won't we? Like we used to. It's about time for that, too, since it's been pretty dull here with you so far."
What he got to hear here amazed Robin a lot, because this was not going on at all as he remembered it. Where were the outlaws so they could take out Gisburne and the hired mercenaries? And thinking of the knight thus, he could not deny that he was behaving differently as well. Robin recalled that de Nivelle had had the upper hand the last time and had taunted the younger man, but this time the knight appeared much more confident. Whatever Robin had done, it was clearly affecting Gisburne as well. However, not in a manner that pleased the former outlaw. The other showed himself not only more self-confident, but also more cold-blooded and vile than before. Apparently, he was already on the path that would lead him to his execution.
Robin would have liked to avoid watching the villagers try to protect their sacred tree. The mercenaries removed them rather ruthlessly from its proximity while Gisburne, with the help of two of de Nivelle's men, piled wood and straw around the trunk. Finally, the knight set fire to this "pyre", causing the serfs to try desperately to smother the flames, with quite a few sustaining burns. Others had suffered injuries when the mercenaries forcibly removed them from the tree, and of those, some would never rise again.
But for Robin, the worst part of the whole affair was that no one had come to their aid. He didn't know if Herne would still bless the village and its inhabitants that evening - in which case he definitely didn't want to be anywhere near it - but it wouldn't help the dead anymore. The outlaws who could have helped them had not shown up. More to the point, neither Gisburne nor the serfs had at any time spoken of there being anyone to help the people of Sherwood. In fact, it looked as if Robin Hood and his gang did not exist at all. Robin didn't really want to think about that, but he knew he couldn't avoid it.
Quite abruptly, the former outlaw found himself no longer in Wickham, but again above the woods. He suspected that he had most likely been brought here by the urgent need to find his friends, although he had no idea how to go about it. He couldn't even tell if he was still in the same vision as before or if he had returned to his present time. He had already searched there with little success and he did not want to see again what had become of Tuck and Nasir. For this reason, he now refocused on the time of the blessing he had just witnessed in Wickham, but now he wanted to look for his friends. He wanted to know if there had been anyone in the woods who could have helped the people.
He made several attempts - he didn't want to give up too quickly, after all - but all it brought him were new questions. He did discover some of his friends, but not in the woods, but of Will and Much he found no trace and therefore he feared that this could only mean that they were already dead at that time. Tuck and Marion were at Nottingham Castle, and this time he had the impression that they had never come to Sherwood, for they were obviously completely involved in the life at the castle. The monk as chaplain to the sheriff and Marion still as ward of the abbot, just as he had seen her in his second vision of the feast at Huntingdon. In Nottingham, however, he had met another person who was known to him, but whose presence at the castle surprised him even more than that of his friends. This person was Mildred de Bracy, only now she was apparently de Rainault's wife. Robin had encountered her with Marion for company. But if she was married to the sheriff, what had happened to Alan a'Dale? Why had no one saved the young woman from marrying the sheriff? Did her presence at the castle mean that there had been no Robin Hood at the time she came to Nottingham? But how could that be?
But the former outlaw definitely didn't want to dwell on those thoughts at that point, so Robin fled Nottingham, which was of no use to him, though, as he found himself at Belleme Castle instead, where he encountered John and Nasir. Again, he had the unmistakable impression that the two had never escaped the baron, and this was a horrible thought that made Robin truly angry. However, this anger was directed exclusively against himself, for by now he knew that he had caused all this suffering. Again, he fled from the place of his vision.
Only to find himself at the tavern where he and his friends had taught the mercenaries a lesson. Though most of them had escaped with their lives, de Nivelle had met his death there. But if there were no outlaws at all, what would he be witnessing here. Would he then have to watch the rude and brutal men tear apart the alehouse and pester the innkeeper and his family?
And just as it had happened to him in his other visions, he again experienced a surprise. First of all, he didn't find the mercenaries in the tavern at all, but in front of it, where they were just standing around and didn't give him the impression that they were planning to get senselessly drunk here. And then they were not alone, because next to Bertrand de Nivelle stood Sir Guy of Gisburne, who held a bulging purse in his hand. Obviously, he wanted to pay the mercenaries their wages for their work. Robin felt anger rising within him at the thought that they should be paid for murdering and causing destruction as well. But he was not able to do anything about it, for he was only an observer.
"That was good work, Bertrand. You have been of great help to me", the knight just informed the other, with such a fake smile appearing on his face that Robin couldn't understand why de Nivelle didn't recognize it as well. But the latter had eyes only for his reward.
"I'm glad you remembered me for your problem, my Friend", the mercenary replied, holding out his hand, whereupon Gisburne dropped the purse into it. De Nivelle didn't even had time to close his fingers around it as crossbow bolts whizzed through the air and before the mercenary leader could even understand what was going on, all of his men were already lying on the ground. Pierced by numerous arrows, dead or dying. And Gisburne had moved several steps away from him, holding his sword in his hand.
"You bastard!" the mercenary raged. He simply dropped the purse and drew his weapon as well.
Gisburne laughed. "Did you actually believe that I would give you the opportunity to go around England murdering and robbing because you got a taste for it. You must think me an idiot. The sheriff would hold me accountable for that, and I wouldn't like that at all."
"We had an agreement! And you broke it!" issued de Nivelle bitterly.
Again, Gisburne laughed. "There you are mistaken. I hired you to do a certain task, you did it, and I paid you. That brought our agreement to an end. And from that point on, you were no longer a useful tool, but a threat I had to eliminate."
The mercenary charged the knight without any warning, apparently assuming he could quickly overpower the other. But before the two men could even cross blades, Robin already knew that de Nivelle was mistaken, for Gisburne would not oppose him in this manner unless he was sure he was the better man. At least not this Gisburne. It did not take long for the former outlaw to discover that he was to be proven right, for the leader of the mercenaries found himself next to his men in short order. Likewise, dead.
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Robin was desperate. The more he learned through his visions, the worse the whole matter turned out to be for him. At the beginning he had hoped that if he went further into the past, he would find his friends again in their familiar surroundings, but so far, he had had no luck. In the meantime, he was also no longer convinced that he could even figure out what he had altered. But this would then also imply that he could no longer undo it. This would also imply that he would not be able to give his friends their lives back. The whole matter was further complicated by the fact that he had come to understand how his deed affected other people as well. First and foremost, obviously, Gisburne, but Mildred de Bracy's life had also changed. And now he had likewise to assume to have altered the fate of Alan a'Dale. True, Alan was the most untalented minstrel Robin had ever heard of, but that didn't mean he had no claim to happiness. Even though he had only met him briefly, they had still managed to work together to keep Mildred from marrying the sheriff. But that was no longer true.
And now he wasn't sure if there had ever been a Robin Hood in Sherwood at all, or if he had changed the past to the point that Herne never chose him. Nor did he have any idea now of how to proceed. In his despair, he could only come up with one idea, and therefore he had now decided to set out for a certain day. A day of which he was quite sure with regard to what he had done. On the other hand, he knew very well that it would be anything but easy for him and he would not be sorry if it turned out that it was not possible to go there in a vision. However, he had run out of ideas and so he felt he had no choice but to try, despite all his misgivings.
Once again, Robin found himself overlooking the woods where he had always been so at ease. Now, however, Sherwood was growing more and more eerie to him and he couldn't shake the sense that the woods had changed as well. This was something he did not like at all.
But Robin did not want to be distracted by that. He looked down at Wickham once again, but for now he didn't want to get too close to the village. Still, he couldn't miss the sad remnant of the oak tree that Gisburne had burned during the time of the blessing. The knight had not managed to destroy the tree completely, but to Robin it did not look as if the oak could recover either. This was already the first difference to his memory of the day when he had fallen into a trap here in this very place. However, at this point, this no longer puzzled the former outlaw, since he had already noticed how much the past had been altered. He remembered that the knight had not managed to damage the oak tree badly. But that was now beside the point, for now Robin wanted to discover whether he would also be able to witness something like his betrayal in this vision. If that was the case, then he knew that there were at least some outlaws left in Sherwood who were trying to help the people. After all, the sheriff would never go to such lengths for common robbers and murderers. At least Robin was convinced of that.
At that moment, however, it didn't look like anything was going to happen here that day, for all he could observe were villagers busy with their usual chores. There was nothing special to see, nothing conspicuous. Finally, Robin decided to take a look inside the huts. The day the sheriff set a trap for him, Gisburne and the soldiers had been hiding in the serfs' dwellings. But now he could not discover anyone in them who did not belong there.
Instead, however, he had found a number of other objects that he had not necessarily expected to come across. These included several bows and quivers with arrows, in some huts skinned hares hung under the roof and in the barn, venison had been hidden upstairs among the hay. True, the people of Wickham he knew had also poached from time to time, but never on such a scale. The serfs here didn't seem to care in the least about the laws that applied in a royal forest. Of course, Robin would never condemn them for this, for he understood very well that they needed this meat to survive. He remembered well how often he and his friends had supplied the villages of Sherwood with hunted game, including Wickham, of course. For this reason, the villagers themselves had not had to hunt as much, nor was it necessary for almost everyone in the village to have a bow hidden in their hut. This, however, was also partly due to the fact that Robin and his friends had always reminded them not to get careless. The people he observed here, however, behaved as if they were firmly convinced that they had nothing to fear.
Only a short time later he had to learn how wrong they were in their assumption. The first sign was again the clatter of hooves, and then Gisburne burst into the middle of the village with a troop of mounted soldiers. Panic-stricken, the villagers scattered and tried to flee into the woods, but they were not successful, as they were met by foot soldiers. Robin gasped when he realized how many of them were there, for he had never seen them invade a village in such large numbers in all the time he had been fighting Gisburne and the soldiers. Usually the sheriff and his steward assumed they would need far fewer fighters for such an action. And then Robin experienced the next - nasty - surprise, for the men also seemed to him much more competent than those he had dealt with. Gisburne had obviously drilled them very well and this then meant, alas, for the people of Wickham, that they had no chance at all of breaking out of the encirclement. Within a very short time they had all been caught.
The knight waited in the middle of the village, completely unaffected, until his men had rounded up all the villagers, then he had two prisoners brought to him, whom he had obviously dragged with him from Nottingham. The two prisoners were a woman and a man, but Robin did not know them. The villagers, however, obviously did, for a collective groan went through the village at the sight of them and Edward's face darkened. The former outlaw wondered what this meant, but he assumed he would find out in a moment, and he also assumed he would not like it. After all, he knew Gisburne's modus operandi, and he feared that the way he had changed would only make things worse.
"The laws here in the forest apply to everyone, and so they apply to you as well. You, however, have been trying to ignore those laws for a long time now", the knight commenced. "And in doing so, you fancied yourselves very clever, didn't you? You believed you could outsmart us, but you were wrong. Your spies were not very successful in not attracting attention, so it was not difficult for us to discover them quite some time ago. But the sheriff decided to wait and see, as he wanted to know how far you were going to take this. So, for the time being, you could go on with it. But robbing the tax collector was the occasion to question them in more detail and it didn't take long until they confessed everything. And now I have come here to tell you that the sheriff has lost patience with you. This means that I can now take care of the rest of you." Whatever Gisburne had planned, his nasty grin showed how much he seemed to enjoy it. It was probably the only reason he had let himself get carried away with such a long speech, since that wasn't really his style. Robin wished he was in a position to shoot him here and now.
As soon as the knight had finished reprimanding the villagers with words, he signaled to the soldiers, whereupon some of them began to tie up the adults, while others herded the children into the barn like cattle. Many of the men - and some of the women - tried to fight back, but this only earned them punches and kicks. When the villagers were finally all secured with ropes, some of the soldiers set about searching the huts, and within no time they had gathered the weapons and the hunted game in the middle of the village. The venison they had taken from the barn was already lying there.
Gisburne had not moved from the spot during the whole time and now he directed his cold gaze again at the tied-up villagers. "The sheriff has given me the right to try all the guilty on the spot and also to execute the sentences straight away. And as I see it, you are all guilty collectively, the entire village. This time nothing can save you. Once I have purged the village of you scum, the sheriff will settle other serfs here who will hopefully learn something from the whole matter. But if they are too stupid for that, we will just repeat the procedure."
Again, he signaled to the soldiers and those not involved in guarding the prisoners began tearing down the huts. At first Robin didn't understand what they were trying to accomplish, but then as they assembled the beams in a different way, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He had recognized what was being constructed here. It didn't take the soldiers long to attach a whole row of long wooden beams at a little more than man height to a scaffold of shorter beams, and when they then began to throw loops of rope across the crossbeams, Robin knew he hadn't been mistaken. This was a gallows that had been built all the way across the village. The outlaw realized with a shudder that this was indeed long enough to hang all the villagers at the same time.
But would Gisburne actually do this? So far, the sheriff had always called him off when he tried to be too heavy-handed, since a village with no inhabitants didn't bring in any taxes. But if it was true that de Rainault was contemplating settling other people here, then there was nothing left to hold the knight back. Robin grew nauseous at this thought.
But what then followed was even more horrible than he could have imagined, for the first to be hanged by Gisburne were the children, and he did not spare even the smallest. Then came the turn of the women, none of whom had the strength to resist the soldiers after seeing their children die. The men, who had witnessed the death of their families, then seemed to go to their execution in part even voluntarily.
Later, Robin would wonder how he had managed to remain in the vision, for he had never imagined anything so terrible. On this day, just like that, an entire village had been wiped out, and he had known most of the people who had died here. Of course, he had been hit hardest by the deaths of his friends, Matthew, Alison and Edward.
Suddenly, Robin was jolted out of his mournful musings by the sound of a crossbow being fired - followed by a scream that suddenly ended. Having stopped paying attention to his surroundings after the villagers had been cleared out of the way, he – as most of the soldiers - had completely missed the fact that an open wagon had approached the village, loaded with sacks. Robin hadn't gotten who had fired the weapon, but then he saw Gisburne hand a crossbow to one of the soldiers before he dismounted from his black stallion to approach the wagon. On it sat a slumped figure, but Robin could not tell if this was also a villager as the person wore a hood that had been pulled far into the face. The knight, however, approached without hesitation and finally grabbed the shoulder to push him backwards. This allowed Robin to spot the bolt that was lodged in his throat.
"Let's see who's had such bad luck today!" exclaimed Gisburne with a sneer, pulling the hood back. Robin was about to approach to take a look at the dead man, especially hoping not to know him, when the knight already continued speaking.
"I recognize him. This is Robin, the son of Matthew the Miller."