SORCERER'S CURSE by White Wolf

Chapter Two

Fifteen minutes later, Nasir held up his hand for silence. He knelt down and looked at the ground. He pointed to the right.

Robin nodded. "I'll go back and around. Nasir, you go straight in from here. Much, you stay here and be ready in case a rabbit decides to run back this way. Remember that we have to take them alive," Robin whispered.

Much smiled and held up a large piece of cloth he had remembered to bring just before they left camp. He had planned on using it to hold the rabbits, but it would serve just as well to catch them. "I'll get 'em if they come this way."

Robin went back down the path, and Nasir headed into the trees. Much held the cloth out along his arm, ready to throw it over any fast-moving rabbit that Robin or Nasir might flush out.

A few minutes later, he heard a noise behind him. He turned and saw Robin coming down the trail. Much expected to see him holding a rabbit. What he did see confused him. Robin was notching an arrow in his bow as he approached. Much knew they weren't supposed to kill any of the rabbits. He looked behind him, half expecting to see a soldier or forester, or someone else Robin would draw on. The trail was empty. Robin continued to approach, slowly raising his bow. One look at his face told Much that something was terribly wrong. "Robin, what is it?"

Through clenched teeth, Robin said, "Run, Much. I can't stop this."

Much was frowning. "I don't understand."

Robin was fighting so hard to stop what was happening, his whole body was shaking. Still the arrow came up, and he began to pull back on the string.

Much's instinct was to get away, but he trusted Robin and knew his friend would never hurt him. Yet, here he was aiming an arrow straight at him. Much stood rooted to the spot. He dropped his arms and let the cloth fall to the ground.

"Much, I can't control it," Robin said in desperation. "You've got to run."

Still, Much didn't move. "Robin..." he began.

"RUN!" Robin screamed.

Just as Robin fired, Much dove to the ground at the edge of the trail. The arrow whizzed over his head and embedded itself in a small tree several feet away. He rolled over and looked back. Robin was putting another arrow in his bow.

Much struggled to get to his feet. Before he could take a step, Robin came crashing down a few feet away. He looked down at Robin and then back at the trail. Nasir was standing there with a small tree branch in his hand.

"Nasir." Much was so relieved his knees got weak, and he almost fell back down. He reached out his hand and leaned it against the nearest tree for support. His heart was pounding. He reached up and wiped sweat from his forehead.

Nasir knelt down beside Robin and gently rolled him over on his back. He put his hand behind Robin's head and felt the knot that was rapidly forming behind his left ear. He let his breath out slowly. "What happened?" the Saracen asked.

"I heard something, and when I turned around to see what it was, I saw Robin coming toward me. He was aiming an arrow at me. He said he couldn't stop and for me to run. I didn't at first. He yelled 'run', and I dove just when he fired. Why would he do that? He almost killed me!"

"We'll have to wait until he wakes up," Nasir said. He didn't reveal to Much that he was as confused as the young man was, though his words indicated he didn't have the answer, either.

It was almost five minutes later before Robin began to stir. He opened his eyes and groaned. When he reached up and rubbed the sore lump on his head, he groaned again. His vision came into focus, and he saw Much staring down at him. Nasir, who had been standing near the trail keeping watch, turned and knelt beside him.

Much couldn't wait for Robin to come fully back to himself. "Why did you try to kill me?" he asked with a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Much, are you all right?" Robin forgot about his sore head. Both his eyes and his voice reflected his genuine concern.

"No thanks to you," Much said angrily. Then, as if ashamed to be talking to Robin like that, said slightly more softly, "Nasir saved me."

"Oh, Much," Robin began. "I can't tell you how sorry I am."

"Can you explain?" Nasir asked calmly.

Robin rubbed his head again. A great sadness settled in his blue eyes. "I had a dream last night that this very thing happened, only then we were in a misty swamp. I woke up before..."

"Before I died?" Much finished, anger again slipping into his tone. He wanted to give Robin a chance to explain, but he couldn't help being upset.

"Yes," Robin admitted. "I tried with all my might to stop it from happening, in my dream and just now. I couldn't make my body obey me. Except for the location, the dream and now are exactly the same."

"You knew, and you didn't tell me?" Much was growing more upset than confused. "You just came up behind me with a bow and arrow and..." his voice trailed off.

When Robin reached out to put his hand on Much's arm, the young man pulled back so quickly he almost fell over. There was an instant of regret at the move, but at that moment, he couldn't bear for Robin to touch him.

"I guess I can't blame you, Much. I did try to kill you. As for the dream, I had no idea it would really happen. I don't know how or why. I wish I had an answer." Robin looked at Much with infinite sadness. "You won't be able to trust me until we can figure this out and stop it. I won't be able to trust myself."

Nasir stood up and held his hand out. Robin took it and pulled himself to his feet. "We might as well go back. I don't think hunting rabbits right now will be quite the same." He started off down the trail toward camp.

Nasir turned to Much. "Give him time." Then he followed Robin.

Much stood for a minute before picking up the piece of cloth and moving off after them. He didn't know much more now that he had when he saw Robin aiming at him. His mind was in turmoil, the confusion and the anger swirling around until he thought he would get dizzy. Added to that was the fact that he knew in his heart Robin would never willingly hurt him. None of it made any sense.

* * * * * * * * * *

When Robin, Nasir, and Much walked into camp, John and the others were already there.

Will proudly held up five rabbits, which were squirming in his arms as he held them. There was a huge grin on his face. "Alive, see? We caught all of them together in one place," he declared triumphantly.

John noticed the expression on Robin's face. Nasir and Much had similar looks. They also didn't have a single rabbit with them.

Marion had also noticed. "What's wrong?" she inquired before John could ask the same question.

"I might as well tell all of you," Robin said with an uncharacteristic note of defeat. His eyes were lowered and his shoulders slumped.

They all gathered around, sitting in the same places they had at breakfast. Only this time, the mood was decidedly more somber.

Robin started with the dream and then related everything that had happened on the rabbit hunt. He finished by saying, "I can't explain it. It was as if something had control of me, and I couldn't stop it from happening." He shook his head in total bewilderment.

Robin had looked at Much several times during his narration, but Much had avoided looking back at him. Much wasn't sure exactly why he was still angry. Maybe, until he fully understood what had happened, he couldn't bring himself to forgive Robin. That didn't make sense, either, because he wanted more than anything to give Robin that forgiveness. Robin didn't lie, had never lied to him. But, the vision of his friend firing that arrow at him wouldn't go away. Much was starting to feel dizzy again.

Robin took Much's refusal to look at him as a sign of his anger and mistrust. He tried to understand how the young man felt. If Robin apologized until the next century came, he couldn't make up for what he had done, or tried to do.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Much asked. looking from one of his friends to the other.

"Look there," Will said, pointing toward the trees.

Herne stood silently and motioned for Robin to join him.

"Herne will have the answer," Robin declared with confidence and no small measure of relief. Earlier he had entertained the idea of going to the Lord of the Trees. Now it appeared the forest god wanted to talk to him.

"I'll be back..." he paused, because he realized he had no idea when he would return. "whenever," he finished, giving his friends a small smile.

Only moments after he had disappeared from view, an arrow hit the pile of blankets behind Will, missing his head by mere inches. It had come from the direction of the trail. Another arrow followed, hitting the log near John's leg with a thunk.

"Soldiers!" Will hollered.

"No," Nasir said. He had recognized the arrow as Robin's. No one was listening.

The outlaws scattered. No more arrows were forthcoming, so Nasir made his way into the trees far to the left. He circled around until he was standing a few feet from Robin, who was notching another arrow, as he surveyed the now-empty camp.

"Robin," Nasir called calmly.

Robin swung around and faced Nasir. The Saracen, while fully aware that Robin might well shoot him, didn't flinch. Neither did he draw a weapon.

"Please, Nasir, get away before I kill you. I've told you before, can't control this. My body isn't my own. You saw firsthand what I tried to do to Much." All the while he spoke, Robin was raising his bow. It quivered from the effort Robin was making to stop what he was doing.

When Robin fired, Nasir stepped to the side. The arrow struck a tree several feet behind the Saracen.

Robin began to notch another arrow. "I won't stop." he warned. "I can't."

A quick glance told Nasir that Robin had almost a full quiver of arrows. Yet, he continued to stand perfectly still. He knew something Robin didn't; John was coming up behind him.

"You won't fire another arrow," Nasir told Robin. His voice was soft, as if trying to soothe a nervous animal.

Just then, John reached around Robin and grabbed him in a bear hug, pinning his arms down by his sides. The bow and arrow dropped harmlessly to the ground. Robin struggled but couldn't escape the iron grasp. He might as well have been encased in a stone wall.

Will ran up and grabbed Robin's tunic and reached back with his fist to hit him.

"Stop it, Will," John yelled.

"He tried to kill me!" Will yelled back. He reared back to attempt another punch at Robin.

Tuck walked up and with some effort, pulled Will away from Robin. "This won't solve the problem."

"Maybe not, but it'll make me feel a whole lot better." Will pulled out of Tuck's grasp and stood glaring at Robin. His look alone should have withered the young leader.

By now, Marion and Much had joined them. Marion didn't hesitate. She ran to Robin. "Let him go, John."

John hesitated slightly, then reluctantly let go, and Robin went to his knees. Marion steadied him as he turned around and sat down. He sat in front of her, his head in his hands.

"Why are you helping him?" Will was ranting. "He tried to kill you, too." Unlike Much, he wasn't torn in his feelings. He was furious through and through.

"Will," Marion said, "please don't. He can't help it. Try, for once, to understand."

When Will looked at Tuck, the friar shook his head. It was a gesture of warning.

"Ahhh," Will said. He turned and looked at Much. "Now I know how you feel."

Marion reached over and put her hand on the side of Robin's face, lifting it so that he looked her straight in the eye. "Are you all right?"

"No," he replied helplessly.

"Let's go back to camp," Tuck suggested. "We can talk better there."

"Talk?" Will yelled. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Well, what do you suggest?" John asked. "Do you want us to just stand here and stare at each other?"

Will had no answer, but talking didn't seem to be the thing to do. Their own leader had just tried to kill them all and might have succeeded, at least in part, if Nasir and John hadn't stopped him. Now, they all wanted to talk. Ridiculous was the first word that came to mind. He was too angry to stop and think of what else there was to do.

John then pulled Robin to his feet. Then to make a point, he handed Will a knife. "Go ahead. There's his heart." John said, pointing to Robin's chest. "End it here and now." Robin looked as if he almost welcomed it. The move had the desired effect.

Will, suddenly ashamed and red-faced, turned away.

Robin turned and helped Marion up. She put her arm around his waist, and the two of them started down the trail. As Robin walked by Nasir, he nodded his gratitude. At the same time, he handed the Saracen his knife and kept walking.

When John passed by Tuck, he looked down at him with a questioning expression. The portly friar just shrugged. He had no answers, either.

Nasir picked up Robin's bow and arrows and followed the others.

When the group got back to camp, Nasir, who had taken a side trail, was already there. He had prudently removed the arrows that Robin had fired into the camp and put them in Robin's quiver, which he hid under some nearby bushes. The bow he had leaned against a tree out of sight. Calm heads needed to prevail, and seeing the arrows and the bow would most likely set Will off again, not that he needed much to encourage him.

When they were all seated, John asked, "Do you know what happened?"

Robin took a deep breath. "I remember exactly. I was walking down the trail, and suddenly I had an overpowering feeling that I had to come back and kill all of you."

"Oh, that's great, that is," Will seethed. "You wanted to kill us all, your friends, even the woman you say you love."

"It's not me, Will. I keep telling you that. Even being aware of what I'm doing, I can't stop myself," Robin insisted.

"What about Herne?" Marion asked, remembering that Robin had left to talk to the forest god.

"No one was there," Robin said. "It was a trick. I don't think Herne was ever there. He would never call me and then just vanish. I think it was a way for me to catch all of you off guard. Someone else is controlling what's happening here."

"All right. Someone wants us all dead," Tuck said logically. "Now, all we have to do is figure out who it is and how they're doing it."

"It's a spell of some sort," John deduced. "Do you think the Sheriff has gotten a witch to do his dirty work?"

"The Sheriff or Gisburne or both," Tuck offered.

"It could be someone we know nothing about," Robin said. "Or..."

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

Marion's eyes lit up. "Gulnar." She spoke his name with contempt.

"He's dead," John reminded the group. "Killed by his own creation, that man of clay he made to look like you, Robin. Remember?"

"How could I forget," Robin said, remembering the battle the two had fought at the Ring of the Nine Maidens. It had been so weird fighting his identical twin. He gave an involuntary shiver. "I know he's dead."

"Maybe he is but maybe Gulnar isn't," Tuck said. "He supposedly died at Cromm Cruac, too, but we found out the hard way he didn't."

"Tuck's right. Gulnar's a definite possibility," Robin agreed. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. It had to be the hated sorcerer. "We have to find a way to expose him."

"Well, what do we do with you in the meantime so you don't kill all of us in our sleep?" Will asked angrily. He was still finding it hard to overcome his feelings. He had come to believe that Robin was right, but he wasn't willing to trust his leader just yet.

"Tie me up and guard me," Robin told Will. "Believe it or not, Will, I don't want to kill you. If it'll make you feel safer, you can sit with a knife at my throat all night." There was no humor in those words.

Will stared at Robin, half expecting him to start laughing. The expression on Robin's face reflected the seriousness of his statement. "I'll do whatever all of you decide."

Robin knew Will very well. He honestly didn't doubt that Will wanted to do just that. Will confirmed this when he said, "I'll be glad to keep a watch on him." He prudently refrained from mentioning the knife part.

"You'll enjoy it, too, won't you?" Marion said angrily.

Will's face got red. "Well, someone's got to do it, or he could murder us all in our sleep."

"If you're so afraid, leave." Marion had too much anger of her own to try to reason with Will.

The two glared at each other.

Much stepped in between them. "I was angry, too, when Robin tried to kill me. But, you know we always look out for each other. When one of us needs help, we work together to help that person."

Marion smiled warmly at Much and then looked at Will. "Decide, Will, where you stand, because the rest of us are going to solve this and help Robin. We won't let you interfere." She was a woman protecting her man. Very dangerous, indeed.

For several minutes, Will didn't speak. He mulled over what both Marion and Much had said. It was to Robin he spoke. "I let my hot head get the best of me--again. Being shot at tends to make me crazy. I'm sorry." He shook Robin's offered hand. A look of total understanding passed between the two friends.

"I knew you'd come around." Robin smiled. "Arguments to the side, I can always count on you in a pinch."

"I'm glad you're so sure of that. For a while, I wasn't," Will admitted with a touch of shame. He lowered his eyes.

"Are we even then?" Robin asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, almost."

Robin's expression grew serious again. "We still have to do something with me, for tonight at least." He snapped his fingers. "Tuck, you have a sleeping draught, don't you?"

"You want me to give it to you?" Tuck asked.

"I think it would be a whole lot safer for everyone. I won't take any chances with your lives."

"Are you sure you want to be put to sleep?" John asked.

Robin nodded. "No reason anyone should lose any sleep. I sure won't," he added with a touch of humor.

"Now, that we've settled that, what are we going to do to find out if Gulnar is alive and involved in all this, or, if he isn't, who is?" John waned to know.

"I believe he is, so first, we find the old woman," Robin said. "Unless Gulnar conjured her up out of a pile of mud and then threw her in the lake to dissolve, she's around here somewhere, and we'll track her down." He said it with such confidence that no one doubted that was exactly how it would come about. This was the way it was supposed to be, with Robin in complete control and having a plan of action.

"Then what?" Tuck asked. "If, or should I say when, we find her, if she's working for Gulnar, she's not going to just tell us what we want to know."

"Maybe she will," Robin decided, his face brightening. "Gulnar's not one to hide his little plans. He wants me to know it's him. He wants me to kill all of you, then when I'm so distraught over it, he'd reveal his role in all of it. I don't know if he wants the privilege of killing me or not. The more I think about it, the more I think he wants me to end up killing myself, in his presence and at his urging, I don't doubt."

Marion nodded her agreement with Robin's reasoning. "It all makes such perfect sense."

Robin knew there was an outside chance someone else was behind all this, but deep down, he really believed it was Gulnar. The sorcerer didn't care about Marion or John or any of the others. They were just pawns. Having Robin kill his friends and the woman he loves would cause the outlaw leader anguish like none other. Then, he would be driven to take his own life. So perfect. So Gulnar.

Dinner that evening consisted of the rabbits John's team had caught earlier, the last of the bread they had gotten in Wickham on their last visit there, and the usual ale. Everyone was tired after the traumatic day they had just gone through, so conversation was minimal.

Much handed out the blankets for each person. Nasir banked the fire for the night.

Robin sat and watched as the others went to their blankets. He had a bemused look as they each settled down. Finally, he said, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" John asked as he propped himself up on one elbow.

"Me."

Tuck sat straight up. "The sleeping draught. I did forget." He got up and went rummaging around in his pouch to find it. He located the little bottle, poured a bit of it into a cup and added water from a goat skin.

When Will and Much had finally come to terms with their feelings and forgiven Robin and the decision was made to go after the old woman and then Gulnar, it was as if all was settled. They forgot the spell still had hold of Robin. He could turn violent at any moment. There didn't seem to be any kind of special trigger. If it was more a case of opportunity, then a sleeping camp would have been tempting enough to trigger an attack.

Tuck handed Robin the cup, and he drank all of the contents. It wasn't pleasant but it wasn't unbearable, either.

"How long before I fall asleep?" Robin wanted to know.

"Lie down and relax," Tuck told him. "It works pretty fast."

Robin lay back on his blanket, took several deep breaths and was asleep in minutes.

Much frowned. "It doesn't seem right to give Robin something like that. It's like we poisoned him."

"Much," Tuck said. "It's perfectly safe. I've used it myself a time or two. Besides, he wants it this way. It's not just for our protection; it's also for his peace of mind."

"I know. But, it still doesn't seem right to me." Much couldn't have explained his misgiving even if he tried. He wasn't sure himself why he felt that way. No one else seemed uneasy, so he tried to ignore the feeling.

"How long will it last?" John asked Tuck.

"I gave him enough to last all night," Tuck informed the big man. "He should sleep past sunrise."

Robin was the only one who didn't wake up during the night. Each of the others felt safe enough---sort of. If Gulnar's spell could make someone like Robin try to kill his friends, it could probably give him the strength to overcome the sleeping draught. So, all night they each one checked on him. Robin slept soundly.

Coninued --