Chapter 5

It was well after darkness had fallen when Much arrived at the camp. The gang still had a small fire burning and Djaq and Will were sitting close to it, both of them sleepily watching the flames. John was nowhere to be seen as Much hastened up to them.

"Robin!" he called out, coming to a stop. He had run the entire way, caught both between a longing to go after Robin himself and knowing that he needed the help. The others looked up to watch him coming up to them now, unaware of the danger his master was in. "They caught him!"

"What?" Will asked, rising to his feet.

"Marian…" Much brought out, trying to calm his breath.

"Marian was caught, too?" Djaq questioned.

"No," Much shook his head violently. "I mean, they don't know where she is."

At this moment John emerged from the darkness. "Who is they?"

"Gisborne... and Robin."

Djaq shook her head slowly. "Much, you need to tell us what happened."

"Gisborne caught Robin."

"Where?"

"Not far from here," Much pointed uncertainly into the darkness. "They took him away."

John grabbed his staff. "We need to find him."

Will nodded, having already reached for one of his axes.

"Where did they take him?" Djaq questioned Much who had hurriedly started to collect bows and arrows.

"To Nottingham." He straightened.

"Are you certain?" She looked at him intently.

"They always do, don't they?" Much looked from one outlaw to the next and back.

"What about Marian?" Djaq tried to clarify.

"She disappeared. Gisborne said something about it. Robin, too."

"And Robin was looking for her?"

"Gisborne was there with guards. He said he was looking for Marian, thought Robin was hiding her." The other three outlaws were following his story closely, worry expressed on their faces.

"So Gisborne caught Robin?"

"Robin saved me from Gisborne. He wanted to kill me to make Robin tell him where he's hiding Marian."

"But Robin isn't hiding Marian, is he?" Will wondered loudly.

Much shook his head again. "Robin was looking for her as well. He made Gisborne let me go, told me to return to camp. He didn't really mean that of course, not right away at least. I was going to wait for him, but Robin was going to look in the villages, and I guess Gisborne didn't like that idea."

Will nodded, waiting for Much to continue.

"They kept arguing, then Robin left, but Gisborne ordered his guards to follow him. They dragged him out onto the main road," Much's voice showed his indignation, "and Gisborne beat him. I... I wanted to do something, but then I saw that Robin was unconscious, so I knew he wouldn't be able to run, so I had to get you to help getting him out of there."

"We need to go to Nottingham," Will said matter-of-factly, looking at Djaq.

She nodded. "We should also look if we can find Marian. Maybe she can tell us what is going on, what Gisborne is doing, where he has taken Robin."

"I do not know where she is," Much stated again. "Robin did not know."

"We are going," John decided.

It was an arduous way through the forest at night. They didn't dare to light any torches least any of the guards Much had told them about was still around nearby. They moved to get out of the thick of the forest soon though, too much in a hurry than to try and fight their way through it in the darkness. Once they reached the main road, they still remained behind a line of trees at first, moving alongside the road that lay dark and silent.

Much retold the story of Robin's capture and Djaq tried to make him recall the finer details of Gisborne's and Robin's discussion. After hours of walking they stopped outside of the walls of Nottingham, trying to come up with a way into the castle. It was one thing to slip into town alone, but a whole group of them was bound to attract attention. They had gone in there many times before, but then Allan had told Gisborne and the sheriff about most of the ways inside they had been using.

So they had to wait till the first light of the day and slip into town among villagers from outside that went into town to sell their goods at the market. Pulling hoods up to shield their faces, they tried to blend in with the people. Djaq and Will led the group, while John followed after Much.

The man looked around nervously. He was not quite sure where Will and Djaq were going. The dungeons were the most logical first place to look for Robin, but Much was not sure they would be able to simply break in there. If Robin was there, the sheriff had surely arranged extra protection.

Suddenly Will stopped and Much nearly bumped into him. Djaq had come to a halt as well and turned around to the other outlaws now.

"We need to ask if anyone has seen Robin being brought here. We have to make sure he is here before we try to break into the dungeons."

Will nodded. "I think I can open the doors."

"First, we have to make sure," Djaq insisted.

"We split up," Will said, "and ask around."

"But you need to be careful," the Saracen reminded them.

Much nodded, a lump in his throat. They always needed to be careful, but Robin was important. They could not let him hang. Much swallowed at the thought of that happening and glanced into the direction of the castle yard, but none of the gallows had been readied, not today.

Much moved away from his friends, walking into the nearest alley then, uncertain as to where to go. He stepped through the garbage the narrow street was crowded with and felt somewhat trapped between the buildings on either side. He was used to living in the forest now. As much as he wanted to return to civilization, it was a wholly different feeling to have only the trees around you. Trees always left a way open for flight, walls did not.

Once Much had passed the alley, he spotted the sign of a bakery at the other side of a wider street. Deciding that he could most easily ask the baker what he wanted to know, if he also bought something in the shop, he walked up to it determinedly and stepped into the small room.

He loved the smell. When he looked at the laid-out baked goods he loved it even more. He quickly decided that he had to convince Robin to let them give some of the money they had robbed to a bakery, so they could get goods there. It was only fair. And it would certainly be a nice thing for Robin to do, after they would have saved him. This thought reminded Much of the reason he was here.

"Good man, I'd like to have two - no, five - of those rolls."

"Of course, but can you pay?" the baker responded.

Much straightened. "Of course I can. Why would I not?"

"Not many people can still afford to buy five rolls at once," the other man replied gravely. "You are not from here?"

Much stared at the man, understanding that he was only able to pay because he had a share of the money they had stolen from the sheriff. Most people were not so lucky to have enough these days.

"Uhm, no, yes, I mean," he stuttered. "I am here. Now. But I am not always here."

The other man smiled, getting five rolls for Much, but waited then and looked at the outlaw expectantly.

"Oh, yes," Much said, understanding, handing him some coins, and the baker gave him the rolls. "Thank you." He smiled. "If I may ask you a question..."

The other man's smile turned into a frown and Much realized that he wasn't good at this. Allan was good at this, the traitor. Robin was good at this as well.

"What is it?" the baker finally asked.

Much lowered his voice, glancing nervously at the door. "Is... do you know if... is there a hanging planned for this week?"

The baker's eyebrows went up. "I am not sure I understand your question. The sheriff hangs men, yes, he does, but he is not in the habit of announcing his plans to men like me."

"Yes, I understand," Much said hastily. "But there is no important prisoner in the dungeons right now, is there?"

"I have not heard of any," the other man replied carefully.

"Thank you, good sir," Much said, glancing once again at the door.

At this moment something outside seemed to erupt. There was a loud clamor and then the ringing of metal on metal. Holding his bag with the rolls tightly, Much nodded to the baker, turning to rush outside. Whatever was going on it couldn't be good. No sooner had he stepped onto the street that he could see what was happening. Will was fighting a guard. So much for their cover…

Much ran to him, securing his bag at the same time as he pulled out his sword. Will had already downed the guard though, now signaling Much to hurry along. Djaq joined them from one of the narrow alleys seconds later.

"Where's John?" Much called as they were running along the street.

"He's there," Djaq shouted back and Much looked ahead where John was battling two more guards. The other three outlaws reached the fight and soon the sheriff's men were out of their way.

"Have you found Robin?" John asked over the noise of the town as they were fleeing the uproar they had caused. Will shook his head as Djaq pulled him along.

Minutes later they were out of the town, but didn't slow down until they had brought a good distance between them and the town walls. As they finally walked slower, calming their breaths, John asked again.

"Robin is not in Nottingham?"

"Nobody has seen him," Djaq said.

"So he's not there," Will stated, with a hint of disappointment.

"But," Much intervened. "We cannot be sure!"

Will frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, if somebody has seen Robin, then we would know for sure that he was here. Just because no one has seen him, doesn't mean he isn't here…"

"Much is right. We cannot be certain Robin is not here. They could have concealed him, taken him in under the cover of darkness," Djaq agreed.

Will nodded. "I guess you are right, but what can we do about it? Our cover is blown, and no doubt the sheriff will have Allan on look-out for us. The guards we might slip by, but not him. He'll sell us out as soon as he sees us."

"What do we do then?" Much wondered quietly. He knew the one thing they weren't going to do was to give up. But at the same time, no one had any answers for him.

Robin woke up decidedly sore. He didn't feel like opening his eyes or moving around, but the hard floor he was lying on told him all too clearly that he had to. He listened intently for a few moments and as everything seemed quiet, he opened his eyes and sat up to look around. He wasn't in the mood for Gisborne's games, so the man didn't need to know that Robin was available for them again. The Master-at-Arms wasn't anywhere to be seen though.

Robin recognized the place immediately. It was a barn in Locksley. He figured that Guy had to be around somewhere, too; he wouldn't simply leave Robin to his own devices there, free to find a way out. The outlaw moved to his feet wearily. Dim light was shining through cracks in the wood the barn was made off. He saw that the door was locked, probably bolted on the outside. Gisborne had certainly arranged that.

Gisborne had probably arranged a few other things as well. He had drawn Robin into a set-up discussion about Marian's whereabouts, knowing it would work him up, knowing he would make a plan to find her, knowing his thoughts would be on her. Then he had betrayed his true intentions. Maybe Marian wasn't gone at all. She was probably safe and sound in the castle and Robin had fallen for the charade of her having vanished and Guy desperately searching for her.

Robin frowned. It didn't make any sense in his head. At the end of the day Gisborne actually seemed to believe that Marian had disappeared and that Robin was responsible for it. His act had been too convincing. So perhaps Guy actually believed it. Robin could imagine the sheriff setting up the whole thing and Guy falling for it. Enough of a fool he certainly was. The sheriff would know that nothing would motivate Guy more to catch Robin than his longing to have Marian.

Robin groaned. The sheriff had gotten what he wanted and Guy would get what he wanted, too. This realization made him feel foolish as well. Why had he even tried to cooperate with Gisborne? Why had he believed the stories? He sighed, hoping that at least Much had made it back to camp alright. As far as he could tell, Much had had enough time to disappear from Gisborne's and the guards' sight. Robin wasn't sure what the man would tell the other outlaws, not knowing how the confrontation between Robin and Guy had ended. Much would probably go for the more pessimistic scenario.

Robin moved to try the door in what he knew would be a vain attempt to open it. He would need Will's skill or John's strength here. Knowing that he had at least tried, he settled down on the bare floor, waiting. He could need some rest, as much as his head was still hurting, but right now was neither the time nor place for it. Gisborne would not be far away. It certainly felt like bitter irony to be held captive in a place that belonged to lands that were rightfully his.

Mere minutes later, he could hear sounds outside and then the door was opened.

"There he is, Sir Guy," a man said a moment later.

"Leave us," Guy ordered. "I will call you when I need you."

Robin moved to his feet as Guy stepped into the barn, and the door was closed behind him as the other man left. Then it was silent for a few moments.

"Ready to talk yet?" Gisborne finally asked.

Robin didn't react, still not ready for the game.

"Tell me where Marian is, and I may even consider killing you before I let the guards try a few other measures."

Robin rolled his eyes. "I'm tired of this game, Gisborne. You got what you wanted. The sheriff got what he wanted. No need to keep up the charade."

Gisborne tightened his fists. "You think this is a game?" he growled. "Marian might only be something to play with for you, but she actually means something to worthy men."

Robin eyed him quizzically. It just didn't make sense for Gisborne to keep up this act. The sheriff might enjoy these things, but Guy was blunter than this. "You really don't know where she is," he said flatly, realizing the truth of the statement.

"Tell me where you are hiding her!" Guy's voice increased in volume once again.

"You are an even greater fool than I thought!" Robin responded incredulously. Marian really was gone and they were wasting precious time. All the time he could have used to go looking for her... "I told you I was going to go to the villages and ask around there," he shouted at the other man. "But no, Sir Guy thinks it is Robin who is hiding Marian away from him!"

Robin turned away in frustration. He heard the clinging of metal behind him and knowing what it meant, he had just enough time to face Gisborne again as the man charged at him, his sword pointed. Robin jumped to the side, then brought his arm down on Gisborne's, causing the man to drop the weapon. Guy turned and threw himself at Robin. His fist landed in Robin's stomach once again. Winded, Robin at first wasn't able to return the favor. It enabled Guy to land some more hits before Robin finally responded in equal.

"What have you done?" Guy spat out in between the blows.

"If you'd just try and think for once in your life-" Robin was hit in his face again and kicked out at Gisborne. "-you'd realize that I don't know where Marian is, and that keeping me here doesn't exactly help." He had only managed to say as much because Guy had finally stopped punching him.

He sat back on the bare ground, moving some feet away from the archer. Robin saw him touching his face, probably noticing the bleeding wound there. Robin knew that he was not any better off. He could feel the blood trickling down his forehead. He closed his eyes, trying to calm down. A fistfight with Gisborne had never brought about anything good, as little as he liked to admit it to himself.

They sat there in silence for some moments and Robin wondered if the other man would charge at him again. Guy stayed away from him though, not even looking at the outlaw when he finally spoke again.

"She's nowhere to be found in Nottingham," he said bleakly.

Robin nodded. "Where did you last see her?"

"She went to the market. I didn't see her after that." Guy responded in an even voice, still not looking at Robin.

"Do you know if she came back to the castle?"

Guy nodded. "The guard that went with her told me she came back and retired to her chamber."

Robin rubbed his head. He could still feel blood trickling down there. His knuckles were bloody as well.

"Alright, Gisborne. Try and answer me this question," he told the man in a firm voice. "Do you know of any plans of the sheriff to get rid of Marian?"

He knew why he had liked it so little that Marian went back to the castle. Living in the forest had somehow not gone very well, but at least there she wasn't exposed to the sheriff's cruelty as she was in Nottingham. Robin saw a small glimmer of hope: maybe she had managed to flee the castle. Maybe that was why she had dressed as the Nightwatchman, to get out of Nottingham, to come back to the forest...

Guy, who wasn't looking much better than Robin, finally answered after several moments of silence, "Marian is under my protection."

Robin looked at the man gravely. What he had said wasn't really an answer of Robin's question, but Guy's tone carried all the information Robin needed: Guy feared that Robin's suspicion was right.