Lee Verysdale would return to that same alley, pick up the bodies of those that were slain and the homeless that were there, scattered until they were certain he would not return again. Lee felt guilty for the death of the people by the hands of Marian and himself. When he left the alley with their bodies, he saw the three children that assisted his adopted daughter and thought about how cruel their life was to them, how such poverty had brought them here in the first place and how everything that lead up to this moment caused all of this that brought so much sorrow to his heart. When he made it to the cathedral, he stepped off the carriage and a member of the clergy, a nun, saw him and he approached her but not before he looked around with unease.
“Um…”, he could barely muster the courage to address the nun. “I have a delivery for Saint’s Row.”, he finally mustered up the courage to which the nun then turned and gave a unusual look towards one of the nearby members of the clergy that was an elf wearing a black robe.
The elf had already heard and turned as well as walked towards Lee the moment he said he had a delivery for them. She smiled and then proceeded to bow her head, her long slender ears curved back along the back of her head in order to not accidentally poke the human.
“The gods accept your charitable donation, good knight, thank you.”, the nun said to Lee before raising her head and revealing her blind eyes to him. “We will take it from here.”, she then raised her right claw as if to give the knight something and he extended his hand forth only to receive it.
He received three shillings that fell into his palm that he felt was a sign from the heavens for his sins and the elf walked past him towards the carriage as her tail gently caressed his shoulder.
“One shilling for each body you’ve brought in the name of the gods.”, this surprised Lee that turned to face her and wondered how she knew how many bodies he brought. “The more bodies that you bring, the more shillings you shall obtain. Please, remember this.”, she told the knight.
“How did you know?”, the knight asked and she looked confused. “How did I know what?”, she asked. “How did you know how many bodies I brought?”, he asked her and then her eyes would gesture upward towards the heavens, moving around as if trying to tell him that the gods told her.
She then looked back towards the knight, smiled and winked towards him before she would turn to approach the carriage as two Iron Fist Guards then sat in the driver’s seat and the elf sat on one of the side platforms and held onto a pole built into it as the carriage drove away. Lee would look down in thought and think about everything that had transpired. Robin Hood, however, was living in heaven as his crew had raided carriage after carriage that robbed unsuspecting knights and rangers as well as traders that they had encountered. The Merry Men attacked outposts and strongholds given to them by the Curt Cut’s Clan. They then met with agents of the Curt Cut’s Clan that were in disguise and passed envelopes between one another to reveal how much cargo they stole and what the locations for the other deliveries were as well as where their exchange would be for the stolen cargo. The group then met in the forests once again and it is here where they gave the stolen cargo to the clansmen that would transport it away while giving them their fair share of the profits by paying them in massive pounds of shillings. It was Gamwell and Scarlett that were in charge of raiding the strongholds and trader’s outposts that would sometimes cause certain traders to defect to their side as they were inspired by the Merry Men. The carriages, however, were taken care of by a harpy haru known as William Stutely…
“I know this won’t be easy for you, William, but I don’t want you to screw this up.”, said Robin. “My nephews very lives might depend on how we do here today, our lives may depend on it too and you know it.”, Robin spoke to his old friend who was a shadow of his former self and that’s because the haru had lost both of his wings, something that the Curt Cut’s Clan took from him.
“Make no mistake, Loxley.”, said William before he turned his head. “The only reason I agreed to help you is because you promised me mechanical wings that will make me fly again.”, the haru reminded his old friend that nodded his head. “I know…”, Robin replied as they kept low.
“They tortured me for hours. They interrogated me and wanted to break me, but I never gave in, Robin, for any of you and then all of a sudden we’re allies with those pricks. The Lord Sheriff of Rottingham is a dangerous man, Robin. All he cares about is his clan and his own people, not us. We are merely business associates and believe me when I say that he will dispose of us if he runs out of means to utilize us. We are but pawns on a chessboard for him, nothing more.”, the way that the haru spoke made Robin think about the decision he made and then they looked to the road as they saw a carriage approach with several Merry Men at the ready to strike.
“Now go…”, said William Stutely and Robin Hood would leave him be to his mission, and then the Merry Men burst out to startle the driver that caused his horses to ride faster.
All it took was for William Stutely, a haru that was a species that was naturally twice as tall as and bulkier than any human, to run out of the bushes and hit the carriage with full force that caused it to topple over and pulled the horses down with it. The ranger that was on the side of the carriage fell to the ground and was shot in the head by one of the Merry Men while the knight was passed out when he hit the ground. When William approached the carriage, a noble stuck his head out on the left window and saw the imposing figure with green eyes, long slender ears, black long hair and two large white horns protruding from the sides of his head. The haru wore silver gauntlets, silver plated pauldrons, his hips covered by silver plating and his long brown pants where many chains were tied on all sides. The noble breathed heavily and looked around to the band of Merry Men that had approached the carriage, knowing full well that no matter what he would do that he had lost this battle already. The number of the Merry Men had swelled in such numbers that the organization could be at many more places at once and the more places they raided the more money they got. The harshest of their raids was the trains where they waited in the forest near the rail yards for them to arrive. Once they heard an oncoming train, their magi, often lead by David Doncaster, would already have their magical incantations ready before the train even came. When the train passed over the tracks, they created portals and the Merry Men would step through these portals that spawned in the air and that made them fall down towards the train before they would open their parachutes and shoot their grappling guns into the train to pull themselves in. They would also shoot anyone that they saw below from the skies before even boarding and many of the rangers as well as Iron Fist Guards would perish in the battle, losing from the unsuspecting raiders that they never thought would find them and how would they? They were a moving target. Robin would storm the treasury with David and both men would be happy for the armaments these trains transported. Robin looked closely and inspected one of the cargo holds only to realize that in one of the crates there were weapons and armor that were meant to help in the crusades…
“You’ve called this meeting?”, he then met with an envoy of the Curt Cut’s Clan in private and requested an audience. “Yes, I have, but I humbly requested to speak with Lee Verysdale, not you.”, Robin replied to the envoy that was a female wearing a black dress.
Robin noted her beauty. He noted how her lips were red as a rose, her hair long and black, her brown eyes and face radiated a beautiful expression of so many emotions. She decorated her body with jewelry, particularly a golden ring on one of the fingers of her left hand and a golden necklace with a red diamond surrounding her neck, and her clothing was rather opulent. She was of Iranian descent, a Persian, who was one of many of Thomas Curt’s lieutenants…
“I am Anna Safavi, I am the eyes and ears of our clan. This task was given to me by the Lord Sheriff of Rottingham himself. Mr. Verysdale knows much about our organization but not every detail. Now, speak.”, the woman was directly to the point and quite honest, which intrigued Robin but also made him now understand what Lee was talking about when he spoke of them.
“It’s about the cargo that we stole on the last train shipment.”, said Robin. “What about it?”, said the envoy and Robin gestured for William to push the lid open to which he did that revealed many armaments that were meant to be delivered to King Richard Lionheart and his crusaders.
The envoy looked at Robin and he looked at her. They both didn’t say a word to each other and for a moment the envoy seemed to be wondering why she was here while Robin knew why…
“These armaments were meant to be delivered to the crusaders that are desperately fighting our wars for us out there against those bastard kazari.”, Robin spoke of his issue before turning to his lieutenant. “No offense.”, he said to his friend, Jan’litle. “None taken.”, he replied nicely.
“Yes, and?”, the envoy asked a simple question and Robin turned to face her, not believing what he had just heard. “What do you mean; Yes, and?”, Robin asked. “We are taking the armaments away from those who desperately need it, those who are dying for our country and our people day after day out there. Speaking as someone who used to be a part of the crusades who used to be on the front lines, those soldiers truly and desperately need those supplies in order to survive, and what’s worse that train also contained the needed resources for them to be kept well fed. Without those resources, we might have just caused an entire division of crusaders to starve and be ill prepared for the next battle that might befall them. We also stripped them of medical supplies and if the King Regent found out about this he would…!, and as Robin went on a tantrum regarding the entire situation, the envoy just responded with a few simple words.
“Do nothing.”, this caused everyone around the two speakers to be silent and Robin then asked. “What do you mean he’ll do nothing? His brother is out there fighting the war for all of us!”, Robin shouted and brought up a few good points to which the envoy simply nodded her head.
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“It’s just as I said, he’ll do nothing and his brother will continue fighting the war for his people without ever knowing that his brother has abandoned him to his fate.”, the envoy then revealed this to everyone and the former ranger of the crusades was shocked. “You…”, he pointed at her and didn’t want to believe it. “You mean the King Regent is aware that we are…?”, he asked and the envoy simply responded once again by nodding her head as her arms were crossed together.
“That is correct, Mr. Loxley.”, she then said his last name, revealing that her organization knew who he was always. “It is no secret that the King Regent enjoys lavish parties and it is no secret that he has a particular dislike for his own brother. However, what the people do not know is that this distaste for his brother goes far deeper then they shall ever know.”, the envoy revealed and then she would take a few steps closer to Robin, stepping away from her own group.
Robin saw her eyes gazing into his own and she had no fear, no shame, no pity, and no remorse for how he felt. She answered to the Lord Sheriff and the Lord Sheriff only. It is by his will and her clan that she was here. It is by the creed she was bound that she served.
“And Master Curt would like to keep it that way, unless you have a problem with that?”, Anna Safavi was direct and to the point just like her leader, and Robin looked back to the clansmen that were present and noticed each of them had red glowing eyes and black bandanas as masks.
The clansmen just stared at him and they stared at the opposite group. They were ready at every turn and every moment to reach for their guns and open fire if they had to. They were each prepared to die for a cause and there were many among them with scars, certain missing body parts that were replaced by some form of mechanical augmentations, and cowboy-like hats. Robin then looked down to the ground and Anna focused her eyes as he then looked back into her own as he shook his head, giving in to the fear she brought into his head.
“Excellent.”, said the envoy. “I am sure that Mr. Verysdale spoke to you regarding our family, our organization…”, she said to him before leaning back. “Loyalty and discretion… these are the things that make us strong.”, she reminded Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
“I am glad you and your merry band of men are discreet with us, Mr. Loxley. The Curt Cut’s Clan is looking forward to a long and beautiful business relationship with your family as long as we are able to maintain it, and you have proven just now that you value this relationship and I will return to the High Father to ensure that he knows how discreet you have been with us today. We appreciate your honesty but can we count on your loyalty? That is yet to be seen.”, Anna spoke in front of the entire band of Merry Men and the gang felt insignificant compared to the organization that stood before them that seemed to have ties to even the King Regent himself.
Anna Safavi would then turn to take her leave back to her group only for Robin to add…
“May I inquire as to if the King Regent himself has ties to your organization, milady?”, he asked and the envoy stopped in her tracks. “That is, if we are allowed to know?”, he then followed it up by another question and the envoy turned to face him before she would smile towards him.
“Why of course, Mr. Loxley, why do you think that you wouldn’t be allowed to know?”, Robin didn’t say a word and then she turned directly to face him one last time. “There is a reason that our organization and yours are exempt from prosecution of all matters of crime, no matter how serious or terrible that they might be. Do you honestly think we would even spend a god damn shilling for your protection in the eyes of the law? No, it would be impossible to afford and even your organization would not be capable of doing that even if we merged our families’ finances into one. So the answer that you seek is obvious and clear as the sun in front of your eyes, isn’t it, Mr. Loxley?”, the way she gave her response made Robin just nod as he realized that all the time he had fought in the crusades that he would of never have been able to possibly imagine how low, how dishonorable his nation had become and the crown to leave their own blood to die.
He thought about husbands, fathers, and young men hoping to one day return home to reunite with their loves ones, something that their own King Regent doesn’t seem to care about for his blind and ongoing hatred towards the one true King and his own brother; Richard Lionheart.
“Prove to us that you are loyal and the High Father shall have more work for you. In the meantime, I shall leave behind one of my apprentices to secure these armaments for our family and give yours the fair compensation for your good deeds. We’ll keep in touch.”, these are the last words she said as she took a bow and then proceeded to leave with her family as she boarded a carriage that was meant to transport her back to the city in one piece.
This carriage was accompanied by several knights that served the crown and who were under the employment of the Curt Cut’s Clan. Robin knew that the organization he joined was far more serious than he and Lee could of ever imagined, and that their goals are not just smalltime like that of any gang in the region but that they reach far and beyond. They are their own crusade. Robin then saw Anna speaking to another in front of the carriage, another that he recognized, and the two females bowed to each other as the apprentice that Anna spoke off was revealed to be…
“Marian…”, he said her name. “So you are Lady Safavi’s apprentice?”, he asked and she nodded her head. “Guilty.”, she replied and then she snapped her fingers before gesturing for her men to secure the cargo while several carriages were then brought over to be laid down nearby.
“Can I ask you something, Marian?”, he asked. “You already have, Robin.”, she replied. “No, I'm serious.”, he stated. “So am I.”, she replied and the man rolled his eyes. “Oh, chill out, man, I am just fucking with you. Sure, Robin, what is it that you want to ask me?”, she added.
“Whether or not you could ever find it in your heart to forgive me for what I have done?”, he asked and Marian looked on the side, her eyes staring away from him before they would look back. “We were little dimwitted kids back then, Robin, there’s nothing to forgive.”, she replied.
Robin looked into her eyes and smiled, nodding his head as his gang traded with the Curt Cut’s Clan while the two spoke, reminiscing about old times long gone…
“Do you remember…?”, Robin paused for a moment before he continued. “Do you remember how we use to spar every day? You taught me how to wield a sword and I taught you how to shoot from a bow, do you remember?”, he asked Marian who lowered her head down and tried to conceal her smile from him but those were lovely memories that swelled her heart with joy.
“Yeah, and then I accidentally shot a hart at a hundred rods that you thought only you were capable off.”, she commented. “That was a nice shot though.”, Robin added. “It was an accident!”, she shouted and they both laughed out loud as they remembered those times fondly.
“Then I invited you to a feast, confessed my love to you…”, he reminded her and then she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and then we were attacked by orcish fuckers trying to steal our very hart in the middle of the god damn night.”, they both kept reminiscing as Jan’litle listened in from afar.
“I fired the first shot, you struck the first blow and then we fought side by side until we bested five of them with three others running off. You have no idea how proud I was of you on that night and the way the rain poured down on us in that moment after the battle, washing the blood away and how your hair looked…”, Robin kept describing their past and then she sighed. “That’s in the past now, Robin.”, she tried to have him stop talking about it but he continued.
“Then I asked you to be my bride and we both agreed under the condition that…”, as Robin went to finish the tale they both then said in union “Get married once we’re of legal age.”, Marian had her arms crossed in that moment as she was uncomfortable. “And you said yes.”, Robin spoke as he looked at her fondly with a smile and then she exhaled before raising her head.
“Yeah, well, we were just kids back then, Robin, and times change.”, she said to the outlaw that then confessed. “I never stopped loving you, Marian, and I never will…”, he said to her and this made her lift head her, surprised at what he said to her. “No matter what you become.”, these words caused Marian to look to the side, then back to Robin, and then finally she looked away as she walked away the man she once knew in their early days.
“She was the only reason that you spared that knight from certain death, wasn’t she?”, asked David Doncaster. “Yes, she was.”, he replied to his lieutenant. “He was there for her in good times and bad, he trained her and taught her how to fight, he supported her when her own father didn’t and as they grew up, side by side, he became like a mentor, a father, to her while her real father was never there for her until her mother died. She now yearns to earn the love for her father that was never there for her to begin with and despises the one that was.”, Robin explained to his lieutenants as the orcish brute then shook his head with disbelief.
“You humans are fucking confusing in the ways you show respect to your friends or elders, no offense.”, said the orc and Robin nodded with agreement. “None taken.”, Robin replied. “Whose her father though?”, asked Jan’litle. “Thomas Curt.”, David spat out water after that reply.
“The Lord Sheriff of Rottingham?!”, asked David. “The very same.”, said Robin. “Fuck…”, said Jan’litle who then very cautiously looked to their surroundings and those around them before he would lean over to his ringleader’s ear. “So, boss, what do we do about all the future shipment we seize that holds the valuable resources and armaments for the crusade? Do we proceed as planned or?”, the orc whispered and Robin exhaled loudly before turning to grab his lieutenants.
He then pushed them away from the crowd, placed his arms over their shoulders and they huddled up in a corner to speak between themselves in private.
“We have to play this smart and so we will. David, I want you to send a messenger to King Richard and inform him of his brother’s betrayal.”, said Robin and David looked confused. “If the Curt Cut’s Clan finds out, we’ll be ten feet under, boss.”, David had a point and Robin then gave him a serious look. “Let me finish.”, he implied and both of his lieutenants stood silent.
“Richard will certainly ask for proof of our claims and I want you to tell the messenger to tell him that he shall have it by returning to Merwood in secret. Little John, you and I will continue seizing the shipments of cargo and then we’ll arrange another meeting between the clan and ourselves to trade the goods…”, explained Robin with David smiling at the thought of it all.
“I see where you are going with this. The King will bear witness to our trade and he will know that his own brother is responsible, and if not…”, David spoke before Jan’litle cut in. “He will at least know the Curt Cut’s Clan is responsible and then the crusaders will investigate what the hell is going on.”, the orc added and Robin nodded. “And it won’t take them long to discover that it was the King Regent that has betrayed the crown.”, Robin implied and the trio smiled.
“Now, return to your posts.”, Robin ordered his lieutenants as David blinked out of existence and Jan’litle ran with his axe in claw while the ringleader turned to face William Stutely who didn’t look pleased with the recent turn of events before Robin smiled at him.
“William.”, Robin called for him and gestured his head for the haru to come forth. “Let’s talk.”, as he would inform his lieutenant of his future plans as he took a last glance towards his beloved Marian whom he hoped one day would find it in her heart to forgive him for what he would do.
As the band of Merry Men and Curt Cut’s Clan traded, however, they failed to notice the group of rangers and foresters that spied on them from the woods lead by their leader; Kenji Verysdale.