Lee Verysdale had much to ponder about as he ventured through the forests of Merwood once again and while venturing through he wondered how he would possibly encounter the Merry Men again. However, it was then that the magi, David Doncaster, appeared and the knight would approach him as both men just had to look into each other’s eyes.

“What do you want, Mr. Verysdale?”, asked the magi. “I need to speak with Robin Hood. It is a matter of utmost importance.”, the magi bowed his head and then pointed into the distance. “Right this way…”, suddenly the image of him faded. “A mirror image…”, said Lee who realized what it was before he proceeded to go down the path that the image had shown him.

A few minutes later, Lee saw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men that surrounded him. It seems they gathered in one place to meet with him and the knight approached them.

“I heard you wanted to speak with me?”, asked Robin. “Yes.”, said the knight that dismounted from his horse. “What is so important that you had to find me a day after we just met?”, Robin asked as he then chuckled and the knight sighed before he would get to the point.

“The Lord Sheriff of Rottingham has sent me to talk about a business proposition with you and your Merry Men.”, Robin was surprised at this sudden revelation for he had never imagined that the knight would come on behalf of such a man. “There’s the hundred pounds as we agreed and as promised you and yours shall be granted total and full immunity from the law.”, these are the words that the Lord Sheriff had told Lee when he had visited him, something that Lee would also inform Robin Hood of as he entered into the talks with the Kingpin of his gang.

“Now, I have another business proposition for you…”, the Lord Sheriff stated and the knight looked at him, wondering what it was. “He said while he and his organization work within the city, he needs a separate organization that works outside of it.”, the knight explained the details to the Merry Men that listened to the proposition that was being offered to them.

“So hold up, hold up…”, said Robin. “We will be granted the knowledge of every route, every destination, of the crown’s cargo and every departure and leaving time of said cargo?”, Lee had already nodded his head to Robin’s question. “And all that we have to do is face a couple of rangers or foresters protecting the cargo, rob them blind and await for the cargo to be picked up by the Curt Cut’s Clan that will then proceed to ship it to the capital for which we will be greatly compensated?”, Robin delved deeper into the inquiry and Lee nodded his head yet again.

“And you are sure he said fifty percent?”, this question is what Robin asked and didn’t believe was true, and Lee knew why. “Fifty percent, what’s the catch?”, it’s a question both Robin Hood and Lee Verysdale asked, but the knight asked the sheriff instead while Robin asked the knight. “No catch. In reality, they will be receiving forty percent of the profit, not fifty.”, replied Curt.

“But what they don’t know won’t hurt them. I need you to say fifty in order to guarantee their alliance. Robin will suspect you, yes, but once you explain that the risk of putting their lives on the line is equal to ours trading it within the heart of the King’s lands, he will understand this arrangement but what he won’t know is that I’ll be skimming some of those profits in private, and as a sign of good faith tell him that I will release one of his own outlaws caught spying on my organization that so happens to be from his ranks.”, the Lord Sheriff explained in detail to Lee that would certainly pass on the name of this prisoner to Robin Hood himself. “William Stutely, a harpy, I believe?”, to which Robin would reach for his chin in thought.

“The man has me by the balls…”, said Robin. “But he also offers quite a reasonable proposition, if I say so myself…”, Robin continued to share his thoughts on the matter. “What do you think of him?”, asked Robin and Lee shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not quite sure yet.”, he replied.

“I thought William was dead and believe me when I say I am happy that he is still alive. What do you get from all this, despite being the informant?”, Robin asked and then Lee opened the palm of his right hand, revealing a scar from what appeared to be a dagger that cut through his skin.

This dagger was caused by a cut performed on him by Thomas Curt himself that then raised a candle up in front of the knight who was surrounded by several high ranking men and women of the Curt Cut’s Clan that were in the company of maids that sat in their lap.

“Sir Verysdale, from this day onward you are a member of the Curt Cut’s Clan and from this day onward your life shall be forever changed.”, Curt held his right hand facing upward and dripped the hot candle wax down onto his own wound, cauterizing it. “Because today you are one of our brothers and we are bound to each other by blood.”, Thomas spoke until he passed the candle to one of his butlers that took it away and then a maid approached that began to wrap the hand of the knight with a linen cloth that bandaged his wound, sealing it shut.

“We are sworn to protect each other, to the death if necessary, and with our brotherhood and our sisterhood comes duty. You show our family, your new family, respect always and forevermore. From this day onward you will live forever by our creed.”, Thomas Curt kept on talking before one of his own stood up to speak. “Loyalty.”, before adding to the speech and another then stood up. “Discretion.”, adding more to the speech and then Thomas would add.

“This is what makes our clan strong and among our family this is common. Those who follow our creed do not die instead they are rewarded with wealth, status and honor. We do not forget our brothers and sisters. We protect their families and their businesses; we care for them as if they are our own. We pay our enemies with suffering, pain, anguish, and finally death. None suffers more than a traitor of which there are many. You might have one cut now, brother, but many more will follow depending on your actions as our brother in the clan. Should you lie, cheat, deceive, or manipulate your family you shall be exempt, cut, from a fair share of your profits and also you will have to pay the price for your insult by offering to your family a part of yourself, and make no mistake…”, the Lord Sheriff spoke about the family and the more he did it terrified the knight for he realized he got into something deeper than he could ever imagine, and the Lord Sheriff then raised his right hand to show the tip of his middle finger missing.

This revealed to Thomas that not even a leader was without punishment in the family and that their leader took their creed so seriously that he gave up a part of himself to show his loyalty and determination to his own people, something that shook Lee to his very core.

“Even leaders are not exempt from our creed, the apology required for our actions.”, these words reminded all those around him, even the new initiate, of how seriously they should take their creed into their hearts as Lee kept staring into the eyes of the man that was his new boss.

“Welcome to the clan, welcome to your new family.”, Thomas welcomed the knight as all others of the clan stood up in good will before the Lord Sheriff saluted the knight who in return saluted his leader before he would turn to face the lieutenants whose hands he shook.

“You are one of them now?”, asked Robin and Lee nodded with the former crusader looking aside uneasy about the entire situation. “By what you told me, it sounds to me that you got yourself into some serious shit.”, replied Robin. “Probably…”, said Lee in response.

“Fuck!”, said Robin that turned to think about it for a moment. “Alright, alright…”, said Robin before he turned to face the knight once again. “You tell Mr. Curt…”, Robin would share his thoughts on the matter and the knight would share it with his new boss.

“That he agrees with your terms as long as you release William Stutely in one piece first as a sign of good faith.”, that made Thomas simply reply by stating; “Done.”

“Although I can’t really guarantee his friends will be returned in one piece for I kind of, sort of, cut off his wings, but I know they will live and forget if they know what’s good for them.”, said Thomas. “I will send my envoys to rendezvous with the band of Merry Men to deliver my orders and the prisoner. However, for you I got another task in mind.”, Thomas explained before Lee stood up tall, listening to his leader intently for he knew this would be important.

“Here is ten pounds for successfully contacting the members of our new allies…”, Thomas said as a maid delivered a small pouch that weighed heavier than the knight imagined. “And there are ten more in there for a couple of thugs I need you to deal with. They think they can mess with my whores and get away with it? That ain’t happening…”, Thomas stated before he would lean forward and point towards Lee Verysdale with a serious expression.

“Now since finding the cocksuckers that are responsible to be impossible, I want you to crack down on the group that they hang around with to send a message that no one fucks with the Lord Sheriff of Rottingham. I need you to make an example of our dear, drugged and fucked up homeless population of our here city, you feel me?”, Thomas gave his orders to which Lee had questions. “So you want me to beat up a couple of homeless people to send a message, that’s the gist of it?”, replied Lee and Thomas pointed. “Those motherfuckers have been leeching off the money of taxpayers for too long when King Richard was around and still they have the audacity to disturb our peace and businesses. Yes, Lee, I want you to make an example out of them and should you run into an unfortunate set of circumstances where one of them or a few of them happen to die, deliver their body via a carriage to the cathedral and tell the clergy that you encounter there that you have a delivery for ‘Saint’s Row’.”, Thomas explained and then stated.

“SAINT’S… ROW…”, the code word again to ensure his clansmen understood and Lee bowed his head. “Understood, boss.”, replying to his boss who then waved his hand to dismiss the knight. “Good, now get the fuck out of here and come back to me when it’s done.”, Lee bowed his head once again and then finally left the building to do what he was tasked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The knight then walked out of the building and walked down the steps of the building before a prostitute approached him he tried to walk past by only for her to reach for his arm. He turned to face her with a cigarette in his hand and a lighter in the other as he only saw her jaw. It was the same prostitute he recognized on the first day that he went to see the Lord Sheriff of Rottingham.

“You were preaching to me of examples I should follow and here you are; an underdog to a vast criminal organization. Oh, the irony…”, he immediately knew who it was and eyed her down. “Yeah…”, replied Lee who then proceeded to light his cigarette. “Thanks for ratting me out to the Lord Sheriff, by the way, that really helped with my situation.”, he stated and she smiled.

“I know it did because initially he wanted to make an example out of you and I talked him out of it. I explained to him who you are and told him about your little sob story. I told him about what had happened between you and the friar, and he realized that you lied through your teeth for your family. He knew you could be easily persuaded and then again; so did I.”, Marian spoke to Lee with a constant smug look on her face before he shook his head. “Are you done or do you intend on mocking me further, Marian? Because honestly, I don’t got the time…”, he replied.

“Does Kenji know what you got yourself into? I mean, he has to after you willingly gave up his documents, right?”, Marian revealed that she knew of Lee’s schemes who then looked at her very seriously, pointing towards her. “No, and you won’t tell him a thing, you hear me?”, he threatened her as she could only delicately smile towards him, revealing her playful smile.

“You have to buy my silence in order to keep my mouth shut, you know?”, she said to him and then he leaned back, feeling uneasy and uncertain about the entire situation. “How much do you want?”, he asked her and she leaned forth, whispering to his ear. “A hundred pounds.”.

“What?!”, Lee raised his voice so loud that most members in front of the establishment turned to face him and then he leaned his head down, keeping a lower tone. “Are you fucking serious right now?! Where do you expect me to get that kind of money?!”, Lee spoke reasonably but little did he know that his adopted daughter was well informed about everything that was going on.

“I know the Lord Sheriff paid you a hundred pounds, Lee, I am not stupid.”, she revealed.

“And if you want my silence then that is the price you must pay. That is, unless you want Kenji to know about how you dishonored him?”, she added more to what she knew and Lee rolled his eyes, looking over on the side as he couldn’t believe he was being blackmailed by a brat.

“Imagine what would happen if Kenji found out that you stole his own personal belongings in order to sell it to a vast criminal network in order to pay back your debts? Now imagine if Asa found out too? It would tarnish your family’s honor.”, she continued to blackmail him before he then reached for his pouch. “Fine, fine…”, he then decided to take the entire thing off and would proceed to hand it to her, albeit disgusted and dishonored by his adopted daughter’s actions.

“There’s your hundred pounds, you happy? Now, if you don’t mind; Go fuck yourself, Marian.”, he said to her as he turned and proceeded to walk away. “The Lord Sheriff wants you to beat up a couple of homeless people, right?”, this caused the knight to stop and then look back.

“Yea, what is it to you?”, Lee asked. “I am one of the many girls who had problems with them, that’s why.”, she said and then Lee approached her. “Oh, really?”, Lee asked. “Then tell me where I might find them and I’ll make sure I make an example out of them.”, he stated only for her to gesture towards his pouch as he then looked down before looking back at her.

“You just got a hundred pounds. I ain’t giving you anymore.”, he said to her as she simply raised the palm of her right hand open. “And I know you don’t harm the innocent.”, she replied and simply waited for him to hand more money over. “How much do you want now?”, he asked.

“I want ten pounds.”, she said to him and he rolled his eyes but reached for his pouch before she then punched his shoulder, laughing at him. “I am kidding.”, she said to him that surprised him. “The hundred is going to be enough for now and besides; I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Wait here, I’ll be back and then I’ll show you where they are.”, she revealed to him as she ran back into the establishment and he remained where he was, hanging his head down sad.

Lee had just lost a vast amount of money he could off used to pay off his debt to the friar. Now he only had twenty pounds he could give away while he kept the other ten for drink and food. She would later come out of the establishment and snap her fingers, gesturing for Lee that it was time for him to follow her and they traveled together to their destination. Marian would take Lee due south of the Red Light District where the sight of homeless people and street urchins was more common before a boy ran over to her, reaching for her hand, and they proceeded to walk together as if they were mother and son that made Lee watch for others as he grabbed his pouch. It was then that a boy ran up to him on one side and a little girl on the other as she reached for his right hand while the boy reached for Lee’s elbow.

“Meet my children, Lee; Much.”, she gestured towards the boy holding her hand and then pointed to the girl. “Midge.”, she revealed the name of the girl that then smiled at Lee who noticed a winged tattoo on the side of her right eye. “And the boy holding your hand there is Nick.”, the boy smiled once Lee turned to look at the boy before proceeding to look forth.

“So why are we involving these children in this?”, asked Lee. “Because my children are my eyes and ears that watch over these streets for me, that track down and find the individuals that I am after. Speaking of which…”, she spoke before turning to Much that nodded his head and pointed in a direction that lead into an alley before she let the boy go that ran his own way.

Lee felt the grip of the little boy and girl loosening before they too would proceed to follow after their little friend. Marian would look upon the entrance into the alley as she walked towards it and she did not stop which made Lee feel that this was something personal to her, hence why she didn’t care about the shillings that she was joking about earlier. Once she entered into the alley, there were homeless people that were sitting underneath their perched tents and they huddled up for warmth as the alleyway was the perfect cover for it. At the end of the alley, however, there were a couple of homeless that were laying down on the ground with needles beside them and a man that was in the middle of them who’s eyes widened once he saw the approaching whore that he immediately recognized on the spot, and what terrified him was the knight behind her. This time she didn’t walk all elegantly or presentable, aiming to please or impress, but rather she walked like Lee did, quite naturally and careless about everything around her. The homeless man quickly reached for the broken bench behind him and pushed himself up with all the energy he had left in his body as she had already made her way right in front of him.

“Maid Ma…”, as soon as he went to address her by her prostitute’s name, she punched him so hard in the jaw and broke it immediately with few of the homeless folk around her standing up.

She then approached the man and started to kick him down with her foot over and over again. Every single individual in the alley watched as she kept kicking the man down again and again. Lee was about to stop after witnessing what she was doing only for one of the homeless to draw a knife he kept hidden from his jacket as the knight looked at him, his eyes begging for him to not do what he was planning and shaking his head. The man then looked to someone behind Lee and the knight then raised his right leg as he kicked a homeless man behind him that intended to harm the knight with a broken piece of glass. The homeless man with the knife then swung the blade at Lee’s throat that grabbed his arm, twisted it and then struck it so hard with his own hand that snapped the bone in the homeless man’s arm. Lee then took his knife and threw it towards another that was holding a knife that he intended to strike his adopted daughter with only to get struck in the neck, falling down and hitting his head against a curb as he died on the spot with Marian turning to see the lifeless man’s body. Lee then turned and threw the man he held towards the man that charged back at him with a broken piece of glass that caused them both to fall over the ground and roll over while Lee stood his ground without even moving an inch. The rest of the homeless then backed off and Marian turned to look around towards every single one of them, the knight feeling the silence to be ominous and he would be correct when Marian turned to raise her leg once more as she smashed the homeless man’s head to the curb, breaking his skull open and causing blood to spill over the ground. She then turned around and faced Lee who couldn’t believe what she had done as she then walked up to him.

“That man…”, she said to Lee and paused briefly before she continued. “Took me along with two others and raped me in an alley.”, she explained and only then did Lee understand how personal this was but he did not see a barrel that suddenly appeared out from one of her sleeves.

“I could not make out their faces for each of them wore masks and there were three of them, and when they were done they left me severely beaten and lying in the streets as if I was nothing until the Curt Cut’s Clan found me and nursed me back to health.”, she explained to Lee that then began to understand her plight but still disagreed with her actions. “They should have paid for their crimes in a different way, Marian, but not like this.”, Lee replied to her and she smirked.

“A few members of the Iron Fist Guard were there that night and they didn’t care, they walked past the alley as if nothing happened and do you know why?”, she looked into Lee’s eyes and then leaned over to whisper in his left ear. “Because they do not care for people like me as long as they can sell their drugs.”, she stated and this shook Lee to the core who knew it to be true, and then she placed her head closer over to the right side to whisper into his other ear.

“But my children care and they found me, and once they revealed to me the faces of those that caused me so much pain I bid my time and waited.”, she then leaned her head back and looked directly into Lee’s eyes once more. “I told Tommy and he told me he was going to send you to make an example out of them, and I said I would come and find you myself to make sure it is done properly but asked him not to tell you, of course. I wanted you to feel what it’s like to fuck with me, Lee, and to remind you to never fuck with me.”, she warned her father the same way that the Lord Sheriff did and he nodded his head before she smiled, turning around.

“Anyway!”, she raised her voice and it sounded like she was overjoyed. “My little ones revealed to me the faces of the ones responsible. One, their ringleader…”, she pointed to the man whose head she beat into the pavement. “Two.”, then pointed to the other one that Lee had killed with a knife before turning to raise a barrel to the last individual. “Three.”, firing single shot into the head of the man whose arm Lee had snapped like a twig and whose brain splattered backwards.

The man then fell to the ground dead and Marian would look to Lee before a couple of Iron Fist Guards ran into the alley. Lee turned to look at them and once he caught sight of them they would immediately turn, look the opposite direction and leave the alley. Marian would then whistle towards the two homeless involved in the attack and point out the bodies of the three.

“Make yourself useful and start carrying the bodies to the cathedral for the good knight.”, said Marian. “And let what happened here serve as a warning to you and yours forevermore.”, she told them and the homeless men listened as Marian left the alley with Lee watching her.

Lee then turned to face the homeless people around him and then pointed to the two homeless.

“That won’t be necessary. Leave the bodies in the center of the alley and I’ll pick them up myself.”, he told the group before he would head out of the alley himself…