Chapter 12 - The Long Hunt

John explained that the place that all the farmers met, was at a tavern. "This is where Cornelius will more than likely be."

A week after getting his arrows, Thomas headed out on his hunt. The ride to the village was long and hard and once within walking distance, Thomas left the horse in the care of the Townsends. He paid them a silver to stable it, making sure to keep his hood up.

On his way to the tavern Thomas passed by the burnt out remains of his family farm. He felt a lump in his throat. Night had fallen and he climbed into the husk of a cottage. His minds eye pictured it the way it was. He then pictured the events of the night of the fire. He looked around, fumbling in the dark. This was madness, he thought he might never let it go. Should he let it go? Should he forgive and forget?

No. The wolf demanded blood. His eyes focused in the dark. Bits of debris glinted in the moonlight. Then rain came. It was light at first, washing much of the ash away.

Thomas felt like crying. He missed his family so much so that it hurt to breathe.

There was a noise suddenly. Voices in the distance getting closer along with the sound of horses. He crouched quickly where he stood putting a hand down to balance himself. His fingers played with something hard in the soft soil. He picked it up and as the rain hit it, the moon showed its shape.

It was a silver ring.

The moonlight reflected off of its surface and caught the eye of the soldier that had come out to search the area for Thomas.

"Aye," he started, "who's that o'er there?"

Thomas could see that the other two soldiers were further down in his fields. He stood still but moved the ring so that it glinted.

The soldier took the bait and climbed down off of his horse. Thomas didn't move as the soldier made his way over to him, almost blindly. He reached down for the ring and found Thomas' hand. Thomas other fist swung at the man's throat, permanently silencing him. He gasped for air on the ground and Thomas stomped heavily on his face. Soon the sound of the stomp sounded more like stepping in mud rather than on someone's face. Thomas stopped.

He quietly dragged the man back to his horse and slipped one of his feet into the stirrup. Thomas tore a red sleeve from the man's arm to wrap his face with later to hide his scar. He went back to the shadows of the burnt out cottage and threw a stone as hard as he could at the horse's hind end, causing it to rear up and gallop off. The other men saw it run down the trail and the broke into chase after it.

Thomas waited a moment then headed for the inner square of Loxley. He found a blind of sorts amongst the trees at the square's edge and slept for a couple of hours.

When morning came Thomas waited patiently. His eyes focused on the tavern and within a few hours, the man that fit Cornelius' description appeared and went in.

That first night, Thomas waited outside for Cornelius to leave and he followed him back to his cottage. There, Thomas saw Cornelius' family, comprised of a wife and young daughter. Thomas watched him from the safety of another treeline. Thomas thought about how he wanted to kill Cornelius in a manner that would warn the rest that mob law wouldn't be tolerated. He realized that the worst thing he could do would be to have Cornelius believe that Thomas intended a retribution that included his loving family.

The following morning, Thomas entered the tavern first thing. He kept his hood up, as it was still raining and no one would care. He sat at the back of the tavern and waited.

Mid-day, Cornelius came in and Thomas noted that they all noticed him. They kept very quiet but Thomas didn't care. He was paying more attention to the layout of the tavern and noting where the spirits and ale were being kept. Back wall, on the right, behind the counter.

Thomas left shortly. He would have to wait for the rain to stop to do what he planned. That was okay with Thomas. He could wait forever.



He stayed deep in the woods during the rain. He'd kill rabbits with the blunt arrows he had been carrying and had done so for more than a week with the rains finally stopped.

Thomas went by a wagon and cut away part of it's covering. He cut it into small bits and wrapped several of his blunt arrows with them. He then went by a shed and dipped them all in oil before going back to his campfire deep in the woods and lighting one of the wrapped blunt arrows. Thomas wrote Cornelius' name on a rock with some of the rabbit's blood and went to the blind near the tavern.

There he waited and surely, Cornelius returned. A few more people arrived and Thomas realized that it was one of their rebel meetings. He smiled to himself.

Once he felt that no more people would go in, he lit another arrow and shot it through the window. He quickly lit and notched another. The door to the tavern opened and Thomas fired a burning arrow into the chest of the man trying to escape. He flew back in through the door.

Inside, those that hadn't panicked, put out the fires. They realized that someone was outside.

"It's the nobles," Cornelius declared, "they've discovered us."

The bar keep disagreed, "The nobles would have just come in and killed or arrested us."

The other men agreed that it wasn't the nobles.

Thomas fired a third flaming arrow. This one hit a glass of spirits in front of a seated man and he caught fire as it spilled onto him. They tried to put him out but he panicked and went running out of the tavern. Falling to the ground in flames.

Thomas threw the rock with Cornelius' name on it, in through the window.

The men all stared at the stone before one man picked it up. They passed it around until it got to Cornelius.

"Whoever it is, he wants you," the bar keep said.

The men all grabbed Cornelius as he began kicking and screaming. He begged them not to throw him out, not to throw him to the wolves but they did.

As the door opened, a single red arrow clips Cornelius' neck. Blood gushed out in an arc and coated the men around him. The suddenness of it all caused a panic and the men paused momentarily as three lit arrows passed them, one hit it's mark at the tankard of spirits on the back wall. The other two hit two men standing near the tankard. As they fell, they knocked over the tankard, breaking its wood body against the floor and sending its flaming contents across the floor of the tavern. The tavern erupted in fire. Two more arrows hit the man standing near Cornelius and he fell against the doors, pinning them shut.

A flaming man ran towards the window and attempted to leap out but landed on the broken glass still lined the jam, tearing his abdomen open as he fell to the ground in a flaming pile of gore.

Thomas casually walked over to where Cornelius lay dying. Thomas pulled his hood back and uncovered his face so that Cornelius could see his death dealer.

"When I'm done here, I shall visit a worse fate on your wife and daughter," Thomas lied, "Something so gruesome that they'll name it after me."

Cornelius looked up with eyes that were already seeing the other side and asked, "Who are you?" Cornelius was afraid for his family.

"I'm Thomas Redgrave, the man whose family you razed for the sake of a statement. I'm the wolf without a pack."

Thomas recovered his face and pulled up his hood as the villagers all came out to see the fire. Life left Corneluis in a red stream.

Thomas walked casually past them, even seeing Cornelius' wife. Part of Thomas hated what he'd done. It hated that he'd cursed a whole village to slowly die since they no longer had men to work their fields.

The other part of him smiled deeply at his work. The wolf was satiated. For now.

Chapter 11 - Sanctuary

Will's father had just left to break the horrible news to Matilda. It was quiet in the ground floor of their sanctuary. Will resumed his quiet sobbing. He didn't want the others to hear him. Will thought about his mother and grandmother. He thought about his uncles. He thought about his missed chance at being a big brother.

It was too quiet.

He wanted to concentrate on something else, take his mind off of his losses. He finished the tome in front of him. It was a religious text about Christ. Will found it to be fascinating. One man having influence over so many people even after his death.

He got up from his seat and fingered through some of the books. Many of them were religious. He began exploring the first floor. It was larger than the home he grew up in, spanning an area forty feet by forty feet. The central tree took up an area of about ten feet. Around it's base were arranged shelves and the ladder that ascended up it. Will circled it many times, trying to see how the second floor was supported. The boards of which were anchored to the thick branches of the tree.

Then Will noticed a spot above the shelves but below the ceiling. It was a nook. He couldn't reach it. He continued exploring the first floor. He admired how the branches that made up the encircling wall were grown in a living Celtic knot, woven together when they were still green.

His little brain began seeing a recurring pattern in the walls knot work. It was very ornate and beautiful. Will found some sheets of paper and a quill and he began drawing the design. It took him a few hours.

Tuck and the other woke long before Will finished his drawing. They came to see what he was working on. Tuck looked at the drawing. He'd seen it before but he couldn't place where. "What inspired this, young Will?" Tuck asked.

Will looked up and pointed at the wall. Tuck turned and, with a moment of concentration, he too could make out the detail of the knot. Then it dawned on him, where he'd seen the design. He rushed over to the shelf and searched until he found a book with the design on the cover. He placed it in front of Will. He explained, "This book is a collection of scrolls found here at the sanctuary. They aren't in any language I can read." He opened the book and showed the pages to Will.

Will glanced at the pages. The writing intrigued him. He continued working on the drawing until he had it completed then he turned his attention to the book. While looking through it, he said to Tuck, "There's a nook," pointing in the direction of the crevice.

John reached into the nook and pulled out a scroll. "It would seem young Will's eye for detail has led to the discovery of something that was overlooked before," he said. He gently unrolled it and saw that it had a rudimentary map drawn on it. It was really just a continuous line that started at one point, crossed itself a few times then ended on an ex. "A treasure map?" John asked.

Tuck looked at it. "It has no point of reference," he declared, tossing the map down next to Will.

The men all went out to hunt, leaving Will to his thoughts. He studied the strange book. His mind began letter substituting. He's not looking at it long before a word stands out to him. Beltain. Then another word. Samhain. He knows these words, they're festivals. Why are they in this book?

He knew that the festivals were all pagan traditions. His mother had taught him that their ancestors believed that the world around them was somehow divine and should be respected and even praised.

He needed a break from the book. As he sets the book down he picks up the map. He saw instantly it wasn't a map. He'd just drawn this shape even though it was hidden amongst other shapes. He saw it instantly. He looked at the "map" and his drawing and saw that it was a key. He noted the line of the knot that it depicted then went to the wall. He went down the wall from weave to weave trying to see if there was something different about one of the knots. To his surprise, there was. It was on the back wall. The portion of the knot that was notated in the "map" went to the floor.

Will crouched and dusted the dirt floor where the branch went in. The branch was buried a couple of inches underneath. Excited, Will began scraping up the dirt. The branch went a few feet away from the wall then went in a big arc, as if it was going around something.

"Tuck!" Will yelled."John, Layne, Smith!!! Come see this!"

The men came in and found Will digging around on the floor. John wasted no time. He knew that Will's mind was a gifted one and that if Will was excited about something, so should he. He began digging with him. Inches beneath their feet was a round stone with the knotted design on it.

"I can't believe it," Tuck said, amused. "The boy is here a day and he starts showing me around the place."



John, Layne and Smith worked at getting the stone moved. It eventually lifted out of it's nesting. Beneath was a deep, dark hole. Tuck grabbed a couple of candles and lit one with the oven fire that they had started for dinner. John dropped into the hole and Smith followed.

"What's down there?" Tuck asked. He seemed very anxious.

John waited a moment. He had found a torch and lit it. "It's a cave system. Looks like this tunnel was hand dug but it leads into a lower chamber."

Tuck and Will followed. The tunnel was lined with soil and reinforced by wood and stone. The ceiling was a mess of tangled roots. The men weren't sure which way to go until Will pointed out that there came a fresh breeze from one direction. They followed it.

Shortly they came into a large chamber. The walls were stone and Will could tell it was a natural cave system. He could hear a small stream and realized that this was where fresh water was obtained. He looked around at the walls. At some point this had been used a lot. He thought about all the people that may have lived in the sanctuary. They were all gone but had left behind an echo. One that he heard. "We should pay our respects and get some fresh water," Will uttered as he began to drink from the little stream.

He looked around the room again. He could make out a faint ledge that was long. Perhaps for seating. He strode over to it and sat then looked at the wall opposite. "It was a school," he said. "A secret school."

Tuck agreed, "Yeah, the pagans were rounded up and slaughtered by people who supposedly knew better. They would have had to teach their rites in secret."

Layne and John looked around with their torches. They followed the stream and saw that it went deeper into the cave. They went upstream and found a small opening where the water was coming in from.

John waded into the stream and looked out the opening. "This was a means of escape," he said.

Will and Tuck headed back up through the hole. Will got the book with the design on the cover and looked through it again. "It's in code," he said to Tuck.

"What do you mean?" Tuck asked.

"It's in an old language in code. See here?" Will showed the book to Tuck and showed him the words Beltain and Samhain.

"Can you read it?" Tuck asked excitedly.

"I can but I wouldn't know what I'm saying," Will said.

John and Layne came back up and closed the hole back over with the stone. John wasn't surprised to learn that Will had figured out how to read the book. Will didn't surprise him much with that brain of his.



Later that night, Will began reading the book aloud to Tuck. Tuck wrote down what Will said but he translated it so that Will could read it again and know what it was. After a couple hours, they finished.

Will made short work of reading the translation. It spoke of animal totems and Will silently noted the wolf and fox. Both of them were intelligent and cunning. The wolf, however, was also feared amongst the pagans for it's ability to kill and destroy for the sake of those it loved. In essence, burn everything around it in revenge. The fox on the other hand, was adaptive and was sought out as a teacher. Will made up his mind at that moment.

"We should share our knowledge with the others," he suggested to Tuck.

Tuck looked at him with a smile. "I like that. I think we should begin quickly. Start a new school. Shape new minds and let them see the world the way it really is."

Tuck and Will sat up discussing the school late into the night. John, Layne and Smith retired to the second floor.



The following morning, Will made his way to the top floor. It was a training area with straw filled mats lining the walls and a rack with old weapons. He picked up a sword and began swinging it.

John came up to see what he was up to and saw Will clumsily thrusting the sword about. "It's only partially strength," John said, startling Will. He showed him how to grip the sword and swing.

Will was a quick learner and his muscles memorized movements easily. There was hand to hand techniques that John showed him on that first day. They spent the day running through scenarios of combat. One on one. Two on one. Three or more on one. John explained that the more opponents wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it meant that they were confusing each other in their attack and this could be exploited and even forced to happen. Feigning a weakness would force them all to attack a single spot giving the defender a point to attack from. Will realized that much of combat was mental and he enjoyed the figuring out of strategies.



As the day came to a close Will's father returned. He had a new horse and a new bow. It looked very fancy, being made out of wood, bone and leather. In the quiver, were seven red arrows. Will knew who they were for.

"Aunt Matilda is going to help us?" Will said.

Thomas crouched to get at eye level of his son, "I have to do this alone. I don't want to chance losing you."

Will understood and offered little protest. He showed his father the sanctuary's underground. The secret school where he and Tuck planned on showing the under-privileged how the world really was. Thomas liked this plan. He liked the idea of spreading knowledge like a plague, a plague that would destroy the machine.

John asked, "How do you plan on dealing with Cornelius?"

Thomas had been thinking about that the whole ride back to the sanctuary. "I'm going to visit a death on him that will make others think twice before choosing a sacrificial lamb out of another farmer."

Thomas relished that thought.

Chapter 10 - The List

Thomas, Will and John's small group made their way to the hideaway deep in the woods. None of the men could believe their eyes. It was a tree... sort of. There was one large central tree but around it, were a cluster of smaller but still very large trees. The tallest and largest of these trees reached high above the canopy and the men could make out a landing that had been built into the tree's main trunk, about one hundred feet in the air.

Will was the first to note, "These trees must be the first ones of the forest."

John looked down at the boy. His men had been embarrassed by how he had single-handedly dropped both of them with blunt arrows. John saw a brilliance that was rare amongst people and even rarer amongst warriors. They had all been amazed that they followed a map that Will had memorized and when Thomas told John that he did it in seconds, it was all he could do to call his bluff. Here they were though, right at the heart of Sherwood.

"The pagans used this place as sacred ground before they were forgotten," said a voice from above them. Tuck was hidden amongst a weave of branches.

"Friar Tuck?" asked Thomas.

"Just Tuck," said Tuck, "I belong to no church that sequesters knowledge like it's a plague. They purposely breed ignorance to advance their own machinations. You must be the famous Thomas 'The Wolf' Redgrave and young Will. Your sister told me to expect you, though I must admit, I didn't think it would be so soon. The sanctuary is a bit of a mess. I have yet to put away all the books and I fear they clutter much of the tables and... Forgive me men, I am sure you're journey was long, I'll be right down to let you in."

Shortly, Tuck began undoing the many locks on the door which was made of a wheel of granite covered in a wood veneer. As the granite wheel rolled aside, the men could see just how well decorated the interior was. As John and his men stepped in, they were met with the tip of a sword.

"I was expecting two, not more," Tuck stated, "please explain my miscalculations."

Thomas intervened, "I'm sure you've hear of John's work. He was a soldier in the crusade and has recently led the farmers against unfair taxation."

"It's a sin," Tuck said, "taxing without proper representation. Someday, God will send a plague to the lot of inbred nobles and let the meek truly inherit the earth. Until such days," he lowered his sword, "let me educate you on how to survive in a world so unfair as to let John usurp King Richard."

John and his men all gave a blessing for Richard in unison. Tuck noticed. "You served under him?" he asked.

John and his men nodded silently. They look like they lost a friend when he died instead of losing a leader.

Will immediately began perusing the tomes that lay on the table. So much to read. His eyes smiled as they drank in the ornate bindings and calligraphy.

Thomas sat down. He was exhausted. Mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. Tuck could see his burden. He could see that Will was burdened too but trying to cover it.

"What's the matter?" Tuck asked.

Thomas looked up. The red cowl around his neck framed his face as he did. He looked like a man ravaged by distress. Tuck noticed the famed scar on his face. It looked like the source of it had hurt very badly. Matilda swore to him that she never saw Thomas cry. Not when he faced the bear and not when the bear attacked him. Tuck waited patiently for Thomas to answer. He seemed to be trying to say something without screaming.

"They murdered my family," Thomas said calmly. His coldness was haunting. He said it like a man would say that a wild animal had trespassed in his land and he meant to destroy it.

"Who?" Tuck pried. He knew that sometimes just saying something aloud relieved burden.

"The sheriff by stationing his men at my farm. The knight, Guy, who hadn't the gall to tell the man that held his leash that it was a foolish notion. The coward of a captain that they left in charge of their dogs. All those that relayed the orders. Cornelius, whose small taste of power made him think that he had say over who should live and who should die," Thomas looked at all the men. "The pathetic fool we call a king. They all have my family's blood on their hands."

Tuck was expecting a quick answer, what he got was a list of people that Thomas felt deserved to have their lives shortened for their sins. Tuck didn't disagree. He'd seen the bureaucracy first hand. The man at the top cares little for the many beneath him.

There was a moment as the weight of the moment settled then Tuck rest his hand on Thomas' shoulder. "You'll plot revenge easier if you have a proper nights rest," Tuck said. "There are sleeping quarters above us. Go up and get some sleep. Will can help me put these books away and then when you get up, we can discuss your plans. I can see that you have plans."

Thomas got up slowly. He knew Tuck was right. A fresh mind would have a steady course. He ascended the latter to the upstairs and found a pallet.

He slept for a day. He dreamt of the wolf. It looked at him and said, "When we're done, the nobles will fear the masses again." Thomas pet the wolf. It had been his best friend without ever being real. He knew that the wolf and he were the same just as the fox and Will were the same. They were echoes of a belief system that was dying out. One that Thomas hadn't thought much about.

In the dream, Thomas fell asleep with the wolf keeping watch. When he woke, still in the dream, the wolf was gone. He understood. It meant that the time for peace had passed. He and the wolf were now truly one. The wolf was no more gone than he was.



When Thomas woke up, it was night. The men were all sleeping in the pallets around the upper floor. He noticed that Will wasn't among them. When he went to the first floor, he found Will huddled up next to a candle and reading. He looked up and smiled before putting a marker in the book and putting it down.

"They'll be looking for us," Will told his father, "They'll have the Redgrave name on everyone's ears. I was thinking I should go by another name if we have dealings in town."

Thomas looked at his son curiously. He thought so many steps ahead that it sometimes puzzled Thomas.

"Will Scarlet," Will said. "I have red hair and our cowls are red, it seemed fitting."

"It does," Thomas admitted. He would never change his own name. He wanted them to find him but he knew that the alias was a brilliant disguise for Will. "I have to see your aunt. I have to tell her what happened. Will you be okay here?"

Will nodded his head. "I want to read all of these," he said happily. "Tell Aunt Matty that I love her."



Thomas left the sanctuary and took one of the horses from the wagon. It would be a slow and painful trek because the horse had no saddle and it wasn't meant for riding but it was better than trying to foot it across the distance that he had to go.

Over trail, Thomas found the ride stimulating. He hadn't ridden horseback much but knew that the skill took some honing. The scenery passed faster without the wagon and he could feel the horses movements which he had taken for granted before. He'd taken so much for granted.

He arrived at the town with seven people set in his mind. It was morning and the craftsmen were just beginning to open their little shops. He found the bowyer and fletcher. When Thomas entered their dimly lit shop, he pulled the hood of his red cowl up. He didn't do it for the sake of his own identity so much as to give the men plausible deniability. They could just say a hooded man as opposed to the severely scarred man.

Each man ran his side of the shop separately. Thomas approached the fletcher. There were many arrows prepared but most were made for hunting small game.

"I need shafts," Thomas said. "I'm hunting bear."

Both men stopped what they were doing and looked at Thomas.

The fletcher was first to say what was obvious, "hunting bear in the King's woods is illegal unless you hunt for the sheriff and you don't look like the castle's hunter."

Thomas took a gold piece from his purse. He tossed it onto the bench that made for a small counter in the shop. The fletcher looked at it wide eyed before picking it up. He bit it and looked at the bowyer, nodding his head to signal the piece's authenticity.

"I need seven, thick shaft for big game," Thomas said calmly. "I need heads on them broad enough to take down the biggest stag in the Sherwood. Also, I'd like them painted red." Thomas thought about how the nobles deserved to at least be killed with exquisite pageantry.

He looked to the bowyer who now seemed eager to attend to him. "I need a new bow." Thomas hated to admit it but his longbow had seen better days. It's flex hadn't been as stiff as he'd want.

The bowyer said, "perhaps one of the new bows made out of different materials that I've been making. They seem to be popular with the sheriff's men."

"How much?" Thomas asked.

Clearing his throat, the bowyer thought about the gold piece in the fletcher's hand. "It'll cost more than the arrows."

Thomas took out two gold and tossed them to him. "We can't make change for this amount of coin," the fletcher said.

As Thomas left he said, "I never asked for change."

Thomas took the hood down as he made his way around the town. His sister was at the castle but he couldn't see her until their appointed day. He then thought about the servants that delivered goods to the castle. They had to have a way in. One that wasn't used by the nobles.

Circling the castle, Thomas found a door toward the back that was covered by foliage. He waited near, under the cover of bushes that were a short distance from the door.

He waited hours.

The sun was high in the sky when the door finally opened. Two women came carrying out a rug to beat. Thomas made a dash for the door quietly as they walked away, struggling with the over-sized and gaudy floor covering.

Thomas crept into the small corridor and meandered the labyrinthine passageways. He was getting hungry so he followed his nose to the kitchen. He watched the kitchen from a darkened hall and when it was clear, he ran in and grabbed a loaf of bread. He tore it and dipped it into a pot that was still cooking and ate it. He worried that someone might come in and recognize him for his scar so he pulled his hood up and finished his meal. He realized that it would be easier to move about if he were carrying something so he picked up a basket full of fresh vegetables and began walking the halls.

He figured that the living quarters would be the furthest away from where the day to day activity would be done so he immediately went up any steps he found until he came to a long hall. A smell filled the hall. It was flowery. A lady's perfume.

Thomas followed his nose again, this time to the source of the sweet smell. The door was made of thick oak and Thomas could hear his sister's voice on the other side. He was this close but he couldn't just knock.

He also couldn't just wait around outside the door with a basket of vegetables like a fool.

Suddenly, Thomas could hear the footfalls of someone coming down the hall. He counted on the nobles not looking at the help so he walked toward the sound with his head down. Guy walked past him, unassuming, and knocked on the door. Thomas ducked into the recess of another door to another room to listen. Guy was getting the nobles together for a feast with the king.

The king was here. Now. Thomas thought it over. His revenge would be best if he drew it out slow.

Thomas waited as Guy and Lady de Lacy walked past the darkened recess. He then walked around to the door and opened it. His sister stood with her back to the door, she was tidying up the lady's chambers.

"Matty," Thomas said quietly.

She spun. "Thomas?" she said, shocked, "What are you doing up here? If they catch you, you'll dangle at the end of a rope."

"No worse than what they've already done," Thomas said. "Mum, Mary and her brothers are all dead."

Matilda couldn't believe her ears. Winded, she sat on the lady's bed as Thomas explained it all to her. His hands shook with anger whenever he thought of any of the nobles. He told her about the sanctuary in the woods with Tuck and John, Layne and Smith.

She snuck him to another place where she kept money hidden. It was near the castle's stables. Matilda gave him two more gold.

"I have a list of people I need information on," Thomas said flatly. "I need to know when they'll be in Nottingham. I'll need to know what they like to do. I'll need to know, who they are closest to."

He told her the list, omitting Cornelius. She wouldn't be able to find information about him and besides, Thomas thought it would be fun to hunt him like wild rabbit.

Thomas began eyeing the horses. They looked much faster than the one he rode in on. She told him that she would get as much info as she could. She would send it to the tavern in the town. It would be in code. She had a book that Tuck had a copy of. It was a historical text about the Scottish isles.

"You be careful," she demanded. She'd been crying lightly. Matilda knew that if she returned to service while in this mood, she'd be questioned or disciplined. She kept a level head. "You be careful but make them all pay."

She thought about Guy. He was somewhat repulsive now.

They parted company and Thomas slipped out of the stable. He had noted the insides of the castle if he needed to use them again. He took his horse to the public stable and asked if they would buy it. They paid him two silver.

That night he slept under the stars in foliage just off the road.

When morning came he returned to the fletcher and bowyer. He put his hood up when he entered. The fletcher had finished the arrows and took great pride in how true they were.

"Best seven arrows I've ever made," he said. "Like the hand of our Lord guided me."

Thomas noted the arrows. They were very exquisite.

The bowyer had, that morning, stopped by one of his manufacturers and picked out the nicest composite bow he had. He had gone the extra step of painting red trim on the tips and belly of the bow.

"May your aim hold true," the bowyer said. They gave him a quiver and sheath for his items and Thomas bought another twenty blunt tipped arrows.

Before he left, he thanked the men. He made his way back to the stables of the castle and found one horse that had caught his eye the day before. He saddled it and grabbed a bag of oats and put it in the saddle bags. He walked the horse out and as he did, the stable hand came around the corner.

"Where are you going with the captain's steed?" he asked.

Thomas kept his head low. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the man's jaw. The punch was sudden and the crunch was the only evidence that it had happened. Teeth hit the dirt before the man did. Thomas noted his riding gloves and stole them. He mounted the horse and waited until he was on the town's edge before he kicked it into high speed, galloping across the road to Sherwood.

Now, he headed for sanctuary.

Chapter 9 - Broken and Bloodied

His farm was on fire!

Thomas couldn't believe his eyes. Nor could Will. Both looked on in horror as they came closer to the farm. The heat was overwhelming.

As they came to the edge of the farm, they could see that the cottage was burnt down to embers. The stones that made up the walls had collapsed. Thomas and his son stepped down from the wagon. He broke into a run toward the front of the mass that used to be his home but he knew it was too little too late. Will screamed and cried behind him.

Thomas looked at the rubble. There seemed to be extra stuff in front of the front wall. A barricade. Whoever torched it had barricaded the front to trap his family inside.

His family...

Thomas dropped to his knees. His family was gone. His mother and wife. His unborn child. Gone. All gone along with his extended family and he wasn't here for them. Tears wet his cheeks. Will came over and hugged him and pulled him back from the heat of the fire.

They went back to the wagon. Everything they owned was now here. Thomas set Will on the wagon and took a moment to think. As he did, he could see that the farm was cluttered with dead. Soldiers mainly. It looked as if the farmers overran the men that were stationed here.

He looked around. There weren't as many soldiers as there were when he left. He got into the wagon and headed north and was met with more burning farms. He kept thinking to himself that this wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't what the soldiers were sent here to do.

Thomas didn't know where to turn. His life was gone, all but Will. A thought kept going through his head, "Why did they have to pick my farm?"

Thomas turned the wagon around and headed back toward the middle of Loxley.

"What are we gonna do, papa?" Will asked, his voice wavered and tears still ran down his cheeks.

"We'll stable the horses," he said, "they've been worked hard. We'll find a place to stay until morning and then we'll go back up to see aunt Matilda."

As they passed back by their burning farm, rain began to fall. There was a scurrying sound in the brush next to the road and Thomas stopped the wagon. He pulled his bow and notched an arrow then aimed it at the noise.

"Come out, slowly," he said.

There was a brief pause and then Captain Teague stepped into the road.

"I advise you to point that elsewhere," Captain Teague demanded.

Thomas thought about taking out his eye with the blunt tip. His armor guarded the most vital portions of his body so a blunt tip wouldn't do much harm. He relaxed the bow. He didn't know how he felt about killing the coward.

"I'll need a ride to the castle, you're son can hop into the bed of the wagon," Captain Teague said as he started to climb up into the seat.

"No," Thomas said calmly as he punched him square in the jaw. He climbed down off the wagon and continued his assault. "Why didn't you protect my family?" He asked as he kicked the captain in the side. He bent down and got in his face. "You bring your war here and you do nothing to save the innocent. You're a coward." He punched the captain in the face repeatedly.

Will pleaded with his father, "papa, no! They'll take you from me too!"

Thomas final punch knocked the captain out cold. He dragged him back into the brush and climbed up into the wagon. He began devising a plan. He saw the big picture now. Much like he saw a moment's weakness and exploited it, he saw the kingdom for its weaknesses and knew what had to be done. A message had to be sent.

For too long his family was oppressed and taken advantage of. First the heavy taxes, then the occupation of his cottage and finally the destruction of everything he loved.

Will could see the fire still but it no longer burned in the fields as brightly as it burned in his father. Will could see that they had released something that was always there. A force that tried so vainly to bury itself and live a life that wasn't its nature. The wolf had been released and it wanted blood.

Thomas deviated from the road that led to the inner village and instead headed into Sherwood. He traveled for an hour before stopping and giving the horses and Will a break. They came to a small ravine that winded through the woods.

There they bedded down for the night, Thomas sleeping under the wagon and Will in it. He hadn't said anything to Will the entire time. Will knew it was because he was planning. He knew that given the right amount of time, his father could devise a way out of any situation.

That night, both dreamt. Thomas of the wolf. They had found the bears den and the bears would come and go without fear. Thomas and the wolf would wait for each one to be alone and unassuming, then strike with a vicious that seemed to echo throughout the woods. Thomas and the wolf reveled in the chaos that ensued the other bears. They didn't move quite so proudly.

Will's dream was of the fox. He and the fox hid amongst a pile of books. They watched from afar as a wolf destroyed a bear den. The red wolf would bring them scraps of meat to eat and books but the wolf constantly returned to the bears' den, driving them into a sort of anarchy.



When dawn came, Thomas and Will were awakened by someone moving about the woods. Will notched an arrow and aimed at the source. Thomas grabbed the knife and positioned himself by a large tree, with his back to it.

John, Layne and Smith stepped out near the ravine and Thomas grabbed him by the collar and thrust him into the tree. "They killed my family," Thomas shouted through clenched teeth at John and Layne tried to pull him off. The blunt tip of an arrow bounced off of Layne's skull. The force was just hard enough that he dropped like a sack of oats. "I know you led them," Thomas accused, "I know they looked up to you."

John couldn't breathe. Smith objected, "It was Cornelius." Thomas looked toward Smith, giving John the opportunity he had wanted. He grabbed Thomas' arm and lifted him by the collar with his other arm. He thrust and Thomas landed in the shallow water. John grabbed a fallen branch and Thomas threw the knife, the tip of which John caught in the branch. Thomas stood up and ran at him, he had thought that John was slow but the ability to catch a blade with a branch proved otherwise. Smith tried to intervene but a blunt arrow bounced off of his skull as well and he fell backward onto Layne.

As Thomas lunged, John tried to grab his collar. Thomas had counted on this and as John's grip tightened around the material, Thomas dropped. His hooded cowl came off in John's hands and Thomas repositioned behind him, gripped him by the waste and lifted the heavy man. He turned his body and fell, cracking John's head into the tree.



Hours had passed and John woke to find Thomas standing over him with his hand out, offering it to help him up. "Smith and Layne explained about Cornelius," he said. He offered no apology only his hand.

John gripped his and and got up. He looked around. The men were all eating rabbit that Will had hunted.

"I'm sorry," John offered. "After they burned down all the farms they set us free, thinking that we would be too afraid of being implicated to go to the king with our information. That's where we were headed."

Thomas shook his head. "No," he said calmly. "Cornelius is mine. So's every man that aided in allowing the soldiers to be placed on my farm."

John didn't understand. Why spare him? Why not kill him like he planned on killing everyone else? Thomas could read the question on his face. "Simply put," Thomas said, "you're a good man who only wanted something better for his people. You'll have to live the rest of your life knowing that my family died as a direct result. You never asked for the nobles to put people on my farm nor did you have a hand in the razing of my life."

John asked, "Where are you going to go to?"

"Will and I know of a hidden place," Thomas said, "you should come, too. You'll be sought after by everyone. I'm leaving Will there and I'm going Nottingham castle to see Matilda. I have to let her know what happened and see if she can help me."

"Help you what?" John asked.

"Kill'em all," Thomas said flatly.



Later that evening, a group of men found Captain Teague. He'd crawled up to the side of the road but couldn't go further due to broken ribs. They carried him back to the castle after searching the burnt out remains of the farm.

Once at the castle, Guy came to see him.

"What happened?" Guy asked.

"Those cursed farmers," the captain started, "they started torching the empty tents and overwhelmed my men. They barricaded the Redgrave family in and set fire to it."

Guy looked at the captain down his nose, "What did you do the whole time?"

"What could I have done? They outnumbered me."

"You could have stood your ground!" Guy accused.

The captain looked at him coldly, "There was no ground to stand on, besides, they were just farmers killing farmers. Wait a month and they'll be replaced."

Guy knew it was no use. The captain wouldn't have risked his life for serfs. "Who did this to you?" Guy asked.

The captain thought for a moment then answered, "It was a group of men led by that Thomas Redgrave. He did this to me."

Guy could see that it was an apparent lie but he didn't call him on it. What did it matter if it was one man or a hundred.

"Where did he go?" Guy asked.

"How should I know?" the captain answered, "Where do pathetic people come from and that's probably where they all go to."

Guy left the infirmary and reported the news to Sheriff de Lacy.

"Put a reward out for this... Thomas Redgrave." the sheriff ordered.

"Why?" Guy asked. Guy had figured that the attack on the captain was in retaliation of losing his farm.

Sheriff de Lacy looked at Guy, "Because he's obviously the ring leader of all these farmers. Because I said so. Because he made one of your men look like a fool. Pick one! Pick them all! Just do as you're told!"

Guy excused himself and sent a group of men to look for Thomas. He plans on leading the search himself.

As he mounts his horse, his page brings him a bearskin cloak and drapes it over his shoulders.

Chapter 8 - The Black Column

Thomas and Will had to leave later in the day than usual to visit Matilda. They had been hunting together as a means of discussing the dreams. Thomas wanted Will's thoughts on what they meant. On this day, they had to hunt early and then leave so that the other's had fresh meat. Thomas thought that Will had the same gift of breaking down a moment like he had. The journey up to see Matilda was filled with them speculating on the meaning of the dreams.

Thomas knew that they held special meaning but it was Will that postulated, "maybe I'm the fox and you're the wolf?"

"Like, how?" Thomas asked. He noticed that Will had meticulously pulled the hood of his cowl so that it matched his father's.

"Mum says that her people believe that animals are guides in dreams," Will started. "What if it's us in the dreams? You are fearless, papa. Everyone knows that. They even call you the wolf."

Thomas thought about it. "You are very much like a fox, Will," he said. Thomas had witnessed his cunning ability when he deteriorated Sir Guy's questions about how he had gotten the book, into a make-believe scenario which credited a wily fox as the source of the book. Guy blew it off as a kid making up stories but Thomas saw the gears working. He knew that Will knew that Guy would blow it off. "Guy's a simpleton," Thomas let out, suddenly.

Will broke out into laughter. "Yeah," he giggled, "He isn't too smart."

They sung their song about the wolf and the fox. This time it took on a different meaning since they now believed the animals were merely representations of themselves.



They arrived at Castle Nottingham in the late afternoon. Matilda ran over to where they waited for her.

"Hello, Matty," Thomas said pleasantly.

Will ran up and hugged her, as usual. He liked that she smelled like flowers.

She had arranged for them to have a nice dinner and during the dinner she brought up the kings men occupying the family farm. "It came down from the king himself," she stated. "He gave his permission for them to use a farm in that area. It just happened to be yours."

Thomas wondered, "how did you find this out?"

She looked around, after Tuck had been removed from the abbey for distributing the property of the king, she had lost some sense of security. "They think that all maidens are just dumb, peasant girls," she said, "they let me into areas where reading and listening can get you all sorts of information. Even the lady has loose lips around her help."

Thomas realized that it didn't change the situation on the farm, just made it more apparent that they'd have to wait it all out.

Will, on the other hand, had noticed something, "If just one of those guys had said no or didn't follow orders, we would be working on the farm right now."

Thomas looked at Will. "What do you mean?"

Matilda explained it. Will and her had read about the chain of command and the use of messengers. All those gears working in tandem. If just one had delayed or didn't deliver their orders or just outright thought it was unfair or a bad idea and didn't come through, the machine would have fallen flat.

"How many people were involved in deciding that our farm was up for use?" Thomas asked.

Matilda took a moment then started at the top, "Well, first the king deems it okay and he sends his messenger to Sheriff de Lacy. Then the sheriff informed Sir Guy who in turn had his page deliver the order to Captain Teague. Six. Six people could have said no."

"But none of them after the king wouldn't," Thomas speculated, "they value might and think that that makes them right. They could have negotiated with the farmers but they would have felt like they were losing face."

Will added, "that would have meant certain death to any of them for treason."

Thomas looked over at Will, "you sure know an awful lot about this stuff."

Will smiled, "the book that they took back was about the royal history."

Matilda jumped. Will's mention of the book reminded her about something. "Tuck said that if you should want to read more," she started, "you should go here. He says it used to be a big old tree but a long time ago someone hollowed out the base and made it a home. It's not big but he has a handful of books he keeps there in secret."

She gave them a map. It lacked a proper drawing and instead listed markers to look for. Will looked at it once and then tore it up.

"What are you doing?" Matilda and Thomas both said in unison.

Will, with absolute precision, recited the contents of the map.

Matilda and Thomas looked at each other in shock. Neither of them knew he could do that.

Will smiled. "Is it really that surprising?" he asked.

Neither of them answered.

The sun was beginning to set and the ride home was long. They said goodbye to Matilda and climbed back into the wagon. Matilda noticed that it hadn't had any work done to it.

"I told you to get that old thing fixed," she groaned.

"If I came back to the farm suddenly, with a better wagon, the captain would want to know where I got the coin to do it," Thomas argued.

"So you left a bag of coins there for him to find?" she asked.

"No," Thomas said as he lifted the seat he was getting ready to sit on. Underneath was the bag of coins.

Matilda shook her head at the ingenious hiding place.

Will lifted his side and there was a knife and spare arrows.

Thomas and Will set off north. They immediately noticed a black column of smoke rising high into the dusky sky.

"Must be a big bonfire, papa," Will said.

"Yeah," Thomas agreed.

As the sun went down, they could see the horizon glowing just a bit, from the direction of the fire.

From the direction of their home.