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.

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