Ace of Spades ~Tag Sebby~

[Sebastian Mannering]

Sebastian leaned forwards in his chair, resting his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. The conversation certainly had got interesting. He'd gone from a relaxed slouch in his chair to as close as he got to treating any serious matter with keen enthusiasm. His change in stance made him feel as though he should be whispering, after all he was already bent forwards conspiratorially. He refrained though, as entertaining as it would be to act as though he was sharing a childish secret with Vaysey the topic was too important to become lost in playful behaviour.

”Hood's primary source of entertainment seems to come from feeding the poor, yes?” He asked, blue eyes gleaming with mischief. The question was rhetorical so he did not wait for a reply from Vaysey. ”And he does this by stealing the well earned provisions of local nobles who travel through the forest.” So far all Sebastian had said was setting the scene for his grand plan. The Sheriff already knew all this, in fact, knowing Vaysey, he was probably getting annoyed that he was beating about the bush so much. Sebastian needed his little flourishes though, he had a taste for the dramatic and there was nothing like a good speech.

”Suppose Locksley got wind of a large cart of food that would be making it's way in your direction in the near future. Enough to feed several of the villages in his drop off areas... That would surely be too big a temptation to pass up, especially for one as brazen as Hood. It would be such a pity if that food was bad. The sheer number of peasants affected by this ill fortune would be a tragedy! And Hood's good named sullied...” He trailed off, wicked grin in place, and allowed Vaysey to think on the possibilities. He was rather pleased with the idea, he thought as he sat back once again in his chair. It was certainly worthy of consideration, and even though he was biased, he thought it a much more subtle and devious plan than the oh so obvious trap of the archery competition.

[vaysey]

The younger man lent forward, almost buzzing with an energy bordering on glee, and Vaysey couldn’t help to be somewhat amused by the scene, as well as caught up in it. It was truly interesting; the man hadn’t been here a week and already he was helping plot the downfall of Vaysey’s own arch enemy.

He was beginning to like the lad a lot.

Vaysey listened quietly as Sebastian outlined the basics of his plans, and began weighing up the options. He had tried this before, on a smaller scale - with Joseph and his apparently untraceable, unbeatable poison. Oh, how he was glad that man was dead. At least, Sebastian seemed to be referring to poisoning the vile villagers of Nottingham (Vaysey certainly didn’t think he merely wanted to give the idiots mouldy bread), and Vaysey thought he knew the perfect poison for the job. And, indeed, Hood’s good name would be sullied… In fact, there’s a good chance he and his men would be shunned., stones thrown at them to chase them out of town - no one would be asking them for help this time, not like the Nightwatchman incident.

He didn’t expect Sebastian to know about the other incident, though - and it had been such a small scale. This time… Could they pull it off? Certainly it was daring; try the same trick twice, well, wasn’t that what he was doing with the archery contest? That wasn’t a problem, and on the heels of the contest… Hood wouldn’t expect something so dastardly so quickly.

It would, however, take a fair bit of planning - he had to procure more poison, and, not trusting anyone save himself, he was going to have to make the stuff himself. That would require the collection of a vast amount of foxglove; no problem, it was a common enough flower. He guessed no one would take any notice. Next, a large amount of food had to be delivered, either to the castle to be tampered with there, or at some other location so it could travel to the castle or elsewhere - yes, that would entice Hood. There was a small abandoned mill near Kirklees, which would probably suffice as a base for their actions. And he wasn’t sure he could trust any of his idiotic guards to do this for them; they’d probably warn their families themselves, as half his staff lived on the good provisions of his own larder, as delivered by Robin Hood (really, he thought, the villagers should be thanking me. They’ve never had it so good!). No, he would have to put it into the food himself. But it wouldn’t take a lot, and the poison would soak through most of it, especially if a good deal was bread. He might have to force Guy to come help him, and possibly Sebastian as it was his idea anyway. And with the three of them speaking for one another, no one could ever pin the blame on them permanently.

The edge of Vaysey’s lips turned up in a slight smirk. Oh, it was a good idea. He was pleased. Sebastian could definitely stick around.

”You, my boy,” he said. ”Are going to do great things before long.” He waved his hand in a dismissive fashion now. ”Come, let’s leave behind all this plotting and focus on getting your introductory fete ready.”

They didn’t need to talk anymore. They had a plan, and discussing it would likely only lead to it’s ruin. Besides, he could hide his order of food for the job amongst that ordered for Sebastian’s little party. Perfect.

[Sebastian Mannering]

After he had presented his idea he could practically see the cogs turning in Vaysey's brain as he mulled over the specifics. Just as Sebastian's mind was about to wander into thoughts of what he should wear to the fair again the Sheriff spoke. "You, my boy, are going to do great things before long." He smiled indulgently at Vaysey, suppressing a little flicker of pride at the man's compliment. He shouldn't feel flattered, he wasn't some little boy looking for approval from his father. He'd already done great things since inheriting the Mannering fortune and there was that interesting trick he could do with his tongue that always impressed the ladies.

Vaysey changed the subject and Sebastian was slightly put out that the Sheriff wasn't going to share his plans for the poisoning plot. It had been his idea, he deserved to know! Then again Vaysey would be footing the bill for the plot, he was entitled to tell who he pleased about what he was doing with his money and it did mean he could deny all knowledge of it i the plan fell through. Still it would have been nice to be kept in the loop.

"Ahh yes, the fair." He said, reluctantly returning his attention back to the celebration. "I really think more fun would be had for all if the food and drink was freely available." He saw the thunderous look on the Sheriff's face and waved a placating hand. "Now now Vaysey, from the look you're giving me one would think you didn't approve of charity."