Roe in the Forest (TAG WILL)

[Robert Williams]

Yesterday evening Roe had done some close examination of the roof support in the old Scarlett house and shop. He was pretty satisfied with what he found with the exception of one of the main beams. He knew when he saw it that he would need to completely replace it. He knew the type of wood that he would need to make the beam was not available at the edge of Sherwood, but he remembered from his youth as stand of young trees that by now, 15 years later, they should be just about right. The problem was that it would be in the central area of Sherwood, with the possibility of running across some outlaws, perhaps friendly perhaps not.

Given the potential danger, he felt that it would be necessary to be well-armed, with his 2 swords, his Saracen bow, as well as his hatchets. He didn't expect that he would be extracting any wood, unless he found exactly what he wanted in a spot that was easy to remove. So ... he set out for the forest expecting it to be more of a surveying expedition. After traveling 45 minutes to the forest he reached what he remembered as the place of the stand that he was thinking.

"Its amazing what 15 years of growth can do in a forest, what great wood can be produced." On the northwest edge he found a fine straight 40-foot piece of timber. He set his bow off to the side and began to mark the tree, planning on putting a few starter cuts in the tree, so that he could come back in the morning to finishing hewing the tree, bring it down, and rig up to pull out of the forest. Since he was so focused on his work that he did not hear the rustling of leaves behind him and the source of the rustling.

[simone]

Will walked silently through the forest, delighting in the solace so deep within the wood. All that could be heard above his slow and gentle footfalls was the twittering of birds and skittering of deer as the animals hastened from his path. He did not mind being alone. Ever since he had injured his hand, Will had been confined to the camp and the talkative company it kept. He had not been allowed to the forest roads, his comrades wishing not to have him further injured by the unnecessary strains of battle. The weeks had passed and as his hand had healed, Will had found himself all the more frustrated by the constant company. That was why he was now relishing so fondly in the freedoms of Sherwood.

The smooth head of his larger axe brushed against the overgrown grass of the forest, shearing the heads from the slender blades as Will walked ever onward. Though his hand was not yet strong enough to battle the guards of Nottingham Castle, Will could carry a blade or bow well enough. He was scarring the trees of Sherwood with his recovery, exercising his hand and axe against the trees surrounding camp each day. He intended to hasten the restoration of his strength and although he woke each morning with an aching wrist, Will knew that his persistence would eventually amount to something more then pain.

For most of the afternoon, Will had followed a path that ghosted beside the roadway. Soon enough, the path had faded into an old deer run and he had been travelling over the uneven grounds of the forest. The road, however, had continued until forking and fading into the forest as well. Will paused beside the hedge of brambles that looked onto the forking path, smiling upon the trees nestled deep within the junction. He and his father had often visited these trees when he was younger, Dan often telling his son that together they would fell them when he was older. Frowning on the sorrowful reminiscence for a moment, Will then leapt over the hedge and began toward the cluster.

As he approached, Will noticed that a man was marking the trees with his own hatchet, making small, swift cuts into each of the best trunks. Will was not sure who this man was, but was not pleased by his felling. To him, these trees were his fathers and would not be taken by any other man. Unsheathing his hatchet, Will paused long enough to notice the man was armed with two slender blades and had a bow set nearby. It would not be wise for him to engage this man in a brawl, no matter how offended he was by the intrusion. Sighing, Will sheathed his hatchet and said very passively to the man, “You are wise coming into the forest so well armed, my friend.”

[Robert Williams]

As Roe began his work on setting up the piece of timber his mind went back over the trek that he had just taken. Although he had been in the Forest several days before, when he had been accosted by the young outlaw, he had not really ventured into Sherwood for more than 15 years. Obviously that stretch of time had altered some of its aspects, but by and large, it was the same. The thickets were pretty much where they had been, and obviously, mature trees that had not been felled by lightning, fire, or another woodsman, were where they had always been. It had been a meandering path through the forest, negotiating dales and ridges within it, but it had been quite relaxing. As a young lad, he had discovered the forest, and it had become his sanctuary. Although he had been accepted by the household as a young boy he had never really felt that he was part of it, and he would often escape here, where he felt he was in his own little world.

When he had gone too work Dan Scarlett, as an apprentice, they had periodically gone on sojourns into the depths of the forest, not only to find timber that could have harvested on that day, but areas that might bear good timber in 10,15, or 20 years. And this was just such one of those stands. It had been his master’s way to explain things without coming right out and saying them, instead simply by showing them. It was his way of showing the young apprentice that by taking care of the forest today, the forest could provide for us in the future. That was certainly true Roe thought to himself. Dan …. He had of course heard what happened to both Dan and Jane. That was a fate that he would never considered for either of them. They certainly had been deserving a much better fate.

The outlaw that he had had the misfortune of running into seemed to think that Will was running with an outlaw named Robin. Roe still wondered if it was the same Robin that he had remembered when he was a teenager. He shook off the thought …. Surely he musty be in charge of the estates now, or be about to be put in that position …. it was just a coincidence he surmised to himself

“You are wise coming into the forest so well armed, my friend.”

At these words, Roe spun slightly to his left and pulled one of his sabers part-ways out of his sheath. He saw, not more than 10 feet distant a young man perhaps not beyond his early twenties, carrying a hatchet. He was a tall and lanky fellow, carrying a slight smile and a curious expression, as well as being dressed in greenish-brown forest clothing. He vaguely reminded Roe of someone, but it was too ambiguous to recall a specific person.

Looking carefully right and left, since he realized it was likely that he was an outlaw and that they often roamed in groups, Roe looked at him somewhat warily. However, the young man did seem to be alone. "Yes, in these times, this deep in Sherwood, it is wise to be prepared, even for violence. Friend, you appear to be alone, do you wish to challenge me with your hatchet? Although I know how to use these weapons, I would prefer not to. Even though it would seem to be likely that you are an outlaw, it is not my desire to engage you in combat, if I don't need to."

[simone]

With the wariness of an old lion, the man looked toward the trees that encircled the clearing. He began following the line of trunks with his blade, searching intently for movement amongst the branches. Nothing stirred, but the man remained vigilant as he returned his attentions to Will. He had a voice that was deep and smooth, much like the mud after a winter storm and was dressed in the weathered uniform of a crusader. He wore the scars of an old soldier on his bare forearms and in that instance, seemed familiar to Will from a memory he could not quite recall.

“No. I do not wish to fight you,” assured Will, a curt reply to what had been asked of him. The weight of his axe then became a beckoning ache over his shoulder; a dull longing to challenge the man before him. One triumphant defeat would assure the other outlaws he would be no burden to their ambushes. But, with a man was so well armed, it seemed it was a defeat that could not be sought here. Twitching his shoulder to shrug aside the persistent ache, Will then nodded toward the tree that the man had marked, “Are you felling for firewood?"

Will would not have retained the scorn from his remark had the man not been so sufficiently armed. The thought that a man had taken it upon himself to fell one of the largest trees in Sherwood all to deck his hearth in thick, old logs was laughable to the outlawed carpenter. He knew that there was a much simpler labour towards the edge of the forest. There, the trees were not so old nor their roots so deep. Those trees could be cut with two or three clean axe swings, much unlike these ancient trunks which would take much of a long afternoon to fell. Concealing his smile beneath a tight grimace and folded arms, Will made note to advise the man of this once he admitted to his foolish intentions.

[Robert Williams]

Although Roe had come to this part of the forest, prepared and armed to defend himself against outlaws or wild animals, he had not really expected it. The long and peaceful trip he had made from the edge of the forest had lulled him into a false sense of security, which this young man had suddenly broken through. He knew that some of the reason that it had had that effect on him was the varied green hues of the vegetation of the forest had taken him back to memories of his youth, when the forest represented a place of sanctuary, or safety from the life at the manor or his workplace at the carpenter’s shop.

It became obvious to Roe that the young man approached him with some hesitation. He obviously had no idea who Roe was either, or what his intentions were so he was being quite cautious. The young man had seemed to have taken a defensive position, some 15 feet away. He obviously did not want to get too close. His apparent nervousness tended to indicate that he was indeed alone, and the lack of movement that Roe picked up in the surrounding trees indicated that the same was true.

Roe nodded to the young man’s first statement. ”That indeed is well and good. I have no desire to fight you either. I have fought and killed enough; I have no need to add another to that list. However, I would guess that you aere well-skilled with that hatchet, and could dispatch me in short order, eh?,”he smiled slightly. Roe reinserted his sabers in their scabbards, which looped over his back, and he threw his brownish-green cloak back on covering his old crusader’s clothing. Roe then set down his hatchet and leaned back against a tree, gently chewing on a piece of straw that he had between his teeth. With his arms folded, he decided to wait and see if the young man would approach, or what exactly he might try.

At his question, Roe’s mouth dropped open in astonishment, and his piece of straw fell out of his mouth. ”Good God no, man. You must indeed think me daft if I would traipse out to the center of Sherwood for some firewood. No …. I need to replace a main supporting beam in my house in Locksley, and I knew from being through this part of Sherwood more than 15 years ago that the straight and true piece of timber, of the proper length, would be found right here.” Roe could see how a woodsman would object to him taking such a fine specimen for firewood, but why would this outlaw care, one way or another?