The Road Goes Ever On [Open]

[gingerduckie]

Teagan was smiling, humming softly to herself as she rode through Sherwood forest. She had bought everything they needed in Nottingham, now it was just a matter of getting home before it got dark although she didn't mind the dark, but her brother would only shout at her for worrying him. He didn't like her out in the dark alone and she supposed he had good reason to. Her hand drifted unconsciously to her leg before she realised what she was doing and pretended to scratch her hip. She didn't want to draw attention from anyone, while she hadn't heard that the outlaws, well the ones with Robin Hood, were bad, she was still cautious.

The wood suddenly looked darker in the late evening light and Teagan sat up a little straighter, shortening her reins and hummed quieter, a slower tune but one that nearly no English men would know. One that lifted her fears slightly as she imagined her mother singing it with her. Her dark brown eyes tried to pierce through the greenery with no avail as she let the horse lead the way. It was only when she felt the horse move under her legs and noticed as the bay reached for a apparently delicious looking branch. Teagan pulled on the reins with a sharp command and the horse swung back onto track.

"Silly thing you are ain't you?" Trixii asked softly, smiling and ruffling her horses mane. She sighed and urged her horse into an easy trot. Moving in time with the beats of the trotting Teagan relaxed a little and looked forward to just getting home. She started to hum again and a small smile crept over her lips as the low sun dappled over her through the trees.

[Robert Williams]

Roe had gone out into the edge of Sherwood with his sturdy sack, in search of the last of the supple beech fronds and branches that he would need to interweave in the few remaining holes in the roof of the old Scarlett home in Locksley. He knew that he would not have to gather much, but it would have to be of high quality. Knowing that Sherwood was said to have several groups of outlaws roaming through it, he had made sure that he was well-armed. It was a fortunate thing that he was not going to have to return to Locksley with a heavy load of material. Fortunately he had found a medium-sized beech just adjacent to a well-worn and travelled path in the forest. He took out the large hatchet that he carried with him and began hewing at the beech. Of course the hatchet served multiple purposes, as a wood-cutting implement and as a weapon, which he was quite proficient with. Before the cutting process began he set his Saracen bow and quiver off to the side near the trunk of the tree.

In pretty short order the beech had fallen with a large crash in the forest. The parts of the beech that he was interested in were located near its top, and the tree itself had fallen across the path, blocking it, while the branches he was interested in harvesting had fallen deeper in the forest. Seeing where it had fallen, Roe pick up both his hatchet, an the bow and quiver, and ran to the end of the tree that he was interested in harvesting its parts. Once he had finished getting the branches he needed, he had planned on using his hatchet on the trunk that was blocking the path so that the path could be cleared for future travelers.

As he had just finished cutting the last of the branches and stuffing them in his big carrying-sack Roe heard the clatter of hooves, and then their sudden stop, as they came across the blocked the blocked path. Walking silently along the trunk of the tree, as he had been trained to as a soldier, he came to the edge of the path to the right and slightly behind the perplexed rider, who he saw was a young lady. Trained not to be too trusting in situations like this, he stood his hatchet on its head, pulled his bow from his shoulder and loaded it with a single arrow, but kept it pointed at the ground. “This is not a particularly safe time to be travelling through the forest, especially for a young lass. What, pray tell are you wandering through the edge of Sherwood Forest at this hour. What is your business here …. Perhaps if you are lost I can provide you some assistance?”

[gingerduckie]

Teagan didn't notice the dark figure at first, she saw the fallen tree with some dismay but also excitement. As soon as she heard teh voiuce however her eyes snapped up and were caught by the arrowhead. Teagan pulled sharply on the reins, turning her horse in a circle and listening to the words of the man, whoever he was.

"There is no need for your weapon, I am merely returning home. I know how dangerous these woods can be which is why i must return quickly that my brother does not worry himself over nothing." Teagan said her voice sounding alot braver than she felt. Her horse picked up on her nervousness and fidgeted, stepping to hte side and backwards. Teagan tightened her hold on hte reins for a second before putting her hand on her horses neck, quieting it down with soft movements of her fingers.

She looked hard at the man before her. He seemed the type of person that her brother would mae her stay away from, dark haired, rugged in the face, weapon in hand...no wait he also had a hatchet. Two weapons against her amazing none. She would just have to hope that she could outride his range, although his bow was different...a saracen bow. She recognised it from the arrowhead. Her eyes widened and her stomach churned.

"Why is it that a man such as yourself would threaten a helpless girl with a foreign weapon? You can see that I am not armed so if you would kindly step aside i will continue on my journey and hopefully no one will be alerted of our presence." She said, Her left hand straying to her thigh. If he attacked her she would have to use the woods, lose herself in the thick trees. She was glad for her green and brown dress. At least she would be slightly camouflaged against the trees. Or maybe she should just run now, find another way around the road...

No. Del would be livid enough that she was late, let alone if he ever found out that she had diverted from the road. She stared at the man, trying to look past the weapon to find his eyes.

"I ask you sir, kindly step aside so i can continue home."

[Robert Williams]

Roe observed her carefully in the fading light of early evening. She did not appear to be making any aggressive or threatening moves at the present time. It was difficult to see her face clearly with the fading light and the fact that the setting sun was right in her line of sight. So it was a little bit more difficult to ascertain what her real intentions might be. She did appear to be putting up a brave front, at the very least. If she did decide to slip away, on the other hand, he did notice that her clothing would allow her to blend in with the forest foliage quite easily. However, he had no interest in preventing her from going on her way. He just wanted to make sure that she didn’t present a threat to him, or anybody else for that matter. For that reason, he wanted to make sure that she was working with someone else, primarily as a distraction. He generally trusted his instincts though, and they told him that she was no threat.

“I would like to believe you ….. that you are no threat to me …. And therefore no need for my weapons. There is always the outside chance that you could be working with someone else, who might be sneaking up on me from behind, while you occupy me from the front. So I have to be careful. I might trust you a bit more if you would at least identify who you, and you brother are. For instance, I am Robert Williams, a new carpenter in the village of Locksley. I have recently returned from the Crusades, and have cut down this beech too get some materials for repairing the roof of the hut and shop where I am currently living. As long as you are telling the truth, and are no threat to me, I have absolutely no desire or wish to block your path. And in that case you would have my sincere apology for the inconvenience and distress that I have caused you. So ….. exactly who are you and where do you hale from?”

[conormccarthy]

The old main road was fairly empty at this time. Most people were hesitant to traverse the forest track when it was rife with outlaws and bandits. The road was shadowy, its verges well sheltered and they offered hiding places for all manner of nefarious persons. Conor was only mildly worried, as he had a good steed under him and at the slightest sign of trouble he could set off at a hasty pace. His only trouble was a ranged weapon of sorts, but not many thieves had the skill to hit a fast-moving target.

Ordinarily, he wouldn't take this route unless he had to, not being the type to take the slightest risk over himself or his horses. But tonight he had to deliver a clients bay mare back to their manor house out in a far-off village, and he was just returning on his palomino mare Lizzie. The leggy mare was eager to take a run, and Conor figured it would be easy to lead her along with the bay to drop her off and then ride the pale-tan equine back.

Conor met no-one on the way, until he spotted an obstruction up ahead. Slowing Lizzie into a trot from her steady lope, he peered cautiously ahead. It might be an outlaw trick, setting a trap and leaping out at unsuspecting victims. The blond-haired leather-worker made out a figure standing on the far side of the road-block, and there was no mistaking the shape of that Robert man. Although Conor was wary of the man from his treatment of Hazel, he didn't think he was a thief. The downed tree would be his own work, yes, but he would be using it for his carpentry, not as a trap.

Moving Lizzie onward, he came to a halt beside the red-haired woman on the older bay stallion. He gave a curt nod in Robert's direction in way of a greeting. With a quick glance over at the young woman, he almost smiled. Her appearance was typically Irish, and it reminded him of his own red-headed mother. Even with just a slight twitch of his lips, it was a more friendly greeting than the one he had given Robert. Recently Conor had been getting the hang of talking with members of the opposite sex, and he found he preferred their company than the loud and rambunctious company of his own gender.

A woman was more like a horse, complicated but easy to read if you could decipher their body language. Conor was still learning their signals, but compared to the stoic aura of men, women were far easier to read and translate.

Rubbing the flaxen mane of his mare Conor fixed his gaze over Robert's shoulder, not quite looking at him but at least looking in his direction. "Evenin'." The younger man greeted him properly. He gestured vaguely at the log. "How's business?" He asked, his voice a soft amalgamation of Irish brogue and colloquial English. His heritage was still evident, albeit dilute. The blond leather-worker took a glance at the man's drawn weapon, wondering what he would possibly need them for. He was certainly cautious. Probably the soldier in him, Conor mused to himself.

[Robert Williams]

Roe was still waiting on a response to his question from the young lady. He was no longer pointing his bow directly at her, but rather was kind of pointing it at the ground, since he didn’t really look at her as a threat. Suddenly, however, he heard the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Could his instinct have been wrong. He had thought that she was not a threat , but could she really have been the diversion that he had concerned about. Should he prepare to face off against the new rider?

Fortunately, as the rider pulled up close to their position he could tell that it wasn’t a threat …. at least he had not appeared to him as a threat. His blond hair gave him away, as did his light Irish accent. “Good day to you Conor. I’m afraid this long obstruction here is not a result of my ‘business interests. I needed some additional pieces of beech to complete my repairs to the roof on my place.”

Roe laughed to himself that Conor’s greeting of the girl was more full of warmth than the greeting he had given Roe. That was to be expected though. He knew from his prior treatment of Hazel that Conor didn’t quite trust him. So he had to make every effort to show that he was a quite respectable fellow. “Conor, I really don’t know what you think of me, but I think I had a pretty normal reaction. When I heard the clatter of hooves I came running. I knew it was possible that there were others that she might be we working with, so I had to make sure that nobody had a mind to mug or rob me.” Since she was obviously not a threat he lowered his weapon. “I’m sure that I overreacted, but I did not survive 15 years in the Crusades by being overly trusting. I’m would be happy to send her on her way with my sincere apologies. I just hope that you folks can understand my reasoning and forgive me,” he said as he awaited their response.

[gingerduckie]

Teagan's brow furrowed. She was starting to get annoyed. Was this guy going to shoot her or not? Or was he just being purposefully annoying? But he wasn't really trying to be annoying she knew that. She was just tired and he was getting in her way. Still, he was being fairly civil to her, even though his eyes were raking over her body. She was thankful of the strong leather full body apron. But there was something in his stance that reminded her of Del when he was defending the house. She couldn't blame a guy for being cautious, especially not in these troubled times or this place.Teagan sighed and slumped slightly in the saddle, barely keeping her attention on her hands she started to pluck stray leaves out of her horses mane.

"There is no outside chance alright? I'm just trying to get home." She said, her voice starting to sound a little exasperated. She was about to answer his remaining questions when she heard more hoof beats. She straightened immediately and swung her horse round so she could keep an eye on both men. Unfortunately her horse, Fidget -an appropriate name for his nature which she had now christened him- chose that moment to be difficult and she ended up having to walk him in a wide circle so he could get a better look at a patch or particularly scary leaves he'd just put one of his hooves through. She didn't even acknowledge the new stranger or that he and this Robert Williams seemed to know.

When she managed to get Fidget to realise that the patch of leaves would not attack him at a moment's notice she looked at the two men, found the silence a patient waiting for her to speak. Brilliant. she still hadn't replied to Robert's question.

"Ireland, Carrickfergus to be exact. I live two villages over from the end of the woods. My brother runs the blacksmith's there. He is Delaney Chegwin...my name is Teagan." She added hesitantly. She didn't know these men after all, she was defenceless and now that there was another horse in the equation, not looking amazingly brilliant for her if they decided to turn on her. She didn't know how high the chances of that happening actually were...but she didn't want to risk it. Well she had learned that the new guy's name was Conor, and he sounded Irish, slightly. His accent was comforting though, reminding her of happier days, even though she had been a young child, her heart still longed for the rolling hills of Ireland.

"There is no need to apologise Mr. William, you have every right to be cautious, especially in a place such as this." Teagan flashed a quick smile at him and wondered how old he really was, fifteen years in the Crusades, that had to change a man. She shuddered involuntarily and was furtively glad that Del was sensible enough to stay away from the Crusades. She turned to the blonde, feeling a bit more comfortable now that no weapon was directed at her.

"Well you two seem to know each other so i think it only fair that you introduce yourself properly, sir." She raised her eyebrows at hi, pulling her feet out of the stirrups and folding them over the pommel of her saddle, letting her feet fall naturally into position. She had learnt to ride bareback and felt safer when her legs were in contact with her horse properly, flesh to leather as it were in this case. Teagan kept her eyes on the Irish fellow although she still held Robert William in the corner of her eye, her head turned so it was easy to see everywhere in front and mainly to the side of her if she chose it. Her father hadn't brought her up to be a simple peasant girl.