Fairy Opera Chapter 20: Robin Hood

 

Robin Hood

“So what, exactly, happened to the Rebellion?” Everyone stood around the captain’s room’s table.

Allen pointed to the map. “During the night, a force of undead came from nowhere and caught our entire headquarters by surprise. The battle was intense, but the undead won. I was able to escape by hiding inside of an oubliette.”

“You’re the prophesized hero.” Jak crossed his arms. “Why did you run?”

“I didn’t want to be the hero!” Allen was almost yelling. “I never chose this. I wanted to live my life as a merchant and travel the world!”

“Ah, yeah. We get that.” Jastle shrugged. “I mean, that’s the reason I went into hiding.”

“So what now?” Jak turned to me. “You’re the one who started this journey. What do we do now?”

I thought for a moment. “We’re going to become Robin Hood.”

“Who’s that?” Jak turned to me.

“It’s an old tale my mom used to tell me before she died. Robin Hood was a pirate and an outcast just like us, who stole from the rich to give back to the poor.”

“So you want to do what he did.” Jak lifted his chin.

“What else can we do? We want to oppose the Empire whatever way we can. There are hundreds of corrupt nobles who are draining the peasantry dry. People starve to death every day. And eventually we may even be able to figure out what’s going on with the Empire and the undead.”

Jak sighed. “Okay. I’m with you.”

Muco and Burgon looked at each other.

Muco nodded. “I really don’t care at all about the first part of your plan, but I do want to continue my investigation into the missing souls.”

Burgon nodded as well. “I agree with my colleague.”

Jastle shrugged. “Sure. I mean, it’s better than what I was doing before.”

“I’m with you.” Tae crossed her arms. “I want to change things, and this could be the only way for us to go forward with that.”

Allen looked between myself and Tae. “You guys are the best.”

Ruby flew around the table. “That’s fine by me!”

“Then we’re unanimous.” Jak grinned. “So we’re going to need a target.”

“A corrupt noble who lives on an island close to here. Who we can steal riches off of and hand them out to the poor.”

Jastle smiled. “I have one. Duke Chuke Banstrom.”

“Ah, I know him.” Allen shuddered. “He’s the master of the man who killed several prominent rebel members.”

“Good.” Jak clapped his hands. “We’re going to give him what’s up. He’s probably got a lot of riches around there. We’ll liberate that gold and then head to Billerstrang to distribute it.”

“Billerstrang?” I looked at Jak.

Jak shook his head. “Billerstrang is famous for being a place where trash is dumped. The people there live off of the heaps of trash. Anyone can disappear there and never be found by the Empire, or anyone else, again.”

“Then that’s a great place to improve with the wealth we’ll steal from that noble.” I put my fist on the table. “Set course for Duke Banstrom’s castle!”

The ship turned around and we headed north towards the island where Duke Banstrom’s castle was located. The trip took about two weeks, during which I continued my magic training under Jastle. Allen happened to be really good with the sword and helped me out with daily sparring sessions. I was beginning to become quite the fighter. When I looked at myself in the mirror I saw I had lost all that baby softness that I had before I left on the journey.

The Duke’s island appeared on the horizon on the second week. Jastle called a meeting in the captain’s quarters.

“I’ve faked us some documentation. It says that we’re a trading ship that just unloaded its goods in Ungerton and is heading to the Duke’s castle to buy fleece. There’s a significant sheep industry in the Duke’s territory.”

“Make sure everyone has the same story.” Jak looked around. “We’re just a merchant ship. If anyone asks why we have cannon, mention the merchant protection act.”

Allen shook his head. “Which shouldn’t cover us but—” He was cut off.

“I’ve got that paperwork forged too. We just have to keep our story straight.” Jastle looked around the table. “Are we good?”

I raised my hand. “Oh, and we’re running a bit low on food, water, and lime juice.”

“Right. We’ll purchase that with the pirate’s gold. I’m pretty sure it’s untraceable.” Jastle clapped his hands. “We have our jobs! Let’s go!”

We docked at the castle’s main dock, which was crowded with ships. No one even batted an eye when we pulled through and moored at an empty slot.

The dock manager approached us.

“You’re not on my manifest.” He looked like the scrooge type.

Jastle handed over the documentation. The man peered over it.

“Okay. You’re good. We’ll have the fleece loaded in a day.”

I leaned close to Jak. “What are we actually going to do with a boatload of fleece?”

Jak shook his head. “Sell it and add the profits to our war chest. I’m sure someone at Billerstrange needs new coats.”

We handed several gold coins to the dock manager and were passed through. We entered the castle town, which was bustling. Shops selling all sorts of goods lined the street. The castle, built into the side of a large cliff, overlooked the entire town. Even though this noble was apparently very corrupt, the place appeared to be thriving.

Jastle pulled us into an alleyway. He pointed to a door with a strange symbol on it. “That’s the symbol of the thieves’ guild.”

It was myself, Jak, Jastle, Tae, Ruby, and Allen in the away party.

Jastle knocked on the door. A small slot opened and someone looked out. “What you want?”

“We’re looking to pull off a heist.”

“Eh? For who?”

“The Duke.”

The man behind the door laughed. “Let me see your ring.”

Jastle showed a ring that I had not noticed previously. It was shining, made of gold, with a large emerald embedded in it. The letter R was engraved on it.

The door opened. We stepped through into a small back room that was surrounded by shelving.

Jastle looked around. “This guild office is pretty barebones.”

The man who had let us in shrugged. “The Duke has a pretty harsh hand against thieves in this town. If you’re caught stealing bread, you lose a hand. Anything else and you’re hanged.” The man was wearing a thick, dark cloak, that hid his face. His knees were bent. Mottled blisters covered his hands. He sat down in a chair. “So how can I help you?”

“We’re planning a heist. We’re going to steal from the Duke.”

“And what do you hope to accomplish with this?”

“We want to cause havoc. We want to cause trouble to the Empire.”

“Then you’d be best off killing the Duke entirely. Why steal from him when he’ll be after you forever?”

“I, ah, I really have no answer.”

“Here’s the rub.” The man leaned forward. “The Duke’s got some people who don’t like him. To the point where they’d be willing to help you pull of a coup. When you do so, they’ll be sure to give you a bit of that honey, if you get my drift. So why don’t you use that magic skill of yours and help out an entire town, instead of just stealing for the thrills.”

“How did you know about our magic?”

“I’m a perceptive man, I am.”

Jastle extended his hand. “My name is Jastle.”

“Grub.” The man shook Jastle’s hand.

Jastle sat down on a crate. “So can you introduce us to these fellows who want Duke Banstrom out?”

“Right. It’s the Duke’s cousin’s son. He technically has a claim to the title.” Grub rubbed his hands together. “He’s a bit soft in the heart, but not in a way that makes him soft, if you get my drift.”

“Okay.”

“See, the kid’s name is Andrew. He says he has dirt on the Duke that, if exposed, will send him into exile.”

“What kind of dirt?” Jastle appeared interested.

“Only Andrew knows. If you link up with Andrew, then perhaps you could help us all out while lining your own pockets.” Grub shrugged. “But it’s up to you.”

“Introduce us to Andrew.” Jastle stood up.

“Great.” Grub rubbed his hands together again. “Five percent.”

“Of what?”

“Whatever you make off with, of course. And if you skimp me, I’ll be sure to get my dues.”

“Sure. The money really isn’t our mission anyways.” Jastle turned to me. “Does that sound reasonable?”

“It does.” I stood up. “Where should we meet with Andrew?”

“Here.” Grub shuffled into an adjacent room. “Let me write a letter.” He wrote something on a piece of paper and took a pigeon out from a cage. He wrapped the note to the pigeon’s leg and released it. It flapped out of the window.

“Give it a few hours. When dusk falls, come to the Green Dagon pub.” Grub sat back down in his chair and lit a pipe. “I’m happy to host you for a while longer. But don’t you have work to attend to?”

“Right. We’re ostensibly merchants who are trading fleece.” I got up. “Let’s go do our jobs and look like actual merchants.”

We left the thieves’ guild and returned to the dock. The fleece was already being loaded. The trader was discussing with Yarrow and Muco. Muco waved at us as we approached.

Jastle engaged in the trade as well. Since I had no trading experience, I turned to Tae and asked her if she wanted to see the town.

“Sure.” Tae turned to Jak. “How about you?”

“You two have some time to yourselves.” Jak shook his head. “I’m going to help with our cover story. My goodness, that is some high quality fleece. I can see why this dock is so crowded.” He walked towards the place where the negotiations were happening.

I looked at Tae. She smiled and nodded. Ruby fluttered between us and then sat on my shoulder.

“Shall we be off?” Ruby kicked her legs back and forth.

Tae, myself, and Ruby returned to the marketplace. Even though the Duke was apparently a very draconian ruler, the place was booming. Dozens of shoppers wandered the stalls, looking for the best deal, or haggling with the owners.

We came to a shop that was selling apples. Tae took out two coppers and bought us two apples.

I cut a small slice off my apple and gave it to Ruby. She took it and started eating. I took a bite. The apple was good. Not as good as the stuff back home, but it was something considering that I’d been eating hard tack and gruel with salt pork for the last month. It would be no problem stocking up on food for our next journey.

I saw a crowd in the square next to the castle’s wall. Tae and I walked to the back of the mass to see what was going on. Apparently someone was being hanged. The crowd, though, was a bit different in mood from other hangings I had witnessed. They didn’t seem to be enjoying it. In fact, they were quite subdued, whispering amongst themselves. I leaned close to the nearest person and asked.

“What’s going on?”

“The mayor’s boy is being killed.”

“Why?” I tilted my head.

“He insulted the Duke’s son.”

“And that’s recourse for hanging?”

The citizen shook his head. “Duke Banstrom’s son is a nasty piece of work.” He then clamped his mouth. “I better not say any more.” He looked around as if he was being watched. “It’s best if you don’t get involved, outsider.”

I looked up at the man standing beneath the noose. There was something strange about the whole situation.

I just needed to know how to act.

 

21

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