Robbyn of the Hoode

 It was well known among the teachers of Nova Tutorium that Calliope Eralin, their music teacher, volunteered at a community outreach program centered around theater. She was actually a well trained thespian as well as musician. It was something she tried her best to keep out of school, but sometimes she got swept up in things. 

"They've challenged us to get a troupe, and an original play together to go against theirs," she was saying to Mamzel Araetha in the teacher's lounge one day. Mamzel Araetha was interested, the two were good work friends since their subjects overlapped. 

"What are you thinking of trying to stage?" Mamzel Araetha asked. 

"I don't know," Mamzel Eralin said. "We don't actually have anyone who can work as a playwright."

"Hm, do you have a story you want to try and tell?" Mamzel Araetha pressed.

"I was thinking of trying for something ancient," Mamzel Eralin said. "Perhaps one of the stories from Albion, they have a rich history of story telling, going well into the lost ages of history."

"Like the works of Shakespire?" Mamzel Araetha asked. "But those wouldn't be original, I suppose."

"No, but something like them perhaps," Mamzel Eralin said, starting to really think about it. "Perhaps something older than Shakespire, besides, there's no troupe that can do them justice anymore."

"Things that are lost can always be found again," Mamzel Araetha said sagely. "Perhaps Robbyn of the Hoode?"

"Robbyn of the Hoode?" Mamzel Eralin asked. "I've never heard of it."

"It's very a very ancient story from Albion," Mamzel Araetha said, getting excited. "He was said to live in Shyrwode Forestte, steal from the rich and give to the poor."

"Oh! that would be great!" Mamzel Eralin said. "I assume there was someone who tried to stop him?"

"Yes, his mortal enemy was the Sheriff of Knotinghem," Mamzel Araetha said. "He also had a band of merry men who went on adventures with him."

"This sounds perfect!" Mamzel Eralin said. "Now I just need to find someone who could write a play and put it on."

"How about... Him?" Mamzel Araetha suggested. "He probably knows even more about Robbyn of the Hoode than I do. He could do something."

"But... how would I go about asking him?" Mamzel Eralin asked nervously.

"You could try asking through one of the Lord Primarchs," Mamzel Araetha said. "That way we don't have to make Master Kirraen call the Palace."

"I may," Mamzel Eralin said. "I have Sanguinius in my last class of the day, he might be willing to relay a message for me."

***************************

"Father?" Sanguinius asked on the flight home. "Mamzel Eralin had an unusual request she asked me to relay for her."

"What is it?" the Emperor asked, curious despite himself.

"She was asking if you know anything about Robbyn of the Hoode, or of any plays about him."

"Did she say why she was interested?" the Emperor asked.

"She didn't give me a lot of details," Sanguinius said. "But she mentioned something about a play."

"We can help with a play!" Fulgrim said excitedly.

"We don't know if they need us for a play," Ferrus said. "But it might be fun."

"Who has music first?" the Emperor asked as they touched down, thinking about the request. "Tell her I'll meet her after the next PTA meeting."

"I can!" Fulgrim said.

***************************

"Hanging back, Charles?" Coraea asked as she and Andross prepared to leave.

"Yes, Mamzel Eralin wanted a word with me," the Emperor said. "I'll see you next month."

"You boys are on your own next month," Coraea said. She, Timotas, and her daughter Marthya, would be meeting her husband on Luna when the next meeting was scheduled. He was returning from an extended business trip to Necromunda.

"Next time then," the Emperor said with a wave. He turned to where Mamzel Eralin was waiting. She gave him a deep bow, and they waited a bit for the last of the parents to leave.

"My lord," she said once it was just people who knew who he was. "I appreciate you meeting with me about this."

She then went on to describe the thespian challenge that had been issued to her outreach program, and Mamzel Araetha's suggestion of Robbyn of the Hoode.

"I would be happy to assist you with this," the Emperor said. He was a bit surprised that Robbyn of the Hoode was even remembered by anyone other than himself and Malcador.

"I appreciate this greatly, lord," Mamzel Eralin said, excitedly. "But, who would perform the play?"

"I was going to ask my sons if they wanted to perform," the Emperor said. "Naturally, they already know there's a play involved."

***************************

"Robbyn of the Hoode?" Horus asked the next day after the Emperor had explained what was going on with Mamzel Eralin.

"Yes," the Emperor said. "I'll come up with a play, would you like to perform it?"

"I want to be in it!" Fulgrim announced. There were scattered chuckles at that, and the rest of the Primarchs agreed.

"What roles will there be?" Corvus asked.

"Is it going to be a musical?" Lorgar asked at almost the same moment.

"I haven't written it yet," the Emperor said with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes. "Was that a request, Lorgar?"

"No!" Lorgar cried out in dismay. Roboute giggled at his brother's distress.

"But to answer your question, Corvus," the Emperor continued. "There are many characters in the stories of Robbyn of the Hoode. There is of course Robbyn himself, his second in command, Little Jon, who isn't very little, Allan-an-a-Dale, Maid or Maiden Marion, and the rest of the Merry Men."

"I am not a merry man," Angron said sharply.

"You don't have to be," the Emperor said. "Robbyn of the Hoode had a nemesis, the Sheriff of Knotinghem. The Sheriff of course has men of his own to command."

"Can I be the Sheriff?" Konrad asked.

"I don't see why not," the Emperor said. "There was also Prince Jon, and Rikhard Lionhart, King of Albion."

"Can I be Rikhard?" the Lion asked immediately.

"But I was going to nominate you for Robbyn," Leman said.

"Corvus can be Robbyn," Vulkan said. Corvus managed to make himself paler than normal. "I can be Little Jon, since Father says he wasn't very little."

"But if he's not little, why is he called Little Jon?" Roboute asked.

"Humor, for the most part," the Emperor said. "His name correctly is Jon Little, but the man was very large, and his name got turned around as a joke."

"That makes me perfect for the role," Vulkan said. "Corvus will make a great Robbyn."

"Vulkan..." Corvus groaned.

"No, no, he's got a great point," Fulgrim said. "You and Konrad look very similar, there could be a theme about how Robbyn is a reflection of what the Sheriff of Knotinghem is supposed to be."

"I guess..." Corvus said.

"It'll be fine, Corvus," Vulkan said. "You did great in Summer Night's Dream."

"That wasn't as big of a part as I thought it would be," Corvus said. 

"You're not telling us you have stage fright now, are you?" Fulgrim asked.

"No," Corvus said quickly. "More like... stage aversion."

"Stage fright," Rogal said with a nod. Corvus began to turn pink with embarrassment. 

"Corvus, you don't have to be Robbyn if you don't want to be," the Emperor said. "Robbyn was most famous for his archery and marksmanship. Perhaps Perturabo?"

"No," Perturabo said instantly. "Archery is different in its marksmanship than guns."

"I.... I can do it," Corvus said after a moment. 

"Only if you're sure," the Emperor said.

"I'm  sure," Corvus said a bit more confidently. "Vulkan can help me, right?"

"Of course I can!" Vulkan said. "I was going to be with you every step of the way anyway, who else would be Little Jon?"

"Just about any of us could play Little Jon if we were working with human normals," Alpharius said. It sometimes bothered him being the shortest Primarch.

"But we're the troupe," Fulgrim said. "Vulkan is the best pick. Though Mortarion wouldn't have been a bad pick."

Mortarion shrugged at this suggestion. He had nothing against Corvus, but they didn't particularly get along very well. He felt that a second in command should get along, even be friendly, with their leader. He was trying hard to forge a strong friendship with Typhon, like he saw the Lion and with Luther.

"No," the Emperor said. "Vulkan is the best choice if Corvus will be Robbyn. Unless Fulgrim and Ferrus want to be Robbyn and Little Jon?"

"But I want to be Maid Marion!" Fulgrim insisted.

"Why?" Ferrus asked much more calmly than Fulgrim.

"Because they start by having a fight," the Emperor said. "After that they become very good friends."

"But that works great for Corvus and I as well," Vulkan said. He really wanted the part of Little Jon. He also thought it would be great for Corvus to get out of his shell more. Those were the two biggest reasons he had suggested Corvus for the part.

"I like Corvus and Vulkan for the parts," Roboute said. After a moment the other Primarchs agreed.

"Alright," the Emperor said. "That leaves us with Prince Jon, Allan-an-a-Dale, and other sundry characters."

"I could be Prince Jon if Lion's Rikhard," Leman said. 

"Who's Allan-an-a-Dale?" Sanguinius asked.

"He's basically their bard," the Emperor said.

"I can be him," Sanguinius said. The other Primarchs quickly agreed with that idea.

"Oh, I almost forgot," the Emperor said, knowing already who was going to take this part. "One of the Merry Men is a frar, Frar Tuk."

"Me! Me! I'll be him!" Lorgar called. 

***************************

The Emperor began writing his play, determined to stick as many references to all of the versions of the tales of Robbyn of the Hoode that he could into it. All of the Primarchs filtered into parts, often multiple parts to include townspeople, and victims for Robbyn of the Hoode to target. It was a few weeks before he had everything sorted out, and scripts provided to the Primarchs. 

Rogal had offered to alter the stage they had used from Summer Night's Dream to use for this play. The Emperor had agreed, though Mamzel Eralin said that there was a venue already selected that had a stage. He went with the idea that it would be a more basic stage than the one Rogal had built.

They quickly began rehearsals, they only had six weeks to get the play ready. It wasn't meant to be what the Emperor referred to as a "Broadway" production, just something simple. This sadden Fulgrim a bit, he wanted to make elaborate costumes, but there wasn't going to be time. 

To help Corvus they used hololithic projections to make an audience. They had tried servitors, but they were too unaware to react correctly. Ferrus had suggested the projections, with some simple programming. Projectors in good condition basically made them look real. Malcador would attend when he was free. Corvus was getting better, but there were times when the audience got to him. It didn't help that Vulkan had slipped one in that looked like Nasturi.

One day, Konrad had all the hololithic projectors switched to be the image of Nasturi, and it upset Corvus to the point that he fled the room. His flight was interrupted when he spotted Xandren, who was enjoying a brief stay at the Palace before going on another diplomatic mission for the Emperor. The Custodian was known for being good at dealing with large crowds. He knew public speaking wasn't quite the same as a performance, but there was still a crowd, and that was the actual issue.

Corvus stopped, Xandren appeared to be trying to calm someone down, but it didn't appear to be working. Slipping around quietly, Corvus realized that it was a little girl, a few years younger than himself, who was alone. She must have gotten separated from a tour group, and gotten lost trying to get back, clearly she was terrified of Xandren. Suddenly remembering that he was in costume, which included a prop bow, Corvus used it to rap on the floor, as if knocking on a door, catching the attention of both Custodian and child.

"Lord Corax, what are you doing here?" Xandren asked.

"It looked like you needed help," Corvus said. He turned towards the girl, "What's you're name?"

"F-f-f-f-f-fina, m-m-m-m-y l-l-l-lord," the girl stammered. Corvus was a bit surprised she had spoken at all.

"Don't be afraid, Fina," Corvus said. "If it helps, you don't have to look at him." This was said with a quick tilt of his head in Xandren's direction. 

"B-b-b-b-but..." Fina stammered, then trailed off, looking straight at Xandren.

"He won't eat you," Corvus said, trying his best to smile and put her at ease. However, this just made her eyes brim with tears. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Xandren and I are going to help you. Do you know your parents' names?"

Fina shook her head. Her eyes were locked onto Xandren, nearly petrified.

"How about your last name?" Corvus asked. "Don't look at him, look at me instead."

"Tegroul," Fina squeaked, her eyes never leaving Xandren. Corvus moved in between them, taking a bit of advantage in being taller than Fina, and blocking her view of the Custodian. He then turned his head so he could look over his shoulder.

"Master Carson," Xandren voxed. It had been determined that Syd wasn't a good tour guide, but he was surprisingly good at running the front desk, and keeping track of the timings for the tour groups.

"Lord?" Syd's voice came back over the vox.

"Has anyone by the name of Tegroul registered with you?"

"You've found a girl, my lord?" Syd asked in response. "A father and daughter pairing checked in, but the daughter was recently reported missing from the group."

"Yes," Xandren said, raising an eyebrow. "Lord Corax is assisting me with her."

"Could the two of you escort her down to the visitor's office?" Syd asked. It was the area just behind the registration desk that Syd manned. He could keep Fina company until her father arrived.

"Yes, we can do that," Xandren said. "Lord Corax?"

"Of course," Corvus said. "Though you may want to signal Father that I'm with you."

"That was a concern," Xandren said, quickly sending a signal to the Emperor.

"Come on, Fina," Corvus said, holding out a hand to her. "We're going to go meet up with your father."

"Da?" she asked, finally blinking and sliding her eyes briefly off of Xandren.

"Yes, we're going to get you back to your da," Corvus said encouragingly, or at least that was his hope. The little girl took his hand, gripping it tightly, and they headed off. 

It took them a bit, Fina wasn't the fastest, and Xandren had to keep to a pace she could walk at. Finally they made it to the visitor's office, where a worried looking man paced.

"Da!" Fina squealed, letting go of Corvus's hand and running towards the man. "Fina!" he called out, kneeling and holding his arms out to her. Xandren stepped aside as the man swung his daughter up in the air.

"Thank you, lord...." the man trailed off, looking between Xandren and Corvus.

"No thanks are necessary," Xandren said. 

"None for me either," Corvus said. "Just seeing her safely to her family."

Fina's father bowed. "Say thanks to the nice men, Fina."

"Thanks," Fina squeaked, hiding behind her father from Xandren. With that Corvus and Xandren headed away from the visitor's office.

"Why are you dressed that way, Lord Corax?" Xandren asked after awhile. 

"Oh," Corvus said looking down at his costume. He'd been more focused on Fina than on what he was wearing after using the prop bow to announce himself. "Father wrote a play about Robbyn of the Hoode, and I'm the title character."

"Oh, ho," Xandren said. "That explains why your father wants me to return you to the 'rehearsal area'. Why are you out here?"

Corvus hesitated, Xandren stopped and looked at the Primarch. "I... I have stage freight," Corvus finally admitted. "Vulkan nominated me for the part, and I agreed to do it. We've been using hololithic projectors to create a fake audience for rehearsals. Konrad decided to make all of them look like a girl I know from Deliverance."

"Ah," Xandren said. Glancing around, he spotted a table. A quick set of calculations, and Corvus suddenly found himself sitting on the table, while Xandren sat on the floor. This brought them to eye level with each other. Corvus gave Xandren a questioning look.

"Valdor once told me that you all know of my... shaming at the hands of your father when I was becoming a Custodian," Xandren started. As with Cavlor's scarring it was something that was almost never spoken of with those outside of the Ten Thousand. "I'm going to tell you about something Valdor doesn't know."

"Oh?" Corvus asked. Xandren nodded, and took a deep breath.

"I was chosen early on for training in diplomacy," Xandren said. "Some of it with Lord Malcador, and some of it with your father. I also found speaking in front of people to be discomfiting, and your father gave me a piece of odd advice. He said to picture the crowd as if they were nude."

"What if Malcador's in the audience?" Corvus asked instantly. 

"I'd leave him with his clothes on," Xandren laughed. "I think that would cause even a Null Maiden to have psychic damage."

"Probably," Corvus said with a giggle of his own. "But how is that supposed to help? Imaging the audience nude."

"It takes your mind off the fact that they're looking at you," Xandren said. "Turn the audience from something scary into something else."

"I guess that makes sense," Corvus said.

"We should get you back to the rehearsal area before your father sends the Captain-General after us," Xandren said, rising and then setting Corvus back on the floor.

"Wait," Corvus said, though he continued walking. "Custodians aren't supposed to feel fear."

"Neither are Primarchs," Xandren said. "I believe the phrase your father used was 'some kinks need to be worked out'. It's related to us still being human at a base level, we still have some residuals."

"That makes sense," Corvus said. 

"You mentioned this is about Robbyn of the Hoode?" Xandren asked, thinking to get Corvus back into the mindset for rehearsal. "I'm not familiar with him."

Corvus spent the rest of the walk back explaining Robbyn of the Hoode, his Merry Men, Knotinghem, and Albion as a whole.

***************************

Konrad was waiting near the door when they arrived. Corvus was a bit surprised it wasn't Vulkan, and that Konrad didn't look like he'd taken a beating.  He did however look sheepishly at Corvus.

"I'm sorry, Corvus," Konrad said. "I shouldn't have made them all look like Nasturi, I know that your interactions are... complicated."

"True," Corvus said. He'd been thinking about what Xandren had said, even while talking about Robbyn of the Hoode. "However, we can probably keep the one Vulkan originally made of her."

"Vulkan's programming new hololith audience members," Konrad said, explaining where the other Primarch was. "I think he's probably leaving that one, and maybe putting other familiar faces in as well."

"That might be fun," Corvus said. "I can try and spot who he's put in."

"That's his plan," Sanguinius said as he joined them. "Hello, Xandren."

"Who are you playing, Lord Sanguinius?" Xandren asked. Corvus had mentioned Vulkan being Little Jon, and Konrad being the Sheriff, but hadn't listed everyone else.

"I'm Allan-an-a-Dale," Sanguinius said. "I get to play an instrument and sing a bit."

"Interesting," Xandren said. The Emperor had assured Lorgar that he didn't have to sing, though chanting was fairly normal for religious services at the time. Sanguinius would do most of the singing when there was any. The Emperor had included a few small scenes for the Lion, mostly to give more to the role. This included one of him singing in a cell while waiting to be ransomed.

"Do you want to stay for the rehearsal?" the Emperor asked Xandren.

"It would be my honor, my king," Xandren said quickly. Glancing around, he didn't find any transhuman sized furniture, and opted to sit on the floor. After a moment Vulkan came back out from where they had the controls for the hololith audience. Xandren was quickly joined by ghostly people, the stage was set and the rehearsal began.

***************************

Xandren continued to show up sporadically for rehearsals, sometimes joining Malcador. Corvus found quickly that Vulkan had reprogrammed several rotating hololiths to look like people he actually knew. They had originally just been using random people from the security vidfeeds. This caused a bit of a commotion when Malcador joined late one session and chose as seat next to his hololithic self. Angron nearly fell off the stage doing a double-take.

Corvus was enjoying finding who was "in the audience" that day. There were several human-scaled Custodians, including Valdor, and a few of the Emperor's favorite disguises. He found it better to either mentally remove the crowd around the ones he knew, or to "dedicate" the performance to them, sort of like how they did for Summer Night's Dream. When he couldn't find someone he knew, he would select one at random and sometimes gave them a name and backstory.

They rehearsed everyday, sometimes multiple times a day when they didn't have Nova. It made the six weeks seem to fly by for all of them. Finally, it was the week of the performance. The Emperor had a quick meeting with Mamzel Eralin to scout out the location for the performances.

"It's not much, lord," Mamzel Eralin said apologetically. They were in the upper end of what was considered the low region of the hive tower she lived in, and where her outreach program operated.

"That's alright," the Emperor said. "We've seen worse places."

"Are you sure?" she asked, startled. 

"Oh yes," the Emperor said. "We've been to several death worlds. This is nothing compared to them."

"Fair, Lord....Leman often mentions the skjalds of Fenris in class," Mamzel Eralin said. 

"If it helps at all, Sanguinius is the musician in the play," the Emperor said with a chuckle. 

"That does help," Mamzel Eralin said. "Though Lion may have been a good choice."

"There's a character called Lionhart, how could he be anyone else?" the Emperor said.

"Fair," Mamzel Eralin said with a laugh. She tried to encourage the Lion, who wasn't always the best about coming forward with his musical talents. "And tomorrow it'll all be over."

"At least this production," the Emperor said. "I can give you the script and stage directions if you'd like."

"That would be wonderful!" Mamzel Eralin said, her eyes brightening with excitement. "After the show of course."

"Of course," the Emperor said. "Until tomorrow then."

"Yes, lord," she said. 

***************************

They let the other group go first, as with other things they wanted everyone to have a good time and not be overshadowed. This also let them watch the play that the other group was doing. It seemed they had gotten someone who also went back to classics, though possibly not as far back as Robbyn of the Hoode. 

"We will be doing Frankienstein," the director for the other group said. Roboute and Magnus both looked excited. They had heard of the book, but neither had read it yet.

The plays were both relatively short, to make it easier to learn in the amount of time they had had. However, this worked well for the story of Frankienstein. The Emperor seemed a bit uncomfortable with how it was written, but let it slide. The play ended, and there was just under an hour for the Primarchs to get their stages and props set up. 

"Ready?" Vulkan asked Corvus. The first scene started with Corvus alone, then running into Vulkan. 

"I think so," Corvus said. "I'm trying to pick someone good to focus on."

"You're going to have to be quick," Jaghatai said. "We're starting soon." The Emperor was giving a brief introduction to the setting of their piece, and an explanation of Lorgar's part. 

"What about her?" Leman suggested, pointing directly at Fina Tregroul.

"She's perfect," Corvus said. "Thanks, Leman." 

The Emperor stepped off the stage, and the curtain rose. The first scene was Corvus walking along, bemoaning his current situation. This gave the audience the rest of the background detail they needed to follow the story. It was interrupted by Vulkan blocking his access across a stream. They had a quick choreographed fight that was almost dance-like, before determining themselves to be friends.

The rest of the first act was assembling the various Merry Men, and introducing the Sheriff. The second act was various escapades of Robbyn and his men. There was a lot of amusement from the audience at these, and Frar Tuk. The third act introduced Lionhart in his cell. Corvus noted some people pulling out handkerchiefs, wiping at their eyes as the Lion sang. Fina looked a bit confused, but her father was also wiping his eyes.

"And that's why he got that scene," Sanguinius said quietly. There was a bit of unspoken competition between the Lion, Fulgrim, and Sanguinius for who had the best singing voice. One of the few things Leman and Angron agreed on was disrupting the debate by singing as badly as they possibly could and laughing about it.

Then it was the Sheriff, and Horus who had landed the Earl of Knotinghem part. They were conversing, working out a plot to protect Prince Jon from being attacked by Robbyn as he came through on a royal tour. It was well known that Jon liked to travel in luxury, and would be a very tempting target. However, Robbyn was so good at hiding in the forest that they were never sure where in Shyrwode Forestte he was, or how to get at him.

***************************

"I have it!" the Sheriff said. "An archery tourney. Robbyn of the Hoode is known to be the best archer in the land, and there is no possibility that he would turn down the chance to prove himself."

"An excellent idea," the Earl confirmed. "But we will need a good prize, or he'll know it's a trap."

"True," the Sheriff said, standing a moment in thought. "What about the hand of your cousin, the Maid Marion?"

"Perhaps," the Earl said. "It is known that she has gone into Shyrwode Forestte without escort, and returned safely. However, I doubt she'll agree to it."

"We don't have to give her the choice," the Sheriff said with a nasty smile.

"Indeed," the Earl agreed. "That will ensure that Robbyn knows of our tourney."

***************************

The day of the tourney arrived and both the Earl and the Sheriff were looking eagerly for the tell-tale green clothing of Robbyn of the Hoode. There was a group of yeomen who stated they were from far away, and had heard of the great prize the Earl was offering the winner. 

"Maybe he's waiting to make an entrance," the Earl said. 

"Or waiting for us to be trapped at the tourney and take Maid Marion," the Sheriff countered. 

"The guard has her well in hand," the Earl said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the issue.

"It is nearly time, milord," said one of the guards (Perturabo). 

"Time to go then," the Earl said. "We are too far in this charade to do anything else now." 

There was a blare of trumpets as they moved to their seats in the stands. The Earl announced the opening of the tourney, the prize, and then sat. The Master-of-Arms (Angron), beckoned the first contestant forwards.

There were six contestants in the archery tourney. They each had different colored arrows that would be used to mark who got the closest to the bull's eye. The second to last one got it straight in the center. The crowd leaned forward to see what the last one would do. He was one of the travelers from far away, and everyone wanted to see how this person would do. There was a long pause, then the stranger drew his bow to his ear, and loosed. There was the familiar twang-buzz of the arrow releasing and flying through the air. Then a cracking sound of wood splitting. The stranger had shot his own arrow into the nock of the previous man's arrow.

"This is an astonishing turn of events," the chamberlain (Mortarion) said. He then turned towards the Earl and Sheriff. "Milords?"

"We will review ourselves," the Earl announced as he and the Sheriff came down from the stands. The Master-of-Arms had the contestants off to the side. Suddenly a page (Alpharius) from the castle came running out to the Earl. A brief exchange happened, and then the Earl shouted in anger, sending the boy scurrying. The robed visitor signaled to his compatriots, and they threw off their robes, revealing bright green outfits. The one who had made the incredible shot was revealed to be Robbyn himself.

"Ha, ha! You thought you could trick me?" Robbyn said. "I have pulled a trick on you. While I had my sport at your tourney, some of my Merry Men have rescued the Maid Marion!"

"How dare you!" the Earl shouted, clearly enraged. "Guards!" 

"And now I'll take my leave," Robbyn said. He darted away towards the exit, his men in the audience jumping from the stands and heading after him, engaging the guards to give their leader a bit more time to get away. They received a signal, and rushed away, leaving the Earl and the Sheriff stomping with anger.

***************************

Prince Jon arrived, safely, to Knotinghem two days later. He had meant to be there for the tourney, but had been delayed on the road due to petitioners bogging down his train. Despite their best efforts to give him proper welcome, the prince was in a sour mood.

"Is something wrong my lord?" asked one of the servants (Jaghatai) assigned to the prince.

"They increased the ransom on our brother, the king," Prince Jon said. "But we will soon have the whole, and he will need to be released."

"Is that not a good thing, lord?" the servant asked, sharing a glance with one of the others (Magnus). 

"Not if we want to keep the power we have," the prince said. 

"That could be an issue," the Sheriff said, feeling a bit bad for the servant, and deciding to rescue him. 

"Indeed," the prince said morosely. "And he will want to know about this Robbyn of the Hoode character."

"Agreed," the Sheriff said. He was increasingly short-tempered with his men about the need to find and capture the outlaw.

Prince Jon actually wanted Robbyn killed, he knew his brother was a strange sort, but loved the people. This meant that he was likely to actually pardon Robbyn, especially if he turned out to actually be Rohberth of Locksy. That was a popular rumor about the outlaw's true identity. Rohberth was considered a friend of the Lionhart, so it would be even more likely that he'd be forgiven. 

"What of your cousin, Earl?" the prince asked, wanting to turn the topic away from the probable return of his brother.

"She hasn't returned," the Earl growled. He didn't like talking about his cousin, and what he felt was likely happening to her.

"I see," Prince Jon said, and let the matter drop. "What are we going to do about this Robbyn of the Hoode?"

"I'm trying to think of ways to smoke him out," the Sheriff said. "However, it is the king's wode, so that restricts how I may approach it."

"Hm, there is that," the prince said. "But I will have to pass out again through Shyrwode Forestte on my leaving Knotinghem. Perhaps we can use that as a trap?"

"Mayhaps," the Sheriff said. With that they all leaned forward around the table and fell to plotting.

***************************

The guards (Perturabo, Jaghatai, Roboute, Mortarion, and Magnus) were hiding in the bushes. Prince Jon's train would be passing by shortly, laden with jewels and gold. They had specifically made sure that the prince's plan of travel was known to all, including to Robbyn and his Merry Men.

The Merry Men (Rogal, Sanguinius, Ferrus, Vulkan, and Lorgar) were waiting in a different set of bushes, looking at the ones the guards were hiding in. Their green clothing made them nearly invisible to anyone not specifically looking for them.

The prince's train reached them. Nothing happened until the prince's coach itself appeared. Then, Robbyn of the Hoode dropped from a tree that overhung the road, startling the horse pulling the coach. The Sheriff, who was riding on the coach, stood and gave a loud cry. The guards went to jump into the fray, but got jumped by the Merry Men instead.

There was a scuffle as the guards and Robbyn's men fought, and something closer to a duel on the coach, while the prince cowered inside. Everything was chaos for a moment, then the Merry Men bested the guards, and came running to Robbyn's aid. Seeing he was being surrounded, the Sheriff broke off his attack, and Robbyn got away, he and his Merry Men vanishing into the green of the forestte as if they were dreams in the morning.

***************************

"Robbyn, you're bleeding," Little Jon said. 

"It's nothing, a flesh wound," Robbyn said dismissively. It was indeed a small cut on the arm. 

"Maid Marion won't like it," Frar Tuk warned.

"She'll just worry a bit," Robbyn said. "But it's really nothing, see? It's already stopped bleeding."

"True," said one of the other men (Ferrus). "She'll still fret like she does."

"And I will put her at ease," Robbyn said. "The rumors I heard are that the King will soon be back in Albion soon. He will set things right."

"Perhaps," Frar Tuk said pensively. "Things have changed in Albion since the King went off to war."

"True, but she is still faithful to her liege," Robbyn said. The rest of the Merry Men cheered in agreement to that. 

***************************

As predicted, Maid Marion did fret over Robbyn's injury, but calmed herself quickly when she saw that it wasn't anything serious. However, their thoughts soon changed as the wound began to fester. Robbyn felt it first as a tightness in the arm. 

"We'll have to slip you into Knotinghem," Frar Tuk said. He was the closest thing the Merry Men had to a healer, and this was beyond him.

"Very well," Robbyn said. "We'll go on the night of the new moon, I should be fine until then."

"As you say," Frar Tuk said. He looked worried, but didn't say anything. 

The night of the new moon arrived, and Robbyn was far worse than anticipated. Little Jon assisted Frar Tuk in getting Robbyn into Knotinghem, and to the village healer, who they had gone to before without issue.

"His humours are unbalanced," the healer (Mortarion) said. "Leave him with me, and I will make him well."

"We appreciate this," Little Jon said. "I'll be back in a few days to check on him."

"Understood," the healer said. "Just be warned, he may seem worse before he's better. He'll need to be bled."

"Very well," Little Jon said.  He was of the opinion that anything would be better than how Robbyn was now, delirious with fever, and barely conscious. The two Merry Men left, quietly slipping back out of Knotinghem.

But not all was well. The healer had another patient, one of the guards (Perturabo), was also being treated for a fever. This guard had overheard the drop off of Robbyn, and knew this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The king had been ransomed, and was expected back in Albion any day, time drew short for the guards of Knotinghem to deal with Robbyn.

He waited for a day, needing to watch if anyone was coming to see him that day. It wouldn't do to have someone catch him in the act. This turned out to be a good thing, as Maid Marion came and visited that day. It was the wisdom of the times that womenfolk were easily overset, and Maid Marion was even easier than others. 

The day after was market day, and the perfect time to strike. The healer had to go to market and get supplies, and had left not long after Robbyn's second bleeding. He was weak from the bleeding, and not very coherent, so if anyone found him he wouldn't be able to give the guard away.

"You've given us too much trouble, outlaw," the guard growled. He began to loosen the bandages on Robbyn's arm, who began to struggle weakly. "The king cannot save you now."

There were footsteps outside the house, ringing loudly enough to be heard in the sickroom. The guard ran, taking just long enough to break the scab over the site of the bleeding. 

"Hello?" Little Jon called out (Fina squeaked, which was quickly stifled by her father clapping his hand over her mouth). "Robbyn?"

Robbyn tried to call out, but only managed a weak moan from his sickroom. The guard remained silent in his own. Little Jon heard the noise from what he knew to be Robbyn's room, and thundered down the hallway, bursting into the room and seeing the blood. 

"Robbyn!" Little Jon cried out in dismay. "What has happened?" 

Robbyn moaned again, barely able to keep his eyes open. Little Jon quickly wrapped the bandages tight again, stopping the bleeding. After a few moments, Robbyn was at least able to keep his eyes open, but they had a glazed look to them (Corvus looked out over the audience, and winked at Fina who was staring at him with very wide eyes). 

"Little Jon," he managed after a moment, finally taking in his friend. "Little Jon, I fear I will not recover from this."

"Robbyn... don't say that," Little Jon said.

"Bring my bow, be quick about it," Robbyn said. "And the Frar, may as well bring Allan-an-a-Dale as well."

"What of Maid Marion?" Little Jon asked.

"No," Robbyn said. "I do not want her to see me this way."

"Very well," Little Jon said. "Luckily for you, the others are waiting at the edge of town. I can signal from just outside."

Little Jon went outside, and made the animal call signals they used to communicate over distances. Specifically he called for Frar Tuk and Allan-an-a-Dale. The two summoned came quickly, Allan-an-a-Dale carrying Robbyn's bow. 

"I am dying," Robbyn said. Little Jon barely stifled a sob and turned his head away (Vulkan had also spotted Fina, and winked at her as well). "I have enough strength to shoot one last time, this last shot is where I will be buried."

"Very well," Allan-an-a-Dale said. "I have heard the king is close, we can try to find him?"

"It'll be too late for me," Robbyn said. "But you all should gain the king's pardon, and tell him of my deeds."

"We will," Allan-an-a-Dale promised. "I will make sure ballads of your deeds ring throughout Albion."

"Very good," Robbyn said. "Little Jon, can I use one of your arrows? Frar Tuk, assist me up."

Little Jon pulled an arrow from his quiver. As he was taller, and longer of arm than Robbyn it was safe for them to share arrows. Allan-an-a-Dale handed over the bow once Frar Tuk had Robbyn in an upright position. Robbyn thanked them all, then drew the bow. It seemed for a moment that his vitality return and he was able to sit unaided. Then he loosed the arrow out the window, and his strength went with it.

Allan-an-a-Dale barely caught the bow as it dropped from Robbyn's lifeless fingers. Frar Tuk caught Robbyn's body, while Little Jon howled in anguish. The guard in the other room wept to hear such mournful cries.

The healer returned just in time to see the three Merry Men, though they could by no means be called merry, taking Robbyn's body from the house. He didn't need to ask what had happened, he could see the paleness of the body, and the blood still on the arm. No words were exchanged between them as the outlaws left. 

***************************

Two days later King Rikard Lionhart arrived in Knotingham. The Earl and the Sheriff were quite pleased to host him, and regale him with the stories of their own woes while he was away. This included Robbyn of the Hoode, and how he had been dealt with.

"That is a low way of handling things," the king said. "Sickhouses are for healing, not for killing."

"Yes, your Grace," the Sheriff said, ducking his head. While he hadn't been the one to do the deed, it had been one of his men, so it was his responsibility.

"What of the other outlaws?" the king asked.

"They're still out in Shyrwode Forestte, your Grace," the Earl said. 

"Thought the guard stated he overheard that they are to seek you out," the Sheriff added. "I'm sure if you were to go into the Forestte they would find you."

"Then that is what I shall do," the King said. 

***************************

In the end, he found them. He had just started to search off the main trail when he heard a funeral sermon being given. Knotinghem's graveyard was attached to the church, as all proper graveyards and cemeteries were at the time. He moved as quietly as possible before settling in at the back of the group. Finally, the service drew to a close with the final ritual statement.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Frar Tuk intoned. "May we all be seen in the light of Paradise."

"Amen," the gathering chorused, King Rikard Lionhart included. He then watched as Maid Marion came forward and dropped a flower and a handful of dirt into the open grave. Then the others came forward, forming a line and taking handfuls of dirt from the pile next to the grave. The King joined at the very end of the line. People noticed him as they stepped away from the grave, but no one said anything. Finally, it was his turn, and he found himself looking at his friend, Rohberth of Locksy.

"Alas, my friend," the king said. "That what should have been your triumphant return in glory to Albion found you in this unjust land. Great deeds you did for us as Rohberth, and great deeds have you done our people as Robbyn of the Hoode. Arise good friends of Robbyn, we shall make sure he is not forgotten."

***************************

The curtain fell over the final scene of the play. Corvus got up out of the small scenery bit they had used to allow for a grave. He quickly wiped off the small amount of actual dirt they used, the rest had been a psychic trick created by the Emperor. The same went for the blood, and all of the arrows everyone had shot. Though Magnus had provided the sound affects for the "Robbyn of the Hoode" shot at the archery tourney.

"Sounds like the liked it," Fulgrim said as he listened to the applause from the other side of the curtain. Konrad and Horus hurried out. Despite Angron's original protests, he and most of the others were dressed as Merry Men. Once everyone was in position the curtain rose again so they could make their bows.

***************************

"Thank you all so much!" Mamzel Eralin said enthusiastically. "You all did wonderfully."

"You're welcome, Mamzel Eralin," the Primarchs chorused. 

"And thank you as well, lord," she said cautiously. They had gone with the Charles persona, stating that he had been told about Robbyn of the Hoode. It also avoided intimidation, and was the only way Valdor was alright with the idea. Mamzel Eralin had been pretty firm on the idea of no Custodians at the event. 

"Auntie Liope!" Fina called out, rushing up to Mamzel Eralin. 

"Fina," Mamzel Eralin said, bending to lift her niece. Fina suddenly pointed to Corvus.

"He helped me in the Palace," Fina said. "When I got lost. He was with a very, very, big man in gold armor."

"Corvus?" Mamzel Eralin asked. She had heard that Fina got lost on a tour, and returned, but no details about who was involved.

"It was me," Corvus said, then hesitated. "And Xandren, of the Custodian Guard."

"Ah," Mamzel Eralin said. "We appreciate the help. Fina has a habit of wandering off."

"Fina!" Master Tegroul said with relief, he then faltered when he spotted Corvus as well.

"Thebon, I'm so happy you two could make it," Mamzel Eralin said. "It seems you have already met the star of Charles' little show."

"Yes," Thebon said. He looked like he was going to say something when Fina spotted Perturabo in the crowd of Primarchs. She gave him the most impressive scowl any of the Primarchs had seen on a 5-year-old.

"You hurt him," she said pointing to Corvus again.

"Not really though," Corvus said, quickly rising to his brother's defense. He held up the arm they used for the bleeding scenes. "See? Not a scratch. We were just playing pretend."

"Yeah," Perturabo said. "I'd never hurt my brother. Not intentionally, at least."

"But there was blood?" Fina asked, confused.

"Father did that," Corvus said. "Just a little magic to make the play work."

"Oooh," Fina said. Mamzel Eralin passed Fina back over to her father. 

"Say thank you, Fina," Thebon prompted. "Thank you for the play."

"Thank you!" Fina said, then yawned.

"We should be going," Thebon said. "It's late for Fina."

"Alright," Mamzel Eralin said. "Night, Fina!"

"Nigh, nigh, Auntie Liope," Fina said. 

"We should get going as well," the Emperor said. "We have to break down our scenery and gather our props."

"See you on Monday, Mamzel Eralin," Fulgrim called. The Primarchs headed off after their father. 

***************************

They returned to the Palace after getting everything packed up. They were leaving most of the set pieces and props available for Mamzel Eralin's group if they ever wanted to put on the play themselves. Though the Emperor had brought back a small bag of items that the group already had. 

Malcador, Valdor, and Xandren were waiting for them at the landing pad. Xandren seemed like he felt a bit out of place. He hadn't been to the Imperial Residence before.

"Good job everyone," Malcador said. "Especially you, Corvus. That was quite good."

"Thanks, Malcador!" Corvus said.

"Wait, how did you guys see it?" Angron asked. "I know you weren't there, Malcador, and and it looks like the Custodians agree with you. They weren't allowed."

"Maybe Uncle Malcador psychically tagged along with Father and projected it for the Custodians?" Magnus suggested.

"Or we just watched the vid feed," Xandren said.

"What vid feed?" Lorgar asked.

"The one from the vidcorder I set up yesterday," the Emperor said, pulling the vidcorder from the bag he had slipped it into. 

"Ohhh," Magnus said, turning a sightly deeper shade of red than normal.

"Sometimes the simpler answer is the better one," the Emperor said.

"Even if my way is more fun?" Magnus asked. The Emperor chuckled and shook his head. 

"Thank you, Xandren," Corvus said. 

"What for, Lord Corax?" Xandren asked.

"For the advice you gave me," Corvus said. "About changing the audience to something in my favor. It really helped, and I didn't have to picture anyone nude."

"You didn't?" Fulgrim asked surprised. "I like to do that."

"Of course you would," Ferrus said, shaking his head. Several of the other Primarchs laughed.

"Alright, it's bedtime," the Emperor said. 

***************************

The Emperor stayed up a bit later to talk with Malcador and Valdor. Xandren had left after the Primarchs headed to bed. Once the other two were dismissed, the Emperor did a quick check in on his sons. Finally, he came to Corvus's room.

"So, what did you think?" the Emperor asked, he wasn't surprised that Corvus was still awake.

"Think of what?" Corvus asked slyly.

"Being a leading man," the Emperor said. 

"It was different," Corvus said after a long moment of thought. "I don't think it would have gone as well if the other's hadn't been willing to work with me."

"The cast makes the show," the Emperor said. Corvus nodded his agreement. 

"It was fun though," Corvus continued. "And very different from how it felt playing Hermia in Summer Night's Dream."

"That's true," the Emperor said. "It's very different being the lead."

"Father?"

"Yes, Corvus?" the Emperor asked.

"Why did I have stage fright?" Corvus asked. "None of the others had stage fright."

"You're all unique people," the Emperor said. "Everyone's fears are as much a reflection of them as their strengths."

Corvus pondered that a moment. " Makes sense, no one would ever accuse Fulgrim of having stage fright. He loves the stage."

"Hence La Fenice," the Emperor chuckled. La Fenice was a theater that Fulgrim insisted on having on his flagship, Pride of the Emperor. Artistry outside of war was something that both Fulgrim and Sanguinius supported in their Legions.

"Good night, Father," Corvus said. 

"Good night."