Carter Returns ((open))

[Carter]

Carter trudged through the streets of Nottingham with his head down. He doubted that anyone here would recognize him, what with the several months he had spent in the Holy land. But still, it was better to be safe that sorry. He coughed into his hand, and then rubbed his hands together. The differing temperature between the Holy land and England had come as quite a shock to him when he had returned, and he did not remember how cold and gloomy England could really be. He sighed and kicked the dusty ground. He grimaced as he saw a rat cross the street in front of him.

But he had to keep his hopes up, King Richard had sent him back to England for a reason. Things had improved slightly in the Holy Land, and Carter had been sent back to Nottingham to try and help sort situations out. Although King Richard had not directly said it, Carter knew that this meant finding and assisting Robin Hood. The only problem was, Carter had completely forgotten where Robin Hood's secret hideout was. He grumbled to himself. He was not in the best of moods, and he found himself leaning against the home of a random peasant. He only hoped that he would bump into someone who could be of assistance.

[Roe]

Roe had already had a full day .... he had met a relative of the Scarletts .... one who was pretty pleasing to look at and challenging to talk to. He had also had a run in with the locally famous Sir Guy, almost came to blows with him, before they both thought better of it, and backed off. He considered that they both were lucky that they had not crossed swords, since there was no telling what the result may have been.

Roe did a bit more work on the roof of his new abode, before realizing that he really needed to go into Nottingham and get some supplies, both food and otherwise, before he committed himself to anyone else. He road his dependable horse most of the way from Locksley to Nottingham, dismounting just before he reached the gates, so that he could walk through the town.

He could see that Nottingham had not changed physically much over the years, but the fear and defensiveness on the faces of its citizens was not a welcome sight. Roe's thoughts were concentrated on what he could acquire in Nottingham, as well as the negative attitudes of the people he observed, and he just about ran over a man whose appearance and dress seemed to make him stick out like a sore thumb. "Excuse me sir, I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going ... my apologies."

[Carter]

Carter span away as he saw a horse coming towards him. The horse skidded to a halt at a dangerously small distance away from him, and as its rider muttered an apology, Carter raised an eyebrow. He dusted himself off and cleared his throat. "Yeah, maybe you should watch where you're going next time," he said with a grin. Carter wasn't one snap at total strangers. If his feelings were hostile, he kept them to himself. But Carter knew that this man had other things on his mind, so he decided to let it drop.

He stood there for a few seconds, not saying anything, and then started to whistle quietly to himself.

[Roe]

How could he have been so negligent with where he was going, Roe asked himself. "Sir, there's no excuse for that, even if my mind was elsewhere. Are you quite all right, or did I just succeed in wounding you pride?," he smiled slightly. The gentleman seemed to take this indignity better than most should or would, especially Sir Guy, he thought.

"I wish I could offer you something .... but I myself am new to Nottingham after an absence of many years," then spotting the tops of what looked like Templar's robes above the collar of his cloak, Roe paused. "Are you a Templar's Knight, Sir? If you are, I assume that you have recently returned from the Holy Land. A tough business, that is. Many of us have had the same experiences in that area of the world, yet somewhat different I expect. I'm sorry .... I expect I talk too much .... and you undoubtedly have your own business to attend to."

[Carter]

Carter smiled to himself and shook his head. "No really, its alright. It's good to have a little adventure, once in a while." His mind wondered back to the time he had spent with Robin and his gang. As he snapped out of it he suddenly took in what he had just said. Almost getting run over by a horse wasn't an adventure! He frowned for a second in confusion. Oh well.

As the stranger noticed his uniform he smirked. This guy was observent. But then again, maybe he should have made a better effort to not getting noticed. He tightened the top of his cloak so it covered up his uniform more sucessfully. "Well yes." he said sternly, not wishing to press the matter any further. He didn't want to rouse any extra suspicion.

Carter raised his eyebrows. "You do talk quite a lot, don't you?" he said. Carter didn't mind. He was always fond of a good talker. It showed confidence, something Carter valued in other people. He did have his own business to attend to, but it was almost certain it wouldn't be happening in a hurry. He was still undecisive on whether he should ask this man about Robin Hood. He decided to keep his mouth shut for a little while longer.

"So you're new to Nottingham?" he said, trying to move on the conversation. "So whats your business here?"

[Roe]

Hmmm .... Roe found this one to be an interesting individual. By the way he reacted it was obvious that he was a knight. However, it was also obvious that he didn't want to be recognized by the way he was trying to hide the top of his robes and the way he avoided talking about it. He wondered what would be the best way to play it ... straight up he decided was the best way. "Its not good to watch your life flash before your eyes as you're in the process of getting run over by your adventure," he laughed.

"My name is Robert Williams, but my friends call me Roe. I don't have many around here though. I'm not normally that talkative, but nearly killing a man with my horse by mistake rattled me a bit I suppose." He couldn't be sure but he had the distinct feeling that this man was holding back on him a bit about something. "And your are ......?"

"Am I new to Nottingham? Well, that's an interesting question. I guess the answer would be yes and no. Nobody here would remember me, but my home village is the Village of Locksley. I was born into a noble house, but my parents died and the lands and title were lost. I was taken as a ward by the Earl of Huntington, but was not raised as a noble. Myself, along with some others, were responsible for watching of the Earl's son and daughter."

"Taught his son a bit about bow ... what little you could show a 5-year-old .... but he seemed to have some talent for it. Anyway, I apprenticed for Dan Scarlett, a carpenter, until I was 17. Then .... I had a .... disagreement with the old Earl and I left. Went off to Iberia and the Holy Land. Fought with some Frankish Crusaders ... and led troops .... was knighted even. But that was after the siege of Jerusalem. After that blood-letting though, I lost my taste for it. So ... after 15 years I've come home ... I've moved into and rebuilt the old Scarlett house in Locksley. The thing is, right after I left for Spain I sent back word that I had been killed, so that they would never have the expectation or worry that I would return.

Now of course you asked a simple question. I haven't explained so much to anybody in years. Most who would ask I would just give them the silent treatment. I guess now that I've returned, with the ways things are, it doesn't pay tp not answer questions fully. I'm sure now you wish you hadn't asked," he laughed. "If so, I completely understand. Anyway, I've given you a lot of my story .... what's yours? If you care to give it , that is."

[Carter]

Carter shook his hand with a grin. "Robert? Ah thats my middle name" he laughed "I'm James, but my friends call me Carter."

Carter raised his eyebrows higher and higher as Robert told him his tale. He had not exactly asked for a life story, but what this man had said was of interest to him. Firstly, he was also a Crusaider, and even a knight. This put Carter at ease. This man had also been in the Holy land, and knew what he had gone through. Secondly, he had mentioned the name Scarlett. Now it could have been shere co-incidence, but then again, Carter didn't know many people around with the surname Scarlett. Of course, Scarlett was the surname of Will, who had also just previously been in the Holy land. But he and Djaq had mysteriously disappeared one day, and Carter was never told where they had gone. But thirdly, and most importantly, Robert mentioned the Earl of Huntington's son. This must have been Robin Hood. If this man was still in contact, he would know where Robins hide out was. Carter frowned as the thoughts whirred around in his brain.

This man sure did like to talk though. As he asked Robert for his story, he decided to keep things more simple. By more simple meaning not the entire truth. "I grew up in England, had quite a dull life to be honest, and, well, became a Crusaider, fought for King Richard, and now I'm back here." He smiled. He couldn't divulge his life story to someone he had just met. His brothers death, his job as an assassin, the revenge he had tried to seek on Robin Hood, how Robin Hood had turned him around and made him see the truth, and how he helped Robin in the Holy land. Just smiling on the wrong side of his face. Carter stared into the distance.

[Roe]

Roe thought he seemed to be friendly enough, especially for a fighting Crusader. He had found that being talkative did have its uses sometimes. People, especially who did not know him well yet, might not take him as seriously, and might let their guard down some. This one was quite interesting. What was a Templar doing here in England. Shouldn't he be back in the Holy Land with Richard and the other Templar Knights. If he was on a special mission, perhaps exchanging messages, wouldn't it make more sense for him to be in London, than way up here in Nottingham? This one would be interesting to decipher, and besides, he was quite a likable chap. Roe shook his hand back with a grin in return. "I hope that means I can call you Carter, as long as you call me Roe in return."

So, he thought to himself, Roe's strategy was to talk a mile-a-minute, he could see that Carter's was to offer as little an opportunity for analysis as possible. He probably thought that he couldn't trust Roe that much yet. Roe thought that he might repay the favor by giving him a lot of information, but information that he wouldn't find that useful, generally about Roe himself. Hmmm .... was the Lionheart in some difficulty back in the Holy Land or had Carter just been sent to find out how things were going back home .... interesting. "Well, if you would want to go someplace for a drink, that I could me you in a bit, later I arrange for the purchase of some supplies, we could me in a bit, eh?"

[Carter]

A drink was just what the doctor ordered. Carter had only just fully realised how much he wanted one. "That sounds like the plan." said Carter with a smirk, he could feel the beer running down his throat already. He had spotted an Inn just down the road from here. "So I'll see you soon then eh?" he said.

He could not help but notice how interested this guy seemed in him. Maybe being a crusaider himself he felt they had something in common. But still. As Carter narrowed his eyes in thought he made his way towards the inn. Or perhaps he was just being friendly. Carter shrugged and opened the door to the Inn, setting off a small bell signalling a customer had arrived.