Revenge

[Djaq]

Djaq looked up at the castle entrance. She had already taken out the guards before her, and they were already sprawled on the ground. Some kind of unnatural force had taken over her, and she had been able to take out the guards with ease. Anger was a powerful thing. She stepped over the guards, and pushed the huge wooden door forewards. It made a low echoing creak as it opened, and Djaq winced. She slid through the door and closed it behind her. She was in.

She unsheathed her sword and slowly advanced, with the stealth of a cat. She narrowed her eyes, trying to remember the way towards the Sheriff's room.

[Carter]

Carter was running towards the castle entrance. He drew his sword, ready for the guards that would surely start coming towards him. But none came. He slid to a stop, confused. Thats when he saw. The guards were already taken out, and lying unconsious on the floor. He raised an eyebrow. "This must be Djaq's doing." he said seriously. "She wouldn't have been able to have done this with her son. What has she done with him."

Carter turned his head around to face Isabella and Allan, who were both behind him.

[Allan A'Dale]

"Look, she would have left him somewhere safe. If she's thinking clearly enough to offload him before she gets here, she wouldn't put him in harm's way. We've got to start looking. Isabella, did you tell her anything that would give us a clue to where she would have gone? Where was Bassam when he was killed?"

[Lady Rosetta Court]

Rosetta was hiding in a darkned corner. "Psst! Over here!" she said in a stage whisper. She had her sword drawn and ready. She wanted this more than anything. She got a small bottle out of her leather pouch. The liquid was purple. She threw it into another area. It exploded. "Go!" she said.

[Isabella]

Isabella frowned, remembering her exchanges with Djaq in the shadowy inn.
"Basaam was staying in one of the guest rooms - on the upper levels," she said, "In the room next to mine. Djaq knows that. But she also knows that it was the Sheriff who killed him, so she could be in his chamber looking for him. I've got to go there to distract him - but if she's killed these guards, she could be there already."
The thought sickened her, no matter how relieved she was that Djaq had not brought her child with her.
"We need to go there at once!" she cried, heading towards the stairs that led to the upper levels.

[Carter]

"Woah woah, hold your horses" said Carter grabbing Isabella's arm before she ran, "What are we actually going to do? How are you going to distract Guy, and The Sheriff." He didn't want to waste any more time, but he still wanted the plan to be effective, in order that the best came from it and the worst doesn`t.

[Isabella]

Isabella didn't want to be held back, and almost cried out when the man took hold of her arm. She was so used to being beaten that she flinched whenever anyone touched her suddenly. It was a reflex - she did it by instinct, but she didn't want anyone to think she was frightened. It happened with everyone, even if she liked them, and she had decided she liked the blond man some way along this insane evening. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she gritted her teeth and did nothing to stop him from holding her arm.
“I’m going to try and deal with them to buy my silence. If that doesn’t work, I’ll tell them Hood forced me to do that for the money, and give them false directions to him and his outlaws,” Isabella told him.
Her breath was ragged, but she tried not to betray her secret fear of sudden contact, and looked the man directly in the eye, feeling strange as she did so, though she had no idea why.
It’s just that I’ve faced my fear, she told herself.
She realised she was becoming distracted over nothing, and thought back to her plan. She just hoped it would work.

[Allan A'Dale]

Allan took a deep breath. Carter was right - they needed to know what was to be done before they ran off and did it.

"So, Djaq's looking for the Sheriff. And you've got to find him first. Djaq could well have gone upstairs, but where are you going to look for the Sheriff? I'm serious, Isabella, think about it, because if she finds him before you do there'll be hell to pay."

[Carter]

"Right so thats our plan. Isabella tries to distract or get the Sheriff away, whilst we try and find Djaq?" He said releasing Isabella's arm. It wasn't much, but at least it was a plan, that could work. It was simple, and could be effective. No extra details really were needed, as long as everyone did their job well.

"Alright. And remind me what the signal that we have found Djaq is?" They had tossed around a few ideas, and it seemed that the final one had been decided on the way to the castle. But Carter had been running so fast and was concentrating so hard, that he wasn't fully paying attention.

[Roe]

Roe had made his way back to Locksley, where he had begun to make his preparations for his trip to Nottingham: the best remaining uniform, his documentation, etc. After being delayed by both Anna, and then Carter and Livia, Sir Rober' had set out for Nottingham. After stopping by the Priory with Carter, they had agreed to meet later at the Inn for drinks. However, Roe had no idea how he was going to be received by the Sheriff. Fortunately when he presented himself to the Sheriff, Sir Guy was in some other part of the castle, and his first meeting with the Sheriff went quite well.

It was obvious that the Sheriff was suspicious at first, but when he read his papers and letters of recommendation, he at least appeared to be impressed, especially when he found that most of his Crusading activity was with the Franks and not Richard. In fact, when Roe expressed his indifference toward Richard, he could see the thought processes in the Sheriff's devious mind turning over and over, undoubtedly coming up with ways that he could be used. After welcoming him, and committing himself to introducing him to Sir Guy, the Sheriff summoned an orderly who was directed to take him to some rooms in the catle that were serve as his abode.

After finding where his horse wass being stabled and going to his rooms it took a very short time for Sir Rober' to unpack and get settled. He was uncertain whether he should take the opportunity to find Carter for some ale or to explore the castle. He decided, given the importance of his mission that the latter was in order. He decided to investigate the area around the Sheriff's quarters and work his way out from there. He had visited the castle as a teenager, so it was not completely unfamiliar to him, but it was, for the most part, a new experience, with just a slight feeling of having been their before. Suddenly, though, a disturbance sounding like metal on metal and metal on leather reached his ears, and he thought it best to be prepared for whatever was moving towards him.

[Isabella]

Isabella thought seriously about the others' questions.
"Alright," she began, turning to the first man, "I'll look for the Sheriff in his chamber, and if he's not there I'll check in Basaam's room and my brother's, and then in the strongroom."
She whirled around to face the blond man.
"I think the signal is the sound of the guards shouting as you run out, because they're likely to see you on your way out of the castle," she told him, "And if Djaq gets there before us, we'll just have to talk to her. We'll work it out somehow."
"Are we ready?" she asked, feeling her heart beat a little faster.

[Carter]

"I recon the first place Djaq would look is Basaam's room" said Carter seriously, "So if Isabella starts at the Sheriff's Chamber, and we make our way to Basaam's room, that should be a good start," Carter frowned in thought. Knowing Djaq, she would want to pay her respects to Basaam before anything else, even if it was life risking.

"I was born ready." said Carter confidently, mentally crossing his fingers for good luck. It was time. He adjusted his sword and straightened up to his full height. "Let's go." he said turning to face Allan, giving him a nod. He dodged the bodies slumped before them, and prowled into the castle, giving Isabella a wink as they went their seperate ways. Djaq should be halfway towards the Basaam's room by now, so they had to be fast, yet quiet. The floorboards creaked as Carter sped towards the staircase, and he winced, desperately trying to step more carefully.

[Allan A'Dale]

"So, Bassam's room is near Isabella's, right?" Allan whispered as they crept up the stairs. "And where is Bella's room exactly?" He had a sinking feeling that they'd left a crucial piece of information out of their planning.

[Isabella]

Isabella wasted no time in following suit and hurrying towards where she was needed. She avoided the bloodied corpses of the guards Djaq had killed and stalked towards the staircase that was opposite the one the two men were headed towards. She was scared, but buoyed a little by the confidence of the outlaws and the blond man's wink, which had made her feel like she was a part of their cause. Stealthily, she crept closer to the staircase and felt for the dagger concealed in her dress. She had a grim prophesy that she was going to need it.

[Carter]

"What?" Carter hissed, before realising where Allan was coming from. "Damn." he swore quietly as he continued to creep up the stairs. "Well we're just going to have to follow our instincts." he said stubbornly. "The guest rooms are our best bet. You claim to know you're way around the castle, I'll follow your lead." It was true, that they had left out crucial information in their plan, and Carter grumbled under his breath. They were trying to hurry things up so much, they forgot to even locate where they were going.