While it goes against Robins motto of helping the underdog, we stay in the village as I think this might be a trick by the gamebook to try and get us to leave.
You explain to Alison the need for you to stay here and protect the village from the malevolent attentions of Sir Jean de Melusine. She looks put out and a little upset, but realises that Haxhey's need may be greater than her own. Gisburne is unlikely to catch the boys and even if he does, they will probably just be thrashed - as Edward will thrash Matthew anyway, once he learns of his misbehaviour.
However, you could send one of your companions into the forest to track down the boys before Sir Guy runs into them.
IF YOU DECIDE TO SEND SOMEONE, MARK THEM OFF YOUR CHARACTER SHEET.
I like the way we get the option of sending someone after making the choice not to help ! - Robin sends Much to help...
Alison leaves and you turn your attention back to the parade. Cerys and the other children have already walked around the square and past the church, and are now heading down a lane towards some of the nearer farms. The adults follow from the square and you join them.
The lane passes between two rows of pollarded willows. As Cerys walks ahead with the beribboned lamb, a dark-robed figure suddenly jumps out from behind the trees and snatches the silken leash from her.
The figure is a maniac-eyed man, dressed in the manner of a travelling monk or preacher. His wild hair and extravagant gestures draw all eyes to him, as he roughly hauls the lamb over and grabs it.
He holds the bleating creature aloft and cries out: 'People of Haxhey. This is an idol - a blasphemy in the eyes of the Lord. When ye worship an animal, ye sin and profane. Deny it not, worshippers of Satan! The Evil One takes many guises, of which this creature is but one. See its hoofed feet! These be feet of the Devil!
'Repent ye now, before ye're damned through all eternity! Give up these practices and bow down before the one true God.'
The man looks ready to throttle the poor lamb, and has frightened all the villagers with his fiery speech.
DO YOU:
- RUN AT HIM TO PUT AN END TO HIS ANNOYING INTERFERENCE IN THE PARADE?
- TRY TO SHOUT HIM DOWN AND PERSUADE HIM TO LEAVE HAXHEY IN PEACE? IF SO, MAKE A CHARM ROLL:
(SUCCESS ON A 0 OR LESS)
- IF TUCK IS WITH YOU, YOU MAY LET TUCK ARGUE FOR THE VILLAGERS.
Robin lets Tuck argue for the villagers - Robin will struggle to make the CHARM roll and the Tuck option is the most gentle one for dealing with this crazy guy
Tuck tries to reason with the malicious preacher: 'By St Thomas, Brother, you know not what you say. These folk are good and mindful of the Lord above. They do not worship any false gods.'
The preacher puts down the lamb, but turns upon Tuck: 'Fie upon ye, hedge priest! How can ye defend these renegades and heretics? Unless ye be one of them yourself. For I knew of monks who've consorted with devils and demons. . .'
The preacher's words fan your anger, especially when you remember Tuck's help in defeating Morgwyn oof Ravenscar, the Hounds of Lucifer and the evil Baron de Belleme.
DO YOU:- INTERVENE IN THE ARGUMENT?
- THREATEN THE PREACHER YOURSELF?
- LET TUCK CONTINUE?
Robin lets Tuck continue:
Tuck answers the preacher ably, telling him of the battles he and you have fought against evil manifestations of the Devil in many parts of the country, from the north of England to the southern borders of Wales. When he runs out of breath you step in, speaking commandingly. Revealing who you are, you shame him and refute his base accusations.
From this point on is where we would have been directed if we had rolled a 0 or less on the earlier CHARM roll
The preacher is taken aback by your stern words and appearance, He looks uncertain as to what to do next, so you grasp him firmly and tug him over to where Aelmer and his wife wait with the villagers.
'Are these people idol-worshippers and demons?' you ask.
The children shuffle their feet; dressed in their best, bright clothes, they resemble nothing so much as a choir of cherubs. You march the preacher down the lane to the church just behind the village square. Father Cedric emerges; he is surprised to see another priest, and especially one being roughly held.
'Bless you, Brother, and you, Robin, but where's the need to hold a man of the faith thus?'
'There,' you say to the preacher. 'Do you still imagine you have business in this village?'
The preacher looks shamefaced and straightens his habit. Muttering goodbyes, he walks stiffly out of the other side of the square.
You restore the lamb to Cerys, and the parade continues.
MAKE A PERCEPTION ROLL:
Robin Rolls 2 and 4. Subtract 4 gives 2. So robin misses on the Perception roll.
You have the irritating sensation of having failed to notice something important. Shrugging it off, you follow the children's parade back to the Moot Hall, where they are reclaimed by their parents and shepherded back to their homes, well out if the rough-and-tumble of the Hood Game. The players are already assembling for the game, with the Haxhey men being joined by those of Elsdon, Calnestone and Torneshey.
Suddenly a shout goes up: 'Silence for the King Boggan!'
A hush descends on the assembled villagers, who stand expectantly. All eyes rest on a figure in scarlet who leaps on to a table and bangs it with his huge shepherd's crook. The baggy breeches with yellow stitching proclaim his ceremonial importance. His face is covered by a hood and mask with eyeholes, but when he speaks you recognise the voice of Aelmer, Haxhey's headman.
'Listen ye all to the telling of the rules. When the game shall begin, ye shall strive to carry the Hood to your village;s alehouse. Ye shall carry no weapon, nor shall ye use one. The village that captures the Hood shall win the Hood Game. if ye be tapped by a Boggan, ye shall desist, lest ye be beaten senseless. These are the rules of the Hood Game. Let it now begin.'
Another fellow dressed in red passes him a hood, bundled up and tied with straps. It is made of well-worn leather and looks as though it might have been used for the first Hood Game, back in the darkness of ages past. The King Boggan holds it aloft for all to see, shouting, 'Behold the Hood!'
DO YOU HAVE THE HORN OF CERNUNNOS?
Robin does not have the horn of Cernunnos, I hope this is not bad news for him
The villagers are looking around expectantly, as if waiting for some signal, and seem taken by surprise when the King Boggan hurls the hood high over their heads.
You've never witnesses such chaos before! When the Hood flies into the air, pandemonium breaks out among the villagers, as they jostle one another to be under the Hood when it lands.
It descends into a writhing clump of men and a shout goes up. For a while, villagers pile themselves ever higher in an attempt to grab the Hood and make off with it. There is a frantic scrummage until a man crawls and elbows his way out from underneath the mass of Hood-chasers. He looks as though he has been trampled by a herd of wild oxen, but still manages to pass the Hood to a friend before collapsing. As the man with the Hood makes off, the scrummage falls apart and the cry goes up. The Hood has been captured by an Elsdon man, and others from the village now do their best to hamper pursuers, by tipping,tackling and grabbing. Their man is a fine runner, and makes off across the fields towards the nearest woodland.
A few villagers have been crushed too badly to continue the game, but the rest give chase, some splitting away to try to head off the Elsdon man. The Boggans, in their quaint red garb and carrying large clubs, also split up and hurry after the Hood-chasers.
DO YOU JOIN IN THE HOOD GAME WITH THE MEN OF HAXHEY?
OTHERWIISE IF LITTLE JOHN IS WITH YOU, HE JOINS IN, ASKING YOU TO LOOK AFTER HIS STAFF. NOTE JOHN'S STAFF ON YOUR SPECIAL POSSESSIONS LIST.
IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED IN THE HOOD GAME, DO YOU:
- SIMPLY TRY TO FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF THE GAME?
- STAY IN THE VILLAGE?
Robin stays in the village but does not join in.
As the Haxhey team was rather short on numbers, all your male companions have been drafted into the side, and have raced off after the Hood.
Meanwhile, preparations continue for the afternoon's feast. You reflect wryly that the Hood Game was probably invented only to keep the more boisterous elements of the village's population from under the feet of those making the really
important contributions to the festivities! Already mouth-watering smells and the delicate aromas of herbs and seasonings are wafting through the air, tantalizing your taste-buds.
It's a beautiful day, and you pick yourself a comfortable spot on the banks of the stream which flows past the village. Butterflies flit, the stream gurgles contentedly, and the pleasant warmth of a spring morning lulls you into a well-deserved snooze.
When you wake, the sun is higher in the sky, and you can hear excited squeals and cries from the town. Obviously the preparations are well advanced. You wander back to the bustle of the village square.
DO YOU HAVE JOHN'S STAFF?
Robin has John's Staff
A shout goes up among the villagers. A sharp-eyed boy has spotted some men running towards the village. You rush with the others to see who it is, and whether they have the Hood. You quickly make out the hulking frame of Little John pounding across the fields, the Hood seeming very small in his mighty grasp.
As you watch, two of his pursuers try to tackle him. They cling on for dear life as Little John continues to run, but they drop off when he hits them with the Hood.
John puts on a burst of speed which is quite remarkable for such a huge man, thunders into the village and makes straight for the alehouse. The villagers cheer, and you hear Aelmer loudly calling for ale. By the time you enter the tavern, John has already downed a huge tankard of ale. He gets steadily more and more drunk as the Haxhey men arrive back to the alehouse to congratulate their champion.
The victory celebrations last over an hour, and when you leave to take your place at the feast it is without Little John, who is snoring fitfully on the floor of the alehouse!
DELETE LITTLE JOHN FROM YOUR LIST OF COMPANIONS, AND LITTLE JOHN'S STAFF FROM YOUR LIST OF POSSESSIONS
The feast is laid out on wooden tables decorated with wild flowers set in clay jugs. It is everything good that the country folk can muster. Perhaps it would not suit the table of a rich lord, for the Normans are used to beet, pheasant, venison, peacock and pike on their high tables, all flavoured with spices from the East. But for the villagers of Haxhey, the Ram Day feast keeps stomachs content for many days.
The centerpiece of each table is a whole roast lamb, plump and succulent, stuffed with rosemary and thyme picked by the stream that day. Then there is plenty of fresh, warm bread and hughe steaming jugs of stocks and sauces, all mixed with mashed or clouted vegetables, milk, butter and herbs. Marrows, turnips and onions baked in the fire lie racked up in troughs and platters and there are baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables all about.
As the villagers set to, Aelmer and his brother Herlmer pass up and down the crowded benches with tuns of ale, filling everyone's cup. More ale stands untouched on each groaning table, for the first draught of the feast must be the toast. When all have a full stoup, even the children, Aelmer cries: 'To Haxhey and her rams. God's blessing on both. And to Wulstan and Belward, slain this day in the Hood Game. May God have mercy on their souls!'
There is sadness among the villagers over the death of the two Boggans. But they know in their hearts that the men would wish them to celebrate the feast as usual, and to honour them in the form of a wake. Soon everyone is drinking, eating, laughing, shouting and exchanging good humour and good cheer. The feast lasts several hours before appetites begin to be sated.
The village square looks more like a battleground than a rural corner of England. Sprawled figures, felled by their own gluttony, are scattered among the debris of the feast. Bones, broken platters, trampled flowers, crusts of pies and loaves - all lie strewn in the well-trodden grass.
Most of the villagers have eaten their fill, consuming as much in one sitting as they might in two weeks of a hard winter. Now you realise how some get to be big enough to play the Hood Game!
By now, evening is drawing near and the sun is setting. It throws a red glow over the whole landscape; on fields of corn the breeze stirs undulating shadows between copper-headed stalks; in the trees starlings scream and twitter, wheeling and peppering the crimson haze with dark shapes. The sky hangs heavy with rolls and furls of cloid, which resemble blood-soaked fleeces flayed from some giant's flock.
The villagers are gathering at one side of the square. They are preparing to go up to Hoden Hill and light thr bonfire that will become the fire of banishment. As you look round, there is no sign of Father Cedric, but one of the villagers explains: 'He'll come last, as the tailless Black Ram always does.'
DO YOU:
- STAY BEHIND TO PROTECT FATHER CEDRIC?
- GO UP HODEN HILL WITH THE OTHERS?
Robin stays behind to wait for Father Cedric.
NOTE ON YOUR CHARACTER SHEET THAT YOU ARE ALONE.
The villagers and your friends troop off up the hill, exhibiting a surprising degree of solemnity, considering their activities during the rest of the holiday. Every man, woman and child is silent as the informal procession leaves.
Soon the village is quiet and mysterious in the twilight. The last fading shades of red dwindle in the violet sky and to the east the first stars of the evening show in the deep indigo of night.
You are startled out of your reverie by Father Cedric calling to you. He is walking over to the little church and you follow to make sure he comes to no harm. Inside, light is provided by a number of candles. The cooler evening air sends a shiver down your spine.
'Can you give me a hand here, Robin?' asks Father Cedric. He is by the altar, apparantly trying to move it. Once yo go to help him the stone block is easily slid to one side, revealing a small hollow from which the priest withdraws a long bundle wrapped in black cloth. You help Cedric move the altar back.
He unwraps the bundle. It contains a long pole with a spoke arrangement at one end; a light yoke which he fixes across the pole near the spokes; a long black cloak which then hangs from the shoulders of the yoke; and finally an ancient yellowed skull with huge, curling, jet-black horns.
'Yes', says Father Cedric. 'The skull of the Black Ram.'
Father Cedric demonstrates to you how the Black Ram's skull is hoisted high upon the pole, the swirling drapery of the cloak hanging below, to give the impression of some immense and awesome demon. In the whitewashed interior of Cedric's church it seems lifeless and comical, but you see how fearsome it must appear in the firelight on top of Hodden Hill.
Then an alien voice echoes your laughter. You turn round and see two men standing in the doorway of the church. They taunt you: 'Does Robin Hood hide in churches now?' The indistinct light reveals them to be mailed guards - dressed in the livery of Sir Jean de Melusine. With deliberate slowness, they draw their swords.
DO YOU:
- DRAW YOUR OWN WEAPON AND RUSH TO ATTACK THEM?
- REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE AND PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELF AND FATHER CEDRIC?