Robin Hood | The Stormwhite Between Them

Chapter 11

Song: let's be friends by sammy rash

The storm had died down and Erak had immediately put the WolfWind to sea. The plan was for the Wolfship to drop them off along the coast. From there the ship would sit just on the cove, hidden from the town and any passing ships, ready to push off at the first sign of trouble.

Robin glanced down the lines of rowers, watching them lean forward, brace their feet, then heave back. The oars rose and fell on either side of the ship, each one leaving a circle of white foam on the water as the ship swept past, out of the bay.

The small group she was taking were unwrapping their fur trimmings, in the first glimpses of dawn, helmets already stowed in the ship. The plain coloured tunics they wore underneath could now be seen in the absence of the sheep skinned vests. Robin looked similar, her tunic and plain pants tucked into her boots, the most noticeable difference from her normal attire was not the lack of her cloak, or of Erak's sheep skin vest, but her distinct lack of weapons. She also had to leave her bow and quiver which she was even more unhappy about. Simple merchants didn't carry big bows, her axe however was holstered at her hip, and she had many knives hidden from plain sight.

Erak was fastening his temporary replacement axe back into the holster at his hip, complaining how unbalanced it was.

"I'll be glad to get my axe back, is all I'm saying. This one is barely a lump of metal."

Robin smiled and pulled out her axe, the one she had avenged little Jon with. "Here try this one." She told him, holding it out to him, handle first.

He stared at her in disbelief, knowing how important it was to her, being Jon's, "are you sure?"

She gestured for him to take it, "take good care of it."

He gently relieved it from her grasp and gave it a few experimental swings, much to his surprise it was perfect. "Woah." It balanced easily in grasp, though it wasn't as big or as heavy as his axe it was perfect in balance, which right now was what he was looking for.

"They even have the same taste in axes." Axel whispered to Olaf.

"Can you even imagine a better pair?" He murmured back, their conversation going unheard by the two Jarls.

"It's like they were made for each other."

"We better be invited to their wedding." Axel laughed at Olaf's statement, Svengal knocked him on the back of the head as he walked past, a signal for them to shut up, though he was trying not to smile himself.

"Chief." Svengal interrupted the exchange he had witnessed, "we're almost there."

Erak looked out and saw the identifiable landmarks they had seen on the map. Robin picked up her two short swords, another one of her many favoured forms of weapons, securing one where her axe had been seconds ago, the other one found its place on her other hip.

Robin looked out at the coastline, a small natural curve with rises, she watched as the small rises gradually became identifiable landmarks and glanced down at the water that rushed by as the Wolfwind's bow sliced through it.

Erak gestured to the shallows, "we'll have to row out. Prepare the skiff."

"Already done." Erak nodded thoughtfully, of course his first mate was one step ahead of him. At his gesture two of the rowers stood from their seat on the bench to row them out.

In the short time it had taken Robin to walk over, Thorn and Mikkel were already waiting in the skiff. She jumped down followed by Svengal, and the two rowers.

They waited as Erak gave his final orders to the crew, before jumping into the small row boat.

The oars sliced through the waves, dipping in and out of the calm water as it gently lapped against the sides of the skiff. They were only a few meters from land now, and Robin felt a slight rush in her blood. She focused her breathing, she always got this way before a heist, all excited. Being over excited didn't help the plan.

The skiff nosed into the soft sand of the beach, held there under pressure of the two oars. The five Skandians slipped of the skiff and splashed ashore through a few centimetres of water. They had barely reached dry land when the rowers started pulling back.

They watched the skiff pull away, turning back to the Wolfwind.

"Let's get going." Erak ordered.