by Shel Pais
“Let me worry about that. Now, go home.”
Avram briskly walked away, anxious to get out of the forest.
David walked a short while down the road as Avram’s image faded. He then turned off it, carefully lowering himself down an embankment when he saw it—a small cave hidden by some evergreens. He had stumbled on this spot a year ago while wandering in the forest. He thought at that time if ever he would find any type of weapon, he would hide it in there. It was off the road enough, and the evergreens in front of it would keep it hidden all year, so probably no one would find it, unless by accident. He carefully slid around the evergreens and looked into the cave to be sure there was no animal inside. There were no tracks, so he got down on his hands and knees and crawled inside. The cave was very small, with a low ceiling. He released the bowstring and placed the weapons inside. He put all four bowstrings in his pocket to keep them dry. I’ll have to come back and wrap everything in something to protect them, he thought.
David crawled out of the cave and climbed back up to the road, again using a fallen branch to cover his footprints. His mind raced the rest of the way, as he could not believe his luck. He had weapons. The bow was made of yew and looked to be new. The quiver contained one dozen arrows, more than enough to train with as long as he could reuse them. He knew he could not easily replace any if they were lost or broken. The sword had seen some use. David guessed it had been used by more than one forester since it had been forged. Now he would have to find time to sneak away and try to teach himself how to use the bow. He did not think he could teach himself how to use the sword.
As he walked, he tried to figure out how he could get away for a while to practice without anyone getting suspicious. His father usually did not have deliveries for him to make, and he often stayed out of the forest. Then, it came to him: David would tell his father he wanted to get closer to God by spending time alone in the forest, praying. The solitude, he would explain, would let him gather his thoughts so he could try to honor his father’s wishes. Since he did not want to lie, he planned to pray in the forest a short while each time before practicing. He also decided he needed to prepare a target. Using trees would be too risky if he wanted to use the arrows over and over. As he left the forest, he noticed pieces of straw lying in a field. At archery tournaments, he had seen the targets they used were made of cloth filled with straw. He would find some old cloth, gather some straw, and make a target the best he could.
Soon he was past the fields and close to home. His father was waiting for him as he entered.
“Shalom, Father.”
“Shalom. Welcome home. Did everything go all right?”
“Yes, Father. I found Arthur easily enough, and he said to tell you he’s very grateful.”
“How was the journey? Anything happen? Did you see anyone on the road?”
He decided to tell some of the truth. “Only a forester on the way to Arthur’s. He didn’t bother us, but he made a crude comment about knowing a wild boar who loves to attack Jews.”
Mordecai sighed. “It never ends,” he said. “I hope you didn’t reply and make him angry.”
“No, Father. I wanted to, but Avram helped to hold me back. Father, as I was walking in the woods I got to thinking.”
“About what?”
“The forest can be a fine place to gather one’s thoughts and pray alone to God.”
“I guess it could be if a safe place could be found. As long as one stays near the edge, it should be fine. What are you saying?”
“I would like to spend some time praying alone in the forest. I think it will help me to get more interested in my studies and our way of life.” David smiled as he watched his father absorb his words.
“It’s fine with me if it will help you do that. I would rather not have to go before the rabbi again about you. Just please tell me when you are going there, so I will know where you are.”
“I will, Father, I will.”
The sheriff picked up his mug of ale, took a sip, and looked at his friend Jack. The two of them had stopped at the Rams Head Inn for a meal and a few mugs. Jack was a forester and had just returned from York.
“I heard Ronald is missing,” Jack said, ale dripping from his bearded chin onto his dirty linen shirt.
“Aye. I heard that too. He never returned home a few days ago. His wife has been searching for him with his brother. I fear he was ambushed while on duty.”
“Are you going to do anything about it?”
“I’ve asked the baron for some men to help me look for him. I expect they’ll arrive shortly.”
Jack and the sheriff finished their meal of mutton and left the inn. They saw a group of men-at-arms approaching on horseback and walked up to greet them.
“Are you Baron Geoffrey’s men?” he asked.
“Aye,” said one, a mean-looking sergeant with a scraggly beard, worn boots, and a helmet with multiple dents on it. He looked to be about forty years old, and apparently had seen many years of service. There were five other men-at-arms with him. “You must be the sheriff.”
Jack laughed as the sheriff nodded. “I am John de Oxenden, recently appointed by the king. Who are you, and did the baron tell you why you are here?”
“I am Sir Walter of Glenhaven. I’ve been in Geoffrey’s service for ten years. He said Ronald the forester is missing and we’re to help you find him.”
“Good. He’s been missing for several days. I’ll get my weapons and we’ll start the search.”
“You’re going with us?” Walter said, scowling. “Baron Geoffrey said there will be a reward for the man who finds him. We were planning to find him on our own. We don’t want to share it with anyone.”
“I don’t care about the reward. What’s so important about this forester anyway? Do you know?”
“Ronald is the baron’s cousin. He fought with him when the king granted Geoffrey his title, and Geoffrey got him his appointment. I fought with him as well, and he’s my friend.”
“I see. Well, we’d better get started. Follow me.”
The sheriff stopped at home to get his sword, helmet, and horse.
Jack had gone on his way saying he had other things to do, and he never liked Ronald anyway. As the seven of them rode to the edge of town, they could see the forest about two miles ahead. Walter whistled softly, while his men were quiet. The sheriff looked at Walter. “You should be quiet. We don’t want to announce our venture.”
“Why?” asked Walter. “Are you afraid of bandits?”
The sheriff put his hand on the hilt of his sword. “How dare you speak to me like that,” he said. “I’m in charge here. If I tell you to do something, just obey me without saying anything.”
Walter was not used to being spoken to in that manner. His service to Geoffrey had placed him in a position of authority. However, he knew the baron was very concerned about his cousin, and that was the first priority. Walter calmed himself down and hoped he would get a chance later to put the sheriff in his place.
“Very well, my lord,” Walter said. “What are your orders?”
“When we reach the forest, I want groups of two to search. We’ll meet where the road meets the river. I’ll stay with you, Walter, and one of your men. That will give us three groups searching.”
“Yes, my lord,” Walter said. He pointed at his men. “Aldrich, you and Preston search together, and Sedgwick, you go with Ulmer. Wolfe, you stay with the sheriff and me. We will meet where the road meets the river.”
The three groups separated and began searching. Walter tried not to take the lead with the sheriff in his party but felt hampered by his presence. After searching for about two hours, they arrived at the meeting place. About thirty minutes later, Aldrich and Preston appeared, but there was no sign of Ulmer and Sedgwick.
“Any luck?” the sheriff asked before Walter could.
“No, my lord. We searched everywhere but saw nothing.”
They waited somewhat impatiently for about another hour
. Then they saw Ulmer, alone.
“My lord,” he said. “We found him. Sedgwick is there with him while I came to find you.”
“Well,” John said. “Is he alive?”
“No, my lord. He’s dead. We found his body covered with brush. His weapons were gone, but…” Ulmer stammered.
“But what, man? Speak up!” John ordered.
“There isn’t a wound on him. No blood, no evidence of a blow.
Nothing. It’s like a spell was cast on him.”
John laughed under his breath. “A spell? Are you mad? You both must not have looked close enough. Show me. Lead me to him.”
The three men followed Ulmer, who started to shake as he approached the site. Sedgwick was standing over the body. “My lord,” he said. “Here he is.”
John knelt down and examined Ronald’s corpse. He did appear to have been dead for several days. The animals had not found him yet, or there would not have been much left, he surmised.
“You’re right. There is no evidence of any violence. And no footprints, no weapons, just a dead body. The baron will not be pleased when we report this. Men, look around. See if you can find anything.”
They all searched the area a while more but found nothing. John overheard some of the men muttering about spells and witchcraft again. The sheriff had Walter’s men make a litter out of some sturdy branches. Then they carefully put Ronald’s body on the litter and started back to Northampton.
“I’ll go to the baron with you, Walter. As sheriff, I must report this myself. Don’t worry. I’ll tell him Ulmer and Sedgwick found the body. You can divide the reward as you like.”
Since that was Walter and his men’s main concern, they nodded in agreement their acceptance. Slowly they made their way out of the forest to the castle.
“Sir Walter,” a guard said, “I see you found Ronald. The baron instructed me to personally tell him when you returned. All of you follow me.”
They followed him through the gate. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll fetch the baron.”
They lowered the litter and waited for the baron. After several minutes, Baron Geoffrey appeared with Cyrus following. Geoffrey looked at Ronald’s corpse, examining it for wounds.
“John and Walter. You found him like this? No wounds, nothing?”
Before John could answer Walter spoke quickly and loudly.
“That’s correct, my lord. Not a mark on him, and his weapons were gone.”
“Perhaps he was poisoned. Did you see anything that might indicate that’s what happened?”
“No, my lord. There was no cup or food of any kind by him.”
Geoffrey examined Ronald’s head, checking carefully for evidence of a blow, but found nothing. “Very strange. He wasn’t very old. And his weapons couldn’t be found. We may never know what happened to him. Let’s give him a proper burial. Cyrus, go tell Father Leon. We’ll bury him in the churchyard.”
Geoffrey turned to John and Walter. “I want you both to go back where you found him and look again for any signs of what may have happened or his weapons. Are they identifiable if we can find them?”
Walter thought for a moment. “Probably not. His sword was old, and I don’t think it had anything unique on it. The bow, arrows and quiver were common. I doubt we could identify them.”
“Very well. Do the best you can.”
“My lord,” John began. “Why do I have to return to look for anything? I have duties of the sheriff to perform.”
“I’m sure your duties can wait. I want someone to go with Walter, and you were already at the site. It will be dark in a few hours anyway. However, you do not have to return here when your search is done.”
The sheriff’s face indicated he was not pleased. “Yes, my lord. As you wish.”
Geoffrey told one of the guards to stay with the body until Father Leon arrived to take charge of it. The baron slowly walked into the castle and sat down to ponder what had happened.
John and Walter, along with two more men-at-arms Walter ordered to accompany them, mounted their horses, and proceeded back into the forest. It was not difficult to find the spot where Ronald was found since they had marked it well. Walter again gave the orders. “Search everywhere around here. See if you can find anything that might be a clue as to what happened to Ronald or his weapons.”
The men began to search, spreading out to cover more ground. After about an hour of searching, one of the men-at-arms called out.
“Sir Walter, I think I found something.” Walter hurried over to see what it could be. Garrett, the man-at-arms, pointed to two sets of footprints. They were somewhat faded, but still visible. Walter knelt to examine them. Both appeared to be smaller than a full-grown man’s.
“Sir Walter,” Garrett asked, “do you think these are footprints of two who may have had something to do with Ronald’s death?”
“I don’t know, Garrett. Perhaps. They appear to belong to two boys, with one bigger than the other. If they were involved, maybe they found Ronald and took his weapons. Or maybe someone else did. It looks like they were going back to town. There are many boys in this shire, so it’s not much of a clue. Come, let’s return to the castle.”
When Walter met up with the sheriff, he told him about the two sets of footprints. “John, I think you should ask around if any boys know anything about what happened, or about the weapons. If anybody does, it may help.”
“I will, although I doubt it will do any good.”
DAVID WAS LYING ON HIS bed, his hands behind his head and his mind racing. I finally have some weapons, he thought. Now, what can I do with them? I have to learn how to use them, and I can’t ask anyone to teach me. Whom would there be to ask? No one in the West End Jewish community certainly. I don’t know any men-at-arms. Even if I did, I doubt anyone would help me. How could I explain where I got them? And it is against the law.
He began to regret taking them. All were well hidden, though, so he believed they were safe. Even if someone were to accidentally find the weapons, there was nothing to tie him to them.
No, he continued to think to himself, I will have to teach myself. If I can, I’ll watch very carefully at tournaments the techniques archers use, and how knights fight with swords. On second thought, he still doubted he could teach himself the proper way to fight with a sword. Archery, though, he could do. He just had to get into the forest by himself to practice. He trusted Avram not to say anything to anyone about what had happened, since it was very dangerous for both of them.
Later that day, David was walking back from the marketplace with some vegetables for dinner when he heard someone calling, “David, David.”
“Shalom, Avram. What’s wrong?”
Avram looked around to be sure no one could hear them. “They found the dead forester, and the sheriff has been asking boys about our age if they know anything about him and the missing weapons.”
“Why would he do that?” David asked.
“Apparently, they found two sets of footprints, our footprints, around where the forester died, and they believe they belong to two boys heading back to town. They think if they can find them it will help solve their mystery. I overheard some of the Christian boys talking about it.”
David said nothing as he thought for a moment. He had told his father about seeing the forester, but nothing about finding him dead. Still, just the fact they had seen him might arouse enough suspicion that the sheriff would want to question them. If he used any of the methods David had heard about, he was certain Avram would tell what had happened.
“Avram, let’s stay calm. If we’re asked, we’ll say we saw a forester on our way to Coby Hollow, but we didn’t see him again, or anyone else for that matter, the rest of our journey. It’s almost the truth. Since I told my father about seeing the forester, I’ll ask him not to say anything. He’ll understand if he did, we might be under suspicion. Did you tell anyone about seeing him?”
“No, I didn’t. I was going to tell my father as well, but he
wasn’t home when I returned, and then I forgot about it.”
“Good. Then let’s hope we’re not asked. Perhaps he’ll only ask the Christian boys anyway. There’s nothing to tie us to the body. Go on your way and forget about it again.”
“I will, David. I will.” Avram ran off towards his house.
David returned home as well, his mind focused on this new fear. I will have to be extra careful, he thought. I cannot risk beginning to practice archery for a while. If I’m seen with the weapons…He shuddered to think about what might happen.
I’ve waited this long, David told himself. I can wait a while longer.
Walter went right in to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff was finishing a leg of mutton.
“Don’t you knock before entering?” John asked.
“Sometimes. The baron sent me to find out if you learned anything.”
“I’m afraid not. I questioned a number of boys, but no one knew anything, or said they had not even been in the forest.”
“Humph,” Walter grunted. “Liars, no doubt. Very well. I guess we’ve done all we can for now. Keep listening for anything that might slip by. I’ve learned most people have a hard time keeping something a secret. The baron wants you to stay on this, understand?”
“Yes, Walter, tell the baron I will do all I can for him.”
Walter left without acknowledging the sheriff’s request. He had no intention of telling the baron anything except that John had not found out a thing.
Walter decided to take a walk amongst the shops, stopping only if one of the food stalls interested him. When he approached the bakery, the smells enticed him.
“Good day, sir,” a plump man in an apron said.
“Are you the baker?” Walter asked.
“I am indeed. Every day I bake delicious breads and cakes. I even bake for the baron at festival time.”
Walter looked at the baker’s assortment and selected a scone.
“What garbage are you trying to sell me? I almost broke a tooth on this. It’s as hard as a rock. I should report you to the baron.”
