Zach pressed on his temples with his fingers and replied, "The crux of the matter isn't about how they get the gold but what they are planning on doing with it. They spread the news of the lords being poisoned throughout the town. The intention is clearly to prevent us from containing the situation. This will make the situation chaotic and spread unrest. From the looks of it, this Robin Hood is trying to play out a rebellion."

Zach's words made the rest of the people in the room think. The matter didn't seem so simple anymore and it brought even more questions. Casper couldn't restrain his curiosity and continued, "But, it doesn't seem feasible. After all, riling up the people with such shallow reasoning is too much to ask."

"Not entirely true, we have to keep in mind that the guy calls himself Robin Hood. He is reducing himself to a symbol, and it is a symbol well known and loved by the people. Who hasn't heard about the tales of the green wearing archer who robbed the rich and helped the poor? In the eyes of normal folks, he might as well be someone from their ranks who is standing up against the oppressors and injustice. After all, it only takes a single spark to start a forest fire." Zach's reasoning made sense but it also made Casper even more confused.

"The pamphlet doesn't make sense. It has been almost a decade since the lords all over Esterin reduced the tax they levied. The people's uprising 8 years ago wasn't for nothing after all. And how will he accomplish such a big task?"

It was Vincent who answered this time, "It doesn't matter if the tax is heavy or not. In the eyes of normal people, the tax will always be too much and this won't change no matter how low the tax rate is. The dissatisfaction has been building up for a long time already and it is easy for this so called Robin Hood to take advantage of this. Furthermore, it is clear that an organization is supporting him. The printed pamphlets, ability to spread the papers throughout the town and getting their hands on the potent but hard to detect poison are all things impossible to accomplish without a huge amount of manpower and skills. It won't be hard for them to make their next move since they are in the dark and we know nothing about them."

Zach nodded to show that he thought the same and spoke, "We should go sleep. It has been a rather exhausting day. After what happened today, we will need to adjust our plans and approach as well. Lets rest while we can. We will soon have our hands full once again."

The group headed for their arranged rooms to rest for the night. Everyone was feeling a plethora of emotions. The day's experience had been out of their expectations and they needed time to digest everything and tune themselves to the changes.

********************

Gill Barony

In the outskirts of the town, a lovely villa with a beautiful garden. The villa was lit up beautifully giving off a cheery vibe, but the mood of the occupants were anything but cheery. Viscountess Burns was sitting beside a bed where her husband lay. She was already in her fifties and the vicissitudes of time had left their marks on her beautiful face. Her face looked gloomy and sorrowful as she watched her husband. A physician was stationed next door in case of anything untoward happening.

A man in his early thirties entered the room and joined the viscountess. "Is Elaine alright?" She asked in a croaky voice. She had calmed down relatively but her voice still failed her. The man looked at his mother and spoke in a silvery voice, "She is alright mother. You shouldn't worry about her much. It will only worsen your health. The physician checked up on her and said that she is perfectly fine. She might have fainted because of the shock."

The lady nodded and took out a red paper. "The mastermind has made his move. He is masking his true intentions with the pretense of delivering justice to the people. But that's not important right now. He is asking for a thousand gold coins for a dose of the antidote. Prepare two thousand gold coins and buy two dosage of antidotes as soon as possible. How you find out about the place to complete the deal, I will let you figure it out. It probably won't be hard for this Robin Hood to find us."

"See, mother. Didn't I tell you that Rolft was innocent. I knew he couldn't do something like this. You are being too paranoid to suspect even him. You have known him since he was a kid after all."

"Just because this Robin Hood claims that he is the mastermind doesn't mean that Rolft is innocent. How can you be sure that he isn't in cahoots with the mastermind. I know that he is your dear friend, but you have to understand that humans can do things no one ever expected of them. This is especially true given the undercurrents of the kingdom. Didn't you see how he removed Zach from the position of the heir. He considers you a friend as well. In the end, he still chose benefits over your friends.h.i.+p. We will have to do the same and annul the engagement as well. This will hurt Elaine but we have no choice. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment."

"Yes, yes mother. I understand. I will go arrange for the money. You should rest as well. Don't grief too much. Everything will be alright." The man stood up and left. The room descended into silence once again as the door creaked and shut in the end.