Post by Nottingham Themselves on Nov 17, 2008 7:25:34 GMT 7
Robin Hood? We all know the man; y'know, the guy from Sherwood Forest who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, hoodwinking even Prince John's tyranny to bring justice to the land. But the thing is, he died something like five hundred years ago, which frankly sucks. It's the year 2009, and things are hardly as bad as they were but they're not much better. The people of the United Kingdom are thousands of dollars in poverty, and for some unknown reason a vast majority of the homeless are concentrated in Nottingham City, England.
But what if Robin Hood and The Merry Men were rebanded? Would it solve the problem? Or would there always be Sir Guys of Gisbourne and Sheriffs of Nottingham who want them, and I do not exaggerate, dead? Who are these...? Modern Robin Hoods? Come in.
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Famous for his gallantry, robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny, anyone who knows of him has also heard the stories of his outlaw band, as illustrious as the superstars of today; the names of Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marion, Allan a Dale, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller, Sir Guy of Gisbourne and the evil Sheriff of Nottingham are as much a part of the legend as the legend himself. The stories portray him as a fearless outlaw, leading his band of "merry men" (and women) against the tyranny of Prince John, The Sheriff of Nottingham and Sir Guy of Gisbourne. A brilliant archer, he lived a life of adventure – poaching the King's deer from the outlaws' retreat in the Green Dale of Sherwood Forest. His name? Robin of Locksley: the notorious Robin Hood.
The people of Nottingham had always grown up with the legend. Enter Lisa Baker – direct descendant of the story’s origins who knows all too well that the stories had to start somewhere – and twins Oliver Marvin “Felix” and Matilda Evans, direct descendants of Guy Gisbourne. Lisa and Felix based their childhood on Indiana Jones and Robin Hood; needless to say, the lure of robbing from the rich to feed the poor and homeless of Nottingham had its appeal. What was to say Robin Hood couldn’t be revived? And so, after their first successful mission, the Merry Men were born, working in a distinctly more modern manner than their predecessors, recruiting people who mostly had the same vision, and avoiding the authorities and mafia alike.
Then the argument; Lisa disagreed with the decidedly less legal side of things, and Matt and Felix wanted to get more out of their work. So, they split, the twins forming one new group (The Merry Men) while Lisa went solo under the persona of Robin Hood. The two groups – ducking public recognition and the law – have rivalled ever since, with Matt determined to separate from and if possible do in with Lisa, and various members of the group beginning to share her sympathies despite Felix’s objections. Lisa remained more the vigilante type, while Felix’s group had a little more personal gain. Eventually Matt fused out into the Paladins, taking her electronic abilities with her. But in this business, selfless acts go unthanked and secrets are certainly better left unsaid.
The famous red 30 carat Nottingham Diamond is supposedly cursed. The legends tell the story of how Robin Hood jumped a nobleman at the back of Sherwood Forest and amongst the spoils took the large diamond. But just as he and his men were about to ride off, the nobleman’s witch-woman placed a curse on the diamond and whoever possessed it, or undefined proportions. Robin laughed at first – for a whole, ooh, ten minutes they rode forest the forest celebrating their victory… Until five of his men were struck down by the Sherriff of Nottingham, and only another five including Robin made it away. Fearing superstition, Robin hid the diamond deep in Sherwood so that no one would ever fall prey to its curse again. But being the twenty-first century, somehow had to go and dig it up nine years ago.
The year is 2009. Things went along swimmingly for the vigilantes, with the Nottingham poverty levels decreasing day by day until the biggest gig of their career came along. The Nottingham Diamond, the famous 30 carat red diamond, is in transit for one night only as it moves from one museum to another, and the chance is too good to miss. As the night approaches, with Lisa on the move to get there first and Felix’s group rivalling to beat the “charlatan”, the Paladins (a select group of dedicated ‘police’ with MARVEL worthy powers and a vengeance to keep the justice) are not going to pass off the opportunity to get rid of their biggest enemies once and for all either.
The Paladins were formed about three hundred years ago, but it’s not as though their proud history is common knowledge. If someone told you where or what they were, then they’d have to kill you both. Their mission, put simply, is to take the law into their own hands and eradicate those people who they believe to be a threat to society. Sometimes they have the right idea, but… There have been unsolved murders in Nottingham in the last two years, which is where The Paladins have been secretly focusing their attention.
But there is a mole in the ranks of The Merry Men. Unbeknownst to both teams. And The Paladins have a plan to kidnap Lisa and Felix, whom they assume – under their personas – to be the ringleaders, in an attempt to blackmail the team (because of course no one seems to have told them that Lisa and Felix are a team apart). There are three weeks to go until the planned moving day, and everyone is moving their butt into action to prepare for whatever task lies ahead, be it security, murder or theft. Which says a lot for the world as it is.
And the other alarming facts? One, the mafia-like gangs also have their eyes on the diamond, and their arsenal is better even than The Paladins. Their connections are almost as solid, and they’ve definitely got the muscle for job, and the integrity to threaten civilians into aiding and abetting them without the authorities coming down on the movement. Apart from anything else, the police have enough on their hands with over $3000 having been stolen, a mass-murderer on the loose, and the fact that Parliament is trying to take advantage of Nottingham’s International plans by sending more and more foreign refuges into the city and certain poverty – which in a roundabout way increases the Robin Hood threat.
And two, on a recent heist, although no one is sure which, a fuzzy photograph of one member of one of the groups at work has made it’s way to the police force, threatening to jeopardize their entire mission, free life and life in conclusion. Apart from anything else, some of the Paladins daylight as policemen, and by now the gangs are well aware that someone wants them dead even if they’re not yet sure who someone is. And while even the teams remain in the dark of who took the photograph and who it is of (considering the bad quality would take a lot of expensive equipment to analyse, which they’re betting on the Nottingham police not having) it’s only a matter of time before their ever tentative relations shatter.
Meanwhile, for the civilians of Nottingham life is going on as normal. Sure, the number of homeless people kipping on the street is rising fairly drastically, sure two people have been murdered with no discernable motives or suspects, but the vast opinion is that with the Globalization development plans that the council has all of the city’s problems will be fixed. Shame they don’t understand the corrupt government, huh? Sure, funds are being pumped into the new park, improving the courthouse and raising the average 2.3 traffic cones on street corners to 2.8, but are all the promises that the newly elected mayor promised going to be kept? After all, he seems to be living the life of luxury where others haven’t, and the potentially kept promise so far is the reward for the arrest of the Robin Hoods.
Of course, there are people with the right kind of ideas, and not just the undercover teams. Not everyone voted for that guy, after all. Nottingham University seems to have become a political protest site following what rumours say was the arrival of an ex-student –come-historian a few months ago. Most of them are between seventeen and twenty, and they’re the ones egging the mayor’s care and chaining themselves to historical sites flagged for destruction. Largely unsuccessfully… But they’re getting there.
All of this is finally bringing the news Nationwide, and even to other parts of the world through the internet. No one’s gone so far as to initiate a similar project yet, but there has been a small increase in donations to charities world wide who can help the people the Robin Hoods are setting out to help, and a similar awareness. In Germany, the family of the murdered tourist and the disappearance of his friends have the police poking their noses in, suspecting a link. In Ethiopia, aid-workers have been dressing up as Robin Hood and collecting donations from people travelling through Addis Ababa airport. In Hong Kong Disneyland, the people dressed as Robin Hood characters are drawing people to charity events by arriving in costume. A sort of fan club is forming around the world, both a blessing and a curse.