Somehow John moved even slower, each step deliberately hanging in the air. “Best get used to disappointment, Robin.” He winked.

No human being wanted to run in circles in the woods, not with winter on its way, not with so uncertain a future, no one. But they did it at his command, and he could only hope he was doing the right thing. After getting everything wrong with them in his first month, the change was as frightening as it was invigorating. There was a future to be built here, something started by his father and Marion that deserved a chance to work. Robin was still fumbling to figure it out, but he liked the shape it was taking.

Alan hadn’t run with the others, so Robin just gave him an understanding nod. He needed a rest, and forcing him to run now might make him feel like a deeper failure. “What about you, Friar?” Robin turned to the man, seated on a log with the jug of small beer between his feet. “Want to learn how to swing a sword?”

Tuck looked down at his arm, strapped across his chest, in more or less the same way he would look at a wild boar sleeping on his lap.

Robin chuckled. “Right. Well, how about a knife?”

“Stealing supplies is one thing,” Tuck wiped his moustache, “killing is quite another. Don’t worry, I don’t begrudge it you. You’ve done what you’ve seen fit. But I’ve chosen a path that abhors violence.”

Robin instantly took offense, and had to remind himself Tuck couldn’t know how invasive his statement was. “You make it sound as if I enjoy violence. I don’t. I’m teaching these things to keep everyone safe.”

“But we’ll have to kill people to be safe,” Alan said sadly, into his own sword. “Won’t we? If we’re going to sneak into the castle and save Elena and Will … there’s no way we can do that without it getting bloody.”

“You may be right, Alan.” Robin met his eyes. “Or maybe not. We should be hearing back from Marion any day now, with all the information she’s been able to gather about the upcoming funeral.” He wished she was here now, but she insisted on taking frequent visits to Sheffield with Sir Amon to trade information with her contacts. “If we’re lucky, we can sneak in and out without ever having to pull steel.”

“It’s not much of a plan yet,” Alan grumbled. “The entirety of our plan is to make a plan.”