Robin was still busy aiding Sir Malebys in organising his troops. If Yughi's plans for Newenham went as he expected them to then a big confrontation between the Templars and the Outlaws would not be long in coming, Yughi saw the wisdom of this course.
So it was Marian and Tuck that followed Yughi to Lincoln in the early hours of the Sunday morning. The morning that William De Newenham intended to be Hugh of Avalon's last.
The three of them had prepared themselves for war, Yughi had mixed his assassin's robes with various items from the outlaw clothes he generally wore at present. It meant that he didn't blend in as readily as he did in his English garb but the assassin's clothes were tailored to assist him in combat.
Tuck had slung a bow over his shoulder and brought with him a quiver of thirty arrows and a quarterstaff. Thankfully, the Crusades had given credence to the image of a warrior monk. Tuck was intended to be the eyes on the ground, mingling with the crowds to provide support in areas the other two could not go.
Marian wore her usual garb, the loose black thieving outfit and cowl. Although this meant that in shadows she was almost invisible she would not be able to go abroad in a public space at all.
By the time they reached Lincoln the morning was already well underway. Local nobles and families of high birth were flocking to the cathedral, prepared to praise God and offer thanks for all they had.
In amongst the unwitting citizens were the prowling Templar wolves and their rat-like accomplice. Yughi, perched within the rafters of the cathedral, spotted them easily but knowing they were there was not enough. In order to make life more difficult for them they had to be caught in the commission of their terrible act.
Mass proceeded in the manner of such things, hymns were sung, sermons were read and readings took place. It was clear that the Templars were not so foolish as to attempt to kill the Bishop in the full view of the entire congregation.
Following the service, as the masses filed away onto the streets, aiming to return to their homes for a grand Sunday dinner the younger of the two Templars, Sir Asheby, approached the Dean of the Cathedral. The Dean, in turn, went to speak with the Bishop. The two of them went together to the north wing of the Cathedral, out to the garden courtyard by the rectory. The two senior clergymen were accompanied on their way by four other priests.
Following on out of the crowd, trying to remain masked by the departing worshippers Tuck tried to follow along unnoticed. Unfortunately, the tidal flow of the bodies was such that he found it almost impossible to move North without also moving West, away from the Bishop's party.
Yughi followed them from above, scampering through the roof beams. He cursed his ill luck that he had chosen to cover the South Wing because the Bishop's residence was in the South East. Yughi had imagined that to be a brazen enough location for the Templars to stage their assault.
After he and Marian had entered the building through an open window in the steeple they had parted company. She had honed her focus in the weeks since she joined the outlaws and now was virtually undetectable when she put her mind to it.
As Yughi scaled a column down the side of the North wing, trying to reach the ground as quickly as possible he heard cries from the garden nearby. The Templars had made their move.
Yughi knew that if he went any faster he risked breaking a limb, or worse. He was going as fast as he possibly could and he cursed that this may not actually be fast enough.
Even as the first cries went up there came the sound of clashing metal. Yughi scanned the retreating backs of the oblivious crowds. He spotted Tuck coming up the north aisle. He too heard the cries from the garden and he picked up his heels.
That meant that Marian had reached the garden first. Yughi wasn't overly worried for her safety but if she had been forced to intercede then the Templars weren't going to hold back, they had now committed to their chosen course.
Yughi reached the ground after what seemed like forever. He threw back the cloak he was wearing, abandoning it on the ground behind him as he ran to the garden door.
A wide paved walkway, walled on one side, surrounded with evenly spaced columns on the other, ran around two edges of the garden. About halfway up the walkway lay the body of a priest, stabbed in the stomach and left to bleed out.
On the grass of the garden Sir Newenham, Sir Asheby and their thief friend were all attempting to land a blow on the ducking, winding form of Marian who was fending them off with a short sword and a dagger.
Yughi knew that she would be able to fend them off for some time, she might even kill the rat, but the two Templars were too highly trained to succumb to her blades. That is unless someone were to step in and assist her.
Reaching to his belt Yughi thumbed a smoke bomb from its pouch and tossed it into the middle of the fight. The chances were that his distraction would confuse Marian as much as it would the attackers but he had no choice.
As the scene was enveloped in smoke Yughi changed from his regular vision to the eagle sense. He plunged into the clouds and attempted to take out Sir Asheby, as he was both dangerous and of no real use to Yughi.
To his amazement, the Templar managed to evade the swipe of Yughi's sword and the follow-up counter with his hidden blade. Yughi understood that Newenham and Asheby were not to be underestimated.
As the smoke cleared none of the attackers had fallen. Before the cloud had diffused too far there was the rushing sound of an arrow through the crowd and a cry of pain from the rodent.
Tuck had caught the man in the shoulder, which bearing in mind the obscured view and the movement of the fighters was pretty impressive.
Caught by surprise Asheby found himself unbalanced by Marian who was regaining her own position in the fight. Yughi, for his part, struck out at Newenham with the hilt of his sword, feeling the satisfying crunch of the Templar's nose bone breaking.
"Leave them!" Newenham called out to his companions. "We are undone!"
The Templars fled, abandoning the thief they had brought to do the terrible deed. Yughi gave chase but Newenham had planned his exit, plunging into the transept and making for a stairwell at the back which allowed him to leave via the east wall. Yughi was intent on his quarry but as Newenham left he grabbed a torch from a sconce in the wall of the yard at the back of the church.
Carrying the lit torch Newenham hopped up onto the back of a cart covered in barrels. From there the Templar scrambled up onto the roof of the adjacent house where he turned to look back at Yughi closing on his position.
"Rot in hell," Newenham called out to the assassin and dropped the torch onto the top of the nearest barrel.
At the last second Yughi detected a whiff of alcohol coming from the cart. He ducked back as the whole thing burst into bright white-yellow flames.
Spinning on the ball of his foot Yughi turned north and scaled the back wall of the cathedral's sacristy. Once he was high enough he jumped back down onto the nearest roof and gave chase once more.
He didn't get too far, maybe eight to ten rooftops, before he realised that something else had begun to happen on the streets of Lincoln. The people on the streets were shouting furiously. As Yughi looked down he saw people chanting angrily, some were throwing missiles - small rocks, clumps of hard dirt and many other hand-sized scraps of wood, metal even vegetation - through windows.
In the distance, Yughi could see some people dragging a man from his home and throwing him down on the street. The assassin tried to tell himself that this matter was not his affair but his conscience would not let the matter lie.
The small crowd were now gathered around the man, some were kicking him, others just taunting, but it looked like any of them would be happy to visit violence upon their victim.
A number of incidents from the past few days filtered through Yughi's mind: the paranoia on the streets, the words of the rodentine agitator, Newenham's assurance that the rodent would not be blamed for the killing of Hugh of Avalon. Yughi understood now why Newenham had ordered the stirring up of anti-semitic feeling in Lincoln. The bastard had manipulated an existing unrest in order to provide cover for his own dark dealings.
Now the innocent man at the crowd's feet was intended to pay the price for Newenham's need to conduct his business behind a very Templar distraction. Yughi had come to Lincoln to stop Newenham spilling blood this day and the blood of a Jew was, to Yughi's mind, no different to the blood of a Bishop.
Yughi needed no weapons to deal with the rabble. In moments he had knocked the leader unconscious and scattered the rest. Yughi offered the poor Jewish man, bleeding on the floor, a hand of assistance.
"What is happening?" the man asked. "The city's gone crazy."
"Return to your home," Yughi told him. "Barricade the door."
The man needed no second telling. As Yughi watched him go a wave of unsettling terror rose up in Yughi's stomach. The incidents in Lincoln from Friday had come back to him in terrible clarity. There were people on the streets of Lincoln now, intent on harming all the Jews they could lay their hands on.
If Baruch was to be believed then his family was one of the best known in the city, at this time his home was probably the centre of an unruly mob riot. Yughi had no real choice. He could not let his saviour die, neither did he want to see it happen.
Seeing the Jewish man safely back inside his own house Yughi took to the rooftops once more, headed back towards the house where two days ago he had been given tea and education, fearful of what he might find when he got there.