"All right. Pack your bags and grab your weapons. We're bound for the Luskan border." Bishop growled as he turned, "Follow my lead and don't try to be clever. If the Luskans catch us they will use us for target practice."

Avera glared at the ranger with clear disdain, "I don't take orders any better than you would but I need time before we go."

"You're a lot like your uncle … calling debts, giving orders … that kind of behavior can get you killed."

"And your attitude will keep you from being killed?" She snarled and turned from the ranger.

"Don't keep me waiting too long. I may just change my mind about helping you bring back the farmer girl."

Avera stalked over to her uncle and pulled him to the side, "Are you completely out of your mind, Uncle?"

"You need to be able to track them in order to get Shandra back."

She glanced towards Bishop without turning and whispered, "I can track those creeps just as well as he can."

Duncan almost yelled, "But you do not know Luskan! He does!"

"So you are sending me out with a man who hates your guts and apparently mine because we are related? You do realize the shortest way to hurt someone is through their blood?"

"There is no way that he would."

Avera turned her head slightly and watched Bishop sneer at her, "That is quite a debt. I do NOT like this."

"There is no way you can get through Luskan without him. They have troops that would shoot you on sight no questions asked. He knows how they work."

"Ok so you got me there." She snorted then stopped whispering, "But you can tell your brother what happened if they find me dead with a cluster of arrows between the eyes."

Bishop grinned and piped in, "You about to leave. Every moment we wait, your farm girl gets farther away."

She rubbed her temples and growled, "Ok who wants to play in the woods with us? We're going to have to move fast and it sounds like a small team would be best."

"I am going with you." Casavir announced as he walked over to her. He kept an eye on the ranger making sure the man knew he was watching him.

"Me too." Called Khelgar as he kicked a gith body.

Neeshka handed Avera her pack and whispered in her ear, "I put some mallow tea and chocolate in to help. There's also a couple skins of the tea ready to use. By the looks of you you're going to need it. Why don't you just use a heal? Are you sure you will be ok?"

Avera blinked at her friend, "The tea also takes away the icky feeling that goes with it. Wait. You put something IN my pack?"

"Have to admit that healing potions do nothing for mood swings. Now don't go acting like I never do anything for you! I'll be going too you know."

"Thanks."

Bishop rubbed his bow, "We can't have too many people so only four on this run." He snapped back to Avera, "Are you finally ready?"

As they created a line and walked towards the door Khelgar nudged Avera, "Why is the tiefling so concerned?"

"Just women stuff."

"Ah. I thought you didn't look too well at the library. Hurting are ye?"

"In more than my gut I assure you." She said while glaring at the ranger's back.

"Maybe take a healing potion. That's sure to cure the pain."

Avera sneered at Bishop thinking of how a healing potion wouldn't get rid of all of her pains.

nnn

He was surprised with how well the group was taking his direction. They had not arrived at the Luskan border yet but they still followed him easily. He peeked over his shoulder as he stopped for a moment to listen to the wood. There was a pleasant bird call and the other three relaxed in formation.

Bishop glanced about for the little birds which kept making this call. He had intermittently heard it most of the way through this expedition but had yet to find the small feathered creatures that were making the sound. The breed eluded his memory.

That was when he heard her voice perk up and he looked over in aggravation because of the shrill tone in her voice. It was very un-bard like.

"Whee a snake!" The hobbit shrieked then crawled into the vegetation.

Bishop snarled as she disappeared and wondered if it was a rule that all small bards had to be as mad as a hatter. It wasn't enough that the gnome was nuts but this little woman was testing his patience with her cutesy attitude towards animals. Then he noticed something weird. The paladin looked surprised. Why would he look surprised about the hobbit acting like that? She certainly reacted childlike with Karnwyr that one night. The same night she had made sure to discreetly point out to him that she knew he was trouble.

He thought it over as the dwarf snickered and realized she never acted that way with the cats in the bar. She treated them well, went a bit overboard and cuddled them incessantly. He had also seen her get excited when someone brought an animal into the Sunken Flagon but she never reacted like a squealing maiden who had just found a huge diamond ring.

"Is she always this extreme with animals?" He asked the paladin.

Casavir looked down at him with disdain, "Very seldom."

She plunged into the clearing with a snake in hand. It was longer than she was tall and she restrained it behind the head in such a way that it could not open it's mouth. She held it up for all to see, "What a nice catch." She squealed and tapped it on the nose with her skinning knife, "A blood tail viper. See this gorgeous purple tone down the sides of the body? It has such a beautiful blood red tail. That color," She tapped her knife on the tail which had curled around her body, "That is how it got the name. Rather cantankerous critters. Usually leaves you alone but can be dangerous. It has some pretty debilitating venom." Her expression hardened, she looked up into Bishop's eyes and her voice changed to a cold monotone, "It's too bad when they do become a threat." The viper's head popped off with a quick flick of her knife and she got all chirpy with a huge smile, "But they do make good eating."

With a few quick flicks of her knife, she had expertly gutted the snake. She then wrapped it up in a bag and put it in her pack while calmly walking past him and whistling.

The whistle sounded admirably similar to a bird call.

Bishop's eyes narrowed and he chuckled lightly. He caught up to her then got back in front of the group, "Ok the border is close. Follow my lead."