Disclaimer: I don't own Sand, NWN2, or any events/dialogs/etc and so on besides my lovely little Nai Farlong and her familiar, Fara.
A Lesson in Trials
Sand was gloating. He knew it was a dangerous indulgence considering that the verdict had not yet been given, and of course it could possibly make him sloppy, but by the looks of things there was really no chance of the Luskan Ambassador turning things in her favor. Not only had they found overwhelming evidence to support Nai's innocence, not only had they managed to discredit the "eye witness" that Torio presented, not only had Nai made the Ambassador look like an uncultured fool when the air genasi responded to a loaded question with a veritable fountain of historical quotes of previous Luskan attempts to corrupt and undermine Neverwinter and its citizens, but that was all before Sand had the chance to call a single witness. So, as Commander Collum came forward, the smug moon elf could not help but smile at the human woman across the room from him. Had he not been so sure of himself, Sand would have been worried when she smiled back.
The wizard allowed his attention to wander to Nai sitting beside him. If she was nervous then she was doing a commendable job keeping it to herself as she sat calmly watching the courtroom. In an attempt to downplay her unusual nature, she'd donned a simple, light colored dress that showed just a hint of cleavage – to, ahem…make her seem more human – and an embroidered white bandana was tied over her hair to keep it out of her face. She looked tiny and almost frail, which was exactly what they wanted. Besides, she looks lovely.
"…so Commander," Torio was saying, and her tone as well as the cruel smile she was leveling across the room at Sand brought the moon elf's attention back to the proceedings, "I suppose it would surprise you then to learn that the defendant's own council is in fact…a Luskan."
And time ground to a halt. Sand's eyes stayed locked on the Ambassador, her smile widening until he expected her to throw back her head and cackle like the witch she most certainly was. The mocking smile Sand had been wearing was frozen on his face, and a tiny rational voice in the back of his head reminded him that if he didn't take a breath soon he'd probably faint. That would not go over well at this point, I think.
"That…banshee!" he hissed, only then aware that the eyes of the court were on him, including those of Nai and Commander Collum. Sand could not bring himself to look at the woman beside him. You should have just told her before!
"Indeed," Collum was saying, his voice carefully neutral, "I did not know that."
Nai half-stood from her seat, her weight resting on her hands planted on the table as she stared hard at Torio. "I certainly hope you're not implying that a Luskan cannot be trusted, because if so then you damn yourself as well."
The human woman smiled sweetly. "I imply no such thing. I was merely-."
"No, the Squire is right," the dwarven commander interrupted, sharing a knowing look with Nai. "You cannot condemn a fellow Luskan without bringing it down upon yourself as well. This trial is about the people of Ember, and the life of an innocent woman, not your attempts to undermine the process and those involved therein."
Surprised and still reeling under the Ambassador's unexpected disclosure of personal information he'd thought well buried, Sand watched as the trial slid right back on track. A glance at Nai revealed the same calm exterior, as if nothing had happened. Maybe she's not angry? He put a gentle hand on Nai's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Well done."
She did not reply, but her muscles twitched under his touch and he felt a sharp shock of electricity crackle up the tips of his fingers. Biting back a hiss of pain, Sand retreated, rubbing his sore hand under the table. There's your answer.
But, when the trail was over and Nasher rose and proclaimed Nai's undeniable innocence as well as named the Arcane Brotherhood as the true responsible party for Ember's destruction, Nai was nothing but happiness. She rarely smiled in public, but the joy that radiated from her as she looked up at Sand was breathtaking. Yes, she's beautiful now, but just wait until she gets you in private and castrates you for not telling her about your past.
"I demand the right of Trial by Combat!"
Stunned, Sand blinked at the fuming Ambassador, praying that his ears had deceived him. But of course they hadn't. "Gods…I was hoping she didn't know about that."
"Hoping?" All traces of joy now gone, Nai's hands were balled into fists, her angry, flashing eyes a sharp contrast to her calm voice. "Just as you were hoping she wouldn't know you are a Luskan?"
The slight stung more than she realized, mostly because Sand felt like an amateur for having underestimated any opponent – especially a human woman without a stitch of magical talent, and from Luskan of all places – but their current situation did not leave any time for argument. Oh, yes, there will be plenty of time for that later I'm sure.
"Who will stand as Luskan's Champion, as one to defend the people of Ember?" The silence that followed gave Sand hope that perhaps Torio's last desperate ploy would prove futile.
"I will."
Sand's eyes went wide as the lumbering ox of a man thundered through the open door, but beside him Nai grew very still. Even the wind that followed her that had very recently been tugging at the edges of Sand's robe from her irritation went silent. Her eyes were locked on the man's face, but there was no fear, no surprise even, just something strangely akin to pity under her emotionless mask.
"So be it." The somber judge looked over the courtroom as he said, "You have until sunset to prepare yourselves for the Rite of Tyr. Report to the temple before then, and may the gods decide your fate."
Nai was up and striding toward the door before Sand could blink, Shandra right on her heels, leaving him scrambling to gather his papers. He looked up to see Nai standing just inside the courtroom, her eyes staring up – way up – into the Luskan Champion's sneering face. Oh gods, she's barely taller than his navel! Clearly undaunted, the air genasi leaned toward him on her toes and said something under her breath, something that made the brute's eyes widen before narrowing to a vicious snarl.
But Nai did not wait for him to respond, her breeze stirring the fur on the Luskan's armor as she moved proudly past him and out of the castle. Sand, still struggling to keep the mass of papers from spilling from his hands into the street, had to force himself not to catch up to her. Shandra was already babbling on at an insane rate about the unfairness of it all and Sand did not want to burden her with more than she was already forced to bear.
Once they arrived back at the docks, Sand literally sprinted into his shop and dumped the armload of papers on his desk, rushing back out to catch up with the two women. As soon as they were inside the Flagon, Nai headed straight to her room, and ignoring the still rambling human and the elf trailing behind, she slammed her bedroom door shut in their faces. Shandra scowled at the door for a few seconds then shouted, "I'm just trying to help!"
"Yes, and failing miserably," Sand muttered as he gently guided the woman away from the door. "Why don't you go yell at Grobnar to get some of that nervous energy worked out and leave Nai to me, hmm?"
Shandra gave him a withering glare, but stomped off down the hall toward the main room of the tavern. Sand took a moment to calm himself, smoothing his hair and robe as if that would somehow make things easier before quietly opening her door to let himself inside.
Of course he would happen to walk in just as she was hauling her dress up and over her head. The moon elf swallowed hard as he attempted not to leer at her near-nude profile, and while she must have heard him come in, Nai was completely ignoring him. "My dear, please…" he started softly.
Nai rounded on him, her body completely bare from the waist up, her eyes flashing in her otherwise calm face. "How could you?" she whispered.
My, it is distracting trying to have a real conversation with a bare breasted woman you've shared your bed with. "I didn't think it mattered," Sand answered lamely.
Nai stared at him as if he'd just grown a third eye in the center of his forehead, then shook her head and began yanking on her clothes and armor. "Unbelievable," she ranted to herself. "Of course it wouldn't matter. Why would it matter that Luskan tried to frame me for the murder of an entire village and then I come to find out during the trial that my own councilor is from Luskan as well? It makes absolutely no sense that I'm pissed off. I'm overreacting."
"Nai, please," Sand stepped close to her in spite of the little wisps of energy streaking through the air around her, his hands outstretched to help her buckle her armor. "I spent time in Luskan at one point in my life, yes. I was not born there, and when I found that the things I sought there came with a higher price than I could have imagined, I eventually left. In exchange for my knowledge, Nasher has given me a safe place to live out my life."
The air genasi listened to his words with a look of stubborn indignation, but she allowed him to help with her armor and her face softened from anger to hurt as she turned to face him. "You should have told me."
"Call me a fool," Sand sighed, "but I honestly did not think it mattered. How Torio learned of my past is a mystery." His brow furrowed in genuine concern, Sand slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, cupping her cheek in his other hand. "I did not mean to hurt you, my dear. If you want, I will write you a full autobiography with all the sordid details for you to peruse at your leisure."
Fighting back a smile, Nai shook her head but kissed him lightly on the lips. There was sadness and worry in her eyes when she pulled away. "If I survive this Trial, I may just hold you to that."
The image of the Luskan brute that would tomorrow be trying to kill the woman in his arms resurfaced in Sand's mind and a strange panic gripped him. All at once his embrace turned fierce, his face buried in the tingling static of her soft hair as he crushed her against his chest. Nai was trembling as her fingers dug painfully into his back, her own fear washing over them like an icy wind, and Sand's voice cracked as he whispered, "A'maelamin." My beloved.
The word – or confession perhaps – hung in the air and Nai grew very still as Sand eventually eased his grip, but she did not pull away. Finally she raised her face to smile wanly at him and Sand's heart almost broke to see a single tear, the first he'd ever seen her shed, trace a faint line down her cheek. "I bet you say that to all your lovers before they face death," she softly teased.
Not quite sure if he had said what he thought he said, and more than a little terrified if he had, Sand cleared his throat and replied, "You did not seem so certain of your demise when you first saw your challenger. Whatever did you say to that beast that angered him so?" Yes, change the subject, quick.
Nai shut her eyes for a moment, a look of sadness and frustration playing across her features. "I told him his mother would be ashamed of him," she answered in a pinched voice. "He is a harborman, Sand, from my village."
Sand was truly surprised by her words, and there was a long pause before he shook his head ruefully. "And now he sides with Luskan, with this Black Garius. I am sorry, my dear, this must be hard for you."
With a sigh, Nai pulled away from the elf and began belting on her weapons. "Lorne was never a good man, but he was never a villain either. Whatever hold this Garius has over him must run deep."
"Sometimes all it takes is the promise of power."
The air genasi paused but did not look up at Sand before continuing to arm herself. "You'll forgive me if I choose to think better of a man I used to catch tadpoles with in the pond on his family's lands. Of course," she gave a bitter chuckle, "we were the same height back then."
Worried, Sand caught her hand as she reached for a cloak and forced her to look up at him. "Nai, he is not that person anymore. He will kill you tomorrow, and you must not hesitate to do what is necessary."
"I know Sand," she replied with a reassuring squeeze of his hand. "I just…don't know how I'll be able to face his mother after this."
Sand could think of nothing to say to that, and with heavy heart they fell into silence as Sand helped her straighten her cape. Satisfied that she was as prepared as possible, Nai started toward the door, then made a small sound of surprise as she reached for her pack.
"I almost forgot," she explained as she extracted her protesting familiar from the depths of the bag. "Can you keep her at the shop with you tonight? I'm afraid if she'll do something stupid like chew up Qara's shoes and I'll have to hear about it for a month."
"Of course," Sand said as the white weasel hopped from Nai's hand to his shoulder, her little claws clutching his robes for balance. "Jaral will be most pleased."
"Good." She opened the door to her room and turned to him again. "I'm sorry, but it's just easier this way." Without waiting for a reply she muttered the words to a spell under her breath and vanished before his eyes. Invisible to everyone in the inn, most of them being her companions, Nai slipped out the front door of the Flagon and made her way toward the temple.
