Chapter 36: Bargain Kept
Shandra entered the Flagon juggling a bunch of packages, Khelgar right behind her with even more stuff. They had taken a serious look at their equipment and supplies and realized that quite a few things were lacking or missing. When they had told everyone what they were heading off to do, they had gotten a list of things from Duncan that he needed. They were a large group now and Duncan wasn't charging them anything for staying there. Linens, towels, and soap were just some of the things he had requested. Surprisingly, Nimbrethil had paid for all of it out of her own pocket. Up to this point she had been providing fresh game for Duncan on a regular basis to help out, but that had been all. Duncan of course had tried to tell that she was family and it wasn't necessary but she had waived him off. Shandra wondered if the motivation behind the elf's generosity had anything to do with the fact that Bishop and Duncan were barely civil to each other now. Everyone knew where the ranger was spending his nights, and no one really approved, but Duncan was especially upset about it.
As for the girl herself, she was starting to spend more time talking with the rest of them. She was keeping her regular meetings with Sand and had not even complained when asked to attend Sir Grayson a couple of times. Everyone was happy about that, except for Casavir. Sometimes he worried too much about things beyond his control and needed to learn to relax a little. Even if it was all an act on her part, at least Nimbrethil wasn't openly rebelling against them. Fortunately, Casavir and Bishop had managed somehow to keep out of each other's way so far, and she really hoped that continued. Things were tense enough around the place without those two going at it.
"I see you're back," Duncan called out as he came over to them. "Manage to get everything?"
"There were a couple of items that we had to order, but everything else is here," Shandra told him as she set the bundles down. "So what's for supper?"
"Funny you should ask that," Duncan avoided looking at her. "Uhm..Nim's been in the kitchen for a while with Grobnar, cooking something. She said something about a bargain you made with her?"
Shandra felt her stomach lurch when she heard that. "Gods, I was hoping she would have forgotten about that," she said in dismay.
"Shandra, she's an elf, they don't forget so easily you know," Duncan admonished. "But, you've got to hold up your end of the bargain or risk losing ground with her."
"Well, hopefully she'll go easy on me," Shandra couldn't keep an expression of distaste from her face. Hopefully, whatever those two were cooking wasn't too revolting, for she didn't really want to get sick in front of everyone.
"Well, I'll keep you company lass," Khelgar clapped her on the back. "Who knows, it might just be tasty. Although if the gnome's got his hands on it then I wouldn't put money on it," he grumbled. Everyone knew that Khelgar thought the gnome a little wrong in the head and only good for arrow bait.
Meanwhile, Nimbrethil and Grobnar were debating the merits of seasoning, with the gnome insisting that the food needed more and her saying it didn't. Bishop was leaning against the wall, occasionally offering his opinion, but mostly just watching the elf. He had found that he didn't like not knowing where she was and what she was doing, so he put up with the chatter of the idiotic gnome. He had sneered that they should serve the gnome for dinner, earning him a smack from Nim and an admonishment to behave. She was still fairly reserved during the day, but the nights! Gods, he felt as if he had unleashed a tiger in bed. Duncan might be upset by a bruise or two on Nim, but he didn't know the half of it. She had left quite a few marks on him, though not in so obvious a place as his neck, and his back occasionally twinged from where her nails had cut his skin. Sometimes he could hardly believe they were the same woman.
Nimbrethil was quite pleased with her efforts at dinner. She had gone out with Grobnar and Bishop to catch some frogs and crickets. Grobnar had some chocolate and after sauteeing the crickets, dipped some of them in the chocolate to coat them. It was actually a little sweet for her palate, but Shandra should have no complaints. As for the frogs, they had cleaned them, then chopped them up, rolled them in a light flour batter, and fried them in oil. Grobnar had a pouch of what he called his secret seasonings that he had added to the batter, but she had easily discerned the nature of it. It was mostly common herbs and spices, but mixed in proportions that didn't overpower. Still, the result was what mattered, and she really couldn't see Shandra having a problem eating them. Still, she couldn't keep a grin off her face as she imagined what the woman's reaction would be. A deal was a deal, and she wasn't going to give Shandra any excuse to wriggle out of it.
"Nim, Shandra's back and I told her about dinner," Duncan said as he entered the kitchen. When he spotted Bishop lounging nearby he scowled and then ignored him, going over to the stove instead. "You know, that actually smells pretty good," he sniffed appreciatively at the food.
"Well, we made plenty so if you want to try it go ahead," Nimbrethil offered. She watched as Duncan speared a frog leg on a fork and, after blowing on it a little, popped it in his mouth.
"Hmm, not bad, could use a little more spice though," he commented, causing Grobnar to hop up and down saying "I told you so."
"What is it with you people and spices," Nimbrethil scowled. "It hides all the natural flavor of the food."
"Well, maybe you like it that way, but stuff like this isn't normal food for the rest of us," Duncan pointed out.
"Don't worry Nim, frogs and crickets are an acquired taste," Bishop stepped forward and casually put his arm around her shoulders, smirking as Duncan glared at him. "I at least can appreciate it, even if others don't." When she smiled at him for his comments, Duncan huffed and stormed out. The man was really ticked off that he was sleeping with Nim and it pleased him enormously. He had been wanting to pay Duncan back for a long time and had finally found a way to do it that was also pleasant for himself. Bending his head, he nibbled a little on the elf's ear and grinned when she moaned slightly. Elven ears were so sensitive. "Ready to serve the farm girl dinner?"
Nimbrethil was about to say dinner could wait, but then changed her mind. It wouldn't really to do to chance ruining the food by getting distracted by other things. Grabbing some plates she began dividing the fried frogs and then added the chocolate covered crickets to the plates for Shandra and Grobnar. She made up two plates with the regular crickets for her and Bishop. When it was ready, they took them and entered the common room.
Shandra had taken a seat at a table near the fire with Khelgar sitting on her left, for moral support he said. The dwarf had ordered them beer, just in case they needed to wash the food down. Already her stomach was in knots, and she stared apprehensively at the door to the kitchen. When she saw Nimbrethil coming, she cringed inwardly but somehow managed to paste a smile on her face. As the plate was set down in front of her she was surprised to find that it actually smelled pretty good, even though the sight of the bugs made her a little queasy.
"Dig in Shandra," Nimbrethil smiled smugly as she sat down with her plate and began to eat. She saw that Grobnar had a bottle of something and was pouring it over his plate. "I really don't know why you feel it necessary to drown your food," she sighed and shook her head as the gnome grinned happily and then began wolfing it down.
Shandra hesitated, watching as Bishop and the girl ate their own food. She saw that their bugs were a different color and wondered about it. Gathering her courage, she picked up one of the ones on her plate and tentatively took a bite. To her surprise she realized that the coating was chocolate, and despite the odd texture, the bugs were actually edible. Still, she wouldn't want to add them to her diet.
"Well lass, how does it taste?" Khelgar asked, eyeing the food hungrily. It smelled pretty good and he felt like he wanted to try it.
"Here, try it for yourself," Shandra grinned and edged the plate closer to him.
"Don't mind if I do," the dwarf said as he grabbed a cricket and popped it in his mouth. "Hey, that's not bad, not bad at all," he said in surprise. "How's the rest of it?"
Shandra picked up her knife and cut a piece off one of the frogs and put it in her mouth. To her surprise, she found she liked the taste and the flavor of the frog. "I think the frogs need a little more pepper," she commented, causing Duncan to laugh and Nim to shake her head and mutter something about killing the flavor of the food.
"I tried to explain that to her but she didn't believe me," Grobnar piped up. "She wanted to cook it "au natural" but I told her "no, no, no, that won't do at all!" The little gnome was once again chattering at top speed.
"Shut your trap gnome before I decide to cook you for supper," Bishop growled. The gnome's inane chatter was ruining his appetite.
"Bishop," NImbrethil warned and glared at him. "Grobnar, everyone has different tastes. If I cooked the food to suit you, then I wouldn't be able to eat it. That's what salt and pepper mills are for."
"Oh, when you explain it that way it does make sense," the little guy nodded happily and went back to eating.
Shandra was surprised when Bishop didn't make any more snide remarks and resumed eating his food. Up till now, the ranger had never been one to hold back when something annoyed him. Could the girl have that much effect on him? She still thought Nimbrethil was making a big mistake, but apparently their relationship had some positive aspects to it. Of course, no one else would ever believe that, especially Casavir. While she had been distracted, Khelgar had taken the opportunity to pilfer some of the frog from her plate and looked like he was enjoying eating it.
"I must say lass, when you talked about all those odd food choices, I didn't expect to ever find myself liking any of them," the dwarf commented. "This though is pretty good. I didn't know you could cook like this."
Nimbrethil shrugged and finished eating, but inside she was smirking. There were alot of things they didn't know about her, but as for being able to cook, what else could they expect? It wasn't like she had someone around all the time cooking for her. She had had to learn it on her own and she was quite proud of that fact. Hearing someone else say it was good made her happy that she had taken the time and effort.
"Well if you want to try one of the other things, let me know," Nimbrethil gave him a little smile. "You might find something else you like as well."
"You bet lass," Khelgar grinned back. "At the very least, if I find myself going on a long journey one day, I can hire you as the cook. Damn sight better than most I've travelled with, including the gnome."
"Hey, I'm a pretty good cook you know!" Grobnar protested.
"Maybe, when you're not trying to experiment with dinner," Khelgar grumbled.
Shandra, with Khelgar's help, soon finished her meal and then sat back watching the girl and Bishop. Bishop had leaned over, a wicked grin on his face, and whispered something in her ear, causing her to giggle, of all things. It was just a small one, quickly choked off, but it was still a giggle. It was such a girlish thing to do, something Nimbrethil had never done before. Hells, she hardly ever laughed, and now here she was giggling at something the ranger had said. Peering over their heads she saw Duncan glaring at them, or more specifically, Bishop. He had never told anyone how he had come to know Bishop, but had hinted at a dark past that involved Luskan somehow. When she asked him, all Duncan would say was his brother was going to kill him for letting Nimbrethil get involved with Bishop, like there was anything he could have done to stop it from happening. She had seen this coming since being rescued from the githyanki. When pressed, he merely responded that Bishop always looked out for himself and never did anything without expecting to get paid well in return. Turning her head she saw Casavir was also glaring at the ranger and sighed, then paused as she thought about that. Casavir was always considerate towards Nimbrethil, always seeking to help her, and he was never angry at her. There was no way Bishop would be sharing the elf's bed if she didn't want him to, so why was Casavir so angry with the ranger and not Nimbrethil? Seeing the happy couple were getting up to leave she decided to go sit with Casavir and try talking to him. Maybe she could find out what was bothering him.
"Mind if I join you?" she asked him, but he kept watching the other two as they headed out the back. "Hello, anybody home?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face.
"Forgive me Shandra," Casavir rose and bowed apologetically and motioned to the chair opposite him. "Please, sit down."
"You know, if looks could kill, Bishop would be dead and buried by now," Shandra commented as they both sat.
"That man is a menace and he will only hurt her," Casavir growled. "Everyone, including myself, has warned her about him and I just have to wonder how he's managed to fool her into accepting him."
"How do you think he could have done that?" Shandra asked in surprise. "He's not a magic user like Sand."
"Maybe not in the conventional sense, but he definately has managed to pull the wool over her eyes," Casavir stated flatly.
"Look, you're not going to like hearing this but it must be said," Shandra told him, impatience entering her voice. "I would bet my farm, if I still had it, that Nimbrethil knows exactly what he is capable of. The thing is, from everything I've seen and heard, she is just as capable as he is. She is not some sweet, innocent young girl who needs protecting from the big bad wolf, she's made that abundantly clear. I would be more likely to warn Bishop about her if he wasn't such an ass."
"How can you even say that?" Casavir was shocked. "He is scum, a predator, someone who hangs around only as long as there is something in it for him. When the gold runs out, he runs off."
"Yes he is that, and I suspect so much more," Shandra nodded calmly. "However, you were there when she took Qara to hand, and you saw how she dealt with Lorne. Do you think, for one moment, that if he does hurt her that she would just let him go and then go off and cry?" Seeing him shake his head she continued, "Me neither. If by word or deed he hurts her, Duncan, or any one of us, then I think Bishop will be the one running for his life. He sure as the Hells would not be sleeping with her unless she wanted him to, that I can guarantee you. He's her choice and we'll just have to accept that or we might as well just leave. If you want to be angry with someone over the situation, then be angry with Nimbrethil, not Bishop."
"I cannot be angry with her because, despite what you think, she is innocent of the ways and tricks of men," Casavir replied quietly. "She is easy prey for someone of Bishop's talents."
Shandra studied him closely and saw something in his eyes, trying to define it. Then it hit her: Casavir had feelings for the elf. Barely suppressing her surprise she sat back in her chair. If that was the case, then his anger with Bishop was more understandable. He was jealous and didn't know it or wouldn't acknowledge it. Boy, she hoped she was reading too much into this and was wrong, because that meant that the tension between the two would never abate. However, she didn't think she was and she would just have to keep her eyes open and try to prevent any serious trouble in the group. Having two roosters in the same hen house was never a good thing, as one usually ended up killing the other. If anything like that happened, it would destroy the girl more surely than anything else. Suppressing a sigh, she realized that there was nothing she could really say or do that would make the situation better. They didn't call jealousy the "ugly green monster" for nothing.