Chapter 17: The Vigil
Nimbrethil sat staring at the far wall feeling that she was losing control of her life. She had thought coming to Neverwinter to find out about the shards would be a relatively simple task and that she would soon be able to return home to the woods and the mere. But it had ended up being more complicated than that and she had resigned herself to staying longer than she wanted. Now she was being forced into a position she didn't want and had to wonder if it would be better to just take off. Once she got out of the city she could leave and head for another part of Faerun. Her father had taught her well and she knew she could live off the land easily.
Duncan watched his niece and felt he could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Daeghun was one of the finest hunters and trackers in these parts and no doubt had trained the girl well in that area, even if he did come up short in others. He would almost bet the Flagon that Nim was contemplating taking off and if she did, then mostly likely no one would be able to find her, except Daeghun. Of course that would end up making her an outlaw and he didn't want to see that happen.
"Uh, Duncan," Sal nudged him to get his attention. "It looks like we have a guest," he pointed towards the door.
Looking around he saw Sand had come in and snapped, "What the hells do you want Sand?"
"I am here to help you and your kin actually," Sand said evenly, quickly spying the girl in question sitting at a table next to the bar. "Nevalle told me about your trouble with Luskan." He paused and waited to see if she would say anything but she merely looked at him with a closed expression. "Know that if you are sent to Luskan you will be killed." That statement got a reaction out of her.
"Oh really, tell me something I don't know," Nimbrethil snorted. "How exactly can you help me?"
"First I know that you are not guilty and second I have considerable experience with the ways Luskans do business," Sand said smoothly, moving closer to her table so he didn't have to shout. "I can also represent you at your trial and foiling Luskan plans is something I relish. I do not get the chance to do it often."
Nimbrethil stared silently at the wizard for a long time thinking about his words. He had been very helpful when she first arrived with the shards and none of the others with her knew any more about Luskan than she did, well except maybe Bishop, but she doubted he knew anything about laws or courts. Sand seemed sincere about wanting to help her and finally she nodded, "Very well, what is your plan for this situation?"
"First we have to go see Sir Grayson and make you a squire," Sand told her and saw her scowl and open her mouth to protest. "There is no getting out of this dear girl, you either become a squire or hang in Luskan, it is your choice. And no running off into the woods to avoid this either, I am sure your father would agree with me on that point. There is more behind this than is apparent right now and Luskan does not do something like this on a whim. You have made a powerful enemy and you have to deal with it."
"How do you know my father would agree with you?" Nimbrethil asked.
"I met him when he came to Neverwinter asking about the shards a long time ago if you will recall," Sand responded. "Duncan has unfortunately regaled me with tales about him and I think that I have come to know him pretty well. I'm sure he did not teach you to run away from your problems."
Sighing, Nimbrethil got to her feet and headed for the door. "Then let's go get this over with," she said as she walked out. Sand quickly hurried to catch up, and fell into step beside her. He saw that she had an almost sulky look on her face and sighed inwardly. He had almost forgotten that she was not yet an adult with an adult's perspective of the world. She expected things to go the way she wanted simply because it was what she wanted. The world did not work that way as she was now finding out, and like any youngster she was pouting. Oh well, she would come to terms with matters soon enough.
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Nimbrethil sat in the glade staring at the fire and stroking Thorondor's feathers. She had called him to her as soon as she had arrived there and now she was enjoying the peace and quiet of the open area. Grayson had told her about the knight's code of conduct and then led her here and told her to reflect on it or pray to her god. She had to wonder what Solonor thought about one of his followers pledging herself to a city. Sand had warned her to not say or do anything to show that she was not thrilled with the idea of becoming a squire, and she had done that, but it hadn't been easy. She did not agree with the knight's code and she had had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. At least this part of becoming a squire was pleasant. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching and drew her swords as she stood up.
"Are you here? I can barely see anything out here," Shandra came walking out of the shadows. She paused as she saw the drawn weapons.
"I thought you might be someone looking for trouble," Nimbrethil shrugged and sheathed the swords. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, but the safest place for me is near you," Shandra said. "Bad things seem to happen to me when you're not around. Besides I wanted to see if the gods wanted to punish you some more."
"Well since you're here you might as well join me in front of the fire," Nimbrethil sighed and sat down again. "Sand didn't put you up to this did he?"
"What do you mean by that?" Shandra asked.
"Oh, nothing, I just..nevermind, forget I said anything," Nimbrethil scowled.
"Seeing as how we're still inside the city, I don't think he expects you will be able to run off." Shandra bit back a smile when Nimbrethil just scowled. So Duncan had been right that she had been thinking of leaving. "Anyway, if you did, where would you go?"
"I could go anywhere I wanted really as I know how to live off the land," Nimbrethil shrugged.
"If you did run off, then you would be declared an outlaw and never be able to return to your famliy. You would end up alone," Shandra said gently.
"I've been alone for more than half my life already, it wouldn't be any different." Nimbrethil picked up a stick and poked at the fire, seeming to think this was normal.
Shandra didn't know which upset her more: that the girl had been left alone or that she didn't appear to be bothered by it. In her opinion, no one should feel that being alone was a way of life. If she ever met Daeghun she would give him a piece of her mind. "What about your home or your friends, wouldn't you miss them?"
"I didn't have that many friends, and only one of them is still alive. I don't even know for sure if Daeghun would miss me, although I think he would be upset at the very least," Nimbrethil answered as she reached into her pack to pull out some dried meat. "Want some?" she held out a piece. "Besides, I have Thorondor."
Taking the food, Shandra sat back and watched the elf as she petted the falcon, smiling and speaking to it in elvish. It was the first real warmth she had seen from the girl, it was obvious she cared about her companion a great deal. It just didn't seem right that she should care more about the bird than she did friends or family. Then again, if Daeghun was as emotionally closed off as Duncan said, then it made sense that Nimbrethil's emotional growth would be affected. The problem was how to show the girl differently, yet not scare her away. She would have to discuss it with Duncan later and see what he thought. She was about to say something more when she saw Nimbrethil tense and lift her head almost like she was sniffing the air.
"There are three men approaching from the north," Nimbrethil said as she got to her feet and drew her swords, while Thorondor took flight.
Getting nervously to her feet, Shandra drew her own sword, not knowing how much help she would be, but determined to stand her ground. She soon saw what Nimbrethil had said was true as three figures appeared at the top of the hill and started towards them.
"They're lightly armored which means they will be able to move fast," Nimbrethil said quickly. "Don't let them get behind you and use your shield to block their attacks and wait for an opening. If you have to, retreat to the trees to limit their mobility, but don't turn your back to them if you do." Then she moved away and focused her attention back on the three coming towards her.
"I'm glad you're here, I was getting bored," she taunted and saw an eager smile cross the leader's face.
"Excellent, let the entertainment begin," he responded and then lunged.
Nimbrethil dodged aside and brought her longsword up to block his swing, using her short sword to keep a second one at bay. Sparing a glance she saw that so far Shandra seemed to be doing what she said and was holding her own against the third one. As soon as she was sure she had her opponents full attention, she sent a call to Thorondor to go for the bigger man. The falcon headed for him in a full speed dive, and with a loud shriek clawed at his face, sending him flailing backwards. Off balance he was unprepared for the quick thrust of her short sword and went down screaming, clutching his stomach. The leader, seeing this, doubled his efforts in an attempt to finish her off. She told Thorondor to go help Shandra while she engaged the leader, ignoring the screams of the wounded man. Soon she had the leader on the defensive and not long afterwards managed to kill him. Looking up she saw Shandra had managed to kill her opponent and then turned to the man on the ground and saw he was still alive. With a quick swipe of her sword, she cut his throat and then walked over to where Shandra stood looking somewhat surprised.
"Where in the hells did they come from?" Shandra gasped as she looked at the man on the ground.
"Luskan probably," Nimbrethil answered and went over to check the leader for anything that might tell her more. All she found was an odd ring with a circle and daggers on it. Putting it in her pouch she checked the other bodies for anything useful.
"It's starting to get light out, I should probably go before your knight gets back," Shandra told her.
"You don't have to you know. I'm sure that Grayson won't say anything once he sees the bodies," Nimbrethil looked at her and then back at the dead men, studying them.
"I wouldn't want to risk offending him and ruining your chances of becoming a squire," Shandra smiled. "You may not mind but I think he would so I'll see you later." Turning, she walked away, feeling pretty good about having managed to not only hold her own, but having defeated her opponent. Maybe Nimbrethil would have managed the three of them with just Thorondor's help but that was doubtful, and she wanted to give the girl the chance to think on it. That would go a long way towards changing her mind about the value of having other companions.