Chapter 19: Port Last
Nimbrethil was glad that Sand had managed to get Haeromos to let them talk with Alaine, the survivor of the massacre of Ember. Even though he had answered her questions, he was very hostile towards her, not that she blamed him. However, diplomacy was not her forte and without Sand, she wouldn't know what she knew now. Her enemies were Torio (no surprise), a person named Garius (big question mark), and a giant named Lorne. That name and the description given had caused her to stiffen and the others had looked at her curiously. If it was who she thought, then he had really fallen lower than the scum on the ponds in the mere. After hearing Alaine's story, Sand had wanted to find a way to get the woman to work for them. The look on the woman's face convinced Nim that it would never happen so she had led them out of the building to continue their hunt for clues.
As she passed a stall on her way to the Alliance Arms Inn, she saw the proprieter staring at her intensely. The woman's fixed gazed seemed to say that she knew something, so Nimbrethil paused to talk with her, only to be told to watch out for the wyrmsage. Puzzled, she listened to Sand and the woman talking about how it was used to keep the undead from rising.
"Does Port Last have an undead problem?" Nimbrethil asked.
"No, it's Ember. The bodies of those poor people were left to rot, not that I'd expect any better from Luskans," the woman, who had given her name as Nya, told her.
"What do you mean?" Nimbrethil felt a chill run down her spine.
"The bodies have not been buried and I have been unable to leave here to take care of them," Nya said, looking like she was about to cry. "If something isn't done, then they will eventually rise as undead."
Nimbrethil felt her stomach churn in disgust. It never ceased to amaze her the level of cruelty that humans could inflict upon their own kind. This however went beyond even what she thought humans capable of. To show such disrespect for the dead was truly horrible and she hoped she would find the people responsible for it. She would make sure that they regretted their actions.
"You look like a capable person, perhaps you could help," Nya said.
"I wish I could, but burying all of them will take time that I don't have right now," Nimbrethil told her.
"Oh, you wouldn't have to bury them," Nya said quickly. Reaching down she picked up a small pouch. "This is concentrated wyrmsage powder. All you would need to do is sprinkle it on the bodies and it will release their souls and let them travel to the next life. That way they won't have the chance to rise as undead."
"What she says about the wyrmsage is true, but it would still leave the bodies behind," Sand confirmed.
Nimbrethil took the bag and looked at it for a moment. "I'll do this for you. As for the bodies, well... I'll think of something," she told the herbalist and saw the relief on her face before she turned to stop Grobnar from spilling some of her plants on the ground.
Nimbrethil sighed and again questioned her sanity in allowing everyone to come along who had wanted to. Only Neeshka, Qara and Casavir had declined. Everyone else had jumped at the chance to get away from the city, for one reason or another, so she had quite the troop with her. Of the ones with her, only Grobnar tried her patience, his insatiable curiosity and his constant questions sometimes making her wish she knew how to cast a silence spell. She was getting pretty good at tuning him out though, which she did and turned to continue to the inn. She wanted to find this Elgun person who supposedly also witnessed the attack, although Haljal seemed to think he was telling another tall tale. Still, truth or not, she had to find out what, if anything, he knew if she wanted to clear her name.
As she approached the door to the inn she was intercepted by a group of belligerant Port Last guards looking for trouble. They believed Alaine's story and weren't open to hearing any other explanantion. They thought they could goad her into attacking them, giving them a reason to kill her. They thought wrong.
"I'm the one who slaughtered the orc tribes at Old Owl Well and you think the four of you can challenge me?" Nimbrethil asked coldly, her eyes hard.
The lead guard looked into the cold green eyes and shivered, for all she saw in them was her death if she tried anything. Grudgingly stepping back, she allowed the elf to pass, not wanting to put it to the test. "We'll be keeping our eyes on you," she tried once more to intimidate the group, but flinched as the elf shot her another venomous glare.
"Well, that certainly is not the way to convince people that you are innocent," Sand said caustically.
"Would you have preferred a fight which would end in their deaths?" Nimbrethil queried. "If so, I'm sure I could oblige you."
"You could try being a little nicer from time to time, it would not kill you," Sand snapped. Honestly he thought, if she kept this up, then no matter how much evidence they found, people would still think her guilty. Shaking his head he followed her into the inn. People had accused him of being a cold, cynical bastard on occasion, but she could give him a run for his money.
Nimbrethil spotted a half-elf woman near the fireplace looking at her in disbelief, then realized that she was looking at Bishop. As they approached, she saw the woman's expression darken with loathing and wondered what the reason for it was. She didn't have to wonder for long.
"Ah, Malin," Bishop drawled, "still playing girl of the wood are you?"
"Bishop, this is an unpleasant surprise," Malin spat at him.
"If you have a problem with Bishop, I suggest you forget it while I'm here," Nimbrethil growled, surprised at the jealousy she felt. As Bishop introduced them and explained how they knew each other, she eyed the woman carefully. Malin was familiar with the area and might know of something useful, so she waited until the Malin and Bishop had finished exchanging barbs and fallen silent before asking her about it.
"I'm investigating the massacre at Ember and was told you might have useful information," Nimbrethil told her. As Malin told her what she knew she glanced around the inn and spotted the one called Elgun talking to a small group of patrons. As soon as the woman finished she moved closer to Elgun to better hear him. As she listened she found herself trying not to snicker at the tale the man was telling. It was as plain as day that it was all lies but the patrons seemed to be buying the story.
"The tale, while obviously a fabrication, still could be detrimental to our case," Sand murmured, his lips curled in disdain. "It would be wise to head this guy off before more come to believe him."
Nimbrethil just looked at Sand and rolled her eyes. "Gee Sand, I would never have thought of that on my own. So glad you're here to point these things out," she drawled sarcastically.
Sand bit back a smart retort as he realized that he had been a little condescending. She obviously was not stupid, she would have been dead long before this if she was, but he kept forgetting that because she was so young. Sighing, he said nothing more and watched as the girl went to work on Elgun. She soon had the guy admitting it was all lies, but when she told him that he was making himself a target for the real killers, her tone was so malevolent that the man almost pissed himself. Elgun quickly started shouting to the room about how he made it all up and their work done, the group headed for the door. Diplomat she was not, but at least she got results, although he did not know if that was a good or bad thing.
Nimbrehtil shook her head in disgust at the man, for he truly was a fool thinking that he could get a free ride by telling stories like that. As she went to leave, the ranger Malin interecepted her and asked to speak with her in private. Curious as to what she wanted, Nimbrethil waved the others away and moved over to the fire.
"I was curious how Bishop came to be travelling with you?" Malin asked.
"He helped me with a task awhile back and he has some useful skills," Nimbrethil was not going into details with this woman.
"What skills does he have that you don't? I mean you're a ranger too," Malin asked, puzzled.
"That's none of your business," Nimbrethil told her coolly. The woman obviously had a personal history with Bishop and held a grudge, she was not about to indulge her.
"Fair enough, but I wanted to warn you about that man," Malin could see the hostility directed toward her and realized that the elf had feelings for Bishop, even if she didn't want to admit it. "He has a way of getting you to let down your guard, and that's when he stabs you in the back. He's not to be trusted and he has a vicious side to him that I hope you never witness."
"Whatever you want to say you had best say quickly," Nimbrethil snapped. "I have things I need to do and I don't have all day for a trip down memory lane with you."
"I never realized what he was truly like until the day he caught a couple of Luskans tailing us," Malin shuddered at the memory. "He wasn't content to just kill them like most people. He tortured them to death and even though I had seen a few horrible things in my life, nothing had prepared me for that. It wasn't just the one time either. After witnessing that a couple of times I could no longer travel with him because I began to fear what he was capable of."
"Maybe he has his reasons for what he did," Nimbrethil shrugged. "He hasn't given me any cause to distrust him yet and what he did in the past is of no interest to me."
"You don't see it, but he already has a hold on you," Malin shook her head. "He's gotten in under your defenses already. Just remember what I said and don't turn your back on him or you will find a knife in it."
Nimbrethil watched the woman for a moment as she moved away towards the bar and then dismissed her and what she had said. Heading out of the inn, she found the others waiting for her and told them it was time to continue on to Ember and Duskwood. As she led the way, Bishop fell into step beside her, looking at her curiously.
"What did Malin want to talk to you about?" he asked casually, although he had a pretty good idea already.
"Nothing important, just about your time together," Nimbrethil watched him out of the corner of her eye, and saw a wary look cross his face.
"Oh? What exactly did she say?" Bishop growled out.
"She thought I should know about the Luskans you tortured," Nimbrethil told him and saw him miss a step. "Personally, after what I've heard today, I figure you probably had your reasons and I told her that I didn't care what you did in the past."
"I admit, I have a hard time figuring you out elf," Bishop drawled. "Most wouldn't be so indifferent after hearing something like that, yet you shrug like it's no big deal."
"I don't care what you did years ago, only what you do now," Nimbrethil met his cool gaze with one of her own. "The past is the past. If you care to share fine, if not, that's fine too, just so long as it doesn't cause me any trouble." After that she turned away to focus her attention back on their path.
Bishop watched her as she walked, thinking for the first time that maybe he could put his past behind him. He had been sure that once Malin had talked to her that she would have told him to take a hike. That she didn't pleased him immensely although he wasn't exactly sure why. She was one of the most complex and fascinating women he had ever met. She was so much like him that he could easily envision the two of them adventuring together and this disturbed him. It wasn't healthy to get tied down to anyone or anything, it made you vulnerable. Hells, he hadn't even slept with her and she was making him think about a long term association. What was the matter with him? Hadn't he learned that lesson long ago? He would just have to make sure that didn't happen.