Chapter 22: Hints of the Past
Nimbrethil skinned and cleaned the four rabbits she had managed to kill for their supper, all the while aware of Sand's eyes on her. She knew he was eager to hear what she had learned today but she would tell him when she was good and ready. Right now she was hungry and just as she finished with the rabbits and handed them to Khelgar to cook, Thorondor returned with a couple of snakes. Unfortunately he dropped them right next to Shandra who shrieked and leapt to her feet.
"Ugh, are those snakes?" Shandra looked suddenly squeamish. "You're not planning on eating those, are you?" she asked the elf.
"Why not? They're excellent when cooked right, very nutritious too," Nimbrethil responded, a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "But it is an acquired taste so that's why we also have rabbit." She chuckled at the look of distaste that crossed the farmer's face. "I promise they taste better than they look if you want to try some."
Shandra shuddered a little as she saw the elf gut the snakes and then wrap them around some sticks to put over the fire. Then she tossed the innards of the rabbits to Karnwyr who gulped them down in two bites. The dire wolf made her nervous but seemed friendly enough and Nimbrethil liked him, almost as much as she seemed to like Bishop. They had returned seperately but she had seen the way they looked at each other. Shandra knew something had happened between them and she wasn't too keen on the idea of Nimbrethil getting closer to that man. He was trouble with a capital T and from what Duncan had said he was more likely to stab you in the back than not. She looked over at the other ranger to find him watching Nimbrethil's every move with a predatory look in his eyes.
"I noticed that our two rangers seem to be getting closer too," Sand whispered to her once Nimbrethil had slipped off to go clean up. "I can tell by your expression that you do not like it any more than I do. However, I have heard quite a bit about our little girl's temperament and I do not think it is wise at this time to say anything."
"Sand, Duncan told me Bishop was not to be trusted," Shandra whispered back. "That girl doesn't know that she's playing with fire and I don't think I can just sit by without trying to warn her."
"Unfortunately right now we need to focus on keeping her from getting a noose around her neck," Sand retorted. "If you try to say anything it may make her angry, and if that happens then she might very well take off, despite how much trouble it would cause. Bishop might even encourage her to do it and worse, go with her. How does Duncan expect to protect her if that happens? Or you for that matter?"
"I know but still," Shandra muttered, frustration in her voice. "If only she was more trusting of others than she is then we could warn her."
"Yes but she is not," Sand told her flatly. "She is also used to doing what she pleases, when she pleases, and to hells with what is best. If pushed too hard, too fast, she will bolt, just like any wild animal."
"Sand, that's insulting," Shandra forgot to keep her voice down and saw the others glance over at them.
"You cannot insult people with the truth," Sand angrily whispered. "Hurt their feelings yes, insult them no. Regardless, I was asked to help her and I did not let myself get dragged all the way out here, tromping through the wilds to find evidence, only for it to be for naught. You will not say or do anything until after the trial, is that clear?" He looked up and saw Nimbrethil returning. "I asked you a question," he hissed.
"Yeah, I get it Sand," Shandra replied in irritation. "I just hope that by the time I can talk to her about it, it's not too late."
"My dear it may already be too late. However, just as there are things she must accept, this is something we must accept, regardless of our feelings," Sand finished and leaned back.
Shandra watched as Nimbrethil slowly turned the snakes on the spit. Why she should feel protective of her she didn't know. Maybe because the girl grew up without a mother. It was hard for any child to lose their mother, no matter at what age, but usually there were other people around to provide the emotional support the child needed. In this case, the only one the elf had had was an emotionally crippled foster-father.
"Nimbrethil you said you had a couple of ideas about what to do about the bodies in Ember," Sand spoke up.
"Yes I did, but neither is ideal," Nimbrethil replied as she tended the food. "We don't have the time to bury them all in seperate graves, but it is disrepectful to just leave them to rot. They're not orcs, they're people and my father would have my hide if I didn't at least try to do something. So the two choices, given our time and limited resources are either a mass grave, or a mass funeral pyre."
"I wonder if they had had a militia, like you did in West Harbor, if it would have made a difference," Elanee said softly.
"In this particular case no, it would not have made a difference," Nimbrethil told her. "It would have just postponed the inevitable. These attackers were a highly efficient group with advanced military training. Against such as them a village militia would not stand a chance, not even West Harbor's."
"How do you know that, lass?" Khelgar looked at her in surprise.
"When he was younger, my father spent some time training and learning battle tactics with the Neverwinter army. He taught me what he had learned and how to tell the difference between a military strike and a random attack." Nimbrethil tested the meat and saw it was done. Taking the snakes off the fire she began to slice them up, while Khelgar divided up the rabbits. "Our militia is quite capable of fending off bandits, lizardmen, and various other such attackers. Against a well trained and organized attack force they would have been overcome eventually."
"What did you see that told you this?" Sand asked curiously. She was full of surprises.
"The pattern of the footprints, how they established the perimeter, who was killed first," Nimbrethil said as she ate. "It was all very efficient and highly coordinated, which is something you only see with a trained army. I have no doubt that each member of the group was an elite soldier in the Luskan military." She picked up some of the snake and held it out to Shandra. "Here, try some," she smiled.
Hoping to build some more trust with the girl, Shandra took the piece and tentatively put it in her mouth. To her surprise it was actually quite good, although not like any meat she had ever tasted. "I thought it would taste like burnt leather or something, but it is actually pretty good. Not that I would want to add it to my regular diet."
"Well, most people would not choose to eat it," Nimbrethil chuckled. "However, in the wilds you can't always count on being able to find rabbit or deer. You learn to make do with the game available. I will tell you that the one thing you never want to try is skunk. They not only smell bad, but they taste terrible no matter how you cook them."
"I"m almost afraid to ask but what other odd animals have you eaten?" Shandra smiled.
"Let's see," Nimbrehtil sat back thinking. "Frog, bear, rat, porcupine, grubs, spiders and ants just to name a few." She saw the looks of distaste on their faces and started chuckling. "I assure you, most creatures, when prepared properly, are quite edible."
"You've got a better constitution than any dwarf I've known, including me lass," Khelgar shook his head.
"I've actually tried a few of those too and Nimbrethil is quite correct," Grobnar spoke up cheerily. "I even have some excellent recipes to go with them if you'd like to try them someday."
"Ugh, no offense Grobnar, but I like my food on the hoof so to speak," Shandra shook her head.
"I've actually eaten some of those things too, when there was nothing else," Bishop shrugged as he finished his snake. "It keeps you alive until you can find real game. Survival is all that matters, not the methods you use to do so."
"There are also many plants and leaves that are edible as well," Elanee told them. "All druids are taught the various ways that nature provides for all living creatures."
"Very true," Nimbrethil agreed. "For an experienced druid or ranger, there is no such thing as nothing to eat. There's always something to find, you just have to be willing to eat what's available."
"Well, now that you have thoroughly ruined my appetite for the evening," Sand interrupted, "I think we should finish discussing the bodies and what we are to do about them. Also, Nimbrethil, you promised to tell me what you saw that angered you at Ember today." He saw her expression darken.
"I say we do a funeral pyre. It's quicker and easier than digging a mass grave," Khelgar voted.
"Oh my, I'm sure that Sand or Elanee know some kind of spell that could make a big hole in the ground. A pyre like what you're suggesting would be seen for miles," Grobnar put forward.
"We would still have to move the bodies and that is a daunting task," Sand grumbled.
"Don't worry about the moving of the bodies," Nimbrethil told them. "I can easily summon help with that as can Elanee." She saw the druid nod in agreement.
"In that case the better option is the mass grave," Sand voted. "Grobnar is right about a fire that large being visible for miles. We are in Luskan territory after all and I would not want to attract the wrong kind of attention, if you get my meaning."
"Then a mass grave it is," Nimbrethil stated and then fell silent. She saw Sand looking at her expectantly. "Tell me the odds wizard of there being two men who are both seven feet tall, weighing about three hundred pounds, wielding the same type of weapon and having the same name."
"I do not really have to tell you that do I?" Sand asked in amusement. "Astronimical although not impossible. Why?"
"The attackers were led by Garius' thug, Lorne Starling," Nimbrethil answered and there was no mistaking the hatred in her voice. "He is the one responsible, although how he managed to look like me I don't know."
"How do you know his last name? Haeromos never mentioned it," Sand questioned.
"I would know the work of the man who made my life hell no matter how hard he tried to hide the fact," Nimbrethil hissed, the venom in her voice causing even Bishop to start. Suddenly a screeching racket interrupted them. Looking around they saw Thorondor going beserk.
"What the hells is the matter with that bird?" Khelgar growled in irritation.
"Lorne is the reason we met," Nimbrethil told them, holding out her hand to the falcon and soothing it when it came to rest on her arm. "Thorondor was maybe six months old when Lorne caught him and caged him. While in the cage, Lorne and a couple of his friends would poke him with sticks to make him fight. They knew of a man that bought various types of hunting birds for cage fighting. People would gamble on which bird would win or how long they would survive. A vicious and cruel sport that is very popular amongst men, and some women. I snuck into their camp and freed him and he's been with me ever since."
"Well, I can certainly understand why you hate Lorne," Shandra said softly. She had witnessed a similar such event, but with roosters, and had been sickened by it, even though some of her neighbors had found it thrilling.
"That's not the only reason," Nimbrethil said darkly. "Lorne's father was a hard and cruel man, but when he was drinking he turned into a monster. Deaghun despised him, as did most of the town, and everyone knew it. It was always Daeghun who stopped the man from seriously hurting others or causing serious property damage when drunk. When he disappeared, Lorne blamed my father, but didn't dare go after him, and so he tried to take it out on me. I wasn't always successful at hiding from him when the mood would strike him to come after me. Fortunately, I was very good at climbing trees, and I had a few friends in the forest who would help out on occasion. Still, it is pretty scary being stuck in a tree with someone more than twice your size standing below it, threatening to do all manner of nasty things to you if they ever caught you. Even after he left I had nightmares about it."
"Did he ever actually hurt you?" Shandra asked then blushed as she realized how personal a question that was.
"Not really, though not for lack of trying," Nimbrethil stated flatly. "He was a bully who terrorized everyone smaller than him just because he could. I'm not surprised he turned out the way he did. I'll take first watch," she said as she stood up and walked away, obviously considering the subject closed.
"What do you make of that wizard?" Khelgar asked.
"I have no reason to doubt her," Sand answered. "She knows her craft for she had an excellent teacher if even half of what Duncan told me about Daeghun is true." He sat staring at the fire, even more puzzled now as to what Torio and her boss hoped to gain by this act. From what little he knew of Garius, this did not strike him as all that good of a plan.
The rest of them just sat silently around the fire, pondering what they had heard. Shandra felt she understood better now why Nimbrethil kept her distance from others. The girl had faced many obstacles growing up and had overcome them on her own with little or no help from others. The only bright side was that it had taught her how to survive, even when the odds were against her. Considering what they might be facing that could only be a plus.
Bishop stared in the direction Nimbrethil had gone. This little trip was stirring up memories of his own life growing up and they were no more pleasant than the elf's. He found himself admiring how tough she was, able to survive when others would most likely have died. She made him feel things he told himself he would never feel, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. She was drawing him in, like a fly in spider's web, from which there was no escape. What bothered him most was he wasn't sure he wanted to escape her. Disturbed by the directions of his thoughts he decided to go for a walk to clear his head.