Chapter 23: Duskwood
It had taken a good portion of the day to take care of the bodies in Ember, even with summoned help, but they had decided to push on and camp just outside of the Duskwood. Sand had warned them that the place suppressed magic, which would be a problem for him especially. Nimbrethil had shrugged and told him to just remain in the back with her and Bishop. She had her bow and nothing would get close enough to so much as breath on him. Hopefully, the trip was worth it and they would actually find the possible witnesses that Malin had mentioned.
As they entered the wood, Nimbrethil suddenly felt ill and thought she heard sighs of mourning in the trees. It was the weirdest thing she had ever experienced and looking around saw that Elanee was looking almost green. "There is something wrong here and not just the damper on magic," she told them.
"Yes, it is like the wood is in pain," Elanee's voice was filled with dismay. "It is almost like something is poisoning the place although what it is I cannot say."
"Can you handle it or would you prefer to wait for us outside the wood?" Nimbrethil asked, scrutinizing the druid.
"I can manage," Elanee replied. "It just makes me very uncomfortable."
Nimbrethil nodded and they headed deeper into the gloomy forest. It was unlike any wood she had ever been in, but Malin had said that it had only changed recently, and she had to wonder who or what was responsible. Thorondor and Karnwyr had refused to enter, saying that it felt wrong, and she figured whatever was happening must be pretty bad to make them hesitate. A little further down the path she spied a clearing and in the middle of it she could make out an ancient looking tree. There was a sickly green light emanating from the tree and spreading out over the clearing. Instinct told her this was not normal and it was the reason for the wood being the way it was.
"That tree up ahead, it is the source of the sickness in Duskwood," Elanee stated. "It also does not match any of the other trees I have seen so far."
"Maybe someone planted it here although to what purpose remains to be seen," Nimbrethil stated and then froze as she smelled something that boded ill for the party. "I can smell the presence of several dire creatures ahead so be on your guard." Fitting an arrow to her bow she moved forward cautiously, scanning all around to make sure no creatures were waiting to ambush them. She heard the others behind her readying their weapons. As she approached the tree she still could not see the creatures, but their scent grew stronger so she knew they were close by. Standing near the tree was a dryad who called to them as they approached.
"Lorne, why have you not held up your end of our bargain?" the dryad addressed her angrily.
"Nimbrethil, she is the one responsible for poisoning the wood," Elanee murmured. "I do not know how I know this but it is true."
"I believe you, and from her words it's obvious that she knows something about the attack on Ember," Nimbrethil replied. Turning to address the dryad she raised her voice, "I'm not Lorne but I am curious what you know about him and Ember." She heard Sand mutter about not playing along but ignored him.
"I see, you're the one I disguised Lorne as," the dryad answered. "Come to clear your name have you?" she asked sneeringly.
"That's not your concern," Nimbrethil's voice was stony. "I'm sure you're just dying to tell us how you managed such a feat," she said sarcastically.
"It was simple really," the dryad sounded amused. "A little alteration powder goes a long way. The people of Ember refused to heed my warnings about chopping down trees in my grove. I was happy to help Lorne and have my revenge on them."
"We need that powder," Sand whispered. "It would be the most damning evidence against them we have found so far."
"I have some of the powder left," the dryad told them. "If you get the glowstone from the goblin caves for me then I will give you the powder. That was the agreement I had with Lorne which he failed to honor."
Nimbrethil eyed the dryad with distaste. Whatever she wanted the glowstone for could not be good considering what she had already done to the grove. She always hated those who showed no respect for nature, especially the woods. They were the source of food and fuel that all creatures needed to survive. Usually dryads were protective of wooded areas, but not this one. The dryad had made a mockery of nature here, for whatever reason, and it repulsed her to do anything for the creature. Not only that, the dryad helped her enemy slaughter innocents just so it could be blamed on her.
"I don't think so," Nimbrethil sneered. "Because of you, my worst enemy was able to fool people into thinking that I was responsible for the slaughter at Ember. You have corrupted the woods and creatures here for some nefarious purpose, and I find that reprehensible. Either you give me that powder or I will take it from your cold dead hands." She saw Elanee move to her side and nod that she was with her, while Sand muttered something about doing things the hard way.
"You dare threaten me, here in my grove?" the dryad shrieked angrily. "To me my creatures, kill these intruders."
"I think not," Elanee stepped forward and they saw the dire creatures stop their advance. "As twisted as they are, these creatures will not attack me. If you fight us you do so alone."
In a fit of fury, the dryad screamed and charged them. Before she had gone far, there was a twang and an arrow embedded itself in her eye, causing her to stop, her scream of rage changing to one of agony. A second twang was heard and another arrow embedded itself in her throat and she fell to the ground, her lifeblood quickly spilling out. Nimbrethil walked over to her and watched as the life fled the dryad's eyes, then bent down and searched her body, finding the powder in a small pouch at her side. She saw the other creatures milling about, seemingly lost now that the dryad was dead. Hopefully in time the grove would return to normal and the creatures with it.
"If Elanee had not been here, we would have had to fight her creatures," Sand said in irritation. "You never even considered doing what the dryad asked of you, did you?"
"I have no tolerance for those who would corrupt and abuse nature," Nimbrethil replied angrily. "She was poisoning this grove, twisting it to suit her own purposes. Not only that, without her help, Lorne would have been unable to fool people into thinking I was responsible for Ember. So no, I would not have done what she asked of me, ever." Still angry, she turned away to search for a path to the hilltop where Malin had said she'd seen signs of people camping.
"I am only trying to help her and yet she fights me every step of the way," Sand stated flatly.
"I agree with what she did Sand," Elanee spoke up. "You have the powder, that is all that matters, so let it go." She turned away to follow Nimbrethil.
"Having been with her the longest of the group, I can tell you that she is extremely touchy about this," Khelgar chimed in. "She's not quite as bad as the tree-hugger when it comes to nature, but she is very protective of it. After all she's a wood elf and a ranger who looks to nature for her survival. If something threatened my way of life I'd want to destroy it too." He looked and saw that the other two were almost out of sight. "We'd better hurry if we want to keep up,'" he told them and ran to catch up with them.
Sand sighed and kept his peace since no one here wanted to listen to the voice of reason. He really did want to thank Nevalle for getting him caught up in this mess. Maybe a nice potion to give him the runs for a week or something similar. Amusing himself with thoughts of how to pay Nevalle back, he quickly hurried after the group, eager to get this little jaunt over with and get back to civilization.
*******
A couple of days later as they were sitting in camp, Nimbrethil pondered the evidence they had managed to collect. They had visited the goblin caves to check out this glowstone, just to see what it was. While there, they had found out that the goblins used it to protect themselves from a Luskan assassin that had somehow ended up in there. After doing them the favor of killing the spiders plaguing them, Sand had been ecstatic to get the man's ring from the chief. The ring looked just like the one she had pulled off the Luskan assassin in the Solace Glade, and the two together clearly showed a link between the two events. Sand had finally stopped grumbling when he realized that if they had taken the glowstone for the dryad, then they would have left the entire tribe of goblins vulnerable to their enemies.
The campers on the hill had turned out to not be witnesses to the Ember massacre. They had actually turned out to be werewolves and though it had been a tough battle without magic, they had still managed to emerge victorious without serious injury. Nimbrethil smiled as she remembered the giant spider they had found in the goblin caves. She had fed it the insects that Grobnar had collected from the werewolves' camp and had made a friend. The spider, whose name was Kistrel, had wandered away but she had no doubt she'd see it again. Even though Grobnar had been unhappy to lose his insect collection, he had been delighted at making friends with the huge monster as Sand had called it.
"So wizard, do you think we have enough evidence now?" Nimbrethil asked Sand as she cooked their dinner. The were having rabbits and snakes again, much to Shandra's chagrin. There just wasn't anything more palatable in the area that she could find.
"Absolutely, we should return to Neverwinter as quickly as possible," Sand answered cheerfully. He had been wanting to go back ever since they had left Port Last. "Nevalle is most likely waiting on pins and needles for our return. We shall go see him at Castle Never as soon as we return."
"You can go see him there if you want," Nimbrethil growled. "I'd rather just send a message."
"My dear, you are a squire now and...," Sand never got a chance to finish.
"We all know why I was made a squire," Nimbrethil interrupted. "I have no intention of pretending that I am a member of the so called nobility. Out here is where I belong, not bowing and scraping to people just because they feel they are entitled to it because they have power and wealth."
"Well at least do me the favor of concealing your dislike of the situation until after the trial," Sand said irritably. "Evidence is one thing, but making people believe you is something entirely different. If you are not careful, Torio will use your disdain against you and then you may just find yourself being judged guilty based on your behavior and the evidence will be ignored."
"No one will see anything I don't want them to see," Nimbrethil replied. "I can pretend as well as the next person, but don't expect me to do more than that." She checked their dinner and seeing it was done, began dividing it up and passing it out. She noticed with some amusement that Shandra didn't hesitate to take the snake this time.
Sand sighed as he realized that Nimbrethil's pride was something he would just have to learn to live with. He would have to do some major coaching if he wanted to get her ready for the trial. Torio was an expert at manipulating situations and twisting words to suit her. The girl would be putty in her hands if she wasn't prepared and then they would all be doomed. Their evidence was so strong that the only way they would lose was if Nimbrethil commited some egregious error while in the court room. He would not allow that to happen if he could in any way prevent it. After all, he had his reputation to think about.