Chapter 29: Friendship
Nimbrethil walked towards the man standing at the front of the Temple of Tyr waiting for her. He had introduced himself as Brother Hlam when she had accompanied Khelgar here to join the monks. She smiled a little remembering the way the dwarf had blustered about the trials he was supposed to face first and then realized that she had given no thought to them in the past couple of months. Now she recalled that one of them concerned his preconceived notions of other races such as elves and she had to wonder how he saw her now.
"Are you ready for the Rite of Tyr?" Brother Hlam asked in his soft voice.
"What exactly is this rite supposed to accomplish? I am a follower of Solonor not Tyr," Nimbrethil asked in return.
"The purpose is to allow the combatants time to reflect on the events that brought them to this point, and hopefully get the one in the wrong to admit to their transgression and avoid unnecessary bloodshed." Brother Hlam watched as a wry smile crossed the young elf's face.
"Somehow I can't see Lorne doing that," she snorted. "He was never one to admit he was wrong and always believed that fighting was the best way to solve problems."
"Unfortunately I believe you are correct in this," Brother Hlam agreed. "Come, let us begin."
Nimbrethil sighed and prepared to follow him when the door to the temple suddenly banged open behind them and Khelgar came storming down the aisle yelling at them to stop, that he had something to say. She could tell from his face that he was upset and wondered what was wrong now. "This is not the time or place Khelgar, can't it wait until after the fight tomorrow?" she asked him.
"NO! I have something to say and I'm going to say it now," the dwarf fumed. "What they're asking you to do is not right. You're innocent, you proved it to the entire court. That Torio had no right to issue a challenge, no right at all. She's just pissed she didn't win and I won't stand for it!"
"Khelgar, why are you so upset about this? These things happen," Nimbrethil puzzled.
"Why am I upset? Because it's not fair! Putting all the responsibility on your shoulders, after all you went through to get the evidence to clear your name, it's..it's.." he sputtered to a halt, unable to find the words.
"You feel it is unjust?" Brother Hlam eyed him closely.
"You're damn right it's not just!" Khelgar yelled and shook his fists. "That Torio she's called up her pet killer to fight you. He's nothing more than a Luskan dog, not even worthy of you. Let me fight him! I'll show him what justice is! Name me as your champion, I'll show them all."
Nimbrethil felt her mouth drop open in surprise. The last thing she would have expected would be for the dwarf to want to champion her. Casavir yes, out of a sense of duty, but not the rough and tumble dwarf. "Why?" she found herself asking.
"Why? Because you're my friend and I don't want to see you hurt or killed by that lying, sneaking, cheating dog," Khelgar sputtered and saw that the girl was totally surprised at his words. "Come on Nimbrethil, wake up and smell the beer. Don't you realize by now that we are your friends and that we care what happens to you? I thought you were smarter than that."
Nimbrethil didn't know what to say to that. Unexpectedly she felt tears start and looked away, swallowing hard to keep them from falling. Without wanting it, without expecting it, she had made friends. While the thought scared her, it also made her happier than she had been since the night she had been driven from West Harbor. That night she had lost yet another friend and it was still painful to think of Amie being dead. Turning back to the dwarf she saw him watching her with great expectation and decided to tell him why she had to fight Lorne.
"I appreciate the offer Khelgar, I really do," she began and saw his face fall a little. "I have to face Lorne tomorrow in order to put what he did to me fully in the past where it belongs. He is the demon who still haunts my dreams on occasion and if I don't face him then he will haunt me forever. Can you understand that?"
Khelgar looked at the girl before him and wondered just what she had left out of the story she had told them all on the way back from Ember. He saw the fear in her eyes at what she had to do, but also saw the determination to do it. That was something he could understand. "Well okay," he grumbled. "But just so you know, if you change your mind give me a holler. I'll be happy to pulverize that Lorne for you."
Brother Hlam allowed nothing to show on his face but he realized that both of them had matured in the short time since he had first met them. "I will show your friend out and then we shall begin the rite," he placed a hand on Khelgar's shoulder and turned him gently around and walked with him to the door.
Nimbrethil watched them walk away and fought the impulse to call to Khelgar and tell him she changed her mind. He was definately more suited to fight Lorne but she couldn't let him. She had to face this challenge herself. She didn't want anyone else dying because of her. Realizing that her emotions were starting to get away from her, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Going into a battle like the one she faced against Lorne she couldn't afford to let emotions get to her. She had to be calm, cool and collected if she was going to win. Daeghun had told her over and over again that emotions clouded your thinking and hampered your judgement, the two things she needed most tomorrow. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Brother Hlam returning. She would have plenty of time throughout the night to get herself squared away. She would have to for everyone's sake.
******
Nimbrethil had been sitting on the floor of the chamber polishing her weapons for about an hour when she heard soft footsteps approach and stop a foot away from her. She knew without looking up that it was Sand and waited for him to say whatever it was he had come to say. Probably wanted to lecture her or something. When nothing was forthcoming, she finally looked up at him and saw that he was holding a pouch in his hands and looking rather uncomfortable being there.
"What brings you here wizard?" she prompted him. Hlam had said she could have visitors, but she had wondered if anyone else would show up.
"I just wanted to remark how pleased I am about your performance today when Torio was questioning you," he told her.
"And here I thought you had come to lecture me on my behavior after the trial was over," she snorted. She saw a frown crease Sand's brow at the reminder and felt she should have kept her mouth shut.
"Well yes, I suppose at some point we will have to talk about that, but now is not the time," Sand bit back a smile at the disgruntled expression that crossed the girl's face. "You have more important things to worry about than etiquette and protocol." He held out the bag he was holding to her. "Here, these are a few concoctions I whipped up to help you in your fight tomorrow. Nothing would please me more than to see you trounce Lorne and humiliate Torio again."
Taking the bag, Nimbrethil peered inside and saw a couple of healing potions and antidotes. It was a thoughtful gesture and again she felt a lump form in her throat. She knew he did this as much for himself as for her, but still it made her feel things she wasn't sure she wanted to feel. "Thank you Sand," she said simply.
"No there is no need for thanks, really," Sand waived her off. "I simply wanted to make sure you have every advantage possible. I would do the same for anybody who asked."
"Yes but I didn't ask you to do this," she smiled a little at him and saw him shift uncomfortably as she called him on his motives. "At any rate, I'm quite sure I'll have need of some of this tomorrow. I know Lorne and he's one to use every trick in the book, fair or not."
"Well, I have disturbed you long enough so I'll leave you to it," Sand said and turned away quickly without looking back.
Nimbrethil watched him go and found herself wondering what had really motivated him to come here. Again, one of her companions did something unexpected and she couldn't help but reassess her relationship with Sand. He had been coerced into helping her in the beginning, but now it seemed he wanted to help her of his own free will. That thought unsettled her for his motives seemed to be similar to Khelgar's. Shaking her head to clear it, she turned her attention back to the sword she was working on. She still hadn't thought of a good strategy for the fight and needed to get on with it. As she did so, she couldn't help but wonder if anyone else would stop by.
******
It was very early in the morning and he wondered again what had made him come here. He had told himself that he wanted to offer her some tips on fighting Lorne, but she wasn't the type to easily accept such advice. The elf certainly knew how to handle herself in a fight and liked to do things her own way. Still, he felt he should help her if he could and that bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
"Why are you lurking in the shadows Bishop?" Nimbrethil called to him.
"You think Tyr is watching this and is going to give you inspiration?" he sneered the question and heard her snort in amusement.
"I follow Solonor, you know that," Nimbrethil looked over at him. She had been standing in front of Tyr's statue pondering what motivated people to follow him. Casavir was a paladin of Tyr and yet he didn't strike her as having all that much faith in the God of Justice. She herself had not seen many examples of justice in her lifetime. Case in point, her trial and the results it produced. Even though she had proved her innocence it still came down to who killed whom tomorrow. Justice at the point of a sword, something she had seen over and over again. "I was just pondering the meaning of the word Justice," she told him.
"Oh Justice, what a crock," Bishop smirked and rolled his eyes. "If you die tomorrow then of course that means that Nasher was wrong and you were guilty. Nevermind that you're facing an opponent who is three times your size in an arena that hampers your best skills." He moved to stand in front of her. "Leave the soul searching to idiots like the paladin and concentrate on coming out of the fight alive, if not in one piece."
"What do you think of my chances?" Nimbrethil arched a brow at him.
"Slim to none," he shrugged. "However, if you want, I can help you better those odds."
"Why would you care what happens tomorrow Bishop?" Nimbrethil asked coolly. "You're just hanging around for the money aren't you? I'm sure someone with your talents could easily find another employer," she finished.
"Not really sure," he answered quietly, almost questioningly. "I think I'd just like to see Lorne dead. The only good Luskan is a dead one you know," he finished with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
She knew that his hatred of Luskans ran very deep, although she didn't know why. He hadn't offered any information on the subject and she wasn't one to pry into people's personal lives. She also understood that her uncle had something on him, something he resented alot. So she had to question his reasons for wanting to help her. Was he just upholding his end of whatever bargain he had made with Duncan, or was it simply because he wanted to see Luskan humiliated? She doubted even he knew the reason for his coming here. So she decided to wait and see what he had to say.
"Listen," he looked down into her eyes. "Lorne's barely keeping it together right now. He wanted to kill you today in the courtroom, not a sign of someone in control."
"Is there a point to this Bishop?" she asked tiredly.
"Yes, so pay attention," he snorted. "Lorne loves that Falchion of his too much to fight smart. If you get too close though he'll chop you into pieces very quickly. So use your bow at the start and just keep hitting him. You won't do much damage but you will make him angry. At some point he'll completely lose it and that's when he'll get careless and sloppy. That will be your chance to move in with your short sword and dagger and finish him off. Don't show any mercy to him for he won't show you any if the positions are reversed."
What surprised her the most was she had been thinking similar thoughts all night. The fact that Bishop thought the same way as her seemed to indicate that it was the right course of action to take. She saw that he was waiting for some kind of response. "Well, seeing as how I was thinking along those same lines, I guess that's the best strategy then." She saw a rare smile cross his face before his usual bored sneer appeared.
"Good, see that you do that," he finished and turned away to head back to the Flagon. As he reached the door he stopped and turned to look back and saw her watching him. "If you decide you'd rather not fight him tomorrow I may just do it for you, if you ask nicely." On that final note he left.
Nimbrethil couldn't help but wonder what possessed him to offer to take her place. He was always looking out for himself first and foremost. Maybe he cared for her, at least a little, or maybe he was just so full of hate for Luskans that he wanted the opportunity to strike at them when it presented itself. Either way, it came down to the fact that another of her companions did something she didn't expect, and it meant more to her than any of them would ever know.