Chapter 31: The Fight With Lorne
Bishop sat in the front row opposite Nasher's awninged box, waiting for the battle to begin. His keen eyes easily saw the small form standing next to Shandra just outside the arena to his right. The stupid farm girl had spent the night crying and whining about how Nimbrethil couldn't possibly win and the others seemed to feel the same way. Good thing none of them went to visit the elf, for they would have done more harm than good. Bunch of idiots they were, giving up before the fight had even begun. It wouldn't be easy and it certainly wouldn't be pretty, but Nimbrethil could win if she kept a cool head. The only thing he worried about was if she let her hatred for Lorne cloud her judgement and make her do something stupid.
He looked to his left where the paladin and the dwarf were sitting next to each other quietly talking. He knew both of them had offered to fight for her but she had turned them down. He still was kind of puzzled as to what had made him offer to take her place. It was almost an impulsive thing to do and he never did anything on impulse. Shrugging off the thought, he turned his attention back towards the arena. He could see Torio standing near Nasher with a look of smug superiority on her face. If he had thought it would do any good he would have killed the bitch before things got to this point. However, she was just a foolish pawn on someone else's chessboard, same as Nimbrethil. For reasons unknown, Garius and Luskan wanted to get their hands on the elf and killing Torio wouldn't stop them from trying. His attention was diverted as the crowd in the stands began to cheer and he saw Nimbrethil walking into the arena. She had her bow and he could see that she only had her short sword at her side. Good, she was going to follow the plan they had laid out. If she was patient and stayed calm, she would beat Lorne eventually. Too bad they weren't serving refreshments today, he had a feeling they were in for quite a show.
As the cheers turned to boos and catcalls he looked to the left and saw Lorne entering. Something about Lorne's appearance snagged his attention and he focused on the big man as he stopped beside the elf. It wasn't the size difference between the two but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then he saw it and froze, swearing loudly enough to catch the attention of the others sitting near him.
"What is wrong Bishop?" Elanee turned to him, a puzzled expression on her face. Her voice carried far enough to bring Casavir and Khelgar around to face them.
"Look at what Lorne's wearing and tell me what you see?" Bishop asked the druid. As an elf her eyesight was better even than his and maybe she would see something different. However, as she stared at Lorne, he saw her eyes widen and knew he had seen correctly.
"What, what is it?" Neeshka asked angrily. She knew something was wrong and she hated being kept in the dark.
"Lorne is wearing a leather band around his neck," Elanee told her and saw that only Bishop understood what it meant. "It means that he anitcipated Nimbrethil using her bow and is taking care to limit those spots on his body that would be especially vulnerable to arrows."
"Correct," Bishop growled. "The only way Nimbrethil will be able to do any serious damage with her bow is by shooting him in the eyes. Going for the eyes of an opponent who is moving around is one of the most difficult shots an archer can make. As good as she is, Nimbrethil would have to get lucky to land an arrow in that spot while moving around to avoid Lorne's sword."
"So she can't use her bow? She's doesn't stand a chance against him otherwise," Neeshka cried, a note of panic entering her voice.
"Hells, give the elf some credit," Bishop sneered. "All it means is she'll have to make a more concerted effort to find the gaps in his armor. The fight will just take a little longer than expected, that's all." He gave the tiefling a look of disgust and turned away. What was it with these people and their lack of faith in the abilities of their leader? They had all seen her shoot and should know that few could match her accuracy. If anyone could find a way to penetrate Lorne's armor with an arrow it was her. Shaking his head he focused on the two in the arena just as that pompous priest Olef finished his little speech and the combatants turned to walk to their respective ends.
Nimbrethil had seen what Lorne was wearing and sworn silently to herself. Nothing like setting a challenge for her to get her blood pumping. Ignoring Olef, she had thrown a few verbal barbs in Lorne's direction and saw his anger flaring to the surface. Cormick had used a similar strategy against him during the Harvest Brawl all those years back. What worked then seemed to be working now, and all she had to do was bide her time and wait for her chance to bring the giant down. Besides, she had a few tricks up her sleeve as well. Casavir had said any weapons or spells were permitted in the arena and she had a couple of useful spells that were perfect for this occasion. She felt a smile curve her lips at the thought of the surprise she was about to hand Lorne. As she walked to her end, she chanted the words to a Camouflage spell and felt it take hold as Lorne turned abruptly and charged towards her. She had suspected he wouldn't walk all the way to his end before attacking and she had been right. Now all she had to do was keep her distance and wear him down.
Bishop had been watching them and was the only one who wasn't surprised to see Lorne make a preemptive charge. However, when Nimbrethil's form suddenly became hard to detect he had been surprised as much as Lorne. Lorne's forward momentum was halted as he lost sight of the elf for a minute. Camouflage didn't render the person invisible, but it did make it hard to track their movements. That moment of hesitation cost him as an arrow seemed to come out of thin air and hit his knee. The big man snarled and yanked it out before charging in the direction the arrow had come from, only to find the shooter was no longer there. Bishop smirked as another arrow came from behind Lorne and struck his other knee causing him to roar in outrage. Again, not much damage because of the armor, but that wasn't the point of the strategy. Now as long as Nimbrethil could keep this up, Lorne would eventually become so angry that he would start to make mistakes. The only question was was how long could she do it.
Nimbrethil moved to another part of the arena and aimed and fired another arrow at Lorne. As soon as the shot was away she moved again thus keeping Lorne from pinpointing her location. Her shots wouldn't be as accurate because she was moving, but she knew that if she stayed still she was finished. She had now hit Lorne several times while he blundered about the arena trying to find her. Already the fight seemed to be stretching out interminably. How long would it be before Lorne lost control and made a mistake she could take advantage of? Eventually the spell would wear off and she would have to recast it. That would be when she was at her most vulnerable. Of course she still had her ace up her sleeve: her companion Thorondor. She had called to him to come and wait in the trees around the arena until she asked him to help her. She didn't want to call him too soon, for she didn't want to give Lorne an opportunity to hurt the bird. Over and over again she cautioned herself to be patient and let her opponent expend his energy. Her chance would come eventually.
Bishop watched Lorne turning this way and that trying to keep his eyes on the nimble elf. She was small and fast and a hard target to hit without the aid of the spell. He could see the giant's lips moving and knew that Lorne was getting close to breaking. Hells, anyone would soon get frustrated by the strategy Nimbrethil was using and Lorne wasn't the most controlled person in the world. Glancing up at the sun he saw that about an hour had passed and knew that something had to give soon. Spells didn't last long and he hoped Nimbrethil had a plan in place for when hers wore off. He peeked around at the crowd and saw that some of the spectators seemed to be getting bored with what they were seeing. What had they expected? The combatants were not stiff, uptight knights battling to see who's was bigger. This was a fight to the death between two people who knew that battle was a means to get rid of your opposition and not for show. If they wanted to see a performance they should have gone to the theatre instead. Suddenly a roar of triumph came from the arena and whipping his head back he saw that Nimbrethil's spell had worn off and Lorne was headed straight for her at a dead run. She wouldn't be able to recast the spell and move away before Lorne reached her and he held his breath. Just as Lorne had gotten about three quarters of the way to her the screeching call of a falcon wafted on the air and looking up he saw Thorondor diving straight at Lorne. The big man was forced to dodge to the side to avoid the bird and just at that moment the elf managed to recast Camouflage.
Breathing a sigh of relief that her plan worked, Nimbrethil once again aimed and fired an arrow at Lorne. Whether because he was distracted by Thoronodor or because she got lucky, the arrow managed to lodge in a gap of armor around the man's knee and she saw him lose his balance and stagger back before managing to remove the arrow. Communicating this to the falcon she saw that he knew what was wanted from his master. The falcon began a rapid series of swerves and dives right at Lorne's head, keeping the man off balance. This allowed Nimbrethil more time to aim and soon she had managed to find a gap in the armor at his other knee and his right arm. This succeeded in enraging Lorne, and the big man began to swing more wildly in a furious effort to hit the bird causing him so much grief. Darting slightly to the left of Lorne she sighted on his head and held herself completely still. Sending a message to Thorodor to hover in front of Lorne but stay just out of reach, she waited for Lorne to raise his head. As soon as he did, she released the arrow and it flew true to its target and became deeply embedded in Lorne's left eye. With a howl of pain Lorne fell to his knees and she played her final card. As soon as the big man fell, she cast Entangle and saw thick green vines begin to wrap themselves around the man's legs and arms, trapping him in one spot. Just as the vines reached his wrists, Lorne managed to remove the arrow and then tried desperately to lift up his sword arm, but it was too late.
Silence fell amongst the crowd as they realized what had happened. Bishop held his breath waiting to see what Nimbrethil would do now. The only indication that she was moving to stand in front of Lorne was the fact that Thorodor could be easily seen perched on her arm. The elf herself was hard to detect because of the spell she had cast. She had for all intents and purposes won the fight. Lorne was at her mercy and he wondered if she would take the opportunity to extract her revenge. He overheard the paladin and the dwarf discussing that very thing and sneered. She played by her own rules and she had her own ideas about what constituted justice.
Nimbrethil stood looking down at the man who had tormented her, silently watching his struggles to free himself. As strong as he was, he was no match for the magically enhanced vines holding him in place. Every time he managed to break one, another, stronger vine took its place. All the while he struggled, he hurled insults and obscenities at her and a cold smile curled her lips.
"Tell me Lorne, how does it feel to be helpless?" she sneered at him. "Did you think that your evil deeds would never catch up with you? Did you think you were untouchable because of whom you served? Do you think that your master Garius will forgive you for your failure?" She saw Lorne's face turn almost purple with rage but he refused to answer her. "Maybe, if you beg me for it, I will show you the mercy that you failed to show Ember's quartermaster," she smiled at him and waited.
"Go to the hells you elven bitch," he finally spat out, gasping from the effort of trying to free himself. "You'll get no such satisfaction from me. I doubt you have the guts to kill me yourself." As he watched he saw her gaze grow even colder and he saw his death in her eyes. It was then that he knew she did indeed have the guts to kill him. "Go ahead, kill me if you have the courage. Garius will be less pleasant to face."
Nimbrethil drew her dagger and held it in front of him so he could see it with his one good eye. Then she lowered it and made a small slash at the top of his leg, cutting the artery there. It would take a few minutes for him to bleed to death as his lifeblood flowed onto the ground. She saw his eyes widen in realization at what she had done and he began to scream curses at her again. She stood in front of him with Thorondor watching as the life began to flee from his eyes.
Bishop heard Casavir's intake of breath as he realized what Nimbrethil had done. He knew that her actions would be frowned upon by the paladin, but he thought they were perfect. If she had spared Lorne, the man would face an even less pleasant death at the hands of Garius. However, the girl would no doubt get flack from some of the others, and if they gave her too much grief he would be sure to put them in their place. Regardless, the fight was over and she had won and soon the others would catch on. He got up from his seat and headed down to the arena. He wanted to make sure he got there first and let her know that he at least approved of what she did and that she had his support if the others should try to make her feel bad.
Nimbrethil silently watched as Lorne breathed his last and then looked up at the stands where Nasher was sitting. Her gaze fell upon Torio and she smiled at the look of trepidation that had replaced the smug smile from before. The bitch had thought to win and now would have to go back to Garius and face the consequences. She doubted that she would see Torio's face ever again, for Garius no doubt would be very angry. Angry hosttower mages weren't known for showing pity or mercy to those who failed them. She barely heard what Nasher was saying and giving him one cold look, turned away to leave the arena. As she did. she saw Bishop entering with his usual smirk on his face.
"Well, you emerged victorious and in one piece," he said as he neared her. "Not bad, not bad at all."
"You had doubts Bishop?" Nimbrethil smiled as she looked up.
"None whatsoever," he answered. "Word of warning though, the saint probably isn't too happy with your last action there."
Nimbrethil shrugged, "That's his problem, not mine. I have my own code and live by my own rules. I may be forced at times to accept others for the sake of expediency but that's all."
"What do you say to grabbing a couple of beers to celebrate huh?" Bishop fell into step with her as she turned to leave. The others caught up with them at the exit and soon she was engulfed by them and being hugged left and right. Even though he was pushed out of the way, he saw that her eyes never left him throughout it all, and the smile she gave him made his heart skip a beat. For the first time it didn't bother him and he merely shrugged and led the way back to the Flagon.