Chapter 33: Runaway Elf
Sand sighed as he looked up from the alchemy bench where he had been brewing potions to restock his shop with. It was mid-morning and he really couldn't put off going to the Flagon any longer. He was not looking forward to the discussion he would be having with Nimbrethil today, and he could only hope that she had given serious thought to what Nevalle had told her the night before. Regardless, he knew he was in for a long day, and several long days after this as well. He had no illusions that the girl would just give in and suddenly become docile and therefore be open to learning what she needed to learn about conduct, etiquette, protocol and manners. Past experience told him she would balk and fuss and generally make his life miserable. Talk about your unpleasant tasks.
As he left the shop and headed for the Flagon, he decided to have a talk with Shandra about what needed to be done. For whatever reason, Nimbrethil seemed to be willing to listen to the woman more than anyone else and Shandra's help would make the task a little easier. Pushing open the door, he stood on the threshold looking over the common room. He quickly noted that everyone was there except Nimbrethil and a frown briefly crossed his face. She was usually one of the first ones up and her absence was puzzling. He saw Duncan was slumpled over the bar, obviously hung over, and the dwarf looked the worse for wear as well. Seeing Casavir and Shandra sitting at a table halfway in, he headed over to them.
"Good morning Shandra, Casavir," he greeted them. When they motioned him to join them he waived them off. "I was actually hoping to catch Nimbrethil this morning as I have an important matter to discuss with her. I must have missed her."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her yet," Shandra replied, frowning. Turning her head she called out, "Duncan have you seen Nimbrethil this morning?" When he shook his head she turned back to the others. "Maybe I should go check on her," she said with concern.
"Don't bother, she's not here," Bishop sneered as he came over to them. "She never came back last night," he told them and fixed an angry glare upon Sand. "Perhaps you could tell us why that would be wizard?"
"What do you mean she never came back?" Shandra interrupted in alarm.
"I mean that after her conversation with Nasher's pretty boy lapdog she left and she was angry as a cat dumped into a river," Bishop answered, still glaring at Sand. "What in the hells did he tell her that would make her run off like that?"
"And how do you know she did ranger?" Casavir had stood up and was glaring at Bishop, his voice tight with anger.
"Because I tried to follow her," Bishop snapped. "I saw how angry she was and wanted to see if she would to talk to me. I lost her trail in the forest near that lake she's so fond of."
"Just because you were too drunk to follow her does not mean she ran off," Sand snorted in contempt.
Bishop's eyes narrowed and when he spoke his voice was a low snarl. "No wizard, I wasn't drunk. I followed her tracks but the trail vanished about a hundred feet into the woods. The only explanation is that she knew I was there and she didn't want me following. She's never done that before and I'd like to know why she would do that this time."
"What do you mean by this time?" Casavir snapped angrily. "How many times have you followed her you sneaking..."
"Hold on you two," Shandra raised her voice and stepped between them. "You can settle your differences later, right now we need to focus on the problem at hand." The others had come over to listen in and she didn't want a fight breaking out between anyone.
Sand realized that everyone was now looking at him so, taking a deep breath, he filled them in on the nature of the conversation between Nevalle and the girl. As he told them what he knew and what he was expected to help Nimbrethil with over the next couple of weeks he saw a variety of emotions on their faces. Understanding and sympathy from Shandra and Casavir, disgust from Bishop (big surprise, not) and confused looks from Khelgar and Grobnar. Neeshka obviously felt the situation was funny for she couldn't keep a grin off her face.
"Well that's just great," Bishop sneered when he had finished. "Nevalle is the one who needs lessons in etiquette not Nimbrethil. He couldn't wait to tell her that she was bound to Neverwinter and Nasher could he? I'm sure he was probably laughing his ass off at the whole thing."
"Despite what you might think of the way she was told, it was necessary that she be informed as soon as possible," Sand tried to keep his anger in check. "We all know that she was hoping to be released and waiting to tell her that would not have made it any easier. Despite her victory yesterday, Luskans are not the type to let go of something they want so easily, something you should be familiar with Bishop." Getting nothing but a sneer from the ranger he continued. "Events are happening quickly and she needs to come to grips with the reality of her situation. Time is against her now and we cannot keep coddling her. She has to grow up and face facts today, not tomorrow, not next week, today," he finsihed emphatically.
"Then perhaps we should go look for her now," Shandra suggested and heard Bishop snort in contempt.
"I told you already that her trail vanished, how do you expect to find her farm girl?" he asked with a sneer.
"I am afraid Bishop is right," Elanee spoke up. "If she does not want to be found then we will just have to wait for her to return. She is a wood elf and a ranger whose home is the woods and she has been honing her skills for decades. She can literally seem to disappear into thin air and only one with similar skill would have any hope of finding her."
"Daeghun could find her pretty quickly," Duncan had managed to drag himself over to the table.
"Yes Duncan, that is a great idea except he is in West Harbor which is weeks away from here," Sand snapped in irritation. "I am going back to my shop. I will not be able to keep this from Nevalle for too long so let us hope the girl returns soon. Otherwise.....," he stopped as the door to the Flagon opened.
Cormick paused as he entered when the entire group of people stopped talking and looked at him, first with excitement and then disappointment. Confused, he spoke to the quiet room, "I'm looking for Nimbrethil. I wanted to talk to her about Lorne."
"Cormick," Khelgar boomed. "Come in and have a drink, on me this time. Been awhile and we got some catching up to do."
"You know Lorne?" Sand queried as Cormick came over.
"Yeah, we're all from West Harbor," Cormick replied. "You could say that Lorne and I had a friendly rivalry growing up. 'Course Nimbrethil was around for decades before we were born and we hardly ever saw her around the village growing up. I was hoping to talk to her last night but she slipped away before I could."
"Nimbrethil's gone and we don't know where," Shandra broke in, the worry in her voice apparent.
"Gone? What do you mean?" Cormick looked at them in confusion.
"She got some bad news last night and she took off," Bishop sneered. "Where's the confusion?"
"Gods, I hope she hasn't taken off for good, for I don't want her to get in trouble," Cormick sighed. "Does Sir Nevalle know yet?"
"No and hopefully she'll return or we can track her down before he does," Casavir answered.
"Easier said than done I'm afraid," Cormick said. "If she has taken off even Daeghun would have a hard time finding her for he trained her. Could take him years."
"Please Cormick, have a seat and tell us what you know about Lorne and Nimbrethil," Shandra motioned him to a chair next to her. As he sat down the others gathered around. "You said that you and Lorne were rivals and that Nimbrethil was hardly around?"
"Yeah, you see Lorne had it rough as a kid," Cormick began. "When his father was sober things were fine, but he was a mean drunk and he took it out on those around him. Daeghun was always kind of the unofficial peacekeeper in the village and thus was always butting heads with the man. When Lorne was ten his father disappeared and Lorne blamed Daeghun for it. He knew he couldn't get at Daeghun so as he got older he began to take out his anger on Nimbrethil."
"Nimbrehtil never went into details, but it was apparent that there was bad blood between them," Casavir spoke up.
"Yeah, well it was mainly because of Lorne that Nimbrethil got so good at hiding," Cormick continued. "Daeghun was teaching her all his tricks, and yet she only started focusing on them after Lorne started going after her. He was always trying to goad her into a fight because he knew she wouldn't stand a chance against him. But, she would simply disappear into the trees and keep out of sight. I overheard him threatening her one time and I seriously considered telling Daeghun, but Lorne was big for his age and not someone you wanted to get on the wrong side of."
"Was everyone in the village afraid of Lorne?" Shandra asked.
"Lorne ran hot and cold and it didn't take much to set him off," Cormick replied. "When Lorne was in a bad mood even his friends looked for cover. The only one not afraid of him was Daeghun." He sighed heavily as he continued, "He was a bully and he had a mean temper like his father, but he loved his family and took real good care of them. He never hurt his mother or Bevil and most of the time he got along with the rest of us."
"Don't tell me you felt sorry for him!" Duncan exclaimed.
"Yeah, Duncan, I felt sorry for him sometimes," Cormick snapped. "I always wondered what he would have been like if his home life had been more normal. Also, before you go getting on your high horse, I should tell you that I felt sorry for Nimbrethil as well. Neither one of them got the emotional support we all need growing up. Nimbrethil could be cold and calculating at times and she wasn't one to forgive an offense any more than Lorne. One of the other boys found that out the hard way."
"What do you mean?" Shandra asked, fascinated at hearing about Nimbrethil's life in West Harbor.
"Nimbrethil liked helping animals and she often took in creatures who were injured and healed them," Cormick continued. "One time, a boy named Tommy Reed thought it would be funny to tease a baby fox that she was looking after. The fox died and Tommy ran home as quick as he could, but he couldn't keep from telling his friends about it. He didn't realize that Nimbrethil had seen him as he fled and followed him, stalked him I guess you could say. After a few days he forgot about it and that's when she went after him."
"What did Nimbrehtil do to him?" Sand asked.
"She somehow managed to lure him into a snare she had set up in the woods," Cormick's voice was grim. "When he was caught, she proceeded to shoot arrows at him. She was so good a shot that she was able to cause him serious pain, but little lasting damage. Still, he spent two weeks wrapped in bandages, and after that most people were as afraid of making her angry as they were of Lorne's temper. That's why I wasn't surprised at her actions during the Trial by Combat. As far as I'm concerned Lorne got what he deserved for turning against Neverwinter. I wanted to talk to Nimbrethil to see if she had found some peace now."
"Well, I guess we should count ourselves lucky to be on friendly terms with her then," Sand said sarcastically.
"Yes, you should," Cormick said solemnly. "Lorne was her enemy and he paid the ultimate price in the end. Elves have long memories and just when you think you're in the clear is when you'll find her at your throat. I'll bet that if Lorne hadn't championed Torio then she would have gone after him. I'll tell you this as well; if she is mad and doesn't want to be bothered then it's best to leave her be or someone could get hurt." He stood up and headed for the door. "I have to get back to the Watch Post. When you see Nimbrethil tell her I was looking for her."
The others were silent as he left, pondering what they had just heard. Shandra felt a shiver run down her spine as she pictured a small boy trapped and unable to escape the arrows being fired at him. It was a cruel thing to do and not something she had thought Nimbrethil capable of. "I guess that I have a longer road to travel than I thought if I am going to help her come around," she mused, not aware she had spoken aloud.
"I have to agree my dear," Sand said. "I wonder now if I should ask Nevalle for hazard pay for what he has asked me to do."
"This is a side of her we have not seen before and it is good that we are aware of it," Casavir spoke solemnly. "It makes our task more difficult, but it also shows a greater need. Those who seek revenge soon find themselves walking a lonely and dark path. Hopefully, with time, we'll be able to help her understand that there are better ways to handle such situations."
"Sounds to me like she's done just fine on her own paladin," Bishop sneered.
Casavir merely glared at the ranger and didn't bother to answer him. "If you will excuse me I need to get some fresh air." With that he stood up and left the inn, heading for the Merchant quarter. He would go to the Temple of Tyr and talk to Olef about her and see if he had any suggestions.
The rest of them wandered off until finally only Shandra and Duncan were left at the table. "Shandra, I hope you will be careful in your dealings with my niece," Duncan began, concern in his voice. "I love her but even I had no idea she could do something like that. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Duncan, you know as well as I do that sometimes even the best of people can be pushed to their limits," Shandra smiled as she took his hand. "Nimbrethil is a good person inside and she would not hurt us over something as trivial as words she doesn't like. Everything will work out fine, you'll see."
"I hope you're right," Duncan nodded. "I hope you're right."