Chapter 40: Demons And Deceptions
Nimbrethil heaved a huge sigh of relief when the demon, Quaggoth-Yeg, finally went down. Looking quickly around she saw that Lord Tavorick seemed to be none the worse for wear. She had been asked to protect him and his shard by Nasher and they had done that, but it hadn't been easy. So many demons and devils had attacked them that she had begun to think the depths of the Abyss had ruptured. Whoever was behind the attack was not the one responsible for kidnapping Aldanon, of that much she was positive. However, that meant that there was a new player in the game, something she found disturbing, but wasn't sure why.
"Good to see you're still in one piece little elf," Bishop smirked as he came over to her and looked her up and down.
Nimbrethil merely shrugged and looked him over. Other than a few cuts and bruises and an empty quiver, he was fine, so she turned to look at the rest of their companions. She saw that for the most part they had only suffered minor injuries. The only casualties had been two of Captain Ballard's men, lost during the battle to get to the crypt. Considering what they had been facing it was a relief that more had not died.
"Well this was an unexpected turn of events," Lord Tavorick stated as he crept from the corner he had been hiding in.
"What do you mean by that?" Nimbrethil asked sharply. Something in the man's voice raised the hackles on her neck.
"I mean Lord Nasher's plan," Tavorick answered. "Of course, demons were not something he expected I'm sure. I told him it wouldn't work, but of course he didn't listen."
"What plan are you talking about?" Nimbrethil asked, a suspicious note creeping into her voice.
"This was all a ruse to try to catch the person behind the deaths of the nobles," Tavorick felt his mouth go dry as the elf's gaze hardened. "I was a decoy to lure him out."
"Where is the shard?" Nimbrethil snarled.
"I gave it to Melia two days ago," Tavorick stammered, unnerved by the vicious tone in her voice.
Nimbrethil just stared at him, unwilling to believe what she was hearing. "You gave it to a dancing girl?" she shouted angrily.
"Melia is one of the Nine," Tavorick was trembling now. "It was Lord Nasher's idea, to keep everyone safe. But now she is in danger, because whoever sent these demons must know now that I don't have the shard. You must hurry to the Moonstone Mask before it's too late."
NImbrethil was so furious she couldn't speak at first. She had been used, decieved by Nasher, risked her life and the lives of her companions for no good reason. "I have half a mind to let you all rot," she spat. "If I didn't need that shard that's just what I would do."
"Nimbrethil!" Casavir gasped out, shocked at her words.
"What? I should be happy that we were used as bait by Nasher?" she shouted furiously. "I should not be upset that I was not informed of the situation beforehand? We are the ones risking our lives here. If Nasher wants to play games, let him get his ass off his throne and fight, put his life on the line. Then again, I don't know why I expected any better from him, he is only ..." she bit back the last word.
Casavir knew what she had been about to say and his mouth thinned, but he decided to let it go. "We don't have much time, so we best hurry to the Mask," he said quietly.
"I for one agree with Nim," Neeshka piped up. "I don't like being used any more than she does." Bishop and Khelgar both echoed her words.
Nimbrethil realized that if she didn't get them moving, then the party might end up fighting each other, something they could not afford. "Let's go and get the shard." She stormed out of the crypt towards the stairs leading up, the others hurrying to catch her. She couldn't wait to give Nasher a piece of her mind. She was beginning to think that she should just get the hells out of Neverwinter. Stupid humans and their stupid games. Well, she would not be toyed with, and she would let them know this in no uncertain terms.
*******
Nimbrethil was heading for the castle, the others once again hurrying to keep up. She was still very angry and now she had a headache as well. They had gotten to the mask too late to save Melia from the one who had summoned the demons. He had laughed at them while telling them he now had the shard and then disappeared, leaving a couple of hellish beasts behind. Something about the man bothered her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. He also seemed familiar to her, but she didn't know why. She paused before the doors and pinched the bridge of her nose, her headache was getting worse.
"What's wrong Nim?" Bishop asked, bending down to peer into her face.
"I have a splitting headache, so don't ask me stupid questions," she snapped at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."
"I have never seen you get headaches before," Sand stated as he stepped up. "I wonder why you have one now."
"Gee, I don't know Sand," Nimbrethil snorted. "Maybe because this has been the worst night of my life since I arrived in this stupid city." Angrily, she yanked the doors open and marched down the hall to Nasher's throne room. As she approached she saw Nasher get to his feet in alarm.
"I heard about fighting at the Mask...." he started to speak.
"Melia's dead and the shard is gone," Nimbrethil said flatly, and took some pleasure in seeing Nasher sag back down like a puppet who's strings had suddenly been cut. "You lied to me, used me," she spat. "We should count ourselves lucky that the death toll wasn't higher."
"I did what I thought was best for all concerned," Nasher's voice hardened. "My intention was to save lives."
"I will not risk my life or the lives of my companions like that again without knowing the plan up front," Nimbrethil said icily.
"You are a squire and are duty bound to follow my orders regardless of what they are," Nasher was angry now. He would not tolerate this kind of behavior and he was about to say so when they were interrupted.
"Ah Lord Nasher, I see that you are here and so is the squire I've heard so much about," the woman said as she walked towards them.
"Squire, allow me to introduce Sydney Natale, the new ambassador from Luskan," Nasher said and saw the elf's eyes narrow with anger. "She has come with some interesting news and you need to hear it."
"Careful, hosttower mage, and a high ranking one as well," Sand hissed in her ear.
Nimbrethil eyed the dumpy woman, "Whatever you have to say to me say it. My patience is running thin right now, so be quick about it," she growled. She saw Nasher frown and open his mouth to speak, but she fixed him with such an icy glare that he hesitated long enough for Sydney to speak up.
As the woman began her obviously carefully prepared spiel, Nimbrethil felt her headache starting to get stronger. She said nothing and barely paid attention to the words until the subject of Ember came up. "Gods, you Luskans lie so much that you actually believe them," she said derisively and saw the woman's face flush with anger.
"I know that you have ample reason to despise and mistrust someone from Luskan, but I assure you I speak the truth," Sydney said in her most honeyed voice.
Nimbrethil merely snorted at the comment. "My patience is wearing even thinner, so stop trying to suck up to me and get to the real reason you're here," she sneered.
As the woman continued the whole thing started to make sense. Garius, the shards, the reason they had tried to frame her, all of it. When she mentioned the mysterious King of Shadows, Nimbrethil felt a sharp pain stab through her head, and winced. She felt like the room was closing in on her and knew she had to get some air.
"Squire, are you alright?" Nasher asked, his voice sounding like it was coming from far away.
Without answering she turned and ran out of the room, heading for the exit. Getting outside, she leaned against the wall, gasping. She kept seeing flashes of something, something from the past. That wizard, his face, she'd seen it before. She sank to the ground, covering her head with her arms. That was how the others found her.
Bishop knelt down and tried to get her to look up. "Nim, talk to us, tell us what's wrong."
Nimbrethil tried to find the words but the images were overwhelming. Finally, she managed to gasp out, "fire, smoke, screaming." She was unaware of the tears running down her face. "I can see them, hear them, oh gods make it stop!"
Sand sucked in a sharp breath as he realized what she was talking about. "Even though she was very young when West Harbor was attacked, she was apparently old enough to comprehend what was happening. The memories have been surpressed for decades, something must have triggered them."
As she began to rock back and forth, Sand knelt in front of her and placed his hands on her head. He closed his eyes and focused his mind. He had some talent with mind probing and her being an elf made it easy to reach out and try to ease the pain these memories were causing. As he linked with her mind, he sucked in his breath in horror at the images. They would be enough to give anyone nightmares, yet because they had been surpressed for decades they were threatening to overwhelm her mind. If he didn't do something fast, her mind might very well shut down.
Bishop watched Sand for a moment then hissed, "What in the hells are you doing wizard?"
"I am trying to save her mind by helping her to push back the memories," Sand snapped impatiently. "Now do not interrupt me again, unless you want her to spend the rest of her life in a catatonic state."
Bishop felt the blood leave his face at those words. To think that she could end up like that was something he didn't want to contemplate. He stepped back and let the wizard do what he had to.
Sand began to attempt to raise barriers in her mind, essentially trying to seperate the images so they didn't come all at once. If he could do that, she would still be able to recall the events, but they would not endanger her sanity. Her emotional well being would be another thing entirely. Finally, he seemed to be having some success for her body stopped shuddering and her breath began to come easier. How long it took he didn't know, but finally he was able to lock them away and put her to sleep. Sighing he looked up at Bishop. "Here, pick her up," Sand moved away to let him reach her. "I managed to seperate the memories a little and put her into a deep sleep. I do not know how long it will last, but hopefully when she wakes she will be able to access the memories without them causing her such mental agony."
"You're face is all gray wizard," Khelgar remarked. "Were they that bad?"
"Yes," Sand nodded. "Given the nature of them, if she asked me to fully suppress them again, then I would be happy to do so. It is a wonder that she turned out so normal after witnessing that." He sighed heavily for he realized that Nasher was waiting for word of what was going on. "The rest of you take her back to the Flagon. I will go fill Nasher in on the situation and see what he wants done about Garius. Regardless, we will not be going anywhere until she has recovered."
As the others left he sighed again and then, squaring his shoulders, reentered the castle. Lord Nasher was many things, but he wasn't an unreasonable man. Surely, he could accept the fact that Nimbrethil would not be available for a day or two. If he couldn't wait, then he would just have to send someone else to take care of things. The poor girl was certainly in no shape to go out and battle a pixie, let alone Garius.
Sand couldn't help but wonder what had triggered the memories. As soon as she awoke he would sit down with her and try to find out. He had a feeling it could be very important to everyone that they know the answer. The tricky part would be getting the information out of the girl's head without causing permanent damage. He shuddered to think what the ranger would do to him if Nim suffered permanent harm. Even though the man would never admit it, Bishop cared about the girl deeply and consequently could become extremely hostile towards anyone who harmed her.
Hopefully, things would not reach that point, ever. Even a wizard was no match for one as sneaky and dangerous as the ranger. A concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Well Sand, how is my squire doing?" Lord Nasher asked as the wizard approached.
"My Lord," Sand bowed deeply. "I am afraid I have some bad news."