Chapter 42: To The Keep
Shandra found herself smiling at Nimbrethil's exuberance on their journey to Crossroad Keep. When they had met Nevalle at the stables and prepared to mount their horses, the elf had seen a handsome black stallion in one of the stalls and stated that she would ride him. Nevalle had said she couldn't because he was still not trained to the saddle. The look on Nevalle's face had been hilarious when the girl had opened the stall door, spoken some elvish words to the horse, and then mounted and rode him out of the stable. When they had gotten outside of the city, Nim had taken off at a gallop, bent low over the horse, her laughter floating back to them as they had tried to catch up. When they finally caught up with her, Khelgar had said that it was obvious the elf had a way with wild animals, looking pointedly at Bishop. The other ranger had merely smirked and then turned back to talk with Nim. The girl's mood had improved considerably over the last two days now that she was back where she loved to be, out in the countryside.
Now as they rode at a canter, Nimbrethil was animatedly debating with Bishop the best way to trap dire animals . Shandra had been watching them for some time as Grobnar, who was sharing her mount, told her some story about some uncle and a mishap with spiders. She had seen the elf looking down at the road every now and then and couldn't quite figure out what she was doing.
"Grobnar, sorry to interrupt, but can I ask you something?" Shandra said quietly to him.
"Oh my yes, ask away, always happy to share my knowledge," the gnome smiled widely.
"Nim keeps looking down from the side of her horse. Any idea why?" Shandra puzzled.
"Tracking I imagine," was Grobnar's quick answer. "It's what rangers do you know, look for tracks."
"What kind of tracks would she find on the road?" Shandra asked him, not realizing that Nim had dropped back until she spoke.
"All kinds of tracks," Nimbrethil smiled. "I have so far been able to determine the following have travelled this road in the past week: Two small caravans, a couple of errand or pleasure riders, and a group of mounted and armed soldiers. The only group that travelled towards the city were the soldiers." She saw Shandra's mouth drop open and laughed.
"You can tell all that by looking at tracks?" Shandra asked in disbelief.
"If you have good eyes and know what to look for it's easy," the elf smiled. "A caravan moves at a slow pace and the wagons are drawn by teams of draft horses. Those horses leave deeper impressions and their prints are spaced close together. Errand and pleasure riders travelling at a gallop are not weighed down by heavy armor, so those prints are lightly made and spaced well apart. The soldiers are mounted on war horses, similar to the ones we are riding. Because they wear heavy armor and tend to travel at a moderate pace, the impressions are as deep as the draft horses but spaced a little farther apart. There is also of course the size of the prints. Different types of horse have different size hooves."
"That is amazing!" Grobnar exclaimed. "I never knew one could tell so much from tracks left behind. Do you think I could learn it?"
Nimbrethil silently studied the gnome's open and honest face for a while. "You have good eyes and a great deal of knowledge about the various creatures that inhabit the land. That being said, you could learn to do it, but it would require constant study and practice. You tend to get distracted by other things a little too easily. Also to become a skillfull tracker means being able to be quiet a great deal of the time, and I just don't know if that's something you can do, sorry."
Grobnar's face fell at her words, "I know I tend to talk when I shouldn't, and you're right I do get distracted, but I could learn to be quiet and to focus, couldn't I?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Nimbrethil shrugged. "When we have some time I can take you out and you can see how you do. How does that sound?"
"That sounds wonderful!" the gnome exclaimed happily, a big smile splitting his face.
Nimbrethil hid her smile and moved forward to ride beside Bishop. "Don't say it," she warned him.
"Say what? That you shouldn't encourage him to try something he hasn't a chance in the hells of being any good at?" Bishop snorted in amusement. "When was the last time that gnome shut his trap for more than five minutes? And I'm not talking about when he's asleep," Bishop snickered.
"True, Grobnar does have a hard time being quiet, most of the time," Nimbrethil chuckled. "But I have also noticed that when he really wants to learn something, he can focus amazingly well. I'll give him a chance and we'll go from there."
"Well you can count me out," Bishop sneered. "I'd rather use him for target practice."
"Now Bishop, I already promised to let you use Qara for that if she steps out of line," Nimbrethil scolded. "You can't have my gnome, sorry."
"My, getting all possessive of the little pest aren't we," Bishop snickered. "Well I suppose you do need a pet since Thorondor had to stay behind. Although why you asked Karnwyr to stay behind too is beyond me. I swear that mutt listens to you more than he does me now."
"Oh quit grumbling, you know very well why I asked them both to stay at the Flagon," she scowled at him. "I don't trust Qara to not try something while I'm gone. They'll keep an eye on her and both of them are capable of intervening if she does try anything. I made sure they knew not to hurt her, just keep her from casting any kind of spells. Although Thorondor would actually be better at it."
"Hey, are you putting down my companion!" Bishop shouted in mock outrage.
"Well, now that you mention it," Nimbrethil teased and then squealed and kicked her horse into a gallop when Bishop tried to grab her. Laughing she bent low over the horse's neck, turning her head to see him hot on her heels. The others, having been caught by surprise, were even further back. She turned her gaze back to the road in front of her and urged the horse to greater speed. He was one of the fastest she had ever ridden and soon Bishop was falling behind. When she rounded a bend in the road she slowed just enough to turn the horse towards the trees on her right. Slowing to a walk, she moved deeper into the woods until they were completely concealed in the shadows. Turning the horse she whispered to him to stand silent and still and then watched the road for Bishop.
Bishop rounded the bend and then hauled his horse to a stop. She had left the road somewhere, he knew, and he dismounted to look at the ground. It took a while but he finally spotted the bent grass that showed where she entered the woods. Leading his horse, he slowly followed the tracks until he was inside, and then he stopped, listening intently. She wouldn't be riding her horse through here, for she knew he would hear that. That meant one of two possibilities. Either she was standing completely still beside the horse, or she had told the horse to stay still and was circling around him through the woods. This was a game that they hadn't had the opportunity to play in the past few weeks and he hadn't realized until now how much he missed these excersises. Her skills in this area were so good that she was actually helping him to hone his even further. He heard the others coming and looking back saw them all coming to a halt looking around. When they started calling out to them, he sneered. Did they think she didn't know they were there or that she was deaf? Shaking his head he moved further in, listening for the slightest sound to indicate where she might be.
Nimbrethil cursed silently as the others began yelling to her. How was she supposed to hear Bishop with all the racket they were making? Finally, after a couple of minutes of calling with no response, the others quieted down. Focusing her senses, she listened intently and sniffed the air continuously for any sign of him. Making no noise that even an elf would hear, she crept towards the edge of the woods, figuring to get behind him as he went further in.
Bishop had taken a page from Nim's playbook and learned to cast Camoflage, without telling her of course. He tied his horse to a tree a couple hundred feet into the woods. Then, after casting the spell, he crept towards the edge and positioned himself behind a tree that was downwind from her, then waited. Soon enough he saw a shadow moving along the treeline and smiled to himself. He was going to get her this time, but he would have to make sure not to move too soon or she would hear him. It was damned hard sneaking up on an elf, their excellent hearing making it nearly impossible, but he had gotten better at it since their first meeting.
Nimbrethil paused every couple of feet to listen and scan the area, her keen eyes seeing in the gloom as clearly as others in daylight. So far she had not sensed him anywhere and felt a smile curve her lips. He was getting pretty good at this game, making her work even harder, and that was the best way to hone one's skills. Catching a faint whiff of horse on the wind she edged towards where it came from. Seeing Bishop's horse tied to a tree she froze, sensing a trick of some kind. Thinking it through she realized he must be downwind and she had passed him already. Just as she was about to turn, a hand snaked around her to cover her mouth while another wrapped around her waist.
"Got you this time elf," Bishop whispered in her ear. "Lle lava?" (Do you yield?) He removed his hand from her mouth so she could answer.
"Amin lava," Nimbrethil chuckled. (I yield)
Bishop turned her around to face him and saw her eyes widen in surprise as she recognized the spell effect on him. "What? Didn't think I knew this particular spell, did you?" he quirked an eyebrow at her. "I figured I needed every advantage I could get my hands on. You're damned hard to beat woman."
Nimbrethil laughed, "Well now I know about it, so it won't be quite so effective next time. But you won this round, so congratulations."
Bishop bent his head and kissed her fiercly, pulling her tight against him as her arms circled his neck. She was returning his kiss just as fiercely and he felt inflamed with desire for her. Before he could take things further he heard the others call out again. Growling in frustration he pulled away.
"I suppose we'll just have to wait until we make camp tonight to continue this," Nimbrethil said and stepped back. "They sound like they're getting impatient."
"To hells with them I say," Bishop grumbled and went to his horse.
"It's only a few more hours, and I promise to make it worth the wait," she grinned saucily at him as she passed him leading her horse.
"Well now, that sounds promising," Bishop drawled as he followed her. "I'll hold you to it elf."
Nimbrethil laughed as she exited the trees and mounted her horse. Seeing the others looking concerned she rode over to them. "Sorry, decided to practice my stealth skills, and found out I need to work on them a little more." Turning her horse up the road she trotted off, once again heading for the keep.
Bishop ignored the looks the others gave him and paced his horse to catch up to her. This little jaunt was turning out to be more fun than he expected.