Chapter 45: Inside At Last
Nimbrethil paused to catch her breath at the door leading into the keep from the tunnel. She had to wonder what Vale's problem was, because the only things they had seen in the tunnel had been some beetles and spiders. Fighting them was a piece of cake compared to what they had gone through in the courtyard. Sand was a wizard same as Vale and he had merely curled his lip in contempt while casting a few minor spells at the critters.
"Honestly, what was the big deal here anyway," Neeshka said derisively as she paused behind the elf. "A few bugs and Vale made it sound like there was a dragon down here or something."
"Sun elves are whimps, every dwarf knows that," Khelgar snorted contemptuously, causing Bishop and Neeshka to laugh loudly and nod in agreement.
"I can see it now," Neeshka tried to speak while laughing. "Vale on a chair with his skirts hiked up, 'Eek! a mouse. Quick, fireball it!'," she gasped out. Bishop and Khelgar both almost fell over they laughed so hard.
A smile had come to Nimbrethil's face at Khelgar's comment, but Neeshka's caused her to start laughing. The mental picture was funny and to her surpise she found herself leaning back against the wall, holding her sides.
Casavir couldn't keep from frowning at the way the others were ridiculing Vale and opened his mouth to admonish them, when he felt someone step on his foot. Turning, he saw Shandra glaring at him, a clear warning in her eyes.
"I don't care how you feel about it," Shandra hissed. "This is the first time I've seen Nim laughing like that and I will not let you put a damper on things. If you say anything it will cause her to retreat back behind that wall she has built up. For whatever reason, she seems to hold your opinion in high regard, and she takes to heart every criticism you make." Seeing his look of surprise she nodded firmly. "She told me about your conversation and I got the feeling that she is afraid to disappoint you. I know that she doesn't give her word lightly and she will go to great lengths to keep it when she does. So cut her some slack once in a while."
Casavir sighed and answered in a low voice, "It is not fair to ridicule people behind their backs like this. Everyone has certain strengths, and no one should be ridiculed for whatever weaknesses they have."
"Casavir, I don't know what they teach paladins behind temple walls, but life is not fair, nor is it just," Sand had joined in the quiet conversation. "If it were, Nim would never have been put on trial for a crime she didn't commit. Nor would she have been left with only an embittered adoptive father to raise her." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were still occupied and continued. "Also, you can't expect everyone around you to change and yet not have to change yourself. I think Nim has gone out of her way to be considerate of your feelings and the least you can do is show her the same courtesy."
Looking around, Shandra saw the others were watching them and stated they could finish the conversation another time. Walking over to Nim she looked at the door, "I guess the fun part is over huh?" she asked.
Nimbrethil stared hard at the woman and then at Casavir, sensing that something had happened. However, she had never been one to stick her nose in where it wasn't wanted so she said nothing. "Yes, I believe it is," she answered. "Behind this door are at least two Hosttower mages and several lackeys. I saw a couple of other doors from the window, but could not even begin to guess if there were any surprises behind them. Stay alert and be prepared for anything," she finished and then opened the door to see a flight of stairs leading up.
Bishop saw the look of discomfort on the paladin's face and grinned evilly. He had a pretty good idea what was bothering the saint and also that Shandra had intervened. If she was good for nothing else, the one thing she did well was keep Casavir off Nim's back. The paladin was too much of a bleeding heart to be comfortable with the jokes had at that cocky wizard's expense. It would be just like him to try to spoil Nim's fun to satisfy his sense of honor. Smirking he turned and followed after the elf.
Casavir saw the evil gleam in Bishop's eyes and glared in return before turning away. The ranger was taking a perverse delight in his discomfort and that angered him. It angered him even more that Nim had no problem with the way the man behaved. He knew in his heart that there was a good, caring person behind the elf's cold facade and her involvement with the ranger would eventually corrupt her. She deserved better after all that life had dealt her and yet she didn't seem to want it. She had proved to him that there were still people in the world who believed in doing the right thing, restoring his hope and his faith. For that, he owed her his support, and he would just have to keep his personal opinions of her choice in men to himself.
Sand watched the others leave and saw the frown that crossed Shandra's face. "It is quite the dilemma for Casavir isn't it?" he queried softly.
"What do you mean by that?" Shandra asked in return, already suspecting the answer.
"My dear, I have seen the way the man looks at Nim, but she only has eyes for Bishop," he smiled slightly. "The poor man seems to have no clue that his anger stems more from jealousy than anything else. However, it is all wrapped up in his sense of duty, honor, and loyalty towards the girl, and that is the problem. Also, Bishop is all too aware of it, even if the girl is not, and seems to take great pleasure in flaunting his relationship with her. That could cause problems for all of us in the future and I am happy to see that I am not the only one who recognizes it."
"I don't suppose that you know of any spell or anything that could help?" Shandra asked, immediately regretting the question when the wizard snorted in amusement.
"Girl, if I knew of such a thing, I would never have to worry about my livelihood ever again," Sand retorted and then hurried to follow the others.
Shandra sighed as she hurried to catch up with them, her thoughts turning to Duncan waiting back at the Flagon for them. He had been a pleasant surprise, and their relationship had been just starting to flourish when this assignment had come up. Before she had left he had asked her to keep an eye on his niece for him. She knew that he was just as worried as her about the girl's relationship with Bishop and the tension between the ranger and Casavir that seemed to be growing every week. She also knew that he feared that Nim would be the one to suffer, if the problem ever got out of hand. Duncan didn't care if the world fell into the Abyss as long as nothing else happened to make life worse for his niece, and he seemed to think that she was the only one who could make that happen. It was times like this that made her long for the relatively quiet days back on the farm. At least then, all she had to worry about was making sure the crops grew and that she got them to market on time.
******
Nimbrethil felt her mouth drop open in surprise as she peeked around the corner at the top of the stairs. Of all the things she expected to see, an old man in dirty robes muttering to himself was not one of them. He didn't appear to be aware of her presence yet, but with the noise the others were making as they climbed the stairs she knew that wouldn't last. Clearing her throat to let him know she was there, she stepped out of the shadows.
"Oh, I say, you're that girl with the shards aren't you?" Aldanon asked when he got a good look at her.
"Yes, and you're the sage Aldanon that was kidnapped," she replied coolly, hiding her surprise.
"Oh! That's right I was kidnapped wasn't I?" the old man said, almost in amusement. "I forgot all about that while reading through these marvelous tomes and scrolls. Fascinating reading actually, far better than most I've read from the archives in Neverwinter."
Nimbrethil bit back an irritated retort as the old man continued to ramble on. Now she remembered what talking to him had been like the first time. Lots of words to glean a few bits of pertinent information. The fact that he seemed to be completely unconcerned about where he was irked her. She'd been ordered here, risked her life and those of her companions, and here the old fool was acting like this was just another happy meeting.
"I don't have time right now to listen to any lectures on the fascinating things you've found," she broke into his ramblings rather sharply, garnering a frown from Casavir and Shandra which she blithely ignored. "I need to find Garius and stop his ritual. Do you have any idea where he might be?"
"Oh really I don't think you have to worry about that," Aldanon chuckled. "That ritual he asked me to research is too dangerous for anyone to attempt, certainly not someone as smart as Garius."
"He lied to you and he will be performing the ritual, tonight!" Nimbrethil snarled. "Where might he be found?"
"Well, I really don't think you have to worry about it, but how should I know?" Aldanon muttered. "The man didn't exactly confide in me," he said almost petulantly.
Sighing Nim closed her eyes and counted to ten, just to keep from smacking some sense into the sage. "I'm going to go find him," she announced. "I want you to get out of here now before something happens to you." Turning away she looked over her companions. She knew that someone would have to escort the old man back to their camp and yet how to pick someone without hurting their feelings was the question. Her companions were far to emotional sometimes and reacted in the oddest ways to some of the orders she gave, with the exception of Sand. Also, from what she had seen earlier, they would be in close quarters without enough room for everyone to manuever comfortably.
"Grobnar I have an important task for you," she said out loud and the little gnome came bounding over, practically bursting with excitement.
"Of course, of course," he bubbled enthusiastically. "Reliable and capable, that's me, yes indeed!"
Bishop snorted and rolled his eyes then smiled innocently at Nim when she glared at him. It really was amusing sometimes to see how protective she was towards the little guy. Of all the people to actually want to have the irritating gnome around, she was the last one he would have suspected. But because having the gnome around made her happy, he figured he could tolerate him once in a while. Usually, he didn't give a rat's ass what made others happy or not, but Nim was different, special, and he enjoyed being around her. It was certainly to his benefit if she was happy and that made it okay to give way on this, or at least this was what he told himself.
Nim watched as Grobnar went over and started pulling Aldanon towards the stairs then motioned to Neeshka to come forward. "Listen," she lowered her voice so the gnome wouldn't hear her next words. "Those two need someone to keep an eye on them or they're likely to walk off a cliff or something. I need you to make sure they actually reach the camp in one piece."
"Why me? Why not someone else like Elanee or Casavir?" the tiefling asked, scowling fiercely at the elf.
"Because I know you can find you're way back to camp with your eyes closed," Nim smiled slightly at the other girl's tone. "Also, you won't be tempted to kill them on the way like some others," here she glanced towards Bishop and Khelgar, who both snorted and rolled their eyes. "Besides, who knows what kind of goodies you can lift from Aldanon." Nimbrethil saw a greedy gleam enter the tiefling's eyes and knew she had found the right words to motivate her.
"Yeah, those are good reasons," Neeshka said, just a hint a pride coloring her voice now. "Okay, okay, but you have to promise to let me have first dibs on whatever loot you find in here, deal?"
"Deal," Nim nodded and then watched as Neeshka went over and firmly took charge of the other two, ushering them down the stairs to the tunnel as quickly as possible. She was glad that Neeshka and Grobnar had agreed so easily, because of the entire group, they were the weakest when it came to close quarter combat. Both of them relied on stealth and free movement to be effective in battle, and neither wore anything more than light armor. If things went wrong they would be the most likely to die and she refused to allow that to happen. Nasher or Vale may not care who lived or died, but she did. They were in this mess simply because they followed her here, not because they were obligated in any way. No one would die for her, not if she could prevent it. As she was thinking this she had unstrung her bow and placed it against the wall along with her pack.
"Why are you doing that lass?" Khelgar asked as he watched her unsheath her swords.
"A bow is more effective at range," Bishop spoke up. He too had unstrung his bow and taken out his swords as well. "Steel is much better in close quarters, and more satisfying," he finished with a smirk in the paladin's direction. Seeing the man stiffen he had to stifle a derisive laugh at how easy it was still to bait the man.
"Not everyone takes such pleasure in killing Bishop," Casavir growled angrily.
"Knock it off you two right now or you both can go join Neeshka and the others back at camp," Nimbrethil said sharply, glaring at each of them in turn.
"Anything you say sweetheart," Bishop drawled and then casually slipped his arm around her and kissed her ear. Seeing the look of contempt come into the paladin's eyes, he couldn't resist flashing a feral smile at the man.
Casavir had to almost bite his tongue to hold back a nasty comment at the way the ranger was behaving. The man had all the manners of a pig in rut and yet Nimbrethil seemed not to care or mind at all. Here they were, going into probably the most dangerous fight to date, and the ranger was behaving like they were going for a walk in the park. As the two turned towards the door leading out of the small room, he felt someone touch his arm. Looking down he saw Shandra watching him with a sympathetic look on her face.
"After we deal with Garius, perhaps we should talk," she said quietly. Seeing him nod she withdrew her hand and drew her sword, getting a firm grip on the hilt. Now was not the time for posturing and pointless talk. She had the feeling that this was going to be a tough fight and could feel the nervous butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Later, after this was over, she would see if she could figure out a way to ease the tension between the two men. Or if not, maybe find some way to make things easier for Casavir. She knew that his sense of duty and loyalty would not allow him to stay behind when Nimbrethil was sent off into a dangerous situation. But his feelings certainly were beginning to affect his judgement and that could prove disastrous for everyone.