Chapter 55: Moving Day
Nimbrethil leaned against the outside wall of the Flagon watching as the last wagon was loaded. She couldn't believe that her companions had so much stuff that it required three wagons to move it all. The worst part was that much of the stuff was not even the necessities required, but personal possessions. She had watched as Casavir placed several large bundles carefully in the first wagon and was told by Elanee that they were the things he required for his nightly devotions. Guess that made them necessary but honestly, that Tyr required such things of his followers was incomprehensible to her. Neeshka had so many bags and boxes that she could open a store of her own and she didn't even want to think what the contents might be. Shandra had been doing alot of shopping the last couple of days and now had three trunks filled with clothes, shoes, and gods knew what else. Did the farm girl really need that many clothes? At least she wasn't as bad as Qara, who had twice as many trunks filled with all sorts of frivilous things. Sand had the most trunks but she had expected that from the wizard. After all, he had dozens of books, potions, ingredients, alchemy equipment, etc., etc. The wizard's needs were simple enough and he didn't have a great many clothes or unnecessary items. However, the acroutements of the wizard profession were numerous.
Shaking her head she moved to the last wagon to oversee the loading of the provisions that she had purchased for the keep. She would have to see about getting a herd of cattle or sheep to provide the meat necessary. With Bishop's help, she could supplement that with local game, of which there was plenty in the woods surrounding the area. However, items such as flour, grain, and other foodstuffs were required, so she had had to purchase them. It would take many men to rebuild the keep and it would be her responsability to see to it that they had plenty of food. She also had to give some thought to finding more men to defend the keep. Nevalle had told her that Nasher had hired a master builder and his workers and provided some funds to start the construction. Nasher had also reassigned fifty greycloaks from Neverwinter to the keep. A wry smile curved her lips as she thought that neither were sufficient to run a manor let alone a whole keep. That would require quite a bit of gold, which would have to come from her. Good thing she had never been one to spend money unless absolutely necessary and consequently she had quite a sum saved up. She glanced at the small chest placed against the back of the wagon. Sand had been keeping it in his store, the safest place for it she had thought. The wizard had also woven some rather nasty spells around it to protect it on the journey. She had to suppress a snicker as she pictured the look that would appear on Neeshka's face if the tiefling ever found out what the contents were. Between the gold, jewels, and jewelry she had saved, the chest contained somewhere around 200,000 in liquid assets. Still, while it might seem a fortune to some, it was nowhere near enough and she would have to figure out some other means of generating revenue. She knew the others would probably not expect her to understand such things, but having spent a great deal of time traveling with Daeghan as he traded around Faerun, she had learned quite a bit about the merchant trade and generating of revenue. She snickered as she pictured the surprise on their faces at the fact that the wood elf ranger they thought they knew was actually quite knowledgeable about such things. While she had been standing there thinking all of this, the last of the supplies had been loaded and the driver came to tell her he was ready. Looking around she saw that the other wagons were also ready and told the drivers they could head out if they were ready to go. A contingent of soldiers was waiting for them just outside the city gates. Her companions had all gone back inside the inn, leaving just her and Bishop standing outside to see the wagons off.
"I saw you smiling over there elf," Bishop said as she walked over to him. "Care to share?"
"I was just thinking about the rebuilding of the keep and how some of those with us wouldn't expect me to know what to do," Nimbrethil smirked.
"Well, I still haven't figured you out completely and I know more about you than anyone," he snorted. "Given the fact that you're so old I would imagine that you've learned a thing or two," he chuckled at the look of indignation on her face.
"Old? Hah, don't forget that I am techinically younger than you are ranger," she smiled at him. "How is it going with the rest of the stuff the others are bringing?" she changed the subject.
"I don't think Nevalle gave you enough pack horses to carry all the crap they insist on bringing," Bishop told her. Seeing her look of puzzlement he went on to explain. "Just as an example, the pyro doesn't wish to travel without her own tent, bedroll and furs. The same holds true for the farm girl, that weird cleric and the paladin. Even the druid and the dwarf are bringing along a few creature comforts. Gods only know what the idiot gnome is bringing," he sneered.
Nimbrethil sighed and shook her head. "Well seeing as how none of them are really used to living out of doors, I can't say I'm surprised. It doesn't really matter to me how much stuff they bring for I'm in no particular hurry to reach our destination. If they want to be comfortable on this trip, no big deal. They've dealt without such things in the past because of necessity and they've never complained. So I can't complain about how they choose to travel this time."
"So do you plan on sleeping in a tent under furs on this trip as well? I rather like the picture of you naked under only fur," Bishop purred in a low voice.
"Actually I plan on sleeping naked under the stars covered only in leaves," she purred back and saw desire flare in his eyes.
"That sounds even better," he whispered before pulling her to him and kissing her hungrily. "What say we go to our room and say farewell to the bed?"
"I wish I could, but I want to leave today and have to go see what I can do to hurry the others along," she smiled ruefully and then laughed at his disgruntled expression.
"What's your hurry anyway? You just said that you aren't eager to get to the keep," he grumbled.
"I'm finally going to be away from this city, and if I never set foot here again I'll be the happiest elf in the world," she snorted. "Besides, I am always more enthusiastic out in the wilds, remember?" she purred seductively and heard him chuckle.
"Oh, I remember very well elf," he smirked at her and fingered the fading marks on his cheek. He watched as she headed to the inn door, pausing to flash him a wicked smile before heading inside. Damn but she knew how to turn him on and now the idea of the bed seemed to pale in comparison.
Nimbrethil saw her uncle glance at her as she walked in before he looked down at the counter he was cleaning. There was a great deal of tension between them now and she thought that perhaps she should regret saying what she did to him, but she didn't. She had wanted him to know just how seriously angry with him she was over his treatment of Bishop and not just because she liked having the other ranger around. Kin or no, she wouldn't tolerate such actions. Even Daeghan, for all his coldness, would never have held such a threat over anyone's head in such a way. Daeghan would have told the proper authorities and let them handle the situation and he had instilled the same ideas in her. Even Solonar extracted swift retribution against those who had wronged him. The whole idea of keeping someone under your thumb for however long you felt like it was alien to her. The only reason Qara had been kept cleaning tables was that the girl was safer inside the inn than out and it was the only way to keep her out of trouble. Once at the keep, Qara would be safe from the other students and would be able to move about freely and do what she wished. That would make everyone happy, especially Qara.
Looking around for Sal, she suddenly realized that she hadn't seen the barkeep for a couple of days now. Walking over to the bar she asked her uncle about it. When Duncan looked at her she saw loneliness enter his eyes as he told her the news.
"Nevalle told Sal that the keep had an inn that was pretty much intact and all it really needed was someone to run it," Duncan answered. "Sal's always wanted to run his own place and now he's getting his chance."
Nimbrethil heard the sadness in Duncan's voice and realized that soon he would be alone. She knew that her uncle and Shandra had gotten close and now both his lover and his best friend were leaving him to go with her to the keep. She suddenly felt bad for him and felt the need to say something. "Listen, despite what has happened between us, I don't want you to feel you can't come out to the keep and visit with Shandra and Sal. I'm just not ready to forgive you and I may not ever be ready. However, I understand how hard it is for you to watch everyone leave, so don't stay away on my account."
Duncan looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected this but suddenly his mood lightened at the thought that perhaps he hadn't lost all ground with her. "Thanks Nim, I appreciate that, I really do," he said sincerely.
Nimbrethil nodded at him and then headed for the back rooms to see about hurrrying the others along. She wanted out of this city and they were holding her up. Going to her room, she checked to make sure nothing had been left behind and then headed out into the middle of the hall. "Bishop and I are leaving, the rest of you can catch up to us on the road," she called out. At her words she heard shouts and exclamations come from various rooms. Several protests were shouted out to her, most of them echoes of 'Just a couple more minutes' and 'Hold your horses'. Ignoring them, she headed back to the common room and then out the door, smirking as she heard banging, clanking, and curses coming from behind her. Grabbing her pack from beside the door, she slung it onto her back along with her quiver and picked up her bow. She saw that Bishop had his gear already and nodded at him before heading for the gates.
As he fell into step beside her, Bishop couldn't keep from grinning at the sounds the others were making. "Told them we were leaving didn't you?" he snickered.
"I figured that would work better than anything else," she chuckled in response.
"Well, like you said you're not in any hurry so they'll have plenty of time," he smiled. "Of course, they will probably run to catch up with us thinking they'll be left behind otherwise."
"Yes, but they don't know that," she laughed. "I told them I wanted to leave this morning but not that I planned on taking my time getting there. Besides, if I allowed them, they would still be fussing about, hemming and hawing over what to bring and what not to." She headed towards Sand's shop to see if he was ready to go yet. To her delight the wizard was waiting for them, his hands holding the reins of a pony laden with the personal items he was bringing.
"Traveling light are we my dear girl?" Sand queried as he fell into step with them.
"You know me Sand, I don't really need anything more than my bow when I travel," she answered. "I'm used to sleeping outside and actually prefer it. I don't need a tent or bedroll to be comfortable."
"Understood, but there is always the possibility that it will rain during our trip," the wizard told her. "Surely sleeping in a tent would be drier than the ground."
"Actually, a hammock slung between two trees and an oilskin wrap will do just fine for me," she told him.
"All rangers travel with such things when they are on the road," Bishop spoke up. He saw the wizard glance at his pack and nodded. "I have a couple of oilskins and a hammock as well."
"As you can see, both Bishop and I travel light but with everything we need," Nimbrethil smiled.
"Well that is all well and good for you, you are still young," Sand sniffed. "But at my age, one must use care when travelling and I happen to like my creature comforts."
"You don't fool me wizard," Nim snorted. "You're much tougher than you look and I'm sure you'd do better without said comforts than half my other companions."
Sand said nothing, merely smiled enigmatically at her, but inside was rather pleased by her comments. He saw the slight smile on her lips and the glint in her eyes and knew that she was happier than she had been in a while. She seemed not to hold a grudge against him for being part of that little debacle she had witnessed a few days ago. She must have guessed that the opinions expressed by the others did not mirror his. For that he was grateful because she had basically been ignoring the others the last couple of days. He shuddered at the thought that she had allowed Qara to hang off her elbow. There was no telling what bad ideas that idiot girl would give Nimbrethil. At least she was allowing him to be close to her so he could keep an eye on things. The last thing they needed now was for her to be influenced by the less intelligent and sensible members of the group.
Bishop watched as Nimbrethil stopped just outside the city gates to take a deep breath and smile. He knew how much happier she was out here and was looking forward to this more leisurely trip of theirs. He would have to think of ways to occupy her and slow the pace of the trip as much as possible. Once they reached the keep and she set about the business of rebuilding it, the opportunities to have fun would be hard to come by. He would make sure that she enjoyed herself as much as possible before then. When she turned to smile at him he returned it and then side by side they started down the road.