Ch 2: HAMMERFALL

The wall of the castle tumbled down, burying Roran and five other men. The mound of stone was over twenty feet high. The impact sent a cloud of black dust flying over the courtyard.

Arya took a sharp intake of breath and then doubled over, coughing and rubbing her eyes. She looked up at the keep after recovering and saw that the rubble from the building had spilled into the courtyard and that three of the rooms inside were exposed.

Arya returned her gaze back to Eragon who was running towards the rubble. Without a second thought, she told one of the other elves to hide the Dauthdaert and caught up to Eragon with her sword in hand.

Arya followed Eragon as he jumped from stone to stone and lunged to the second story of the building and raced across the room. He shoved the door in front of him with such force that it got torn of its hinges and went flying. They raced across the corridor, Eragon in front and Arya trailing behind. He slowed in front of an open doorway to discover a group of men looking at a map, arguing. Then, he continued his sprint.

Arya had no idea where they were going. But she knew that her main responsibility was to keep the Rider safe and she couldn't let him go off on his own in a castle where there were soldiers and probably magicians.

As she rounded the corner after him, she saw Eragon punch a soldier in the stomach, smashing him into the ceiling killing him.

"Me," said Eragon to the soldier and then continued down the corridor. Arya let out a sigh like an exasperated mother and gave chase. He probably doesn't even realize that I'm here.

At the end of the hall, there was a spiraling staircase which they took five steps at a time. The emerged into a chamber whose walls were adorned with shields, weapons, and pennants. To the right stood a group of fifty or more soldiers and a robed man staring at Eragon with surprise.

"Kill him!" the robed man ordered sounding frightened. ""Whosoever kills him shall have a third of my treasure! So I promise!"

He tore his sword from its scabbard, lifted it over his head, and shouted "Brisingr!" With a rush of air, blue flames sprang into existence around the blade, running up toward the tip. Then Eragon lowered his gaze to the soldiers. "Move," he growled. The soldiers hesitated a moment more, then turned and fled. He took off again through the double doors that led into another chamber.

Arya's started after him but the soldiers stepped in front of her. One of them stepped forward to try and hold her down but she swung her sword and dispatched his neck from his soldiers. Expressions of weariness started to cross the faces of the other men but they started forward and engaged her in a fight.

Just as she had before, Arya flowed through the contingent, killing several of them with just a few blows. As she spun around, dodging a stab to her head, she noticed Blödhgarm behind her also fighting his way through the soldiers. Together, they eliminated the group within a matter of seconds and ran into the chamber Eragon had gone into.

The chamber was full of gears, pulleys, and other mechanisms for opening and closing the gates of the keep. Arya spotted Eragon cutting into the portcullis with Brisingr, creating an opening large enough to walk through and then rushed into the passage. She followed him with Blödhgarm right behind her as they turned left and right and left again. They finally reached a vestibule covered with debris. Even with her elf vision, Arya could only make out the largest shaped in the darkness.

Then Eragon said, "Naina" and a blue light appeared and illuminated the space. There, amidst the pile of rubble, Arya saw Roran covered in dirt, blood, ash, and sweat, wrestling with another soldier. The sudden brightness caused the soldier to flinch and Roran took the chance to take the dagger fro m his belt and stab him through the throat.

Roran rose from the body, looked over at Eragon, and said, "About time you-."

Then, he fainted.