All right, here comes chapter 4. I don't think there's so much to say about it, really. So ... well, enjoy!

Chapter 4: Return of the shadows

Arya had a feeling it had not even become morning when a sound from outside woke her, although it was hard to tell when she couldn't see the sky. Muttering because she really had been longing for a good night's sleep, she got up, threw on her clothes and opened her door to see what was going on.

"Lady Arya!"

A young boy, pale and out of breath, stood outside her door.

"Ajihad wants you to come to his study", he panted.

"Now?" Arya said, unable to keep the tone of surprise out of her voice. "What for? Has anything happened?"

But, like she had expected, she got no reply.

A thousand possibilities rushed through Arya's mind as she made her way through the corridors, where everyone seemed to be awake. She had spent hours together with Ajihad and Hrothgar the previous day, recounting her story and listening as they told her what had happened while she was gone. So what did they want now, in the middle of the night? Of course, none of them had thought they would be left undisturbed. Not after that mighty attack of both Urgals and Kulls. But Arya hadn't expected anything to happen this soon. Unless Galbatorix had planned this attack already, and now thought that the right moment had come. But no, that couldn't be. How could he have gathered an entire army and begun to march towards the Beor Mountains without anyone from the Varden noticing?

No, Arya told herself as she stopped outside Ajihad's study, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her racing mind. Don't think too much about this as well! Wait until you hear what Ajihad's got to say. With that, she knocked on the door and was told to come in.

"Arya!" Ajihad burst out in relief as soon as she stepped into the room.

He was standing behind his desk together with Jörmundur, studying a map of Alagaësia. His troubled expression spoke more clearly than words, confirming Arya's misgivings.

For a long time, no one in the room spoke. It seemed as though they were waiting for something, though neither of them said what it was. Then, there was a knock on the door, and Eragon and Orik came in. Orik wore the same grim expression Arya had seen on the face of his king so many times when danger threatened. Eragon only looked confused and slightly troubled as he took his place next to her.

"Good, you're here, Eragon", said Ajiihad, before introducing Eragon and Jörmundur to each other. "I have summoned you all here because we are in great danger. About half an hour ago, a dwarf ran out of an abandoned tunnel under Tronjheim. He was bleeding and nearly incoherent, but he still managed to tell us what he fled from. There is an army of Urgals about a day's march from here."

Shocked silence followed his words, before there was a sudden explosion of voices as everyone seemed to be asking questions at the same time. Only Arya remained quiet, a storm of confusion and fear filling her mind as she understood the meaning of what Ajihad had just told them. Because she realized that the time when she was to face Durza again had come, much sooner than she had thought. It seemed so unlikely that Galbatorix himself would leave Urû'baen, and who else would he put in charge of this attack? But she was not prepared for a duel with the Shade yet! She had barely had any time to rest. She ...

There, a clear thought finally came up to the surface of Arya's mind. She suddenly realized how selfish she was being. Durza would not try and capture her again. Hadn't she shown by now that she was of no value to Galbatorix? No, the person they wanted was Eragon. He was the one who had fled from Gil'ead, he was the one who had taken her away from there, and he was the one who had brought Durza's plans to nothing. And he was a Dragon Rider. If he and Saphira were captured, the Varden's chances would be even smaller than before. So she had to warn the others, had to make them understand.

But before Arya had time to even open her mouth, Ajihad spoke again, silencing them.

"Quiet!" he said. "There is more. The Urgals aren't approaching over land, but under it. They're in the tunnels. We're going to be attacked from below."

"But why didn't the dwarves know about this sooner?" Eragon shouted to make himself heard over the voices which now filled the study yet again. "And how did the Urgals find the tunnels?"

"We're lucky to know about it this early", Orik bellowed back.

He started to explain about the maze of tunnels under Tronjheim, tunnels which had not been used properly since the day they were built. But Arya found it hard to concentrate on his words. She had never liked being under ground, in those narrow, twisting tunnels, but had got used to it over the years. And now they were to battle completely under ground, something she had never done before.

With this in mind, Arya wanted to shout to the others to stop wasting their time on talking about how the Urgals had found their way in. The history of the older dwarven cities could be told later. What they needed to think about now was what they were going to do. They had to make a plan!

But Arya did not mention this, partly because she did not want to be the one to complain, and partly because she knew it would only make Orik affronted. And quarreling now would lead them no where.

"Do you know how many Urgals there are?" Jörmundur asked after what felt like hours, though Arya knew it could not have gone more than ten minutes perhaps. "Are Galbatorix's troops with them? We can't plan a defence without knowing how large their army is."

"We do not know any of those things", Ajihad said heavily. "Though I know our survival depends on your last question. If Galbatorix has added his men to the Urgals, we won't have a chance. We are too few, and neither Orrin, nor the elves will have time to help us now. But if the Urgals are coming alone, we might be able to win. I've sent runners to both Surda and Du weldenvarden, so at least they won't be taken by surprise if we fall. Now, I've already talked to Hrothgar, and we've decided what to do. Our only hope is to contain the Urgals in three of the larger tunnels and channel them out into Farthen Dûr, so they won't swarm around in Tronjheim. I need you, Eragon and Arya, to help the dwarves collapse the remaining tunnels. The job is too big for normal means. Two groups of dwarves are already working on it, one outside Tronjheim and the other beneath it. Eragon, you're to work with the group outside. Arya, you'll be with the one under ground. Orik will guide you to them."

And how are we going to do that? arya wondered. How on earth are we going to close all those smaller tunnels in just a few hours? There must be some way, but she couldn't for the life of her work out what it might be.

"Why not close all the tunnels instead of leaving the large ones untouched?" Eragon was saying.

Orik became the one to reply.

"Because if we do, the Urgals will have to clear away the rubble themselves, and then they are very likely to go in a direction we don't want them to. Besides, if they're unable to reach us, they might turn towards other dwarven cities, which we won't be able to assist in time."

"There's also another reason", Ajihad said. "Hrothgar warned me that the network of tunnels below Farthen Dûr is so dense, sections of the city might sink under their own weight if we collapse all the tunnels. That is a risk we mustn't take."

The meeting ended shortly afterwards, and they all hurried off in different directions to complete their tasks. Arya wanted to speak to Ajihad alone, but he disappeared before she could push her way over to him.

"Come on!" Orik called, waving to her from the stairs leading down. "We mustn't let the others wait!"

The stairs and corridors seemed endless. The deeper into the mountain they got, the colder and darker it grew around them. Although Arya had no problems to see in the darkness, she always felt just as lost in this maze of never ending tunnels. She kept looking over her shoulder and trying to remember which passage they'd come from, but her efforts were, as usual, in vain.

"I must say we're lucky, despite all these difficulties", said Orik, and there was a tone of what seemed to be satisfaction in his voice. "The Urgals will at least not be able to take us by surprise, which I'm sure is what they intended to."

"That is true", Arya mumbled, considering. "It had not occurred to me before, but this attack does indeed remind me of ... of Durza's ambush for me in the forest. They appear to be using the same tactic now."

Orik suddenly turned and smiled unexpectedly at her through the darkness.

"Maybe we can even take advantage from the fact that we now know about their plans", he said.

"Maybe, but that advantage won't last very long, considering how large their army is", Arya pointed out. "And maybe that is not even what they are planning."

"No", Orik admitted, his smile fading as quickly as it had appeared. "You're right, of course. It was just an idea."

The group of dwarves, already working in one of the tunnels, stopped abruptly as they caught sight of Orik and Arya. However, many of them regained their grim expression as soon as their eyes fell upon her. Arya knew why. As an elf, she had never been able to get on very well with the dwarves, and they always mistrusted her abilities when she worked together with them. It had made her angry before, but now she did not care much about it. If they wanted to behave like that, it was their problem. However, she would not let them prevent her from doing what she had to.

"So ...", the leader of the group said, inspecting Arya with a doubtful look in his eyes. "You really think you are capable of doing this, do you?"

Orik shot the dwarf a stern look, but all Arya said was:

"Yes, I do."

And she went over to the tunnel they were supposed to collapse without another word.

It took them several hours to close all the tunnels, but it still was not as hard as Arya had thought it would be. All she needed to do was weaken the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel. Not entirely, but enough to make the tunnel sink into the ground under its own weight, just like Ajihad had said about Tronjheim. In fact, it was his words which had given her the idea.

Once they were finished, Arya and Orik hurried back to Tronjheim, to tell Ajihad about their success and ask him what to do next. They found the city in general disorder, with people running this way and that, trying to organize the troops and struggling to evacuate women and children iin time before the battle began. And all the time, that silent threat of being attacked from where they could not see their enemies was hanging over them, over everything they did and everything they said. It was such a thing which nobody mentioned, but which never truly left their minds.

Seeing Ajihad in the crowd, Arya waved and called to him:

"Ajihad!"

He turned and looked at her with surprise.

"Arya?" he said. "Are you finished already?"

"Yes", she said. "But please, could I have a private word with you? I know how much there still is to be done, but I'm sure it won't take more than a few minutes at most."

Ajihad looked at her and then said:

"Well, I suppose you could. Jörmundur! Lead your troop to the eastern gate! I'll meet you there as soon as I can."

Jörmundur, who had been standing nearby, nodded and ran off through the corridor. Meanwhile, Arya and Ajihad went into a small room, which might once have been used as a study of some kind.

"Well?" Ajihad said once he had closed the door behind them. "What is it?"

"Wel, I was ...", Arya began, suddenly finding it hard to explain her thoughts. "I was just wondering why the Urgals are coming here in the first place. I mean, I do know of course that Galbatorix has wanted to attack the Varden ever since it first was created. But I do not think that's his only reason. At first, I thought they were after me, but ... that seemed just so unlikely. They know by now that I will not tell them anything they want to know, so I'm of no use to them any more. So it must be Eragon and Saphira they are after! Galbatorix wants them, either to kill them or to bring them to Urû'baen - I don't know. What I do know, however, is that we ... we have to protect them! We cannot let Durza find them! If we do, then ..."

She stopped there, unable to keep the desperation out of her voice. However, Ajihad seemed to understand what she wanted to say and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I will do what I can to protect Eragon and Saphira", he said. "You have my promise. The twins have, however, told me that Eragon is perfectly capable of creating wards himself. So you should not worry about it, arya."

"No", she said with a sigh. "I suppose I should not. I'm just not as certain about the twins as you are. Not after what I saw yesterday."

"I see what you mean", Ajihad said. "And I know you are caring much about the Varden. But there is nothing more we can do about it right now."

"Well, you're right", said Arya. "Thank you, anyway."

But as they left the room, Arya had to admit to herself that she had not only been acting out of anxiety for the Varden. It was something else, something she found very hard to explain. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Eragon had saved her life, and that she knew she had to find a way to repay him. But what if that was not the whole truth either? What if there was something else, something she had not thought of at all?