You're Safe Chapter 7
A/N: Hey new chapter! You guys give awesome reviews so thanks a lot! You guys rock!
Well, here we go!
--
"A fine yew bow." Tornac mumbled as he ran his hand up and down a bow. They had stumbled across and small town when they were traveling. Tornac said he would like to buy Murtagh a bow before they began archery training. Tornac instructed Murtagh that he would also like to complete the physical portion of training before they moved onto the mental part. "Murtagh, I found a bow that I think you would like." Murtagh put down a white bow he was examining and walked over to Tornac.
"Tornac, I was looking at this white bow and I was wondering what it was made of." Murtagh said as he walked over. When he saw the beautifully crafted bow, he stopped talking.
"I don't think you really care what that bow is made of, now, do you?" Tornac laughed. "An excellently made yew bow catches your eye, eh, Taggy?" Tornac whispered.
"Taggy?" Murtagh asked in disbelief, his attention taken away from the bow for a moment. Tornac smiled widely and Murtagh shook his head. "Anyways, yes this bow is beautiful. That other bow is interesting, but not like this one…" He trailed off, taking the bow gently from Tornac. Tornac chuckled and slapped Murtagh on the back amicably.
"Well, let's get this one and buy some arrows." Tornac walked off looking for strong arrows as Murtagh got acquainted with his new bow.
--
As soon as they were far enough away from the town, Tornac stopped and took out his own bow. "I think I like archery even more than sword fighting." Tornac reflected. "It's more to my tastes. You can decide for yourself which one you like more and which one is better to use. Archery and swordplay are very important skills that one should know. In your case, you must know them." Tornac took an arrow and strung his bow. He let the arrow fly and it cut silently through the air, hitting a tree straight on. When Murtagh tried to remove the arrow from the tree, it took a bit of elbow grease. "Eventually, and hopefully soon, you will be able to shoot like that." Murtagh smiled, ready to accept the challenge.
Tornac taught Murtagh the basics of archery the first day. He taught Murtagh how to string his bow, how to hold his bow, how to hold his body, where to put the arrow, how to hold the arrow and how to shoot. He showed Murtagh a few tricks when shooting, such as keeping your eye square on the target and tuning out all distractions yet still paying attention to everything around you. By the end of training, Murtagh only wanted to learn more.
Over the span of the next few days, Murtagh became more and more proficient with the bow. The yew bow was a perfect match for him and Tornac was pleased with Murtagh's progression. He was especially happy that Murtagh picked up quickly on it.
Although Murtagh was pleased with his archery training, something was gnawing at the back of his mind:
They hadn't found Eragon yet.
Murtagh was actually quite upset that they hadn't found his brother yet. Their travels were going slowly because they had to stop for training. Murtagh knew it was important, but Eragon was more important. Couldn't they train after they found Eragon? Apparently Tornac thought not.
Eragon where are you? He thought to himself as he looked up at the star lit sky. I'm trying my best to find you and I'm not losing hope that I will find you, but what I worry about is how I will find you-alive or not?
"Murtagh." Tornac's deep, rumbling voice interrupted Murtagh's thoughts. "Tomorrow I'm going to teach you how to defend your mind." Murtagh sat up. "I know you probably want to find Eragon as fast as you can, but this may be more important. This is because you have more to protect than a lot of people I know.
"For one thing, you are the son of Morzan of the forsworn. Morzan is still alive. People might think-no they will think-that there's something more than your mother just taking you away to protect you. You, Roran, Brom and I are the only ones who know it's true. Not the outside world. They might think that Morzan could be using you for whatever reason. If people find out you are the son of Morzan they will think that. The only way for people to not think you conspiring with him is to protect your knowledge of that.
"The second reason, and even more important than the last is that everyone is entitled to their privacy. No one has the right to take memories from others. You might have memories that even you don't want me to see. And you have the right to protect those things. It's just wrong," Tornac spat on the ground; he had a habit of doing that. "To take things from others without their permission that rightfully belongs to them. That is why you should learn to protect your mind. And I will be teaching you that."
Murtagh did not say anything. He just curled up on his side and thought about what Tornac said. No one can take my memories from me…
--
"Imagine an iron wall surrounding your mind completely. There are no flaws in this iron wall. There is no possible way for anyone to get through." Tornac instructed Murtagh. Murtagh was sitting on the grass and Tornac was encircling him on his horse. He stopped when he was directly behind his student. "The only way they can try to gain entry is by breaking the iron wall. You have to fortify that wall. Make it as strong as you can and keep it that way." Murtagh imagined a hard iron wall surrounding his mind. "I'm going to try to force my way in. It may hurt, but I'm showing you what will really happen. You must be prepared."
For a few long moments, Murtagh felt nothing but the iron wall but then he felt something poking at the wall. Soon, the poking turned into a knock and then a punch and soon the feeling was tearing at the wall. Murtagh kept the wall as strong as he could. He tried to keep the feeling out. After what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, Murtagh gasped for air. The feeling took the chance to destroy the wall and get out. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Well done." Tornac congratulated from behind. "For your first try, that was impressive." Tornac jumped off his horse and knelt down beside Murtagh, giving him water. "Since you've tried so hard and I know how badly you want to find your brother, we will ride hard now. Training is postponed. Get on Aeidail, we have a hard days ride ahead of us." Tornac pulled Murtagh onto his feet. Even though Murtagh's head still hurt, he was grinning widely. He would be getting closer to his brother. He knew it.
--
Tornac and Murtagh sat down with exhaustion. They had rode far from where they last stopped, but were unsure of just how far. After the first few hours, they stopped paying attention. "I've never rode like that, even on Bjartskular." Tornac gasped once his head stopped pounding. "I feel sorry for the horses!" Tornac and Murtagh gave labored laughs.
"We got far." Murtagh breathed. "I'm glad." After a few moments, Murtagh questioned, "Where do you suppose we've stopped?" Tornac looked around and then grabbed his map.
"Not too far from Dras-Leona." Tornac replied. He kept examining the map.
Murtagh scooted over so he could view the map. "How long has been since we left Carvahall?" He inquired.
Tornac thought for a moment and then answered, "Maybe a month and a half. I haven't really been paying attention." He was silent for a little while longer and then said, "I think it's been at least a month. We've gotten far. I'm surprised and glad." Murtagh nodded and then lied down on his makeshift bed, ready for more riding. But where exactly were they headed?
--
Murtagh woke up slowly. He just wanted to sleep for a little while longer. He waned everyone to leave him alone for once. But some wishes went unanswered. He felt Tornac shaking him awake. "I'm up, I'm up." He grunted groggily.
"Come on, eat, wash up. We're doing more training today." Tornac sang the last sentence to a happy tune. "We're not traveling anywhere today so we have a day full of training." Tornac tried to pull Murtagh up.
"Wait, why aren't we going anywhere?" Murtagh inquired. "What about Eragon?"
Tornac yanked Murtagh up from under his blanket. "That's precisely why we aren't leaving. If I know Brom as well as I think I do, the will no doubt be making a stop here. Now, also assuming that I know Brom as well as I think I do, then they should have been making stops for longer durations of time, so we most likely haven't missed them. They might also be in Dras-Leona right now. If in more than four days they have not arrived, we will head straight for the Varden and hopefully find them there." Murtagh nodded and prepared for a long day of training.
--
It had been two days since Murtagh and Tornac had stopped not far from Dras-Leona. They had seen no signs of Eragon, Brom or Saphira. Tornac decided that he would ride into town and poke around a bit, seeing if he could find one of the three or more. He told Murtagh to pack up their things just in case they had to flee. For three hours Murtagh awaited Tornac's return anxiously. When the sun had just set, he saw three figures ride out of Dras-Leona and they were headed right for him. He jumped on Aeidail as his fight-or-flight senses were on edge.
When they were closer, Murtagh saw that Tornac was leading them. He sent Aeidail into a canter as Tornac passed him. He fell back next to Eragon. His brother looked over and smiled a sincere, relieved smile when he saw this brother. "Murtagh!" He gasped.
"Now is not the time to get comfortable!" He teased his brother. As Murtagh looked forward, he saw two figures jump from the bushes.
"Ra'zac!" Eragon hissed. Tornac drew his sword and his violently clashed with another Ra'zac's blade. Through all the commotion and frantic horses, Murtagh could not really see what was going on. But then he heard one cry pierce the night.
"BROM!"
--
A/N: That chapter wasn't the best but it was good. I'm leaving off there cause I have a headache and don't feel like writing. You'll see what happens next and I hope it's surprising!