Publisher's notice: I am not the author of this story. I am merely publishing this story on behalf of the author found at: tgfwritter (.) deviantart (.) com.

Original Story: http:/tgfwritter . deviantart . com /art/MMF-EragonPhase-part-7-216123624


Chapter 7

One hour before sundown, everyone was ready and waiting.

Saphira and Eragon wore rather impressive pieces of armor Alexander made sure to enchant repeatedly with a stronger version than the one he used on the other armors.

The group that was in charge of making sure Eragon wouldn't die while battling consisted of Alexander, Arya (with whom Eragon had a long and arduous discussion, yet lost), Orik and eight others who had been sent by Ajihad himself. All of them had had their armors and weapons augmented by the young human as well. Though this left him slightly tired, he made sure he'd recover that lost energy by the time the Urgals were there by, to the surprise of everyone, taking a nap in the middle of the field.

The main force had been divided into three.

One lead by Ajihad, the other lead by Hrothgar and the third by Jörmundur.

They had prepared everything so that the Urgal forces would come through three tunnels. Where they'd first meet with boiling oil, and then the reinforced forces of the Varden. It was going to be one tough battle.

But the worst part was the wait.

The air was still, not a hint of wind since they were trapped inside the mountain. The dwarves and soldiers sat and grumbled or held their silence as the hours crept on. Eventually, Eragon himself decided to sleep and wait to be woken once the Urgals were close enough.

-

Eragon and Alexander were woken up by Arya as she stated the Urgals were approaching. The Rider took out his blade, while the human chanted his battle mantra inside his head.

"I'm going to the front lines." the human interrupted as he began walking in the direction of the picket holders.

"What are you going to do?" asked Eragon, worried.

"This battle has to be won no matter what." he stated. "I'm going to break Brom's rule a second time today." his face showed a mischievous grin. "I already spoke to Ajihad about this, he's warned his men about what I'll be doing, so don't worry yourself. If I find myself in a pinch I've got more than one trick to let me fall back and recover."

"Stay alive." Eragon ordered with words of power.

"You too." replied Alexander.

"What is he going to do?" Orik eyed Eragon as Alexander vanished between the soldiers.

"When we were in Gil'ead, he managed to get us all out by taking over some soldiers with his mind." Eragon bitterly commented. "I believe he'll do the same with some of the Urgals."

"If he manages to do that. I'd hate to find myself facing him in battle." Orik commented.

"That makes two of us." Eragon replied.

Meanwhile, Alexander was cooling his thoughts as he extended his mind towards his surroundings. Cold as ice, hard as a rock. Still as water, fast as wind… the words were repeated over and over within him as he imagined as many possible scenarios as he could, thinking of any complication that could occur and then thinking of a way to solve it.

Minutes passed, and tension began rising among the forces.

Then, someone came out of the tunnel, shouting that the Urgals were there.

The guttural roars of the Urgals were heard from within the caverns right after, running their way towards the exit in a black mass of death.

As soon as they were starting to exit, a sign was given and the cauldrons with boiling pitch were spilled into the entrance. The screams of the beasts within. A soldier threw a torch, and they were lighted ablaze. Orange flames and dark smoke spewed from the cave as the screaming mass of boiling flesh subsided and was replaced by Urgals as they stepped over their burnt comrades.

The force found itself with a rain of arrows. They blocked with their shields, confident they would hold. Yet found themselves falling like flies as the bolts of wood and metal were digging into their flesh after having crossed the metal plate.

A second wave overtook the fallen ones and they continued to press forth, the arrows being less and less effective as the number that had been enhanced by magic had not been that many.

They found themselves with the Pickets and spikes and a great deal of their heavy black corpses were speared through quite easily. But there was not much time to prepare for the next wave, as they were overrun by sheer inertia. Black arrows raining down mostly behind Alexander, where the main force stood.

Alexander sensed the first Urgals within reach, and found their minds to be simple and filled with blood thirst. Any sign of there being a will was not there, and this made it far easier for him to quickly take over. There weren't even wards to avoid their minds from being overtaken.

An instant after, he had six Kull by his side as he found himself being the front line against the Urgals. His focus was stretched to its limit as he swarmed their minds with commands that would turn them against their brothers in arms, and he soon would find himself facing enemy after enemy as his six bodyguards would make sure to keep the most dangerous threats away.

If one of the six fell, it would be replaced by the nearest enemy Alexander's mind would find. If one crossed the defenses and reached Alexander, then he'd either kill off one of the six and replace it with the intruder, or he'd kill the trespasser himself.

With the corner of his eye, he could see Eragon and Saphira battling wildly. The dragon would slice through any enemy her claws or fangs found, and Eragon would hack and stab anyone who got near.

All the while, Arya would effortlessly go from one enemy to the next, as Orik would swing his axe with such force it'd cut through flesh and bone easily. The other warriors doing the same as they continued on with the killing.

Hack, stab, cut, slice, break and replace. The strange rhythm inside Alexander's mind jumped from one fallen puppet to a standing enemy, and he'd swarm his way into the depths of their will as the Urgal would hesitate for just a split second before turning around and begin fighting the others of its kind.

Alexander felt as if he could easily take over six more if he stretched his focus, but as he fought his blade stabbed the chest of the Kull that had broken his line of defense, he realized he wouldn't last long if he did. Every time he had to replace one of his fallen puppets, his mind would wane a bit more. It was within what he had been expecting, he could not keep the mental juggling for too long or else he'd risk losing his edge.

Two replacements later, and he stopped trying to take over new ones. Merely keeping the ones he already had as he began to slowly retreat towards where Eragon was, making sure to keep a distance from Saphira's talons and tail.

Two Urgals charged at him with spears, and Alexander used the one remaining puppet to pierce himself with the attacker's weapons. Using the shock on the enemy, he threw both his daggers so they'd strike them in the forehead. Summoning them back with a spell as he spun to deal with a sword bearing Kull that had almost crept on him from behind.

Dodging the blade and casting the sharpness spell, Alexander cut a broad X on the beast's chest and allowed it to fall lifeless to the ground while he noticed Saphira was being pushed back by a group of spear bearers that aimed at her eyes every time she attempted to get close.

Alexander spoke a small word of power, and let go of the magic as the tips of the spears all suddenly found themselves stuck against one another.

Saphira took the chance to rip the weapons with her talons, and soon give the same fate to their wielders. But then, Eragon's face showed a hint of… something like an unspoken signal.

Seeing what was about to occur the instant the dragon began spreading its wings, Alexander rushed beside Eragon and leaped and grabbed the neck of the saddle.

"If you're going anywhere, you're taking me!" he shouted above the roar of the battle.

Eragon's eyes showed a moment of hesitation, but then nodded, and Saphira leaped into the air, giving all three of them a chance to recover as she began to circle well above the reach of any arrow.

Alexander pointed at the back of the Urgal army, where the archers were, and Eragon nodded in agreement.

They swooped down from behind them, taking the soldiers by surprise and killing at least ten of them before they were taking off and repeating the attack at another point where they weren't being expected. This continued for an hour until Eragon's head cocked, concentrated on something else.

"The dwarves need us!" he shouted and Alexander nodded, already aware of what was to come.

Taking Eragon's bow and quiver, Alexander enchanted the arrows and began shooting them at the Urgals the moment they were close enough to the ground. He wasn't a good archer, but when you're enemy is a swarm of constant flesh, not one shot misses.

It continued for a while before Eragon received another message. The Twins had heard something trying to enter Tronjheim through underground, and they needed him and Arya to collapse the tunnels.

"Leave me there and go look for Arya. Saphira can't hold long with the three of us!" Alexander hurried to say and Eragon agreed.

He was left at the dragonhold (where, oddly enough, the Twin was not there to greet him), and without hesitation he used the spiraling slide to reach the bottom.

Unfortunately, even when he had made sure to slow himself down and avoid being thrown out of it, he found the speed to be neck-breaking, and the spiral to be cause him to remember what had been the last thing he ate.

After skidding through the marble floor a couple dozen yards, he came to a halt and had to remain still for almost a whole minute before his mind fully returned to its full capabilities.

What surprised him, however, was that there was not a sound. As if the place were dead and lifeless and devoid of movement.

Something was wrong, but what, he wasn't sure of.

The base of Tronjheim was soundless, not a movement nor a sound. He hurried to stretch his mind towards the bottom, and soon found activity.

It was calm, waiting, desperate and impatient. But waiting.

The thoughts raced through Alexander's head, aware that Durza was somewhere down there, awaiting the proper signal to breach through and attack Eragon.

He did not have a moment to loose, and he began muttering words of power as he prepared for the inevitable. Ideally, he would have brought the tunnel and buried Durza under, but that would not end the war, and the Varden would die if the Urgals did not begin fighting one another. No, he had to make sure that not only would Eragon win without being cursed by the scar, but that also that any battle held here would avoid either of their deaths.

His presence in the scenario could put risks he didn't intend on taking.

The spells were simple in nature but incredibly complex in application since he wanted to avoid the Shade from noticing until it was too late.

They'd give a boost to Eragon and him at the cost of the energy of whomever casted the spell. And, at the same time, the spell would slow down Durza. It wouldn't be enough, he was certain of this, but it could mean the difference all together.

Moments before he could finish it, the floor trembled as explosions were heard underneath. Activity rising yet again as extremely powerful magic was being unleashed.

By the time Eragon had managed to come down (in a similar fashion than Alexander), the floor burst high into the air and Urgal after Urgal came out with a mad battle cry, lounging at Alexander and Eragon as the first took hold of the mind of the nearest eight and drained them of all their energy to unleash it into the spell he had created.

He had managed to do so just in time to see Durza come out of the hole, wearing a rather *lord of doom* looking attire and a wicked smile in his face.

"So, Trevor was it? It seems we meet in conditions less favorable than before." he mockingly asked as he pointed at the young man and ordered the Urgals to apprehend Alexander, which he allowed seeing how well surrounded they were at the moment. "I've heard you can become quite a thorn in someone's back… if not a very useful pawn."

"I serve only Eragon." Alexander snarled.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll have the young Rider by my side soon enough." Durza laughed as he turned towards Eragon, who stood with his blade drawn out and waiting. "Would you join me or would you rather see your young friend die?"

Eragon's stare showed hesitation, Alexander caught it immediately. "What's wrong, Durza, afraid of fighting him on your own?" the young man mocked as he taunted the Shade, mentally taping into the minds of as many Urgals as he could reach.

"Brave words for someone who's captured." Durza stated.

"I'll kill myself with one word, and you'll lose your leverage on him." Alexander threatened; intent of following in his eyes. His mind, however, was draining the energy from the Urgals, and changing from target as soon as they were near the point of exhaustion. He needed just a bit more time. To stall just a moment longer. "I thought Shades were even more powerful than elves, how come you do not want to fight Eragon? a mere human?" Eragon's stare showed a great deal of fear, but also determination. Alexander turned to face his friend for a second. Remember my promise. And to stab him in the heart. he whispered into his head.

"No, I do not fear fighting." Durza muttered coldly. "But I rather do things peacefully ." he almost sneered at the last word. "After all, Eragon would not be appreciative if I broke all his bones just to take him away."

"Then fight me." Alexander said, feeling how he was reaching his limit, he could not contain much more energy without releasing it. "I'd rather… NOW!"

He released all he had in one shot. And felt his body become stronger and faster just with the rush. The two Urgals that had been holding him had fallen dead the instant he had shouted the words, and he was already leaping at the Shade while holding his daggers.

Eragon had reacted just in time and was hauling himself at the monster as well, swinging Zar'roc with clear intent to kill, he too felt his body becoming stronger and faster all of a sudden.

Durza, had taken out his sword intent on parrying the bloody red sword, however, he had been expecting someone slower and himself to be faster. Eragon's sword barely missed his torso as Alexander was already entering the fight with clear intent to kill.

Confusion in his eyes, Durza was being pressed back as the Rider and Alexander continued their unison attacks. The former using his mind to avoid the Urgals from getting within attacking range as his movements focused on putting the creature off balance.

Alexander came in close for a stab at the heart as Eragon had created a small opening. The Shade reacted in time to swing with such ferocious strength and speed that it would have ribboned the human's skull off. But the young human threw himself down and rolled to land behind him, and used his inertia to stand up and aim a second stab.

Durza spun to face him as he raised his sword, ready to slash down at the human before there was a chance to fully begin the attack.

That was when the ruby ceiling shattered with an explosion, and when the Shade was distracted by the roaring inferno that was coming down on the Urgals around them.

A distraction that had proved fatal, since both of Alexander's blades sunk into his chest at the same time that Zar'roc's red blade came poking out of it.

Durza let out a scream of wailing agony as his sword fell from his hands. His skin becoming translucent and revealing the darkness that was held within.

Then, it vanished into nothingness as the three black spirits were released into the air, allowing them to disappear into the shadows.

Before Eragon could react, Alexander was already absorbing what little energy had been left from the Urgals he was connected to, while throwing himself to the Rider and forcing him to the ground.

Don't stop the shards, only yourself! he screamed into Arya's and Saphira's mind as he released all the energy he had left and forced the stone floor to form a tiny dome around him and Eragon. Kill them all!

Not even an instant later, he could hear through the thick barrier he had created the sound of thousands of millions of fragments of ruby shattering against the ground and splintering into a million more pieces as they cut and squashed everything on their path.

He waited half a minute before there was a scratching sound coming from the rock around them, and he loosened up, letting it open.

Well done was all he managed to hear before his exhaustion finally reached him.

After that, he blacked out.

-

When he woke, Alexander found several odd things. The first being that he was inside his room. And the second that Nasuada's head was resting on his chest.

"How long have I been sleeping?" he wondered as the girl rose from her own sleep rather quickly.

"Three days and a half." she was quick to reply. "After Eragon had slain Durza, the Urgals started killing one another. It's the only reason as to why I'm here and you're alive." she smiled softly as she took off the wet cloth that Alexander had had on his forehead. "The healers said you only needed rest, so I ordered them to leave us alone."

"What about the Twins?" Alexander spoke. "They were not in the Dragonhold when we got there."

"They're dead." Nasuada's words came out, but she didn't seem to regret it much. "It seems Durza had killed them, with magic somehow before opening the cave. The one in Tronjheim was found lying in one of the tunnels, the one that had been with father suddenly burst out into shouts before dying."

Alexander let out a sigh of relief. The curse he had carefully planted on the Twins throughout the time he was at Farthen Dur had worked. The hardest part had been to cast it without them noticing, but he had solved that by placing little pieces on certain areas of the Dwarven city where they'd *stick* to them once they passed through the area.

The curse was something similar to a time-bomb that would go off an hour or two before sunrise. It would systematically overload every neuron they had with energy before turning their brains to mush. The starters for the detonation had been casted while they were near him, mixed along the spells he casted to reinforce armor and swords to hide it better.

"What about Eragon and Saphira?" he wondered, trying to learn about what had happened.

"For what I heard, after you passed out, they took you into one of the nests in the dragonhold and left you there since it was most likely the safest place." Nasuada said. "Then he and Arya went back to help the others fight the surviving Urgals." she lowered herself and kissed him in the forehead before she stood up as she went for the door. "Even my father praised your skills, Sharpblade."

"What?" Alexander asked out of surprise.

"It's what you're being called by the soldiers." Nasuada grinned as she opened the door. "A rumor has been spreading about that your blade would cut through flesh, bone and steel with the same ease. I guess that's from where the name comes." she winked at him. "I'll be telling the others you're back among the living. I'm guessing you're hungry so I'll also have food ready for when you come."

With that, she closed the door and left.

Alexander felt curious for a moment, unsure the next one. He had suspected that, since the first book ended a day and a half after Durza's death, he'd find himself back in his world by now. This both relaxed and unnerved him.

On one hand, he was still there, on the other, he couldn't know if he'd go back, and when if that ever happened. Both thoughts, the one of staying and the one of leaving, seemed to frighten him in completely different ways.

Standing from his bed, he went to where he had left the black book last, and opened it for the first time in the past two or three weeks.

Much to his surprise, all the pages were still blank. All the pages but one that is.

He read the words with caution, with the intention of tearing his eyes off the paper in case anything like *you'll be heading back* appeared.

It read: Eragon, book one: Cleared.
Contestants alive: 3
Initial contestants: 20

His mind raced for a moment as he tried to figure out what this meant. Could it be he had not been the only one in the story from the beginning? Had the others died? Would he be forced back if he was the remaining *contestant*? What if they both remained alive until the end of all four books? Did he have to kill the other one to win or did he have to just survive? Did losing mean death?

The questions bubbled across his head like crazy. And he finally reached a conclusion.

Somewhere out there, there were two others who were not from this world. Whomever those people were, he or she would not be a character of a world in which he already knew the future off. So, if anything other than that with which he had interfered had changed, it meant the other player was nearby. Or that, at least, any of the ones who had died had interfered.

After that, though, he wasn't quite sure what he should do about it. He hoped he'd be capable of finding who it was and talk it out. If anything, he'd like to know more about this whole *tournament*.

The only thing that bothered Alexander, aside from the gruesome scenery he was seeing, was that Nasuada seemed to be nowhere to be found. It could have probably been the only way for him to feel better when dragging Urgal corpses into pits where they'd be burned.

He had wanted to help hunting them down since it was far more entertaining, but all the teams were already too far from Tronjheim for them to be reached easily, and the few guides that had been left behind were already helping the different crews rebuilding the damage done to the tunnels.

"Ajihad should be back by tomorrow." Orik stated as he hacked one of the Urgal's head off before throwing it into the flames. That particular one had been still alive. Alexander held back from grimacing. "King Hrothgar asked me to tell you to meet him for dinner at dusk." he added, grunting as they began walking towards the next group of corpses so they could throw them at the fire as well. "My guess is that it has to do with both that weapon you were talking about before, and about the spells you had used to reinforce the weapons."

"Having the dwarven king assist would be of great help." Alexander nodded to himself. "From what I've learnt so far, dwarves are the best option for weapon and armor creation since the elves don't seem to have that sort of capacity of mass produce." he pointed out. "In theory, most of the spells I've got in mind can be used while making the iron, but I'm not sure since I've never done it before." he paused as he picked up the feet of an Urgal that had an arrow sticking out of its head. "As for the weapon, it would have been impossible to have any other race make it. Only dwarves could accomplish the feat with how technology is spread about right now."

"What sort of weapon is it?" Orik curiously wondered.

"It's something that'll shoot an iron ball the size of my head at a speed higher than the one of an arrow, letting it hit almost anything as long as it's visible from where you are." Alexander described. "It's so powerful it could bring down an entire castle from a safe distance."

"Is there really such a convenient thing?" Orik's eyes seemed to widen in shock. "Wouldn't such amount of energy kill any mage that powers it?"

"It's not powered by magic, but by science." Alexander replied. "The method to give it the power to do such damage is extremely dangerous though. And it would normally take months to prepare and make without being killed in the process…" he paused for thought. "Though if magic is used, it may be possible to do within just a couple of weeks. I'll have to test it out to make sure." a grin came to his face. "But if this works, it'll change the tides completely. The Varden would gain a definite advantage over Galbatorix's army."

"You, my friend, are truly someone to be feared." Orik said in awe as they continued to drag more corpses to the fire.

"You'll have to excuse me." Alexander said as he realized something. "If I am to present this to Hrothgar, I'll be needing to prepare some documents first." he noticed the time, it was midday, it would take him too long to do everything he intended to prepare. "I'll be going, much to do and little time."

Without losing a second, he took Choco and ran his way through the ex-battlefield and entered the library, where he soon found some of the dwarves in charge and asked for quill and ink.

The moment he was given these, he took a table and began to furiously write down information and details as clearly as he could. At first it was just the schematics he remembered from how cannons worked, but later on he had begun to also write how gunpowder was created and after that, how saltpeter (a needed ingredient) could be harvested in large quantities.

By the time Orik had came looking for him, he had little time to clean the dried blood out from his skin and change into something more apt to talk to a king.

"You seem tired." Hrothgar stated, though it was more like he was pointing it out rather than criticize. "This is Griok, one of our best smiths in Tronjheim." he added while pointing at the black haired dwarf that stood beside him. "And of course, you already know Orik, my nephew."

"A pleasure." Alexander said hurriedly as he placed he small heap of papers on the table. "I think this will be of interest."

"Is this the weapon Orik mentioned?" Hrothgar asked as he grabbed the first paper. "It looks like a bell."

"That's how it should look like if cut in half." Alexander's eyes glimmered as he began explaining. "In proportion, it should be around ten feet in length and three in width." he said. "The hole in the middle should not be any larger than one foot, and the whole thing has to be done out of one solid block of very resistant steel."

"If anyone could do it, it would be the dwarves." Griok pointed out. "But how do you intend for it to work? It doesn't have any kind of mechanism within it."

"It works with explosions." Alexander answered as he showed the next page. "Here I've written how to create an explosive known as gunpowder. It's extremely unstable, and the smallest of sparks could set if off. However, if you put it inside this, and then a metal sphere…"

"The explosion would shoot the ball at an incredible speed!" Griok proclaimed in amazement, catching on some of Alexander's excitement. "This could prove far more destructive than any spell or weapon!"

"The problem comes with the explosive itself." Alexander said. "The process needs three ingredients, and they need to be in their purest state for it to work perfectly. Charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter." he pointed at the list. "Once the proportions are met, they have to be ground separately to a fine powder, then mixed together with a bit of water to make it into a black paste-like substance." he paused for a moment. "Once it's like this, it has to be dried out and stored in wood and enveloped by cloth. Just one spark and it'll explode. It must not even come close to metal until it's about to be shot, and even then it must be handled with the utmost caution."

"What is this saltpeter you speak off?" Hrothgar asked. "Sulfur and charcoal are easy to find for us, but this third ingredient I have not heard of."

"The saltpeter is the thing that'll make the whole process slow." Alexander explained. "If you ever find it in nature, it'll be in such small quantities it would prove useless. This is why I added how to make it." he handed over another quill. "You need to mix a lot of cow manure with fresh grass in equal proportions. Then leave it to rest while adding some urine once a week." he realized at how bad his words sounded, more so when there was a large piece of roast in front of him. "When small yellowish crystals (the saltpeter) start to form on the surface, you stop putting urine and wait it out until most if not all the compost is covered in them. The whole thing usually takes three to four months, but I'm trying to think of a way to accelerate the process with magic." he sighed. "Unfortunately, I know there was a way to improve the process, but I couldn't remember it. I fear that for the time being it'll have to be trial and error until we get satisfying results."

"Most intriguing." Hrothgar spoke. "I'll have my men begin preparations to create this weapon, and the gunpowder as soon as possible." he pointed at the other papers. "But I wonder, if these are about how to make a cannon, what are those for?"

"This one is for other uses you could give to the gunpowder." Alexander said while handing them the fourth quill. "Like, for example, if you were to make a hole on a wall and fill it up and then set it off, you'd most likely get rid of the wall." then he handed another one. "And this one is for an explosive that's extremely more powerful than gunpowder, but that it's so unstable it would ignite by just shaking it." he paused. "Unfortunately, most of the instruments needed to create it will be have to be created by glass workers, and for now it's something that should be avoided until I find a way to stabilize it since the explosion of a single drop could make you end up with one less finger. Though the process itself is very long and complex, it's when the ingredients are mixed together that's most dangerous."

"Just one drop?" Orik was the one to speak. "Just where did you learn these things?"

"That, unfortunately, I cannot answer." Alexander replied. "The only thing I can promise, however, is that, at most, there is only one or two other people in Alagëisa that knows how to do this."

"And are these other persons?" Hrothgar wondered.

"I don't know." Alexander shook his head. "The only thing I'm sure off is that they could know about this sort of weaponry. But who or where they are is information I'm not certain off." he paused for a moment as he handed yet another piece of quill. "Here, I made a theoretical design of what could be a hand-held cannon. Though it shouldn't be built until the management and creation of gunpowder is perfected."

"I can see many uses this could have." Griok eyed the schematics. "As well as improvements, if I may say so."

"Lastly, these are the spells I used on the weapons and armors." Alexander handed the last piece of quill. "I added an explanation and drawing as to how it works, as well as suggestions on how to improve it, but I'm not quite sure if it can be imbued into the metal as it's done. I've never done smith-work and I'm unsure."

"My boy, I think you've done quite enough already." Hrothgar said with a broad smile in his face. "If this works as you claim it does, the whole dwarven race would owe much to you. If you ever find yourself needing anything, be sure that the dwarves will help."

"If so obliged you feel, then I do have three requests." Alexander said.

"Name it." Hrothgar said.

"I'd like for three things." Alexander said. "First, I'd like that the knowledge I've shared today to be held a secret expect for the leader of the Varden and the elves, aside from those who're working with it of course. Do not allow anyone else to find out how it work or how it's made, for this could bring too much destruction to the already burned land." he paused as he made sure his message got across. "Second, once the reign of Galbatorix is ended, you must still keep it a closely guarded secret, and not use this other than to protect yourselves." he added. "And lastly, I want your word that, if a time were to come when Eragon needs your help, which it will, you'll back him up as best you can."

"Three tasks that seem simple but that are biding and complicated." Hrothgar spoke slowly. "The first is a given. If this fell into the wrong hands, much disaster would befall us all." he said. "The second is trickier, for I do not know if I'll live to see Galbatorix's fall, so I cannot be sure of what my successor might do. Nevertheless, if I do live that long, I'll keep this promise too." then, he frowned. "As for the third, it's the hardest. I cannot guarantee that I'll help him regardless of the situation. Galbatorix should be enough of an example to show how easily someone can become corrupted. But, as long as Eragon's cause is a just one, I will help him whenever he needs."

"I thank you for your kindness." Alexander breathed out, relieved, as he bowed his head.

"No thanks are needed. And if so, it should be me thanking you." Hrothgar said as he too bowed his head. "Now let us eat, for the day has been long and our bellies hunger."

Throughout the rest of the meal, they ate and chatted about the ideas Alexander had brought. He found himself in quite the debate with Griok about what metals would be best used to make the cannon and the cannonball, as well as the balance its weight should have with the explosives to avoid from everything to just blow up.

Once it was ended, Alexander waved goodbye and headed back to his living quarters. Which was quite the distance away, considering he'd have to climb almost all the way up through stairs and more stairs. The good side was that he was starting to get used to it, and he found himself not feeling so tired by the time he got to the top.

Though he did find himself with another surprise as he opened his door to see Nasuada sitting on a chair next to his bed. An impatient and slightly angry expression on her face.

"It almost seems you forgot my promise." she spoke with a harsh tone.

"I had been invited for dinner by king Hrothgar." Alexander hurried to excuse himself, unsure as to exactly why he was nervous. "I had wanted to talk to you, but I never did find you."

"I too had things to do, my father comes back tomorrow after all." she kept her stern look as she stood up. "Yet I still found myself waiting for you despite that you were very late."

"How could I ever make it up to you?" Alexander stepped closer at the same time she did. "Surely there's something I could do." he had heard that she had come back to fight, rumors between the people. But he kept it to himself and thought it best to just play along.

"As a matter of fact, there is." she said as they took another step closer, now they were only two feet away. "But I think you already know what it is." she gave the final step as her chest pressed against Alexander's, her eternally deep black eyes looking up at him with a hint of a smile, the smell of her hair being the only scent he could recognize.

She closed her eyes, and Alexander did the same, wrapping their arms against each other as they drew themselves into a kiss.