Chapter 9
We stayed high enough to be mistaken for a bird but low enough to follow the spine and river. Occasionally I would hear Teddy whoop out in joy. We stopped in the Spine at nights and to hunt. We took very few breaks but Teddy only marginally complained. He loved flying without his grandmother worrying over him. He stayed within mental reach of Kingsley and would continuously check in to keep my mind at peace.
Eventually we had to stop at Leona Lake. We camped were currently camped out by this lake. Our day flying meant mental training at night when we stopped. This carried on for about a month. It was slowly getting colder. We may have been going south but it was still winter, no snow, only colder temperatures. The skins and furs we got from hunting were proving useful. They blocked the cold for Teddy during the flights and kept me from needing a cushioning charm while on Kingsley's back.
"Can we take a break from Occlumency tonight, Uncle Harry?" Teddy asked as he threw a stone in the lake. The sky was quickly getting darker.
"Nope. I will say that you are much better then when you started. If you decided to quit fooling around on your broom then we could get to the mountains quicker." I snapped.
"I'm just practicing. What if you and Kingsley were in trouble and I needed to catch you? Huh?" He quipped.
"Alright but it would be nice to get to the mountains before the king finds out about us." I said.
Kingsley had not stopped growing. Teddy was progressing in his occlumency and even if I looked directly into Kingsley's eyes I could not penetrate his mind. I could tell that even I had progressed as well.
"Now according to Joed's maps there is a single mountain that we could camp at but we should start flying at night and resting in the day time. Surda is the bordering kingdom but I don't think we should enter it. If we stay on the border and fly at night we should be fine until we reach the mountains." I said.
As I finished I felt a strange vibration. I realized it was the two way mirror I gave to Eragon and Saphira.
"Activate." I said as I pulled it out of the pouch around my neck. "Eragon, what's wrong?" I asked when his face came into view.
"I can't believe this worked." He said. His background was all blue so I assumed it was Saphira and his eyes seemed bloodshot.
"Eragon focus. What happened?" I asked as calmly as I could.
"A lot. First off Brom is… dead. We were ambushed and he was hurt bad." He forced out.
"I'm so sorry Eragon. How are you holding up?" I asked. I knew how hard it was to lose a mentor.
"I'll be okay, Saphira is helping. We also met someone else. He helped us rescue an elf. Not like your elves. She's been poisoned but when I entered her mind she told me the antidote is in the Varden. I don't know what to do. I want more than anything to save her but Brom said I wasn't ready to enter the politics of the Varden. What do I do Harry? Brom said you had the features of a Lord, wherever you came from you were probably important." Eragon ranted.
"Calm down Eragon. And you lot," I said to Teddy and Kingsley who were looking over my shoulder, "Make yourselves busy. This is a private conversation. Now Eragon take a deep breath."
Once I saw him do that I continued.
"For a moment, ignore what anyone else has to say about this. What do you want to do?" I asked.
"I want to help her but-"
"No buts. What does Saphira say?" I asked and watched the boy look to his dragon.
"She says she will support my decision and protect my from anyone." The boy said with a smile.
"There you have it. The elf with die without your help. Do you know the way to Varden?"
"Yes, she showed me. If we leave now we could save her but only if we leave tonight. It's a long journey." He said.
"Then leave. Call me on this mirror when you can. Keep your dragon and elf safe, Eragon." I said.
"Thank you, Harry. Tell Kingsley and Teddy I say hello."
"I will. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
"What's wrong with Eragon?" Teddy asked immediately.
"He'll be fine. Saphira will help him. He just has to make some big decisions. He says hello."
'Are we flying tonight?' Kinsley asked.
"Yes. We will fly tonight, which means no more cloak, Teddy. We will start your magic lessons again when we next stop."
"Okay, can I learn the Patronus charm? You learned it when you were thirteen." He begged.
"Fine. It's a tiring spell at first though."
With that we continued our travels.
POV Eragon
"What was that?" Murtag asked when I got out from under Saphira's wing.
'I have a friend who is a magic user. I needed to talk to him. Let's get ready to go.' I said.
I checked to make sure Arya was secure then got on Saphira. We started our long journey.
