Well, here we are on Chapter 10. To all my readers, thank you very much. It warms my heart to see that I have over 1,100 hits, around 300 different visitors, and almost 75 reviews. OK, enough with my emotional sap, let's get to the review replies and the new chapter.
Galby'sapimp, it's good to see you review again! I wondered where you've been.
Speaking of which, SimplySupreme, where are you? Haven't seen you in a couple of chapters…hope everything's all right.
Paolinifansimon, Martland Redbeard is not the only authority figure in Feinster, he's just the person Nasuada has put in charge. Some of the Varden's other generals are stationed in Feinster as well. Hence Roran becoming a general. I just chose Martland because he's the only person of authority I can think of that was not in the chapter "King Cat", which I speculate is in Belatona, as well as I am frankly too lazy to make up a good name for someone in Alagaësia.
Massa, thank you for your suggestion. I will work on getting a little more variety on the structure of my sentences.
Draco Lucis and Eradon son of awesomeness, I think that I will address that topic sometime, but as of right now I'm not sure where to go with that. When I figure it out I'll bring it into the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable parts of the Inheritance Cycle.
Chapter 10
Murtagh stared at the object sitting on top of the cushioned pedestal: the emerald dragon egg. Positioned in a room few in the castle had access to and guarded by wards that only allowed loyal servants of the king to touch it, Murtagh had come to the conclusion long ago that it was highly unlikely, if not impossible, that a spy from the Varden would be able to steal it. However, he realized that he was in the perfect position to obtain the egg for them. While he was still loyal to Galbatorix, Murtagh hoped that the oaths binding him to the king had weakened enough to allow him this opportunity. Also, he had a great advantage. The king had left for Dras-Leona the day before to punish Marcus Tábor for threatening to give the city over to the Varden and the elves. Murtagh had already killed the guards outside the room, hiding their bodies as to not arouse suspicion. There was only one way to test his theory; he had to try to send the egg to the Varden.
Murtagh sighed and looked away. If he hadn't freed himself enough, the spell simply wouldn't work and the king would be alerted. If he had, the egg would disappear, but one of Galbatorix's magicians would feel the surge of magic coming from the room and surely investigate, or look for Murtagh to report it. He would then have to fabricate a story about the perpetrator. The story would not only have to be believable, but he had to have a memory corroborating it, otherwise Galbatorix would see right through the deception and Murtagh would be punished extremely harshly.
"Thorn, do you think I should?" he asked his dragon, who was keeping an eye out on the castle to make sure Murtagh would not be interrupted.
"When will you ever have a better chance?" Thorn answered.
"I won't."
"Then I say you do it."
Glancing down at the piece of parchment he had brought with him, Murtagh pulled out a pen and ink and began to write a short message to Eragon. He stopped many times to think, as he was not sure what to say to his brother. Finally, he grumbled to himself and jotted down a few words, hoping Eragon would comprehend the meaning behind them.
Now came the first crucial point of his mission. If he had freed himself too far from Galbatorix, the wards around the egg would reject him and the king would find out. Carefully, Murtagh walked up to the pedestal. He could practically feel the magical power thrumming in the air around him. Hesitating for a moment, he slowly reached out and grabbed the egg from its cushioned seat.
Nothing happened. The wards didn't trigger.
Murtagh let out a breath he didn't know he had held and examined the egg more closely. It was stunning, somewhere between emerald and jade in color, with ribbed white veins running around its smooth surface. Thorn's egg had been similar in size and shape, albeit red. Murtagh ran his hands over it absentmindedly, thinking about something. He knew he had seen this certain color before. Turning the egg over in his hands, he glanced down. It came to him then. He knew exactly where he had seen this color before.
Murtagh excitedly pulled out his quill and ink and scribbled something on the bottom of the parchment and attached it to the egg. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the magic he was about to perform.
This was the second turning point, and the much harder part. His oaths would not allow him to transport the egg directly to Eragon or the Varden. Therefore, Murtagh had to rely on the information that Belatona had just fallen in order for Eragon to indirectly receive the egg. It was based on his belief that he was not personally aiding the enemies of the king that Murtagh was allowed to perform this act.
"Thorn, do you think this will work?" Murtagh asked.
"We won't know until it happens. And you're spending so much time standing here preparing that I'm surprised no one has found you yet," Thorn admonished.
Murtagh silently cursed. Wasting no more time, he picked up the egg again and focused on a certain spot inside the keep of Belatona. Then, he chanted the incantation and the egg vanished in a burst of bright white light.
Murtagh immediately sprang into action. He dashed across the room and opened the doors, disregarding the dead bodies of the soldiers outside. A servant rounded the corner, and Murtagh wasted no time and knocked the man unconscious, and then entered his mind and erased the memory of the incident. He hid the body around the corner and waited for one of Galbatorix's pet magicians to arrive.
He was not disappointed. Within a few minutes, a lone magician ran up at a breakneck pace. The magician reached Murtagh and bent down, gasping. "Lord Murtagh," he said haltingly, "there was a huge magical disturbance here. What happened?"
"Someone–most likely an agent from the Varden–has stolen the egg," Murtagh growled with convincing anger.
"How–how is that possible?" the magician asked, awestruck.
"It appears as if he took control of one of our magicians' minds and forced the man to teleport the egg to Belatona. In the process, it seems the spy almost killed the magician, as he was unconscious. Probably because was not strong enough to fuel the spell completely," Murtagh completed with a grimace on his face, although internally he was smiling.
"Who was it, Lord Murtagh?"
Murtagh just smiled and bashed the magician on the head with Zar'roc's pommel. The man slid to the ground, out cold. Murtagh invaded his mind and placed in a memory of being controlled and creating the spell to transport the egg. He then transferred almost all of the man's energy into the ruby on Zar'roc, completing the ruse. Without a backward glance, he casually walked off in the direction he came from, although his heart was pounding inside his chest. He opened his mind and called for a healer.
"Yes, Lord Murtagh?"
"I need you to go to the egg chamber. There is an unconscious magician that needs your aid. He was forced to overuse magic."
"Yes, Lord Murtagh. I will go immediately." With that, the healer closed off his mind. Murtagh smiled again, thankful for the fact that the people of the castle would perform his bidding without question. Now, he hoped that Galbatorix would believe him when he realized the egg was gone.
As if on cue, Murtagh felt the king's vast mind enter his. "Murtagh, what happened?" the king asked harshly.
"A spy for the Varden or the elves forced his way into a magician's mind and compelled the man to teleport the egg, my king," Murtagh answered. "We do not know where the egg was transported to, as the spy kept that information inside his head. The agent must have had some knowledge of magic, but not the ability to perform it."
Murtagh hoped Galbatorix would believe it. Suddenly, a searing pain enveloped his head as the king began to search through his memories. Quickly, and with the aid of Thorn, he hid his memories of sending the egg to the Varden and instead showed Galbatorix the memory he had planted inside the comatose magician.
"And you say you found this inside the magician's mind?"
"Yes, my king. I am searching for the spy right now, as he could not have gotten far without magic. However, he has probably hidden himself well."
"Find him at all costs!" the king raged. "If you do not find the man, I will punish you myself when I return."
Murtagh grimaced as Galbatorix left his mind. "Thorn, what can I do now?" he asked, panicky.
Thorn's voice betrayed the deep sadness inside him. "You must plant a memory inside an innocent and kill them to save yourself."
Murtagh bristled. "Do I have to?" he asked. The thought of doing something to a harmless person disgusted him. The next second, he was marveling at his change in character. A year ago I would have done it without a second thought. I have changed much recently. For the better, I hope.
"Yes, Murtagh, for the better," Thorn said gently, and he sent a wave of compassion over to his partner-of-heart-and-mind. Murtagh looked up gratefully and realized he had an unwilling victim. He backtracked to the servant he had left unconscious, hidden in the shadows near the egg chamber. He once again entered the man's mind and created a false history for him, where he began to serve the Varden a couple of months ago. It continued through those two months, providing evidence that he had been helping the rebels has often as he could, and it ended with him killing the guards and forcing the magician to transport the egg. Murtagh sighed and said, "Deyja." A second later, he fell to the floor and groaned in agony, as he forgot to leave the servant's mind and he felt the man's life extinguish.
"Why?" Murtagh cried out to the he sat there, a picture of Galbatorix appeared in his mind, torturing innocent servants to death because it pleased him. Murtagh slowly picked himself up off the floor. I am doing this so that the next generation of children will not have to live under the shadow of an oppressive king. While I may not survive, I owe it to Eragon, Nasuada, and the people of Alagaësia to help them as much as I possibly can, Murtagh thought with determination.
"That's the Murtagh that I hatched for," Thorn said approvingly.
"Thank you again, Thorn, for being there when I needed support," Murtagh responded.
"You're welcome, Murtagh."
Murtagh walked back towards his chambers, knowing that what he had just achieved had changed the fates of many people, as well as the fate of all of Alagaësia.
Well, did you like it? It was a little short, and I'm sorry about it. I just lost my train of thought halfway through and cut the chapter short. I tried to show the changes Murtagh's character has undertaken. Also, this is the best contribution Murtagh can make for the Varden at this point, as he is still under oath to Galbatorix. Of course, he has figured out who the next Rider is going to be. (Obviously, most of us dedicated readers of the Inheritance Cycle have as well.) So, next chapter we have Eragon finding the dragon egg somewhere near his current location. The egg will hatch in the next couple of chapters, and the winter will hit Belatona in full force, throwing a wrench in the Varden's plans.
Rock on!
ROK