Uh, yeah. Hi there. It's been a while, hasn't it?

Oh well. Today's my birthday, so I thought I might do a little quintuple-update. Your review will be counted as a present.

Chapter 10: The Deadly Power of Shrooms

"That looks…" Miranda trailed off, unsure how to continue.

"Wonderful? Extraordinary?" suggested Angela. She'd come across some mushrooms, unique to this corner of Alagaesia, and was dying to try out a recipe she'd heard of.

I think she was going to go with 'disgusting,' actually, said Solembum. The green sludge bubbled ominously. Angela dropped another mushroom in, and the concoction turned blue.

"Shouldn't you be worried about the smoke?" asked Miranda casually. The smoke from the fire over which gurgled Angela's mixture rose lazily into the sky. "It will attract people."

Speaking of which, said Solembum, acting like nothing was wrong, don't look. Behind that big boulder next to Miranda. Four men.

Miranda swiveled her head. Solembum sank his claws into her leg. I said don't look! he hissed.

Angela glanced over her shoulder at the two, then casually flicked a few drops of the potion in the direction of the men. As the blue substance landed on the ground, it sparked and exploded, releasing a pale purple mist into the air. "Don't breathe," she warned quietly.

Over the bubbling of the mixture, Miranda clearly heard the sound of four bodies falling to the ground.

"And they're out. Good, I made it correctly." Angela smiled.

"What IS that?" murmured Miranda in awe.

"If you drink it, it freezes your blood. It sparks when it hits anything with a certain amount of force and turns into a mist which, if inhaled, will knock you out for a bit. No aftereffects."

That is insane, commented Solembum. But it did the job. Who are those men?

Miranda stood over them. "They look a bit like Surdans to me."

"They are Surdan," said Angela. "I know these men. They're…" she trailed off as if uncertain about something.

"What? Who are they?" Miranda absolutely hated the idea that anyone might be keeping information from her. She knew Angela had a reason for everything she did, but it was still extremely frustrating.

Angela sighed. "Okay. But I want you to know that I'm only telling you this because I trust you. These men are Surdan spies, sent directly from King Orrin. They know who I am and it's a good bet they know who you are, too. They'll want to talk to me."

"Oh, that'll be fun."

"And they'll definitely tell Orrin about us."

Miranda frowned. What did you expect? asked Solembum. Of course they'll be suspicious of you.

"Oh, look! They're waking up," announced Angela, pleased her potion had worked.

One of the men, apparently the leader, flicked his gaze back and forth between Angela, Miranda and Solembum, and looked inquiringly at the witch.

Angela nodded. "I know who she is, and I'll vouch for her."

The other men quite clearly did not like that. Only one of them chose to object vocally, though. "If you know who she is, then you know she can't be trusted!

"I said I'd vouch for her," said Angela ominously. "That means I think she can be trusted. Put the facts together: She's travelling with me. I have yet to be murdered in my sleep. She bears no more loyalty to Galbatorix than any of you."

An awkward silence descended on the group.

"So how is Orrin anyway?" asked Angela cheerfully.

"…Still alive," said the leader. "His mad experiments haven't killed him yet."

"That's good to know," replied the witch. "Well, I am going to sleep for the night. Bear in mind that if I wake to find Miranda dead, I'll withdraw my support from the Varden."

The men frowned but accepted these terms, and disappeared back into the forest. Angela doused the fire and bottled her strange blue mixture. "We'll be the talk of the Varden," she informed Miranda. "By tomorrow night everyone'll know that Angela is traveling with Miranda Icewitch."

"Thank you for defending me," the younger girl responded. "I don't know what'd got you so convinced that I'm trustworthy, but thank you anyway."

"Oh, don't be silly," laughed the witch. "Unless of course you're questioning my certainty because you actually are loyal to Galbatorix. In which case I'll spike your next meal with this." She waved the bottle threateningly.

"No, of course not!" said Miranda, smiling. "Good night, Angela, Solembum." She rolled away from the dying fire and feigned sleep.

In reality, though, she was thinking hard. Who exactly am I loyal to? she wondered. I definitely don't agree with the way Father does things, but he's still my father. Can I stand idly by and watch the Varden kill him?

And then there was her mother. Yes, they hate each other, no, Miranda didn't know why. Well, she knew why she hated Riza, but she didn't know why Riza hated her and she really only hated Riza because Riza hated her.

UGH What am I supposed to do?

It comes down to that, does it? Solembum wandered over and sat down in front of her.

Werecats were supposed to be wise, right? What do you think I should do?

Oh, please, he scoffed. Why do you think I would tell you where to go with your life?

Miranda pleaded, Please! I don't know what to do!

The time will come. When it does, you'll do what feels right just then. No one except you can say what that is. Solembum got up and walked away.

Do you know Justa? Miranda asked suddenly. The werecat stopped in his tracks.

I…was at one time acquainted with her, he said carefully. Why do you ask?

Oh…nothing…it's just, there are so few werecats left I thought maybe they all knew each other… For some reason the girl had a very strong feeling that Solembum was not happy with her.

Hmph. Silly human.

Remember: Solembum and Justa's backstory will be explained in due time. Don't ask me about it.

luckystar125: all in good time. Look, just because it's an Eragon story doesn't mean it has to follow the plot to the letter.

DragonRider2000: thank you, I always think I have trouble with dialogue.

Diane Black: thanks for the ideas; it's always good to have inspiration. Unfortunately I already came up with an ending, but thanks anyway!

Voldy's Worst Nightmare: haha, thanks!

alsdssg: I do try so hard. thank you!

Next update….TBD. I wrote most of this in school which for some reason is the easiest place for me to write Fanfiction. Or maybe I just already knew what was happening in this chapter, because this was supposed to happen like 2 chapters ago…but didn't…