I'm going to merge the prior 'chapter' with this one in 15 days, so that the chapter spot isn't wasted. I think I'll go along a route similar to what was taken by the books til the end of the first, as I need to have the group down there in order to keep the Varden surviving through the ambush, which, considering how that fight was described, would have apparently ended in the destruction of the Varden without the death of Durza.

Disclaimer: /Insert Joke about Disclaimers here/


As they had flown from Gilead, Eragon noticed Arya whisper a few words in the Ancient Language, presumably to inspect the vial Teo had given her, though he did not recognize the words clearly. It had been quite some time since he had last used the Language, as the magic Teo was teaching him and Murtagh proved to be more advantageous against whoever they were up against. He did not look back to check, as he was currently aiding Saphira in searching for which of the locations Svana had moved their horses to, in preparation for heading out the minimum miles. They had combined their sight, as they had at Leona Lake, in order to see where she and the horses were at, due to the darkness making it difficult to see with his human eyes, but a Dragon's sight could see through it far easier. After she had learned of this a week and a half ago, Svana requested them to practice this so that entering and exiting the state was able to be done with rapidity and so that control of their own bodies could be done without delay, in order to improve their awareness of their surroundings. While they it did still require focus and there was delay, a little less existed than before, with further senses coming to the fore as a side effect, albeit, weaker than sight.

The two had managed to spot that Svana had decided to go to the third of the seven locations, and disengaged the combined sight as Saphira moved to land. He notified Murtagh and Arya of the approach, mildly startling them due to the sudden movement. 'Must have been in sync for a fair amount of time,' he thought to himself. As Saphira made the final approach, Eragon cast a minor spell to reduce the force of impact, so as to reduce the chances of it alerting the forces likely searching for them of their location. His skill was not to the point where it could be rendered null completely, but it was enough that it made at least a minor effect.

'There was very little drain from your vitality this time,' Saphira communicated to Eragon as he climbed down after Murtagh and the Elf had dismounted.

'Yeah. I'm finally getting the idea of where precisely to cut off the use,' Eragon replied. 'Maybe I'll reach the point where I can attempt more forceful draws on my magicka to deepen the pool faster. Being only able to make shallow draws before my body shifts to my stamina is preventing it from growing as fast as Teo's been trying to force it to.'

Before Saphira could respond, a curt "Who are you?" came from behind Eragon. After finishing his dismount of Saphira's saddle, he turned and saw Svana looking towards the elf, in a position that could have been thought as relaxed, though, when looking closer, Eragon saw she had her hands in a position wherein she could rapidly draw the blade on her hip with one hand and the other in a position wherein she could make a rapid throw with a knife that was slotted into her armor so that it blended in with the surrounding plate.

The raven haired elf, slightly more relaxed, replied, "I am...Alfakyn." Eragon recognized the word as being from the ancient language, but as before, he could not quite decipher which one it was. 'Might have to review it with her. Others would probably expect me to be able to speak it and it would be...awkward not to be able to speak it at least decently.'

After a short pause, Svana replied, "Unless you are better at being able to lie than my husband and his friends trying to cover up one of his screw-ups, I can tell you are saying a truth. Whether that truth is what your name actually is. It will work for the current time as it stands."

Another pause occured. "How long after you left did another presence pass you in the air?" Svana asked.

"I noticed something odd pass by in the night a few seconds after we left the city," Murtagh said. "Why do you ask?"

Another short pause. "We may have to get out of here quickly," Svana said. "The help I requested from an...old...friend won't allow him to travel with us the full distance. Could Alfakyn borrow your horse for the trip, Murtagh?"

In a flash, 'Alfakyn' drew her sword and pointed it in the direction of Murtagh. Eragon drew his own in response and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Svana had already drawn hers by the time he had drawn his halfway and was already slowly approaching the elf. Murtagh drew his own, backing away slightly at the same moment Saphira snarled. To this final thing, the elf looked upon in confusion before a flash of realization and resignation crossed her face. "So," she said. "This was a ruse to have me bring you to the Varden or my people. The egg fell into the hands of Galbatorix."

'I get the feeling we are missing something,' Eragon communicated to Saphira.

'Seems as if there is something about Murtagh we don't know,' replied Saphira. 'I wonder what it is...'

"What made you reach that conclusion, elf?" Svana said with suspicion.

"For what other reason would there be the son of Morzan in your group?" 'Alfakyn' replied.

As Eragon and Saphira's minds recoiled at the revelation of this fact, the sound of wings flapping overhead were heard. A two-legged, rotten dragon landed on the other side of the clearing, Teo jumping off of it onto the ground before it disappeared in a orb similar in appearance to that of a conjuration summon that Eragon and Murtagh had demonstrated to them earlier in the week. Observing at the in-progress standoff, Teo commented, "What did I miss?"


...I did have Teo give Arya her sword back, right?