Whoohoo. Oooo, surprise at the end.
Here they were. The river Jiet flowed before them, rushing and churning. It had rained for several days and had stirred up the waters, causing a torrent of power. The people were nervous, and rightly so. Nobody wanted to ford a raging river. Not even Raylena would dare be so bold as to try to swim.
The elves were standing together, conversing. Raylena had joined them. Eragon stood off at a distance, watching. Saphira had already flown across, calculating the exact distance at their position and the condition of the river. So far, all anyone could do was wait. And now that they were here, waiting was the last thing anyone wanted to do.
Arya was staring at him. When he made eye contact, she gave him a tight smile and with a flick of her wrist motioned him over. He moved, drawn by the intensity of her stare. She let her smile fade as she turned to face the others. Blodhgarm gave him a toothy grin. "We're going to build a bridge."
"How?" Eragon frowned. The only thing alongside the riverbank were large boulders. "Out of those?"
"Very good," the elf's grin widened. "We can sculpt the stone and seal it together. It shan't take us too long, though it would help if you applied your strength."
And mine, Saphira added as she coasted back over the river and landed next to them. Privately to Eragon, she added, We have the belt if we need any more, as well.
Yes, though I'd rather not use that unless absolutely necessary. He withdrew from his mind and smiled. "Of course."
So it was decided, and they begun.
Eragon couldn't help but watch Raylena as she set about her task. The woman was frightening. The ease with which she handled herself while using magic was enough to give anyone a feeling of concern. It was too much for one who was not an elf. Yet she obviously didn't care about that and kept on with her business, coolly ignoring the quick glances and muttered curses.
Her eyes were suddenly locked on his, the color and depth matching that of the raging river. She winked, throwing him off even more. She was barely even trying, and she wasn't speaking much at all. Eragon shook his head and focused on what he was doing. There is much more to her than meets the eye. To be using spells without words!
Saphira agreed.
In an hour, the elves, Raylena, and Eragon had constructed a stone bridge. It wasn't perfectly flat and there were no sides to it, but it would have to do. It took the entire afternoon to move everyone across. Once everyone was safely on the other side, the magicians of Du Vrangr Gata removed the boulders and placed them approximately back where they had been.
Nightfall was swiftly approaching, so camp was set up again. A whole day practically wasted. Eragon sighed and kicked at the dirt. Now that they were finally on their way, he only wished they were already at the foot of Belatona. If only he could bypass the days in between; the long, insufferable days of traveling and waiting. Patience had never been one of his strong points... though perhaps this would be a good learning opportunity. Ah, if only he had some sort of machine with which he could travel forward in time.
He glanced around him, slightly surprised to find the sun nearly gone, and another pair of eyes watching him. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with Raylena. The woman was staring at him, the familiar blank expression in place. He blinked, then bowed slightly. "Pardon me. I was lost in my thoughts."
She laughed. "How polite of you," she smirked, raising her eyebrows. "Forgetting civility, I have a question for you." She paused, expecting a response.
He nodded slowly, bracing himself for anything abnormal to next come out of her mouth.
"What do you know of the last egg?"
He had been right. Abnormal. Random. What did she care, anyway? Unless she thought her skills would be a good match with a dragon. Which of course... it would make her nearly unstoppable. A female Galbatorix, minus the hundreds of dragons assisting her. If she had... but no matter. That was not important now. "Only that it is green and male."
She mimicked his earlier response, silently nodding. "Do you know where it is?"
"It is with Galbatorix in Uru'Baen."
"That's what you have been told, yes," she frowned, crossing her arms. "Thank you, Eragon; that's all I needed."
Before he had a chance to say anything, she had spun on her heel and strode off.
He stared at her retreating back. She will never cease to surprise me.
Raylena was confused. Yes, confused. More than normal. She was often confused, but this was different. New. In Uru'Baen? But how? Not when she carried it on her back. She had long had it in her possession. Was Galbatorix in the dark as to where it truly was? Had they been so bold as to slink beneath his gaze and knowledge?
She swept into her tent and dumped the egg out of her sack, frowning down at the shell. It was hard for her to remember... it wasn't as smooth as the others had been, being lumpy with chips and scars, the colors fading and blurring. Nor was it as large. Perhaps she was wrong; it was not a dragon egg. But how could it be otherwise? The song... she pressed a hand to her forehead. Too much. It was too much to think about. Only one way to find out... and that would be soon. Unless it was all a lie.
No, no... she had to trust it. If she didn't it would only drive her mad; it had helped calm her thoughts many a time. Even if it was a lie and would never hatch, it could at least soothe her senses and keep her sanity intact. At least what was left of it. There wasn't much, but there was enough to keep her wits about her. Wits were good. They kept everyone around her alert and ready for what she might do next.
It was funny... they never knew what to think of her. Crazy, brilliant, everything went back and forth with rarely any middle ground. And most of the time it was only negative. Ah well. No matter. It wasn't worth her while to dwell on it.
Which, of course, was the exact reason why she did.
Eep. An egg.