Chapter Eleven: Du Fells Nangoröth

A/N: Of course, I know that it has been awhile. I'm still dealing with stuff, and I also now have no com in my house, getting one soon though. This is all school library. Anyway, here's your next chapter, and thank you to all the people still reading and those that have been joining recently. As a side note, I can't get back onto the Star Tiger train, so if anyone would like to adopt, I'd be happy to let you have at it and add input if I remember anything. I will, however, be staying with Cold Ones, but mostly because we need more Leah/Bella stories. More news at the bottom. Now on with the story.

Bella's POV

As soon as we reach the edge of Du Weldenvarden, Oromis and Glaedr split with us for the east.

"Fair winds to all of you. When next we meet, let it be before the gates of Uru'baen." Oromis speaks from Glaedr's back.

"Fair winds to you as well!" We all call in return.

With that he and Glaedr fly off. Saphira and the others resume their paths south once the others release their steeds. It's four in the afternoon now as we fly nonstop for the abandoned caves of the dragons. Our dragons fly continuously, and the other vampires run below as the hours bleed together. When the sun rises on our second day, it finds us deep within the Hadarac Desert heading still south and already seeing the small peaks of Du Fells Nangoröth. Two hours more pass and we're but half a mile away when Saphira spots a squadron of about 50 soldiers flying Galbatorix's colors headed quickly our way all on horseback about four miles off from us.

"How did they find us so fast?" Edward asks, thinking the cavalry a hunting party.

"My friend, they are not here for us nor can they even see us yet. Nay, Galbatorix has somehow thought to look here after all these years. They are after the Eldunarí!" I correct, grimly.

'We must wait them out; they will be a few hours behind us and unsuspecting if we can get in undetected.' Saphira tells us.

"Aye, this battle won't take long. Edward, tell the rest of your family of these new tidings. Jasper, could you and Edward whip up a sand storm to cover the eyes of those men, please." I order, swiftly as we speed up. "This rising sun is draining away our cover, but we will still have it for 10 minutes maybe. We may need to fly higher though."

With that we rise higher and see the small scale sand storm wrap around Galbatorix's men. A half hour later, we dive out of the sky to land quickly if just a bit loudly. The other vampires are already waiting for us on the central plateau between the four main 80 yard mountains that encircle the smaller mountains where clawed-out caves sit abandoned.

"Where go we now, Arabella?" Carlisle asks me.

"The Rock of Kuthian is the burial place of Bid'Daum's sire's family. T'was never put in any elvish record because he wished it secret and only told Eragon I. Now we know why. There is a pathway dug deep into the ground below here which is where all wild dragons were buried. The special place for Bid'Daum's sire is the last tomb. By the time we return to the surface, the soldiers pursuing us should just be making their way to this platform. Here, we shall dispatch them." I say. "Now, the Rock of Kuthian is actually a collection of blackened rocks set up in the shape of the elvish rune for honor. Come."

After walking for about half an hour, we reach the rock formation we're looking for. The cave looks like it was land-slid shut by millions of small pebbles. I go to stand before it.

"Tis, I, Eragon!" I exclaim in the ancient language.

For a moment nothing happens, but then there is a great grinding and crunching of rocks as the loose-looking pebbles tighten together and swing open. Dank, stagnant air rushes up to meet our noses.

"Naina," I mutter, conjuring up a floating ball of bright blue light. "Let us hurry."

With that we descend into the deep, musty cavern. Once all of us are inside, the opening closes itself again, and we pause for a moment. Before we can start forward once more, something forces my light spell to be cut off. As I'm about to retry, Saphira stops me.

'Wait, Bella.' She says. 'I do not know how, but I know what to do. Step back, please.'

Alice, who's beside me, and I do as she says while she steps forward in the wide and tall underground path. Then she opens her mouth, slightly, and a horizontal column of blue flames erupts from it. To my, and I'm sure the vampires', amazement, the column splits in two then into many separate balls of fire which fly to either side of the cavern to land on previously unseen fire clubs. The lights go on seemingly indefinitely, but I know that after every second great tomb, on both sides, another path opens to more tombs. According to Eragon's book, we have to walk for an hour to get to the first tomb at the bottom. We make our way briskly with Alice's parents walking beside us and our dragons as Carlisle asks me about the medicine tents of the Varden. We lessen the time by jogging as we go deeper and it gets slightly hotter.

Finally, we stop in front of the tomb of the Unnamed Dragon, and I know we must be at least a few miles below the surface. The round vault door is scratched by claws with the name of First Hunter.

I stand in front it and put my gedwëy ignasia to the marking before exclaiming, "Tis, I, Eragon!"

With a grinding much like the first entrance, the huge, wheel-like granite door rolls to the right. Inside is utter darkness until Lunam sends a burst of fire in. The new flames illuminate a great, empty cavern. The primitive decorations consist of burned stalagmites and stalactites with raw gems encrusted within them and the walls. Lining the long, large hall on both sides are varying dragon-sized holes. Large bones reside in perfect repose, giving away how the past dragon had laid in death. There, at the end of the hall, are three dusty and now vaguely glowing Eldunarí, two white and the last orange. As soon as the light starts and we step in, an almost suffocating air of power permeates the room from them as their glow increases.

Then an old voice, an old powerful voice, echoes into all of our heads, speaking in the ancient language, 'Who has entered here? Identify yourself and your purpose here.'

I gulp a bit before stepping forward a step and answer in kind to the male dragon, "I am Arabella Brommson, a sun-crotch, and my male name is Eragon, and I am also called Shadeslayer."

'You carry powerful names, Shadeslayer.' compliments the voice. 'I am Bid'Daum, dragon of the first Rider and first Eragon. I am on the left.'

"I am very pleased to meet you, skulblaka. These others are my dragon Saphira, my mate Alice Esmesdaughter, her dragon Lunam, and Alice's family the House of Cullen which includes Edward whose dragon is Alaula, Jasper whose dragon is Nahele, Rosalie, and Emmett. Carlisle and Esme are their parents." I say, adding pictures to my words. "We are here because a great disaster has been wrought upon Alagaësia for the last century and a half. I found out through Eragon I's book that you were placed here to help."

'And so we were.' A new voice says, this one even older and more powerful and male too. 'I am Bid'Daum's sire. You may call me Flight. And the orange one to my right is my mate, Dolanna. Tell us, what is it that has happened?'

After Dolanna has introduced herself and my group has as well, I spend an hour and a half summarizing what all has befallen my homeland, and also I dust them off.

'This witch you spoke of, Angela, her mother is the one that told Eragon and I to secretly stow away our hearts for this calamity though she was not specific about what would happen.' Bid'Daum states, thoughtfully.

"I'm not really shocked to hear it because I know that Angela is old and that she must have gained her power from somewhere." I say, sighing.

'Very well, let us make haste!' Dolanna exclaims, firmly. 'We must get to the Varden. The sooner we end this war, the sooner peace will be restored to this land.'

"Yes, let's go!" Emmett exclaims, excitedly.

And so we pack Bid'Daum with Glaedr, Flight with Dolanna on Alaula, and Fundor joins Ohen on Nahele. We hurriedly leave the tomb, going faster than the trip down, making the journey only 30 minutes. When we return to the main plateau, all of Galbatorix's troops are regrouping on the far side of it. One man sees us and calls alarm. The two commanders turn quickly in fear in their eyes. All of their horses are tethered to posts they've erected. Their armor is well made but only basic pieces are on them.

The leader on the left steps forward and states firmly, "By the King's order, we must arrest you and seize the treasure you have obviously just stolen from him! Now, lay down your weapons and surrender!"

I advance about five paces before stopping and declaring, "By Fate's Order, Galbatorix must be punished for his crimes against Alagaësia, and we will stop his evil tyranny! We shall never surrender!"

The man just looks at me for a moment then shouts, "For the King!"

And then all of the men are rushing forward. I hear the rasp of swords being unsheathed behind me as I take out Brisingr. I don't hurry forward but instead let them come to me. Saphira tells the other dragons to let us deal with them and eat a couple of horses. The first to reach me are the two captains and another troop. I gracefully swing my sword up and right to slash the first man as the other troops push around me to the vampires. As three more men replace the other three I've killed, I catch sight of my beautiful Alice whirling in her graceful dance as she slashes through each of the six men around her. I'm jolted back into my fight when I take a hit to the shield on my back.

Alice's POV

As I strike down my fourth soldier, I get a glimpse of my glorious Bella moving like a great jungle cat as she cuts down her six soldiers easily. I peek to my family as I block the last two swords coming at me. Carlisle and Esme, though they abhor violence, are a very good tag team as they use each other to dispatch their soldiers. Rose is a snake-like swordswoman just as she is with her bare hands; she whips her sword out in swift jabs between meeting gaps in armor pieces. Each man she hits cries out painfully as they hit the ground. Emmett is perhaps the scariest to these men with his maniacal grin and the sweeping blows of his huge hammer as he lets it fly. Those men crumple. When I see Bella layout her last opponent with a jab through his neck, I strive harder to finish my fight. As my troops try to close in on me at the same time, I spin with inhuman speed with my blade out straight to cut the men in the stomach, spilling their innards.

When the fighting comes to a stop, my family stands lightly panting and a little blood-spattered. Saphira, Lunam, Alaula, and Nahele have feasted on four horses together and are now drinking from the sizeable stream running through the left of the plateau. We join them to clean off the small amount of blood we are covered with.

"I do not know when you will be able to feed again, so take from the soldiers what you need." Bella tells us as she shakes water off of her hands.

My family and I look at each other a little uncertain but go to do it anyway. I hesitantly put my mouth to one of the men's throat and bite down. The blood is good, but not as good as human blood used to be. I drink for nearly a minute before I feel the need to stop. It's an odd feeling in a part of my body that wasn't there before, but I don't stress it because I didn't go into a frenzy, so I'm fine. Afterwards, we eat some bread and cheese with Bella, and then she releases all but four of the soldiers' stallions.

"These are for you to ride until we get into the Empire. I'm sure we'll be running into soldiers." Bella says to my parents, Rose, and Emmett.

They nod, and we start to make our way back over the mountain to the desert at noon. Once back on the flat, barren terrain, Bella, Jazz, Ed, and I are back in the sky with our dragons, and we're all headed southwest in a straight path that will take us through the southernmost part of the Empire, close enough to Uru'baen to make me nervous. It's four o'clock before we have to stop again. We are halfway to the point between Furnost and Uru'baen when I have a vision of soldiers marching ahead of us, sacking small villages as they go, so we land to pick up the rest of my family. The stallions are let go, to return to Du Weldenvarden, and since our dragons are carrying more weight than they're used to and can't go as high, Edward and I create a cloud cover for us. Bella and Emmett are talking about Alagaësian jokes and riddles across Lunam and Saphira while Carlisle talks to Jazz and Esme. Rosalie and Edward are talking about musical instruments. I am quiet, thinking about this new life that I've suddenly but pleasantly found myself in. I smile blissfully as I think of my Bella, and I begin to picture miniature Bella's and me's running around a field, playing with, around, and on Saphira and Lunam. Then suddenly it isn't my imagination anymore; it's a vision of our future shown to me—

Vision

'Bella!' I call from my spot lying in the grass, watching Lunam and Saphira twirl around each other in the air.

'Yes, my love?' comes her immediate answer as she comes to kneel beside me.

'Have Emmett and Rosalie dropped off the kids yet?' I ask.

'They have. The eight of them are playing with your mischievous children.' Bella chuckles, lying beside me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

I snuggle into her and mumble quietly, 'Why are they always my children when they are being mischievous, love?'

'Because you are my mischievous pixie,' Bella mumbles back.

We snuggle together, just watching the white clouds serenely for about 10 minutes. Then the calm is shattered by five black- and auburn-haired little bodies dog-piling us.

'Mama! Papa!' they all exclaim.

Then eight blonde- and brown-haired children join them as we all laugh raucously.

End Vision

When I come back to the present, we're passing over the small village of Knopf. It's crawling with soldiers brutalizing the terrified villagers in search of spies or more recruits. I can feel the tension Bella exudes as she has to fight the urge to deliver justice upon those barbaric men, but I let Saphira field her discomfort.

Bella's POV

Emmett joins Jasper and Carlisle and Esme's conversation while I drop into my inner thoughts. As it gets closer to night, I begin feeling discontent again. Ever since we had parted with Oromis and Glaedr, a sense of constant anxiety has troubled me as I ponder what awaits me and Saphira and now Alice, Lunam, and their family in the last throes of this war. I know that we are better protected from death and injury, but when I think back to the Burning Plains and to the sight of blood spurting from severed limbs and the screams of wounded men and the white-hot lash of a sword slicing through my own flesh, then my gut roils and my muscles shake with suppressed energy, and I do not know whether I wish to fight every soldier in the land or flee in the opposite direction and hide in a deep, dark hole. My dread only worsens when we spot lines of armed men marching over the fields of the village Knopf below. Within the small wall, pillars of smoke rises from burning houses as women, men, and children run from soldiers screaming and crying out. The sight of so much wanton destruction sickens me. Knowing I can do nothing for them at present, I avert my gaze and squeeze the neck spike in front of me and squint until the only thing visible through the bars of my blurry eyelashes are my pale, sword-roughened hands.

'Little one,'says Saphira, her thoughts slowing down. 'We have done this before. Do not allow it to disturb you so.'

Regretting that I have distracted her from flying, I say, 'I'm sorry… I'll be fine when we get there. I just want it to be over.'

'I know.'

I sniff and wipe my cold nose on the cuff of my tunic. 'Sometimes I wish I enjoyed fighting as much as you do. Then this would be so much easier.'

'If you did,' she says, 'the entire world would cower before our feet, including Galbatorix. No, it is good you do not share my love of blood. We balance each other out, Arabella… Apart we are incomplete, but together we are whole, just as you and Alice or Lunam and I. now clear your mind of these poisonous thoughts and tell me a riddle.'

'Very well,' I say after a moment. 'I am colored red and blue and yellow and every other hue of the rainbow. I am long and short, thick and thin, and I often rest coiled up. I can eat a hundred sheep in a row and still be hungry. What am I?'

'A dragon, of course,' Saphira says without hesitation.

'No, a woolen rug.'

'Bah!'

As we all continue southwest, Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Esme fall asleep, and our second night and third morning pass us by in a hurry. Hours after dusk, our dragons all wobble and drop several feet in a single, sickening lurch. We all straighten, alarmed, and look around alertly for any clue as to what caused the disturbance but see only the purple tint of really dim light from the glittering stars above shedding on the pale ground far below.

'I believe we just reached the Jiet River,' says Saphira. 'The air here is cool and moist, as it would be over water.'

I look down again and see the faint glimmer of water. 'Then Feinster shouldn't be too much further ahead.'

And so it is. Later in the night, when dawn is only a few hours away, a dull glow appears on the horizon. The fires of the Varden glow brightly to my enhanced eyes, and, in the distance, the fires of Feinster give away their position nearly two leagues past the Varden. Saphira spots a grove a mile or so from the encampment, so we land there. Once on the ground, we're a bit wobbly, but we unburden the dragons and let them settle before leaving with our stuff. Since we are not tired, we run swiftly while Saphira flies above us. Her saddle is heavy in my arms for the 10 minutes needed to traverse the mile between us and our destination, but I do not mind. As I see the motley of dark-colored tents come closer, I feel a small lightening in my chest.

AN2: Hey, so, I've been on an idea for the last couple of years about a mass crossover with my faves, including Resident Evil. I've already started, but: let me know in the reviews if you'd rather I waited until I'm completely finished to post or stay 5 chapters ahead of posts. I'm warning, though, the story is gonna be long with chapters mostly past 20 pages of writing because there are so many different fandoms and main characters. Just let me know what you think, and we'll go from there. Hope you guys liked the chapter, and I'll try to put myself on an update schedule again when I get my laptop. Peace.