Hi guys! Well, finally, almost a week after my wonderful preview, I've done it! The chapter is up! Yaaay! Also, I have just got to 100 reviews—thank you so much to everyone who has given me feedback over the ages! I can't thank all of you who have stuck with me for so long enough—although I'm going to try! As payment, you are about to be rewarded with the vast majority of the secrets I have been hoarding since the very beginning—as well as some clues to the answers of the final—and biggest—ones!
Also, remember to read Half Breed and Switching lanes by Elemental and Tam! That is, if they ever do update again. Come on guys, at this rate I'm going to not be coming last in everything soon enough!
Faolin was sent stumbling across the room by the force of the impact, which generated a resounding boom likely heard halfway across the mountain. When he recovered Arya saw his face was, if possible, more furious than it had been before.
"Evandar." He said icily, sneering. "Come to claim your Half-Breed daughter at last, have you? And in front you your little rebel friends, too! That's rather brave of you. I can only imagine the embarrassment you must be feeling. You really should thank me-I'm doing you a favour by making sure your king isn't here to see it."
"Faolin." Said Evandar, the sound his voice absolutely confirming his identity for Arya and making her almost as shocked as his appearance had. "Still as romantic as ever, I see."
Faolin snarled and raised his hand. Arya yelled out to warn her father, but a bolt of fire was already flying at him. "No!" she yelled, but Evandar waved his hand sharply and it veered off course and struck the wall in a fiery explosion.
"Get down!" yelled Angela, and Arya threw herself to the floor as Angela, Oromis and Evandar simultaneously launched jets of searing light at Faolin's heart. The giant blocked with a bolt of dark energy and the beams collided in mid air with a blinding explosion.
Arya looked up to see the jets of lights still connected, locking the four of them in a battle of wills. Slowly but surely, the combined might of Evandar, Angela and Oromis began to overwhelm Faolin, pushing his jet back towards him with what sounded like a deafening roar of wind. For a moment, Arya thought they had him, but the giant flicked his hand up with practiced ease and broke the connection, sending a massive blast wave of energy up at the ceiling. The entire mountain shook and Arya's attempts to stand back up were stopped dead in their tracks. With a rumble like thunder, the ceiling came crashing down.
"You chose the wrong side, Half Breed!" Faolin snarled, and then vanished in a flash of fire.
Half Breed: A term coined by the story, Half Breed! This annoying advertisement was brought to you by our sponsor, Tamerhelm85, author of HALF BREED! (A Circle of Circles fic!)
A chunk of rock the size of a person landed right next to Arya. Jumping to her feet, she saw her father rushing to her side.
"Take my arm!" he yelled, and Arya complied. The others all came running up to them and did the same, and they hurtled forwards into nothingness with a flash of silver and a deafening bang.
Before Arya had time to wonder what had happened her feet hit the ground hard and she collapsed onto the floor.
"Arya, are you okay?" said a gentle voice. Looking up she saw her father standing above her, his hand held out. It was a good few seconds before she took it and another few before she managed to speak.
"Father?" she asked, her voice thick with disbelief. "I-is it really you?" But she knew the answer before it left his lips.
"Yes, Arya, it is me." He said. "I suppose I have a bit of explaining to do."
"Where are we?" she asked after a moment, because she didn't know where else to start. In an attempt to answer that question for herself, she took a look around.
They were in a cave of some sort, small and completely unremarkable except for the fact that beyond the entrance there was no ground. She took a few tentative steps to the mouth of the cave, and looking over the edge she gasped in amazement. Tronjheim stood below them, the mountain so far down it looked small and insignificant set amidst green fields no larger than a table.
"How high up are we?" asked Arya in a small voice.
"Around 30,000 feet." Answered Oromis, speaking for the first time.
"No." She said disbelievingly. "That's not possible. Not even a dragon can fly this high. We shouldn't even be able to breathe!"
"Well, that would only apply to you if you were a full elf." Said Evandar tentatively, sounding like he was trying to break the news gently. "And, well...it doesn't, because you aren't." He finished, sounding a lot less confident that she'd ever heard him.
"We're up by the crater at the peak of the mountain." Said Evandar, clearly trying to change the subject before she could enquire as to what he had meant. "It's the first safe place I thought of; we've been here a few times before."
Arya was still trying to take in that a second before they had been standing in a small room in Tronjheim and now they were up further than Firnen could have ever taken her...Firnen...In all her surprise she had completely forgotten about her dragon!
"Firnen!" she yelled out with her mind, now in a state of considerable panic. How could she have forgotten her own dragon, how could she not have noticed the absence of his mind? "FIRNEN!"
"Oh, don't worry about Firnen." Said Oromis, apparently aware of her mental calls. "He's still safe down in Tronjheim, though likely quite as distressed as you are. Your mental connection is broken because there is protective magic placed around this cave; as Evandar said we've used it as a hideout in the past."
"I'll go and get him." said Angela brightly, and with a burst of light and a great whooshing sound she vanished, causing Arya to nearly fall off the edge.
"I suppose you're not used to people doing that, are you?" said Evandar, with an uncertain smile. "We have much to discuss." Arya managed a small nod.
"Well, er... I suppose the first thing you need to know is that I'm not, well, an elf." He said. A long silence followed.
"W...What?" she replied.
"You have, I believe, read that book of Angela's?" asked Oromis. Arya didn't even bother to ask what book he meant, and simply nodded.
"Well, it is rather more accurate than you might have originally assumed." Said Oromis. "I realize that may be hard to believe, as from your point of view, it would probably seem that it had been written by-"
"A crackpot." Finished Evandar. A moment later, there was another whooshing sound.
"What was that, Evandar?" said a familiar voice. Arya turned around to find her dragon, looking extremely disoriented, standing at the entrance of the cave, with Angela by his side.
"Arya!" he yelled. "Angela just told me-"
But before he could continue Arya ran up and hugged him tightly around the neck. Seeing him gave her a rush of confidence: here was one person, at least, who was familiar to her.
"It's good to see you again, Firnen." She said.
"You too." He replied, and for a moment they stood there taking comfort in each other's presence, their companionable silence punctuated only by Angela commenting on the "sweetness" of the moment.
"I'm sorry about Faolin." Firnen said after a long moment.
It hit her once again like an iron-fisted punch: Faolin, the man who had been her mate for so long, the man who she had once considered to be her one true love, was a wraith; a giant, and the whole purpose of his relationship with her had been to trick her. He was the leader of the armies of evil, a servant of a tyrannical god, and he quite clearly hated her.
"I'm sorry," Said Firnen quickly, "I didn't mean to make it worse-"
"It's okay." She said, although she certainly didn't feel it.
Before she could stop them she felt hot tears appear in her eyes. She buried her face in Firnen's neck, and thankfully none of them spoke.
"Arya," said Firnen gently after a while, "I know this is difficult, but...I've seen your memories of your time with him. If it makes you feel better, I know that you never felt as strongly for him as you do for Eragon. Not by a long stretch. And I also know that Eragon loves you too, whatever you may think."
This thought comforted Arya immensely. Though the feelings of shock and hurt remained as strong as ever, she also knew that Firnen was right. Eragon was, after all, the only one she truly loved; she had known that for a while now. She wasn't so certain that he would still return those feelings, but the realization that Faolin had never really been the one for her did help.
She took a few more moments to gather her thoughts, brushed off the tears and turned to face the others. They all bore looks of concern for her on their faces; especially Evandar. She had a sudden rush or recognition: this really was her own father.
On a sudden impulse, she ran up to and threw her arms around him. "Father." She half murmured, half sobbed.
"Arya." He said, with an unmistakable note of joy in his voice. "Oh my daughter, you cannot know how glad I am to see you again."
After a few seconds, she mustered up the courage and asked the question she knew she must. "How is it you're alive?"
At first, he didn't answer. Arya pulled out of the embrace and looked him directly in the eyes, waiting.
"Arya..." he said, "I never died. Like I said...I am not an elf, and neither is Oromis, who I'm sure you also believed to be dead."
"And what am I, then?" asked Angela indignantly.
"We're not quite sure." Replied Evandar with a grin. "Although I refuse to believe you are a member of any race I have encountered."
"I should think not, I'm clearly far superior to all of you underlings!" said Angela. "But for the purpose of making this simple for Arya, perhaps we should assume that I'm a member of the race she would call The Grey Folk."
There was a long silence, during which Arya half expected one of them to yell "Not!" but nobody spoke; nobody even moved.
"And...so are we." Said Evandar quietly. "Oromis and I, that is."
Arya lowered herself into a sitting position shakily, feeling as though her head was spinning too much for her to stay on her feet. It was all too much to take in. First Faolin had been alive again, then it turned out he'd been an evil wraith, then she'd found out that her father, Oromis and Angela (two of whom were supposed to be dead,) were part of a race that she had only ever heard of in legend.
"Your mother," Evandar, apparently deciding that if he lost his momentum he wouldn't be able to start up again, "was an elf. She didn't know though, she didn't know who—what—I am."
"You died." She managed after a while. "Both of you."
"As did our Giant friend Faolin, but that didn't stop him, did it?" said Angela, with the air of somebody explaining that one plus one equalled two.
"Arya," said Oromis gently, "Our race does not follow the same concepts of life and death as the others. You see, the body of an elf, dwarf, urgal or human is a container for the soul. In our case, however, the body is a physical manifestation of the soul. No mortal weapon can destroy us."
"Think about it like this." Said Angela. "When it comes to you mortal folk, and yes, elves are mortal, your body is like a glass, containing your soul, which is like the water. If you break the glass, the water spills out and that's the end of it. In our case though, the water and the glass are the same thing. You can disperse the water and sometimes scatter it so much that there's no way you could ever put it all back in one place again, but it's still there."
This did not help Arya's understanding in the slightest.
"Don't ask me." Said Firnen as she reached out her mind to him. "I have no idea."
"Angela," said Evandar, sounding rather annoyed, "can't you explain something in a way that normal people understand, just once?"
"And I suppose either of you two could do any better?" said Angela, sounding defensive.
"We can't die." Said Oromis immediately. "We are truly immortal, because we can't be killed by time or sword. We can be damaged so that for a time we are unable to regain physical form, and sometimes we can go beyond the point of repair so that we are too weak to ever do so again, but we can never be truly destroyed."
Angela muttered something about "Dumbing it down."
"If you'd actually read my book and not gone running off to meet a dead person," said Angela, and Evandar shot her a warning look, "you'd find that it explains it all much more clearly."
"Arya," said Evandar, "you've been using strange magic, haven't you? At times when you've had no other way out?"
Arya nodded. "Yes. The first time was when we fought the Ra'zac. The Lethbraka were about to kill Firnen, but I managed to somehow throw them off him. Then the Ra'zac went for him, and I knocked over a tree to get in their way. Then they went for me, but I blasted them back into the tree and killed them. I went to Firnen, and he was bleeding horribly, and I knew I didn't have the power to save him, but somehow I did." She finished.
Evandar nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"Then the next time was when we fought that wraith; Galbatorix. Murtagh, Thorn and Orik were all down and he shot some kind of spell at Firnen. Somehow I managed to stop it." She said; indescribably glad to finally be able to speak about this out loud, in the company of the people who might have the answers. "He knocked me to the ground and he was about to kill me, and all I could think about was that we had to get to Farthen Dur. And then...I somehow bought us all here."
To her amazement and relief, they were all nodding as if they had expected all of this.
"I've been having dreams too." She said. "Visions. I see things happening in other places, and it's all so vivid and real."
Evandar's brow creased. "What did you see?" he asked.
"The first one..." she began, but then stopped herself. The first one was private. Besides, that one must have been just a vivid dream. It might have looked like the others, but it certainly wasn't of things that were really happening; it had been about a past that she wished had happened.
Then she thought about the one with the thrones. That one didn't make any sense at all. No, that couldn't have been a real vision either. The one in which she had been chased through the forest hadn't been real either, even though it was the first time she'd seen Faolin as a giant. The first real vision she'd had was the one with—
"Ra'zac." She said. "I saw Faolin talking to the Ra'zac, talking about me. He said he planned to meet me at Tronjheim, and then, just before I woke up, I think he realized I was there." She said. "Then I saw him again, last night. He was talking with Galbatorix; he was angry because Galbatorix had tried to kill me but he wanted me alive. He killed Galbatorix, or damaged him, or whatever."
Evandar looked at her intensely, and Arya wondered whether he could tell she was holding something back.
"Perhaps it is best to tell him about your first visions." Said Firnen.
"No." Said Arya. "He'd think I was crazy."
"Apparently we live in a crazy world, Arya. Something tells me that these people would believe more of what we think is crazy than anyone else we've met."
Arya shook her head mentally. "No, I won't tell him about those visions. They can't be very important anyway."
"How can you know that?" asked Firnen; Arya ignored him.
"Very well." Said Evandar. "These occurrences are both because of the fact that you are partly a member of our race, being my daughter."
"A Half-Breed." Said Arya, remembering the term Faolin had used; this must be what he meant.
Evandar shook his head and scowled. "Do not use that name for yourself, Arya. "Half-Breed" is an insulting term, and it certainly does not befit you."
Arya frowned suspiciously. She had a hunch that not all of the Grey Folk would think so. "Does everyone agree with that, father?"
He hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head. "It matters not. Perhaps some of my race will think less of you for having half-eternal blood, but do not let their opinion bother you."
Oromis nodded in agreeance. "Your father speaks the truth. You are a better person than many pure-bloods whom I have met."
Arya nodded, though a little uneasily. She said nothing; she knew that the people in front of her understood that she would want to know more, and they would either divulge it or not.
"Arya," said Evandar after a considerable pause, "it would take a very long time for me to explain to you everything you'll want to know, but I'm afraid we do not have that time and so we must give you the short version. Oromis, I suppose this is your area of expertise?"
Without any more prompting, Oromis began. "As you may or may not know from what you read of Angela's...book,"
"Encyclopaedia." Corrected Angela, but Oromis ploughed on.
"Before the other races came to be, the world was ruled by the tyrant Angvard." Arya nodded. "Well, he was overthrown in a great rebellion by the Grey Order—the core of which was formed by the people you see in front of you, and our leader, the son of Angvard, whose name is-"
Angela shot him a warning look, too subtle to be noticed by anyone but an elf, or, apparently, Oromis.
"Whose dwarven name is Guntera, as well as several others." He finished.
"And his actual name?" asked Arya pointedly, quickly realizing that this piece of information was one she was forbidden to know and so, of course, desperate to know it.
"Is not for us to disclose." Said Angela curtly. "Don't look at me like that, Arya. We can't tell you and that's that."
Arya opened her mouth to retort, but said nothing. There was little point in arguing with Angela.
"Many ages passed in peace. Our world was rebuilt. Guntera ruled as king, and his leadership was wise and just." Continued Oromis. "Eventually though, Angvard's power began to return to him. Unable to challenge his son in open warfare, he began to spread whispers and lies against the new regime. Those who followed them became the giants, the chief of whom you have already met." These last words sent new spikes of pain and shock down Arya's spine.
"Faolin was promised by Angvard the kingship of Alagesia, where the second-born races—the elves, dwarves, urgals and humans—now lived, while Angvard would rule Alalea, our homeland, and have the kingship of the world once more."
Arya could see it in her mind's eye: Faolin, who she imagined had originally appeared as she remembered him, falling to evil, turning into the wraith he was now, promised by his master that he would be a tyrant over Alagesia just as his master would be over the whole world...
"The Giant armies, led by Faolin, fought a great war to take over your land. We defended Alagesia, and the war was so great that it turned the centre of your land into a desert wasteland; what is now known as the Hadarac."
As best as she could, Arya imagined it: a great battle with magic stronger than any heard of by elves, urgals, humans or dwarves: a battle like the one which had destroyed Vrorengard but a hundred times larger. She imagined Faolin, evil and terrible, leading an army of wraiths, against Oromis, Angela, Evandar, and an army of many other nameless and faceless figures, who stood between them and the ancient people of Alagesia...
"That war shaped much of your land. The Hadarac desert was the biggest change it wrought, but there were other things too. What you now know as Helgrind is what remains of the great gateway to Faolin's underground fortress. The place we stand in now, which the dwarves call Farthen Dur, was not always open to the sky: the hollow mountain was originally a prison for Faolin's enemies. The crater is the result of a rather badly staged break in." He said with a rueful grin.
"Badly staged?" asked Angela indignantly.
"Well, it was hardly discreet, was it?" said Oromis.
"Oh, and I suppose you could have come up with a better way?"
"Angela," said Evandar heavily, "you blew up the top of the mountain. There is nobody in the Order who couldn't have come up with a better way."
"Well, excuse me for freeing all those prisoners from the clutches of the giants! Besides, the dwarves seem to like it!"
Oromis sighed. "Anyway," he said, "we defeated Faolin and once again broke Angvard's power. And we thought, perhaps foolishly, that was the end of it."
A sensation of horrible dread began to rise in Arya. She thought she knew what was coming. The Ra'zac, the black clouds...
"Guntera, however, was not so hasty, and every race in Alagesia owes a debt of gratitude to him because of it." Said Oromis. "Unwilling to leave such comparatively defenceless people unguarded, he decided that we should keep a presence in Alagesia. We were not to make ourselves known; our job would be to keep watch, and protect from the shadows. And so we have done, for many aeons."
"Our kind has only intervened when we knew it was absolutely necessary." Said Evandar. "I know this may seem immoral from your point of view. You would be right in thinking that we have the power to solve many of your kind's problems." He sighed heavily. "Arya, what you must understand is that we are not gods, whatever the dwarves may say. We can't know what over-interference would do to your kinds; not even Guntera can predict what changes would be bought about."
"What sort of an excuse is that?" said Arya, feeling angry now. She had so long disputed that there were beings with the power to solve the world's problems, as the dwarves believed. Now she had found that they had been right all along, and that the dwarves' reliance had been in vain. "How can you just stand by with all the dreadful things that happen? The dwarves pray to you! They devote their lives to you, and yet you don't help them!"
Evandar looked pained and tired. "Arya, don't you see?" he pleaded. "If your kinds came to rely on us too heavily, then you would not know how to cope without us! You must learn to solve your own problems, for we can't foresee what might happen! If, for example, we were forced to leave, how would you cope without us if you had come to rely on our power? If we kept the peace, you would fall into anarchy! If we provided food, you would starve! If we ruled, then you would be leaderless!"
"Arya," said Firnen, "do not become too angry. What he is saying makes sense, and they are clearly wise beings."
But Arya wasn't finished. "And what about Galbatorix?" she said. "He ruled the land for 100 years, just like Angvard did to you! And now it turns out he was one of your lot anyway!"
"That," said Oromis, "is a different matter. Please, let me finish. Perhaps then you shall understand a little better." Arya thought about this for a moment, then gave a single, sharp nod.
"As you have pointed out," said Oromis, "The dwarves did eventually become aware of our presence. It is not often we have intervened in your affairs, but it was enough for the dwarves to begin to call us gods. I became known to them as Morgothral; Evandar, Urur and Angela, Sindri."
"And the person whose name I'm not allowed to know was Guntera." Added Arya with a slight note of resentment in her voice.
"You sound like a child." Said Angela drily.
"You've never been one to accept not being told things!" snapped Arya.
"True enough." Said Angela. There was a flash of light and, to Arya's amazement, a pair of needles and a ball of thread appeared in Angela's hands. Without another word, she simply began to knit.
"Anyway..."said Oromis, with the sound of someone trying to diffuse a rapidly deteriorating situation, "It is not just the dwarves we have interfered with. They were the first whose affairs we meddled in, but, as you know, the results were less than ideal. They worshipped us, and wealth and food and other items that we have no need for were taken from the poor to give to us when they should have stayed with the people." Said Oromis.
"But we learned from this. Our other interactions were more discreet. Perhaps the greatest example of this was the war between the elves and the dragons. When we realized that the conflict was bringing both your races to the brink of destruction, we decided we had to do something about it, despite our reservations. So, Guntera , in what was possibly the greatest masquerade in history-"
"Second greatest." corrected Angela, not looking up from her knitting. Evandar smiled ruefully and Oromis tilted his head with a hint of a smile.
"Second greatest, then. Anyway, he was the one who arranged the peace between your kinds—playing the part of the first Eragon, whom the current leader of the order is named for. He manufactured the dragon rider bond himself and, over the course of a few decades, formed the order."
"Admittedly, it was quite clever of him." Said Angela. "In one stroke he bought peace to the elves and dragons and created a group which would keep watch over Alagesia so that we would no longer have to intervene."
Normally, this revelation would have completely astounded Arya. However, it was hardly the biggest surprise of the day, so she simply nodded.
"Still though, we kept watch, even as the riders grew in power and wisdom and the land became a better and better place. As great as the riders had become, if what we most feared happened—if Angvard were to return-they would not stand a chance. And so for aeons, we have walked among the Alagesians, taking the forms of different humans, elves, dwarves or urgals when it needed. There was little we had to do in those days; a tweak here, an adjustment there, and we kept things stable."
"However, our vigil was not in vain. About a hundred years ago, we began to read the signs. A darkness was coming over the land."
Evandar spoke now. "At first we told ourselves that it had to be a mortal evil; it had been, after all, so long. But I think all of us knew what was coming. We could all feel the darkness, Arya, and deep down we all knew it was something beyond anything from your lands."
"Eventually," said Oromis, "our worst fears were confirmed; Faolin had returned. His plans were carefully laid. At first, we assumed Galbatorix was just what all of you mortals thought he was; a wayward rider. By the time we realized what he was, it was too late. The 13 riders whom he turned to his side: they were giants whom had been skulking around for who knows how long, waiting for the return of their lord. It turned out, of course, that his whole purpose in Alagesia had been the first step in his master's plan: get rid of us, quickly and quietly, so that the conquest could go unchallenged."
"We had, admittedly, become a little lax in our watch by then." Said Angela. "Evandar, as you know, was babysitting, and having babies with, the elves. Oromis was with the riders, and I was keeping an eye on everyone else, because I am by far the best. Guntera, meanwhile, was back in Alalea, and we hadn't been in contact with him for quite a while."
"Of course," said Evandar, "that was about when you were born. I...I was so happy. Your mother may have had her faults, Arya, but I fell for her, and since she gave me you, I'll never consider that a bad decision." Arya fought back hot tears as they threatened to leave her eyes.
"Galbatorix had the element of surprise." Said Evandar. "Before we really knew what was happening he was coming for us. As you know, my body was destroyed while I was attempting to aid in the fight. I am...more sorry than I can say that I didn't get a chance to know you until now." Unable to hold them back any longer, Arya let the tears fall. "Me too." Was all she could manage.
"Angela and I soon realized we would have to go into hiding." Said Oromis. "Faolin's pet Gablatorix may have been incompetent, but he did have thirteen giants at his command. There was little we could do but lie low and fight from the shadows, picking them off one by one. We soon found that they, like us, were not revealing themselves for what they were and using their true powers. Why this is, I cannot say, but I guess that it was because Faolin was unwilling to allow the people of Alagesia to perceive his servants as gods, lest they decided they wanted to stay in charge and betray him." He said.
"Then, of course, the unthinkable happened." He continued. "Eragon came along; a helpless, bumbling fool but a hero through and through. Angela and I knew he was the one, so we trained him up, helped him, manipulated to circumstances. He lived up to all our expectations; he destroyed the giant Galbatorix and restored peace. Faolin's plan had been set back by a mere human boy. With the evil gone from the land, Evandar here was soon once again able to regenerate his physical form. All was well."
Arya's initial feeling of pride as Oromis had spoke about Eragon was slowly evaporating. It all made sense: finally, the truth of the matter. But if she was right...
"I think you are starting to understand now." Said Oromis gravely.
Arya nodded. "Eragon...foiled Faolin's plans. And so Faolin-"
"Now wants revenge." Finished Oromis. "I know Eragon. He is the strongest mortal I have ever met; he defeated a giant, after all. But this foe is beyond anything he could ever dream of facing. Faolin is too powerful for him."
"Do you think...he's still alive?" asked Arya in a low voice, hating herself for letting the words leave her mouth.
"Yes." Said Oromis. "Faolin will not be satisfied with merely killing Eragon. The idea that a mortal such as him could foil his plans is truly hateful for him; for he does not comprehend that Eragon has a strength he cannot dream of. He will seek, I think, to make him suffer."
Arya's mouth had gone dry. It was a nightmare. Faolin had Eragon, and was likely subjecting him to tortures a hundred times more terrible than any she had experienced at the hands of Durza.
"Help me." She said. "Please, help me save him. You said it yourself; the world needs the riders. Alagesia needs him."
"Do you really think us so uncompassionate that we would not help him anyway? He is a good man who deserves any help we can render him. Besides, now that Faolin has him, it's our business."
"Thankyou!" yelled Arya, filled with joy. Here, at least, was a chance. The Grey Order, Faolin's great enemy, would help her. Jumping up, she threw her arms around Oromis with a sob of relief.
"Oh, we're not doing this for free." Said Angela matter-of-factly. "We need your help too."
For a long moment, there was complete silence. Then: "What?" asked Arya. "You...need my help?"
Oromis nodded slowly, though for a long while he did not speak. Eventually, he said: "Yes, Arya. We need your help."
After another long silence, Evandar spoke. "As you may or may not have picked up from our conversation with Faolin...our king...our friend...has been kidnapped also. Faolin's got Guntera."
Don't tell me you expected all this all along: you didn't. Sit tight, folks. Now the stage is almost set the main quest is about to begin, and the action and thrills are going to go up tenfold, I promise you! REVEIIIIW!
