AN: next chapter, Eragon has arrived, enjoy
Chapter 14: Where there's Smoke there's Fire
Sorella and Aakil travelled through the forest for a couple of hours without seeing any sign of human life or the source of the smoke. They did see the occasional bird, some squirrels and a range of insects, Sorella almost thought she saw a deer but couldn't quite tell if it was actually a shadow. The gradient of the forest began to increase and the trees grew bigger as they moved into the more ancient parts. Sorella was beginning to think that if it wasn't for the fact that they were steadily travelling uphill she would have sworn they were going in circles and was just about to suggest that they turn back when the faint but distinctive smell of smoke tickled her senses "do you smell that?" she whispered. Aakil nodded and indicated for her to be silent and get off the horse. Once on the ground he whispered "we'll get a bit closer and then leave the horses and continue on foot, it will be quieter that way" directly into Sorella's ear.
"But what if we need to make a quick escape, wouldn't it be better to keep the horses close" she whispered back. Aakil thought for a moment "ok" he finally said "we'll keep the horses with us until we can ascertain what sort of creatures we're dealing with and how much potential danger we're in, but you will have to keep them quite".
They continued forward towards the source of the smoke until they started to hear human voices. Sorella could make out two young male voices. They weren't angry but intermingled with them was the unmistakable sound of swords hitting each other. Aakil frowned and indicated for Sorella to stay where she was and hold the horses while he crept forward to try and get a visual on the apparently duelling men. Unfortunately something spooked one of the horses and it tried to pull free of Sorella, she tried to calm the horse but it was too late, the swords stopped clanging and Sorella heard one of the men say "did you hear something?" Aakil tried to get back to Sorella but before he could the trees and underbrush started move as something large moved towards them, Aakil froze and gasped as a massive blue dragon burst forth and pinned him to the ground with its fierce claws.
"What is it Saphira?" one of the men said as he ran up behind the dragon towards Aakil with his sword raised.
Before Sorella could stop herself she yelled "NO, don't kill him!" and ran towards Aakil with the terrified horses struggling behind her. The young man looked at her and yelled "STOP, who are you?"
Sorella came to a halt just in time as the man pointed his sword at her and the dragon breathed smoke into Aakils terrified face. "I...I'm Sorella" she managed to say.
"A dragon!" Aakil gasped from under Saphira's claws, he looked confused and slightly in pain.
"who are you and what are you doing here?" the young man snarled at Aakil
"I told you, my name is Sorella and this is Aakil" Sorella answered for Aakil
The man stared at her for a moment "hmmm, ok, what are you doing here?"
"We saw smoke; it wasn't right so we came to see what it was. Please make the dragon let Aakil go" she pleaded.
The young man nodded and Aakil was released. He quickly got to his feet and gently rested his hand on the hilt of his sword "what are you doing camping in this forest?" he snarled at the stranger "and what kind of dark magic is this dragon illusion?"
"It's not an illusion" he said to Aakil "this is my dragon Saphira. We didn't think we would be discovered in this forest"
Aakil looked from the man to the dragon and back again "where did you get the dragon?" he asked suspiciously "Gabble has the only dragon and dragon eggs"
"He did, but I have this one now" the man replied "it's a rather complicated story and I'm not going to tell you it. Now you will both come with me, I can't have you running off and telling everyone where we are"
Aakil looked for a moment like he was going to refuse, but a low growl from the dragon was enough to convince him and Sorella to follow the stranger.
"I'm Eragon by the way" he said as they walked the few meters into a small clearing with a fire in the middle of it. Sitting by the fire was a young man with black hair "I told you I could handle it myself" Eragon called to his companions but just at that moment Aakil drew his sword and placed the tip of it on Eragons shoulder so the sharp edge of the blade just touched his neck and whispered "thief". Eragon froze, his face went pale and Sorella could see fear in his eyes, the other man got to his feet but was stopped from taking a step forward by the dangerous look in Aakils steel grey eyes.
"I think I can take him out without hurting you" Saphira said to Eragon
"No" Eragon silently said back "I don't want anyone to get hurt, Aakil just doesn't understand"
"Aakil" Eragon said without turning his head to look at him "no one wants to hurt you or Sorella. I didn't steal anything from Gabble. We just need to all calm down and talk, I think there's some sort of confusion going on here"
Aakil didn't respond.
"Aakil" Sorella pleaded "I think we should listen to them. They have a dragon and you said they were all gone and they aren't afraid of the forest. They might know something"
"I don't listen to thieves and murderers" Aakil spat
"What do you mean thieves and murderers?" the man by the fire asked
"I mean" Aakil began "Eragon is a thief and a murderer. Surely you've heard the story of how Eragon corrupted a village into being cannon fodder for Gabbles army so that he could create a distraction to steal a dragon egg, killing anyone who got in his way. He knew it would be a suicide mission for the villagers, including his own uncle and cousin, and still he sent them. He forced the dragon to bond with him. And then with his dragon he went on to destroy more lives and take what he wanted."
"No" Eragon cried "that is not true"
Sorella didn't know what to think. She found it difficult to believe the young man, Eragon, standing before her could be such a monster but the proof, the dragon, was standing right there and Aakil seemed so sure.
"It is true and I won't believe any lies that you try to tell me" Aakil said as he pressed the blade against Eragons neck so that a single drop of blood slowly slid down Eragons neck and onto the collar of his shirt "I should kill you now" he whispered to Eragon "but instead I'll take you to Gabble and justice". Saphira growled and the man by the fire stiffened.
"No" Eragon said "that isn't what happened. I didn't steal the egg. It just fell into my hands by accident and hatched. I had nothing to do with its removal from Gabble and he didn't force the dragon to do anything. The village I came from is nowhere near Uru'baen, Gabbles Ra'zac attacked the village and killed my uncle."
"How can I believe you?" Aakil growled
"That horrible story about Eragon is propaganda; it's just a story to make people hate him" the other man said "just look at the dragon, does it look like she's been forced into anything? Gabble is the evil one. You have to believe us or we will be forced to take drastic actions" he said as he gave a meaningful look to Saphira.
Aakil frowned. He wasn't sure he should believe these strangers over there ruler. "Please Aakil" Sorella whispered "he has a dragon. You said there were no dragons but that dragon chose him". Sorella was terrified that Aakil wouldn't back down and would instead get them both killed so she picked up a large rock that was lying on the grass next to her feet and hit Aakil in the back of the head with it. Aakil crumbled to the ground unconscious a thin trickle of blood dampened the hair at the back of his head.