Morning seemed to come much faster than before. Eragon was awake before the sun had even begun to light up the sky. Today was the day that he was going to meet Akritt and his tribe, and he was eager to be there in time. He quickly roused himself, and descended into the hall. "Blodhgarm! Wake up! It is time to go meet our new allies!" he called. When no one answered, Eragon looked into his room, only to find it empty.
"Looking for someone, Skulblaka?" Eragon turned around to see Blodhgarm standing next to Angela, adjusting the straps on his tunic. A bow was slung across his back, and his sword hung at his side. Angela was dressed similarly, holding her staff at her side.
"Skulblaka? Am I no longer a Shadeslayer?"
"It seems to fit you better now. You are no longer human, and I believe that your true name has changed as well. Regardless, we must be off. We should be at the mouth of the valley early, so that we can check for ambushes." Blodhgarm explained.
"For once, I agree with you." Angela snidely remarked, earning herself a glare from both of them. "They may have been friendly to you, but we do not know how they will react to us. I, for one, would rather be safe than dead."
"Some of us wouldn't mind that..." Blodhgarm muttered, earning himself a smack on the back of the head with Eragon's tail.
"Now, now, you two. Be on your best behavior."
"Yes father." Angela mocked. Blodhgarm snickered, and they both smirked until Eragon smacked them both. The sound of flapping caused Eragon to look up, and he saw Saphira gliding down.
"You were going to leave without even saying goodbye?" She said as she landed.
"You were asleep, rather soundly, I might add. I did not want to disturb you."
"Well, you should have woken me anyways. You can also save your goodbye for when you do leave. Are you ready Angela?" Angela swiftly leapt up onto Saphira's back.
"You are not coming this time Saphira. If they feel threatened, they may attack, and I don't want you to be hurt." Eragon protested. Saphira snorted, and spread her wings.
"You should worry about yourself much more than me." She leapt up, and glided down the corridor and out of the mountain. Eragon followed shortly after, as Blodhgarm grabbed on as he flew past. The dark sky was beginning to light up, illuminating with bright, vibrant colour.
...
Akritt looked around as his men shuffled nervously. The forty men and women in his tribe were all tired and weary from the travel, but still had the energy to talk amongst themselves. The few warriors amongst them had hidden in the low underbrush, armed with bows and very primitive arrows. The stone swords they wielded would be no match for the thick hides of a Borbatosk, let alone a dragon. The sun began to rise behind them, lighting up the valley as the sound of wings beating filled their ears.
...
Eragon kept his link to Saphira open, and they shared thoughts and feelings. "There." Eragon said, pointing to a group of small figures near the river.
"Rather small group, aren't they?" Angela said.
"They are nomads. They have had no home to keep safe from the elements, and it is a cruel world out here. I do agree with you, however. Akritt seemed to indicate that they had a larger tribe than this. Keep your guard up." Eragon tucked his wings in, and dove down, skimming the stream with his claws. Saphira was above him, and watched as he burst through the treeline that hid him. All the people dove to the ground, and several archers rose from the bushes, simple sharpened sticks in the primitive weapons. Eragon wheeled around, hovering above the group as they began to regroup.
"Fire!" one shouted.
"Wait!" Akritt ran in front of them, and they held their fire. Eragon landed, shaking the ground as he did. "Hold your fire!" Slowly, the archers lowered their bows, as Saphira circled overhead.
"Akritt, what is the meaning of this? I trusted you enough to invite you into our dwelling, and you attempt to ambush us?"
"I am sorry, Eragon. It was my idea, but only as a preventative measure. I am simply trying to protect my tribe."
"Well, perhaps next time you could avoid doing so in such manner?" Blodhgarm said, sliding off of Eragon's back. Saphira landed as well, but only to allow Angela to do the same, before taking flight once more.
"My word! Who are these people?" Akritt gasped.
"I am Angela, and this is Blodhgarm." Blodhgarm bowed, but did not take his eyes off of Akritt. "We are Eragon's friends."
"Family." Eragon corrected.
"Family then. We are here to help make sure things go smoothly." Angela smiled.
"I see. Shall we be off then?"
"No." Saphira said. "I wish to see his memories, just to assure that he is indeed trustworthy."
"Saphira, I do not wish to invade his mind. It is rude to do such a thing without..."
"Very well then." Akritt cut Eragon off. "I am no stranger to magic. In fact, my wife is rather skilled in the forms of summoning spirits. I will allow you to see my mind, great dragon, as long as I have your name."
"I like him." Saphira told him privately, and Eragon chuckled. "Very well then. I will look only where I must, nowhere else." Eragon linked his mind with Saphira's, and felt a strange feeling for a fleeting moment, before she delved into Akritt's mind.
Akritt gripped his new sword, the honed stone blade sharp, but more deadly as a club. He swung it experimentally, feeling the heavy weapon he now wielded. He stepped out of the tent, and looked around at the camp. His brothers were wrestling on the ground while the fire cooked a deer they had caught. His fiance stood nearby, creating charms for her magic. Several elderly men sat on a blanket, talking. They would have to move on soon, there was no shelter from the elements around them.
Akritt sobbed, and looked at the small mound before him with several runes on it. "I will miss you. We will miss you." He bent over, and set a charm on it: a small square with a sailing ship. "Now, you are on a far greater journey than we could imagine. Goodbye mother."
The warriors around him looked around. The valley was dark, but they could see remarkably well. The herds were a short distance away, safe from any harm that might come from the mountains. The archers shifted nervously, but Akritt stood firmly. The dragon seemed friendly when they meet, but that may have changed since then. He wasn't going to take any chances. A flapping filled his ears, and panicked when the trees exploded as a large black dragon burst through them.
Eragon pulled himself back to his own body, and looked at Saphira. "I am satisfied. I will be keeping an eye on them, however." she told Eragon.
"Good. We should get them in as soon as we can. The longer we are out here, the more likely we are to encounter the Ra'zac." He replied, then addressed everyone. "Angela, go with them on the ground, Saphira will accompany you. Blodhgarm and I will return home as fast as we can to prepare a place for them." There were several cheers, and Angela nodded. Saphira landed as he took off, putting several tons of wood on her back. Soon, Eragon lost sight of them, and had only Blodhgarm as company.
"I can sense that you have a reason for wanting me to accompany you rather than help them. Pray tell, what is it?" Blodhgarm asked.
"When Saphira and I looked through Akritt's memories, I saw a familiar image. He stood over his mother's grave, and placed a small charm on her grave. It had the same inscription on it as one of the knuckle bones Angela used to cast my fortune: the sailing ship. I would not dwell on it, but with recent events, I feel as though Fate is weaving around me once more. Premonitions, visions, they all seem to point to my past, and to my future. I will not be blind to it this time."
"If Fate surrounds you, then you must be open to it. It is fate that brought us this far, and fate has been with us even before we met. I do, however, think that we should not be blind to fate. Sometimes we must take into our own hands. I have had similar thoughts in the past, and when I doubted, I trusted my instincts. I hope you would do the same."
"Thank you, Blodhgarm. I will always value your wisdom."
"My pleasure." Eragon looped down, and into the tunnel. They were going to have permanent guests.