Thank you for the reviews. KHandFF7fanforever, glad you liked the drunk scene.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance Cycle.
a friendly reminder: Kuldra/Florina conversation and thoughts in bold italics; Eragon/Saphira conversation and thoughts in bold; general mind talk in regular italics.
"Are they done, Saphira?"
"Almost." A moment. "How did you know?!"
"Nasuada told me. Hrothgar sent her notice while I was talking with her last night as I packed. That is why I haven't exited the gate yet."
"Alright, they're done."
Florina stood and exited the northern gate and released the spell. She munched half a loaf of bread as she did so since the spell had been over her and Kuldra. Eragon had just mumbled something when Orik saw her. "Barzûl! Had I known,"
"Peace, Orik." Florina waved him off. "Nasuada told me of Hrothgar's plan. Mine and Kuldra's ears were blocked against your words." Orik grumbled to himself as he sat against a pillar. "Are you ready to fly again, Eragon?" She asked, turning to the Human/Dwarf.
"Fly?!" Orik's startled squawk caused both Riders to turn to him. "We are not flying. We'll exit the mountains at Tarnag. From there, we're taking rafts along the Az Ragni to Hedarth. We'll take steeds from there."
"That will take days! Flying, once we get out of the tunnels, will only take us a day. That's the plan!"
Orik jumped to his feet. "We take the river!"
"Flying is faster! We fly!"
"The river is safer! We'll take that route!"
"We fly! Don't worry, we'll stay low to the river in case you fall!"
"We take the rafts!"
"You can fly with Eragon! He will never let you fall! We fly and take the faster route!"
"The river!
"The skies!"
Eragon watched the exchange in slight fear and slight amusement. He had never seen Florina argue with anyone before. "She gets quite passionate doesn't she, Saphira?"
"The sooner we get to Du Weldenvarden, the sooner Eragon and I can begin our training!"
"We take the river!"
"Do you not care!?"
"Of course I care! But I am not comfortable being in the skies. I am a dwarf, not a dragon!"
"She does."
"Eragon!"
"What?" He yelped at the sharpness of her voice and looked at them. They were both looking at him. "You decide. Do we take the river and Orik's path or do we fly? You decide."
"What is so funny, Saphira?" He snapped as Saphira chuckled in her throat and didn't answer. "What do I choose?" He looked from Orik to Florina and back again, repeating the process several times. "Uh, um,"
"Well, it is your choice, Brother." Orik cut in. "You decide whose route we take."
"Florina will get over it." He looked at his companions. "We will take the river." Florina scowled and turned away, walking farther from the city and sat next to Kuldra. Orik sat back against the pillar. "Did I make the wrong choice, Saphira?"
"You made the only one you could. I doubt Orik would have forgiven you for choosing Florina over your foster brother. To him, now that Hrothgar has adopted you, you are his family and his clan. Choosing Florina would have shown that you do not truly consider yourself part of his clan. You were trapped, though not intentionally." Saphira answered him. They sat in silence until Arya, Nasuada and Jörmundur arrived. Florina stood from the ground and approached them.
"Be safe, Sister Warrior." Nasuada whispered in her ear. "Keep strong."
"And you as well, Nasuada. It will be far easier for assassins to get to you in Surda because there are more people and you cannot examine their minds."
"Do not worry about me. Concentrate on your training. We need both you and Eragon at your best when you return." Kuldra walked over and touched her snout to Nasuada's head in farewell, something she had not done for anyone other than Florina. The pair walked with Arya a little farther away.
"What is troubling you, Golden Rider?" She asked as she declared it was time to leave.
"A stubborn dwarf and a dwarf who is also human. Orik refuses to fly as was the plan. We mistakenly put the choice to Eragon."
"So we are taking the slow route."
"We are." They said nothing more as the thirty foot tall doors opened and they walked into its dark depths.
"How long has this Rider been around?"
"From what we could gather, Majesty, nine months. Only three months longer than the boy, Eragon. She has made it quite clear that she doesn't fight for the Varden, but with them."
"What is her name?" They faltered. "I will only ask once more. What is her name?"
"We do not know, Majesty. I am sure that Ajihad told us, but we cannot remember it. But Murtagh will surely know."
"He does not, that is why I am asking you. I was only able to see images of a woman on a golden dragon. He swears that he was given her name, but he seems unable to recall it." They bowed.
"We have failed you."
"No, you have done well. You have brought me late news of this other Rider, but you brought it nonetheless." He dismissed them and walked to the dungeons. She didn't look up as he entered. He sat in his usual place and watched her. Her hands were chained above her head since she had tried to escape a couple of months ago. "You don't have to pretend you don't know I am here." He said silkily.
"I never do. I just choose not to acknowledge you. You are wasting your breath. Just let me return to my home."
"What home, dear lady? I have sent my men to Kuasta. Your house is destroyed. Your husband is dead. And there is no telling what happened to your daughter. If what my spies tell me is true, she was last seen in Dras-Leona selling her father's wares. I am guessing she was ignorant of the identities of some of her clients. And now there is another dragon loose in my lands."
"This is news to me." She said. "Hopefully they fight against you." She screamed as he muttered a spell and held it for a moment. "Torture me all you want. I will never willingly serve you. And I hope my daughter fights with the Varden to kill you." She screamed again.
A scream echoed through the tunnels. It was followed by a curse and sword being drawn. Orik grabbed the lantern and increased the brightness. The light revealed Arya holding Florina and muttering softly in the ancient language. Tears were streaming down Florina's face and Eragon felt a pit in his stomach. Florina's life had been torn from her while she was gone on a trip to sell her wares. Her mother had been stolen from her. Her father had died trying to reach her. Her mother was a prisoner of Galbatorix. He sheathed Zar'roc and sat back down. The only sound was Florina's soft sobs as Arya continued to sooth her.
"In the short time I have known her, I have never heard a sound like that come from Florina." Orik muttered. "Not even the wail she uttered at Ajihad's death."
"You heard that?"
"Everyone close enough did. I thought the men behind me would bolt at the sound of it. This scream was one of pain and terror, not grief." Eragon agreed. He had never once heard Florina scream in fear as she just had done. He extended his consciousness towards her and found her mind blocked by Kuldra and Arya.
"What do you want?" The gold dragon demanded.
"I just want to make sure she is alright. She sounded scared."
"Eragon, her mother is in the hands of the black king. You are not the only one to be haunted by evil." Kuldra withdrew and Eragon returned to himself.
"Well, what is wrong?" Orik asked.
"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me."
"Brave One?"
"Did everyone wake up?"
"You could have woken the dead. What did you see?"
"My mother being tortured by the shadow I saw after the battle. He keeps entering my dreams and I do not know who he is. This time, he has gone too far." Florina drank the water Arya handed to her. "I'm sorry I woke everyone."
"It is not your fault. You, just like Eragon, have been affected by the magic the Shade brought with him into Farthen Dûr."
"I don't think this is the Shade's magic. I think this is something else. I will be better once I can breathe fresh air and ride Kuldra again."
"Then let us continue on. It is obvious we will not be sleeping more now." Florina nodded and handed the half empty water-skin back to Arya and stood. Arya followed suit as Florina rolled her blanket again. "Let's go." Eragon and Orik stood as well. They walked in silence the better part of the day. Eragon tried to talk to Florina but she stayed quiet, both mentally and physically. They walked for hours before they reached the end of the tunnel. They stopped and waited as the doors were opened. The dragons hissed, Eragon and Florina winced, as the doors opened and sunlight burst into the tunnel. The dragons launched themselves out of the tunnel and into the sky. Florina laughed and rushed out, stopping on a granite outcropping at least a hundred feet above a purple-hued lake. She laughed as she watched the dragons do acrobatics, her nightmare forgotten.
"It must have been that we were underground for so long."
"That is Celbedeil." Orik said as the dragons landed. Florina looked to the left and saw a giant dome of gold and white stone. "It is the greatest temple of dwarfdom and home of Dûrgrimst Quan."
"Do they rule Tarnag?" Florina and Eragon asked at the same time.
"Nay," Arya answered them, looking toward the city as well. "Though they are strong, they are small in numbers despite their power over the afterlife…and gold. It is the Ragni Hefthyn –The River Guard –who control Tarnag. We will stay with their clan chief, Ûndin, while here." She left the cliff and they followed.
"Mind her not." Orik whispered. "She has been arguing with the Quan for many a year. Every time she visits Tarnag and speaks with a priest, it produces a quarrel fierce enough to scare a Kull." Florina smirked and trotted to catch up to the elf. They walked in silence until they crested a small mound and a strange mountain goat with a dwarf armed with a half drawn bow jumped into their path.
"Hert dûrgrimst? Fild rastn?" The dwarf shouted. Orik stepped forward.
"Orik Thrifkz menthiv oen Hrethcarach Eragon rak Dûrgrimst Ingeitum. Wharn Jurgenvren Florina oen az vanyali- carharûg Arya. Né oc Ûndinz grimstbelardn." He answered. The goat eyed the dragons warily.
"Azt jok jordn rast." The dwarf answered and the goat creature bounded off the path. Florina walked in silence while Orik explained the workings of some dwarven customs to Eragon. Arya also stayed quiet. As they entered a crowded clearing, seven Feldûnost with jeweled harnesses bounded from the city and to them. The lead dwarf reined in his beast and said,
"Thou art well-come to this city of Tarnag. By otho of Ûndin and Gannel, I, Throv, son of Brokk, offer in peace the shelter of our halls."
"And by Hrothgar's otho, we of the Ingeitum accept your hospitality."
"As do I, in Islanzadi's stead," Arya added.
"And I, on behalf of the Riders." Florina finished as Nasuada had taught her. Satisfied, Throv motioned his fellow riders into formation around the six of them and they entered Tarnag. Florina tried not to stare too much at the dwarves and stared at the buildings which were built with only dwarves in mind. She didn't miss the looks of shock and rage from the dwarves when they saw Eragon's helm.
"We need to get out of sight before we are attacked. Eragon may be a dwarf by adoption, but he is still a Rider and as speaker of the Riders, I would hate to ruin what tense relationship we have with the dwarves."
"I agree." Kuldra commented as a group of armed dwarves streamed from between the houses and blocked their path. Long purple veils obscured their face. Eragon whispered something to Orik. The dwarf didn't answer and strode forward, hand on his axe. Florina kept a hand on her sword. She watched in anxiety as the dwarves spoke. She stole a glance at Eragon and saw him place a hand on Zar'roc's wire wrapped hilt. She watched in fear as the lead dwarf removed an iron ring from his pocket, plucked three hairs from his beard, twined them around the ring, and threw it onto the street and then filed away without another word.
The dwarves flinched as the ring bounced across the granite. Florina paled. A look at Arya told both of the Riders that she was taken aback as well. Only Eragon was confused. Ajihad and Nasuada had instructed Florina on some of the customs of the dwarves so that she would not feel completely incompetent in their realm. This had been one of the lessons. "What does it mean?" Eragon asked as Orik deposited the ring in a pouch.
"It means you have enemies." Throv answered.
"Let us get inside the gates before anything worse happens." Florina suggested and they all hurried inside.
A/N: Just so you all know, I will be skipping over what happens in Tarnag since not much really goes on. Sorry if I disappoint some of you.
Thanks for reading and please review!