Chapter 36
Vanir ran through the deserted streets of the city, the alleys outside of the main part of the battle, clutching his sack tightly. From within, he could feel the hard surface of Saphira's egg.
Arya had flat out ordered him to find a way outside the city and flee, carrying the egg to safety. The battle was not going well, and they would inevitably lose the city very soon.
The sun's rays bathed the city in gold, making it easier for Vanir to get around. He struggled with what would come next. Sneaking out of the city with a dragon egg would not prove very easy considering the fact they were completely surrounded by enemy troops. Transporting the egg was too dangerous—Islanzadi had proved that.
Maybe Eragon could fly me and the egg outside the city… He immediately decided that was the best idea.
As he reached to contact Eragon, a loud squeak interrupted the silent alley.
Vanir stared down at the sack. Through it, he could feel the egg vibrating. He froze.
It squeaked again, this time louder, and something within the shell shuffled.
He stood still in the deserted street, staring dumbly at the brown sack that held the emerald egg.
The spell binding Eragon died with Murtagh, releasing his muscles. He leaped up, rushing to Nasuada's limp form.
She lay sprawled on the stone, chest rising and lowering irregularly.
He could not see any blood on her armor, which was a good sign, but she had been slammed into the stone rather hard.
Eragon cradled her head in his hands, reaching for her consciousness. He could not contact her mind—she was out of his reach. When he removed his hands, they were covered in blood. A gash in the back of Nasuada's head was bleeding profusely.
Barzul scrambled to his Rider's side, nudging her hesitantly with his nose.
For the first time, Eragon noticed the state of the silver dragon. Open sores from his fight with Thorn nearly covered his body, and blood trickled all down his neck.
"Can you reach her?" Eragon asked the silver dragon frantically. "Is she going to be alright?" His voice cracked and a tear ran down his cheek.
She is where even I cannot reach her… the dragon's whole body quaked.
Nasuada could still feel her body. She sensed a trickle of blood going down the back of her neck, dripping from the gash that had occurred on impact with the stone. Yet there was no pain.
In the distance, she heard Eragon's voice, but couldn't make out the words. She felt Barzul's presence and smiled inwardly.
She tried to move—to open her eyes- but she found her muscles would not obey her commands.
Suddenly, she heard a voice in her mind, as clear as day.
"Do not be alarmed. I just have a few things to clear up."
Nasuada hesitated, dread running through her veins like liquid fire. "Am I… dead?"
The voice laughed a little. It was a familiar female voice, yet somehow different. She could not place it. "You are not dead, Rider. Far from it. The bump on your head wasn't that bad."
Relieved, Nasuada asked, "Then what is happening? Why can't I wake up?"
"Because I am not allowing it."
Now she was really puzzled. "Why are you not allowing it?"
"I have knowledge that must be passed on to you before I enter the other realm, for there is no returning once one crosses over."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, puzzled.
"You are not dead, but I am." The voice echoed in Nasuada's mind.
"But who are you? How did you die?"
"I was killed in my sleep by one of Galbatorix's assassins. 'Tis a shame they chose to do it that way; I could have put up a very good fight."
"Who are you?" she asked again.
"You know me. I am Elva."
Now she was really confused. "But you were serving Galbatorix."
"I am a servant to no one. Now, back to the point, I have some knowledge that may be useful to you. There isn't much time before I cross over, and I don't know what will happen when I do, so let's get along with it!"
Nasuada remained silent, inviting Elva to explain.
"When people die, their souls do not. If the ridiculous elves have been teaching you otherwise, forget everything they said on the subject of death. The soul is indestructible."
"But how do you—"
"I'm dead; how do you think I know?"
Nasuada quieted down.
"Now, when most people die, they go into the other realm, out of which there is no return. I haven't gone there yet, but I feel it tugging at me right now. It feels pleasant… I cannot explain it.
"As with most rules, there is an exception. Those who sell their soul are forever a slave to evil. Some do it unintentionally, emmersing themselves in evil without knowing their soul is slowly changing allegiance; others find their true name and sell their soul for evil purposes, knowing full well the consequences of their actions. These people do not go to the other realm when they die, but are confined in the Vault of Souls until called upon by a Sorcerer or a Kuthian Master."
"What is a Kuthian Master?"
"The Master of the rock of Kuthian. Now, as I was saying, they are all confined in the Vault. A sorcerer can call them out one at a time, so long as he can control them. But the Kuthian Master is different. The Kuthian Master is the one who owns the Vault.
"Now, the Master has only to do one thing to become the Master: he must go to the Vault itself and willingly sell his soul to it. But, the vault only collects on its side of the deal once the Vault Holder is dead. Throughout history, there have been a couple of Kuthian Masters, but they all die eventually, joining the other souls within the Vault.
"Then there came along Galbatorix. He not only became Master, but he found a way of lending the power of the Vault on to others. He realized that, if he knew the true name of someone, he could protect them from the spirits of the Vault. That way, his Sorcerers could use any spirits they wanted without risking their own necks and becoming Shades.
"So, he found the true names of all his forsworn and proceeded to give them all a limited amount of souls to do with as they pleased. If they decided to turn on him, he could not only use their true names against them, but he could withdraw the spirits from them."
Nasuada shivered. "Is this what he did to Murtagh?"
"Yes. He did not dare speak Murtagh's true name to anyone, even Murtagh, for fear that Murtagh would try to use it and become another Kuthian Master. On that occasion, Galbatorix and he would be forced to duel to the death, lest they live in fear of each other's power forever."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you have to tell your friend Eragon every word."
"Oh."
"Now pay attention to what I am saying, Nasuada, because I will only say it once. It is of utmost importance that Eragon finds the Rock of Kuthian. In order to close it forever, he must become a Kuthian Master himself."
"What?" she cried in fear. "He must sell his soul to some ROCK? No way am I telling him that!"
"You must. Also, tell him there is another way out: after he is master, his soul is technically sold to the Vault. But the Master has control over all the spirits in the Vault. He must offer freedom to every soul within, and every soul who ever reaches its doorway, including his own. They then have a chance to cross into the other realm, like most souls. After he does this, he must close the vault forever. Only a Kuthian Master can do that, and it will take a tremendous amount of energy from him."
"Will he have to cross over?" Nasuada asked frantically. "Will he die?"
Elva ignored her question. "Now, I give you the location of the Rock of Kuthian."
An image appeared in Nasuada's mind. It was an aerial view of herself, lying as if dead on the peak of Helgrind with Eragon, Saphira, and Barzul crowded around.
Then, her view switched so that she was flying over the treetops in an eastern course towards Uru'baen. The ground flew by so fast it made her dizzy.
The next thing she saw was the dark city itself, Galbatorix's castle at the center.
"Go in this side entrance," Elva instructed, turning the point of view so Nasuada could see a small crevice on the side of the castle. "I have removed his alarm spells from that area and created another entrance Galbatorix knows nothing about; it should still be safe to enter, and don't worry about using magic; I've disabled those alarms without his knowledge as well."
The image moved into the door and through a dark tunnel. The tunnel turned into a labarynth of tunnels, and she moved so quickly through them it made her feel sick.
Then, she was in a dark chamber with a large stone at its center.
"This is it. There is an easier way to reach it, but the entrance is in Galbatorix's strategy room, which he almost never leaves. Be quiet while you're in the chamber, because he will be in the room above you."
"How do we…" Nasuada began to say "How do we get out," but she felt Elva fading from her mind.
"I am being pulled into the other realm, Nasuada. Goodbye. And I'm sorry… for everything…"
As Elva's voice died away, Eragon's became progressively clearer. "I don't think we can… Wait. I think she's waking up!"
Nasuada's eyes flew open. Above, she could see the faces of Barzul, Saphira, and Eragon, all looking rather relieved. The left side of Eragon's face was so burned she could hardly recognize him. His eyelid was burned shut and it was swelling horribly.
"You're alive!" he breathed, hugging her so tightly it hurt.
"Yeah, I am." She noticed there was no throbbing in the back of her head. "Did you heal me?" she asked, touching her hair.
"Yes—we all did." He smiled at Barzul and Saphira.
Nasuada stood up, bursting to tell him what she had learned, but she was distracted by the appearance of the dragons. "Why'd you waste your energy on me? You all look awful! Eragon… your face…" But she didn't finish, for just then, Nasuada looked past them and layed eyes on the ruby colored dragon, lying limp on the cold stone. "I… I killed him." The memory of her fight with Murtagh brought tears to her eyes.
Eragon looked down awkwardly. "Nasuada, you did the right thing."
She hardly heard him, walking around Thorn's figure and kneeling beside Murtagh's body. Blood ran down his armor, matching his red sword. "He turned around…" she trembled, "and I stabbed him in the back." A void filled her spirit. "What a dishonorable death for a Rider."
Eragon rested his hand on her shoulder. "I swear, Nasuada, if we survive this, I'll have a respectable burial held for Thorn and Murtagh."
"Thank you," she whispered.
Barzul came up to her, breathing heavily. Nasuada, we must move on. A battle cannot come to a halt because of one death.
You are right. There is a time to mourn, and this isn't it. She stood, looking evenly into Eragon's eyes, so like his brother's. "There is something we must do, but first thing's first: you need healed."
Eragon grimaced, his face distorting even more. "Well, there isn't much that can be done for me, but can you help me heal Saphira and Barzul?"
She looked pityingly at Eragon. His skin was all burned away around his left eye, and streaks of charred flesh ran all the way down his neck where the seithr oil had dripped. By her judgment, he would never be able to open his left eye, much less see through it. "Yes, I'll help you. But we have to take care of your face sooner or later."
"Alright. Let's heal Saphira's wing before we do anything, then we can fly down to the forest and get more energy from the vegetation down there. The battle isn't over yet."
Nasuada nodded, opening her mind and meshing her power with Eragon's. She even drew more energy from the jewels on her sword. Barzul added his own strength, though it was meager, and they all spoke the healing words in the ancient language.
Eragon set the bone in Saphira's wing straight and it meshed into a solid piece once more.
That's much better, she breathed, stretching. I'm not perfect, but this will hold me over until we can reach the forest floor.
They all flew down and worked for several minutes, healing the most severe wounds and treating the minor cuts and brouses, all the while taking energy from the vegetation.
By the time they were finished, all the trees and underbrush in sight had wilted.
Nasuada knew that Eragon should be told about the Vault, but she also knew that he would leave right away if she explained the situation to him. Other matters came first. "Eragon, we need to do something about your face. Unless we are sure we've removed all the oil, it will continue eating away."
He glared at her with his one eye. "Yes, but what if we heal the skin over the seithr oil? Then we lose all opportunity of removing it. No, I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt."
She looked at Saphira, raising an eyebrow.
He's lying, Saphira informed, puffing smoke impatiently. Eragon, we need Arya's help on this matter. I don't know how to go about healing Seithr wounds, and Nasuada certainly doesn't. Let's find an elf to help.
Eragon gritted his teeth, reluctantly submitting to their rule.
Nasuada and Eragon climbed onto Saphira and flew over the city, Barzul behind them, trying to contact an elf who could help.
Not much time passed before Eragon caught Vanir's consciousness. Vanir? Are you in the battle?
No. I have to leave the city; the egg must remain safe. It will only be a few hours before the Empire breaks through.
Eragon got Vanir's location and directed Saphira to the innermost parts of the city.
They landed in the street outside an herb shop. No citizens were in sight, for they had all sought shelter in the center of the city.
Vanir came out of a nearby alley, rushing up to Eragon. "I think it's hatching. We must leave."
"Really?" Eragon asked excitedly.
"It's hatching?" Nasuada exclaimed, peering down from Saphira's back at the brown satchel Vanir held.
"Well, it's been making strange sounds for the last ten minutes. Either way, this is no place for a dragon OR a dragon egg. Let's go." Vanir stepped forward, and then paused, finally noticing Eragon. "Shur'tugal… you need that healed." He stared up at the burned flesh.
"Yes. We were hoping you could give some advice on that matter. What can I do to heal Seithr Oil?"
"Seithr?" Vanir raised his eyebrows. "That bad of a wound requires an herb that I do not possess. No ancient words can heal it entirely."
Eragon sighed, starting to speak, but stopped short. His eyes darted across the street where a strange cat was sitting. "Solembum, where's Angela? Can she help me?" He ran to the cat, eyes clouding over as if they were conversing mentally.
Nasuada didn't know what Solembum said, but Eragon's face became suddenly grave. He straightened, looking at his boots.
Angela stepped out of the alley, grinning. "I might have something up my sleeve, but it will only relieve the pain. Nothing can ever remove the hideous scar you will have."
"That'll be fine," Eragon said, still looking unsettled by whatever Solembum had said.
The herbalist pulled a flask off her belt and applied its contents to his wound very delicately, saying, "You Riders do have a habit of getting into trouble, don't you?"
The cool liquid felt like heaven to his face. The burning ceased and he could feel the flesh healing some.
Angela stood back, observing her work. "That ought to do. The skin has even grown back a little, but you'll be lucky if ever your left eye opens again."
"I'm grateful just with this," he said, smiling grimly. "You're the best, Angela."
She grinned. "I know."
Nasuada examined Eragon's wound. It looked more like a half-healed scrape now, though his eyebrow had not grown back and his eyelid was still sealed shut. "Not bad. Let's go."
"Yes, let's go," Vanir said, eyeing his satchel, which was making strange noises.
"Where to?" Eragon asked. "Where would the egg be safe?"
"No!" Nasuada said sternly. "We have to fly to Uru'baen. That's where the Vault of Souls is."
Every eye turned to her.
She breathed deeply, preparing to tell the whole story. "I had a… vision—erm, visitation—after Thorn knocked me out. The vault is in Galbatorix's castle, below his strategy room. I'll explain on the way."
Eragon looked torn between shock and pain. "Why didn't you say so before?" He looked down, apparently undecided, then said, finally, "Let's go there immediately."
"Wait one second," Vanir said, stepping forward.
Nasuada prepared herself for a typical elven lecture on thinking things through before acting on them.
"… if you guys are going to Uru'baen," he continued, "I'm going with you."